Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Christine Thomas, committee chair; Joel Meyers, Draga Vidakovic, Steve Harmon, committee members. Electronic text (196 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed July 31, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-169).

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this doctoral thesis, I explored how the national guidelines for higher education to institutionalise service-learning as a particular type of community engagement were implemented in South African higher education institutions. Whilst the particular School of Nursing where the study was conducted was cognisant of the national policy imperative on service-learning as stipulated in the guidelines of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), operationalisation within the academic programmes had not been addressed. An intervention study was thus undertaken to develop a service-learning implementation framework for the School of Nursing using the multi-phased design and development model of Rothman and Thomas (1994). The factors that influenced the implementation of the HEQC’s service-learning policy guidelines in the nursing programmes were explored during the first phase: problem analysis and project planning. During this phase, the research focused on the readiness of the school to institutionalise service-learning at organisational and individual level because service-learning scholars advocate a systems approach to service-learning institutionalisation. At organisational level, the research question investigated whether the higher education institution had created an enabling environment for the school to institutionalise service-learning successfully in the academic. The factors that were associated with readiness at organisational (school) level were those cited as critical success factors for service-learning institutionalisation by Furco (2002) or better known in South African terminology as service-learning good practice indicators. Individual readiness was determined in terms of service-learning scholarship and willingness to participate in service-learning -capacitating activities.

Significant investment is being made by companies into philanthropic projects in the name of corporate social responsibility (CSR), yet many question whether these efforts are making an impact on the developmental needs of beneficiaries of such donations. As social disparity increases and countries are less able to meet development objectives, there is a growing call and need for companies to support the development goals of the state. It is proposed that using transformational methods of engagement, such as joint ventures with communities, is likely to provide better developmental outcomes, yet very few companies are currently engaging in this manner. The research asks what the current practices in community engagement for CSR are, and identifies the barriers and enablers for transformational community engagement to drive developmental outcomes. Nineteen interviews with CSR practitioners, community beneficiaries and external experts across three business sectors, which are identified as having a community impact, were conducted. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather qualitative data which was then analysed using content and frequency analysis. The results show that companies are using a range of transactional, transitional and transformational engagement practices, with the majority still being conducted in the philanthropic transactional manner. Institutional pressures of regulations are shown as being the strongest motivator for companies to buy-into and prioritise transformational engagement practices. The manner in which a company engages is also shown to be directly linked to their motivation for engaging. The biggest barriers to engaging communities are related to community members’ educational levels, community expectation and the internal capacity of the company to engage. The most prominent enablers of engagement relate to the building of relationships and require companies to have dedicated CSR practitioners that are able to become intimately involved in the community. This involvement results in the development of projects that both parties have a vested interest in, which is critical for long term sustainability. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmgibs2014 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / MBA / Unrestricted

The Financial Crisis of 2007-2010 is the latest of a cycle of scandals that involved questionable ethics in accountants. The costs were extraordinarily large this time. Once again there is a focus on the ethical training of the future accounting professionals, accounting instructors, and business leaders. Traditional methods have not been successful. Service-learning is presented as an alternative. In this study, community service hours are used as a proxy for the "service" component of service-learning. This research extends the research of Weber and Glyptis (2000) by examining the relationship between community service hours and ethical reasoning capabilities. Since the most community service studies in business education have been descriptive rather than empirical (Sneider, Gillmor, & Rabinowicz, 2011), this study also adds to the paucity of empirical data on the impact of community service on students. Their research provided evidence that students participating in community service activities scored higher DIT scores than students who did not. This study explores the relationship between DIT scores and hours of community service, hours of accounting-related community service hours, age, gender, number of accounting courses, and ethics education. The study found a strong relationship between the variables, community service hours, accounting-related community service hours, and DIT scores. There was also a relationship between DIT scores and gender as well as previous ethics education. No relationship was found between DIT scores and age and the number of accounting courses taken. The Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used to measure the ethical reasoning capabilities of 233 accounting students in several colleges in the state of Georgia.

There has been a growing interest and support by many state and local programs to address aquatic resource protection and restoration at a watershed level. The desire by many programs to implement watershed management programs has become more than just a need, rather a necessity to ensure suitable water resources. However, many challenges arise when developing and sustaining watershed programs. One such challenge is that watershed programs are resource intensive. These programs require significant funds to support monitoring, research, effective management, and to provide public outreach. In addition, these programs require knowledgeable and skilled water resource professionals who can implement and manage these tasks. Integrating university-knowledge and resources into the watershed effort can meet many of these challenges. Faculty, students, and in-kind university support can contribute knowledge, technical support, research funds, and personnel to aid and enhance watershed management activities. Furthermore, connecting watershed management activities with academic work can foster the development of future environmental planning, policy, and science professionals. The overall goal of this paper is to explore the integration of service-learning in higher education within watershed management activities. The concepts and benefits of service-learning are explored in this paper. An example of a watershed-based, service-learning initiative in the Stroubles Creek watershed, Virginia is presented. In addition, perspectives gathered from the Initiative's students and project coordinator (the author) on their work experience as service-learners are provided. The lessons and recommendations presented in this paper pave way to means of sustaining and enhancing service-learning program in watershed activities. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

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