Site-specific and geographical segmental social, environmental and ethical disclosures by the Ghanaian mining sector

Purpose: This paper explores the extent of site-specific and geographic segmental social, environmental and ethical reporting by mining companies operating in Ghana. We aim to: (i) establish a picture of corporate transparency relating to geographic segmentation of social, environmental and ethical reporting which is specific to operating sites and country of operation, and; (ii) gauge the impact of the introduction of integrated reporting on site-specific social, environmental and ethical reporting. Methodology/Approach: We conducted an interpretive content analysis of the annual/integrated reports of mining companies for the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 in order to extract site-specific social, environmental and ethical information relating to the companies’ mining operations in Ghana. Findings and Implications: We found that site-specific social, environmental and ethical reporting is extremely patchy and inconsistent between the companies’ reports studied. We also found that there was no information relating to certain sites, which were in operation, according to the Ghana Minerals Commission. This could simply be because operations were not in progress. Alternatively it could be that decisions are made concerning which site-specific information is reported according to a certain benchmark. One policy implication arising from this research is that IFRS should require geographic segmental reporting of material social, environmental and ethical information in order to bring IFRS into line with global developments in integrated reporting. Originality: Although there is a wealth of sustainability reporting research and an emergent literature on integrated reporting, there is currently no academic research exploring site-specific social, environmental and ethical reporting

Social/environmental reporting by Shell

This thesis uses textual analysis to examine how language use by global multinationals in social/environmental reports contributes to maintaining economically-based understandings of corporate responsibility. The findings suggest that such reporting does not just discharge accountability for social/environmental impacts; it also has implications for how these responsibilities are understood and accepted.

Problem gambling and internalising symptoms: A longitudinal analysis of common and specific social environmental protective factors.

Comorbidity between problem gambling and internalising disorders (anxiety and depression) has long been recognised. However, it is not clear how these relationships develop, and what factors can foster resilience to both conditions. The current study draws on longitudinal cohort data to investigate: 1) the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between problem gambling and internalising symptoms; 2) whether there are common and/or specific social environmental factors protective against both internalising symptoms and problem gambling in young adulthood; and 3) interactive protective factors (i.e., those that moderate the relationship between problem gambling and internalising symptoms).

Social media conflict: platforms for racial vilification, or acts of provocation and citizenship?

Although racism remains an issue for social media sites such as YouTube, this focus often overshadows the site’s productive capacity to generate ‘agonistic publics’ from which expressions of cultural citizenship and solidarity might emerge. This paper examines these issues through two case studies: the recent proliferation of mobile phone video recordings of racist rants on public transport, and racist interactions surrounding the performance of a Maori ‘flash mob’ haka in New Zealand that was recorded and uploaded to YouTube. We contrast these incidents as they are played out primarily through social media, with the case of Australian Football League player Adam Goodes and the broadcast media reaction to a racial slur aimed against him by a crowd member during the AFL’s Indigenous Round. We discuss the prevalence of vitriolic exchange and racial bigotry, but also, and more importantly, the productive and equally aggressive defence of more inclusive and tolerant forms of cultural identification that play out across these different media forms. Drawing on theories of cultural citizenship along with the political theory of Chantal Mouffe, we point to the capacities of YouTube as ‘platform’, and to social media practices, in facilitating ground-up antiracism and generating dynamic, contested and confronting micropublics.

The impact of negative social environmental events on the market value of supply chain partners

The present work analyzes the impact of negative social / environmental events on the market value of supply chain partners. The study offers a contextualized discussion around important concepts which are largely employed on the Operations Management and Management literature in general. Among them, the developments of the literature around supply chains, supply chain management, corporate social responsibility, sustainable development and sustainable supply chain management are particularly addressed, beyond the links they share with competitive advantage. As for the theoretical bases, the study rests on the Stakeholder Theory, on the discussion of the efficient-market hypothesis and on the discussion of the adjustment of stock prices to new information. In face of such literature review negative social / environmental events are then hypothesized as causing negative impact in the market value of supply chain partners. Through the documental analysis of publicly available information around 15 different cases (i.e. 15 events), 82 supply chain partners were identified. Event studies for seven different event windows were conducted on the variation of the stock price of each supply chain partner, valuing the market reaction to the stock price of a firm due to triggering events occurred in another. The results show that, in general, the market value of supply chain partners was not penalized in response to such announcements. In that sense, the hypothesis derived from the literature review is not confirmed. Beyond that, the study also provides a critical description of the 15 cases, identifying the companies that have originated such events and their supply chain partners involved.

