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Articles 31 - 49 of 49

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Information Technology Sourcing Across Cultures: Preparing Leaders For Cross-Cultural Engagements And Implementing Best Practices With Cultural Sensitivity, Wayne Gordon Moran Jan 2014

Information Technology Sourcing Across Cultures: Preparing Leaders For Cross-Cultural Engagements And Implementing Best Practices With Cultural Sensitivity, Wayne Gordon Moran

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research exercised a mixed method exploratory sequential design inquiry into the topical area of leadership behaviors and cross-cultural awareness that permeate successful global information technology (IT) outsource alliances. When IT is aligned with an entity's objectives, strategic technology leadership is actively engaged in governance, infrastructure architecture, planning, and cross-cultural collaboration. Bilateral contracting foster and forge interactive organizational cultures however, the advent of right shoring has introduced cultural complexity for IT leadership roles born of national, international, and sub-culture global dimensions. This research surfaced significant variations in IT professional opinions as to the leadership practices, cultural compatibility and service fulfillment …


From Alarm To Action: Closing The Gap Between Belief And Behavior In Response To Climate Change, Kathryn Laing Doherty Jan 2014

From Alarm To Action: Closing The Gap Between Belief And Behavior In Response To Climate Change, Kathryn Laing Doherty

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The degree to which the climate continues to change will largely be determined by choices made by individuals and nations regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Many Americans engage in energy conservation actions. But, the political will in the United States to adopt emissions reduction policies is unlikely to exist without public demand. Therefore, public mitigation actions of individuals (e.g., contacting elected officials in support of emissions reduction) are critical to induce legislative response. The majority of individuals who are most concerned about climate change (the “Alarmed” segment) do not engage in public mitigation actions, but some do. The purpose of this …


Researching Critical Incidents Of Transformation, Paul R. Scheele Jan 2013

Researching Critical Incidents Of Transformation, Paul R. Scheele

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study examined transformation within individuals in a collaborative adult learning context. Using a combination of methods—surveys and critical incident technique (CIT)—the study explored in depth the experiences of 28 subjects from a population of 100 participants in an open-enrollment workshop, the Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium produced by the Pachamama Alliance. The program employs high-impact training approaches to inform participants about social injustices and environmental practices that threaten the planet, and to encourage them to act on that information. The research focused on critical incidents at or shortly after the workshop that produced significant and meaningful change …


The Management Of Feral Pig Socio-Ecological Systems In Far North Queensland, Australia, Gabriela Shuster Jan 2012

The Management Of Feral Pig Socio-Ecological Systems In Far North Queensland, Australia, Gabriela Shuster

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The development of management programs for socio-ecological systems that include multiple stakeholders is a complex process and requires careful evaluation and planning. This is particularly a challenge in the presence of intractable conflict. The feral pig (Sus scrofa) in Australia is part of one such socio-ecological system. There is a large and heterogeneous group of stakeholders interested in pig management. Pigs have diverse effects on wildlife and plant ecology, economic, health, and social sectors. This study used the feral pig management system as a vehicle to examine intractable conflict in socio-ecological systems. The purpose of the study was …


The Myth Of Endless Accumulation: A Feminist Inquiry Into Globalization, Growth, And Social Change, Martha Freymann Miser Jan 2011

The Myth Of Endless Accumulation: A Feminist Inquiry Into Globalization, Growth, And Social Change, Martha Freymann Miser

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This theoretical dissertation examines the concept of growth and its core assumption—that the continual accumulation of wealth is both socially wise and ecologically sustainable. The study challenges and offers alternatives to the myth of endless accumulation, suggesting new directions for leadership and social change. The central question posed in this inquiry: Can we craft a more ethical form of capitalism? To answer this question, the study examines conventional and critical globalization studies; feminist scholarship on standpoint, political economy, and power; and the Enlightenment notions of progress and modernism, drawing on a number of works, including Aristotle on the three intelligences, …


Dormant Ethnobotany: A Case Study Of Decline In Regional Plant Knowledge In The Bull Run Mountains Of Virginia, Susan Rene Leopold Jan 2011

Dormant Ethnobotany: A Case Study Of Decline In Regional Plant Knowledge In The Bull Run Mountains Of Virginia, Susan Rene Leopold

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation introduces and applies the concept of dormant ethnobotany, a concept that helps explain the socio-economic, cultural and ecological aspects and implications of the transition away from active use of ethnobotanical knowledge and the factors that may lead to its re-emergence. Dormant ethnobotany is the study of relationships between people and plants that are inactive, but nonetheless still alive in memories, the historic record, and folklore and thereby capable of reemergence in support of the transition to a more sustainable society. The dissertation extends the field of ethnobotany from its current roots in the dynamic ethnobotany of indigenous peoples. …


