This texts examines the potential of the documentation of socially engaged art to affect change. It looks at how it can extend the goal of political action inherent in much socially engaged artwork, particularly with reference to Corrie Peters thesis exhibition: All the rooming houses on my street have had their front door removed. / October 2015

Due to the growing importance of social responsibility in business processes, various topics of corporate social responsibility are being versatile and exhaustively examined and discussed in the scientific literature, but still there is a lack of research and discussions on implementation, consolidation and development measures of corporate social responsibility, in particular the employees of organization as a key one. Considering the relevance of the consolidation and development of corporate social responsibility and basing on the analysis of concepts of social responsibility and theories of its consolidation measures as well as analysis of employees’ evaluations, in the dissertation the implementation state of corporate social responsibility in Lithuania is revealed and, by comparing it with the state of play in Belarus, new opportunities for the consolidation of corporate social responsibility are disclosed. Additionally, during the search of new consolidation measures of corporate social responsibility, differences of business and public sector social responsibility are presented, at the same time appraising the role of the public sector in consolidation and development processes of corporate social responsibility, and the issues of evaluation of organization’s assumed level of social responsibility and of impact of socially responsible behaviour on organization itself and its interests groups are analyzed. As well the dissertation delivers the disclosure of potential... [to full text] / Nors didėjant socialinės atsakomybės svarbai verslo procesuose verslo socialinės atsakomybės tematika mokslinėje literatūroje įvairiapusiai ir išsamiai tiriama ir aptariama, tačiau pasigendama tyrimų ir diskusijų apie verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo, įtvirtinimo ir plėtros priemones, o ypač apie organizacijų darbuotojus, kaip pagrindinį verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo ir įtvirtinimo įrankį. Atsižvelgiant į verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo ir plėtros klausimų aktualumą, disertacijoje, remiantis socialinės atsakomybės koncepcijų ir įtvirtinimo priemonių teorijų bei darbuotojų vertinimų analizėmis, atskleidžiama verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo būklė Lietuvoje ir, lyginant su jos būkle Baltarusijoje, nustatomos socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo verslo organizacijose galimybės. Be to, naujų verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo priemonių paieškos metu, išsamiai aptariami verslo ir viešojo sektoriaus socialinės atsakomybės skirtumai, įvertinant viešojo sektoriaus vaidmenį verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinime ir plėtroje, ir analizuojama organizacijos prisiimto socialinės atsakomybės lygio ir socialiai atsakingos elgsenos poveikio pačiai organizacijai ir jos interesų grupėms vertinimo problematika. Taip pat disertacijoje atskleidžiamas darbuotojų savybių įtakos verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimui potencialas, pasiūlant pilotinį darbuotojų savybių įtakos socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimui verslo organizacijoje modelį. Due... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Nors didėjant socialinės atsakomybės svarbai verslo procesuose verslo socialinės atsakomybės tematika mokslinėje literatūroje įvairiapusiai ir išsamiai tiriama ir aptariama, tačiau pasigendama tyrimų ir diskusijų apie verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo, įtvirtinimo ir plėtros priemones, o ypač apie organizacijų darbuotojus, kaip pagrindinį verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo ir įtvirtinimo įrankį. Atsižvelgiant į verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo ir plėtros klausimų aktualumą, disertacijoje, remiantis socialinės atsakomybės koncepcijų ir įtvirtinimo priemonių teorijų bei darbuotojų vertinimų analizėmis, atskleidžiama verslo socialinės atsakomybės įgyvendinimo būklė Lietuvoje ir, lyginant su jos būkle Baltarusijoje, nustatomos socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo verslo organizacijose galimybės. Be to, naujų verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimo priemonių paieškos metu, išsamiai aptariami verslo ir viešojo sektoriaus socialinės atsakomybės skirtumai, įvertinant viešojo sektoriaus vaidmenį verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinime ir plėtroje, ir analizuojama organizacijos prisiimto socialinės atsakomybės lygio ir socialiai atsakingos elgsenos poveikio pačiai organizacijai ir jos interesų grupėms vertinimo problematika. Taip pat disertacijoje atskleidžiamas darbuotojų savybių įtakos verslo socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimui potencialas, pasiūlant pilotinį darbuotojų savybių įtakos socialinės atsakomybės įtvirtinimui verslo organizacijoje modelį. / Due to the growing importance of social responsibility in business processes, various topics of corporate social responsibility are being versatile and exhaustively examined and discussed in the scientific literature, but still there is a lack of research and discussions on implementation, consolidation and development measures of corporate social responsibility, in particular the employees of organization as a key one. Considering the relevance of the consolidation and development of corporate social responsibility and basing on the analysis of concepts of social responsibility and theories of its consolidation measures as well as analysis of employees’ evaluations, in the dissertation the implementation state of corporate social responsibility in Lithuania is revealed and, by comparing it with the state of play in Belarus, new opportunities for the consolidation of corporate social responsibility are disclosed. Additionally, during the search of new consolidation measures of corporate social responsibility, differences of business and public sector social responsibility are presented, at the same time appraising the role of the public sector in consolidation and development processes of corporate social responsibility, and the issues of evaluation of organization’s assumed level of social responsibility and of impact of socially responsible behaviour on organization itself and its interests groups are analyzed. As well the dissertation delivers the disclosure of potential... [to full text]

