Digital Commons Network^™

Jgi Volume 13, Number 1 - Full Issue

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This is the full issue of Volume 13, Number 1 (132 pages).

Contains:

• Introduction to the Special Issue by Dan Paracka
• Vasco da Gama's Voyages to India: Messianism, Mercantilism and Sacred Exploits by S. M. Ghazanfar
• The World Parliament of Religions, the Swami, and the Evangelist: Contextualizing Late 19th-Century American Responses to Hinduism by Anne R. Richards
• Connections and Disconnections: The Making of Bombay/Mumbai as India's "Global City" by Ravi Ghadge
• India's Unbalanced Urban Growth: An Appraisal of Trends and Policies by Purva Sharma
• Housing for All in India and Its Future Sustainable Development by Nadia Shah
• Is India Becoming …

Community Initiatives Multiply University Partnerships, Christopher Lafontaine

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Christopher LaFontaine is a senior studying psychology and sociology at Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW). He has concentrated on community engagement and service learning as areas of focus for the past year. He plans to pursue a career in applied sociology and he has been involved with applied research among vulnerable populations. Christopher has worked with homeless veterans in Fort Wayne and has studied health conditions in a rural county that ranks low in health outcomes. In this article, he describes his experience with service-learning partnerships between community organizations and an institution of higher education.

Sustainable Tourism Practices In Vietnam: The Influence Of Institutions And Case Study Of Sapa’S Growing Tourism Industry, Alexandria Cahill

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As tourism becomes increasingly important to Vietnam’s economy, and subsequently the development of the country, it will become ever more critical to examine the impact of tourism, including both the positive and negative consequences. The intention of this paper is to continue the analysis of the tourism industry in Vietnam; in particular, this paper considers sustainable tourism, which can be defined as minimizing impact on local culture and environment while simultaneously resulting in economic gains and employment, all while operating in a way that can be continued in the future. As Vietnam is rich in diverse cultures and natural landscapes, …

Incorporating Social System Dynamics In The Columbia River Basin: Food-Energy-Water Resilience And Sustainability Modeling In The Yakima River Basin, Jennifer E. Givens, Julie Padowski, Christian D. Guzman, Keyvan Malek, Rebecca Witinok-Huber, Barbara Cosens, Michael Briscoe, Jan Boll, Jennifer Adam

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Faculty Publications

In the face of climate change, achieving resilience of desirable aspects of food-energy-water (FEW) systems already strained by competing multi-scalar social objectives requires interdisciplinary approaches. This study is part of a larger effort exploring “Innovations in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus (INFEWS)” in the Columbia River Basin (CRB) through coordinated modeling and simulated management scenarios. Here, we focus on a case study and conceptual mapping of the Yakima River Basin (YRB), a sub-basin of the CRB. Previous research on FEW system management and resilience includes some attention to social dynamics (e.g., economic and governance systems); however, more attention to social drivers and …

The Correlation Between Energy Cost Share, Human, And Economic Development Using Time Series Data From Australasia, Europe, North America, And The Brics Nations, Ryan Roberts, Josephine Kaviti Musango, Alan Colin Brent, Matthew K. Heun

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

This paper investigates how a change in a region's energy cost share (ECS), a ratio of a region's energy expenditure as a fraction of its gross domestic product (GDP), affects the region's social and economic development. Nations from four regions of the world, namely Australasia, Europe, North America, and the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) were chosen for this study. Using time series data from the period of 1978 to 2010, the annual ECS of each country was compared to the year-on-year GDP change, as well as the components of the human development index (HDI). High …

Pilot Shortage: Sustainability Perspective, Adem Okal, Suzanne Kearns

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Air transport is recently going through an exponential economic growth (ICAO, 2016). Similarly, industry forecast reports predict an upward trend for the next 20 years (Boeing, 2015). While these forecasts offer many opportunities, there are concerns as to whether or not this growth is sustainable. Defined as meeting “the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”, sustainable development (SD), also adopted by United Nations (UN), brings more comprehensive approach to the subject (WCED, 1987, p. 43). The SD envisions a “balanced strategy” among economic (profit), social (people) and environmental (planet) domains, also …

