This project explores the contribution of an individual in a journey towards corporate social responsibility in a modern civic university. In an organisational context of a university that promotes a civic vision, with stakeholders who are internal and external, local and international, this report outlines a range of initiatives, from equality and diversity best practice to community engagement projects, which enhanced corporate reputation. It demonstrates how a holistic approach of encouraging an inclusive environment and a positive relationship with its communities, underpinned by principles of fairness and transparency, can generate stakeholder confidence in an organisation and pave the way towards the development of a CSR strategy and culture. Using a methodology which combines reflection and action research, the project identifies connections between personal values and professional activities and demonstrates how both individuals and organisations can impact on partners and stakeholders. It outlines how, by working in line with shared corporate values, an individual who may not be in an executive role can influence an institution in making a difference to its communities. The project uses action research in the development of a CSR statement, explores how principles were embedded into corporate strategy and practice, and benchmarks progress. In a study that captures perceptions of key stakeholders, it evaluates the impact of the CSR approach, quantifies stakeholder engagement and determines if the institution is seen as responsible by those who have contact with it. In reviewing wider CSR developments and examining a contribution to CSR within an institution and to the broader community of practice, the project develops CSR principles which have wider applicability. 10 Synthesising the evidence collected and comparing existing approaches to corporate social responsibility, a new framework for CSR is proposed. The framework draws lessons for the CSR community of practice by incorporating strands of CSR activity and CSR verification across all organisational and stakeholder levels. Informed by the experience of engagement with CSR, the report reaches conclusions that can be used by individuals and organisations that are themselves at different stages of their own CSR journeys.

<p> Carry in/ Carry out (CICO) policies have been used in front-country parks for a long time. According to the National Park Service (2013), &ldquo;trash free parks&rdquo; are ones that implement carry in and carry out policies; the manager of a park removes all or most of the garbage cans in hope of having park patrons carry out the refuse that they generate and dispose of it at home. Managers use this policy as a way to reduce the costs associated with hauling trash out of the park, and to deter patrons from leaving garbage in the park. Reducing the amount of trash clean up also gives the park staff the ability to focus on other operational needs and park projects. This study looks at the effectiveness of carry in/ carry out policies in federal parks, state parks, and NGO-managed lands by interviewing sixteen managers (n=16) of these areas in the Northeast. This exploratory study used grounded theory. Two strategies were used to collect data (online survey and phone interviews). Data was analyzed by coding. Results suggest that the number one barrier for getting visitors to comply with CICO policies is a lack of awareness about littering. The most common benefit for using a CICO system is to save money, followed by creating public awareness about the items brought into parks. This study found that 67% of NGO managers and 75% of federal managers think that CICO is an effective policy; state park managers were mixed on whether CICO policies are in fact effective. The one thing that federal, state, and NGO agencies agree on is that there is always litter to be picked up by staff or volunteers. The amount of that litter varied from park to park, and there does not seem to be one strategy that works for everyone.</p>

No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jason S. Bergtold / This dissertation examines advances in applied discrete choice econometrics in applied settings and conservation practice adoptions by Kansas farmers. The research contributes to the literature by examining the use of discrete choice models to more deeply examine adoption of conservation practices and the choice of crop rotations in Kansas. In addition, a method for examining the proper functional specification of logistic regression models is explored. The first essay aims to examine landscape, climatic, socio-economic and farm factors affecting choice of crop rotations by farm managers in dryland cropping systems. A particular emphasis is place on the role, insurance products (such as RA-CRC (Revenue Assurance/Crop Revenue Coverage) and ACRE (Average Crop Revenue Election)), as well as marketing options, and characteristics of farming operations. This paper models the joint adoption of crop rotations using a multinomial modeling framework which is used to estimate the probabilities of adopting different crop rotations. The data used for this paper was obtained from a mail survey in 2011 examining Kansas farmers’ land use decisions and consisted of an eight-page survey with 46 questions, leading to more than 400 distinct variables. The purpose of the second essay is to examine and analyze the adoption of conservation practices, no-till, cover crops and use of crediting of nutrients from manure, by Kansas farmers from both a joint and conditional perspective. This study develops a modeling framework that can analyze conditional adoption and examine farmers’ joint and conditional adoption decisions. Estimates calculated from the model will allow for an assessment of the linkages between the adoption of different conservation practices, as well as the socio-economic factors that affect the likelihood of adopting conservation practices given other conservation practices have already been adopted on-farm. The third essay aims to develop a robust test to examine the functional form of predictor/ index function in the logistic regression models as misspecified models can lead to biased and inconsistent estimates, and consequently inappropriate inferences. An Orthogonal Polynomial RESET test is developed to assess proper functional form for different functional form assumptions of the predictor/ index function, as well as provide guidance on the use of the test in applied logistic regression modeling. Monte Carlo Simulations are used to assess the viability of the test and compare it to similar tests found in the literature.