Atsakingo verslo idėja aktuali tiek viso pasaulio, tiek ir Lietuvos verslininkams, kaip veiksnys, didinantis įmonių konkurencingumą rinkoje. Ji gali padėti gerinti santykius su vartotojais, partneriais, investuotojais bei užtikrinti verslo ilgalaikiškumą ir stabilumą. Šiame darbe buvo stengiamasi, remiantis Lietuvos bei užsienio autorių moksliniais darbais, atskleisti socialinės atsakomybės sampratą, jos svarbą šiuolaikiniam verslui, išskyriau esminius socialinės atsakomybės teiginius ir teikiamą naudą, bei apžvelgiau ĮSA (CSR) taikymo sritis ir jose naudojamus principus. Taip pat darbe yra palyginama Lietuvos situaciją ĮSA kontekste su kitomis valstybėmis: Jungtinėmis Karalystėmis, Olandija, Belgija ir Latvija. Įvertinama kas yra pasiekta mūsų šalyje, skatinant socialinę atsakomybę, ir kokias ĮSA iniciatyvas dar reikia plėtoti ir įgyvendinti, remiantis užsienio šalių patirtimi. Lietuvoje socialinė atsakomybė kol kas nauja sąvoka ir dar gana neįprasti rūpesčiai verslo atstovams. Todėl Lietuvoje yra atlikta ne daug tyrimų apie socialiai atsakingo verslo skatinimą bei jo įgyvendinimą versle. Mano inicijuojamas tyrimo tikslas buvo indentifikuoti pagrindines ĮSA skatinimo priemones ir būdus, įvertinti jų reikšmę ir pritaikymą praktiškai, kartu pateikiant pasiūlymus, kas paspartinų ir sudarytų palankesnes sąlygas ĮSA plėtrai tarp Lietuvos įmonių. Tyrimas parodė, kad Lietuvoje vis dar trūksta supratimo ir informacijos apie socialinę atsakomybę, trūksta kompetetingų ĮSA specialistų... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The scale of cultural values of the organizations in the advanced countries has expanded recently significantly in the XX century. The organizations began comprehend clearly that they are the part of the social system and that relations between the organization ant the society, and between different systems (ecosystem, technical) are very important. Therefore, in the scale of the organizational values the new value like social responsibility has appeared. The idea of the responsible business is relevant for Lithuanian businessmen and all the world businessmen as the factor which may increase the competetiveness between the companies. This idea may assist to improve relations with consumers, partners, investors and insure the stability of the business. The author in this work on the grounds of the studies Lithuanian and foreign authors discloses the concept of the social responsibility, its importance to modern business, emphasizes important statements about social responsibility and its benefit and surveys the application areas of ĮSA (CSR) and their principles. The author also compares in this work situation in Lithuania and in other countries (the United Kingdom, Holland, Belgium, Latvia) on the subject of ĮSA. The author analyses the achievements in promoting social responsibility and ĮSA initiatives which the organizations need to promote and implement according to foreign practice. It should be mentioned that the social responsibility is quite new concept for Lithuanian... [to full text]

