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This dissertation sought to develop a grounded theory explaining how ENGOs assess the environmental performance of firms, select target industries and firms, and influence those targeted industries and firms. A preliminary model based on research in the fields of social movements, neo-institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and corporate social performance was developed. The model contained 21 propositions: seven regarding assessment, nine regarding targeting, and five regarding influencing. Interviews were conducted with 33 representatives of five ENGOs: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Greenpeace, Environmental Defense (ED), World Resources Institute (WRI), and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). NRDC and WRI served as pilot studies. NRDC, Greenpeace, and ED were considered case studies for the purpose of drawing inferences about the propositions. Insufficient interviews were conducted at WRI and UCS to draw inferences from them; however, data from these interviews was included in the dissertation to the extent it provided additional support for the inferences drawn. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. Results regarding the propositions were presented, as well as additional findings going beyond the propositions. A grounded theory of how ENGOs assess, target, and influence firms was developed based on the results; a model to accompany the grounded theory was also developed. / Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:20:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fabio Nieves Barreira.pdf: 969684 bytes, checksum: b8dd4e09391c1fe39324724a887eafb5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-08 / This dissertation aims to demonstrate that the Republic Constitution protects the value ecologically balanced environment, understood as the balance between being and environment, depending on natural selection, as a condition to healthy living. For the realization of constitutional values, the Highest Law imposes to political entities the duty to grant preferential treatment to products and services, and their development and delivery processes, as the environmental impact they cause to the environment. The tribute is an outstanding instrument to the protection of ecologically balanced environment, providing the environmental and tributaries principles of the Constitution that delimit the scope of environmental taxation, creating an environmental tax constitutional subsystem. Thus, political entities shall provide differential tax treatment through selectivity, progressivity and tax benefits, to products and services and their development and provision processes, according to the intensity of the environmental impact to the environment that they cause, demonstrated by a study of environmental impact, affecting the behavior of the market to develop in a sustainable way and granting to the property its social function. They must also collect taxes whose incidence allows the protection of ecologically balanced environment / A presente dissertação tem por fim demonstrar que a Constituição da República protege o valor meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado, assim entendido como a relação equilibrada entre o ser e o meio, em função da seleção natural, como condição à vida saudável. Para a realização do valor constitucional, a Lei Maior impõe aos entes políticos o dever de conceder tratamento diferenciado a produtos e serviços e a seus processos de elaboração e prestação, conforme o impacto ambiental que ocasionam ao meio ambiente. O tributo é instrumento de destaque à proteção do meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado, dispondo a Constituição de princípios ambientais e tributários que delimitam o âmbito da tributação ambiental, formando um subsistema constitucional tributário ambiental. Nesse passo, os entes políticos têm o dever de conferir tratamento tributário diferenciado, através de seletividade, progressividade e benefícios fiscais, aos produtos e serviços e seus processos de elaboração e prestação, na intensidade do impacto ambiental que ocasionem ao meio ambiente, demonstrado por estudo de impacto ambiental, condicionando o comportamento do mercado a se desenvolver de maneira sustentável e outorgando à propriedade a sua função social. Também é dever instituir tributos cuja regra matriz de incidência permite a proteção do meio ambiente ecologicamente equilibrado

Physical inactivity and disconnection from natural environments threatens human health. However, research has demonstrated that natural environments potentially support health-enhancing physical activity which could confer greater physical and mental health benefits than physical activity in other types of environment. This thesis approached the study of physical activity in natural environments through three related pieces of research. Firstly, an experimental study was carried out to explore how the presence of litter in beach environments affected psychophysiological responses to exercise. Responses to exercise did not differ in littered and clean conditions but there was evidence that order effects influenced findings. Visual attention to the two scenes differed, but did not mediate differences in psychophysiological responses. Secondly, analysis of a national dataset was undertaken to explore the form and quantity of physical activity conducted within natural environments in England. A series of linear regressions revealed that higher-intensity physical activities occurred in countryside environments, but more total energy expenditure occurred in coastal environments. Thirdly, a quantitative content analysis of brochures which promote recreational walking in natural environments was conducted which investigated their use of persuasive behavioural messages. These brochures omitted behavioural techniques which may be effective at motivating inactive individuals to walk. Extending this, an online survey tested whether improving brochure content heightened intentions to walk in natural environments. By designing content based on the theory of planned behaviour, the intentions of inactive individuals to undertake walking in natural environments were increased. The findings from this thesis demonstrate that the protection of natural environments is vital for preserving and promoting active recreation and could contribute to population-level increases in physical activity with theory-based promotion in the future.