Many highly recognizable apparel brands are voluntarily adopting corporate social and environmental sustainability plans. This thesis evaluated the sustainability initiatives of the lululemon athletica Corporation and the operations of one of its retail stores, lululemon athletica Polo Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. lululemon athletica Inc. was compared with industry sustainability leaders Nike, Timberland and Mountain Equipment Co-op. This comparison revealed that lululemon athletica has few sustainability best practices and little and out of date sustainability information available to their stakeholders. At the store level, two surveys were conducted to determine the employee and customer knowledge of sustainability initiatives at the company and store level. It was determined that employees require more training and stronger senior and middle management presence for sustainability initiatives to be a success, and that customers do not associate lululemon athletica with sustainability. lululemon athletica does not communicate about sustainability sufficiently to create a buzz about sustainability.

Faced with increasing risks from climate change, food systems will need to transition away from dominant industrial paradigms and move towards a more sustainable way of producing, distributing, and consuming food. One solution or one side alone though might not have the desired systemic change or might not capture the full complexity of food systems. To go beyond two known criticisms of local food sustainable initiatives, i.e., to be rather small and to be developed outside policy frameworks and/or in stark opposition to current food systems, in this thesis I argue to look at governance spaces of transformation at local level where community members, professionals, and governments get together to share knowledge, deliberate, and collectively devise place-based strategies to address complex food systems issues. The thesis is divided into three chapters. To completely understand spaces of transformation, the first chapter provides a conceptual framework of analysis combining ideas from sustainability transitions, environmental governance and sustainable food communities’ approaches. With the first chapter laying out the theoretical framework, chapter 2 and 3 will rely on the empirical analysis of data gathered through interviews and surveys. The conceptualization of territorial spaces of transformation and the analysis of whether biodistricts can be considered such spaces of transformation for food systems, will be laid out in chapter 2. Chapter 3 will consider two additional research questions, namely how territorial characteristics influence the emergence of a biodistrict, and what role the biodistricts have in territorial transformations towards agroecology. The aim of the thesis is to generate solid and harmonized evidence on the impact of biodistricts on key sustainability characteristics, such as a biodiverse environment, inclusive societal and cultural values, sustainable economic development, sound governance systems and organic, regenerative agricultural practices. The results allow to develop a blueprint for biodistricts as meso-spaces, showing how the presence of actors, the objectives, activities, and governance structure should evolve according to the maturity phases. Moreover, the application of the CAET-TAPE assessment shows that the biodistricts are performing solidly on agroecological transitions.

Darbo objektas. Lietuvos masinio sporto klubų tvaraus finansavimo užtikrinimo galimybės ir kliūtys. Darbo tikslas. Ištirti Lietuvos masinio sporto klubų tvaraus finansavimo užtikrinimo prielaidas. Darbo uždaviniai: 1. Apibrėžti masinio sporto ir masinio sporto klubo vystymo teorines koncepcijas; 2. Išanalizuoti masinio sporto klubų finansavimo ypatybes; 3. Išanalizuoti Lietuvos masinį sportą reglamentuojančius teisės aktus ir veiklos dokumentus; 4. Atlikti Lietuvos masinio sporto klubų tvaraus finansavimo užtikrinimo galimybių ir kliūčių analizę, apklausiant sporto šakų federacijų atstovus bei miestų savivaldybių sporto specialistus; Svarbiausi rezultatai ir išvados: 1. Masinis sportas – mėgėjų sportas, organizuotas nacionalinių sporto šakų federacijų lygmeniu ir kurio organizavimui labai svarbi savanorių pagalba. Masinis sportas dažnai vykdomas mėgėjų sporto klubuose – asociacijose, kurių nariai yra individualūs asmenys ir kurių esminis tikslas – suteikti visiems gyventojams galimybę užsiimti sportu vietiniame lygmenyje; 2. Masinio sporto klubai, ieškodami finansų savo funkcionavimui, gali remtis šiais šaltiniais: šalies gyventojų išlaidomis sportui, lėšomis iš nacionalinio bei vietinio biudžeto, savanorišku darbu, rėmėjų skiriamomis lėšomis; lėšomis, gautomis už žiniasklaidos teises; lėšomis iš loterijų, lažybų ir lošimų operatorių; lėšomis, gautomis per sporto sistemoje egzistuojančius finansinio solidarumo mechanizmus bei ES projektinio finansavimo lėšomis. 3. Lietuvos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object of this paper. Possibilities and barriers for Lithuanian grassroots sports clubs to ensure sustainable funding. Aim of this paper. To explore the presumptions for Lithuanian grassroots sports clubs to ensure sustainable funding. Tasks of this paper: 1. To define theoretical concepts of development of grassroots sports and grassroots sports club; 2. To analyze funding features of grassroots sports clubs; 3. To analyze legal acts and work documents, which regulates grassroots sports in Lithuania; 4. To analyze possibilities and barriers for Lithuanian grassroots sports clubs to ensure sustainable funding by interviewing representatives from national sports federations and sports experts from municipalities. Main results and conclusions: 1. Grassroots sports – amateur sports, organized at the level of national sports federations and which strongly depends on voluntary work. Grassroots sport is usually exercised in amateur sports clubs – associations, which members are individuals and which essential goal is to privide all people with oportunities to practise sports on local level. 2. Main funding sources for grassroots sports clubs are: households expenditures, finances from local and national budgets, voluntary work, media rights, finances from lotteries, gambling and betting operators, finances designated through financial solidarity mechanisms and EU funding programmes. 3. Laws in Lithuania influence grassroots sports clubs by regulating both direct and indirect state... [to full text]

