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This thesis re-examines core concepts of Polanyian thought in order to evaluate the contemporary value of Polanyian theory. Since the 2008 financial crisis there has been an increased focus on Polanyi’s double movement and countermovement concepts to help explain the fallout of 2008. However this thesis argues a significant proportion of the contemporary Polanyian literature has mis-interpreted these core concepts leading to interpretations that undercut the explanatory potential of Polanyi’s main arguments. Through an interrogation of the countermovement and double movement concepts this thesis puts forward a new vocabulary of consciousness, which I argue can help better understand general Polanyian thought. To demonstrate the potential importance of the new vocabulary, as well as Polanyi’s contemporary value, I use this re-examination to interrogate two Chinese case-studies. The first examines what I argue is an unconscious countermovement occurring in wet markets in China as people look to the rural as a sphere of food safety from the negative effects of China’s rapid market transformation and agroindustrialization. The second case study examines what I term conscious Polanyian movements; urban residents ‘returning’ to the rural to gain refuge from the market. These movements are ‘conscious’ as they explicitly attack market ideals and call for a new political synthesis in similar ways to Polanyi. The environmental crisis is at the core of these communities’ ideology and they connect that crisis to market norms. Both these case studies illuminate the importance of the consciousness vocabulary within Polanyi’s work as well as bring out specific issues within Chinese political economy. The final chapter puts forward a contemporary interpretation of the unconsciousness/consciousness dichotomy by examining the current environmental crisis impasse. It argues that only conscious Polanyian movements, which bear responsibility for our part in mutual human relationships, are able to solve our collective climate emergency. Consciousness of this responsibility would necessitate dramatic changes in the social and economic structures of the global north. The interpretation of Polanyi’s theory in this thesis is important for scholars to use to demonstrate the explanatory potential of Polanyi’s thought in future analysis.

The polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) content of soils from a long-term agricultural experiment that received 25 separate sewage sludge applications from 1942 to 1961 is presented, along with data from an untreated control plot. Archived plough layer (0 to 23 cm) soil samples were collected, stored, and processed in the same manner between 1942 and 1992 (i.e., before, during, and after sludge amendments) and samples of the applied sludges were available for analysis. Soil Sigma PCB concentrations (defined as the sum of the 27 congeners quantified) on the control plot increased between 1942 (63 mu g Sigma PCB kg(-1)) and 1972 (560 mu g Sigma PCB kg(-1)) as a result of atmospheric deposition inputs; they subsequently declined to 13 pg Sigma PCB kg(-1) in 1992. A total of similar to 1 kg Sigma PCBs/hectare was applied in sewage sludges (containing 0.14 to 4.33 mg Sigma PCB kg(-1)) to the sludge-amended plot. Soil concentrations increased accordingly, to 640 mu g Sigma PCB kg(-1) by 1960. However, because of the continued high atmospheric deposition inputs, concentrations on this plot also continued to increase until 1972. By 1992, the sludge-amended plot contained ca. 5 times the Sigma PCB content of the control plot. By 1960, similar to 81% of the predicted Sigma PCB added in sludge could be accounted for; this had decrease to

The actions of adrenaline, acetyl choline and histamine on the isolated perfused lungs of the dog were found to be in general the same as those published by Alcock, Berry and Daly. The pressor response of adrenaline was not greatly enhanced by cocaine. The pressor responses of adrenaline and acetyl choline could be reversed by ergotoxine. The effect of ether on adrenaline was negligible. The effect of ether on histamine was to convert an increase in outflow to a decrease. The effect of adrenaline, acetyl choline and histamine on the isolated perfused lungs of the dog were tried under varying conditions.

The actions of adrenaline, acetyl choline and histamine on the isolated perfused lungs of the dog were found to be in general the same as those published by Alcock, Berry and Daly. The pressor response of adrenaline was not greatly enhanced by cocaine. The pressor responses of adrenaline and acetyl choline could be reversed by ergotoxine. The effect of ether on adrenaline was negligible. The effect of ether on histamine was to convert an increase in outflow to a decrease. The effect of adrenaline, acetyl choline and histamine on the isolated perfused lungs of the dog were tried under varying conditions.