Managing the Tensions at the Intersection of the Triple Bottom Line: A Paradox Theory Approach to Sustainability Management

Corporate sustainability management encompasses multiple dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Companies are increasingly evaluated within the public sphere, and within their own organizations, according to the degree to which they are perceived to simultaneously promote this nexus of virtues. This article seeks to explore the tensions frequently faced by organizations that strive to manage these dimensions and the role of public policy in that pursuit. A multiple–case study approach is utilized in which the authors selected case organizations according to whether they were attempting to manage the three dimensions of sustainability. The authors utilize paradox theory and a typology provided by previous research to understand the nature of the tensions that emerge in the selected case study organizations. They extend this previous work by examining the role of public policy in providing the situational conditions to make these paradoxical tensions salient, and they examine organizational responses to these conditions. Directions for firms, policy makers, and future researchers are provided on the basis of this study’s findings

Managing the Tensions at the Intersection of the Triple Bottom Line: A Paradox Theory Approach to Sustainability Management

Corporate sustainability management encompasses multiple dimensions: environmental, social, and economic. Companies are increasingly evaluated within the public sphere, and within their own organizations, according to the degree to which they are perceived to simultaneously promote this nexus of virtues. This article seeks to explore the tensions frequently faced by organizations that strive to manage these dimensions and the role of public policy in that pursuit. A multiple–case study approach is utilized in which the authors selected case organizations according to whether they were attempting to manage the three dimensions of sustainability. The authors utilize paradox theory and a typology provided by previous research to understand the nature of the tensions that emerge in the selected case study organizations. They extend this previous work by examining the role of public policy in providing the situational conditions to make these paradoxical tensions salient, and they examine organizational responses to these conditions. Directions for firms, policy makers, and future researchers are provided on the basis of this study’s findings

