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1 – 10 of 149Thomas Clasen, Lucy Smith, Jeff Albert, Andrew Bastable and Jean‐Francois Fesselet
To document the drinking water component of the humanitarian response to the Great Sumatra‐Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, including a focus on the promotion of household…
Abstract
Purpose
To document the drinking water component of the humanitarian response to the Great Sumatra‐Andaman earthquake of December 26, 2004, including a focus on the promotion of household water treatment (HHWT)/safe storage to minimize the spread of diarrhoeal disease.
Design/methodology/approach
Firsthand accounts of the response effort, interviews, and literature review.
Findings
The combined efforts to mobilize a drinking water response were timely, comprehensive and effective. HHWT/safe storage efforts (other than the continued promotion of boiling) appeared to play only a secondary role in the initial response to the disaster for a variety of reasons.
Practical implications
The enormity of this disaster and the unprecedented scale of the relief effort limit the broad lessons that can be learned at this time.
Originality/value
Shows that there is a clear need to continue to take steps to minimize the risks of waterborne diseases following natural disasters, develop and disseminate practical solutions for the special circumstances associated with tsunamis, including saline water intrusion, clarify the conditions under which proven approaches to HHWT may be useful in emergencies and assess their role in the medium‐ and long‐term response, improve water quality and surveillance without compromising emphasis on water quantity, take advantage of the enormous resources committed to the tsunami response to make effective and sustainable improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene in the affected areas, and document experiences from the tsunami response, distil the lessons learned, disseminate the results and develop guidelines to inform future actions.
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Odhiambo Odera, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow
This paper aims to identify factors influencing and shaping community perceptions of oil companies which present fertile ground for a better understanding of their actions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify factors influencing and shaping community perceptions of oil companies which present fertile ground for a better understanding of their actions.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology is adopted where primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews from members of three communities in the Niger Delta: Ogbunabali community in Port Harcourt (Rivers State), Biogbolo community in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State) and Ogunu community in Warri (Delta State). The interview data were recorded, transcribed and qualitatively analysed using content analysis with NVivo software.
Findings
Perceptions regarding negative and positive aspects of the oil companies were identified. These included environmental concerns; lack of compensation; health effects; lack of social development; neglect of communities; not creating employment opportunities; and providing community and educational support.
Research limitations/implications
A major limitation regards the small number of respondents selected from the communities. The sample of the interviewees was constrained by their availability and accessibility, which might have injected some bias. Gathering data from other stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations, consumers, investors and creditors may provide a deeper understanding of social and environmental practices. Another approach would be to extend this study by examining the perceptions of relevant government officials towards social and environmental concerns in developing countries.
Originality/value
The qualitative research methodology utilised in this study uses content analysis to examine views of communities about oil companies’ commitments to their social and environmental concerns. An understanding of social and environmental commitments allows diverse stakeholders such as communities to become more engaged with issues affecting them.
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Odhiambo Odera, Kieran James, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow
This study aims to identify factors influencing corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR) practices of international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria. It aims at…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify factors influencing corporate social responsibility reporting (CSRR) practices of international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria. It aims at distinguishing CSRR levels by examining both the quantity and quality of reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses annual reports through content analysis. CSRR extent and type are measured by the number of sentences. CSRR are further classified into three subcategories according to whether they are negative, neutral or positive reports and then their proportions compared through descriptive analysis.
Findings
For the extent and quality of CSRR, community was the most reported category. The majority of the total CSRR in the IOCs is positive with little evidence of negative news. None of the IOCs in the sample reported on the environment in their annual reports.
Research limitations/implications
The measurement of CSRR focuses only on annual reports, without consideration of other reporting media such as standalone reports and corporate websites. CSRR are assumed to be voluntary for the companies and they may choose not to report any information in annual reports, as there are no regulations or reporting guidelines in Nigeria to be followed.
Practical implications
The results reveal the absence of environmental reporting in the CSRR of IOCs in Nigeria suggests that they are less concerned with meeting local demands for accountability. The study recommends the need for regulatory intervention on the part of the Nigerian Government.
Social implications
The findings of study indicate that predominant existence of positive CSRR news among all the IOCs suggests there’s an attempt to encourage stakeholders and the public to believe that they are conscious of society and the environment.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study lies in identifying the factors that have led to diversity and uniqueness in CSRR in IOCs. As such, this study seeks to contribute to the development of understanding multiple factors that could give rise to changing patterns of CSRR.
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Odhiambo Odera, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow
This study seeks to examine the quantity and quality of social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) of Nigerian oil companies. The study aims to analyse SED activities as reported…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine the quantity and quality of social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) of Nigerian oil companies. The study aims to analyse SED activities as reported by the oil companies in their annual reports.
Design/methodology/approach
The study analyses annual reports through content analysis. SED quantity is measured by alternative two units: number of sentences and number of pages. A two-point scale system to assess SED quality is used as follows: 1 = if SED is quantitative and reports specific activities of a company concerning its social and environmental responsibility; 0 = otherwise. Correlation analysis is performed among the different SED categories to identify the relationships among them. Kolmongrov–Smirnov and Shapiro–Wilk tests for normality are utilised.
