Gendered poverty among the elderly is a statistical fact. Previous studies have identified inequitable treatment of women and insufficient income for unattached elderly women among the most serious shortcomings of the retirement income system. Despite pension reform over the past decade, the gender gap has widened for elderly Canadians whose incomes fall below the poverty line. This thesis seeks to understand the relationship between the laws that govern Canada's retirement income system and the over-representation of elderly women among Canada's poor, and to explore why the retirement income system continues to deliver benefits in a manner that, though expressed in gender neutral language, is systemically unfair to women. The benefits of Canada's retirement income system may be accessed through workforce participation and, in a more limited way, through a spousal relationship. Familial ideology is used as the theoretical framework to examine the role of the laws that govern access to benefits in reinforcing and perpetuating assumptions about women that undermine their economic autonomy. This examination reveals that gendered economic inequality is embedded within Canada's retirement income system because it accepts the social and economic construction implicit in familial ideology of women as economically subordinate to, and dependent upon, men. The relationship between gender inequality and the two modes of delivery of retirement income benefits, during retirement as pension benefits and prior to retirement as tax subsidies that enhance taxpayers' opportunities to accumulate retirement savings, is also explored. A tax expenditure analysis exposes the bias against the economically disadvantaged (mostly women) inherent in delivering benefits as tax subsidies. Additionally, familial, public/private and restructuring ideologies are used as methodological tools to interrogate the reform process which, although ignoring gender issues, paradoxically deepened and compounded the systemic inequalities for women that existed prior to reform. The thesis concludes by offering suggestions for developing a progressive agenda for advancing gender equality within the retirement income system. The limitations of legal action as a strategy for implementing this type of agenda are discussed, and political action is designated as the most promising strategy for achieving progressive reform. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

This is a case study about policy responses to a specific form of gentrification at the urban fringe: the closure of manufactured home parks in Oregon.The study analyzes the following research questions: (a) What factors affected the quantity and distribution of manufactured home parks? (b) Why did parks close? (c) How did the state legislature respond and why? (d) What are the likely impacts of the state response? A wide variety of sources (e.g., key informant interviews, observations of meetings and public hearings, focus groups of park residents, archival materials and secondary data about manufactured home parks) are employed to investigate a phenomenon imbedded in its context.Parks subject to development pressures, as evidenced by their location in an area experiencing population growth and within an Urban Growth Boundary, were significantly more likely to close than other parks. Manufactured home parks were replaced by compact, mixed-use development in urban or urbanizing areas--smart growth. Based on this evidence, this study concludes that gentrification, in the form of park closures, is integral to Oregon's process of metropolitan restructuring.In the wake of mounting publicity about park closures, the 2007 Oregon legislature adopted legislation that supported two ameliorating strategies: (a) reduce the harm caused to displaced manufactured homeowners through financial assistance, and (b) preserve parks where possible through enabling resident purchases from willing sellers. Who pays for the costs of this legislative package and preemption of local ordinances were the most contested issues.This research is one of the first to analyze gentrification in urban fringe areas. To understand the economic dynamics, it applies rent gap theory to the special case of divided asset ownership. It explores the likely efficacy of two types of policy remedies. Finally, by establishing park closures as a form of gentrification related to metropolitan restructuring, this case study raises the question of whether policies could support a kind of metropolitan restructuring that does not take the toll on people and places exacted by gentrification.

In an ever-globalizing world, societies comprised of myriad people and cultures are quickly becoming the norm rather than the exception. In societies made up of culturally diverse, religiously pluralistic and disparate people, an added layer of complexity becomes apparent when attempting to integrate multiple cultures into a single society. Germany, in its reconstruction effort following World War II, faced such an integration challenge when a massive influx of Turkish migrants arrived as part of a "foreign worker" agreement. The introduction of a large and culturally diverse immigrant population made cultural understanding of paramount importance. Culture is an intangible element that can be difficult to quantify in political, social, or economic terms. As such, understanding culture and the peaceful coexistence of multiple cultures requires an examination beyond traditional perspectives. The implementation of conflict resolution theories and viewing situations from a conflict resolution perspective enables the extra layer of complexity that can occur within culturally diverse societies to be unpacked and better understood. Specifically, the goal of this thesis was to examine the integration challenges for Turkish immigrants in Germany while at the same time looking for opportunities to learn from the challenges facing societies attempting to implement immigration and integration policies in order to promote the coexistence of multiple cultures. The thesis concludes by offering directives or recommendations, formulated from the findings in this study, for multicultural societies facing integration challenges.