Multilevel Governance: Framing The Integration Of Top-Down And Bottom-Up Policymaking, George C. Homsy, Zhilin Liu, Mildred E. Warner

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

Scholars embrace multilevel governance as an analytical framework for complex problems, such as climate change or water pollution. However, the elements needed to comprehensively operationalize multilevel governance remain undefined in the literature. This paper describes the five necessary ingredients to a multilevel framework: sanctioning and coordinating authority, provision of capacity, knowledge co-production, framing of co-benefits, and inclusion of civil society. The framework’s analytical utility is illustrated through two contrasting case examples – watershed management in the U.S. and air quality management in China. The framework balances local and central actors, which can promote a more effective governance regime.

Open Parks Network: A Cross-Governmental Approach To Open Access And Sustainability, Joshua Morgan, Rachel Wittmann, Christopher G. Vinson, Colleen Curry

Presentations

Clemson University and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) have collaborated since 2010 to develop the Open Parks Network, an open repository of over 230,000 digital objects and metadata records chronicling the diverse cultural and natural history of our nation’s parks, historic sites, and other protected areas. Initially funded by an Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant that ended in 2014, this joint effort to deliver wider public access to the unique resources located in NPS libraries, museums, and archives across the U.S. and territories is an intriguing case study in the dynamics of a relationship between …

Environmental Clearinghouse Of Schenectady, Kate Van Patten

Honors Theses

This paper analyses Environmental Clearinghouse of Schenectady, a local nonprofit environmental organization. The paper investigates the history of the organization as well as the effectiveness of its organizational and funding habits. A literary review was conducted to analyze the success of ECOS mission as well as the positive effects ECOS has on society using elements such as environmental education, the importance of early environmental education, how well the organization connects urban residents with the outdoors and the effectiveness of environmental programs. This research promotes the importance of early environmental education on our future generations health and environmental conditions. Additionally, through …

Introducing Environmental Policy At Augustana: A Comparative Study Of Sustainability Practices At Small Liberal Arts Colleges, Christian Steven Boussemaere Elliott, Thea Gonzales, Kathryn Evans, Hunter Colleen Ridley, Erin Cygan

Celebration of Learning

This study analyzes environmental practices and policy at higher education institutions and examines the process it takes to implement them from student advocacy to administrative recognition that results in the implementation of sustainable plans, programs, and structures for the college in order to produce a feasible proposal for sustainable development at Augustana College. The authors conducted interviews with five colleges that have achieved sustainability in various ways and are largely similar to Augustana in religious affiliation, cultural background, and location: Kenyon, Knox, Luther, Moraine Valley Community College, and Oberlin. The goal from these interviews was to generate ideas from colleges …

Underrepresented Student Involvement With The Office Of Sustainability, Jelitsa Fonseca

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this study is to further understand the disconnect between sustainability efforts and the underrepresented student population at the University of San Diego (USD). One of the main concerns of this study is why underrepresented students are not getting involved in sustainability activities on campus, and whether or not that is due to being a minority on campus, which may impact how they choose to get involved in these efforts. The main research questions are: How can I help the Office of Sustainability at USD reach out to underrepresented students who may have stigmas and/or stereotypes towards sustainability? …

Greening The Graduate Experience: An Exploration In Sustainability Education For Higher Education Leadership Students At The University Of San Diego, David Horber

M.A. in Higher Education Leadership: Action Research Projects

The purpose of this research is to understand the impact of interactive educational interventions, namely a sustainability inventory (Green Graduate Inventory), campus tours, and sustainability game events, on sustainability engagement in graduate students studying Higher Education Leadership at the University of San Diego. Utilizing an Appreciative Inquiry lens, I aim to celebrate sustainability achievements of participants and the University of San Diego community. My research question is, how can I help develop and empower environmentally conscious leaders, amongst higher education leadership graduate students at the University of San Diego, through intentional educational interventions? Additionally, this research will examine the culture …

