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Cultivating Community: Investigating Performances Of Community In Ecovillage Settlements, Alex Lockwood

Dissertations

This dissertation considers the subject of ecovillages, intentional ecologically-oriented sustainable communities developed in the U.S., and the different understandings of community involvement, structure, and challenges that members of these communities confront in their efforts at managing these time and labor-intensive settlements. Informed by the work of performance ethnographers and critical phenomenologists, I consider twelve interviews I conducted on-site and electronically with people living in ecovillage settlements. Taking these interviews and my own observations from on-site visits to two ecovillages as entry points, I conducted a phenomenological analysis informed by a critical phenomenological ethos of these accounts, highlighting five motifs that …

Leadership Development In Education For Sustainable Development: Evaluation Of Higher Education Students In Sustainable Development Programs, Michelle Dzurenda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) has been working decades towards reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to create peace and prosperity for people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda was created as an urgent call to action, a global partnership, and a comprehensive plan to work towards the 17 SDGs. For this study, the focus is on Goal 4- quality education and the impact of leadership on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Leadership on ESD has been a more recent topic and under researched. By making advancements in leadership on ESD there will be positive …

Turning Green: Envisioning A Sustainable Future For Bowling Green, Kiana Fitzpatrick

Honors Projects

This project examines how smaller cities and communities can become more sustainable.

Sustainability Hub Newsletter - April 2023, Jacqueline Jergensen, Neyda Gilman, Jennifer Embree

Library Sustainability Resources

This issue of the Sustainability Hub Newsletter covers tips for spring cleaning, seeds to plant this month, on and off campus sustainability, as well as upcoming events! Read more to learn about sustainability in the Dining Halls, charter buses to the Farmers Market, a new Plant Buddy program, the Move Out Project, and more!

Celebrate Earth Month With Uab Sustainability This April, Tehreem Khan

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Emerging Trends And Challenges Of Corporate Social Responsibility: The Case Of The United Arab Emirates, Noura Eisa Al Harasi

Theses

This research shed light on the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by examining the trends, benefits, and challenges of CSR in the UAE. The research contributed to the literature in the field of CSR by providing a comprehensive understanding of the concept in a non-Western context that can represent a generalizable model, not only for the UAE, but also for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that share similar corporate culture with the UAE. In this regard, the research serves as a reference work into CSR beyond the UAE as it answered the following …

Evolving Marketization, Societal Trends, And Indicators In Chile And The Andean Region, Cristian Andres Sepulveda, Clifford J. Shultz, Mark Peterson

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The effects of marketization on Chile and the broader Andean Region are profound and systemic. Key indicators reveal trends toward economic growth, improved social conditions, and sustainable development. The marketization of the Andean Region, however, is a complex and evolving process. We report on recent developments, which necessitate some reflection on trends and prognoses. In particular, while marketization has led to better education, increased social mobility, and enhanced well-being, one of the most important challenges facing countries in the region is ensuring that the benefits of marketization are shared equitably among all members of society. Priorities include further improvements in …

The Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium: A State-Wide Collaborative Network For Sustainable, Outreach, Education, And Action, Peter Buck, Shaunna Barnhart, Richard D. Bowden, Ben Culbertson, Josh Hooper, Michael Mumper, Dominic Scicchitano, Ken Shultes, Tom Simpson

Faculty Contributions to Books

This paper explores the organizational theory, programs, and concomitant challenges faced by a state-level higher education consortium for sustainability in the United States, the Pennsylvania Environmental Resource Consortium (PERC). We provide insights for other institutions of higher education that may want to form consortia or consider changes to existing consortia. PERC members collaborate to advance sustainability on member campuses, in local communities, and across the Commonwealth. PERC envisions thriving, just communities on a healthy planet, and seeks to inspire higher education communities throughout the Commonwealth to lead transformational sustainability efforts through example, expertise, and collaboration. This chapter provides a brief …

Analysis Of The Introduction Of Green Laboratory Certification Program At The University At Albany, State University Of New York To Increase Sustainability In Laboratories, Samantha Long

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Universities around the world are making changes to become more sustainable including lowering energy and water consumption, reducing waste production, and looking at procurement methods. At the University at Albany, State University of New York, there is an ongoing effort to increase sustainability and climate resiliency to align with state and international goals. One of the key areas needing improvement are scientific laboratories because they have a substantially larger energy consumption than other buildings. An analysis of current practices on campus was conducted and improvements suggested from research of similar programs. This included expanding and testing a campus specific “Green …

