<p> In the United States, 20% of newly established small businesses, including small businesses in the life insurance industry, fail within 2 years, and over 50% of them fail during the first 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify and explore the strategies that life insurance brokerage owners use to sustain business operations beyond 5 years. Porter&rsquo;s 5 forces model served as the conceptual framework for exploring this subject matter. Owners of 3 separate small life insurance brokerage firms in Texas, who sustained their businesses beyond 5 years, participated in semistructured interviews. A secondary source of data was relevant company documents. Methodological triangulation and member checking assured the reliability and validity of the interpretations. Through thematic analysis and supporting software, 5 themes emerged: exceptional customer service, relationship-building, efficient promotional strategies, regular training of salespersons, and hiring the right employees. The application of the findings of the study could contribute to positive social change by reducing unemployment and thereby catalyzing an economic environment supporting employees, families, and communities. </p><p>

<p> My thesis explores the idea that Buckminster Fuller&rsquo;s World Game is really a formal calculus capable of representing world-scale sustainability problem-solving according to the fundamental principles of a (blockchain) <u> database</u> + (Fuller projection) <u>map</u> + (machine learning) <u>simulation</u> in the form of a <u>game </u>. These computational media comprise an operational formalism which embraces all effective procedures for world-scale problem-solving. If this hypothesis is true, then that would mean World Game&rsquo;s comprehensive use of the aforementioned fundamental principles are necessary for a sustainable Earth-scale civilization. Furthermore, the protocol for solution formation in the form of World Game &ldquo;game&rdquo; is sufficient for solving the problem of &ldquo;making the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time through spontaneous cooperation without ecological offense or the disadvantage of anyone&rdquo;&mdash;the objective of World Game. If this hypothesis of sufficiency is true, that means World Game&rsquo;s principles are in effect synonymous with the process of making the world work. In plain English, a problem-solving engine like World Game is necessary for the survival of humanity, period.</p><p>

<p> This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of six whitewater kayakers on the Potomac River on the east coast of the United States. Research participants, three women and three men, ranged in age from 21 to 72. The study reviews as context the history of kayaking and the theories of ecofeminism, participant motivation, transformational experience and environmental responsibility, and narrative identity. Further theories of flow, group flow, and earthflow inform the potential creative synergy of the paddler and the river. The study shows that participant motivations change through time and there are common elements of the experience shared among paddlers. The study proposes four themes and related subthemes that describe the whitewater kayaking experience: initiating, deepening, imagining, and appreciating. The study finds that, over time, whitewater kayakers feel connected to something larger than themselves. The majority of whitewater media coverage is incongruous with the reported experiences of whitewater kayakers. Healing the split between reported experiences and common representations may help broaden the appeal of whitewater kayaking to prospective paddlers, promote more reflective decision-making processes, and further active engagement through conservancy by clarifying the connection between the experience of paddling whitewater and the deep gratitude felt among participants. Other practical implications include bringing questions of community identity and the whitewater journey to the forefront of conversations, so that the community can work toward congruent representations of the whitewater experience that focus on connection to nature rather than glorified risk taking. This may help kayakers form a more seamless, ecocentric riverine identity. </p><p>

<p> Organization development (OD) is a field of scholarship and practice with a tradition of contributions to successful organizational change since the 1930s. In recent years proponents of OD have articulated the need for the field to address global issues, including sustainability. The World Commission on Environment and Development of the United Nations in 1987 published <i> Our Common Future,</i> also known as the Brundtland Report, and called for attention to urgent issues of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Subsequent sustainability scholars and practitioners identified organizational and social changes requisite for its achievement. This descriptive, qualitative, empirical study links the two fields. Eleven internal organization development practitioners (IODPs) were interviewed about their role as change agents for sustainability within their organizations. Thematic analysis was used to identify five themes from their responses about their organizations of employment: the constancy of change, the variety and forms of sustainability in evidence, the work of IODPs, organizational relationships of IODPs and their reflections on their practice, and the IODPs&rsquo; perspectives on being agents of change. The findings have implications for how IODPs are integrated into the sustainability initiatives of organizations as well as for the education and training of these practitioners.</p><p>

<p> This study involved the use of a quantitative, cross-sectional design to test the tenet of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) that connects a logistics organization&rsquo;s ability to adapt to dwindling natural resources and economic sustainability. Through an examination of the correlation of alternative fuel use and the financial measurement of cost as percent of sales in U.S.-based, publicly traded third party logistics (3PL) companies using 2013 financial data, a statistically significant, strong, negative correlation was affirmed, indicating a correlation between alternative fuel use and improved financial performance. The statistical correlation of implementing alternative fuels and financial performance serves to remove the assumed financial barrier to implementing alternative fuels for logistics practitioners in the context of the impending apocalypse of a global $10.2 trillion transportation system that is fueled by oil that will eventually run out. As a field of study, sustainability in logistics has few theoretical frameworks and there is a clear need for quantitative research to evaluate those that do exist. This study addressed the need for research by adding directly to the body of logistics sustainability knowledge, establishing a template for future research, and reaffirming the need for the standardization of non-financial reporting.</p><p>