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:53:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LEONARDO GOULART NUNES.pdf: 11192368 bytes, checksum: c47afb8fee1f63427d4388d285c8fd66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-10-02 / This research is a qualitative study in environmental science and education sought to know how the presence of vegetation and contact with nature influence the experience of high school students in a technical institute Instituto Federal Goiano Câmpus Urutaí located in a rural area. Aims to identify which environmental features in rural area favor studies, know the physical, emotional and educational benefits are generated by the study in a countryside, in contact with nature, as well identify which educational practices and landscape elements need to be optimized to make the learning environment more enjoyable. The Grounded Theory has been used as scientific method of research that study a particular reality, seeking to develop a new scientific theory from analysis of data collected from interviews and field observations. The results of this research show that the learning environment, whenever immersed in nature, influences positively the learners mood and study capability, improves coexistence and health, and restoring emotional and cognitive capacity. It was further observed that nature contributes to the context of teaching, because it was used as teaching environment and courseware enabling the awareness of an ecological identity. And yet, was diagnosed the necessity to optimize the scenery, infrastructure and educational practices to make the learning environment more enjoyable. / Esta é uma pesquisa qualitativa em ciências ambientais e educação que trata sobre as influências que a vegetação e o contato com a natureza exercem sobre os estudos e a vivência dos alunos do ensino médio técnico de uma escola situada na zona rural Instituto Federal Goiano Câmpus Urutaí. Tem como objetivo identificar os aspectos ambientais rurais que favorecem os estudos, conhecer os benefícios físicos, emocionais e educacionais gerados pelo estudo na zona rural em contato direto com a natureza, bem como identificar quais práticas educativas e elementos da paisagem precisam ser otimizadas para tornar o ambiente de ensino mais agradável. O método científico utilizado foi a Teoria fundamentada em dados Grouded Theory , que estuda uma determinada realidade objetivando produzir novas teorias científicas a partir da análise de dados coletados em entrevistas e observações de campo. Os resultados encontrados revelam que o ambiente de ensino imerso na natureza influencia positivamente os estudos, melhora a convivência, as condições de saúde e promove a restauração emocional e cognitiva dos alunos. Observou-se ainda que a natureza contribui com o contexto do ensino ao ser utilizada como sala de aula e material didático, possibilitando o despertar de uma identidade ecológica. E ainda, foi diagnosticado que é preciso otimizar a paisagem, a infraestrutura e as práticas educativas para tornar o ambiente de ensino mais agradável.

Ce travail de thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre de la modélisation distribuée de la partition ruissellement-infiltration en milieu naturel. Notre démarche consiste à étudier la réponse de systèmes naturels complexes à partir de mesures locales, d’expérimentations numériques et de modèles distribuées. Les expériences de la parcelle de Thiès (40m2), au Sénégal, montrent que les hétérogénéités de rugosités mettent en défaut les lois de friction classiques (Manning, Darcy- Weisbach) des modèles de ruissellement qui sous estiment les hautes vitesses. Deux lois qui prennent en compte la hauteur de submersion de la rugosité de manière physique ou empirique sont testées. Dans le bassin versant de Houay Pano, les données obtenues sous pluie simulées, sur des placettes de 1m2, permettent de mettre en évidence l’effet des hétérogénéités, en particulier en terme d’encroutement du sol et de végétation, sur le ruissellement intégré spatialement. L’infiltration moyenne apparait comme dépendante de l’intensité de pluie et l’effet d’une distribution statistique d’infiltrabilité sur le transitoire et le permanent d’infiltration est étudié. La distribution exponentielle d’infiltrabilité semble la plus adaptée, elle est utilisée pour analyser la variabilité spatiale et temporelle de la production de ruissellement dans le bassin versant sous pluie naturelle. Enfin, ce modèle exponentiel, simple mais pertinent à l’échelle du mètre, est implémenté pour représenter un pixel de base dans un modèle de ruissellement-infiltration à l’échelle d’un sous bassin versant de 0.5 ha et différents scénarios de modélisation sont envisagés / This work deals with distributed modeling of runoff-infiltration processes in a natural environment. The response of complex natural systems is studied from local measurements, numerical investigations and distributed models. Experiments held in Thies, Senegal, on a 40m2 plot show that the heterogeneity of the surface put in the wrong classical friction laws (Manning, Darcy-Weisbach) of runoff models, because they underestimate high velocities. Two laws, taking physically or empirically into account the submersion of rugosity, are tested. In the Houay Pano catchment, we highlight from simulated rainfall experiments on 1m2 plots the effects of heterogeneities, mainly due to soil crusting and vegetation, on the spatially integrated runoff. We observed that the mean infiltration rate is dependent of the rainfall intensity and studied the effects of a statistical distribution of infiltrabilities on permanent and non-permanent infiltration. The exponential distribution of infiltrabilities appeared to be the best suited distribution. It is used to analyze spatial and temporal variability of runoff production in the catchment under natural rainfall, in order to obtain a per land use characterization of infiltration. Eventually, this simple but accurate model at the meter scale is implemented as a base pixel into a runoff-infiltration model at the sub-catchment scale (0.5 ha)