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the nature of local school-community human service agency collaboration undertaken to address the needs of at-risk youth. The study focused on the experience of four youth services teams in two Oregon counties. A qualitative, multiple-case study approach was used as the research design. Inquiry was guided by four questions: 1) Why and how was the collaboration initiated?, 2) What is the structure of the collaboration?, 3) What are the characteristics of the process?, and 4) What are the outcomes of the process? Data were collected through interviewing, observation, and document review. The analysis of the data proceeded inductively using a content analysis strategy. Based on a preponderance of evidence, conclusions were drawn. They included: 1. Collaboration became a viable response strategy when organizations realized that unilateral solutions were ineffective. 2. Organizational support for collaboration at. both the administrative and staff level was important. 3. The conveners of the collaboration exercised informal rather than formal authority. 4. In-kind contributions of a limited nature constituted the resource base of the collaboration. 5. Attention was paid to facilitating the process of collaboration itself. 6. Leadership of the collaboration rested primarily with the education sector. 7. While the broad vision of the collaboration was embraced by all members, at a more personal level the vision was translated into differing objectives. 8. Both direct and indirect benefits sustained members' commitment to the collaboration. 9. Generally, parent involvement was felt to be integral to the success of the collaborative effort. 10. The issue of confidentiality was addressed. 11. Collaboration resulted in improved communication among schools and agencies, but the increased understanding was largely confined to team members. 12. Collaboration appeared to facilitate access to services and service delivery for some at-risk students; however, limited documentation made it difficult to assess the team's impact on student outcomes. / Graduation date: 1993

During the last few decades, "regular people" have become increasingly involved with investing in the stock market. One way of doing this, which has become more and more popular, is to invest in mutual funds. The mutual fund industry has, due to its explosive growth, been described as a success story of the 20th century. These days, sources report that over 70% of the Swedish population actively invests in mutual funds. This thesis is an investigation into consumer decision making regarding one specific type of mutual fund: Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). SRI profiled mutual funds are different from "regular" mutual funds in that they incorporate social, ethical, and environmental (SEE) criteria. In this manner, SRI profiled mutual funds could be said to have two separate dimensions. The regular financial dimension has the purpose of generating a high level of financial return while managing risk. The socially responsible dimension, on the other hand, focuses on incorporating SEE issues into the investment process. However, consumers that desire to choose mutual funds that will both perform well financially and have a good socially responsible dimension face a more difficult decision than consumers who choose to invest in "regular" mutual funds. As each of the dimensions come with its own set of challenges which the consumer must overcome, choosing an appropriate combination of these is a difficult task. In this manner, consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds have to navigate through a complex decision making environment to arrive at a good choice. Based in this notion of decision making in complex environments, this thesis investigates how consumers combine their "traditional" financial objectives with their "additional" SEE consideration and examines the impact of personal factors related to these two areas on consumer investment in SRI profiled mutual funds. Four separate essays on these topics, each investigating a specific stage in the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (1968) consumer decision making process, are presented. Moreover, in order to understand how complexity impacts consumer decision making in the area, the results of each study are analyzed against a conceptual framework focusing on the complexity of the market. The results show that consumers of SRI profiled mutual funds care about both financial and SEE issues. However, how consumers combine these in their decision making differs. Factors, such as the stage of the purchase decision making process, personal abilities, preferences, and perceptions are found to impact consumer decision making.  Against this background, this thesis generates an increased understanding of consumer decision making in complex decision making environments in general and of SRI profiled mutual funds in particular.

