Moral economies of consumption

The aim of this article is twofold: first, to bring together debates about enduring normative concerns surrounding the morality of consumption with more recent concerns about the ways specific moralities are constituted in and through markets. The second aim is to develop the concept of ‘moral economy’ and call for an approach to its study, attentive to how moralities of consumption develop through interactions between instituted systems of provision, forms of state regulation, customs within communities and the everyday reflections of consumers about the things that matter to them. As consumers are increasingly asked to factor environmental and fair labour concerns into their purchase and post-purchase habits, there is a real need to understand how moralities of consumption are both formatted through institutional frameworks and shaped everyday by actors from within. After developing a framework for the study of moral economies, this article explores in depth the experiences of one couple in relation to the cessation of a cardboard recycling collection in Shropshire (England) to show why a multilevel perspective is needed to appreciate the place of morality within the market

Ancient herpes simplex 1 genomes reveal recent viral structure in Eurasia

Human herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), a life-long infection spread by oral contact, today infects a majority of adults globally1, yet no ancient HSV-1 genomes have yet been published. Phylogeographic clustering of sampled diversity into European, pan-Eurasian, and African groups2, 3 has suggested that the virus co-diverged with anatomically modern humans migrating out of Africa4, although a much younger origin has also been proposed5. The lack of ancient HSV-1 genomes, high rates of recombination, and high mobility of humans in the modern era have impeded the understanding of HSV-1’s evolutionary history. Here we present three full ancient European HSV-1 genomes and one partial genome, dating to between the 3rd and 17th century CE, sequenced to up to 9.5× with paired human genomes up to 10.16×. These HSV-1 strains fall within modern Eurasian diversity. We estimate a mean mutation rate of 7.6 × 10-7Introduction Results - Retrieved genomes are likely from typical infections - Demographic history of HSV-1 in a global context Discussion Material and Methods - Ethics statement - Sampling - Generation of aDNA libraries - Sequencing - aDNA authentication - Metagenomic screening - Targeted capture of HSV-1 - Alignment of viral data to the reference sequence - Genotyping - HSV-1 linkage disequilibrium and population genetic analysis - Compilation of comparative HSV data - Preparation of genome sequences - HSV-1 phylogenetic analysis and recombination filtering - Phylogenetic dating - Alignment of human data to the reference sequence and quality control - Genetic sex estimation, mtDNA, and Y haplotyping - Human variant calling and imputation of genotype

Corporate social responsibility within the mining industry : case studies from across Europe and Russia

Responsible mining requires a company to engage with local communities throughout all stages of their operations, from exploration phases through to post mining planning. Assessment of current and potential future social impacts allows a company to maximize the positive impacts they can have on a community, whilst minimizing negative social impacts from mining. Initiating and upholding effective stakeholder relations are key to a company`s ability to obtain and maintain their "social license" to operate. The level of interaction between mining companies and stakeholders, including local communities, varies substantially between and within countries. As part of the EU funded Framework 7 "ImpactMin" Project (Impact Monitoring of Mineral Resources Exploitation), we have examined the level of community engagement in mining and related processing industries at sites across Europe, including Romania (Rosia Montana), Sweden (Kristineberg), the UK (Cornwall), Bosnia Herzegovina (Vihovici) and Russia (Karabash, Gay and Mednogorsk). These sites reflect different stages in mining and therefore reveal a diverse range of issues and differing levels of community engagement. Our aim has been to focus not only on how practice varies, but also to try to explain the complex reasons behind the relationships that exist between mining companies and different stakeholders. Findings of questionnaires undertaken across the sites (between June - October 2010), and results of interviews and focus groups of different people linked to the mining industry, will also be discussed. The expectations that "mining" communities have of their local mining company vary substantially, directly relating to what the community believes the mine company owes them. These examples highlight that the notion of corporate social responsibility in the mining sector in Europe and Russia is fluid and changes according to the differing expectations and goals of stakeholders. We will present highlights of initial results. For example, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, in Romania, is trying to reopen closed state gold mines. They have seen international media attention relating to campaigns by NGOs to oppose the mines reopening. Our results will help reveal what samples of different stakeholder groups really think of the mines reopening. This example contrasts distinctly with a mine in Kristineberg, Sweden, where Kristineberg village was built alongside the mine. There are now distinct issues felt within the community due to the decline in the number of people employed at the mine.Godkänd; 2011; 20111228 (thoejd

TRACING PREHISTORIC MIGRATION: ISOTOPE ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AND PRE-ROMAN IRON AGE COASTAL BURIALS IN ESTONIA

