This dissertation presents an analysis of small-scale farmers’ experiences of and responses to the Fast Track Land Reform Programme in Zimbabwe. It is argued that this topic has been understudied, especially in the geographical areas of Mushandike and Mvurwi. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative research designs. Data collection techniques include questionnaires, participant observation, life histories, interviews and focus group discussions. Theories and debates on land reform and poverty alleviation that inform this study are discussed. It was evident from the field research that small-scale farmers experienced an improvement in their quality of life as was witnessed in improved levels of income, diets, types of housing and acquired assets. Land distribution according to gender is a particular concern. Very few women own land despite the fact that they till the land. The study concludes that land reform is essential for the improvement of the lives of the landless and the rural poor. Support systems are however necessary to achieve improved livelihoods. / Dissertation (MSoSci (Development Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Anthropology and Archaeology / MSc / Unrestricted

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to examine student-athlete perceptions of the role of summer pre-enrollment in their adjustment and transition to college. The study focused on student-athletes who received athletically-related financial aid at a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-AAA institution. The Academic Progress Rate (APR), which measures academic eligibility and retention while incorporating a penalty structure for underperforming teams and athletic departments, has emerged as the fundamental measure of academic success for intercollegiate athletics programs. Educators have responded with a broad spectrum of support programs for student-athletes in order to meet APR benchmarks and avoid costly penalties. The NCAA first permitted the awarding of athletic aid to incoming student-athletes for summer pre-enrollment during the early part of the last decade. However, relatively little research has examined the concept of summer pre-enrollment and the role it may play in a student-athlete's adjustment and transition to college. The researcher conducted retrospective in-depth interviews with seven men's and women's basketball student-athletes who had completed one year of full-time enrollment at the selected institution and who received athletic aid for their summer pre-enrollment. Data was analyzed in a manner consistent with Boeije's Constant Comparative Analysis. This study drew upon Schlossberg's Transition Theory, and the participants described their experience in relation to their situation, self, support, and strategies. Collectively, the findings suggested that the participants perceived at least some benefit to their academic adjustment and social integration to college from the summer pre-enrollment. Though the summer pre-enrollment may not have provided identical academic, athletic, and social demands as the academic year, most of the participants indicated they were able to gain a better understanding of what college classes and college life were like as a result of their summer pre-enrollment participation. The findings further suggested that the participants were well prepared and well equipped for the demands of college prior to their summer pre-enrollment experience. Future research is needed to examine the role of summer pre-enrollment in the college adjustment and transition of student-athletes who are less prepared for the demands of college.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to conduct an ecological examination of the relationship between social integration and dropout rates at the school and community level, and the role of career and technical education in this relationship. This paper also attempts to determine if this relationship changes depending on how urbanicity is operationalized. This study adds to the existing research concerning the ecological relationships between dropout rates, community social integration, school social integration, and urbanicity in Mississippi. Three-year averaged event dropout rates for 2005-2008, multiple community and school measures of social integration, and three different operationalizations of urbanicity were used. Some expected relationships were found to be true while others indicate that social integration at both the school and community level are so intertwined in their effects on dropout rates that no clear pattern emerges. The varying results related to the role of urbanicity in this study provide support for the need to further examine the concepts of community and location as factors that impact educational outcomes such as dropping out of school. This is particularly important when one considers that most educational policies that are implemented in a state tend to be overarching treating school districts no matter what size they are the same. This study also highlights that there are factors that impact what one would traditionally expect to find in the relationship between dropout rates and social integration that do not hold true. For example, an inverse relationship between dropout rates and local funding was expected, but in this study the relationship was found to be positive. One possible explanation for this is related to the fact that local taxes for schools are mandated by the county government and not voted on by the people. This changes the theoretical expectations of this relationship leading to possibly false assumptions.

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No description available.

