You say security, we say safety : speaking and talking ‘security’ in Kyrgyzstan

The Copenhagen School's notion of securitization is widely recognised as an important theoretical innovation in the conceptualisation of security, not least for its potential for including a range of actors and spatial scales beyond the state. However, its empirical utility remains more open to question due to a lack of reflexivity regarding local socio-cultural contexts, narrow focus on speech and inherently retrospective nature. Drawing on fieldwork conducted by the author in Kyrgyzstan between September 2005 and June 2006, this paper will examine the implications of these limitations for conducting empirical research on "security" logistically and methodologically. Centrally, the question of how “security” can be researched in the field will be discussed. Consideration will be given to the researcher’s role in talking “security” and how “security” can effectively be located and explicated through the creation of ethnomethodological “thick description”. Issues of contingency, multiple voices and power loci, and inter-cultural translation will be addressed. The paper will conclude with a consideration of how local knowledge can be used to inform our research and help find ways to bridge the divide between the field and theory.

Determinants of green supply chain implementation in the food and beverage sector

Using a grounded theory approach, this paper extracts emerging concepts in the implementation of green supply chain management from case data of New Zealand food and beverage (F&B) companies. In search of factors that may lead to theory-building, the study relates case studies in fruit, juice, and dairy product companies through in-depth interviews with ranking general and line managers. We uncover the outline of a theoretical framework focusing on determinants of GSCM behaviour. These include strategic and operational planning; management structure, systems, and decision-making; management of people and company culture; and relationships with supply-chain members.

Historiographic foodways: a survey of food and drink histories in Australia

This essay is a survey of the field of food and drink history in Australia since the 1970s. It discusses the range of research and picks out key historiographic aspects: the search for an Australian cuisine; regional food cultures; connection between sources and historical interpretation; and the interdisciplinarity of food and drink history. It suggests that as food and drink histories have broadened beyond a search for culinary traditions and a gastronomic sensibility, so our understanding of food and drink in Australian history has deepened. It also argues that food and drink history is more than textual knowledge in books and articles: television programs and exhibitions held in museums and libraries, for example, have enhanced our understanding of food and drink histories.

Monitoring food and non-alcoholic beverage promotions to children

Food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing is recognized as an important factor influencing food choices related to non-communicable diseases. The monitoring of populations' exposure to food and non-alcoholic beverage promotions, and the content of these promotions, is necessary to generate evidence to understand the extent of the problem, and to determine appropriate and effective policy responses. A review of studies measuring the nature and extent of exposure to food promotions was conducted to identify approaches to monitoring food promotions via dominant media platforms. A step-wise approach, comprising ‘minimal’, ‘expanded’ and ‘optimal’ monitoring activities, was designed. This approach can be used to assess the frequency and level of exposure of population groups (especially children) to food promotions, the persuasive power of techniques used in promotional communications (power of promotions) and the nutritional composition of promoted food products. Detailed procedures for data sampling, data collection and data analysis for a range of media types are presented, as well as quantifiable measurement indicators for assessing exposure to and power of food and non-alcoholic beverage promotions. The proposed framework supports the development of a consistent system for monitoring food and non-alcoholic beverage promotions for comparison between countries and over time.

Political Islam and human security

In the wake of the September 11 and subsequent terrorist attacks, the academic and media commentaries on Islam the religion and Islam the basis for political ideology haves received an unprecedented high level of exposure and attention. The acts of political violence by extremist groups and the omnipresent war on terror have added fresh uncertainties to an already complex global order. Just as terrorism and counter-terrorism are locked in a mutually re-enforcing symbiosis, the sense of insecurity felt by Muslims and non-Muslims alike is mutually dependent and has the potential to escalate. This general assessment holds true for Muslims living in the Muslim world and beyond. The pervasive sense of being under attack physically and culturally by the United States and its allies has contributed to a growing unease among Muslims and re-enforced deep-seated mistrust of the ‘West’. Public articulation of such misgivings has in turn, lent credence to Western observers who posit an inherent antipathy between the West and the Muslim world. The subsequent policies that have emerged in this context of fear and mutual distrust have contributed to the vicious cycle of insecurity.