The natural environment is a key attraction for Australia???s tourism industry. In order to prevent the deterioration of the environment, environmental management measures have been adopted by the tourism industry. Some of these measures are related to environmental regulations imposed on tourism operators by governments. However, given the dependence of the nature-based tourism industry on the environment, voluntary environmental management measures have also been instituted. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the effect of environmental management on the competitiveness of a nature-based tourism destination. For that purpose, Tropical North Queensland, a major Australian nature-based destination, is selected as a case study. Competitiveness is measured by the aggregate profitability of the tourism industry in the destination region. The investigation incorporates an assessment of the simultaneous effects of environmental management on the destination???s tourism demand and on business costs to tourism operators at the destination. The conceptual background to the investigations is discussed in the first part of the thesis. It includes the rationale for choosing a nature-based destination region as the unit of analysis. The conceptual framework is a departure from the conventional analysis of the relationship between the environment and international competitiveness in which the effect of regulatory compliance costs is emphasised. In this thesis, the potential demand benefits and the associated voluntary environmental management are added to the conventional analytical framework. The primary data for the analysis are derived from two separate investigations. The first comprises an analysis of the tourism industry in Tropical North Queensland. The second investigation involves a discrete choice modelling analysis of destination choices by prospective visitors to Tropical North Queensland. The empirical results show that it is justified to treat the nature-based tourism destination region, Tropical North Queensland, as an aggregate entity in the analysis. The destination competes as a collective unit with other destinations. This is done, predominantly, on the basis of the region???s high-quality natural attractions. The empirical analyses show that tourism businesses??? costs due to environmental management are small in comparison with the positive demand effects. The cost and demand effects are assessed in a quantitative fashion in an economic model. That analysis shows that environmental management makes a positive contribution to Tropical North Queensland???s competitiveness as a nature-based tourism destination.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe „Ikimokyklinio amžiaus vaikų aplinkos pažinimo technologijos lauko aikštelėje“ nagrinejamos vaikų aplinkos pažinimo technologijos, lauko žaidimų erdvės ir vaikų veikla lauke. Tyrimo objektas: Aplinkos pažinimo technologijos. Tyrimo subjektas: 4- 5 metų amžiaus vaikai. Tyrimo tikslas: išsiaiškinti 4-5 metų vaikų aplinkos pažinimo technologijas ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos lauko aikštelėje. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Išanalizuoti mokslinės pedagoginės, psichologinės literatūros šaltinius, siekiant išsiaiškinti gamtinės aplinkos svarbą vaikų pažinimo procese. 2. Išsiaiškinti vaikų pažintinę veiklą ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos lauko aikštelėje. 3. Išsiaiškinti kokios aplinkos pažinimo technologijos taikomos ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos lauko aikštelėje. 4. Išsiaiškinti pedagogų nuomonę apie aplinkos pažinimo technologijas ir jų taikymą ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos lauko aikštelėje. 5. Atlikti statistinę duomenų analizę, pateikiant tyrimo rezultatus, bei juos apibendrinant ir interpretuojant, patikrinti keliamos hipotezės teisingumą. Tyrimo hipotezė: ikimokyklinių ugdymo įstaigų lauko aikštelėse taikomos technologijos skatina vaiko pažintinę veiklą bei turtina jos procesą. Darbas pristato tris tyrimus: Tikslinio pokalbio metu buvo siekiama išsiaiškinti kokią pažinimo veiklą dažniausiai vaikai renkasi ikimokyklinės ugdymo įstaigos lauko aikštelėje. Siekiant išsiaiškinti 4-5 metų amžiaus vaikų pažintinę veiklą ikimokyklinės... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the Final Master‘s Thesis „ Environmental Cognition Technologies for Preschool Age Children on the Outdoor Site of a Preschool Education Institution“ , the environmental cognition technologies, the areas for outdoor games and the outdoor activities of chilkdren are discussed upon. The subjects of the research are children in the age of 4-5 years. The goal of the research: to clear up the environmental cognition technologies for 4-5 year children on the outdoor site of a preschool education institution. The tasks of the research include: 1. To analyze scentific literature in pedagogy and psychology for elucidation of the importance of the natural environment in the cognitive process of children. 2. To clear up the cognitive activities of children on the outdoor site of a preschool education institution. 3. To clear up the environmental cognition technologies applicable on the outdoor site of a preschool education institution. 4. To clear up the opinion of pedagogues on the environmental cognition technologies and their application on the outdoor site of a preschool education institution. 5. To carry out statistical data analysis upon provision of the results of the research and their generalization and interpretation; to check the correctness of the hypothesis. The hypothesis of the research: the technologies applied on the outdoor site of a preschool education institution stimulate cognitive activities of the children and enrich its process. The Thesis presents three... [to full text]

Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka Pedagogernas syn på barns motoriska utveckling med inriktning till naturmiljö samt om pedagogerna är medvetna om forskningen kring barns motoriska utveckling med inriktning på naturmiljön.   Studien bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer. Intervjuerna gjordes på fem olika förskolor med sex olika pedagoger, både förskollärare och barnskötare. Förskolorna var placerade i en mellan stor kommun i Sverige. De intervjuade jobbade på 1-3 års avdelning, då detta var vald åldersgrupp för undersökningen.   Av resultatet framgår att pedagogerna är ute i naturen olika mycket och detta beror på olika faktorer. Det är dock medvetna om fördelarna som naturen har med sig för den motoriska utvecklingen och kan inte se några nackdelar med naturen för den motoriska utvecklingen. Pedagogerna är till viss del medvetna om forskningen kring ämnet, men de anser att medvetenheten är olika från pedagog till pedagog.   Slutsatsen av studien är att pedagogerna är medvetna om de fördelar som naturen har med sig för den motoriska utvecklingen och samtliga vill vara ute mer i naturen. Deras medvetenhet kring forskningen om motorik är något som kan bli högre och borde diskuteras mer i arbetslaget för att medvetenheten ska bli den samma hos alla. / The purpose of this study is to investigate the pedagogues view of children’s motorical development with a orientation in natural environment and if the pedagogues are aware of the research on children’s motorical development with a orientation in natural environment The study is based on qualitative interviews. Interviews were conducted on five different preschools with six different teachers, both pre-school and nursery nurses. The preschools were placed in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden. Respondents worked in 1-3 years department, as this age group was selected for the survey.   The result shows that the pedagogues spends different amount of time in nature, depending on various factors. Aside from these factors, they are aware of the benefits nature offers to the motorical development and can not see any disadvantages for the motorical development. The pedagogues are to a certain point aware of the research on the subject, but believe that the awareness varies from pedagogue to pedagogue. The conclusion is that the pedagogues are aware of the benefits nature offers to the motorical development and all whishes to be outdoors more often. Their awareness of research on motor activity can be raised and should be discussed more in their teams so all can get the same awareness.

The natural environment is a key attraction for Australia???s tourism industry. In order to prevent the deterioration of the environment, environmental management measures have been adopted by the tourism industry. Some of these measures are related to environmental regulations imposed on tourism operators by governments. However, given the dependence of the nature-based tourism industry on the environment, voluntary environmental management measures have also been instituted. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the effect of environmental management on the competitiveness of a nature-based tourism destination. For that purpose, Tropical North Queensland, a major Australian nature-based destination, is selected as a case study. Competitiveness is measured by the aggregate profitability of the tourism industry in the destination region. The investigation incorporates an assessment of the simultaneous effects of environmental management on the destination???s tourism demand and on business costs to tourism operators at the destination. The conceptual background to the investigations is discussed in the first part of the thesis. It includes the rationale for choosing a nature-based destination region as the unit of analysis. The conceptual framework is a departure from the conventional analysis of the relationship between the environment and international competitiveness in which the effect of regulatory compliance costs is emphasised. In this thesis, the potential demand benefits and the associated voluntary environmental management are added to the conventional analytical framework. The primary data for the analysis are derived from two separate investigations. The first comprises an analysis of the tourism industry in Tropical North Queensland. The second investigation involves a discrete choice modelling analysis of destination choices by prospective visitors to Tropical North Queensland. The empirical results show that it is justified to treat the nature-based tourism destination region, Tropical North Queensland, as an aggregate entity in the analysis. The destination competes as a collective unit with other destinations. This is done, predominantly, on the basis of the region???s high-quality natural attractions. The empirical analyses show that tourism businesses??? costs due to environmental management are small in comparison with the positive demand effects. The cost and demand effects are assessed in a quantitative fashion in an economic model. That analysis shows that environmental management makes a positive contribution to Tropical North Queensland???s competitiveness as a nature-based tourism destination.