M.Com. (Economics and Econometrics) / Poverty is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a solution that is both multi-dimensional and systematic. The research contained in this dissertation is important because it explores the Shari’ah approach to multi-dimensional poverty reduction as a more suitable alternative to the conventional, uni-dimensional approaches to poverty reduction, especially from a theoretical perspective. The main argument presented in this dissertation is that the theoretical Shari’ah approach to poverty reduction provides a more detailed framework than the conventional uni-dimensional approach for addressing the various dimensions of poverty and their interrelationships under secular conditions. The study was based on a non-empirical, critical analysis of the available literature. The motive for addressing the problem in this manner was because a truly comprehensive conceptual framework surrounding the Shari’ah approach did not truly exist prior to this study. The first of two important conclusions reached in this study are that Shari’ah could theoretically assist with offering a holistic and systemic theoretical framework...

Official veterinarians (OVs), employed by the National Food Administration of Sweden, are responsible for the monitoring of animal welfare as well as food hygiene procedures in the country ́s slaughterhouses. In 2014, the National Food Administration of Sweden introduced new policy guidelines to ensure that the OVs report all deviations to the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, which are responsible for welfare inspections in Sweden. Therefore, it is important that the OVs notify the administrative boards if they have any suspicions regarding animal neglect. The overall aim of this study is to investigate the cooperation between the County Administrative Boards of Sweden and the National Food Administration of Sweden, and to find out how this collaboration impacts animal welfare. In addition to this, its second aim is to explore the current state of animal welfare in slaughterhouses in southern Sweden. This study is based on a qualitative research method, which combines questioners with the analysis of publicly available documents. Furthermore, this study shows that although the new guidelines have resulted in heavier workloads, both parties are satisfied with the arrangement and agree that the new procedures have led to an improvement of animal welfare. In 2015, OVs in Skåne, Blekinge, Halland and Kronoberg submitted 506 cases of suspected animal cruelty taken place in these counties to the County Administrative Boards of Sweden. After comparison of the total number of reports from 2015 and the overall animals slaughtered in the counties in 2014, this study highlights that 0,03 % of all lambs, 0,12 % of all swine and 0,01 % of all cattle were reported with deviations during slaughter. Therefore, this study concludes that animal welfare in slaughterhouses can be considered to be of a high standard. / Sverige anses i många avseende vara ett föregångsland när det kommer till djurskydd och djurvälfärd. En betydelsefull del av den svenska djurskyddskontrollen utgörs av s.k. officiella veterinärer vilka är speciellt förordnade av Livsmedelsverket att kontrollera livsmedelshygien så väl som djurhälsa och djurskydd ute på våra svenska slakterier. Alla våra produktionsdjur som är ämnade att bli livsmedel har sin sista anhalt vid ett slakteri, vilket gör de officiella veterinärernas och assistenternas roll mycket betydelsefull. Under vintern 2013 slog media larm om att avvikelser som uppmärksammats i samband med slakttransporter inte alltid rapporterades vidare till länsstyrelsen i den utsträckning de borde. Året därefter infördes en nyordning från Livsmedelsverkets sida och idag följer de officiella veterinärer nya riktlinjer gällande hur denna vidarerapportering ska gå till. För att bristerna som uppdagats vid slakt ska följas upp och utredas är det viktigt att informationen når länsstyrelsen för vidare handläggning. De officiella veterinärerna ska därför, enligt de nya riktlinjerna, meddela länsstyrelsen om alla uppmärksammade brister i djurskyddet vid slakt genom en “underrättelse om djurskydd”. Ett gott samarbete mellan länsstyrelsen och Livsmedelsverket är därmed väsentligt för att avvikelser i djurhållningen inte ska gå obemärkta förbi. Syftet med denna studie var dels att beskriva hur samarbetet mellan Livsmedelsverket och länsstyrelsen fungerar i Skåne, Halland, Blekinge samt Kronoberg och vilken inverkan det har på djurskyddet vid slakt. Den andra delen av studien berör hur djurvälfärden vid slakt ser ut utifrån vilka avvikelser som uppdagats under 2015 och underrättats till länsstyrelsen i respektive län. Undersökningen genomfördes med en kvalitativ metod och inleddes med att samtliga underrättelser om djurskydd som upprättats under 2015 i fyra angränsade län i södra