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The issues surrounding the distribution and management of ecosystem resources in local communities in the face of climate change have never been more relevant. This qualitative study seeks to explore the understanding and implications surrounding environmental justice in local communities in the framework of environmental courses provided by organization “A” in northern Tanzania. The environmental justice indicator framework served as a conceptual framework to analyze the stakeholders' understanding and the local communities' experience surrounding different dimensions of environmental justice. Focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were carried out with a total of 25 participants for data collection and analysis. A thematic analysis methodology provided several findings related to the contrast in substantive, distributive and procedural justices in relation to the environmental courses provided by the organization “A” and the local authorities. The study highlights the dynamics of access, power and control and the implications of intersectionality in relation to the distribution of ecosystem resources in the targeted rural communities. Concludingly, the research study highlights the need for more advocacy, coordination and efforts from the stakeholders, local authorities and local communities in achieving environmental justice for everyone.

This research seeks to investigate the impact of equitable development strategies on urban environmental justice. I focused on the extent to which the processes that accompany the highly visible large-scale park planning projects promote equity and inclusion in the Rail Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington D.C. This research focuses on natural urban environment settings, with attention given to the development of highly visible parks projects that take at least partial inspiration from New York City’s High Line Park. Park development in underserved neighborhoods can lead to green gentrification. Thus, equity concerns are raised, as the very residents that would benefit the most from environmental improvements such as green space remediation and expansion are more likely to be excluded due to their development. I employed a qualitative methodology utilizing content analysis and 33 in depth interviews were conducted at two park project sites in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. Based on grounded theory, I explored stakeholder attitudes, feelings, and perceptions tied to varied notions of equity and the engagement levels of planning processes connected to park project development. Trust capital emerged as a major theme in the perceived efficacy of development processes that pursue equitable goals. This factor fluctuates with stakeholder perceptions of equity and the legitimization of socioeconomic concerns expressed by the community in urban green infrastructure development. This research concludes that the inclusion of an equitable development (ED) process impacts greening project implementation and the individuals involved. / Geography

The present study was conducted to further our understanding of the correlates of and variations in perceptions of police treatment among African American adolescent offenders. Ethnic identity development can play a role in youths' sensitivity to stigma, but whether this finding applies to black youth involved in the juvenile justice system has not been explored. Although there is evidence for a robust association between perceptions of discrimination and negative psychological outcomes, there is a dearth of research that investigates a) the directional nature of these associations, and b) how associations vary as a function of perceptions of personal and group discrimination. Participants were 501 African American youth ages 14-18 who were adjudicated of a felony or serious misdemeanor in Philadelphia. Data were taken from annual interviews conducted over the course of four years. Increased ethnic identity exploration was related to the perception that police use biased behavior against people from different racial/ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, there was a relatively stronger association between psychological distress and perceptions of police behavior among youth who reported taking an active role in making meaning of their ethnicity,. Finally, the results of this study support drawing a distinction between personal and global perceptions of discrimination, in that their links to psychological distress differed with respect to the direction of effects. Specifically, whereas negative personal encounters with the police lead to higher levels of distress, being distressed led to more negative global perceptions of the police. This study provides evidence that normative processes in adolescence, like ethnic identity development, operate much the same way among high risk youth (e.g., juvenile offenders) as in more normative samples. This is especially important given that the consideration of normative developmental processes in high-risk samples like juvenile offenders can have implications for rehabilitation efforts. Finally, the present research highlights the need for the education of law enforcement agencies regarding adolescent development and factors that might increase or decrease young people's willingness to comply with the law. / Psychology

The number of Ombudsman offices in U.S. federal agencies rose dramatically in the 1990s. This study investigates why, despite the efforts of policymakers to force staff reductions across the federal government, Ombudsman offices continued to be established to the point that almost every agency has an Ombudsman. This study uses neo-institutionalist theory to pinpoint indicators that explain what has triggered the proliferation of external facing Ombudsmen in the federal government. The results of this historical retrospective investigation, which uses a mixed methods approach, indicate that the offices were created to ensure procedural justice and as a response to both: stakeholder pressures (since the population became more vocal and active, demanding access to the government, transparency, and accountability) and congressional mandates (such as the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (ADRA) of 1990 and 1996 the Alternative Dispute Resolution Acts from 1998). This is consistent with neo-institutionalist expectations that organizations change as the result of pressures from forces in the environment combined with the drive for survival. As change accelerates, isomorphism occurs as organizations and agencies adopt strategies that have worked for other similar organizations in their environment. / Ph. D.