In recent years, we have witnessed a strong global resistance to the acceptance of gender and sexuality rights. This resistance is theorized to be driven by a clash between pro-liberal international forces and traditionalist local political powers, suggesting a reverse trend from the previously anticipated liberal progression. However, existing literature often overlooks the divergent dynamics between various issues by relying on single-issue analyses. This dissertation aims to bridge this gap by examining the multifaceted nature of this resistance, using the case study of Russia, which has become a key sponsor of anti-gender policies on the global stage. By providing a comprehensive understanding of the broader socio-political landscape of this process, I suggest a nuance to the existing explanation for global political dynamics.The central concept of this dissertation, which I have named strategic traditionalism, explains how political state actors can opportunistically promote traditionalist views on certain issues while avoiding others that do not advance their political interests. I argue that a nation’s stance on gender and sexuality does not necessarily align with purely liberal or illiberal trends but is rather relational and dependent on political alliances and opportunity structures. I develop this argument through three interrelated studies. In the first chapter, I investigate why the Russian state promotes strategic traditionalism and explain how it relates to anti-Western ideology. Using the logic of a natural experiment in media analysis, I zoom in on the state's role in shaping media discourse on homosexuality and abortion. I analyze the changes in narratives before and after a prominent Russian news agency underwent an unexpected state takeover. I find that pre-takeover, both issues were framed as traditional values versus human rights conflicts. After the takeover, the narrative shifted to a competition between Russia and the West, with Russia portrayed as defending against Western elites using "LGBT ideology" for global dominance, while the abortion discourse remained unchanged. This study highlights the strategic reinforcement of illiberal position on one topic but maintaining neutrality on others to preserve its hegemony, rather than embracing universally traditional or religious views on both topics. This enhances our understanding of how opposing homosexuality aligns with a state's global and domestic interests. The second study examines the extent to which the public adopts state-sponsored strategic traditionalism by exploring public opinion. Globally, public opinion on homosexuality and abortion tends to correlate, but this is not the case in Russia. Quantitative analysis of a nationally representative public opinion survey reveals that negative attitudes towards homosexuality in Russia are associated with traditional values, religiosity, and anti-Western sentiments. However, negative attitudes towards abortion are linked to religiosity but not to traditional values or anti-Western sentiments, suggesting that the public opinion aligns with the state sponsored ideology. Qualitative findings provide an important nuance, indicating that support for the state’s stance might be influenced by the non-democratic nature of public-state relationships in Russia. Respondents understand and can reiterate the state’s logic, assuming that this conformity is non-negotiable in an authoritarian context. However, when discussing their views on sexuality and gender, they distinguish between public and private spheres. While some respondents support the actions framed in terms of combating foreign influence and defending Russian interests in the global sphere, they reject state intervention in the private sphere, which includes same-sex relations and abortion. Thus, this chapter demonstrates that the state’s propaganda had a significant effect on public opinion, showing that framing in terms of strategic traditionalism was effective but deeper probing reveals limits to this adaptation, highlighting the boundaries within which the state operates. This explains the specific form that state action took, distinguishing strategic traditionalism in Russia from what traditionalist pushback, suggested by the literature so far. Finally, I delve into the connection between two core elements of the Russian state’s anti-Western politics: political homophobia, as a part of strategic traditionalism, and anti-Ukrainian campaign. Although the link between two might not be immediately obvious for the outside viewers, the Russian state framed both anti-LGBT measures and the Ukrainian conflict as strategies to counter perceived Western influence while upholding "traditional values" and national sovereignty. Here, I establish the correlation between anti-LGBT and anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Russian public opinion, analyzing the period before and after the introduction of anti-LGBT+ legislation and the onset of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. The results show no statistically significant correlation between attitudes toward Ukraine and homosexuality in 2010. However, in 2016, following the anti-gay law and Crimea’s annexation, anti-gay views and anti-Ukrainian sentiments became positively correlated. This suggests that the Russian public has embraced a multifaceted anti-Western ideology promoted by the political leadership.