Sverige begärdes ut från Livsmedelsverket. För att få svar på hur samarbetet mellan Livsmedelsverket och länsstyrelsen fungerar skickades två frågeformulär ut till sakkunnig personal inom området; ett till Livsmedelsverkets officiella veterinärer i södra Götaland och ett till verksamma djurskyddshandläggare i de berörda länen som ansvarar för handläggning och uppföljning av inkomna djurskyddsärenden vid slakt. De befintliga rutinerna och riktlinjer som följs i dagsläget har lett till en ökad arbetsbelastning för båda parter och under 2015 inkom sammanlagt 506 underrättelser till Länsstyrelsen i Skåne, Halland, Blekinge och Kronoberg. Trots att arbetsbördan har ökat anser både länsstyrelsen och Livsmedelsverket i södra Sverige att samarbetet och kommunikationen mellan parterna har förbättrats sedan nyordningen infördes. Vid jämförelse mellan antalet slaktade djur 2014 och andelen djur som noterats med avvikelser 2015 i de fyra länen erhölls en procentuell siffra på den totala andelen djur som noterats med avvikelser vid slakt. Resultatet blev 0,03 % för får/lamm, 0,12 % för slaktsvin och suggor och 0,01 % för nötkreatur. Resultatet indikerar på en god djurvälfärd vid slakt hos våra produktionsdjur i södra Sverige. För att få djupgående kunskaper om effektiviteten i länsstyrelsens och Livsmedelsverkets samarbete bör även djurhållares och transportörers upplevelser tas i beaktande i framtida studier.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Daniel U. Thomson / In current literature, there is a limited amount of large scale data available demonstrating lameness morbidity in beef cattle feedlots, the subsequent outcomes of individuals exhibiting lameness, the morbidity and mortality of various lameness diagnoses, or the effect of locomotion score at the time of first morbidity and its effect on outcome. In addition, current perceptions of lameness by feedlot industry participants are not known and a reliable locomotion scoring system fit for use in a feedlot setting has not been developed. Consequently, the objectives of this research were three-fold. First, to obtain a baseline of the perception of lameness within the feedlot industry. Second, to develop a functional locomotion scoring system for use in feedlots and to test a training program implementing this locomotion scoring system for inter-rater reliability. Third, determine the association of lameness diagnosis and locomotion score at time of initial lameness diagnosis with case outcome in feedlot cattle and provide beef cattle feedlot lameness morbidity, mortality, and realizer incidence rates due to different lameness etiologies in a large scale, multisite study. One hundred forty-seven consulting nutritionists, veterinarians, and feedlot managers participated in the feedlot cattle lameness survey. The median response of estimated lameness incidence in the feedyard was 2%, with a mode of 1% and a mean of 3.8%. Participants indicated that footrot, injury, and toe abscesses were the most common causes of lameness. A locomotion scoring system was developed to clinically assess locomotion of beef cattle. The scoring system consisted of 4 categories: normal movement (0), slightly affected gait (1), obviously shortened stride or bobbing of head (2), and reluctance to move or apply weight to the limb while walking or standing (3). A total of 50 commercial feedlot employees and agricultural students were trained to use the scoring system in either English or Spanish. The scoring system was tested for inter-rater agreement and rater agreement against a cooperative standard based on consensus score by a team of individuals involved in the development of the scoring system, which included beef cattle veterinarians and welfare experts. Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Fleiss’s kappa were used to evaluate inter-rater agreement and rater agreement against the cooperative standard. Inter-rater agreement using ICC was 0.85 (95% CI; 0.75 to 0.93) while the mean kappa value was 0.52 (moderate agreement). Rater agreement with the cooperative standard resulted in mean kappa value of 0.64 (substantial agreement). A dynamic population longitudinal study with an initial study population of 245,494 head of feedlot cattle, with 524,780 animal arrivals and 527,220 animal departures recorded over the 12-month study was conducted over a year by trained personnel in six participating feedlots located in Kansas and Nebraska. Lameness morbidity incidence was 1.04 cases per 100 animal-years; lameness mortality was 0.397 cases per 100 animal-years. Cattle locomotion score (LMS; scale of 0 to 3 at time of initial diagnosis) were LMS1(22% of lameness cases), LMS2 (31%), and LMS3(22%). 24% of the lameness cases were not assigned a locomotion score (NS). Mortality risks were greatest for LMS3 (33.0%) and NS (31.3%), and were least for LMS1 (10.0%) with LMS2 (19.1%) being intermediate (P < 0.05).