Feasibility Of Harbor-Wide Barrier Systems: Preliminary Analysis For Boston Harbor, Paul Kirshen, Mark Borrelli, Jarrett Byrnes, Robert F. Chen, Lucy Lockwood, Chris Watson, Kimberly Starbuck, Jack Wiggin, Allison Novelly, Kristin Uiterwyk, Kelli Thurson, Brett Mcmann, Carly Foster, Heather Sprague, Hugh Roberts, Di Jin, Kirk Bosma, Eric Holmes, Zach Stromer, Joe Famely, Alex Shaw, Brittany Hoffnagle, Rebecca Herst

School for the Environment Publications

The aim of this study is to provide the City of Boston with a preliminary assessment of the feasibilities and potential benefits, costs, and environmental impacts of three harborwide barrier configurations.

While this study is not comprehensive, and there are many ways that further research could refine and extend its findings, those findings were clear enough to justify making recommendations for next steps. The authors recommend that the City continue to focus its climate resilience strategy for the next several decades on the shore-based multi-layered approach described in Climate Ready Boston. Shore-based solutions would provide flood management more quickly at …

21st Century Stewardship: The Role Of Educational Equity In School Sustainability Programs, Marissa Page

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

In light of the increasingly devastating consequences of climate change and the generational inequity involved, there is an urgent need to educate our youth on environmental issues and empower them with opportunities to effect positive change. This research focuses on the problem of inconsistent sustainability programs on school campuses, investigates causal factors and identifies areas for transformation. While many prior studies address the significance of sustainability and the key components of successful school waste reduction, energy conservation and environmental education, this study builds on prior research by considering school sustainability programs through a lens of equity and organizational systems. This …

Seabird Distribution And Oil & Gas Potential Along The Northern Sea Route, Russia: An Arctic Marine Conservation Case Study, Meghan Kelly

Sustainability and Social Justice

Seabirds are indicator species for the marine environment. Their populations are simultaneously affected by access to food resources and anthropogenic pressures including direct disturbance and habitat degradation associated with industrial development (Parsons et al. 2007). Therefore, using seabird distribution as a policy-relevant indicator for the Arctic marine environment supports an ecosystem based management approach aimed at protecting sensitive habitats from increased offshore oil and gas development.

This research identifies seabird habitat in the Russian Arctic utilizing in situ seabird observations from the Northern Sea Route to create a species distribution model. The spatial location of these areas will be compared …

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center Giving Garden At Coogan Farm: A Practitioner Report On Community Gardens For Health And Regional Food Security, Emma Sutphen

Sustainability and Social Justice

The Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center (DPNC) is a community organization that, through its various programming, works to perpetuate a vision of humans as part and parcel of the world. In 2013, when the Nature Center acquired the Coogan Farm property, the organization built a community garden called the Giving Garden to serve surrounding communities, expanding services to the foodservice sector educational programming around sustainable agriculture. DPNC’s partnership with the Robert G. Youngs Family Foundation, United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, and Gemma E. Moran mobile food pantry, forged in 2014, has allowed the garden to minimize area food insecurity through its …

Emerging Grassroots Energy Communities: An Assemblage Theory Analysis, Ali Mohammed Adil

Public Affairs Dissertations

In context of the federal leadership vacuum in the United States on climate action and sustainable energy development and consequent subnational policy and regulatory variations, the rise of citizen-led grassroots energy communities (GECs) is increasingly considered as a countervailing civic force in the mainstream energy system. However, as grassroots attempts to transform the carbon-intensive, centralized energy system gain in prominence, attracting broad-based support and generating a multitude of social organization and governance models, citizen advocacy, activism and on-the-ground local projects encounter varying socio-cultural, policy and regulatory support structures across urban and regional landscapes leading to disparate outcomes. Yet, the advent …