Um turismo de base comunitária para o Parque Nacional do Itatiaia: estudo sobre conflito socioambiental em unidade de conservação.

O Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, fundado em 1937, é o primeiro Parque Nacional do Brasil e apresenta dois planos distintos em seus espaços Parte Alta e Parte Baixa compreendendo municípios dos estados do Rio de Janeiro e Minas Gerais. O estudo do conflito socioambiental existente no Parque Nacional do Itatiaia (PNI) foi realizado, nesta tese, a partir do processo de ampliação territorial ocorrido nesta Unidade de Conservação, em 1982, que incorporou pequenas propriedades particulares ao território da Parte Alta do PNI sem que o Estado efetivasse as indenizações e as desapropriações territoriais preconizadas pela legislação ambiental brasileira para unidades de conservação de proteção integral (SNUC Lei Federal n. 9.985/2000). A caracterização do PNI foi feita levando-se em consideração as correntes ambientalistas que fundamentaram a criação de áreas protegidas desde o surgimento da primeira unidade de conservação nos Estados Unidos da América, no séc. XIX. As assimetrias identificadas nas relações de poder estabelecidas pelos atores sociais envolvidos na questão fundiária do PNI foram destacadas com base nas contribuições do campo da ecologia política. Nessa perspectiva, o estudo caracterizou a relação das comunidades tradicionais com o meio ambiente e as práticas socioambientais dela decorrentes e identificou alternativas de sustentabilidade socioambiental para enfrentamento dos conflitos fundiários existentes no PNI. A possibilidade de desenvolvimento de práticas produtivas alternativas à agropecuária, como o turismo de base comunitária, por exemplo, que permite a inclusão das famílias residentes no território do PNI até que se conclua o processo de regularização fundiária e a sua consolidação territorial, foi ressaltada com vistas a apontar a construção de um arranjo institucional como estratégia de compatibilização de dois direitos fundamentais garantidos pela Constituição Federal de 1988 (CF/88): o direito ao meio ambiente equilibrado e o direito cultural. Nesse parque, a atividade turística manifesta-se como uma das alternativas viáveis para o enfrentamento dos conflitos sobre a ocupação fundiária, tendo em vista que políticas públicas de turismo têm concebido ações de geração de trabalho e renda, de inclusão social e de sustentabilidade econômica e ambiental. A adoção da metodologia de pesquisa qualitativa, com base na técnica de observação participante, permitiu a imersão do pesquisador na problemática vivenciada por comunidades tradicionais que vivem em UCs e possibilitou a obtenção de dados singulares que auxiliaram na interpretação dos resultados. A partir das análises empreendidas com base no trabalho de campo e nas entrevistas, esta tese reforça a importância da celebração de um arranjo institucional entre o Estado brasileiro, por meio do órgão ambiental, e as famílias residentes nas comunidades da Serra Negra e da Vargem Grande, dentro dos limites territoriais do PNI, como forma de se criar uma alternativa sustentável aos impasses vivenciados pelo Estado brasileiro frente às reivindicações de grupos sociais envolvidos em conflitos socioambientais, não só no PNI, mas em diversas Unidades de Conservação do Brasil.

Concepts in conflict : social marketing and sustainability

This article discusses a major dilemma faced by social marketers: the conflict between implementing social marketing programs aimed at developing material wellbeing and the increased use of resources as a result of these changes. Social marketers aim to make social changes positively however the social‐environmental cost benefit is seldom a consideration. It is suggested that many changes are ‘unsustainable’ in their current format. Social marketers will need to become involved in the tradeoffs between material wellbeing and sustainability of the environment. This important issue is of direct relevance to a large section of those involved in social change creation. The consideration of sustainability is an important issue for social marketers. Implications and further research are proposed.