Student Number : 9905625D - MSc dissertation - School of Animal, Plant and Environment Science - Faculty of Science / Stereotypic behaviours are repetitive invariant behaviours that serve no obvious purpose and are common in both domestic and non-domestic captive animals. Stereotypies are regarded as indicators of poor welfare although the growing body of work pertaining to these behaviours has challenged many previously held notions of stereotypy. The most widely accepted, although frequently contested, hypothesis used to explain stereotypies is the coping hypothesis, which states that animals perform stereotypies to cope with the stress of adverse environments. The aim of my study was to investigate the fitness effects of stereotypy, and whether or not environmental enrichment protocols were effective in reducing or eliminating stereotypy in the adult striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio. Both of these experiments were designed to evaluate the coping hypothesis. I intentionally used wild caught and F1 individuals to eliminate any potential captive selection bias that may exist in extant captive populations that could affect interpretation of fitness. For the first aim, 40 breeding pairs were assigned to one of four treatments: 1) stereotypic female and stereotypic male (S-S); 2) stereotypic female and non-stereotypic male (S-NS); 3) non-stereotypic female and stereotypic male (NS-S); and 4) non-stereotypic female and non-stereotypic male (NS-NS). Compared to non-stereotypic females, stereotypic striped mice females had better reproductive output, including larger litter size, higher growth rate, higher litter survival, shorter interlitter interval and shorter time to first litter. Reproductive success was higher in S-S and S-NS pairs, indicating that genetic and maternal effects jointly determined fitness in striped mice. Unlike other published research, maternal mass was not a predictor of fitness. For the second aim, I housed 20 non-stereotypic and 20 stereotypic striped mice (equal sex ratio) in barren cages for 60 days, and transferred them to enriched cages, and repeated this experiment with striped mice housed initially in enriched cages and transferred to barren cages. While there was a measurable reduction in stereotypy in individuals transferred from barren to enriched environment cages, no increase in stereotypy was noted in striped mice transferred from enriched to barren cages. These findings appear to concur with the coping hypothesis, that stereotypies become perseverative (e.g. bad habits) and difficult to disrupt. Non-stereotypic striped mice were not influenced by the swap. I conclude that the expression of stereotypy is a potential sign of positive welfare and that it may be worthwhile to specifically elicit stereotypic behaviours in order to improve the welfare, and in certain cases, breeding success, of captive animals. Moreover, I maintain that where necessary, effort should be applied to combating stereotypies before they arise, rather than attempting to eliminate them once they have actually developed.

