Benefits, challenges, and limitations of fair trade as a social justice movement

This thesis answers some important questions about how Fair Trade is experienced and perceived by some Northern sellers, consumers, activists, advocates, practitioners, and an importer. As it relates to sellers, I focus only on small scale independent businesses (i.e. I do not include large corporate businesses in my interview sample). Fair Trade works to establish a dignified livelihood for many producers in the South. Some of the most important actors in the Fair Trade movement are the people who buy, sell, and/or advocate for Fair Trade in the North. Fair Trade is largely a consumer movement which relies on the purchase of Fair Trade products. Without consumers purchasing Fair Trade products, retailers providing the products for sale, and activists raising awareness of Fair Trade, the movement, as it is presently constituted, would be non-existent. This qualitative research is based on 19 in-depth i.nterviews with nine interviewees involved with Fair Trade in Canada. I focus on benefits, challenges, and limitations of Fair Trade in the context of their involvement with it. I describe and analyze how people become involved with Fair Trade, what motivates them to do so, what they hope to achieve, and the benefits of being involved. I also describe and analyze how people understand and deal with any challenges and limitations associated with their involvement with Fair Trade. I also explore whether involvement with Fair Trade influences how people think about other products that they purchase and, if so, in what ways. I focus mainly on the commodity of coffee, but my discussion is not limited to this single commodity. Interviewees' experiences with and participation in Fair Trade vary in terms of their level of involvement and interest in the broader Fair Trade movement (as opposed to just participating in the market component). This research reveals that while Fair Trade is a small movement, sellers, consumers, and activists have had much success in the advancement of Fair Trade. While challenges have not deterred interviewees from continuing to participate in Fair Trade, analysis and explanation of such challenges provides the opportunity for Fair Trade practitioners to develop effective solutions in an effort to meet the needs of various Fair Trade actors.

The Political Economy of St. Catharines' Illicit Taxi Trade

The global restructuring of production has led to increasingly precarious working conditions around the world. Post-industrial work is characterized by poor working conditions, low wages, a lack of social protection and political representation and little job security. Unregulated forms of work that are defined as “irregular” or “illegal”, or in some cases “criminal,” are connected to sweeping transformations within the broader regulated (formal) economy. The connection between the formal and informal sectors can more accurately be described as co-optation and, as a subordinate integration of the informal to the formal. The city of St. Catharines within Niagara, along with much of Ontario’s industrial heartland, has been hard hit by deindustrialization. The rise of this illegal service is thus viewed against the backdrop of heavy economic restructuring, as opportunities for work in the manufacturing sector have become sparse. In addition, this research also explores the paradoxical co-optation of the growing illicit taxi economy and consequences for racialized and foreign credentialed labour in the taxi industry. The overall objective of this research is to explore the illicit cab industry as not only inseparable from the formal economy, but dialectically, how it is as an integrated and productive element of the public and private transportation industry. Furthermore the research examines what this co-optation means in the context of a labour market that is split by race.

Cattle with Hair Whorl Patterns above the Eyes are More Behaviorally Agitated During Restraint

The article focuses on the temperament of cattle depending on the position of hair whorl. The article was published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

Serpentine Cattle Chute Gives Handling Advantages

The article discusses the efficiency of a curved chute as opposed to a straight chute when leading cattle into a conveyor restrainer. The article was published in The National Provisioner in 1984.

Bos Indicus-Cross Feedlot Cattle with Excitable Temperaments have Tougher Meat and a Higher Incidence of Borderline Dark Cutters

The article was published in the journal Meat Science, Vol. 46, No.4. The focus is data collected for cattle temperament and the quality of meat produced.

Selected Articles from Beef Cattle Science Handbook Volume 19

The articles within the handbook are: "Livestock Psychology and Handling-Facility Design", "Design of Corrals, Squeeze Chutes, and Dip Vats", "Handling Feedlot Cattle", and "Reducing Transportation Stresses".

The Feasibility of Using Vocalization Scoring as an Indicator of Poor Welfare During Cattle Slaughter

The article discusses the vocalization of cattle in six slaughter plants and the results indicate that "vocalization scoring could be used as a simple method for detecting welfare problems that need to be corrected".

Welfare of Cattle during Slaughter and the Prevention of Nonambulatory (downer) cattle

The article focuses on keeping cattle calm and removing distractions that would scare cattle back from the chute.

Designing Meat Packing Plant Handling Facilities for Cattle and Hogs

The focus is on design, more specifically, "animal handling facilities which are labor saving and reduce bruise losses". The article studies: Unloading Chutes, Stockyard Design, Hog Plant Stockyard, General Purpose Small Stockyard, Beef Stockyard, Cattle Crowding Pens, Hog Crowding Pens, Slopes in Chutes and Crowding Pens, Single File Chutes General Recommendations, Single File Chutes for Cattle, Slaughter Restrainers,

Double Rail Restrainer for Handling Beef Cattle

The summary of the article reads "A new double rail conveyor restrainer for handling cattle at the slaughter plant is described. It has improved safety and ergonomics compared to the V restrainer conveyor it replaces. Cattle ride astride a moving conveyor. This design could also be adapted for veterinary work."

Pointers on Design and Operation of Cattle Restrainer Systems

The article discusses the importance of design and the people who run handling systems.

The Reluctance of Cattle to Change a Learned Choice May Confound Preference Tests

The conclusion of the article states "it appears that previously learned choices may affect future choices in Y-mazes for cattle. Another area that needs to be researched is the effects of a mildly aversive treatment versus a severely aversive treatment on the tendency of a bovine to resist changing a learned choice".

The Design and Construction of Facilities for Handling Cattle

The article focuses on the following: Cattle Perception, How to prevent Balking, Solid Fences, Flight Zone, Curved Race more Efficient, Curved Race and Crowd Pen Dimensions, Loading Ramps, Working Corral for a Large Ranch, Squeeze Chutes and Headgates, Calf Tables, Artificial Insemination Chute, New Restraint Ideas, Dipping Vats, Bruise and Injury Prevention, Washable Facilities.

Chart of bill of timber in bridges, culverts, cattle-guard and roadways, signed by S.D. Woodruff

Chart of bill of timber in bridges, culverts, cattle-guard and roadways, signed by S.D. Woodruff, Oct. 18, 1855.