Corporate social responsibility in online retail – Perceptions from online discussions on Amazon

Online retail has experienced substantial growth due to the increased utilization of digital technologies. The growth in the industry has created numerous multinational corporations, which serve customers all around the world. As a result, the online retailers’ efforts in sustainability have been more often in publicity. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the efforts going beyond the company’s interest in order to bring social good, have been discussed in the academic community for decades. While the various effects of CSR in retail and business generally have been realized, the research aims to make a contribution by examining the concept from the viewpoint of online retail by focusing on interaction at online discussion forums. The main research question asks: What is the role of online retailer CSR in the online discussion forum context? In order to answer this question, additional three sub-research questions are suggested: 1) What elements of CSR are relevant in the online retailer context? 2) How are discussion forums used in communication regarding CSR and online retail by different discusser types? 3) What kind of company perceptions and consumer behavior appear in online discussions of Amazon’s CSR? The study is qualitative of nature, using the content analysis research method to examine posts found from four different public online discussion forums. A qualitative, interpretative analysis was used, although quantitative measures regarding discussion posts were also presented. The analysis contains a coding process, where attributes are attached to discussion posts. As a result of the process, specific patterns can be indicated in order to categorize the posts. As the research uses Amazon as the case company, the case study method is also adopted. In the online retail context, ethics regarding the online retailer’s tax and labor policies are found as most relevant elements. Customers, using discussion forums to share their experiences and opinions regarding online retailer CSR efforts, are realized as the most prominent stakeholder. The research also highlights the role of online retailer employees providing details on internal business practices. However, the not realize the possibility to participate in discussions. Most discussion posts refer either to a positive, negative or mixed reaction towards CSR efforts, it is suggested that the concept is relevant also in online retail. Although online retailer CSR efforts are somewhat linked to company perceptions, the concept has a minimal role in consumer behavior. In online retail, CSR efforts can reduce the risk of being involved in discussions related to controversies. In addition, online retailer CSR efforts should communicate how the retailer contributes locally.

Corporate social responsibility in online retail – Perceptions from online discussions on Amazon

Online retail has experienced substantial growth due to the increased utilization of digital technologies. The growth in the industry has created numerous multinational corporations, which serve customers all around the world. As a result, the online retailers’ efforts in sustainability have been more often in publicity. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the efforts going beyond the company’s interest in order to bring social good, have been discussed in the academic community for decades. While the various effects of CSR in retail and business generally have been realized, the research aims to make a contribution by examining the concept from the viewpoint of online retail by focusing on interaction at online discussion forums. The main research question asks: What is the role of online retailer CSR in the online discussion forum context? In order to answer this question, additional three sub-research questions are suggested: 1) What elements of CSR are relevant in the online retailer context? 2) How are discussion forums used in communication regarding CSR and online retail by different discusser types? 3) What kind of company perceptions and consumer behavior appear in online discussions of Amazon’s CSR? The study is qualitative of nature, using the content analysis research method to examine posts found from four different public online discussion forums. A qualitative, interpretative analysis was used, although quantitative measures regarding discussion posts were also presented. The analysis contains a coding process, where attributes are attached to discussion posts. As a result of the process, specific patterns can be indicated in order to categorize the posts. As the research uses Amazon as the case company, the case study method is also adopted. In the online retail context, ethics regarding the online retailer’s tax and labor policies are found as most relevant elements. Customers, using discussion forums to share their experiences and opinions regarding online retailer CSR efforts, are realized as the most prominent stakeholder. The research also highlights the role of online retailer employees providing details on internal business practices. However, the not realize the possibility to participate in discussions. Most discussion posts refer either to a positive, negative or mixed reaction towards CSR efforts, it is suggested that the concept is relevant also in online retail. Although online retailer CSR efforts are somewhat linked to company perceptions, the concept has a minimal role in consumer behavior. In online retail, CSR efforts can reduce the risk of being involved in discussions related to controversies. In addition, online retailer CSR efforts should communicate how the retailer contributes locally.