BACKGROUND: The Tokollo/Mafube District (TMD) Hospital Complex located in the rural area of Fezile Dabi District within the Free State Province has reported a high number of adverse events (AE) from the maternity units. Although the information linked to AE occurring in the hospitals is routinely collected and reported to the hospital management in accordance with the Provincial policy, no study has been done to systematically analyse the available information and to explore the current situation. AIM: To describe the patient-related AE in the maternity units of TMD Hospital Complex, related individual and health system factors, and the functioning of the reporting system used for these AE during the two year study period. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used, based on a retrospective review of routinely collected hospital data from the health records of patients, the AE Committee meeting minutes, and other relevant hospital documents. The study was conducted at the maternity units of TMD Hospital Complex which consists of two hospitals in the Fezile Dabi District within the Free State Province. Data was collected in the following categories of variables: the types of AE (in terms of levels of seriousness), the profiles of patients who experienced such AE (e.g. age, gravidity, marital status, residence, and socio-economic status), the related health system factors identified during the adverse events committees meetings (such as personnel, transport, equipment, environment and management) and reporting of these AE. RESULTS: This study revealed that a total of 88 patients, comprising 0.8% of the total number of admissions to the maternity units, experienced AE. Maternal AE occurred more commonly than perinatal AE. The majority of women experiencing AE were unemployed (93%), between the ages of 19-34 (81%), unmarried (79%) and resided in towns (88.6%). In addition, most of these women belonged to the groups of primigravida and multigravida (85%), attended between one and three antenatal visits (42%), and delivered via normal vaginal deliveries (76%) with a high number of stillborns (77.2%). Overall, the majority of maternal AE occurred during the intrapartum stage. Another significant finding was that majority of AE reported were classified as the most serious being SAC 1, which accounted for 93% of the maternal AE and 84% of perinatal AE. The early perinatal AE accounted for 100% of the reported perinatal AE. Although majority of AE reported at the institution were within the prescribed period, reporting time to the Complex AE Committee (CAEC) and District AE Committee (DAEC) was exceeded in the majority of cases. In addition, all AE that required investigation complied with the provincial policy but exceeded the required investigation period. The findings regarding health systems related factors as determined by root cause analysis performed by the AE committee revealed that clinical governance issues accounted for 43% of both maternal and perinatal AE, followed by patient transport issues as provided by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) which also accounted for a significant percentage (33%). CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated that specific health system related factors played a significant role on the occurrence of AE at the maternity units of TMD Hospital Complex and that the majority of the reported AE were very serious (SAC 1). It is important that these preventable, contributory factors are addressed by management at both the complex and district levels. Furthermore the results suggest that patients’ profiles, to a certain extent, do have an influence on the occurrence of AE in maternity units of TMD hospital Complex and it is important that patients’ profiles be taken into consideration when adverse incidents are analysed.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate if and what effect universal and means-tested welfare programs have on people's (different forms of) trust. This is done through an experimental design in order to be able to demonstrate a causal relationship between the design of welfare programs and the perceived level of trustin individuals. A total of 98 students from Midsweden University in Sundsvall, Sweden, participated in the experiment. The respondents were divided into two experimental groups that had to fill out a trust-survey that was preceded by one out of two separate welfare scenarios – a means-tested one or a universal one. The results confirms the hypothesis that universal welfare programs create a statistically significantly higher universal trust than means-tested programs, but not the hypothesis that means-tested programs create a statistically significantly higher particularized trust than universal welfare programs. At the same time the results show that universal welfare programs create a statistically significantly higher universal trust than particularized trust and that means-tested programs create a statistically significantly higher partizularized trust than universal trust. Finally the results also provide empirical support for the existence of a causal relationship between the design of welfare programs and the level of trust in individuals and society. / <p>2019-06-04</p>

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Andrew Beauchamp / This paper examines the effect of changes in the duration of unemployment insurance on various measures of post-unemployment job quality within the context of Germany after the Hartz reforms. I find a significant positive effect of UI duration on re-employment wage, as well as significant effects for certain demographic groups indicating increased occupational prestige, job satisfaction, and satisfaction with hours of work. I find no significant effect on distance from home to work. I find that the positive relationship between UI eligibility and unemployment duration is based solely on the unemployment durations of those who exit the labor force after unemployment; I find no evidence of a link between UI eligibility and unemployment duration for those who found jobs at the end of their unemployment spells. To understand these results, I propose several possible explanations: heterogenous job search behaviors among those with different UI durations, a psychological burden of impending UI exhaustion, a negotiation advantage of a higher reservation wage for those with longer eligibility, or the possibility that my data simply failed to observe a positive relationship between UI duration and unemployment duration. Finally, I present one possible policy response to these findings, aimed at reducing the problem of free riding. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Economics.