The reliance upon and depletion of fossil fuels as an energy source puts pressure on individuals, communities, energy companies, and policy-makers. Hydraulic fracturing – known colloquially as fracking – as a method of drilling for oil and natural gas temporarily alleviates this pressure since it allows for the extraction previously inaccessible fossil fuels in shale rock deposits deep beneath the Earth’s surface. This has resulted in a nationwide “fracking boom,” which has come with its share of economic benefits. However, the process of fracking can be detrimental to human and environmental health. In reaction to the increasing development of this practice, many communities across the country are mobilizing against fracking. This thesis will focus on the grassroots activism against fracking in New York, where fracking was banned in December 2014, and in California, which is largely slated as the next frontier for the expansion of fracking and thus battleground for the fight against fracking. Using grassroots academic literature, media coverage of fracking and activism in each state, and interviews from organizers working in each state, this thesis will examine the motivations, frameworks, strategies, and tactics used in each grassroots campaign in order to offer lessons in successes and opportunities for improvement within these anti-fracking efforts and others across the country.

At one time before European contact Indigenous groups flourished on the American continent and maintained their ideas of conveying knowledge, history, and beliefs through the oral tradition. It is widely concluded that hundreds of Native languages were spoken to convey the aspects related above, which were unique and specific to each individual tribe. With the colonization of the American continent by European peoples, came the beginning of the end of the Indian way of life. Because of this reality and circumstances that were yet to be endured by Indigenous groups, the destruction of many Native languages also occurred over time. Presently, only a few hundred Indigenous languages have survived. In the effort at preserving some of the remaining Indigenous languages, writing systems which often have a foundation in non-Native higher academia have been developed for some; O'odham being one. This paper examines developing a more grassroots O'odham writing system.

Scholars who study grassroots innovations argue that small-scale community-led urban projects can serve as catalysts accelerating sustainability, by spreading their techniques and practices into a broader society. This thesis explores the claim by investigating influences of two Swedish eco-villages through two spheres: individual and whole eco-village project basis-influence. The study finds that living in the eco-villages helped the residents to reinforce their environmental behaviours. Also both projects had an indirect impact on the housing companies and the municipalities in light of knowledge building and inspiration. However, there was little evidence that ideas and techniques from the eco-villages were adopted by the higher institutional levels. The findings indicate a need for linking grassroots urban projects to municipal programmes.