Humanitarian Logistics Optimization Models: An Investigation Of Decision-Maker Involvement And Directions To Promote Implementation, Oscar Rodríguez-Espíndola, Hossein Ahmadi, Diego Gastélum-Chavira, Omar Ahumada-Valenzuela, Soumyadeb Chowdhury, Prasanta Kumar Dey, Pavel Albores

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Reports of successful implementation of humanitarian optimization models in the field are scarce. Incorporating real conditions and the perspective of decision-makers in the analysis is crucial to enhance the practical value and managerial implications. Although it is known that implementation can be hindered by the lack of practitioner input in the structure of the model, its priorities, and the practicality of solution times, the way these aspects have been introduced in humanitarian optimization models has not been investigated. This study looks at the way research has involved practitioners in different aspects of the design of optimization models to promote implementation. …

Discover 12 Outdoor Oases Hiding In Plain Sight, Haley Herfurth

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Communicating Sustainability Through Websites Of Higher Education Institutions Of New Jersey, Swathi Karamcheti

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

Sustainability is integrated into the higher education institutions as a new culture. Since the emergence of various declarations and policies, higher education institutions have integrated, implemented and practiced sustainability in the form of campus operations, community engagement and academic programs. As a result, some institutions have started communicating about their sustainability practices through their websites to inform their stakeholders. It is also noted that prospective students prefer to study in institutions that communicate about sustainability on their websites. However, there is a gap in research to understand the strategies used by higher education institutions to communicate sustainability. This content …

How Spirituality Intensifies Sustainability: A Case Study Of Ananda Valley In Northern Portugal, Mia Handler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The religious affiliations of citizens in the West are currently shifting away from the fundamentalist, traditional structures of the past towards more alternative spiritualities. Furthermore, as a result of the climate crisis, ecovillages are becoming increasingly popular. Ecovillages are intentional, “sustainable” communities that seek to reduce consumption, live in harmony with nature, and create strong social bonds. They are characterized by varying levels of spiritual involvement (Greenberg, 2014, p. 274). As such, the objective of this paper is to study the relationship between spirituality and environmentally-friendly practices and attitudes, using the ecovillage Ananda Valley – an Ananda Marga Master Unit …

Leading For Sustainability In School-Community Partnerships, Kimberly Renee Benavides

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Schools receive support in the form of partnerships with organizations such as businesses, churches, and non-profits for many reasons, and such partnerships are beneficial to students and the school community. The purpose of this participatory qualitative study was to determine behaviors of elementary school principals that result in the sustainability of school-community partnerships beyond the initial year of implementation. Elementary school principals in an urban public school district in North Texas were interviewed along with leaders from their corresponding community partners to determine the role of the principal in school-community partnership work. Through an in-depth analysis of interview transcripts, the …

One Step At A Time: Duquesne University's Ninth Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Gabriella Zuccolotto, Brianna Marks

Duquesne University Greenhouse Gas Inventories

The ninth greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory was conducted for fiscal year 2021 (FY21), which began on July 1, 2020 and ended on June 30, 2021. Assembled by graduate assistants Gabriella Zuccolotto and Brianna Marks at the Center for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), these findings were compared with those derived from the previous inventories to assess trends in Duquesne University’s GHG emissions. Furthermore, this inventory discusses options for reducing Duquesne’s carbon footprint in future years.

Duquesne University’s total GHG emissions were 41,562.40 MT eCO2 for FY21. After calculating the full-time student equivalent and the full-time faculty/staff equivalents, SIMAP was …

Proposal For Uta-Downtown Arlington Bike Network, Anna Laura Harmjanz

2022 Spring Honors Capstone Projects - Archive

Bicycling offers great benefits for cities including sustainable, efficient, and affordable transportation, improved health and wellness, and creating vibrant communities. Universities offer a good starting point for young adults to form sustainable transportation habits. This study explores how the University of Texas at Arlington’s community perceives existing bike infrastructure, services, and amenities on campus and off-campus to create a well-connected and safe bike network. An online survey was used to collect feedback from students and employees on commuting patterns, cycling experience and barriers, perceived safety on various bike facilities, and suggestions. Based on survey responses, a bike network analysis was …

Instagram Of Rivers: Facilitating Distributed Collaboration In Hyperlocal Citizen Science, Srishti Gupta, Julia Jablonski, Chun-Hua Tsai, John Millar Carroll