Coupling of geological processes in the Earth’s crust and mantle

In dieser Arbeit werden Schmelz- und Anreicherungsprozesse des Erdmantels, sowie Kristallisationsereignisse der Erdkruste zweier ausgewählter Gebiete in Namibia und Spanien mithilfe geochemischer Methoden rekonstruiert und in einen zeitlichen Zusammenhang gebracht. Ein Vergleich der gewonnenen Ergebnisse beider Kompartimente soll dabei weitere Informationen liefern inwieweit Prozesse des Erdmantels und der Erdkruste miteinander verknüpft waren. Insbesondere soll ein weitere Beitrag zur aktuellen Diskussion geliefert werden, bei der sich das sogenannte „pulsed growth“ und „steady accumulation“ Modell gegenüberstehen (siehe Zusammenstellung Pearson et al., 2007). Zudem tragen die neu gewonnenen Daten dazu bei, die regionalen geologischen Gegebenheiten im besonderen Hinblick auf die geotektonische Geschichte besser zu verstehen. Das Gibeon Kimberlit Feld befindet sich in der tektonischen Einheit des Rehoboth Terranes in Namibia und ist gekennzeichnet von Vulkanismus vor etwa 72.5 Ma (Davies et al., 2001), der Granat Peridotite und krustale Xenolithe mit an die Oberfläche beförderte. Eine klare Einordnung des Rehoboth Terranes in die Gesamtheit des Süd Afrikanischen Plattenverbunds ist noch nicht vollständig geklärt. Die Südöstliche vulkanische Provinz in Spanien (SEVP) mit besonderem Hinblick auf die Region um Casas de Tallante stellt das zweite Probengebiet für diese Arbeit dar. Vor etwa 2.6 Ma (Bellon et al., 1983) kam es zur Extrusion von alkali-basaltischen Schmelzen, die zahlreiche Spinell / Plagioklas Peridotite mit sich brachten. Tufflagen, sowie die Matrix der Basalte ermöglichen einen Einblick in die untere Kruste der Region. Untersuchungen der Erdmantelproben aus Namibia auf ihre Haupt- und Spurenelementchemie, sowie Lu-Hf und Sm-Nd Isotopie zeigten, dass zwei verschiedene Manteltypen vorliegen („N“ und „σ“ Typ), die zu einem Zeitpunkt um etwa 850 Ma („N“) und 1.9 Ga („σ“) angereichert wurden. Eine letzte Anreicherung beider Typen fand vermutlich während der Pan–Afrikanischen Orogenese um etwa 450 Ma statt. Die Reinterpretation eines zuvor publizierten Datensatzes (Pearson et al., 2004), suggeriert, dass es zu einer ersten Verarmung der σ Peridotite um etwa 2.9 Ga kam. Untersuchungen der U-Pb und Hf Isotopie an Zirkonen aus der unteren Kruste des Probengebiets in Namibia ergaben, dass es zur Bildung von juvenilem Krustenmaterial vermutlich bereits im Archaikum kam (wie bereits vorgeschlagen durch z.B. Hoal et al., 1995; Franz et al., 1996), sowie in den Zeiträumen von 2.3 bis 2.7 und 1.5 bis 1.6 Ga, mit jeweils anschließendem krustalem Recycling und Krustenmischung. Eine Übereinstimmung von Mantel- und Krustenevents konnte für die Zeiträume von etwa 1.8, 0.8 - 0.9 Ga und 0.4 – 0.5 Ga gefunden werden. Eine mögliche erste Verarmung des σ Mantels wird bestätigt durch Zirkonalter im Bereich von 2.7 bis 2.9 Ga. Die Analyse ausgewählter Spinell / Plagioklas Peridotite aus der SEVP, ergaben, dass ein heterogener Mantel mit mindestens 3 verschiedenen Typen vorliegt. Eine Korrelation der Lu-Hf Isotopie von 3 Proben dieses Probensatzes, sowie den Hf Isotopien einer weiteren Probe von Bianchini et al. (2011) suggerieren, dass es eventuell zu einem Verarmungsereignis zu einem Zeitpunkt von etwa 550 Ma kam. Sr Isotopien von Klinopyroxenen und Plagioklasen im Vergleich ergaben, dass die Sr Isotopie der Plagioklase, im Gegensatz zu den Klinopyroxenen, von denen der Alkali Basalte überprägt wurden. Zirkonanalysen aus Lokalitäten innerhalb der SEVP (U-Pb, Hf) ergaben ein weitreichendes Altersspektrum, beginnend bei etwa 2-3 Ma bis hin ins Archaikum (2.7 bis 2.9 Ga) mit Provenance Ursprung aus Gondwana und dem Arabisch-Nubischen Schild. Die Kombination der U-Pb Altersinformationen mit den entsprechenden Hf Isotopien, zeigten, dass es vermutlich bereits im Archaikum zu juveniler Krustenbildung kam. Zirkone > 100 µm datieren den Zeitpunkt der Eruption der Alkali Basalte mit Altern um etwa 2.6 Ma und Hf Isotopien, die einem leicht verarmten Mantel entsprechen. Ein mögliches Verarmungsereignis im Erdmantel zu einem Zeitpunkt von etwa 550 Ma, ist im Einklang mit Krustenrecycling zu selbigem Zeitpunkt. Die neugewonnenen Daten dieser Arbeit unterstützten das „pulsed growth“ Modell. Literatur Bellon, H., Bordet, P. and Montenat, C., 1983. Chronology of the Neogene Magmatism from Betic Ranges (Southern Spain). Bulletin De La Societe Geologique De France, 25(2): 205-217. Bianchini, G., Beccaluva, L., Nowell, G.M., Pearson, D.G. and Siena, F., 2011. Mantle xenoliths from Tallante (Betic Cordillera): Insights into the multi-stage evolution of the south Iberian lithosphere. Lithos, 124(3-4): 308-318. Davies, G.R., Spriggs, A.J. and Nixon, P.H., 2001. A non-cognate origin for the Gibeon kimberlite megacryst suite, Namibia: Implications for the origin of Namibian kimberlites. Journal of Petrology, 42(1): 159-172. Franz, L., Brey, G.P. and Okrusch, M., 1996b. Steady state geotherm, thermal disturbances, and tectonic development of the lower lithosphere underneath the Gibeon Kimberlite Province, Namibia. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 126(1-2): 181-198. Hoal, B.G., Hoal, K.E.O., Boyd, F.R. and Pearson, D.G., 1995. Age constraints on crustal and mantle lithosphere beneath the Gibeon kimberlite field, Namibia. South African Journal of Geology, 98(2): 112-118. Pearson, D.G., Irvine, G.J., Ionov, D.A., Boyd, F.R. and Dreibus, G.E., 2004. Re-Os isotope systematics and platinum group element fractionation during mantle melt extraction: a study of massif and xenolith peridotite suites. Chemical Geology, 208(1-4): 29-59. Pearson, D.G., Parman, S.W. and Nowell, G.M., 2007. A link between large mantle melting events and continent growth seen in osmium isotopes. Nature, 449(7159): 202-205

Transgender Inmates’ Right to Gender Confirmation Surgery

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. It ensures that the state’s power to punish is exercised within the bounds of evolving standards of human decency. At the time of its enactment in 1791, the Eighth Amendment merely protected against torture and other physically barbarous treatments. However, as society’s standards of decency changed, so too did the scope of the Eighth Amendment. Today, among other protections, the Eighth Amendment mandates that prisons provide inmates with adequate conditions of confinement. This includes an obligation on the part of the prison to provide adequate medical care. But a great deal of controversy exists as to what exactly adequate medical care requires. In the context of transgender inmates, circuit courts are split over the necessity of providing gender confirmation surgery. While some courts believe that blanket bans on such surgery are constitutional, others prescribe a case-bycase analysis to determine the constitutionality of a prison’s denial of gender confirmation surgery. This Note explores the divergence between these two approaches and argues that a case-by-case approach better comports with both the historical confines of the Constitution and contemporary societal values

