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Article
Publication date: 3 January 2017

Philip Vaughter and Steve Alsop

This paper aims to explore the concept of sustainability imaginaries – unifying core assumptions on what sustainability entails held by stakeholders – set within a large suburban…

436

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the concept of sustainability imaginaries – unifying core assumptions on what sustainability entails held by stakeholders – set within a large suburban Canadian university. The study aims to expand the field of research into imaginaries by focusing on imaginaries within an institution as opposed to a societal or national level.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is conceptual in nature and draws upon empirical tools, such as collaborative thematic coding of interviews of university community members, to illustrate emergent imaginaries around sustainability at the institution.

Findings

This paper identifies four core sustainability imaginaries in an analysis of the interview data: sustainability as performance, sustainability as governance, sustainability as techno-efficiency and sustainability as community organizing. The paper then uses these imaginaries to analyse two recent university-wide events: the establishment of a high-level sustainability council and an energy management program.

Research limitations/implications

Because of the institutional focus of this study, the research may lack generalizability to other institutions. Thus, researchers are encouraged to explore what other imaginaries may exist at other institutions.

Practical implications

This paper includes implications for how universities can manage conflicting expectations and definitions in relation to new sustainability initiatives on campus.

Originality/value

This paper offers reflections on the concept of sustainability imaginaries and what they might offer the field of sustainability in higher education.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

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Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Dan Beveridge, Marcia McKenzie, Philip Vaughter and Tarah Wright

This paper aims to report on a census of high-level sustainability initiatives at all accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada by documenting the institutions that have…

1335

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to report on a census of high-level sustainability initiatives at all accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada by documenting the institutions that have undertaken sustainability assessments, have signed one or more sustainability declarations, have sustainability offices or officers or have sustainability policies. The aim was to better understand the broad-scale patterns of commitments by post-secondary institutions to these sustainability initiatives by exploring the interrelationships among them, and with geographic and institutional characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected on existing high-level sustainability initiatives at Canada’s 220 accredited post-secondary institutions. Patterns in the data were analyzed using exploratory statistical techniques. This paper proposes a sustainability initiative score to help understand the diversity and patterns of sustainability initiative uptake.

Findings

Institutions located in larger communities, and in British Columbia and Québec, tended to have higher sustainability initiative scores. Institutions in Saskatchewan and the territories had the lowest sustainability initiative scores. It was found that sustainability office(r)s, assessments and policies co-occurred disproportionately, potentially suggesting positive reinforcement mechanisms. On the other hand, having signed a declaration was not strongly linked to other sustainability initiatives. Terminological preference had shifted from “environment” and “sustainable development” to “sustainability”.

Research limitations/implications

The scope was limited to a discrete set of high-level sustainability initiatives appropriate for a nation-wide census, at a moment in time, and is therefore not exhaustive in subject or temporal extent. This broad-scale comparative analysis compels further study into the relationship between the sustainability policy environment and sustainability practices on the ground, as well as implications for how post-secondary institutions engage with sustainability. The patterns and interrelationships this paper discovered help to structure future critical and comparative in-depth analyses of sustainability policies and practices within post-secondary education.

Originality/value

Almost no extensive, comparative empirical studies of sustainability policy and practice in post-secondary institutions exist. This void is addressed by documenting and analyzing high-level sustainability initiatives across all accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

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Article
Publication date: 4 January 2016

Philip Vaughter, Marcia McKenzie, Lauri Lidstone and Tarah Wright

This paper aims to provide an overview of a content analysis of sustainability policies from Canadian post-secondary education institutions. The paper reports findings on the…

3015

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide an overview of a content analysis of sustainability policies from Canadian post-secondary education institutions. The paper reports findings on the orientations to sustainability evident in the policies; references to other policies within the documents; and other key themes on how sustainability is engaged in the policies in relation to overall governance, education, operations, research and community outreach.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 50 Canadian colleges and universities was selected based on representativeness across a range of criteria. A qualitative thematic content analysis of these policies was conducted using a collaborative coding approach.

Findings

Results suggest that most sustainability policies described a Brundtland (i.e. intergenerational) and/or three-pillar (e.g. economic, environmental and social) orientation to sustainability. Many sustainability policies also connected to other external municipal or provincial policies. In terms of various domains of sustainability, campus operations was discussed by all of the policies and in the most detail, while discussions of sustainability in education (i.e. the curriculum) and in research were vague, and discussions of sustainability in relation to community outreach were included less frequently.

Originality/value

This comparative study provides a broad view of sustainability policies from post-secondary institutions across Canada. It deepens our understanding of the institutions’ conceptualizations of, and priorities for, sustainability. This paper has practical implications for institutions seeking to create or further develop their own policies, and it contributes to the comparative scholarly literature on the institutionalization of sustainability in higher education.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

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Article
Publication date: 10 August 2022

Paoloregel Samonte and Riyanti Djalante

In the realm of disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts and disaster resilience discipline globally, the impacts of disasters at the family level – especially in terms of…

154

Abstract

Purpose

In the realm of disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts and disaster resilience discipline globally, the impacts of disasters at the family level – especially in terms of interpersonal relationships – remain largely understudied. This paper aims to explore the impacts of postdisaster relocation on the internal dynamics of families in Southville 7 in Calauan, Laguna, Philippines during the aftermath of the 2009 typhoon Ketsana, and endeavors to inform institutional policies to strengthen families’ disaster resilience.

Design/methodology/approach

Purposive sampling was applied in choosing the 20 participating families for the case study of Site III, Southville 7 – a relocation site housing more than 3,000 displaced families from Metro Manila during typhoon Ketsana. Data gathering methods such as semistructured interviews and personal observations were used during fieldwork, the findings of which were coded to reveal the study’s analytical themes.

Findings

Research findings reveal that the impacts of postdisaster relocation to family dynamics could be classified into seven broad categories: family composition and structure; members’ roles; parenting; parents’ marital relationship; familial relationship; family member’s personalities; and death and disabilities. The interplay between these impacts results in either stronger overall family cohesion or further relational ruptures.

Originality/value

By spotlighting the impacts of disasters on overall family dynamics in the context of postdisaster relocation, this study seeks to elevate the place of the family in the DRR and disaster resilience discourse.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

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