During the past decade, the environmental issue has been an important concern of public affairs because the problems generating from the physical environment are the main focus of local development. Generally, the most effective work of community development is to encourage people to participate in environmental improvement actions. For example, the literature has indicated that individual is the most important factor for environmental improvement actions. Thus, people who highly participate in the community affairs often have better performances on community improvement actions. Base on an efficient society and the budget of government downsizing, promoting community residents to actively participate in environmental improvement actions would help the community environment management to be more sustainable and indirectly leading the local development. Concerning community environment, the responsibility for the community, knowledge of environmental action, and the ability of self-control might be correlated with the community residents¡¦ participation behavior in environmental improvement actions. The purpose of study is to explore the relationships among sense of community, the knowledge of environmental action, environmental moral obligation, and participating environmental improvement actions. Four objectives are mainly specified: first, to develop a sense of community scale of Taiwanese population; second, to integrate theories to test a community participation behavior model in environmental improvement actions; third, to understand the influential factors of community residents participation in environmental improvement actions; finally, to compare and interpret community residents participation in environmental improvement behavior model and ¡§Theory of Planned Behavior¡¨. This study surveyed community residents who ever participated in ¡§urban community landscape renaissance project¡¨ supported by Construction and Planning Agency, and ¡§rural community landscape renaissance project¡¨ founded by Soil and Water Conservation Bureau. A total of 616 community residents were administrated a self-report questionnaire. Further analysis of the data based on comparing respondent¡¦s residence, respondents were grouped into to urban planning district group and non-urban planning district group. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method was then employed to test a conceptual model. There were nine domains proposed in the conceptual model. Five of nine domains adopted from planning behavioral theory included ¡§attitude¡¨, ¡§subjective norm¡¨, ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨, ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ and ¡§behavior¡¨. One of nine domains, ¡§self-efficacy¡¨, was chosen from social cognition theory. Two of nine domains from environmental citizen behavioral model were ¡§knowledge of environmental action¡¨, ¡§environmental moral obligation¡¨. ¡§Sense of community¡¨ was referenced to the last domain. The findings provided support for eight hypotheses and two hypotheses were partial supported. The detailed descriptions of hypothesis-testing results were as below. Eight hypotheses supported, they included: (1) After residents reflected on the ¡§subjective norm¡¨, the ¡§attitude¡¨ toward participating environmental reform behaviors was remarkably promoted. (2) Resident¡¦s ¡§attitude¡¨ significantly influenced their ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of participating environmental improvement behaviors. (3) Resident¡¦s ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of participate in environmental improvement behaviors. (4) Resident¡¦s ¡§sense of community¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of participating environmental improvement behaviors. (5) Resident¡¦s ¡§knowledge of environmental action¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§self-efficacy¡¨. (6) Resident¡¦s ¡§self-efficacy¡¨ significantly effected their ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨. (7) Resident¡¦s ¡§environmental moral obligation¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§attitude¡¨ of participating environmental improvement behaviors. (8) Resident¡¦s ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ significantly impacted their participating environmental improvement ¡§behaviors¡¨. Two hypotheses were partial supported: (1) Only in non-urban planning district resident¡¦s ¡§subjective norm¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§behavioral intention¡¨ of participating environmental improvement behaviors. (2) Only in urban planning district and all districts resident¡¦s ¡§perceived behavioral control¡¨ significantly impacted their ¡§attitude¡¨ of participating environmental improvement behaviors. Additionally, the findings confirmed that Italian Sense of Community Scale (ISCS) was an appropriate scale to measure Taiwanese population¡¦s sense of community. These findings provide researchers and practitioners for insight of resident¡¦s participation in environmental improvement, which is better than ¡§Theory of Planned Behavior¡¨.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