Mindful Action For Practice Of Sustainability, Gary Ransom

M.A. in Leadership Studies: Capstone Project Papers

Considering that most of our employed society works the typical eight to nine hour job in a corporate setting, attaining a healthy lifestyle both in and out of the office is known to be unattainable. Much of this mindset of unattainability is due to the lack of an adequate workplace programs. Many employees are in desperate need of a program that is designed for their personal benefit and success. A program like such, caters to the success of the employees and employers and its programmed to carry on after the office doors are closed. A program that offers the proper …

"From The Neighborhood Up!": Neighborhood Sustainability Certification Frameworks And The New Urban Politics Of Scale, Alex J. Ramiller

Geography Honors Projects

Urban sustainability goals are closely tied to the current political context, in which the imperative to attract highly mobile global capital frequently steers the objectives of local government. In this paper, I argue for the incorporation of the neighborhood scale into contemporary understandings of “local” or “urban” sustainability policy, emphasizing the potential for multi-scalar certification frameworks to subvert the predominant global-local relationship. By shifting the conceptualization and implementation of sustainability from globally dependent urban regimes to a diverse array of discrete urban communities, neighborhood-scale initiatives are able to draw greater attention to issues of social equity, environmental justice, and spatially …

Does The Stock Market Value Inclusion On A Sustainability Index? An Event Study Using The Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index, Lauren Hayward

Economics Department Student Scholarship

The concept of socially responsible investing (SRI) has evolved into a mainstream strategy for investments. Investors who place value on sustainability use SRI strategies to make investment decisions. Companies send a signal to stakeholders, including investors, that they are sustainability leaders by being recognized as a member of a sustainability index. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of the announcement that a company is added to, removed from, or remaining on the Dow Jones North America Sustainability Index (DJSI NA) on its stock price. An event study is used to measure the impact of the announcement …

Comparing Two-Year Colleges Under A Common Sustainable Development Framework: Personal Egocentric Networks And Perspectives, Bobby Ann Lee

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

The study purpose is to advance implementation of sustainable development at colleges, and to contribute to organizational change research using social network analysis. The researcher conducted document analysis using 2012-2016 sustainability reports of 16 purposefully selected two-year colleges under a common framework. Interpreting and coding resulted in ranking sustainable development activities as well as grouping colleges using cluster analysis. A survey and interviews were employed by the researcher to determine major themes as challenges to sustainability implementation, and personal network themes using social network analysis measures and sociograms. Challenges to sustainability implementation identified as study themes were: (1) college leadership …

''It’S A Win-Win Situation” – Intergenerational Learning In Preschool And Elder Care Settings: An Irish Perspective, Carmel Gallagher, Anne Fitzpatrick

Articles

This paper explores the level and sustainability of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings in Ireland. The paper is based on a small-scale research study involving interviews with sta in ve organizations and builds on ndings from previous research conducted for the TOY project (http://www.toyproject.net). The paper examines the pedagogies involved as well as the community context of intergenerational practice in early years and elder care settings. The ndings highlight that sustainable intergenerational practice is facilitated by strong pedagogies that support active and relational learning across the life course and by being embedded in robust community networks.

University Of Richmond Sustainability Plan 2019-2025, University Of Richmond

Plans

University of Richmond’s Sustainability Plan is a blueprint for how we as a campus community will achieve a long-term vision of integrating sustainability into the fabric of the University. The result of a yearlong collaborative effort involving hundreds of stakeholders, the plan lays out clear steps to bolster the development of sustainability in the curriculum, support environmental management of our campus, promote a culture of sustainability, and further integrate stewardship into administrative policies and procedures. The time frame for the goals, strategies, and actions articulated in this plan is 2019-2025.

