The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how a subsidiary of a multi-national corporation (MNC) achieved a social licence, in a Sub-Saharan host country undergoing agrarian transformation. Several foreign companies lost their land to communities in the wake of land conflicts between the legal owners and surrounding communities. However, this is a case of one of a few big landowners that have survived and continued to operate, without suffering substantial vandalism from communities. The study argues this to be an instrumental case of achieving and maintaining a social licence in a context characterised by heighted resource nationalism sentiments. Extant literature acknowledges that communities’ expectations are rising, rendering a legal licence insufficient. Emphasis is on the need for firms reliant on finite natural resources, such as land, to seek a social licence from communities. Yet, the processes through which such a licence could be achieved and maintained are little understood. The social licence is conceptually and theoretically underdeveloped. Anchoring on legitimacy theory, this study looks across two literatures on social licence and corporate community engagement. It empirically demonstrates how and under what conditions corporate community engagement processes deliver phases of a social licence. An embedded case study is utilised to capture processes from the perspective of both the firm and the community. The study advances theory of social licence by exploring the processes of an instrumental firm in an understudied but critical agriculture industry. The study identified transactional, transitional and transformational engagement processes, as essential in building legitimacy and trust which are the basis of dynamic phases of social licence. The researcher proposes three new constructs: context specific community expectations, engagement legitimacy, and corporate community visibility, to advance scholarship on social licencing processes. The study distinguishes firm legitimacy from engagement legitimacy. This paves way for future studies to further develop these concepts in social licence process research. Managers in agriculture and other extractive firms will use the theory built from this study to understand how they can achieve social licence at various levels, thereby mitigating the high social risk associated with losing a social licence. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DPhil / Unrestricted

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The Loving Neighborhood was a very active ecosystem consisting of four communities (Capella, Carson, Midtown, and Summerville) that came together to form one larger community. Although the four neighborhoods’ ethnic makeup was about 30% Black, 30% Latino, and 30% White, the Carson community was predominantly Black. The Carson neighborhood had a very vibrant neighborhood association in which there were four adult Black males who actively participated in Carson’s economic and community development efforts. These men consistently attended neighborhood meetings, volunteered on community action committees, held community leadership positions, and participated regularly in local events. In order to understand the work of adult Black males who were seeking to improve the quality of life in a specific community context, this research sheds light on the “voices” of these four adult Black males as they attempted to foster neighborhood transformation by becoming more active in an Black urban community. It is imperative that the shared meanings of Black men be understood within the ecosystems in which they existed, emphasizing the importance of their conversations that addressed the needs of their communities. While previous research studies have explored adult learning and community engagement separately, these studies have failed to address how Black males could have helped Black communities in grassroots development efforts. Studies that have addressed these intersections could have provided valuable insight into why Black men became active in their communities, what they might have learned because of their community activism, how they remained motivated, and what skills they would have needed in order to effectively engage underserved neighborhoods. In response to this deficiency, this inquiry employed a critical approach to explore the importance of the unique voices of these four Black men as they participated in the transformation of their neighborhoods.

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ABSTRACT This thesis presents case studies of five projects that use the visual arts to effect social change in post-apartheid South Africa. Artist Proof Studio, Paper Prayers, Phumani Paper, Community Engagement at the University of Johannesburg and the AIDS Action Intervention exemplify a range of approaches to social activism through the arts that parallels the political transformation to democracy. The first case study traces the history of the community printmaking studio, Artist Proof Studio, from 1991 to 2008 in three phases: redress, reconciliation and rebuilding. Artist Proof Studio was founded in 1992 to provide visual arts training to highly creative, but previously disadvantaged individuals. The Paper Prayers for AIDS Awareness initiative was implemented as a program of the studio in 1998. Originally funded by government, the campaign reached thousands of people nationwide. Phumani Paper, a national hand papermaking programme for job creation, was founded in response to a state directive to higher education institutions to implement technology transfer and poverty alleviation initiatives. The Papermaking Research and Development Unit was established at the University of Johannesburg in 1996. The principles and approaches established through these programs are analysed in the fifth case study, the AIDS Action Intervention. This three-year intervention brings all the initiatives together in a multi-disciplinary program that applies participatory action research as well as visual arts methodologies that help catalyse meaningful social action. There are common elements running through each of the case studies that derive from the fact that each intervention was based on the democratic values of human rights and equity. Further, the methodology throughout is dialogical, consultative, and designed to facilitate participants recognizing their own voices. The idea is that practice leads to understanding and stems from a fundamental ethical principle or ideal that all human beings have the capacity to realize their potential in their own way. The central argument of these case studies is that the projects continue to survive, against significant odds, because of the power of imagination, aspiration and dreaming. I interrogate the projects’ foundational premise that participants are empowered by the creative process, which promotes a sense of pride, and generates leadership as well as income. In addition, I argue that grass-roots visual arts projects, which ordinarily go un-analysed in any systematic way, can offer a model for transforming knowledge-creation through their non-hierarchical and participatory methodologies. In sum, this thesis documents and analyses eighteen years of arts activism; it assesses the actual outcomes of the interventions against the idealistic aims on which the projects were founded, and provides a resource guide for cultural activism in South Africa. It demonstrates the dynamic possibilities that exist in the domain of development and arts education.