Collaboration And Climate Action At The Local Scale, Linda Lyshall Jan 2011

Collaboration And Climate Action At The Local Scale, Linda Lyshall

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation encompasses a case study and a Participatory Action Research project. The case study focuses on climate change mitigation activities within King County, Washington and its 39 cities and towns and discusses progress and challenges related to transportation issues, efficiency measures, and sustainability planning. The findings indicate there is a high level of activity in waste reduction, environmental outreach and education, bicycle and pedestrian promotion, tree canopy protection, sustainability policies, and green building. Other categories, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emission inventories and goal setting are on the rise. Twelve of the cities were …


A Qualitative Approach To Spiral Of Silence Research: Self-Censorship Narratives Regarding Environmental And Social Conflict, Christopher John Ryan Jan 2011

A Qualitative Approach To Spiral Of Silence Research: Self-Censorship Narratives Regarding Environmental And Social Conflict, Christopher John Ryan

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this research is to seek narratives of self-censorship from in-depth interviews of 19 participants acquired through a purposive (criterion) sampling protocol. The primary research question driving this study is “What types of sanctions contribute to people choosing to self-censor their strongly held beliefs, values, and opinions.” Previous research conducted on the topic of self-censorship (generally under the rubric of the spiral of silence theory) has been predominantly quantitative and consideration of sanctions influencing self-censorship have been limited to fear of social isolation. I suggest that ostensibly important sanction variables have not been utilized within these existing frameworks. …


Citizen Professionals: The Effective Practices Of Experts Helping Community Organizations, Sarah Hippensteel Hall Jan 2010

Citizen Professionals: The Effective Practices Of Experts Helping Community Organizations, Sarah Hippensteel Hall

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Although numerous local, state, and federal laws and policies address water pollution, many problems remain. To address these problems thousands of groups of citizens, who are concerned with their water resources - rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, and groundwater - organized around the U.S. over the past several decades. To succeed, these community organizations need the resources and capacity to reach their goals. To gain capacity, some community organizations turn to people outside the organization for assistance. Citizen professionals are helpers who work jointly with an organization to help develop an organization's adaptive capacity to deal with challenges and achieve goals. …


Caretakers Of The Garden Of Delight And Discontent: Adirondack Narrative, Conflict, And Environmental Virtue, Eric Richard Holmlund Jan 2010

Caretakers Of The Garden Of Delight And Discontent: Adirondack Narrative, Conflict, And Environmental Virtue, Eric Richard Holmlund

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation concerns a widely recognized natural area, New York's Adirondack Park, that serves both as an international model for conservation and as a context for persistent conflict over natural resources, space, wealth and esthetics. It employs narrative inquiry as a method to examine the sources and the function of narratives or stories explaining the history and the present status of social groups in the Park. Narrative theorists maintain that we borrow from such socially circulating narratives to craft our own identities, and then repeat them until we believe them, almost without regard for the factual basis in history or …


Participatory Planning For A Promised Land: Citizen-Led, Comprehensive Land Use Planning In New York’S Adirondack Park, Ann Hope Ruzow Holland Jan 2010

Participatory Planning For A Promised Land: Citizen-Led, Comprehensive Land Use Planning In New York’S Adirondack Park, Ann Hope Ruzow Holland

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

New York’s Adirondack Park is internationally recognized for its biological diversity. Greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon National Park combined, the Adirondacks are the largest protected area within the Northern Appalachian/Acadian Eco-Region and within the contiguous United States. Ecologists, residents of the Park, and others are concerned about rapid land use change occurring within the borders of the Park. Almost half of the six million acres encompassed by the Park boundary is privately-owned, where 80% of land use decisions fall within the jurisdiction of local governments. The comprehensive planning process of one such local government, the …


Flame, Furnace, Fuel: Creating Kansas City In The Nineteenth Century, Twyla Dell Jan 2009

Flame, Furnace, Fuel: Creating Kansas City In The Nineteenth Century, Twyla Dell

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Though this work is a fuel and energy history of Kansas City from 1820 to 1920, it also provides a tool to describe and analyze fuel and energy transitions. The four parts follow the rise and fall of wood, coal and oil as their use grows to a peak and, in the case of wood, declines. The founding and growth of Kansas City as an “instant city” that grew from zero population to over three hundred twenty thousand in a hundred years embodies the increased use of fuels and energy in an urban setting and serves as a case study. …


Seeing Shifts: Ecologists' Lived Experiences Of Climate Change In Mountains Of The American West, Kimberly Ford Langmaid Jan 2009

Seeing Shifts: Ecologists' Lived Experiences Of Climate Change In Mountains Of The American West, Kimberly Ford Langmaid