University Of North Florida Environmental Center Annual Report 2018, Maria Mark, James W. Taylor, John Aloszka

Annual Reports

2018 Annual Report of the Environmental Center at the University of North Florida

Place-Making And Sustainability, Bucknell Center For Sustainability And The Environment

Sponsored Events -- Materials

Promotional flyer advertising the Place-making and Sustainability Speaker Series presented by the Bucknell Center for Sustainability and the Environment under the leadership of Dr. Shaunna Barnhart. The series was held during the academic year 2017-2018 and featured faculty responses to the following prompts:

• How does your work relate to the concept of place-making?
• What are potential benefits and/or shortcomings you see for place-making in sustainability?
• What aspects of your work can we apply to a place-making approach to sustainability at Bucknell and in our local region?

Summaries of the discussions are available in the event Place-making and Sustainability Series.

Prisons, Policing, And Pollution: Toward An Abolitionist Framework Within Environmental Justice, Ki'amber Thompson

Pomona Senior Theses

Environmental Justice defines the environment as the spaces where we live, work, and play. The Environmental Justice (EJ) Movement has traditionally used this definition to organize against toxics in communities. However, within EJ work, prisons or policing have often not been centralized or discussed. This means that the approximately 2.2 million people in prison are excluded from the conversation and movement. Additionally, communities and activists are identifying police and prisons as toxics in their communities, but an analysis of policing and prisons is largely missing in EJ scholarship. This thesis explores the intersection between prisons, policing, and pollution. It outlines …

“It’S Not Easy Being Green”: Predictors Of Pro-Environmental Behaviors Among College Students, Morgan Laner

Honors Program Theses

This study looks at the different predictors of the pro-environmental behaviors of undergraduate college students at a small, urban, private liberal arts college in Florida. A total of 437 students reported their environmental attitudes, subjective norms, intentions, perceived behavioral control, and pro-environmental behaviors. Results shows that the sample population replicates the relationships of the theory of planned behavior framework. Attitudes were the strongest predictors of intentions, which in turn had a positive, moderately strong relationship with pro-environmental behavior. Men were found to have higher means for intentions and attitudes than women. Understanding the perceptions and behaviors of students can help …

Marketing Practices Of Socially Responsible And Sustainable Businesses, Brooke A. Bivins

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The topic of this research is marketing practices of socially responsible and sustainable businesses. It examines the strategies companies and brands use to represent themselves to the public through products, advertising, and philanthropy. This includes an evaluation of existing frameworks and case studies, as well as in-depth interviews. The question that this research will answer is as follows: How can new or existing companies embrace and integrate social responsibility or sustainability in a way that is authentic and contributes to a positive public reputation?

Younger generations are increasingly willing to switch to and, in some cases, pay more for products …

U.S. Corporate Energy Productivity, Greenhouse Gas Productivity, And Return On Equity, Terry Geonnie Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate leaders are expected to engage in corporate social responsibility by some stakeholders, but there is no consistent evidence that corporate social performance relates to financial performance. Grounded in instrumental stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship among energy productivity, greenhouse gas productivity, and return on equity. The 2016 Newsweek Green Ranking U.S. 500 was the population for this study, which consisted of the largest companies in the United States with the highest corporate social performance scores. The secondary data were collected from Newsweek.com and Morningstar.com for this study. The multiple linear regression was …

Stormwater Management In Philadelphia: The Importance Of Green Stormwater Infrastructure And Community Involvement In Greater Citywide Sustainability, Julie Groff

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In 2000, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found the City of Philadelphia to be in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 due to insufficient stormwater infrastructure. In 2011, Philadelphia initiated a 25-year, citywide plan called Green City, Clean Waters to reduce stormwater runoff by implementing green stormwater infrastructure (GSI). The plan promised significant community involvement in the process. I conducted semi-structured interviews with City employees and individuals in the community that have partnered with the City to administer GSI and participant observation of community meetings and used them to explore different neighborhoods’ experiences with Green City, Clean …