The increasing amount of power and potentially negative impacts that corporations exert within society has become a growing concern for many people. In response to this and due to the changing role of business in society, more and more members of social groups, who are affected by corporate activities, are claiming their rights to be better informed of and more involved in corporate decision-making. Consequently, the need for companies worldwide to be more accountable for the ways in which they conduct their business has grown at a tremendous rate. Especially during the last decade, companies have globally been placed under increasing pressure from different stakeholder groups to demonstrate and prove their commitments to the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In order to facilitate and guide these CSR-commitments, society has for many years already begun to implement various standards of behaviour/performance, which corporations need to achieve in order to be accepted as being part of the citizenry. However, despite an abundance of such standards in terms of CSR-related guidelines and codes, a clear need has been identified for the development of better measuring tools of CSR, in order to efficiently assess and monitor companies’ performance. The Bench Marks is one of the most comprehensive sets of social and environmental criteria and business performance indicators available. It offers an ethical standard on which to base decisions about global corporate social responsibility. Consequently, the need arose from the Bench Marks Foundation - in collaboration with the Bench Marks Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility at the North-West University – to develop the current Bench Marks CSR Framework into a practical measuring instrument. This need has successfully been fulfilled through this research by means of two methods, namely a literature review and an empirical study. During the literature study, the concepts CSR and Corporate Personality were contextualised - particularly with the investigation of related concepts; as well as critically examined - specifically in terms of their theoretical measurement properties. During the empirical research, quantitative research techniques have been utilised which involved: the application of certain ‘theoretically recognised phases’ of measuring instrument development; as well as a survey in the form of a ‘preliminary measuring instrument’ (in questionnaire format) that was administered on a random sample respondents (n = 350), including the statistical analysis of the results. 189 Questionnaires were completed, which gave a response rate of 54%. The statistical analysis mainly served as an effective guideline for determining the best CSR items (in terms of reliability and validity) to be included in the final version of the instrument. Apart from measuring CSR performance in line with the Bench Marks, the instrument that has been developed by this study, can also be used as a measuring mechanism for Corporate Personality. This is achieved by assessing company behaviour in terms of the theoretical dimensions of CSR (economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic) and Sustainable Development (economic, social and environmental). In doing so, this instrument provides companies with a unique way of identifying their status of being true Corporate Citizens. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The Canadian constitutional crisis of 2008 triggered a renewed interest in the structure and workings of Canada’s institutions of government. Particular controversy was generated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s assertion that only the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons has the right to form a government and that it is illegitimate for the opposition parties to form a coalition with a legislative majority. Peter Russell terms these contentions “Harper’s New Rules”, and is one of a large group of scholars who deride the rules as being undemocratic and in violation of the traditional practice of parliamentary democracy and responsible government (which holds that the House of Commons is the final arbiter on the viability of potential governments). This thesis investigates the quick rejection of Harper’s Rules and determines that their attempt to enforce a critical moral standard on Harper is problematic because for a constitutional convention to be binding on political actors, it requires a consensus on how a convention promotes constitutional principle--a consensus that does not exist about how a party receives a mandate to govern. Throughout Canada’s history with minority government transitions, there has been a subtle discourse that implies many political actors have operated under the norm that the largest party in the House of Commons does indeed have a right to form the government. As well, many of the claims that are made about the democratic origin and purpose of the structure of responsible government are difficult to substantiate and can be challenged. The resulting disagreement makes it difficult to declare a constitutional interpretation to be wrong, given the malleable character of conventions, and that these constitutional disputes can generate into crisis and be exploited for partisan gain. This is the situation the federal party system may soon find itself in, as likely future minority governments will continuously bring the opposing conceptions of a mandate into conflict. This thesis concludes that determining constitutional conventions based on how they defend principle is a hazardous approach because political actors can always frame their actions in the rhetoric of democratic legitimacy, and if the actor can avoid serious political repercussions or find support in the public, then the interpretation becomes viable.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl.: Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2007