Gender equality had long been discussed and studied. Besides education and the influence from society, the family is the closest and most important place in which people form and change their views and values about the gender issue. Are old values more likely to be passed on in families in which several generations live together? We found interesting results here. East Asia has a relatively high level of economic growth; however, the gender equality status is still not satisfying. China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan share highly similar cultural backgrounds. Additionally, they all underwent rapid development after World War II. Most importantly, they share a tradition of several generations living together. By studying the impact of co-residence on gender attitudes in families in those four societies, the impact of co-residence is carefully examined.

<p> Texas white-tailed deer (<i>Odocoileus virginianus</i>) breeding operations frequently release captive-reared deer in anticipation of increasing the genetic quality of their deer herd. There is little understanding of how well captive-reared deer acclimate following release. My goal was to determine survival, distribution, and fawn survival of captive-reared white-tailed deer following spring and fall releases. Thus, 223 deer (120 F, 103 M) were released in spring and fall liberations from fall 2013&ndash;spring 2015 into a 2,631-ha high-fenced pasture. Deer were released by age cohorts ranging from 1.5&ndash;&ge;3.5 years of age for does and 1.5&ndash;3.5 years of age for bucks. During spring 2014 (<i>n</i> = 18) and 2015 (<i>n</i> = 18) 36 does were fitted with Vaginal Implant Transmitters, which resulted in the capture of 29 fawns. In 2014, fawn survival was estimated 60%, whereas 2015 fawn survival was 21%. Adult survival was measured for 127 (70 F, 57 M) radio-collared deer for 1-year following liberation. Survival of does and bucks across all releases was 90% and 75%, respectively. A selection index was used to determine the preferred distance of 54 (29 F, 25 M) captive-reared white-tailed deer distributed following release. Does stayed close to the corresponding breeding pen (75% of locations &le; 1 km from pens), while bucks (40% of locations &le; 1 km from pens) of all age cohorts covered a larger expanse of area compared to does. In conclusion, captive-reared white-tailed deer were capable of surviving liberation from pens, but accommodations such as maintaining a high density of water and supplemental feed will aid in survival. Philopatric nature of does was evident in the lack of distribution following release. High density of does around the breeding pens during fawning may explain the decrease in fawn survival. Distributing release sites across the property could promote a more even distribution of does.</p><p>

No description available.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of the spatial origin of capital or investment funds and its influence on local community incomes within the context of agricultural production and processing in a rural area in Utah. A careful identification of the sources of capital investment can be used to determine the spatial source and flow of returns from it, and, hence, provides some indication of the extent to which local community income could be expected to change with changes in the level and mix of factors employed locally.

Broiler production in the United States and in Utah has become increasingly important in the last few years. It has developed from virtual nonexistence in 1930 to the point where it now produces more than half of the total chicken meat production. Growth has been especially rapid since 1934, when separate statistics on broiler production became available. In 1951, production was about 6 times that of 1940 and for the first time the number of broilers raised exceeded the number of chickens raised from farm production.

Since 1912 concentrations of the major anions and cations (except calcium) in Bear Lake water have shown a steady decrease which has been attributed to a dilution of Bear Lake by Bear River water, Bear Lake having been used as a reservoir for Bear River water since 1918. This study examined the changes which have occurred in Bear Lake water chemistry since 1912 and tested the validity of the dilution theory. Simple water and salinity budgets were determined for the Bear Lake system and used to simulate the effect of Bear River storage patterns since 1918 on the concentrations of sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and sulfate in Bear Lake. Comparison of predicted concentrations with observed concentrations indicates that the dilution theory is a valid one. Field studies were conducted during the spring, summer, and fall of 1971 to describe the distribution of the major ions in Bear Lake with respect to space and time. No significant differences were found between samples collected at different depths and location on the north-south axis of the lake on any one day, but differences were found between sampling days over the course of the study period. A pattern of rapid changes in the concentrations of sodium ions in Bear Lake water was observed in the data from this investigation and noticed also in the data from an investigation conducted in 1959. Adsorption of sodium ions to aragonite crystals precipitating within the lake and/or clay minerals introduced with Bear River inflow is suggested as the cause of these fluctuations in sodium levels.