Glu298Asp polymorphism influences the beneficial effects of fish oil fatty acids on postprandial vascular function

Our objective was to determine whether the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) Glu298Asp polymorphism influences vascular response to raised NEFA enriched with saturated fatty acids (SFA) or long-chain (LC) n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Subjects were prospectively recruited for genotype (Glu298, n = 30 and Asp298, n = 29; balanced for age and gender) consumed SFA on two occasions, with and without the substitution of 0.07 g fat/kg body weight with LC n-3 PUFA, and with heparin infusion to elevate NEFA. Endothelial function was measured before and after NEFA elevation (240 min), with blood samples taken every 30 min. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) decreased following SFA alone and increased following SFA+LC n-3 PUFA. There were 2-fold differences in the change in FMD response to the different fat loads between the Asp298 and Glu298 genotypes (P = 0.002) and between genders (P < 0.02). Sodium nitroprusside-induced reactivity, measured by laser Doppler imaging with iontophoresis, was significantly greater with SFA+LC n-3 PUFA in all female subjects (P < 0.001) but not in males. Elevated NEFA influences both endothelial-dependent and endothelial-independent vasodilation during the postprandial phase. Effects of fat composition appear to be genotype and gender dependent, with the greatest difference in vasodilatory response to the two fat loads seen in the Asp298 females.

Knowledge acquisition in supply chain partnerships: the role of power

Knowledge is recognised as an important source of competitive advantage and hence there has been increasing academic and practitioner interest in understanding and isolating the factors that contribute to effective knowledge transfer between supply chain actors. The literature identifies power as a salient contributor to the effective operation of a supply chain partnership. However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining how power among actors influences knowledge acquisition and in turn the performance of supply chain partners. The aim of this research is to address this gap by examining the relationship between power, knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance among the supply chain partners of a focal Chinese steel manufacturer. A structured survey was used to collect the necessary data. Two conceptually independent variables – ‘availability of alternatives’ and ‘restraint in the use of power’ – were used to assess actual and realised power, respectively. Controlling for contingencies, we found that the flow of knowledge increased when supply chain actors had limited alternatives and when the more powerful actor exercised restraint in the use of power. Moreover, we found a positive relationship between knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance. This paper enriches the literature by empirically extending our understanding of how power affects knowledge acquisition and performance.

Transitions towards co-management: the process of marine resource management devolution in three east African countries

Communities are increasingly empowered with the ability and responsibility of working with national governments to make decisions about marine resources in decentralized co-management arrangements. This transition toward decentralized management represents a changing governance landscape. This paper explores the transition to decentralisation in marine resource management systems in three East African countries. The paper draws upon expert opinion and literature from both political science and linked social-ecological systems fields to guide exploration of five key governance transition concepts in each country: (1) drivers of change; (2) institutional arrangments; (3 institutional fit; (4) actor interactions; and (5) adaptive management. Key findings are that decentralized management in the region was largely donor-driven and only partly tranferred power to local stakeholders. However, increased accountability created a degree of democracy in regards to natural resource governance that was not previously present. Additionally, increased local-level adaptive management has emerged in most systems and, to date, this experimental management has helped to change resource user's views from metaphysical to more scientific cause-and-effect attribution of changes to resource conditions.

The "Fair trade nation": market-oriented development in devolved European regions

Scholars have largely ignored the roles played by government and public sector institutions in the fair trade movement. This article addresses the knowledge gap through examining government involvement in fair trade networks in the context of European devolution and the localization of international development action. Proposing a relational view of fair trade networks, and considering the Fair Trade Nation as a social category for development, it highlights how power sources outside the centralized nation-state permit a political community to associate itself with fair trade. Research from Wales demonstrates that government acts in a leadership role rather than as regulator, conferring political voice and finance while enhancing its international credentials and contributing to the politics of nation-building. Our conclusion is cautious; campaigners celebrate political commitment to fair trade embodied within the category of the Fair Trade Nation, but evidence suggests that government reliance on the market as a vehicle for decentralized development action is limited by how the Fair Trade Nation is currently executed.

"The ladder that sends us to wealth" : artisanal mining and poverty reduction in Tanzania

This article explores the contribution that artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) makes to poverty reduction in Tanzania, based on data on gold and diamond mining in Mwanza Region. The evidence suggests that people working in mining or related services are less likely to be in poverty than those with other occupations. However, the picture is complex; while mining income can help reduce poverty and provide a buffer from livelihood shocks, peoples inability to obtain a formal mineral claim, or to effectively exploit their claims, contributes to insecurity. This is reinforced by a context in which ASM is peripheral to large-scale mining interests, is only gradually being addressed within national poverty reduction policies, and is segregated from district-level planning.

Reframing 'crisis' in fair trade coffee production: trajectories of agrarian change in Nicaragua

A focus on crisis provides a methodological window to understand how agrarian change shapes producer engagement in fair trade. This orientation challenges a seperation between the market and development, situating fair trade within global processes that incorporate agrarian histories of social change and conflict. Reframing crisis as a condition of agrarian life, rather than emphasizing its cyclical manifestation within the global economy, reveals how market-driven development encompasses the material conditions of peoples' existence in ambiguous and contradictory ways. Drawing on the case of coffee production in Nicaragua, experiences of crisis demonstrate that greater attention needs to be paid to the socioeconomic and political dimensions of development within regional commodity assemblages to address entrenched power relations and unequal access to land and resources. This questions moral certainties when examining the paradox of working in and against the market, and suggests that a better understanding of specific trajectories of development could improve fair trade's objective of enhancing producer livelihoods.

