'Mind our mouths and beware our talk': Stylometric analysis of character dialogue in The Darjeeling Limited

Stylometry uses statistical reasoning to quantify the linguistic attributes of written texts. In this article I draw upon current developments in computer-based stylometric studies to quantify the language of screenplays. I take as my starting point J. F. Burrows’s seminal stylometric study of dialogue in Jane Austen’s novels (Computation into Criticism [Burrows 1987]) to identify and quantify the linguistic habits of major screenplay characters, habits that constitute their distinctive voice. Analysis of the dialogue of the three Whitman brothers in The Darjeeling Limited (screenplay by Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman, dated 22 November 2006) will serve as a preliminary case study. I aim to use the work of Burrows as the starting point in establishing a new research programme within screenplay studies, one based on the stylometric analysis of the language of screenplays

Revisiting videogame logic: Impossible storyworlds in the contemporary Hollywood blockbuster

This paper demonstrates how two logics (narrative and videogame) function in a select number of contemporary blockbuster films. The paper is divided into three sections: The first outlines narrative and videogame logics; the second presents examples from Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) and Source Code (Duncan Jones, 2011) to demonstrate how videogame logic structures the events in each film; and the third discusses how these logics create specific storyworlds (imaginary worlds distinct from the actual world) that are unnatural and/or impossible

The unnatural and impossible storyworlds of Michel Gondry’s music videos: The mise en abyme of “Bachelorette”

The first half of this essay identifies key rhetorical and narratological conventions video artist Michel Gondry employs to create unnatural and impossible storyworlds in three of his most iconic music videos: “Come into My World” (2002), “Deadweight” (1997), and “Let Forever Be” (1999). The key conventions identified include: antithesis, similarity, reversal, displacement, duplication/ repetition, magnification/ reduction, substitution, superimposition, embedding, and mise en abyme. The second half of this essay focuses on Gondry’s creation of a complex storyworld in his 1997 music video of Björk’s song “Bachelorette.” = La première moitié de l’article dégage les principaux procédés rhétoriques et narratologiques utilisés par le vidéaste Michel Gondry dans trois de ses clips les plus emblématiques (« Come into My World » [2002], « Deadweight » [1997] et « Let Forever Be » [1999]) afin de créer des storyworlds non naturels et impossibles. Ces procédés comprennent l’antithèse, la similarité, l’inversion, le déplacement, la duplication/répétition, l’agrandissement/réduction, la substitution, la superposition, l’enchâssement et la mise en abyme. Dans la deuxième moitié, nous étudions la création par Gondry d’un storyworld complexe dans « Bachelorette », réalisé pour Björk en 1997

Experimental evidence of reduced diversity of seedlings due to climate modification in a Mediterranean-type community

We are still lacking in experimental evidence of the effects of climate change on the richness of plant species under field conditions. We report a decrease in the species richness of recruited seedlings in a Mediterranean shrubland in experimentally induced drought and warming over 4 consecutive years. Drought decreased the number of emerging seedlings and their respective species richness. Warming also decreased seedling species richness, but it did not affect the number of emerging seedlings. Species that produce fewer recruits are more likely to disappear in drier or warmer scenarios. However, when the effect of induced climate treatment was greatest, the more abundant species in control stands were not necessarily the ones least affected by treatment; in other words, species-idiosyncratic responses may occur. These results show that demographic processes are sensitive to minor climate changes, with probable consequences on the diversity and structure of the future plant communities

The importance of Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters to Balearic Shearwaters revealed by aerial census

The Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus is one of the most threatened seabirds in the world. To evaluate the abundance and distribution of Balearic Shearwaters in Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters, during the post-breeding period when migrating birds are outside the Mediterranean Sea, we conducted 5 aerial surveys between 2010 and 2014 (21 survey days covering 62,716 km2). Following a line transect method, observers recorded a total of 181 Balearic Shearwaters sightings. Using Distance sampling software, we estimated an overall species abundance (2010–2014) of 10,182, ranging between 2338 in 2010 and 23,221 individuals in 2012. During the 2012 post-breeding period, the Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters were used by up to 96.8% of the latest migratory population assessment. Considering Balearic Shearwater estimates per sampling block, there was a preference for the North and Center sectors of the Portuguese coast (respectively, 7058 and 1366 individuals) where several SPAs were already designated. We computed the annual and overall habitat predictive models for Balearic Shearwaters using a maximum entropy algorithm on MaxEnt software. In all models, the Balearic shearwater distribution was best predicted by mean chlorophyll concentration. Balearic Shearwaters are mostly present in shallow shelf and coastal waters particularly in the widest portions of the continental shelf. These areas are strongly influenced by upwelling, which concurs with the chlorophyll concentration being the most important predicting variable. Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters are one of the most important post-breeding grounds to the Balearic ShearwaterPortuguese Wildlife Society and projects SafeSea EEA-Grants, FAME (Proj. 2009-1/089) and European Commission’s Life Programme (MarPro NAT/PT/00038). This study was also partly supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with Grants SFRH/ BD/30240/2006 to M. Ferreira and SFRH/BD/32841/2006 to P. C. Rodrigues. C. Eira is supported by FCT through CESAM UID/AMB/50017/2013 co-funded by FCT/MEC and FEDER, within PT2020 and Compete 2020 and S. Monteiro is financed by a Grant (BPD/0043/AMB/50017) from UID/AMB/50017/2013. This work was also partially supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by FCT and by ERDF (COMPETE2020). The authors thank observers and airplane pilots who contributed to this workinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Human activities and biodiversity opportunities in pre-industrial cultural landscapes: relevance to conservation

1. Conservation practices in Europe frequently attempt to perpetuate or mimic the ‘traditional’ forms of management of semi-natural habitats, but with a limited understanding of what these entailed. 2. We review the emerging understanding of ecological processes, structures and management interventions that enhance biodiversity (wildlife) at diverse scales. These are then examined in the context of pre-industrial (c. 1200-1750) land management systems in lowland England, in order to identify historic practices which are likely to have provided important wildlife resources, but which are relatively neglected in current conservation management. 3. Principles enhancing alpha and beta diversity and the conservation status of threatened species, include: structural complexity and heterogeneity at nested spatial scales; physical disturbance and exposure of mineral substrate; nutrient removal; lengthened successional rotations; and spatial variation in grazing regimes. 4. The available evidence suggests that pre-industrial management was generally characterised by: intense resource exploitation and significant levels of biomass harvest; complex nested structural heterogeneity both between and within landscape elements; overlaying of multiple land-uses; and spatial and temporal variability in management, rendering the concept of long-lived ‘traditional’ practice problematic. Grazing patterns are poorly understood but intensive grazing was probably the norm in most contexts, potentially resulting in simplified sward structures and suppressed ecotonal vegetation. 5. In much of the pre-industrial period, early-successional and disturbed microhabitats were widespread but ungrazed or lightly grazed herb-rich vegetation may have been limited, the converse of current conservation management. The key change since then has been homogenisation at multiple scales, coupled with reduction of specific niches and conditions. 6. Synthesis and applications: In adopting perceived ‘traditional’ management practices, modern conservation rarely achieves the range and complexity of conditions that were present in the past. A better understanding of past practices allows more favourable management of those surviving semi-natural habitats where historic assemblages persist – with greater emphasis on physical disturbance and variability in prescriptions both temporally and spatially. When creating or restoring habitats, after interruption of management sufficiently long for dependent assemblages to be lost, better appreciation of historic management encourages novel forms of intervention to enhance biodiversity, with emphasis on complex structural and spatial heterogeneity at nested scales, biomass removal and nutrient reduction. These two distinct but overlapping approaches are complementary to the use of large herbivores to create and maintain dynamic ecotonal mosaics in the manner advocated by some proponents of ‘rewilding’