Boulevard to broken dreams, Part 1: the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon, and the World Bank's environmental and indigenous peoples' norms

ABSTRACT Before the mid 1980s the World Bank conceived "nature" as something to be "conquered" and "environment" as a source of resources for "development". By the late 1980s the Bank incorporated norms of environmental sustainability and indigenous peoples' protection into its mandate, and other development-oriented IOs followed. This two-part paper describes how a fight over the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon - inside the Bank, between the Bank and NGOs supported by the US Congress, and between the Bank and the government of Brazil -helped to generate the far-reaching change of policy norms. The first part describes how the project was designed as an innovation in sustainable development in rainforests; and how it provoked a firestorm inside the Bank as it moved towards project approval.

An ethnolinguistic study of the Yanesha’ (Amuesha) language and speech community in Peru’s Andean Amazon, and the traditional role of Ponapnora, a female rite of passage

Thesis written in co-mentorship with Richard Chase Smith Ph.D, of El Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC) in Peru. The attached file is a pdf created in Word. The pdf file serves to preserve the accuracy of the many linguistic symbols found in the text.

Certification of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs): limits of the Brazilian experiences

The Brazilian Amazon is one of the world’s largest tropical forests. It supplies more than 80 % of Brazil’s timber production and makes this nation the second largest producer of tropical wood. The forestry sector is of major importance in terms of economic production and employment creation. However, the Brazilian Amazon is also known for its high deforestation rate and for its rather unsustainably managed timber resources, a fact which puts in the balance the long-term future of the forestry sector in the region. Since the mid- 1990s, with strong support from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the number of tropical forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has significantly increased. This is especially true for projects sponsored by large scale companies. The number of community- based forest management projects has also increased. Certification of community-based forest enterprises (CFEs) was initially a goal for the sponsors and community members. Certification is viewed as a way to reach alternative timber markets. In Brazil, the state of Acre has the highest concentration of CFEs certified by FSC. Most of them have been implemented with the support of environmental NGOs and public funds. Environmental NGOs strongly defend the advantages of certification for communities; however, in reality, this option is not that advantageous. Despite all the efforts, the number of participants in each project remains low. Why is this occurring? In this paper, we analyze the underlying motives of a few individual’s participation in CFEs certification projects. We aim to present and discuss some factors that shape the success of CFEs and their later certification. The results are based on surveys conducted in two certified CFEs in the state of Acre.

Indigenous knowledges and power in friction with human rights and development discourses : the case of the Witoto Ethnic Safeguarding Plan in the Colombian Amazon

Cette thèse analyse les négociations interculturelles des Gens du Centre (groupe amazonien multi-ethnique) avec les discours universels de droits humains et de développement mobilisés par l’État colombien. L’analyse se concentre sur le Plan de sauvegarde ethnique Witoto chapitre Leticia (ESP), qui est un des 73 plans formulés et implémentés par l’État colombien pour reconnaître les droits des peuples autochtones en danger par le déplacement forcé causé par les conflits armés internes. J’analyse l’ESP à travers la notion de friction (Tsing, 2005) qui fait référence aux caractéristiques complexes, inégalitaires et changeantes des rencontres contemporaines entre les différences des savoirs locaux et globaux. Mon analyse se base aussi sur des approches foucaldiennes et/ou subalternes de pouvoir comme la recherche anticoloniale et de la décolonisation, les perspectives critiques et contre-hégémoniques des droits humains, le post-développement, et les critiques du féminisme au développement. L’objectif de la thèse est d’analyser les savoirs (concepts de loi, de justice et de développement); les logiques de pensée (pratiques, épistémologies, rôles et espaces pour partager et produire des savoirs); et les relations de pouvoir (formes de leadership, associations, réseaux, et formes d’empowerment et disempowerment) produits et recréés par les Gens du Centre au sein des frictions avec les discours de droits humains et du développement. La thèse introduit comment la région habitée par les Gens du Centre (le Milieu Amazone transfrontalier) a été historiquement connectée aux relations inégalitaires de pouvoir qui influencent les luttes actuelles de ce groupe autochtone pour la reconnaissance de leurs droits à travers l’ESP. L’analyse se base à la fois sur une recherche documentaire et sur deux terrains ethnographiques, réalisés selon une perspective critique et autoréflexive. Ma réflexion méthodologique explore comment la position des chercheurs sur le terrain influence le savoir ethnographique et peut contribuer à la création des relations interculturelles inclusives, flexibles et connectées aux besoins des groupes locaux. La section analytique se concentre sur comment le pouvoir circule simultanément à travers des échelles nationale, régionale et locale dans l’ESP. J’y analyse comment ces formes de pouvoir produisent des sujets individuels et collectifs et s’articulent à des savoirs globaux ou locaux pour donner lieu à de nouvelles formes d’exclusion ou d’émancipation des autochtones déplacés. Les résultats de la recherche suggèrent que les Gens du Centre approchent le discours des droits humains à travers leurs savoirs autochtones sur la « loi de l’origine ». Cette loi établit leur différence culturelle comme étant à la base du processus de reconnaissance de leurs droits comme peuple déplacé. D’ailleurs, les Gens du Centre approprient les discours et les projets de développement à travers la notion d’abondance qui, comprise comme une habileté collective qui connecte la spiritualité, les valeurs culturelles, et les rôles de genre, contribue à assurer l’existence physique et culturelle des groupes autochtones. Ma thèse soutient que, même si ces savoirs et logiques de pensée autochtones sont liés à des inégalités et à formes de pouvoir local, ils peuvent contribuer à des pratiques de droits humains et de développement plurielles, égalitaires et inclusives.