The most recent research trend within the field of organizational justice is the study of interactional justice (Tyler & Bies, 1990; Greenberg, 1990). Most of the work conducted in this area focuses on the explanations leaders give to followers about decisions made or actions taken that frequently lead to adverse consequences or loss. These explanations are called "social accounts". While research indicates that social accounts are effective at mitigating negative reactions to adverse decisions, and improving perceptions of justice, the underlying causes remain largely unknown. This study used the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as a theoretical base to explore what factors make an account "acceptable", and the impact that an acceptable account has on a number of organizationally relevant outcomes. Specifically, this study used an experimental design in a pay-for-performance context to assess the impact of message specificity (high vs. low) and source expertise (expert vs. non-expert), under varying conditions of outcome involvement (higher vs. lower) on the acceptability of a justification for a change in a distributive criterion that resulted in a loss. Other dependent variables investigated included perceptions of justice (procedural, interactional, and distributive fairness), attitudes (satisfaction with the trainer and the task), and behaviors (commitment to the trainer and the task, and complaints). The results indicated that justifications delivered by the expert trainer were more acceptable than non-experts under conditions of lower involvement (except when a non-expert delivered a specific justification). This effect reversed itself, however, under higher involvement. There was a main effect of specificity such that specific justifications were more acceptable than vague justifications regardless of the level of involvement. Acceptability was positively related to all dependent measures with the exception of complaints, which had a negative relationship. Furthermore, acceptability fully mediated the impact of message specificity on trainer commitment, and partially on procedural fairness, distributive fairness (assessment), and task commitment. Acceptability fully mediated the negative impact of expertise under high involvement on procedural and distributive fairness (assessment), and interactional fairness. / Ph. D.

In evaluating clientsâ satisfaction with their lawyers, some research indicates that clients consider the interpersonal aspect of the lawyer-client relationship just as important as the legal competence of the lawyer. The purpose of this study is to assess factors hypothesized to be involved in clients* evaluations of lawyers and the legal system. These factors are ratings of procedural justice, perceptions of lawyers interactional styles and types of social power, and clientsf demographic and legal case characteristics. Data for the quantitative analysis in this study comes from a national telephone survey of legal clients. In addition, qualitative data from responses to an open-ended question in the telephone survey and focus groups of legal clients in divorce cases are analyzed. The results of the multiple regression and path analyses reveal that lawyers’ interactional orientation (combinations of social power and adoption of occupational role) nave the greatest effect on ratings of procedural justice. Ratings of procedural justice and lawyers’ interactional orientation have the greatest effect on satisfaction with lawyers. Smaller effects come from the outcome and the type of legal case. Satisfaction with the attorney has a greater effect on satisfaction with the courts for women than it does for men. Ratings of procedural justice and lawyer’s interactional styles have a large effect on satisfaction with the courts for both men and women. Comments by the survey respondents and the focus group participants support previous research that the major sources of dissatisfaction with lawyers are fees, discourtesy, and delays. Issues which coincide with elements of the rating of procedural justice emerged from the focus groups. The components of representation, quality and accuracy, and respect and concern for the client were brought up in various ways. A suggestion is made for the use of the components of procedural justice as a guideline or checklist for lawyers and clients as a way of improving the image of lawyers and increasing clients’ consumer power. / Ph. D.

No / This study aims to investigate whether, and how, the use of performance measures, procedural justice, and interpersonal trust interact to affect organisational commitment of police officers. Drawing on a survey based on a sample of 57 senior officers within a single police force, we find that the use of performance measures, procedural justice, and interpersonal trust are positively associated with organisational commitment. Further analysis reveals that trust between officer and superior mediates the relationship between the use of non-financial measures and organisational commitment, but procedural justice does not have a mediating effect on commitment. These findings are further explored through selected interviews with respondents.

Yes / Within the workplace, justice is influenced by the interpersonal relationships between colleagues and/or management among other things. The main reason for this research is to examine the correlation between organisational justice and the ethical behaviour of employees. Based on the literature, the conceptual model developed in this paper integrates distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice in relation to ethical behaviour. By applying an adapted survey questionnaire, data were collected from teaching staff at public sector higher education institutions. Multiple regression analysis was applied to 360 samples and this showed that distributive and procedural justice have a more positive and significant impact than informational and interpersonal justice on the ethical behaviour of employees. This is an empirical study which may contribute to the literature on ethical behaviour, organisational development and employee development.

This study deals with the employee fairness perceptions of their performance management system in a South African organisation. The concept of justice, with particular reference to procedural, distributive and interactional justice, is used as a guide in assessing employee perceptions of fairness of the organisations’ performance management system. A qualitative approach was used to gain an in-depth understanding of employee perceptions of fairness based on their personal experiences of the organisation’s performance management system. Data was obtained through extensive semi structured interviews with 20 employees who had been with the organisation and participated in the performance management system for 5 or more years. All interviews were transcribed and assessed using a thematic analysis. The overall findings show that there are negative fairness perceptions of the performance management system as assessed according to the three organisational justice factors of procedural, distributive and interactional justice. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology) / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)