Ekologisk och social hållbarhet har studerats och använts som separata områden trots att exempelvis ekologiska utmaningar kan ha en påverkan på den sociala hållbarheten. Den ökande urbaniseringen kan påverka bostadsområden negativt eftersom människors hälsa samt ekosystemen drabbas. En möjlig metod för att hantera urbaniseringens konsekvenser samt gynna bostadsområden är att implementera gemensamma trädgårdar. Genom en dokumentanalys och deltagande observation syftade studien till att förstå hur ekologiska satsningar i form av gemensamma trädgårdar inom bostadsgårdar kan bidra till social hållbarhet på Lindängen. Vidare syftade studien till att undersöka hur Malmö stad arbetade med ekologiska satsningar för att främja de utvalda sociala aspekterna. Resultatet från dokumentanalysen kan tolkas som att kommunen tillämpade stadsplanering som metod för att främja sociala interaktioner, trygghet och social integration genom mötesplatser. Dock saknades tydliga mål och strategier gällande social interaktion i ekologiska satsningar. Den gemensamma trädgården på den utvalda bostadsgården på Lindängen bidrog till sociala interaktioner, trygghet och social integration genom att det fanns ett socialt nätverk och en gemenskap som främjade samtliga aspekter. Dock fanns även en exkludering, möjligtvis på grund av bristen på mångfald mellan hyresgästerna. Vidare fanns en brist i tydlighet gällande hur Malmö stad arbetade och inkluderade ekosocial integration i ekologiska satsningar. Därmed var det svårt att avgöra om kommunen arbetade med en ekosocial integration. Därför krävs ytterligare forskning gällande Malmös arbete med att studera ekologisk och social hållbarhet i relation med varandra.

The aim of this thesis is to gain a greater understanding of how the public library’s mission towards foreign-born users in Sweden has reformulated and developed through time. This is done by a comparative study on official texts from the 1970s and the 2010s. The thesis is based on a discourse analytical perspective and is focused on how the texts are describing foreign-born users as a target group, and what is described as the main objective towards these particular users. The analysis also opens up for a discussion on the role of the public library in the development of a multicultural society. The empirical material consists of three official texts from each decade, that has been commissioned by different institutions with influence in the field.   The results show that the source material from the 1970s is characterized by the use of the word “invandrare” (in English immigrant), and an immigrant discourse where the immigrant is defined based on their perceived deviation from Swedish majority society. The library’s main mission towards these users described as providing books, newspapers and magazines in the immigrant’s native languages.  In the source material from the 2010s there is a wider range of words being used to refer to the group. The most frequently used is the word “nyanländ” (in English roughly translated to newcomer). This reflects the increasing focus on individuals which recently has immigrated and their information need during their first years in the new country. In the texts from the 2010s it is evident that the library sees itself as a tool for integration. One of the main conclusions from the analysis is that while the 1970s texts are focused on the foreign-born users cultural and linguistic distinctiveness, the texts from the 2010s see adaption to Swedish society as a primal objective. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

The master's thesis is devoted to the study of inclusive education as a factor in the social integration of students with disabilities in higher educational institutions using the example of the Ural Federal University. The study examined the development trend of inclusive education both abroad and also examined the barriers to the development of inclusive education. The introduction provides a brief description of the final qualification work: the relevance of the work, object, subject area, goal, objectives, research methods, degree of development and structure. The first chapter reveals the theoretical aspects of the concept of inclusive education, existing problems. The components of social adaptation and levels of accessibility are considered. The second chapter is devoted to the features of inclusive education at the Ural Federal University. Actual problems of inclusive education at the university are considered, and the results of the study on the basis of the university are also presented. / Магистерская диссертация посвящена изучению инклюзивного образования как фактора социальной интеграции студентов с ОВЗ в высших учебных заведениях на примере Уральского федерального университета. В работе были изучена тенденция развития инклюзивного образования и за рубежом, а также рассмотрены барьеры, препятствующие развитию инклюзивного образования. Во введении представлена краткая характеристика выпускной квалификационной работы: актуальность работы, объект, предметная область, цель, задачи, методы исследования, степень разработанности и структуры. В первой главе раскрываются теоретические аспекты понятия инклюзивного образования, существующие проблемы. Рассмотрены компоненты социальной адаптации и уровни доступности. Вторая глава посвящена особенностям инклюзивного образования в Уральском федеральном университете. Рассмотрены актуальные проблемы инклюзивного образования в университете, а также приведены результаты проведенного исследования на базе ВУЗа.