<p> Democracy in the United States is in crisis. With trust in elected officials low, corporate interest high, and faith in democratic mechanisms in question, my research turns to how local community organizers of different political ideologies navigate and maintain faith in democratic practice. Gaining insights into democratic practice is critical in order to aid in the cultivation and maintenance of just and sustainable communities through collective power. To that end, my thesis investigates how organizers perceive democracy and work with it at both structural and ideal levels. My research also investigates if organizers consider there to be a tension between the two and how their democratic practices are impacted by this. It is an exploration into the transformative capabilities of democracy and the maintenance in faith in democratic practice within the world as it stands versus the world as it can be. To that end, my research investigates these four questions: <i>1) How do community organizers from different backgrounds conceptualize democracy? 2) What are the stories that they tell about democracy? 3) Do they experience a tension within democratic practice? If so, what stories do they tell that help them make sense of these tensions? 4) Do they describe a tension between structural and ideal democracy? If so, what stories do they tell about this tension? </i></p><p> The format is a narrative study of democracy and explores the varying conceptualizations organizers hold of it. The information was gathered through one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven participants, aiming to gain understanding, insight and inspiration from life stories and a dedication to organizing practices. My goal is to provide varying accounts of ways in which to perceive democracy, negotiating the variety of tensions we, the organizers, activists, educators, and healers, face within our daily organizing practices, and the furthering of future democratic efforts through differing means and commitments.</p><p>

<p> This research lays out a strategic process improvement plan that can be used for similar processes that have machine availability problems. Lean Six Sigma will be used as the primary source of tools and methodology for implementation of a successful process improvement. A case study is used to show a successful implementation of the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC approach, how statistical analysis can be used to identify the problem area, and how statistical tools are used to see if improvements are significant. This approach uniquely identifies on what areas to focus attention to gain a better understanding of where the root of the problem occurs. By using the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC method, a systematic process is established to make a significant positive change to the process&rsquo; machine availability, which increased production and revenue. Several statistical and problem solving tools from Lean Six Sigma were used in this study, which aided in analyzing and implementing process improvements in the process to reach a savings of $618,884.00.</p><p>

2 p. / The beef industry has done a good job of improving the sustainability of the beef industry over the past 22 years. This fact sheet summarized the changes that have been made.

<p> Due in part to its geographic isolation and unique climate, Hawai&lsquo;i has a high number of endemic species and is considered a biodiversity hotspot. At the same time, these characteristics make Hawai&lsquo;i vulnerable to species loss. To protect endangered species, conservationists focus on preserving Hawai&lsquo;i&rsquo;s native ecosystems through invasive species control and habitat restoration. Native forests are central to Hawai&lsquo;i&rsquo;s watershed, provide habitat for endemic pollinators, and foster bioculture. Pollinators are integral for ecosystem health as well as for human spaces, and worldwide pollinators have been on the decline. Since pollinators and their flowering counterparts are embedded in human lives, this research challenges traditional conservation approaches by contextualizing more-than-human entanglements within social, political, and cultural milieu. The purpose of this work is to draw from posthumanism, new materialism, and indigenous discourse to examine the biopolitical issues in which Hawaii&rsquo;s endemic pollinators situate to re-envision questions and ethics of conservation. The researcher followed endemic pollinators through native forests to explore the entangled relationship between humans, pollinators, and forests examining the question, what is the biopolitical culture of endemic pollinators in Hawai&rsquo;i? This multi-sited, multi-method research used a mix of autoethnography, participant observations and interviews, visual data, and archival and biocultural accounts to articulate emergent findings. The findings of this dissertation discuss the nuances of multispecies entanglements and mattering, politics of biological conservation and extinction, and material-discursive understandings of place. This study suggests human/more-than-human encounters are grounded in reciprocity and responsibility and co-create place.</p><p>

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Tourism is one of the many external forces influencing the direction and options for local economic development. A truly legitimate and practical discussion on tourism development must take place in and with the communities that are being influenced by tourist industry development. The tourism sector is the fourth largest generator of foreign exchange in South Africa and lies third, after manufacturing (24.4%) and mining and quarrying (8.6%), in its contribution to the economy, at 8.2%, but poverty and unemployment still persist, especially in rural areas. In line with the conceptual and theoretical framework derived from both demand and supply factors, this research was conducted to explore and develop a conceptual framework to examine how prices are established in local markets for tourism andassess the level of community participation in the tourism business ventures at Senqu Local Municipality in South Africa. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of research have been applied throughout the study. The views of the community on their socio- economic conditions and their willingness to participate in tourism business ventures were also sought. The findings of the study lead to the conclusion that the socio-economic living conditions of the community of SLM are very poor and that empowerment and participation of the community could be an answer to alleviation thereof and provide a contribution to local economic development.