Digital Commons Network^™

Waste Management In The Global South: An Inquiry On The Patterns Of Plastic And Waste Material Flows In Colombo, Sri Lanka, Katie Ann Conlon

Dissertations and Theses

Global plastic production continues to increase at an exponential pace, and global waste projections show waste generation rising by 70% by 2050. Plastic waste connects to all social processes, especially within the context of urbanization and development; urban planning and land management; GHG emissions; labor; social equity; public health; rural-to-urban migration; increasing population; increasing consumption; climate change; etc. The focus of this dissertation is an analysis of waste management practices in Sri Lanka using a grounded theory based methodology, with a goal to better understand the social and ecological impacts of plastic waste in Sri Lanka. This research fills a …

A Global Investigation Of Stakeholder And Contextual Influences On Firm Engagement In Sustainability, Annette M. Nemetz

Dissertations and Theses

Global sustainability issues cross all sectors of society, including businesses, governments, and communities and come with substantial costs. Business organizations are increasingly expected to address sustainability issues in a responsible manner and to disclose socially responsible behaviors accurately and transparently, showing that they are effective at managing and being proactive about sustainability challenges. In light of these pressures and expectations for business organizations, the fundamental research question for this study was whether variation existed in the levels of engagement in sustainability efforts across firms globally, and, more importantly, why such variation existed.

The level of strategic firm engagement in sustainability …

Biological Treatment Of Leachates Of Microaerobic Fermentation, Manar Arica Alattar

Dissertations and Theses

Microaerobic fermentation (MF) is a process of controlled degradation of organic waste material that occurs in enclosed fermentors under micro-aerobic conditions at near-room temperature. MF processing of vegetal materials progresses to endpoints in about 2-5 weeks. During MF processing, an acidic leachate rich in organic acids and alcohols is produced. The research presented in this thesis focuses on the efficiency of MF pre-processing of feedstock containing fibrous lignocellulosic (FLC) materials; efficiency of microbial and insect larvae-based treatments of MF leachate; tolerance of the Black Soldier fly larvae (BSFL) to various biological inhibitors common in leachate; and effectiveness of using MF …

Sustainable Event Management Of Music Festivals: An Event Organizer Perspective, Stephanie L. Stettler

Dissertations and Theses

Sustainably managed music festivals have significant value and can provide a multitude of benefits to a healthy, sustainable and desirable society if their negative impacts are mitigated and positive impacts cultivated. To reach this great potential, sustainable event management of music festivals must become widely adopted and expanded as common practice. To drive this improvement of sustainable event management, there is a need to first understand the barriers and success factors event organizers face moving their music festivals toward sustainability. This study uses a research design of mixed quantitative-qualitative methods: a survey of thirty diverse music festival organizers across the …

Coupled Pedagogy: A Study Of Sustainability Education And Community-Based Learning In The Senior Capstone Program At Portland State University, Emily Erin Bowling

Dissertations and Theses

Sustainability has emerged in mainstream higher education over the last few years, and the fields of community-based learning and sustainability education are closely linked through their emphases on active, experiential learning in place-based contexts. In order to create ecologically literate citizens to more adequately address environmental problems, there is a logical connection between teaching about sustainability and engaging students in the community, which can serve as a relevant forum to address sustainability issues. However, there is a problem in that educational programs and courses dealing directly with sustainability topics across the higher education landscape often do not emphasize or include …