There have been various explanations in archaeological literature about whether the earliest Bronze Age stone-cist graves and the first Pre-Roman Iron Age tarand graves in Estonia were built by locals or non-locals. As to possible immigrations, the stone-cist graves have been often related to Scandinavian populations, whilst early tarand graves allegedly had roots in eastern directions. The oldest known examples of these cemetery types are at Jõelähtme and Muuksi for stone-cist graves, and at Ilmandu and Kunda for early tarand graves, in the coastal zone of northern Estonia. In order to test the migration hypothesis we carried out a bioarchaeological study, measuring and mapping local biologically available Sr and O isotope ratios and analysing stable isotope signals of altogether eight individuals from these early stone-cist and tarand graves. The study material was chosen on the basis of the oldest AMS dates of skeletons available so far, or according to the earliest burial constructions in the cemeteries. Based on the comparison of local biologically available Sr and O isotopic baseline results and the results obtained from the individuals, we can talk about migrants in the case of two persons from Kunda and perhaps one from Muuksi, whilst most of the individuals analysed are of local origin. Thus, the idea of Early Metal Period migrations to Estonia from the surrounding regions is supported to some extent. However, the discussion of these migrations might turn out to be surprisingly different from what is expected on the basis of material culture. We also emphasise the importance of further analysis, especially mapping isotopic baseline data in the eastern Baltics, in order to draw further conclusions about the directions and extent of prehistoric migration in this region

Corporate social responsibility within the mining industry : case studies from across Europe and Russia

Responsible mining requires a company to engage with local communities throughout all stages of their operations, from exploration phases through to post mining planning. Assessment of current and potential future social impacts allows a company to maximize the positive impacts they can have on a community, whilst minimizing negative social impacts from mining. Initiating and upholding effective stakeholder relations are key to a company`s ability to obtain and maintain their "social license" to operate. The level of interaction between mining companies and stakeholders, including local communities, varies substantially between and within countries. As part of the EU funded Framework 7 "ImpactMin" Project (Impact Monitoring of Mineral Resources Exploitation), we have examined the level of community engagement in mining and related processing industries at sites across Europe, including Romania (Rosia Montana), Sweden (Kristineberg), the UK (Cornwall), Bosnia Herzegovina (Vihovici) and Russia (Karabash, Gay and Mednogorsk). These sites reflect different stages in mining and therefore reveal a diverse range of issues and differing levels of community engagement. Our aim has been to focus not only on how practice varies, but also to try to explain the complex reasons behind the relationships that exist between mining companies and different stakeholders. Findings of questionnaires undertaken across the sites (between June - October 2010), and results of interviews and focus groups of different people linked to the mining industry, will also be discussed. The expectations that "mining" communities have of their local mining company vary substantially, directly relating to what the community believes the mine company owes them. These examples highlight that the notion of corporate social responsibility in the mining sector in Europe and Russia is fluid and changes according to the differing expectations and goals of stakeholders. We will present highlights of initial results. For example, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, in Romania, is trying to reopen closed state gold mines. They have seen international media attention relating to campaigns by NGOs to oppose the mines reopening. Our results will help reveal what samples of different stakeholder groups really think of the mines reopening. This example contrasts distinctly with a mine in Kristineberg, Sweden, where Kristineberg village was built alongside the mine. There are now distinct issues felt within the community due to the decline in the number of people employed at the mine.Godkänd; 2011; 20111228 (thoejd

Corporate social responsibility within the mining industry [Elektronisk resurs] : case studies from across Europe and Russia

Responsible mining requires a company to engage with local communities throughout all stages of their operations, from exploration phases through to post mining planning. Assessment of current and potential future social impacts allows a company to maximize the positive impacts they can have on a community, whilst minimizing negative social impacts from mining. Initiating and upholding effective stakeholder relations are key to a company`s ability to obtain and maintain their "social license" to operate. The level of interaction between mining companies and stakeholders, including local communities, varies substantially between and within countries. As part of the EU funded Framework 7 "ImpactMin" Project (Impact Monitoring of Mineral Resources Exploitation), we have examined the level of community engagement in mining and related processing industries at sites across Europe, including Romania (Rosia Montana), Sweden (Kristineberg), the UK (Cornwall), Bosnia Herzegovina (Vihovici) and Russia (Karabash, Gay and Mednogorsk). These sites reflect different stages in mining and therefore reveal a diverse range of issues and differing levels of community engagement. Our aim has been to focus not only on how practice varies, but also to try to explain the complex reasons behind the relationships that exist between mining companies and different stakeholders. Findings of questionnaires undertaken across the sites (between June - October 2010), and results of interviews and focus groups of different people linked to the mining industry, will also be discussed. The expectations that "mining" communities have of their local mining company vary substantially, directly relating to what the community believes the mine company owes them. These examples highlight that the notion of corporate social responsibility in the mining sector in Europe and Russia is fluid and changes according to the differing expectations and goals of stakeholders. We will present highlights of initial results. For example, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, in Romania, is trying to reopen closed state gold mines. They have seen international media attention relating to campaigns by NGOs to oppose the mines reopening. Our results will help reveal what samples of different stakeholder groups really think of the mines reopening. This example contrasts distinctly with a mine in Kristineberg, Sweden, where Kristineberg village was built alongside the mine. There are now distinct issues felt within the community due to the decline in the number of people employed at the mine.</p