Sustainable food? Teikei, co-operatives and food citizenship in Japan and the UK

This paper explores in particular how Teikei groups, as forms of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), operate in Japan, focussing on one particular group. The paper links the Teikei approach to debates around social capital and consumer-citizenship, arguing that pre-existing consumer/citizen institutions may usefully be engaged in developing food citizenship and CSA operations. The discussion is linked to CSA and various other alternative food networks (AFNs) that have grown up in various forms in Japan, the US, the UK and elsewhere in Europe over the past thirty years or so. CSA in similar fashion to Teikei involves bringing producers and consumers closer together in terms of reconnecting the agricultural producer and consumer to aid food traceability and quality (including organic). CSA also exhibits elements of new assemblies of agricultural governance based on enhanced consumer-citizenship where consumers, to varying degrees, have a say in what and how produce is grown and how the land is managed

Effects of past and current crop management on leaching losses, soil microbial community composition and activity

A lysimeter experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of past and current management practices on soil microbial biomass, activity and community composition. Intact monolith lysimeters were taken from sites of the same soil type that had been under long-term organic and conventional crop management. They were subjected to the same crop rotation and managed according to best organic and conventional practices. Mineral N loss was determined in leachates and soil samples taken before the experiment and after 30 months were analysed for biological soil properties, including microbial diversity. Results indicated that leaching losses were similar for all treatments and that crop was the main influence on microbial biomass composition and size, while microbial activity was determined by management history

The role of Zionist movement towards the creation of the state of Israel (Peranan pergerakan zionist terhadap pembentukan negara Israel)

The problem of Palestine has been a subject of much debate not only among scholars but also involved world superpowers as well. As this conflict rages on, there is a need to look at the root cause of the problem which one could argue that, among others, was caused by the ambitions of Zionist Movement. This paper examines the emergence of Zionist Movement and its role in establishing the State of Israel by confiscating Palestinians‟ territory and land. Zionist controls over the territory has resulted in the expulsion of Palestinians from their homeland. This study was conducted as a library research with textual analysis on the sources of Palestine historiography. The result shows that the Zionist Movement had lobbied the world superpowers, especially Britain and United States of America, until they supported the movement and resulting in the creation of the State of Israel on the Palestinian land

Stimulation of microglial metabotropic glutamate receptor mGlu2 triggers tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced neurotoxicity in concert with microglial-derived fas ligand

Activated microglia may be detrimental to neuronal survival in a number of neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, strategies that reduce microglial neurotoxicity may have therapeutic benefit. Stimulation of group II metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptors on rat primary microglia with the specific group II agonist 2S, 2 ' R, 3 ' R- 2-(2 ', 3 '-dicarboxy-cyclopropyl) glycine for 24 h induced microglial activation and resulted in a neurotoxic microglial phenotype. These effects were attributable to preferential mGlu2 stimulation, because N-acetyl-L-aspartyl-L-glutamate, a specific mGlu3 agonist, did not induce microglial activation or neurotoxicity. Stimulation of microglial mGlu2 but not mGlu3 induced caspase-3 activation in cerebellar granule neurons in culture, using microglial-conditioned media as well as cocultures. Stimulation of microglial mGlu2 induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF alpha) release, which contributed to microglial neurotoxicity mediated via neuronal TNF receptor 1 and caspase-3 activation. Stimulation of microglial group I or III mGlu receptors did not induce TNF alpha release. TNF alpha was only neurotoxic in the presence of microglia or microglial-conditioned medium. The toxicity of TNF alpha could be prevented by coexposure of neurons to conditioned medium from microglia stimulated by the specific group III agonist L-2-amino-4-phosphono-butyric acid. The neurotoxicity of TNF alpha derived from mGlu2-stimulated microglia was potentiated by microglial-derived Fas ligand (FasL), the death receptor ligand. FasL was constitutively expressed in microglia and shed after mGlu2 stimulation. Our data suggest that selective and inverse modulation of microglial mGlu2 and mGlu3 may prove a therapeutic target in neuroinflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis

A Framework to Assess Returns on Investments in the Dryland Systems of Northern Kenya

Governments need quantitative assessments of the outcomes of proposed investments so they can weigh the merits of each option. Without these, there is a risk that some proposed changes could in fact reduce rather than increase benefits to the economy and society. At present, there is no definitive framework for assessing the returns to Northern Kenya's predominantly pastoralist land use, nor any prediction of its returns under anticipated climate changes. There is therefore no possibility of comparing returns between this and any alternatives. Flagship projects planned to accelerate economic development in Northern Kenya include an international transport corridor, a resort city and an international airport. In addition, mineral deposits are being discovered, towns are growing across both arid and semi-arid areas, and land speculation is increasing. The county governments are faced with the task of prioritising investments which can do the most to improve living standards for local people. This paper is intended to stimulate and contribute to a discussion of how the returns on land-based investments in the drylands should be evaluated. It presents an assessment framework for weighing the total economic value of the ecosystem services provided by pastoral and mixed land-use systems under anticipated climate changes and variability. The proposed framework draws on contributions from previous research at IIED and by other research partners focusing on ecosystem service assessment in Northern Kenya and surrounding dry regions. The paper reviews the current state of knowledge on the returns from pastoral and other land uses in the region, identifies research gaps and highlights the next steps needed for implementing the framework