published_or_final_version / Comparative Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Firstly, the government support system provided welfare support for single mothers through danwei institution and social assistance system. Danwei used to provide general welfare for single mothers and ensure their economic security. With the demise of danwei , many working single mothers started to xiagang (lose job) and became poor. Social assistance system was recently established in China to ensure the subsistence security of the poor and single mothers were also included. But since the subsistence allowance was too low, the benefit of its effect limited. / In the context of changing social economic and structure in China, poverty of single mothers is becoming an important issue in social policy and social welfare. How do single single mothers react against poverty? What kinds of welfare support are provided to them by the government, the market and the community? Could single single mothers alleviate poverty successfully under the present welfare support system? In order to answer these questions, this study takes the low-income single mothers in Beijing as the research target and examines the structure, context and effect of their welfare support system which were composed by the government, the market and the community. The study puts forward a new welfare support system design for single mothers by studying the main characters and the main problems of the actual welfare support system. / Secondly, the market support system provided welfare support through the free labor market. Single mothers in this study confronted the double discrimination due to gender and age in the labor market; and they usually only get low-income job in marginal employment. Most re-employed single mothers in this study were still living in poor conditions, they were in fact working poor. / The study concludes that to cope with poverty, single mothers in this Beijing small sample had to ask for formal welfare support, mainly social assistance, medical assistance and family assistance. Single mothers in this study had a welfare support system primarily based on the family and taking the family as the latent welfare provider by stressing the mutual responsibility of family members. Although this type of welfare support system can ensure the subsistence security of single mothers, it cannot help them stay away from threat of poverty. Considering the situation of China, it is suggested that the welfare support system for single mother should be primarily based on employment and taking the government, family and NGOs as the complementary sources of welfare support. This will help single mothers strengthen their self-development and independence, so they can positively and effectively respond to poverty. / The study takes a qualitative approach and the analysis is based on the materials stemmed from the in-depth interviews of 20 low-income single mothers in Beijing, Xuan Wu district which were taken on Nov 2006-Jan 2007 and Jan 2008-Mar 2008 respectively. The main findings are described as the following: / Thirdly, the community support system provided welfare support for single mothers through family, neighbours, colleagues, friends, community organizations and NGOs Family was the main support resource for single mothers in this study the government and the market. Parents, brothers and sisters had provided plenty of support for single mothers such like economic, house and caring support which helped them respond to poverty and other needs. The diversity of family support had led to the diversity of single mothers' economic status. The ex-husbands and their families usually had little connections with single mothers in this study and the former hardly provided any welfare support for them. The neighbours usually provided caring support while the colleagues and friends usually provided working and emotional supports. The community organizations and NGOs provided support for sourcing employment, emotional support and short-term monetary or material support for single mothers. / 黃霞. / Adviser: Chack Kie Wong. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-01, Section: A, page: . / Submitted: Nov. 2009 / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-306). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / Huang Xia.

Graduation date: 2005 / Best scan available for tables and figures.

The annual budget cycle in urban road/transport authorities by implication requires transport infrastructure projects to be ranked in terms of their relative value, to enable project selection by starting from the most deserving proposal. This follows from the fact that the total cost of feasible projects practically always exceeds available funds, signalling the need for some kind of selection protocol. Cost benefit analysis (CBA), when applied in a narrow sense, is not suitable for this purpose as it focuses on economic efficiency only. Attempts to broaden it have been criticized by some scholars. Although the diversity of impacts points to a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) approach, this is considered unscientific in certain quarters; at best, its practical value needs to be demonstrated. In the case of the City of Tshwane (CoT), problems with current project appraisal are evident in that different methods – none of which is defensible – are used, sometimes resulting in rankings that are contradictory. This thesis therefore attempts the following: (a) to develop a basic approach that combines the best elements of traditional methods; (b) to customize this approach to the specific context and needs