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study explores the lived experiences of field ecologists who research the effects of global climate change on mountain species and ecosystems in the American West. The purpose is to generate narrative descriptions of ecologists’ experiences in order to communicate about both the scientific ecology and human ecology of climate change. Twenty prominent field ecologists participated in this study. Interviews with ecologists were transcribed and analyzed using a hermeneutic phenomenological methodology. Eight experiential themes emerged through the process of data analysis, and these themes provide the structure for presenting narratives of ecologists’ experiences. The eight themes are: thinking ecologically, the …


Art, Water, And Circles: In What Ways Do Study Circles Empower Artists To Become Community Leaders Around Water Issues, Jill Beth Jacoby Jan 2009

Art, Water, And Circles: In What Ways Do Study Circles Empower Artists To Become Community Leaders Around Water Issues, Jill Beth Jacoby

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research explored the use of study circles as a means of engaging artists in dialogue with their peers about water related concerns. The question driving this research was, “In what ways do study circles empower artists to become community leaders around water issues?” Secondary questions focused on emerging environmental, water, and social justice themes as well as examples of increased water awareness and behavior change occurring as a result of individual participation in the study circles. Artists have a unique way of commanding attention and communicating about environmental concerns while functioning as catalysts for activism on a variety of …


Dwelling, Walking, Serving: Organic Preservation Along The Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage Landscape, Mercedes Chamberlain Quesada-Embid Jan 2008

Dwelling, Walking, Serving: Organic Preservation Along The Camino De Santiago Pilgrimage Landscape, Mercedes Chamberlain Quesada-Embid

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study is an exploration of the people and the landscape of the well-known Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. Although there are many routes that make up the entirety of the pilgrimage, this research is specifically focused on the landscape of the Camino Francés, or French Route, in northern Spain. The path has been written about in many ways and for a myriad of reasons since it became affiliated with the Christian tradition in the early ninth century. This research, however, is different. By way of an environmental history and hermeneutic approach, an investigation of the interrelated and overlapping human …


The Ecology Of Paradox: Disturbance And Restoration In Land And Soul, Rowland S. Russell Jan 2008

The Ecology Of Paradox: Disturbance And Restoration In Land And Soul, Rowland S. Russell

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This heuristic study explores environmental disturbance and ecological restoration in several North American settings in order to uncover epistemological, philosophical, aesthetic and ethical considerations revolving around those place-based processes. With fire as one of the central metaphors of this work, the initial place-based chapter examines Northern New Mexico's Pajarito Plateau to explore the region's fire ecology. The study then moves to the Pacific Northwest to draw restoration practice that attempt to restore wild salmon to urban Seattle habitat. The third place-based chapter focuses on the Midwest grass and farmlands in order to investigate the seeming contradictions between commodity and diversity …


Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara Jan 2008

Fostering Sustainability In Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study Of Transformative Leadership And Change Strategies, Kim H. Mcnamara

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

As evidence of the earth’s limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental concerns and support the development of sustainable innovations. Colleges and universities are responding to this call for leadership by starting and/or expanding environmental research programs, integrating sustainability issues throughout the curriculum, adopting sustainable operations, and building green facilities. Reflecting upon the sustainability efforts of these institutions, this research study explores the following questions: What factors are essential for initiating and leading a successful change effort to foster sustainability in higher …


A Community-Based Social Marketing Campaign To Green The Offices At Pacific University: Recycling, Paper Reduction, And Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, Elaine Janet Cole Jan 2007

A Community-Based Social Marketing Campaign To Green The Offices At Pacific University: Recycling, Paper Reduction, And Environmentally Preferable Purchasing, Elaine Janet Cole

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study describes a community-based social marketing (CBSM) research project to bring awareness and behavior change around paper reduction, recycling, and purchasing of environmentally preferred products (EPP) at a small liberal arts university in the Pacific Northwest. A university-wide green office campaign was designed and implemented over a semester. Components of the multiple methods research study were pre-post surveys, purchasing reports, a recycling study, and a waste audit. The results provide examples and insights into specific community-based social marketing tools that helped foster environmental behavior change. The paper also presents suggestions for future CBSM sustainability efforts at other universities. The …


Activist Training In The Academy: Developing A Master's Program In Environmental Advocacy And Organizing At Antioch New England Graduate School, Steve Chase Jan 2006

Activist Training In The Academy: Developing A Master's Program In Environmental Advocacy And Organizing At Antioch New England Graduate School, Steve Chase

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This curriculum action research study begins by raising the question of whether environmental studies programs within higher education should launch activist training programs for public interest advocates and grassroots organizers working for nonprofit organizations focused on environmental protection, corporate accountability, and social justice. Answering that question in the affirmative, the study then focuses on the theoretical issues underlying the creation of activist training programs within the academy, specifically within environmental studies programs, and reports on a case study of the successful development of a master’s program in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing. The first section on theoretical issues focuses first on …