Rotational aesthetics: Michael Bay and contemporary cinema’s machine movement

Digital imaging technologies enable a mastery of the visual that in recent mainstream cinema frequently manifests as certain kinds of spatial reach, orientation and motion. In such a context Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise can be framed as a digital re-tooling of a familiar fantasy of vehicular propulsion, US car culture writ large in digitally crafted spectacles of diegetic speed, the vehicular chase film ‘2.0’. Movement is central to these films, calling up Scott Bukatman’s observation that in spectacular visual media ‘movement has become more than a tool of bodily knowledge; it has become an end in itself’ (2003: 125). Not all movements and not all instances of vehicular propulsion are the same however. How might we evaluate what is at stake in a film’s assertion of movement as an end in itself, and the form that assertion takes, its articulations of diegetic velocity, corporeality, and spatial penetration? Deploying an attentiveness towards the specificity of aesthetic detail and affective impact in Bay’s delineation of movement, this essay suggests that the franchise poses questions about the relationship of human movement to machine movement that exceed their narrative basis. Identifying a persistent rotational trope in the franchise that in its audio-visual articulation combines oddly anachronistic elements (evoking the mechanical rather than the digital), the article argues that the films prioritise certain fantasies of transformation and spatial penetration, and certain modes of corporeality, as one response to contemporary debates about digital technologisation, sustainable energy, and cinematic spectacle. In this way the franchise also represents a particular moment in a more widely discernible preoccupation in contemporary cinema with what we might call a ‘rotational aesthetics’ of action, a machine movement made possible by the digital, but which invokes earlier histories and fantasies of animation, propulsion, mechanization and mechanization to particular ends.

Equations to predict methane emissions from cows fed at maintenance energy level in pasture-based systems

Ruminant production is a vital part of food industry but it raises environmental concerns, partly due to the associated methane outputs. Efficient methane mitigation and estimation of emissions from ruminants requires accurate prediction tools. Equations recommended by international organizations or scientific studies have been developed with animals fed conserved forages and concentrates and may be used with caution for grazing cattle. The aim of the current study was to develop prediction equations with animals fed fresh grass in order to be more suitable to pasture-based systems and for animals at lower feeding levels. A study with 25 nonpregnant nonlactating cows fed solely fresh-cut grass at maintenance energy level was performed over two consecutive grazing seasons. Grass of broad feeding quality, due to contrasting harvest dates, maturity, fertilisation and grass varieties, from eight swards was offered. Cows were offered the experimental diets for at least 2 weeks before housed in calorimetric chambers over 3 consecutive days with feed intake measurements and total urine and faeces collections performed daily. Methane emissions were measured over the last 2 days. Prediction models were developed from 100 3-day averaged records. Internal validation of these equations, and those recommended in literature, was performed. The existing in greenhouse gas inventories models under-estimated methane emissions from animals fed fresh-cut grass at maintenance while the new models, using the same predictors, improved prediction accuracy. Error in methane outputs prediction was decreased when grass nutrient, metabolisable energy and digestible organic matter concentrations were added as predictors to equations already containing dry matter or energy intakes, possibly because they explain feed digestibility and the type of energy-supplying nutrients more efficiently. Predictions based on readily available farm-level data, such as liveweight and grass nutrient concentrations were also generated and performed satisfactorily. New models may be recommended for predictions of methane emissions from grazing cattle at maintenance or low feeding levels.

Local authorities as niche actors: the case of energy governance in the UK

This paper draws from work conducted under the NERC-funded project 'Understanding energy governance at local and community levels'(Project Reference: NE/H013598/1). This project was a 24 month study carried out in collaboration with the UK Energy Research Council which began in April 2010. The particular workpackage from which these interviews were drawn specifically explores the role of local authorities in emerging energy and environmental responsibilities, paying particular attention to current institutional structures and how external forces and actors influence local authorities on their decision making and practices. It is concluded that whilst the role of local authorities has been changing in response to energy and environmental ‘landscape’ issues, their influence on the design and implementation of energy policy in the UK will correspondingly remain as an emerging process for the foreseeable future, with the more progressive local authorities continuing to exert political, social/cultural and technological influence over ways of designing, articulating, and engaging with energy governance at the local level.

China and Kazakhstan’s oil and gas partnership at the start of the twenty-first century

Over the past decade, cooperation between China and Kazakhstan in the oil and gas sector has developed significantly. For China, security of its energy supply is a key strategic objective. This paper analyzes the evolution of Sino-Kazakh oil and gas relations, assesses their long-term prospects, and explores how Chinese demand for oil and gas could divert Kazakhstan’s hydrocarbon resources from other energy markets. The netback approach has been used to assess the prices that China will need to offer other producers in Kazakhstan. Sino-Kazakh energy and economic cooperation could create a good basis for free economic zones and development of beneficial ties for both countries.

Climate change, environment and development

Climate change, a quintessential environmental problem, is generally recognised as the most important development challenge in the 21st century (IPCC, 2014). In addition to acknowledging its many significant direct consequences, climate change is increasingly used to frame discussions on other important global challenges, such as health, energy and food security. This chapter provides understanding of the intricate and complex relationship between climate change, environment and development.

Optimal power management strategy for energy storage with stochastic loads

In this paper, a power management strategy (PMS) has been developed for the control of energy storage in a system subjected to loads of random duration. The PMS minimises the costs associated with the energy consumption of specific systems powered by a primary energy source and equipped with energy storage, under the assumption that the statistical distribution of load durations is known. By including the variability of the load in the cost function, it was possible to define the optimality criteria for the power flow of the storage. Numerical calculations have been performed obtaining the control strategies associated with the global minimum in energy costs, for a wide range of initial conditions of the system. The results of the calculations have been tested on a MATLAB/Simulink model of a rubber tyre gantry (RTG) crane equipped with a flywheel energy storage system (FESS) and subjected to a test cycle, which corresponds to the real operation of a crane in the Port of Felixstowe. The results of the model show increased energy savings and reduced peak power demand with respect to existing control strategies, indicating considerable potential savings for port operators in terms of energy and maintenance costs.