Theses and Dissertations from UMD
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Environmental Stewardship in the Private Sector: Arriving at a Green Hands Theory(2013) Aelion, Halley Mallama; Hultman, Nathan; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Views on the intent and outcomes of corporate social responsibility (CSR) range from laudatory to skeptical. Regardless of the mixed reception and questions raised about the meaning of CSR, it is clear that the private sector's increasing power in the 21st century requires a correspondingly well-defined range of responsibilities. This dissertation investigates why and how firms choose to engage in CSR. It does so through three essays that explore the private sector's approach to environmental stewardship CSR (ESCSR) with particular emphasis on the role of employees in ESCSR. The first essay engages in an empirical study that asks broad questions about private sector employees' opinions towards CSR. It asks how employees understand CSR; how they prioritize environmental goals under the CSR umbrella; and whether or not their CSR- and ESCSR-related activities impact their feelings of personal well-being and career fulfillment. The results of this essay's original survey suggest that the private sector's approach to ESCSR should leverage employees' interest in and enthusiasm for CSR and ESCSR to achieve environmental stewardship and CSR goals. The second essay investigates the actual extent to which private sector leadership engages with employees on matters related to CSR and ESCSR through both a statistical and case study. The statistical study asks what variables make firms more likely to afford employees a substantial role in CSR activities, resulting in the discovery that a more diverse and larger leadership body is a significant indicator of a firm's willingness to engage employees. The case study then pushes the statistical findings into more detail by illuminating three firms' rationales behind their ESCSR approaches. The final, ethics-focused essay builds on the findings of the first and second essays to propose an original theory that builds on the legal theory of clean hands to arrive at `green hands.' This green hands theory outlines a specific and normatively robust framework firms can adopt to achieve goals related both to employee and environmental stewardship. I conclude by discussing implications for policy recommendations and areas for future research.Item Older Gardeners as Keepers of the Earth: A Phenomenological Study(2007-04-26) Collins, Carole Staley; Hultgren, Francine H; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study explores what the lived experience of gardening is like for older, community-dwelling gardeners as it is uncovered through conversations, garden visits, and written notes from seven older gardeners. Over a two-year sequence, multiple in-depth individual conversations at the homes of the co-researcher participants unearth themes reflective of their gardening lives. Drawn forward by the methodology of hermeneutic phenomenology, the rich text of our dialogue mingles like compost and becomes something newly created that shows their passion for interacting with plants and living habitats. Using the existentials of lived place, lived body, lived time and lived relation we dig into how gardening is lived. Home and volunteer places for gardening keep these older adults curious and creatively engaged-characteristics of healthy agers. Their worn body parts go unnoticed in the presence of beauty they co-create, suggesting knowing the Earth through the senses is a source of tranquility and wakefulness that brings a renewed appreciation for the wonder of nearby nature. With interpretive literature, poetry, and cultural understandings of the gardeners' lives, we relate to metaphors surrounding gardening; the seasons and the circle of life are ever-present. Autobiographical stories of sustained volunteerism, land trusts, and conservancies for future generations reveal their caring for the planet and spiritual aspects of this physical activity, which they love. Reaching out beyond their gardens to share their bounty and wisdom about their relationship with living earth, the gardeners model a vision of respect for the planet and an ecological consciousness. Witnessing nearby nature, they blossom in the Fall of their lives. As a community health professional, my task is to educate and raise awareness about nature for human health and well-being; thereby building on current initiatives to foster accessible nearby nature. The study also sheds light on the value of environmental activism through autobiographical notions. In supporting a gardening life for older gardeners, we advocate the importance of interacting with nearby nature that we long to preserve. Our planet needs more earth keepers like these to bring us back into balance.