Angels or demons? Evidence on the impact of private equity firms on employment

The impact of private equity firms on employment in their portfolio companies is a controversial topic widely discussed in academia and in practice in recent years. A large body of research has resulted from this debate. The studies are focused on different aspects of employment and are based on a variety of methodologies as well as samples representing e.g. different types of buyouts and geographies. The aim of this paper is to provide access to and enhance the understanding of the highly fragmented literature by way of a systematic review and to discuss areas for future research. We review evidence on employment growth, financial and non-financial indicators of employment in a total of 49 studies. The analysis of similarities and differences of the studies revealed manifold consequences of private equity on employment. Our review reveals that the impact varies across different employment indicators and between geographies. We therefore conclude that it is not possible to label private equity firms either positively or negatively as 'angels or demons' as this would not take account of their complex and heterogeneous effects on employees post-buyout. --private equity,employment,industrial relations,entrepreneurial companies,systematic review

Institutional consumers' views of GHG emission reduction by optional milk systems within sustainability frame

An on-going study examines how Green House Gas (GHG) emission information could be used to support consumption driven changes in production, leading to reduction of GHG emissions in agriculture. This paper presents a pre-study, looking for discursive grounds by which institutional consumers make choices when confronted with the knowledge of GHG emission characteristics of five optional milk systems. The milk systems to be compared in terms of agricultural GHG emissions were (Option I) conventional milk system based on imported soy protein feed, (Option II) conventional milk system using domestic protein source and (Option III) organic milk system, as well as vegetable milk systems based on (Option IV) imported soy and (Option V) domestic oat. The discursive turn to these optional milk systems was taken by five catering information professionals, who tried to respond to the idea of catering for sustainability. The results revealed four different discourses, with variable ability to make use of emission information when systemic change is to be approached in everyday productive activities. Regarding emission information, the least sensitive discourse was the one of modernization, emphasising the use of conventional, cheap products. Sustainability and ecological modernization discourses exhibited most imaginative and novel solutions in productive activities. Bioregionalism discourse joined other discourses connecting them with the idea of domestic production. The discourses identified in this pre-study were, however, very fine-grained and intermingled, offering rather lean support for novel choices. Additionally the market position of organic milk suffered due to emission information, stressing heavily the reliability of environmental information as a ‘change agent’ on the market

Open Universities: the next phase

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on research on the views of Presidents and Vice Chancellors of Open Universities of current threats and opportunities for their institutions as the author approaches the 50th anniversary of the first Open University in the UK in 1969. The paper offers a historical account of the development of the Open University model, and assesses the extent to which it remains in the key position as owner of innovation in the higher education sector. Design/methodology/approach - Interviews were conducted with leaders of Open Universities or distance teaching universities. They covered a total of 14 universities. Findings - The replies from institutional leaders reveal the current developments, opportunities and strategic challenges of the universities. It is suggested that the digital revolution along with a wider range of environmental changes for higher education have substantially eroded the first-mover advantage that Open Universities had undoubtedly enjoyed in the first 25 years. Originality/value - The paper concludes that there are significant concerns that innovation in Open Universities is not sufficiently embedded to ensure that their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals will be maximised, or even in some cases their survival, and that a key but undervalued element is leadership development for innovation and change

A Global Lottery and a Global Premium Bond

Proposals are evaluated, from both an economic and an ethical viewpoint, for development funding through a global lottery, along with a complement to this: a global premium bond (a loan instrument in which the interest takes the form of a lottery prize, the capital being repayable on request, so that it has the characteristics of a savings product, which makes it potentially attractive to ethical investors). The chapter starts by looking at how a global lottery might work, evaluating the issue by discussing lottery operators and their regulation, the market for lotteries, competition between the global lottery and national lotteries, the challenge posed by Internet gambling, revenue-raising potential, cross-county equity, distributional and welfare effects, ethical issues, and development education. The potential for a global premium bond is then analysed, summarising the UK premium bond scheme as a model for a global version, setting out the modalities of a global premium bond and highlighting the differences from a global lottery. It is concluded that global versions of both a lottery and a premium bond are viable and complementary in mobilizing more development finance