Dynamics of Deforestation and Socio-Economic profile of Tribal Women Folk in Kerala- A study of Attappady is

This thesis Entitled Dynamics of deforestation and Socio-Economic profile of tribal women flok in kerala -A study of Attappady. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through a sample survey conducted in three panchayaths .The thesis is organized in eight chapters. The first chapter provides the background to the study. Second chapter reviews the literature. Third chapter provides the profile of the study area and general conditions. Fourth chapter consists of the life cycle structure of the tribal woman. Fifth chapter covers the socio-economic conditions of the tribal women in the study area. Sixth chapter consists of relationship between tribal women and forest and the degradation of the forest. Seventh chapter provides the documentation of the development programmes implemented in Attappady and their importance to the tribals. Last chapter consists of summary and conclusions of the study, suggestions and recommendations of the study.

Modeling the interplay between land use, bioenergy production and climate change

Land use has become a force of global importance, considering that 34% of the Earth’s ice-free surface was covered by croplands or pastures in 2000. The expected increase in global human population together with eminent climate change and associated search for energy sources other than fossil fuels can, through land-use and land-cover changes (LUCC), increase the pressure on nature’s resources, further degrade ecosystem services, and disrupt other planetary systems of key importance to humanity. This thesis presents four modeling studies on the interplay between LUCC, increased production of biofuels and climate change in four selected world regions. In the first study case two new crop types (sugarcane and jatropha) are parameterized in the LPJ for managed Lands dynamic global vegetation model for calculation of their potential productivity. Country-wide spatial variation in the yields of sugarcane and jatropha incurs into substantially different land requirements to meet the biofuel production targets for 2015 in Brazil and India, depending on the location of plantations. Particularly the average land requirements for jatropha in India are considerably higher than previously estimated. These findings indicate that crop zoning is important to avoid excessive LUCC. In the second study case the LandSHIFT model of land-use and land-cover changes is combined with life cycle assessments to investigate the occurrence and extent of biofuel-driven indirect land-use changes (ILUC) in Brazil by 2020. The results show that Brazilian biofuels can indeed cause considerable ILUC, especially by pushing the rangeland frontier into the Amazonian forests. The carbon debt caused by such ILUC would result in no carbon savings (from using plant-based ethanol and biodiesel instead of fossil fuels) before 44 years for sugarcane ethanol and 246 years for soybean biodiesel. The intensification of livestock grazing could avoid such ILUC. We argue that such an intensification of livestock should be supported by the Brazilian biofuel sector, based on the sector’s own interest in minimizing carbon emissions. In the third study there is the development of a new method for crop allocation in LandSHIFT, as influenced by the occurrence and capacity of specific infrastructure units. The method is exemplarily applied in a first assessment of the potential availability of land for biogas production in Germany. The results indicate that Germany has enough land to fulfill virtually all (90 to 98%) its current biogas plant capacity with only cultivated feedstocks. Biogas plants located in South and Southwestern (North and Northeastern) Germany might face more (less) difficulties to fulfill their capacities with cultivated feedstocks, considering that feedstock transport distance to plants is a crucial issue for biogas production. In the fourth study an adapted version of LandSHIFT is used to assess the impacts of contrasting scenarios of climate change and conservation targets on land use in the Brazilian Amazon. Model results show that severe climate change in some regions by 2050 can shift the deforestation frontier to areas that would experience low levels of human intervention under mild climate change (such as the western Amazon forests or parts of the Cerrado savannas). Halting deforestation of the Amazon and of the Brazilian Cerrado would require either a reduction in the production of meat or an intensification of livestock grazing in the region. Such findings point out the need for an integrated/multicisciplinary plan for adaptation to climate change in the Amazon. The overall conclusions of this thesis are that (i) biofuels must be analyzed and planned carefully in order to effectively reduce carbon emissions; (ii) climate change can have considerable impacts on the location and extent of LUCC; and (iii) intensification of grazing livestock represents a promising venue for minimizing the impacts of future land-use and land-cover changes in Brazil.