This study explores the contemporary practice of Ethical and Socially Responsible Investment and concludes that it is based on an ad hoc construct of empirically derived principles, driven mainly by the commercial self-interest of large financial institutions and fund managers. It explores the relationship between investment and morality, to posit a background theory of investment ethics. The study then proposes a move away from the narrow focus of ethical investment to a broader concern for investment ethics. The study introduces the discipline of investment ethics and examines the criteria that form the basis of morality in investment decisions. The resultant theory is intended to be of practical significance in the business and investment domains and to assist potential investors to evaluate investment opportunities in the context of a consistent set of substantive normative ethical principles.

Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att kartlägga i vilken utsträckning företag på en svensk marknad arbetar med CSR och även att identifiera ett eventuellt samband mellan hållbarhetsarbetets utsträckning och lönsamhet i form av EPS och DuPont. Dessa lönsamhetsmått representerar dels ett investeringsperspektiv, dels ett internt företagsperspektiv. Metod: En kvantitativ studie har gjorts på Stockholmsbörsens Large Cap med en indelning av företagen på en hållbarhetsskala. Datan har analyseratstillsammans med lönsamhetsmåtten EPS och DuPont genomkorstabulering samt en statistisk analys. Slutsats: Denna studie finner att det finns ett engagemang för CSR inom LargeCap och det finns ett negativt samband mellan CSR-arbete och EPS.Studien finner inget samband mellan CSR-arbete och DuPont. Det finns en obalans i prioriteringen av TBL där det ekonomiska perspektivet är det främsta.

abstract: This dissertation examines the conditions that foster or hinder success of university-based community design centers (CDCs) in the United States. Little is known about the normative underpinnings of CDCs, how successful these centers have been, which factors have contributed to or impeded their success, and how they have responded to the changes in social, political, professional and economic contexts. Adopting Giddens' theory of structuration as a research framework, this study examined CDCs via a mixed-methods sequential research design: a cross-sectional survey of CDCs on current definitions of success and metrics in use; and in-depth interviews to document the centers' histories of change or stasis, and how these changes influenced their successes. The findings of the first phase were utilized to develop a comprehensive success model for current CDCs that comprise measures related to organizational impacts, activities, and capacities. In the multiple case study analysis, four major rationales were identified: universities for public service, pragmatist learning theories, civic professionalism, and social change. These four rationales were evident in all of the studied cases at varying degrees. Using the concept of permeability, the study also exemplified how the processes of CDCs had transformative impacts in institutional, societal, and personal contexts. Multidisciplinarity has also emerged as a theme for the current organizational transformations of CDCs. The main argument that emerged from these findings is that it is not possible to identify a singular model or best practice for CDCs. The strengths and unique potentials of CDCs depend on the alternative rationales, involved agencies, and their social, political and spatial contexts. However, capitalizing on the distinctive attributes of the institutional context (i.e. the university), I consider some possibilities for university-based CDCs with an interdisciplinary structure, pushing the professional, curricular, and institutional boundaries, and striving for systemic change and social justice. In addition to contributing to the theoretical knowledge base, the findings provide useful information to various CDCs across the country, particularly today as they struggle with financial constraints while the community needs they provide are increasingly in demand. Since CDCs have a long history of community service and engagement, the findings can inform other university-community partnerships. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Environmental Design and Planning 2011

This thesis deals with social support - any help provided to a man by other people (both laymen and profesionals). The thesis tries to describe, evaluate and analyse some negative aspects of social support provided to the Romanies who live in a socially excluded locations (considering the concrete situation in Písek) and suggest suitable measures how to improve it. Although this thesis is conceived as theoretical, for completion it contains views of social workers from Písek who provide social support to the Romanies, and in case reports, there are mapped social nets and experiences of small sample of the Roma residents from Písek´s socially excluded locations.