Pushing the boundaries of the social: private agri-food standards and the governance of Fair Trade in European public procurement

The article explores how fair trade and associated private agri-food standards are incorporated into public procurement in Europe. Procurement law is underpinned by principles of equity, non-discrimination and transparency; one consequence is that legal obstacles exist to fair trade being privileged within procurement practice. These obstacles have pragmatic dimensions, concerning whether and how procurement can be used to fulfil wider social policy objectives or to incorporate private standards; they also bring to the fore underlying issues of value. Taking an agency-based approach and incorporating the concept of governability, empirical evidence demonstrates the role played by different actors in negotiating fair trade’s passage into procurement through pre-empting and managing legal risk. This process exposes contestations that arise when contrasting values come together within sustainable procurement. This examination of fair trade in public procurement helps reveal how practices and knowledge on ethical consumption enter into a new governance arena within the global agri-food system.

Fair trade and European public procurement: legal principles and governance dynamics

Purpose The article examines principles of Fair Trade in public procurement in Europe, focusing on legal dimensions related to the European Public Procurement Directives. Design/methodology/approach The article situates public procurement of Fair Trade products in relation to the rise of non-state regulatory initiatives, highlighting how they have entered into new governance dynamics in the public sector and play a part in changing practices in sustainable procurement. A review of legal position on Fair Trade in procurement law is informed by academic research and campaigning experience from the Fair Trade Advocacy Office. Findings Key findings are that the introduction of Fair Trade products into European public procurement has been marked by legal ambiguity, having developed outside comprehensive policy or legal guidelines. Following a 2012 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is suggested that the legal position for Fair Trade in procurement has become clearer, and that forthcoming change to the Public Procurement Directives may facilitate the uptake of fair trade products by public authorities. However potential for future expansion of the public sector ‘market’ for Fair Trade is approached with caution: purchasing Fair Trade products as a marker of sustainability, which started to be embedded within procurement practice in the 2000s, is challenged by current European public austerity measures. Research limitations/implications Suggestions for future research include the need for systematic cross-institutional and multi-country comparison of the legal and governance dimensions of procurement practice with regard to Fair Trade. Practical implications A clarification of current state-of-play with regard to legal aspects of fair trade in public procurement of utility for policy and advocacy discussion. Originality/value The article provides needed elaboration on an under researched topic area of value to academia and policy makers.

Artisanal gold mining at the margins of mineral resource governance : a case from Tanzania

This article discusses the character of mineral resource governance at the margins of the state in Tanzania and the way artisanal gold miners are incorporated into mineral sector transformation. The landscape of mineral resource exploitation has changed dramatically over the past 20 years: processes of economic liberalisation have heralded massive foreign investment in large-scale gold mining, while also stimulating artisanal activities. Against this background, the article shows how artisanal gold miners are affected by contradictory processes: some have become integrated with state institutions and legal processes, while others, the large majority, are either further excluded or incorporated in ways that exacerbate insecurity and exploitation, underpinned by socio-economic inequalities. These processes are compounded by the actions of large-scale and medium-scale gold mining companies and by poor local governance. It is open to debate whether this will bring improved integration and welfare for artisanal mining communities or new forms of exclusion, although evidence suggests the latter.

Introduction: the policy trajectory of Fair Trade

This paper provides a selective review of literature on fair trade and introduces contributions to this Policy Arena. It focuses on policy practice as a dynamic process, highlighting the changing configurations of actors, policy spaces, knowledge, practices and commodities that are shaping the policy trajectory of fair trade. It highlights how recent literature has tackled questions of mainstreaming as part of this trajectory, bringing to the fore dimensions of change associated with the market, state and civil society.

The power of purchase: addressing sustainability through public procurement

This article focuses on sustainable development and public procurement and reflects on the significance of questioning the goals sustainable public procurement seeks to achieve. While it is recognised that developing appropriate legal frameworks and regulatory tools for environmental, social and economic quality assurance is important, achieving sustainable procurement nevertheless remains political. With the forthcoming adoption of new European Union Public Procurement Directives, the article provides a timely reminder that for sustainability to be integral to good procurement, the power of purchase must capture a paradigmatic shift from doing things better to doing better things.

Beekeepers in the global 'fair trade' market: a case from Tabora Region, Tanzania

The article examines the production of Tanzanian honey and beeswax for European fair trade markets. It presents a case study of the Tabora Beekeepers Co-operative Society.

A conceptual framework for aligning business and information systems from organisational learning perspective

The three decades of on-going executives’ concerns of how to achieve successful alignment between business and information technology shows the complexity of such a vital process. Most of the challenges of alignment are related to knowledge and organisational change and several researchers have introduced a number of mechanisms to address some of these challenges. However, these mechanisms pay less attention to multi-level effects, which results in a limited un-derstanding of alignment across levels. Therefore, we reviewed these challenges from a multi-level learning perspective and found that business and IT alignment is related to the balance of exploitation and exploration strategies with the intellec-tual content of individual, group and organisational levels.