Rising collection costs sometimes necessitate tough decisions regarding cancellation of popular products. In 2015–2016, the East Tennessee State University Medical Library subscribed to UpToDate and DynaMed Plus, both clinical point-of-care products, with the understanding that one product would be canceled at the fiscal year end. The librarian team undertook a year-long community engagement campaign to inform library users about the pending product cancellation decision. Ultimately, DynaMed Plus was selected and UpToDate was cancelled. The campaign generated user engagement with the decision making, along with perceived benefits including increased awareness of the library's budget constraints, increased discussion of scholarly publishing, and greater faculty/student knowledge of evaluating evidence-based products.

In this paper, I explore the relationship between academic medical centers and the local school districts in which they are situated within the context of what I experienced as a medical student working in an education non-profit. This analysis is intended to arrive at actionable reccomendations for the non-profit, RISE, with the end goal of transforming the organization into one in line with the principles of urban bioethics. The hope is that applying what I learned in the classroom, in the Urban Bioethics master’s degree program, will improve the success of RISE in its adaptation by the community and result in greater impact on education and mentorship of our students. First, in the introduction, I will describe the general healthcare landscape in the United States and how education is viewed by the healthcare system. I will also discuss in the introduction my personal experience as a medical student at Temple in Philadelphia and my exposure to the school district that led me to be involved with the education non-profit. Second, I demonstrate that education is a key social determinant of health by exploring the literature and research that supports this notion. Third, I explore the economic and political context that I believe foreshadows greater investment in education from academic health centers. Fourth, I describe the Philadelphia RISE educational organization and its current status of operations. Fifth, I consider Temple’s strategy in community engagement as a veteran role model for the fledgling non-profit. Sixth, I discuss the role of urban bioethics in shaping my ultimate recommendations to the non-profit. Seventh (and finally), I articulate the recommendations, which will most notably alter the leadership structure to incorporate community stakeholders. / Urban Bioethics

Involuntary loneliness has become a societal challenge and might be developed into mental illness. Social inclusion is believed to be a key factor of mental wellness. It is important for decision makers to put in intersectoral efforts to enhance social interaction and create social belongingness which would be beneficial to the well-being of community members. This study seeks to understand how we can design digital-physical meeting places to enhance social interaction in community settings. A pre-study was conducted to understand the current social interaction experiences. Three ideas of potential solutions were generated based on the results of pre-study. A final prototype following the idea of Interactive Band was made to evaluate through user tests and semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that it could be supportive for enhancing social interaction through instant feedback and variation of play. This article further discussed what design choices could facilitate interaction with the designed object and interaction with other people and what should be considered when designing for a community.

<p>Engineering graduates are called on by society to work with others to address wicked problems which incorporate a wide range of socio-technical considerations. One promising approach to more wholistically prepare students for the demands of engineering-related work and positively contributing as citizens is community-engaged learning. To help this pedagogy more closely meet its full potential, this study used the context of Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA), as viewed through the lens of its alums in professional practice. It also explored individuals’ differentiated outcomes produced by the many types of variation inherent in the EWB-USA model. The goal of the project was to inform best practices for how community-engaged engineering programs can be implemented to support students’ professional preparation. This study took a QUAN QUAL explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach. The survey instrument (<em>n</em> = 268) led to non-parametric tests for group comparisons which were conducted on scores generated through exploratory factor analysis. Inductive thematic analysis was then used on the semi-structured interview transcripts (<em>n</em> = 29). EWB-USA was shown to support the transition between schooling and work through authentic experiential learning, which incorporated inherently-complex projects truly intended for implementation to meaningfully benefit end-users and engaging with a wide range of diverse stakeholders. It especially bolstered the development of competencies in project management, design and project processes, communication, diverse teaming, contextualization, addressing challenges and new situations, and functioning as a connected element of larger complex socio-technical systems. These gains were reflected in the alums’ perceived advantage in career outcomes, demonstrating their long-lasting transferability to professional practice. The results of this study also showed that while limited variations were found based on participant demographics, differences in personal experience within EWB-USA had a greater effect on outcomes. The differences found based on demographic groupings consisted of women reporting greater benefits to their confidence and sense of community. Impactful individual experience differences identified included length of time involved with EWB-USA, mentor engagement, leadership opportunities, repeating phases on different projects, seeing a project from start-to-finish, and number of trips taken to the community partner site. Across the competencies developed from the program, alums often reported perceiving greater benefits from their EWB-USA experiences once they had an opportunity to apply their learnings in professional practice.</p>

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Community engagement and relevance are topics prominently discussed in the museum field. Conversations about public history and social justice, however, are less common. Combining these two ideas and thinking broadly about how museums, particularly historic houses, can stay relevant in their community by adopting a community-centered mission, this thesis uses Casey Farm as a case study. By conducting interviews with the site managers and market manager alongside surveying market vendors and visitors, this thesis compares the museum’s perspective of their relevance with the lived experiences of visitors. Ultimately arguing that historic houses should prioritize community interests when creating programming to retain audiences to the museum. Studying how Casey Farm partners with Coastal Growers’ Market to increase community relevance by aligning with the goals of the Food Movement, this example can encourage other historic house museums to use the resources at their site and seek out possible partnerships in their community.