Examensarbete, Civilekonomprogrammet, Ekonomihögskolan vid Linnéuniversitetet Författare: Gustav Johannesson och Martin Westport Handledare: Andreas Stephan Medbedömare: Anna Stafsudd Titel: Sambandet mellan Corporate Social Performance och finansiell risk - En kvantitativ studie som undersöker nordiska företag Bakgrund: Företags sociala ansvar har ständigt funnits på företagsagendan under senaste åren efter ökade globala utmaningar och större påtryckningar från intressenter. Man kan se allt större risker som är kopplade till företags hållbarhetsarbete. Med bakgrund till detta finns det ett stort intresse och en uppåtgående trend kring hållbara investeringar där Norden är ledande inom området. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att förklara sambandet mellan Corporate Social Performance, både på en sammanslagen och individuell nivå, och finansiell risk. Metod: Genom den deduktiva forskningsansatsen och den kvantitativa forskningsstrategin som är baserad på paneldata testar författarna sina hypoteser. Författarna bygger sina hypoteser på intressentteorin och riskhanteringsteorin som testas med ett nordiskt urval på 144 företag under tidsperioden 2002-2016. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det finns ett negativt samband mellan Corporate Social Performance och finansiell risk. Det finns även ett negativt samband mellan företags sociala prestationer och finansiell risk. Detta är i linje med författarnas förväntningar. Däremot visar resultatet inga samband mellan företags miljömässiga och styrningsmässiga prestationer och deras finansiella risk. / Degree Project, The Business Administration and Economics Programme, School of Business and Economics at Linnaeus University Authors: Gustav Johannesson and Martin Westport Supervisor: Andreas Stephan Co-assessor: Anna Stafsudd Title: The relationship between Corporate Social Performance and Financial Risk - A quantitative study that examines Nordic companies Background: Corporate Social Responsibility has been on the corporate agenda in recent years following increased global challenges and greater pressure from stakeholders. One can see more risks associated with corporate sustainability. This has led to a great interest globally and an upward trend in Socially Responsible Investing where the Nordic region is at the leading edge. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explain the relationship between Corporate Social Performance, both at a combined and an individual level, and financial risk. Method: Through the deductive research approach and the quantitative research strategy that is based on panel data, the authors test their hypotheses. The authors base their hypotheses on stakeholder theory and risk management theory and test them with a Nordic sample of 144 companies over the period 2002-2016. Conclusion: The study results show that there is a negative relationship between Corporate Social Performance and financial risk. There is also a negative relationship between social performance and financial risk. This is in line with the authors’ expectations. However, the results show no relationship between companies’ environmental and governance performance and their financial risk.

Cette thèse s’attèle à déterminer les conséquences théoriques et empiriques de la considération d’indicateurs socialement responsables dans la sélection de portefeuille traditionnelle. Le premier chapitre étudie la significativité de la perte d’efficience moyenne-variance d’un portefeuille d’obligations souveraines lorsque l’on introduit une contrainte sur la notation socialement responsable moyenne des Etats. En utilisant un échantillon d’obligations d’Etats développés sur la période 1995-2008, nous montrons qu’il est possible d’augmenter sensiblement la notation socialement responsable moyenne sans perdre significativement en termes de diversification. Le second chapitre propose une analyse théorique de l’effet sur la frontière efficiente d’une contrainte sur la notation socialement responsable du portefeuille. Nous mettons en évidence les différents cas de figure pouvant se produire en fonction de la corrélation entre les rendements attendus et les notations socialement responsables et de l’aversion au risque de l’investisseur. Enfin, puisque la question de l’efficience des portefeuilles investis en fonction de critères socialement responsables fait débat dans la littérature financière, un dernier chapitre propose un nouveau test d’efficience moyenne-variance dans le cas réaliste où aucun actif sans risque n’est disponible. / This thesis aims at determining the theoretical and empirical consequences of the consideration of socially responsible indicators in the traditional portfolio selection. The first chapter studies the significance of the mean-variance efficiency loss of a sovereign bond portfolio when introducing a constraint on the average socially responsible ratings of the governments. By using a sample of developed sovereign bonds on the period 1995-2008, we show that it is possible to increase sensibly the average socially responsible rating without significantly losing in terms of diversification. The second chapter proposes a theoretical analysis of the impact on the efficient frontier of a constraint on the socially responsible ratings of the portfolio. We highlight that different cases may arise depending on the correlation between the expected returns and the socially responsible ratings and on the investor’s risk aversion. Lastly, as the issue of the efficiency of socially responsible portfolios is a central point in the financial literature, the last chapter proposes a new mean-variance efficiency test in the realistic case where there is no available risk-free asset.