Selected Changes in Urban High School Students After Participation in Community Based Learning and Service Activities

This study measured selected changes in high school students as a result of community involvement and participation in order to realize the goal of responsible citizenship. It was designed to ascertain whether students who experienced community service displayed more positive attitudes toward learning than students who had not experienced community service. The study investigated changes in the areas of: student attitudes toward future life goals as measured by actual behaviors in planning and exploring careers, feelings of personal adequacy or inadequacy as measured by self-esteem in social situations, attitudes toward helping others as measured by social and personal responsibility indices, attitudes toward responsible community and school citizenship as measured by attendance and disciplinary referrals. Three hundred urban high school students who were enrolled in the general course of study were administered pretests. One hundred thirty-six of the original one hundred fifty experimental group students completed the posttest after finishing thirty hours of community learning/service activities. One hundred twenty six control group students completed the posttest. Student attendance and disciplinary referrals were examined, and interviews were conducted with ten students and five teachers. The following research hypotheses were tested: 1. There is a difference in attitudes toward school, toward helping others, and toward future life goals as measured b) three attitude scales between urban high school students who are involved ina community based learning/service experience and those who are not involved in such an experience

‘‘Yes, but this Other One Looks Better/Works Better’’: How do Consumers Respond to Trade-offs Between Sustainability and Other Valued Attributes?

Consumers are increasingly facing product evaluation and choice situations that include information about product sustainability, i.e., information about a pro- duct’s relative environmental and social impact. In many cases, consumers have to make decisions that involve a trade-off between product sustainability and other valued product attributes. Similarly, product and marketing man- agers need to make decisions that reflect how consumers will respond to different trade-off scenarios. In the current re- search, we study consumer responses across two different possible trade-off scenarios: one in which consumers face a trade-off between product sustainability and hedonic value, and another in which they must trade-off between product sustainability and utilitarian value. Our results suggest that, overall, consumers are more likely to trade-off hedonic value (e.g., esthetics) for sustainability than to trade-off utilitarian value (e.g., functional performance) for sustainability. In Studies 1A and 1B, we presented participants with a product choice task and also measured their anticipatory emotions as they contemplated their options. The results suggest that given a trade-off, consumers are more likely to choose a sustainable product when they have to trade-off hedonic value than when they have to trade-off utilitarian value. Further, these studies provide some insight into the emotions underlying this effect. In Study 2, we use a different & Minu Kumar [email protected] Michael G. Luchs [email protected] consumer response measure, relative purchase likelihood, and investigate the effect of trade-off type across categories that vary in the degree to which hedonic and utilitarian at- tributes are perceived to be important (referred to as ‘product type’). Our results suggest that the effect of trade-off type still holds, yet is moderated by product type such that con- sumers’ greater willingness to trade-off hedonic value (vs. utilitarian value) for sustainability is attenuated as the relative importance of hedonic (vs. utilitarian) attributes increases. In addition to building on our theoretical understanding of de- cision making given trade-offs with moral attributes, this research is also intended to support managers as they define and choose among various strategic, product development, and marketing promotion options

The Role Of Service In P&T Decisions

Promotion and tenure are very important to faculty members, especially to faculty that are untenured or are in the lower academic ranks.  Typically, universities grant promotion and tenure (P & T) based on three components: research, teaching, and service.  Research is usually relatively well defined and is based on some combination of quality and quantity of presentations and publications.  Teaching effectiveness is typically evaluated using peer evaluations, student evaluations, and the ratings of administrators.  The third component, service, tends to be the least well defined of the three.   The reason for this may be that service is more difficult to quantify because its components tend to be numerous and vague.  This study investigates the perceived importance, what is, of service in the P & T decisions and how important service should be in those decisions.  Email questionnaires were sent to faculty across the nation to obtain their perceptions concerning the overall importance of service in the P & T process at their school.  The survey is designed to capture data regarding the perceived present importance of service in the promotion and tenure process, and what the importance of service in the promotion and tenure process should be.  The results indicate that service is considered to be between “slightly” and “moderately” important in obtaining promotion and tenure.  Respondents indicated that service should be at least “moderately important” in the P & T decision process.  These differences between how important service is and how important it should be are all statistically significant at the 1% level.  Overall, the results show that service is more important for the promotion to full professorship decision than it is for the promotion to associate and granting of tenure decisions.  In addition, analyses show that how important service is and how important it should be varies significantly with some of the demographic characteristics of the respondents’ schools