Producer-consumer Relationships Research Articles

Authority, power and value in contemporary industrial food systems.

Within agro-food studies there is a growing appreciation that power is not limited to the interplay between actors engaged in production and consumption. Belatedly, actors in the spheres of distribution and exchange are being acknowledged, as is their role in the processes being enacted to constantly recommodify foods through reconceptualizing their values. The mobilisation of product branding and other “intangible assets”, including a corporate persona as authoritative, helps to explain the restructuring of contemporary industrial food systems. An examination of the Australian chicken meat commodity complex reveals how large food retail chains are positioning themselves as authority figures. The study confirms the emergence of a new form of authority in relation to food, i.e. market-mediated authority. The argument pivots around the activities of an ‘intermediary sector of the economy’, comprising experts and professionals who contribute to the setting of cultural standards around what is legitimate in food systems. This particular class fraction undertakes three activities in support of market-based authorities. First, it provides corporations with third party associations with more traditional authorities, especially health authorities; second, it mobilises symbolic capital to renew corporate charisma; and third, it brokers producer-consumer relations through providing expertise. The paper concludes that consumer authority is fleeting within a context of the corporate manipulation of intangible assets.

Biogeochemieal origin of δ34S isotopic signatures in a prairie marsh

Sulfur isotope ratios were determined in a prairie marsh at Delta, Manitoba, Canada, to determine whether organic matter produced in the marsh had distinctive isotopic signatures. High sulfate levels in sediments from the Delta Marsh arise from high salt concentrations in soils. Sulfate reduction is the major anaerobic metabolic pathway in this sediment system and sulfate diffused into sediment both from deeper soil horizons and from overlying water. Surface water δ34S-SO42− values of 15 ± 1‰ increased to a maximum of almost 40‰ in deeper sediment horizons, in marked contrast to sediment pore water δ34S-H2S values of 2 ± 4‰. The high degree of discrimination between δ34S in sulfate and in hydrogen sulfide is similar to that found in brackish and marine ecosystems. Emergent macrophytes such as phragmites and cattail had isotopic signatures similar to reduced sulfur in this system. The data from this study suggest that in some nontidal wetland ecosystems, sulfur isotopes may be useful in determining producer–consumer relationships in a manner similar to their application in marine ecosystems.

Organizational factors and reuse

Reuse is not just a technical issue. Hewlett-Packard studied why people sometimes resist reuse and which organizational models appear to encourage reuse more than others. The study found that successful reuse programs must be integrated within the culture of a company's existing organizational structure. One crucial organizational factor is the relationship between producers and consumers of reuse components and services. What are these relationships and how well do they work? To answer this question, I conducted an empirical study of 10 engineering sites at Hewlett-Packard engaged in systematic reuse. From this reuse experience, I identified four models of producer-consumer relationships; evaluated the models in terms of their organizational structures, advantages, and disadvantages; and identified goals for management to enable a successful implementation. The four models are: lone producer, nested producer, pool producer and team producer. Two or more models may occur within a given reuse program. Recommendations to management are based on both current successful practices and interviewees' suggestions. I also include some tentative guidelines on which environments are best suited to each model. >

Issues of price and subsidy in the arts in the U.S.S.R.

Culture is one of the branches of the national economy of the Soviet Union where cost-based relations have not been sufficiently developed, where basic decisions, dictated by the objective requirements of social progress, are made on the basis of social, rather than cost-related criteria. And one of the most notable features in this area is the planned deficit of the majority of arts enterprises. Their unprofitability is conditioned mainly by a specific price setting policy which in turn clearly reflects a particular orientation. A political-economic justification of prices for cultural goods and services is seen to be lacking. The role of producer-consumer relations and of the law of value which governs them are discussed as possible causes. A theoretical justification of the very principles of determining and implementing prices, as well as of their interaction with other elements in producer-consumer relations is outlined

Producer-Consumer Relationships from the Point of View of a University-Based R&D Center

Producer-Consumer Relationships from the Point of View of a University-Based R&D Center

Producer-consumer relationships in the sea. II. Correlation between Mytilus pigmentation and the density and composition of phytoplanktonic populations in inshore waters

A simple, automatic water sampler has been constructed and used to study in detail the variations in phytoplanktonic densities around populations of the edible mussel ( Mytilus edulis L.). Very rapid fluctuations were observed in the plankton counts. A good correlation between these and the total carotenoid content of the mussels was found, together with considerable seasonal variation in the pigmentation of the mussels. Analyses of the pigments strongly indicated that the large dinoflagellates are at least partly assimilated by the edible sea mussel.

Limitations in Radiotracer Determination of Consumer Trophic Positions

Tropic transfer studies on wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) and ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) both indicated variations in the time of P32 uptake by herbivore species. This variation resulted from rapid temporal changes in plant organ availability with subsequent changes in consumer feeding patterns. Specific trophic positions of major herbivores were determined only by correlating phenological changes in plant organ availability with the uptake curves, abundances and feeding adaptations of consumer species. It was concluded that P32 uptake curves cannot be used alone in determining trophic positions unless a long—term stability in producer—consumer relationships is demonstrated.

Producer-consumer relationships in the sea. I. Preliminary studies on phytoplankton density and Mytilus pigmentation

The seasonal variation in total carotenoids of the edible sea mussel ( Mytilus edulis L.) has been determined for two populations in the Trondheimsfjord. The pigment concentration varied markedly throughout the year, with peaks in spring and autumn and minima in winter and summer. A good correlation with the occurrence of phytoplankton in the open fjord was found.