Contemporary and traditional localism: a conceptualisation of rural local food

The increasingly popular local food movement in the US has experienced wide-scale buy-in on behalf of the general public as well as in academic arenas. However, there have been recent efforts to critique this movement, typically for being inequitable and unfairly geared towards those with above-average financial means. In this article, I examine local food efforts and present a new conceptualisation of food localism. While geographically localised food consumption activities are taking place, some have ideological labels attached to them, whereas others do not. What I have termed contemporary and traditional localisms exist in the same physical but different social space. The contemporary local is represented by current local food initiatives and corresponding aspirations to support local farmers and to promote sustainability through local purchasing behaviour. The traditional local, on the other hand, is similar in that it represents food growing activities that are in close geographical proximity to consumption, but lacks the motivation associated with the contemporary local's programmatic literature; instead, it is guided by a motivation to obtain fresh and affordable food. I substantiate the contemporary/traditional localism framework with qualitative fieldwork findings from Grafton County, New Hampshire, USA, and describe the practical as well as conceptual implications of this framework.     

Local or global food markets: A comparison of energy use for transport

Abstract

This study compares energy use for food transport to a farmers' market in Sweden with energy use for transport in the conventional food system. The farmers' market was investigated through data sampling from on-site investigations. The conventional food system was studied with the aid of life cycle assessments reported in the literature. Overall, the study found no significant differences in levels of energy use for transport to the farmers' market compared with the conventional food system. For certain products, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, transport-related energy use was much lower in the local system although the season in Sweden for this kind of product is restricted to two or three months at the end of the summer. However, there is considerable potential to increase energy efficiency in local food systems by organizing the selling in new ways and by using more energy efficient vehicles.     

Role of behavioural factors in green supply chain management implementation in Indian mining industries

Green supply chain management (GSCM) integrates ecological concepts with those of supply chain management in order to minimize energy and material usage and to reduce adverse impacts of supply chain activities on the environment. GSCM implementation in mining industries depends largely upon certain factors which are influenced by human behaviours. Human behaviour is dynamic in nature and the relationships between them continuously evolve and change. In this ever-changing context, therefore, identifying and ranking the behavioural factors that affect GSCM implementation becomes essential. This can be taken as a reference by the decision makers while deciding the hierarchy of action necessary for effective implementation of green practices in mining supply chains. The present research attempts to explore various behavioural factors affecting GCSM practices and their interactions which help to attain green-enabled needs. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) is employed in this research to extract the interrelationships among the identified behavioural factors.     

斑鳢等鱼贝类去毒相关基因的克隆

采用RT-PCR和RACE法,克隆得到斑鳢、鲢鱼CYPlA与斑鳢HSP70基因cDNA的核心序列,序列长度分别为908 bp、902 bp、684 bp,分别编码302、300、228个氨基酸;还克隆得到斑鳢、近江牡蛎GPX基因cDNA的部分序列,长度分别为720 bp、727 bp,分别编码119、232个氨基酸.多个重要养殖水生动物的去毒相关基因的成功克隆,为水产养殖动物去毒相关基因结构、功能、表达调控研究以及今后定向筛选高食用安全保障的水产品奠定基础.     

Corporate environmental responsibility in the supply chain

A continuing trend in outsourcing increases the complexity of supply chains. Global supply chains extend over numerous echelons of countless companies. In parallel, the company-internal view on corporate environmental responsibility is being challenged as customers and legislation alike broaden a company's environmental responsibility to include organisations' upstream as well as downstream in the supply chain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine corporate environmental responsibility beyond corporate boundaries, i.e. in the supply chain. A cross-industrial study based on 16 case studies in Finnish trans-national corporations sheds light on various dimensions of corporate environmental responsibility upstream and downstream of product and process supply chains. Conclusions were drawn for corporate environmental responsibility as well as for the role of supply chain management in extending environmental demand over several echelons and diverse industries.     