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

Citizen science project leaders collecting field data in a hyperlocal community often face common socio-technical challenges, which can potentially be addressed by sharing innovations across different groups through peer-to-peer collaboration. However, most citizen science groups practice in isolation, and end up re-inventing the wheel when it comes to addressing these common challenges. This study seeks to investigate distributed collaboration between different water monitoring citizen science groups. We discovered a unique social network application called Water Reporter that mediated distributed collaboration by creating more visibility and transparency between groups using the app. We interviewed 8 citizen science project leaders who were …

Can Funded Development Projects Be Sustainable? The Case Of Limpopo Idc Nguni Cattle Development Project, Limpopo Province, South Africa, Godswill Makombe Prof

The Qualitative Report

The typical cases of funded development projects are donor-funded. One of the major problems faced by donor-funded projects is that after the withdrawal of donor funding, the projects are not sustainable. Literature has identified some of the factors that cause lack of sustainability including low stakeholder ownership and commitment, lack of understanding of community context, lack of community empowerment, leadership, technology choice, and over-ambitious objectives. I use the social constructivist approach to study the Limpopo IDC Nguni Cattle Development Project in Limpopo Province of South Africa which I got in contact with through student supervision. The project is based on …

The Essence Of Novice Elementary Principals' Experiences While Sustaining Successful, Effective Schools, Amy Heavin

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this multisite phenomenological case of study of elementary principals was to describe the essence of leadership of novice principals, studying themes of leadership attributes and conditions within the school community and preparation that reinforce the success of the school. While many studies have focused on the leadership attributes of established principals in schools, less has been conducted on those who join an already successful school and sustain that success. The intent of this study was to understand this phenomenon of novice principals who continue the success of a school. Preliminary data were gathered from school data sources …

Chesterfield County Parks And Recreation Sustainability Plan, Kyle A. Gilmer

Master of Urban and Regional Planning Capstone Projects

The Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Sustainability Plan seeks to develop a foundation for the first sustainability plan that will support the accreditation process and implementation of the Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Master Plan. This plan focuses on long-term environmental sustainability practices, recommendations, park lands, and topics relevant to Parks and Recreation outreach and management.

The main goal of this sustainability plan is to address department needs for long-term environmental sustainability by analyzing current best practices from the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA), benchmark cities with implemented sustainability plans, and others while proposing recommendations per the Chesterfield County …

Sustainable Development Among Four–Year Higher Education Institutions In The United States: A Geographic And Anthropological Perspective, Kori Nadine Armstrong

Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the factors that contribute to the cultural characteristics of sustainability among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States to shed light on how they represent themselves as sustainable. It documents four-year HEIs in the United States that self-identify as sustainable; evaluates how these institutions portray themselves to society as sustainable; and documents who is leading sustainability on U.S. college campuses. This dissertation fills an important gap in the literature on sustainable development in higher education that Holm and others (2016) have identified. Although education for sustainable development (ESD) has been recognized as an important topic, and …

Museums & Environmental Sustainability: Are They Doing Enough?, Alexandra M. Dwyer

Museum Studies Theses

As the world continues to be affected by the rapid rates of climate change, institutions from every sector are transitioning to become more sustainable by reducing or eliminating their harmful habits on the ecosystem. Whether by their own accord or external pressure from current legislative action to cut carbon emissions, institutions are shifting towards a sustainable future. For museums there are additional unique reasons to adopt sustainability into various aspects with their institution. The most influential reason is that museums have a responsibility as community leaders and change makers. However, looming questions remain: Are museums doing enough? Are these cultural …

The Role Of Theme Parks In Creating Sustainable Development, Islam Hamdy Elghonaimy, Salma Alsaeed

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Theme parks offer various types of entertainment that compete in both local and international markets. They include attractions, rides, arcade games, souvenir shops, and restaurants. Over the years, the industry has been growing due to the increasing tourism rates. Designing a project like an indoor theme park would increase tourism rates, leading to a boost in the country’s economic status. The success of a theme park depends highly on the demand and user’s selection of the theme. The setting and location also play a vital role in the success of the park. The purpose of this research is to introduce …

Entrepreneurial Leadership And Sustainable Development—A Systematic Literature Review, Alexandrina Maria Pauceanu, Nada Rabie, Ayman Moustafa, Daniel Constantin Jiroveanu