Methods for short-term control of Imperata grass in Peruvian Amazon

The traditional control of Imperata brasiliensis grasslands used by farmers in the Peruvian Amazon is to burn the grass. The objective of this study was to compare different methods of short-term control. Biological, mechanical, chemical and traditional methods of control were compared. Herbicide spraying and manual weeding have shown to be very effective in reducing above- and below-ground biomass growth in the first 45 days after slashing the grass, with effects persisting in the longer term, but both are expensive methods. Shading seems to be less effective in the short-term, whereas it influences the Imperata growth in the longer term. After one year shading, glyphosate application and weeding significantly reduced aboveground biomass by 94, 67 and 53%; and belowground biomass by 76, 65 and 58%, respectively, compared to control. We also found a significant decrease of Imperata rhizomes in soil during time under shading. Burning has proved to have no significant effect on Imperata growth. The use of shade trees in a kind of agroforestry system could be a suitable method for small farmers to control Imperata grasslands.

Análisis de la política exterior en materia de seguridad de Brasil en el periodo 2003-2009, como medio para consolidar su liderazgo regional en Sudamérica

Durante los dos períodos de gobierno de Luis Inacio Da Silva en Brasil (2003-2010) el interés de este Estado se centró en la ampliación y fortalecimiento de su posición en Sudamérica a través de la lucha contra las amenazas que afectan su seguridad nacional. Puesto que muchas de estos detractores de la seguridad brasileña son compartidos con otras Estados en la región, destacándose entre estos el narcotráfico, tráfico de armas y la deforestación del Amazonas, el gobierno de Brasil dirigió su política exterior en materia de seguridad en Sudamérica a la lucha conjunta de estas amenazas, proponiendo mecanismos de defensa regionales con el fin de aumentar su liderazgo en la región y así poder aumentar su influencia en esta zona.

Análisis de la aplicación de políticas de seguridad ambiental para el desarrollo sostenible. Caso de estudio: Departamento del Amazonas-Colombia, periodo comprendido entre 2006 – 2012

En medio de los desafíos ambientales que enfrentan los gobiernos del mundo, Colombia posee un territorio que concentra múltiples retos para el desarrollo de políticas, planes y programas pertinentes para la protección de los recursos naturales. Hoy en día el departamento de Amazonas, ubicado estratégicamente al sur del país en una zona limítrofe de alta importancia en la región amazónica, experimenta serias problemáticas como la deforestación, la minería legal e ilegal, y la degradación hídrica. Este trabajo de investigación es un estudio de caso analítico y descriptivo, que busca analizar de qué manera la aplicación de políticas de seguridad ambiental por parte del gobierno colombiano ha contribuido con el desarrollo sostenible en el departamento del Amazonas, estableciendo las principales problemáticas en términos de seguridad ambiental e identificando las políticas que se han desarrollado para la protección de este territorio.