Linking supply chain strength to sustainable development: a country-level analysis

Several global corporations have been severely criticized by different lobbying groups for the impact of their operations on the natural environment and on the local communities. Because corporate operations cannot be studied in isolation but rather as a part of a large network often referred to as a supply chain, this paper investigates the potential link between supply chain characteristics and sustainable development at the country level. In particular, the linkage between supply chain strength, generally defined as the number and quality of the suppliers and customers in a country, and the three dimensions of sustainable development namely environmental performance, corporate environmental practices, and social sustainability is assessed. Using archival data from The Global Competitiveness Report (2004–2005) and the 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index, a statistical assessment of the linkage was conducted. The results indicate that supply chain strength is positively linked to all three dimensions of sustainable development.     

Does copper reduce cadmium uptake by different rice genotypes？

A hydroponics experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of copper （Cu） on cadmium （Cd）, calcium （Ca）, iron （Fe）, and zinc （Zn） uptake by several rice genotypes. The experiment was carried out as a 2×2×4 factorial with four rice genotypes and two levels of Cu and Cd in nutrient solution. Plants were grown in a growth chamber with controlled environment. The results showed a significant difference between the biomass of different rice genotypes （P 〈 0.001）. The Cd and Cu concentration in the solution had no significant effect on the biomass. The addition of Cu significantly decreased Cd uptake by shoots and roots of rice （P 〈 0.001）. The Cd concentration did not significantly influence Ca uptake by plants, whereas the Cu concentration did （P = 0.034）. There was a significant influence of Cd on Fe uptake by shoots and roots （P 〈 0.001, P = 0.003, respectively）. Zn uptake decreased significantly as the addition of Cd and Cu increased in shoots. We concluded that Cu had significant influence on Cd uptake. The possible mechanisms were discussed.     

城市间空气污染控制的马氏链模型

根据城市间空气污染物相互扩散和无后效性的特点,应用马尔可夫随机过程理论,先建立各城市污染物浓度状态转移方程,再由城市间污染物浓度状态形成一个吸收链。建立城市间污染物排放控制的马氏链模型。通过模型求解,得出了城市间空气污染物浓度达到国家排放标准的条件,最后应用数值计算软件MAT-LAB,编写了一个城市间空气污染控制的通用程序,它能在保证城市空气质量的前提下,快速准确地计算出控制区内各污染源污染物的最大允许排放量,这对环保部门进行城市空气污染物排放量控制工作具有实际意义。     

A carbon footprint analysis in the textile supply chain

This research work focuses on the application of life-cycle assessment methodology to determine the carbon footprint of different players involved in a supply chain of the textile sector. A case study of a product by a textile leader company was carried out. This study demonstrates that, in the textile chain, the main contribution to the greenhouse effect is provided by the electrical and thermal energy used and by the transportation (since different production phases are delocalised in a wide range that goes from South Africa, Italy, Romania and all around the world, from the distribution centre to the stores). The Monte Carlo analysis has been used in order to obtain, for each calculated impact, not only the average value but also the distribution curve of the results characterised by uncertainty parameters. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis was carried out to evaluate the impact of management choices such as:

??a change in the transportation modality, from aeroplane to boat;

??a combination of road and rail transportation; and

??a selection among suppliers that allows the firm to cut environmental impacts.     

Developing a fuzzy linear programming model for locating recovery facility in a closed loop supply chain

In this research a closed loop supply chain is designed which incorporates reverse logistics and forward logistic system simultaneously. In the design of reverse logistic system, recovery options are embedded in traditional supply chain for treating returned products. The recovery system includes collection centres, remanufacturing plants and disposal centres. Since the product return is supply driven, there is an uncertainty about it. In the proposed configuration for closed loop supply chain, the optimised configuration for supply chain in terms of locating recovery plants is developed. Accordingly, a fuzzy mixed integer linear programming model develops to deal with the uncertainty of returning products by customers. A general-purpose solver (LINGO 8.0) and a Meta heuristic approach (genetics algorithm) are implemented to solve the proposed model. The answers are compared by defining indexes and then the optimal answer, configuration and variables are identified. This solution will suggest a new design of supply chain network in which waste of materials is minimised and the new raw materials are necessary only when the used products may not be recovered by recovery options.