As a marker of current austerity policies, the growth of the emergency food aid landscape has become recognisable through the ‘food bank’. These places of charitable food-redistribution have seen their presence increase within an evolving social policy context. Understanding food bank use as two modes of ‘experience’, this thesis has mapped both the quantitative geographical ‘experience’ of the food bank, alongside the qualitative ‘experience’ gained from understanding why people have turned to them for help. Attending to the quantitative rise of the food bank as a means of support, this thesis has recognised that there has been substantial changes within the recent socio-political landscape of the UK that have stimulated food bank growth as an inadequate response to rising levels of poverty. In approaching the knowledge construction of the geospatial distribution of food banks across Wales, this thesis provides clarity to the organisational structures of both; the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network, and independent food banks. As a social policy, the Welfare Reform Act (2012) has been concluded within this thesis as holding the bonds of responsibility for driving the quantitative rise in food bank numbers across Wales. Recognition of increased ‘need’ triggered the opening of food banks as a way of providing emergency relief where social security failed. This thesis has mapped the growth of food banks in Wales and has recognised further growth as being attended to the rise in neoliberal policies of recent governments (1998-2015). Employing several data collection methods, the qualitative experience of food poverty has been illuminated through semi-structured thematic interviews and focus group interviews conducted with service providers detailing how the changing landscape of social security, and the ways in which the rise in attitudes of individualism have changed the acceptability of social security. Analysed within a Constructivist Grounded Theory approach, the key conceptual themes within this thesis centre upon the rise of a deserving and undeserving attitude within poverty, and how this resides within a neoliberal attitude of structure and agency driven poverty. Service provider interviews have been augmented by biographical focused semistructured interviews with service users, detailing their experience of having to resort to food bank use as their only means of sustenance. Here service users identified with a deserving and undeserving narrative, identifying with the structural and agency driven poverty as a cause of food bank use. Applying this approach, service users placed a hierarchical attitude to food bank use and furthered this distinction between the deserving and the undeserving user.

This thesis takes examples from villager’s experiences of change, how they perceive it and how they imagine their futures. The poor are often portrayed as passive recipients of change rather than agents of it and this thesis is a challenge to that. In-depth ethnography and life course analysis help us understand the meanings attached to people’s own experiences of change and illustrate that villagers are not merely ‘forgetting their feet’ (veuaa leum dteen- cows forget their feet, Thai proverb) in a teleological manner but are negotiating adverse structures to provide security and family wellbeing.<br /> An actor oriented approach is used as it highlights experiences of change and reactions to it whilst also taking into account the adverse political economy and imperfect institutional landscape. Changes that have been happening in one village in North-eastern Thailand are described and the failure of collective forms of resistance to provide adequate security is analysed. The rest of the thesis then goes on to look at change through individual and household strategies. Cohort analysis is used to explore differences in generations. An individual life course approach is then used to show how people strategise for their present and future wellbeing. Intergenerational analysis is also used to understand the bargaining between generations. Findings show the intergenerational contract is not only flexible but is also being re-worked to better fit the changes in society, not necessarily breaking down. Families are evolving and are finding new ways to keep bargains whilst also taking advantage of new identities and lifestyles. Findings show the active negotiation of the rural poor as agents of change; this change is dependent on place and the life course and sometimes entails large tradeoffs but seen in the wider context is supporting the reproduction and survival of families and rural values. <br /> I argue that perceived ideological similarities between families and the state that families should provide their own welfare without dependency is lessening pressure on the state to increase state welfare. However, there are differences between state ‘sufficiency economy’ versions of welfare and what poor families need. Pressure is building for better welfare, but it needs to be done in a way that facilitates and strengthens family provision.