All Works

The main aim of this study was to clarify the current literary inconsistencies regarding the characteristics of entrepreneurial leadership and its impact on sustainability. Additionally, another aim was to establish the framework of entrepreneurial leadership and to highlight the main gaps in the entrepreneurial leadership literature. The entrepreneurial leadership literature started to develop recently as a new leadership style that is required to fulfill the current business changes in the fourth industrial revolution. The researchers conducted a narrative literature review to assess the status of entrepreneurial leadership in academia, literature gaps, and the impact of entrepreneurial leadership on the sustainability …

Simulation Modeling Of A Photovoltaic-Green Roof System For Energy Cost Reduction Of A Building: Texas Case Study, Sojung Kim, Burchan Aydin, Sumin Kim

Faculty Publications

This study aims at introducing a modeling and simulation approach for a green roof system which can reduce energy cost of a building exposed to high temperatures throughout the summer season. First, to understand thermal impact of a green roof system on a building surface, a field-based study has been conducted in Commerce, Texas, U.S., where the average maximum temperature in summer is 104 F (40 C). Two types of analyses were conducted: (1) comparison of temperature between different plant type via Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and (2) polynomial regression analysis to develop thermal impact estimation model based on air …

From Glass Ceiling To Green Canopy: An Intersectional Model Of Feminist Sustainability In Fondes Amandes, Trinidad, Rachel Mulroy

Journal of International Women's Studies

The Fondes Amandes Community Reforestation Project is a sustainable model of agro-forestry that emerged contemporaneously with the more globally familiar Permaculture Design. Although the FACRP model has been recognized for their contributions to the Caribbean region and worldwide sustainability and environmental movements, they are not well known in the global North and West. Akilah and Kemba Jaramogi stress the importance of grassroots involvement as critical to adaptation and mitigation in combating climate impacts. However, there is a lack of acknowledgement and reciprocity within the movement that is linked to broader discourses on race, gender, and geography. The influence of these …

Evaluating Urban Parks Accessibility And Equity: A Case Study Of Hartford, Ct And New Haven, Ct, Natalie Roach, Mara Tu

Honors Scholar Theses

Public parks provide cities with environmental benefits, positive health effects, recreational opportunities, community building, educational spaces, and public amenities. However, certain populations have been systematically denied their fair share of these benefits because of unjust practices in the creation and maintenance of urban parks. With a lens of environmental justice, the goal of this research was to assess park quality and accessibility of two Connecticut cities, Hartford and New Haven, by gathering publicly available information as well as using GIS tools.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has an existing ParkScore rating system that evaluates the quality of a city’s …

Institutional Changes In Western Michigan University For Incorporation Of Education For Sustainability, Saman Khan

Dissertations

Higher Education institutions (HEIs) have the potential to be significant contributors in the pursuit of a sustainable world through the incorporation of Education for Sustainability (EFS). However, HEIs are entrenched with structures and values that are often resistant to change. The literature reveals that instructors’ beliefs and institutional contexts are the two main factors that impact the implementation of institutional change for sustainability education. Western Michigan University (WMU) has created new required curriculum “WMU Essential Studies” (WES) for undergraduate students and they have targeted sustainability as an essential learning outcome, by integrating and applying it in content courses. Using a …

The Role Of Culture In Sustainable Communities: The Case Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

We explore how the combination of cultural heritage and present-day cultural affili- ations influences the construction of the concept of sustainability at the scale of the community using the case study of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We argue that overlapping affiliations—expressed through administrative culture, organizational culture, and professional culture—influence the views held by governance leaders. Furthermore, the role of cultural heritage must be considered in efforts to change and perpetuate sustainability-related behaviors within a community. Using archeo- logical and historical evidence from the pre-contact and historical record of Rapa Nui, we discuss how cultural heritage evolved endogenously in response …

The Role Of Culture In Sustainable Communities: The Case Of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile), Pamela A. Mischen, Carl P. Lipo

Anthropology Datasets

We explore how the combination of cultural heritage and present-day cultural affili- ations influences the construction of the concept of sustainability at the scale of the community using the case study of Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile). We argue that overlapping affiliations—expressed through administrative culture, organizational culture, and professional culture—influence the views held by governance leaders. Furthermore, the role of cultural heritage must be considered in efforts to change and perpetuate sustainability-related behaviors within a community. Using archeo- logical and historical evidence from the pre-contact and historical record of Rapa Nui, we discuss how cultural heritage evolved endogenously in response …