Submitted by infopei ufba (infopei@ufba.br) on 2016-09-30T14:42:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 dis_aurinezio_c_barbosa.pdf: 3207019 bytes, checksum: 827d749408ae5eabd720dda8e8e7825a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Escola Politécnica Biblioteca (biengproc@ufba.br) on 2017-03-17T19:19:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 dis_aurinezio_c_barbosa.pdf: 3207019 bytes, checksum: 827d749408ae5eabd720dda8e8e7825a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-17T19:19:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dis_aurinezio_c_barbosa.pdf: 3207019 bytes, checksum: 827d749408ae5eabd720dda8e8e7825a (MD5) / COFIC, Conselho Comunitário Consultivo / Esta dissertação tem a finalidade de estudar a influência da relação indústria-comunidade, implantada no ano de 1994, pelo Comitê de Fomento Industrial de Camaçari (COFIC), no Pólo Industrial de Camaçari-BA (Pólo), com a criação do Conselho Comunitário Consultivo (CCC), que é uma experiência de Responsabilidade Social Coorporativa entre o Pólo e as comunidades vizinhas, através do Programa Atuação Responsável. De forma pioneira no país, a indústria química brasileira investiu na construção de um relacionamento entre as indústrias do Pólo e a população residente no seu entorno, através da constituição de um CCC formado por representantes dessa população. Neste trabalho, foram avaliados os documentos relacionados à formação e ao funcionamento do CCC, além das observações in loco, feitas por este pesquisador, como agente ativo no processo. Inicialmente, fez-se uma revisão de literatura sobre o assunto e seus pontos de referências. Esta pesquisa exploratória serviu de fundamentação teórica aos processos de análise crítica sobre o funcionamento do CCC no período de 1994 a 2001 e seus respectivos rebatimentos sobre a gestão de SSMA no Pólo. Desenvolveu-se uma análise crítica quanto às influências desse Conselho sobre a gestão de Segurança Industrial, Meio Ambiente e Saúde Ocupacional (SSMA) do COFIC no Pólo. O Conselho Comunitário Consultivo tem oportunizado a ambas as partes (indústria/comunidade) o exercício da parceria e da convivência. O trabalho conclui que, em função dos resultados obtidos através da aproximação do Pólo com suas comunidades vizinhas, o Conselho Comunitário Consultivo contribuiu para a melhoria da gestão, pelo COFIC, da Segurança Industrial, Meio Ambiente e Saúde Ocupacional no Pólo. Destaca-se a criação dos Núcleos de Defesa Comunitária para o Plano de Emergências da Comunidade e a melhoria na gestão da prevenção de acidentes com contratadas no Pólo. / This dissertation aims to study how the creation of the Community Advisory Council (CAC), in 1994, by the Industrial Committee of Camaçari (COFIC) affected the relation between the industry and the local community. This initiative can be seen as an experience of Corporate Social Responsibility towards nearby communities, under the Responsible Care Program, a pioneer initiative in Brazil, undertook by the chemical industry. The Community Advisory Council has been a window of opportunity for both industry and community, to exercise partnership and co-operation. A critical analysis of the outcome of the work of this Community Council towards improving Health, Safety and Environment management was developed. At first, a literature review was undertaken and a theoretical framework was drawn which was essential for the critical documental analysis that followed. The documentation about the CAC operation between 1994 and 2001 and its influence on the COFIC decision making process was analysed and the study was complemented by in loco direct observation. It has been possible to conclude that a close relation between Camaçari Industrial Complex and nearby communities resulted from the CAC implementation and this has been contributing to the improvement of COFIC Health, Safety and Environment management on the complex. Moreover, two aspects that can be emphasised are: a) the establishment of Community Defense Centers related to Communities Emergency Plans and b) the improvement on the prevention of accidents involving contractors in Camaçari Complex.

This diploma thesis deals with an ethical evaluation of baby hatches in the context of Catholic church doctrine. It describes baby hatches in technical and legal prospect. Mainly it shows the situation in the Czech republic. The thesis outlines general objections to baby hatches.From the ethical point of view baby hathes are primarily apprehended on the basis of ultima ratio principle. The thesis also refers to single social institutions like family, state, church and school which are fallen the task of solving problem of children abandonement.