The environmental impact of civil conflict : the deforestation effect of paramilitary expansion in Colombia

Despite a growing body of literature on how environmental degradation can fuel civil war, the reverse effect, namely that of conflict on environmental outcomes, is relatively understudied. From a theoretical point of view this effect is ambiguous, with some forces pointing to pressures for environmental degradation and some pointing in the opposite direction. Hence, the overall effect of conflict on the environment is an empirical question. We study this relationship in the case of Colombia. We combine a detailed satellite-based longitudinal dataset on forest cover across municipalities over the period 1990-2010 with a comprehensive panel of conflict-related violent actions by paramilitary militias. We first provide evidence that paramilitary activity significantly reduces the share of forest cover in a panel specification that includes municipal and time fixed effects. Then we confirm these findings by taking advantage of a quasi-experiment that provides us with an exogenous source of variation for the expansion of the paramilitary. Using the distance to the region of Urab´a, the epicenter of such expansion, we instrument paramilitary activity in each cross-section for which data on forest cover is available. As a falsification exercise, we show that the instrument ceases to be relevant after the paramilitaries largely demobilized following peace negotiations with the government. Further, after the demobilization the deforestation effect of the paramilitaries disappears. We explore a number of potential mechanisms that may explain the conflict-driven deforestation, and show evidence suggesting that paramilitary violence generates large outflows of people in order to secure areas for growing illegal crops, exploit mineral resources, and engage in extensive agriculture. In turn, these activities are associated with deforestation.

Simulating SOC changes in 11 land use change chronosequences from the Brazilian Amazon with RothC and Century models

Land use and land cover changes in the Brazilian Amazon have major implications for regional and global carbon (C) cycling. Cattle pasture represents the largest single use (about 70%) of this once-forested land in most of the region. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the RothC and Century models at estimating soil organic C (SOC) changes under forest-to-pasture conditions in the Brazilian Amazon. We used data from 11 site-specific 'forest to pasture' chronosequences with the Century Ecosystem Model (Century 4.0) and the Rothamsted C Model (RothC 26.3). The models predicted that forest clearance and conversion to well managed pasture would cause an initial decline in soil C stocks (0-20 cm depth), followed in the majority of cases by a slow rise to levels exceeding those under native forest. One exception to this pattern was a chronosequence in Suia-Missu, which is under degraded pasture. In three other chronosequences the recovery of soil C under pasture appeared to be only to about the same level as under the previous forest. Statistical tests were applied to determine levels of agreement between simulated SOC stocks and observed stocks for all the sites within the 11 chronosequences. The models also provided reasonable estimates (coefficient of correlation = 0.8) of the microbial biomass C in the 0-10 cm soil layer for three chronosequences, when compared with available measured data. The Century model adequately predicted the magnitude and the overall trend in delta C-13 for the six chronosequences where measured 813 C data were available. This study gave independent tests of model performance, as no adjustments were made to the models to generate outputs. Our results suggest that modelling techniques can be successfully used for monitoring soil C stocks and changes, allowing both the identification of current patterns in the soil and the projection of future conditions. Results were used and discussed not only to evaluate soil C dynamics but also to indicate soil C sequestration opportunities for the Brazilian Amazon region. Moreover, modelling studies in these 'forest to pasture' systems have important applications, for example, the calculation of CO, emissions from land use change in national greenhouse gas inventories. (0 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Robust dynamics of Amazon dieback to climate change with perturbed ecosystem model parameters

Climate change science is increasingly concerned with methods for managing and integrating sources of uncertainty from emission storylines, climate model projections, and ecosystem model parameterizations. In tropical ecosystems, regional climate projections and modeled ecosystem responses vary greatly, leading to a significant source of uncertainty in global biogeochemical accounting and possible future climate feedbacks. Here, we combine an ensemble of IPCC-AR4 climate change projections for the Amazon Basin (eight general circulation models) with alternative ecosystem parameter sets for the dynamic global vegetation model, LPJmL. We evaluate LPJmL simulations of carbon stocks and fluxes against flux tower and aboveground biomass datasets for individual sites and the entire basin. Variability in LPJmL model sensitivity to future climate change is primarily related to light and water limitations through biochemical and water-balance-related parameters. Temperature-dependent parameters related to plant respiration and photosynthesis appear to be less important than vegetation dynamics (and their parameters) for determining the magnitude of ecosystem response to climate change. Variance partitioning approaches reveal that relationships between uncertainty from ecosystem dynamics and climate projections are dependent on geographic location and the targeted ecosystem process. Parameter uncertainty from the LPJmL model does not affect the trajectory of ecosystem response for a given climate change scenario and the primary source of uncertainty for Amazon 'dieback' results from the uncertainty among climate projections. Our approach for describing uncertainty is applicable for informing and prioritizing policy options related to mitigation and adaptation where long-term investments are required.