Browsing by Author "Steeves, H. Leslie"

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    A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Risk Management, Corporate Sustainability Communication, and Risk Perception: The Case of Tullow Oil in Ghana
    (University of Oregon, 2015-08-18) Ofori-Parku, Sylvester; Steeves, H. Leslie
    In the West African country Ghana, which has a history of poor natural resource management, discovery of offshore petroleum resources in 2007 and subsequent commercial production in 2010 (with British multinational Tullow Oil as lead operator) is a potential source of potential wealth and inequality. Using the Cultural Theory of Risk, Social Amplification of Risk Framework, and the Corporate Sustainability Framework — a proposed model—as theoretical foundations, this dissertation examines corporate sustainability practices, communication, and their implications for local residents’ risk perceptions, corporate reputation, and risk management. The study also assesses how cultural worldviews and informational networks (e.g., an environmental group, opinion leaders, and media) amplify or attenuate residents’ risks perceptions. Data were collected via interviews with key actors including a non-governmental organization (NGO), a survey of a representative sample of Half Assini residents in one of the six coastal districts that adjoin Ghana’s offshore petroleum region, and analyses of Tullow’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and other communication texts. Extant worldview and corporate reputation measures were also developed/adapted and tested. The study finds support for the view that cultural worldview and affect are associated with public risk perceptions. Thus, individuals who (a) do not subscribe to the worldview that government ought to regulate corporate behaviors, (b) show a relatively high sense of attachment to their communities, (c) rate the images associated with Ghana’s offshore oil production favorably, and (d) rate the images associated with Tullow Oil positively are more likely to be worried that Ghana’s offshore oil production poses significant risks for the country and their local communities. Regarding corporate sustainability communication, the study observes that Tullow uses a predominantly technical, expert-driven approach, which seeks to discursively position it as an aspirational, engaged, and responsible organization. While critiquing Tullow’s corporate sustainability and communication approach, the research also argues that corporate sustainability (CSR and risk) communication has the potential to constitute desirable corporate practices and could ultimately culminate in meaningful social change. Theoretical contributions to risk perception, risk management/communication, corporate reputation, and CSR communication are discussed. Practical implications for advocacy, corporate practices, and public participation in environmental decision-making are discussed.
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    Contraception in Discourse and Development: A Case Study of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Role in Global Family Planning
    (University of Oregon, 2022-02-18) Howerton, Leslie; Steeves, H. Leslie
    This study examines the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s (BMGF) role in global family planning by interrogating how the organization structures its relationships with bilateral and multilateral donors, development NGOs, national governments, and private sector corporations. I analyzed how the BMGF’s digital messages fit into broader development discourse and how the organization is situated in the larger global family planning community. I further examined how the BMGF addresses local culture, social norms, gender, and equality on its website and in its social media messages. The BMGF’s role is global family planning is complex, so I used multiple theoretical frameworks to guide my qualitative analysis: critical political economy of communication (CPEC), development communication (devcom), feminist frameworks, and public health campaign scholarship. I conducted a document and critical discourse analysis on BMGF financial disclosures, annual reports, committed grants, website material, and Twitter posts using a grounded theory approach. The case study is limited to materials from 2014 to 2018 because 2014 was the year the foundation shifted to an empowerment model that placed women and girls at the center of its development goals. The BMGF structures its relationships largely through philanthropic grants. It calls grantees partners, though the relationships do not represent equal power dynamics between both organizations. The BMGF is a leader in global family planning because it allocates more money than any other organization in the community, creating a top-down organizational structure that allows the foundation ultimate control over global family planning projects and discourse. BMGF digital messages about family planning do not address local culture and social norms, instead opting for generic descriptions of women and girls as a homogenized group characterized by shared oppression. The foundation website’s family planning section only briefly mentions gender equality and its social media messages only mention inequalities. This case study contributes to scholarship in CPEC and devcom and to feminist frameworks in critical-cultural healthcare.
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    [Issue no. 16 Cover]
    (Fembot Collective, 2020-02) Steeves, H. Leslie