Unable to enact change through the existing political institutions of their authoritarian regimes, and consistently repressed by state security forces (the mukhabarat), activists in Egypt and Syria relied on street activism to challenge their conditions. This study analyzes the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Syria through the conceptual lens of a rhizome. Rhizomatic movements are horizontal, grassroots, and allow for the networking of local community-specific grievances, into larger national movements. This networking allows opposition members groups to build solidarity, construct collective identities, and develop a set of shared goals, strategies, and tactics. Furthermore, it provides for the transcendence of existing societal divides (such as religious, ideological, political, socio-cultural, and class), allowing participants to unite as a single force. Since a rhizome is horizontal and lacks a fixed structure, they are significantly more difficult to dismantle, as there is not a set leadership or hierarchy to target. Importantly, this rhizomatic logic integrates itself within the notion of viewing movements within larger cycles of protest or waves of contention. Rhizomatic movements are built through the praxis of networking, rather than through ideological networking. As such, the conditions and history of opposition movements provides important analytical considerations. This study, using process tracing, argues that the Egyptian revolution was rhizomatic in nature and thus able to pose a significant enough force to challenge Mubarak's regime. Although faced with brutal repression, activists remained coordinated, interconnected, and continued to mobilize. Conversely, the Syrian opposition, plagued by years of in-fighting among activists, was unable to develop as a rhizomatic force. Activists failed to sufficiently network, build collective identities, and develop common tactics. This hindered their ability to appeal to and mobilize large segments of the population that were discontent with Assad but still viewed him as the best option for their own interests. When faced with systematic suppression by Assad's regime, the opposition faltered, returning to their own respective individual self-interests and goals, allowing the regime to fragment their attempts at mobilization.

This study focuses on the theory of conflict transformation and on its influence on the work of grassroots peacebuilding organizations in Colombia and in Israel/Palestine. Since there is no uniform and universally accepted definition of what conflict transformation is, the first step in this analysis will involve the construction of a clear framework for this approach. Once completed this task, it will be possible to use the resulting theoretical framework as a tool to analyze the work of six grassroots organizations operating in two of the most protracted, rooted and complicated conflicts of our times. The practical implementation of conflict transformation has still not been investigated in depth and the need for a clarification of this concept started to arise only recently. This research represents an effort in both these directions and hopefully will constitute a suitable starting point for future studies on the subject.

This dissertation research is the study of cultural resource management initiatives and the extent to which archaeological surveys and excavations include or exclude African Caribbean contemporary and historic communities, throughout these processes. Varying types of archaeological sites identified by archaeologists, along with community inclusionary measures are examined to determine as to the degree to which archaeological surveys and excavations are reflective of historic and contemporary African Caribbean communities. Data were collected through archival research, interviews and surveys and analyzed qualitatively to examine the degree to which stakeholders, particularly those who have been historically marginalized, have been incorporated into these processes. It was anticipated that changes in nationalistic identities and the emergence of an African Caribbean middle class would bring about a shift in the focus of cultural resource management initiatives, away from those associated with colonialist Europeans and Americans towards those associated with African Caribbean communities. A comprehensive examination of economic, political, social and cultural conditions provides the framework for an examination of historic and contemporary factors that have influenced the emergence of African Caribbean middle class communities. The data suggest that shifts in cultural resource management initiatives do occur as African Caribbean middle classes emerge from European colonialist societies. However, in some cases, the emergence of this middle class has been delayed. The data also suggest that archaeological surveys and excavations are still conducted without comprehensive community inclusionary measures or the inclusion of aspects of community based site significance. History, memory, and identity are key components of community-based concepts of tangible resources and as indicated in this study, differ greatly from resources as defined historically by colonialist and currently by archaeologists.

The purpose of this study has been to examine what assistance potential mothers’ of the next generation suggest for girls, in order for all to be able to complete primary education. This has been investigated through asking 36 women age 18-25, what obstacles they see for socio- economically constrained girls. They have also been asked about how they think these obstacles can be altered for the next generation. The study method has been focus group interviews. When analysing the interview material Empowerment theory and the Salutogenic theory have been applied. The main solutions presented by the respondents is support in income generating activities for the poorest mothers and advocacy for girls’ education. The best way of supporting mothers would according to the respondents be for the Ethiopian Government to assist the poorest mothers to start and run businesses. Religious leaders are perceived to be the possible assistance provider in position to affect the public opinion making the whole society more willing to invest in girls’ educational chances.