Findings
SED activities are reported by most of the companies, and by quantity, employee information is found to be the most common type of disclosure. SED quantity and quality in the environment category is found to be overwhelmingly low despite the large-scale public concern expressed about the levels of the environmental degradation caused by oil company operations.
Research limitations/implications
The data collected for this study are based on one country, which controls diversity but limits the generalizability of the findings. The study is limited by the sample which includes mainly quoted companies, as they are believed to make improved disclosures because of their investor orientation and statutory obligations.
Originality/value
The study extends SED research by focusing on social disclosures such as employee-, community- and health- and safety-related disclosures. The study also investigates the motivations of SED providers and establishes a link between stakeholder demands/engagement and the level of disclosure.
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Odhiambo Odera, Albert Scott and Jeff Gow
This study aims to identify the differences between local and foreign companies’ social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) practices operating in the Nigerian oil sector. It…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the differences between local and foreign companies’ social and environmental disclosures (SEDs) practices operating in the Nigerian oil sector. It aims at distinguishing SED levels by comparing local and foreign companies operating in the oil sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyses annual reports through content analysis. SED extent and type are measured by the number of sentences. SEDs are further classified into three subcategories according to whether they are negative, neutral or positive disclosures and then their proportions are compared through descriptive analysis. To better understand SED differences, the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon tests are used.
Findings
Local companies are found to provide more content and a wider variety of SED than foreign companies. The majority of the total SEDs in both local and foreign companies are positive with very little evidence of negative news.
Research limitations/implications
The measurement of SEDs focuses on only annual reports, without consideration of other disclosure media such as standalone reports and corporate websites. SEDs are assumed to be voluntary for the companies and they may choose not to disclose any information in annual reports, as there are no regulations or disclosure guidelines in Nigeria to be followed.
Originality/value
The main contribution of this study lies in identifying the factors that have led to diversity and uniqueness in SED between local and foreign oil companies. As such, this study seeks to contribute to the development of understanding multiple factors that could give rise to changing patterns of SED.
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Gulnaz Shahzadi, Faisal Qadeer, Albert John and Fu Jia
Micro corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an emerging concept in management that relates to the examination of employees’ reaction to CSR initiatives. In this stream of…
Abstract
Purpose
Micro corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an emerging concept in management that relates to the examination of employees’ reaction to CSR initiatives. In this stream of literature, this study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of CSR and employees’ organizational identification relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of middle managers (n = 187) were collected from a large hospitality and real estate organization actively involved in CSR activities in Pakistan. The authors conducted two surveys using the self-administered questionnaire with a temporal break. Structural equation modeling was run using AMOS to analyze the data.
Findings
The authors found that organizational pride meditates while desire to have a significant impact through work (DSIW), gender and organizational tenure moderates the relationship between CSR and organizational identification.
Practical implications
The study implies that the management can take the opportunity to make use of the positive response of the employees by investing in social and environmental causes.
Originality/value
The study contributes to CSR, organizational behavior literature, and person-organization fit theory by explaining the complete path of CSR and identification. It unfolds the underlying mechanism and contingencies of CSR-Identification link that are overlooked in the literature .
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As I have reflected upon the last thirty years, since it was precisely thirty years ago that I started as a student at Stanford, I have wondered if there is an overall theme to…
Abstract
As I have reflected upon the last thirty years, since it was precisely thirty years ago that I started as a student at Stanford, I have wondered if there is an overall theme to how my professional career has unfolded and the role Stanford played in it. I believe Albert Bandura's (1982) paper, The Psychology of Chance Encounters and Life Paths, provides a good descriptive framework to work with. I am persuaded that at various points of time as I stood at the proverbial fork in the road, due to one chance factor or another, my decision was tipped one way. This is not to suggest that my career has been a sequence of random events; quite the contrary. While the specific fortuitous events occurred largely outside my control, my responses to them were quite systematic; some fortuitous events had lasting influence, and some even changed my life trajectory. But, what I am struck by, ex post, is that in 1973, as I was just finishing my undergraduate education in India, the ex ante probability of my ending up some years later as a professor at an Ivy League university was essentially zero. Yet, this did eventually happen.
Nicholous M. Deal, Christopher M. Hartt and Albert J. Mills
This remembrance discusses the intellectual climate and circumstances under which David Maines came to the Metro Detroit area in the early 1990s. It discusses his impact on…
Abstract
This remembrance discusses the intellectual climate and circumstances under which David Maines came to the Metro Detroit area in the early 1990s. It discusses his impact on graduate students at Wayne State University and how he met the historian Linda Benson whom he would marry. It chronicles his arrival to the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 1997, which provided him a well-deserved academic home after his long 25-year journey in academia. Maines was tenured there in 1998, promoted to full professor in 1999 and chaired the department from 2000–2006.
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