of road authorities in the municipal sphere of government, using CoT as an example; and (c) to demonstrate the application of the resulting appraisal framework, utilizing appropriate decision-support software for this purpose. Recommendations include the following: An appraisal framework should combine CBA and MCA by adopting an overall MCA approach with economic efficiency – focusing on the optimal allocation of scarce resources – as one of the decision criteria. For completeness‟ sake, three additional decision criteria are deemed necessary: equity (focusing on income distribution impacts); sustainability (focusing on environmental impacts); and compatibility (focusing on the alignment of projects with stated goals and objectives). This framework may well apply to road authorities in other spheres of government – the optimum application in each case will depend on the composition of the relevant decision-making team. The inherent nature of project appraisal requires a two-phased approach in all cases: the evaluation of mutually exclusive alternatives, followed by the ranking of independent projects. State-of-the-art decision support software is indispensable for implementing this framework. / Transport Economics / D. Com. (Transport Economics)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since its arrival onto the U.S. energy scene in the early 2000s, shale gas has had a significant impact on the global energy market. The fact that the shale gas supply of a single country has had such a widespread influence on the global energy market hints at the power that this energy resource holds as a ‘game changer’. With the fifth largest estimated shale gas reserves in the world, South Africa now faces the challenge of developing its own shale gas resources in the Karoo Basin. Having lifted the moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in September 2012, the South African government has indicated its interest in pursuing the commercial extraction of the country’s estimated shale gas reserves. This comes in light of the country’s potential energy crisis, as well as an increased role for natural gas in the country’s energy mix. South Africa has no history of shale gas extraction and currently has no legislation or regulatory practices in place to deal specifically with shale gas and hydraulic fracturing. The South African government thus faces the challenge of drawing policy lessons from other experienced shale gas-producing nations, such as the U.S., to close these regulatory gaps and exploit its national shale gas resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. Consequently, this thesis focuses on the regulation of the American shale gas industry by asking what policy lessons the South African government can draw from the United States of America on its regulation of shale gas extraction. Richard Rose’s lesson-drawing approach to policy learning was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study and can also be applied as an analytical tool to aid in data collection and data analysis. Furthermore, the framework was operationalised through the research methods used for this case study, which consisted of a review of literature on the U.S. regulation of shale gas extraction. This research produced a number of key findings in the form of policy lessons for South Africa. Four main policy lessons were drawn on the regulation of shale gas extraction: regulation of shale gas extraction must occur at all levels of government—national, provincial and local; policy research must be used to inform policymaking for the development of new legislation specific to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing, so as to avoid regulatory exemptions often linked to ad hoc policymaking on shale gas extraction; each level of government and their related regulatory agencies must have clearly defined regulatory roles relating to shale gas and hydraulic fracturing; and finally, there must be uniformity in terms of the regulatory focus of shale gas regulators at all levels of government. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert skaliegas vroeg in die jare sedert 2000 op die Amerikaanse energietoneel verskyn het, het dit ‘n beduidende impak op die globale energiemark gehad. Die feit dat die voorraad skaliegas van een land so ‘n wydverspreide invloed gehad het op die globale energiemark is ‘n aanduiding van die mag van hierdie energiebron as ‘n spel-wisselaar.Suid-Afrika het die vyfde-grootste skaliegasreserwes ter wêreld, en staan nou voor die uitdaging om sy eie skaliegasreserwes in die Karookom te ontwikkel. Nadat die moratorium op hidrobreking in September 2012 opgehef is, het die Suid-Afrikaanse regering aangedui dat hulle belangstel om die land se beraamde skaliegasreserwes kommersieel te ontgin. Dit het ontstaan in die lig van die potensiële energiekrisis wat Suid-Afrika in die gesig staar, asook die begeerte dat aardgas ‘n groter rol moet speel in die land se mengsel van energiebronne. Suid-Afrika het geen geskiedenis van skaliegasontginning nie en tans is daar geen wetgewing of regulerende praktyke in plek wat spesifiek te make het met skaliegas en hidrobreking nie. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering staan dus voor die uitdaging om te leer uit die beleidsrigtings van ander ervare skaliegaslande soos die V.S.A. ten einde hierdie leemtes in regulering op te hef en sy nasionale skaliegasreserwes op ‘n omgewingsvriendelike en ekonomies-verantwoordelike manier te ontgin. Gevolglik fokus hierdie tesis op die regulering van die Amerikaanse skaliegas-industrie deur te vra watter beleidslesse die Suid-Afrikaanse regering kan leer by die Amerikaanse regering oor die regulering van hulle skaliegasontginning. Richard Rose se 'lesson-drawing'-benadering tot die leer van beleid is aanvaar as die teoretiese raamwerk vir hierdie studie en kan ook aangewend word as 'n analitiese instrument om te help met dataversameling en -analise. Die raamwerk is verder geoperasionaliseer deur die navorsingsmetodes wat gebruik is vir hierdie gevallestudie, wat bestaan het uit 'n oorsig van die literatuur oor die V.S.A. se regulering van skaliegasontginning. Hierdie navorsing het ‘n aantal sleutelbevindinge opgelewer in terme van beleidslesse vir Suid-Afrika. Die vier vernaamste beleidslesse oor die regulering van skaliegasontginning wat na vore gekom het, is die volgende: die regulering van skaliegas moet op alle vlakke van regering geskied – nasionaal, provinsiaal en op plaaslike vlak; navorsing oor beleid moet gebruik word om beleidsvorming in te lig sodat nuwe wetgewing ontwikkel kan word wat spesifiek gerig is op skaliegas en hidrobreking, ten einde uitsonderings op regulering te voorkom wat dikwels verbind word met ad hoc beleidsformulering; elke vlak van regering en sy verwante reguleringsagentskappe moet duidelik gedefinieerde reguleringsrolle hê ten opsigte van skaliegas en hidrobreking; en, ten slotte, daar moet eenvormigheid wees in die reguleringsfokus van skaliegasreguleerders op alle vlakke van regering. / National Research Foundation (DAAD-NRF)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation presents aspects of the public policy process in South Africa with specific reference to water policy between 1994 and 1999. For the purposes of this research, the definition of water policy coincides with the government's definition as contained in the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Programme (GEAR), white papers, bills and legislation. Water policy is a broad subject and is approached from a social sciences focus in this study, in that it uses the fulfilment of human needs as a point of departure. Water policy that applied before 1994 was based on water legislation of 1956, as well as some eighty different Acts that were fragmented between a number of institutions. The focus was on water rights, linked to property rights from which the majority of South Africans were excluded. In the implementation of policy attention was mainly paid to engineering achievements. The acknowledgement that water resources are limited in South Africa, as well as in the rest of the world, and the increasing demands on these sources, focused the attention anew on responsible water policy. Since South Africa's transition to an inclusive political democracy in 1994, a variety of far-reaching changes took place with regard to political decision-making and the public policy process. Not only did the policy-making process change, but policy goals, actors, structures and organisations also changed. It is clear that the policy agenda differs significantly from that of the period preceding 1994. In this study, the context within which policy renewal took place in South Africa since 1994, has been presented, and the policy process that new water legislation was subjected to, is described. The role of policy actors and communities - in line with the principles of the Constitution of 1996 that encourage public participation in the democracy - is considered. The implementation of the new water policy could unfortunately not be evaluated as it has only been promulgated a year ago. This study serves as an introduction to a research area which has received little attention thus far and that has potential for further research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie studie word aspekte van die openbare beleidproses in Suid-Afrika ondersoek met spesiale verwysing na waterbeleid tussen 1994 en 1999. Waterbeleid is vir die doeleindes van hierdie studie omskryf soos in die regering se HOP, GEAR, witskrifte, wetsontwerpe en wetgewing. Waterbeleid is 'n breë onderwerp wat in hierdie studie vanuit 'n sosiaal wetenskaplike hoek benader is, naamlik dat daar aan basiese menslike behoeftes voldoen moet word. Die waterbeleid wat voor 1994 gegeld het, was gebaseer op die Waterwet van 1956, asook wetgewing wat oor tagtig wette versprei was en deur 'n aantal instellings gefragmenteer is. Die klem het geval op waterregte, gekoppel aan eiendomsregte waarvan die grootste deel van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking uitgesluit was. Klem is ook gelê op ingenieursprestasies in die uitvoering van beleid. Die besef dat waterbronne wêreldwyd en in Suid-Afrika beperk is met toenemende aansprake wat daarop gemaak word, het opnuut die aandag op verantwoordelike waterbeleid gevestig. Sedert Suid-Afrika se oorgang na 'n inklusiewe politieke demokrasie in 1994 is verskeie verreikende veranderings ten opsigte van politieke besluitneming en die openbare beleidproses ingestel. Nie alleen het die beleidmakingsproses verander nie, maar beleidsdoelwitte, -akteurs, -strukture en -organisasies het ook verander. Kortom, die beleidagenda verskil van die periode voor 1994. In hierdie studie is die konteks van beleidvernuwing in Suid-Afrika na 1994 geskets, en die beleidproses waardeur nuwe waterwetgewing gegaan het, is beskryf. Die rol van beleidakteurs en -gemeenskappe - in lyn met die beginsels van die Grondwet van 1996 wat openbare deelneming aan die demokratiese bestel aanmoedig - is ondersoek. Die implementering van die nuwe waterbeleid kon egter nie geëvalueer word nie, aangesien dit skaars 'n jaar gelede gepromulgeer is. Hierdie studie dien as 'n inleiding tot 'n navorsingsveld wat steeds braak lê met moontlikhede vir verdere navorsing.