Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional Community Planning / Stephanie A. Rolley / As bicycle tourists seek interesting experiences along low traffic roads, rural communities are poised to embrace bicycle tourism as a community development strategy. Asset based community development provides a methodology for communities to utilize assets that already exist within their communities to meet the needs of these tourists. The community capitals framework then provides a platform for analyzing and discussing the existing assets, as well as helping hone in on ways communities can develop further. The Sunken Lands region of Northeast Arkansas is one such rural region seeking to embrace bicycle tourism. Two case studies of communities that have capitalized on their existing assets to accommodate bicyclists were completed to explore potential for using the community capitals framework to guide pursuit of bicycle tourism. A snowball approach to interviewing community members in Collinwood, Tennessee and Farmington, Missouri was used to discover the details of bicycle accommodations, the processes of pursuing bicycle tourism, the people and groups involved, the types of assets used, and any challenges faced in implementation. Additionally, existing literature was used to substantiate each case and provide a more robust community picture. Emerging from the case studies were commonalities that aligned with the community capitals framework and Emery and Flora’s (2006) theory that community change is driven by social capital. The result is a tool that aligns community assets with the needs of bicycle tourists with the community capitals framework.

Thesis (MTech (Business))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / The dissertation examines the levels of service delivery in Philippi through Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and it suggests this model as a model that can be used to confront the challenges of underdevelopment, the mobilisation and sustaining of local economic development. The research investigates theoretical and practical approaches to address the developmental problems embedded in dependency theory utilised by government and non governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Philippi community. The research clarifies the important role of developmental stakeholders in depoliticising development processes and its endeavours to address issues of development ownership in Philippi. It suggests the employment of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) approach which will focus on building Philippi from the inside out, utilising the available human capital, people’s expertise, formal and informal talents. The research employed both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. These methodologies rely on literature search, questionnaires, interviews, and observation as methods of data collection. At the end of the study, workable recommendations will be made informed by the research findings.

The purpose of this intervention study was to explore how the community volunteers from the Supporting Home Environments in Beating Adversity (SHEBA) research project – in two high-risk school communities in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area – valued their social networks. The broader SHEBA participatory and action research project focused on how community volunteers, using their own resources, collaborated with schools in their communities to develop support plans for their communities. I selected interpretivism as the meta-theory for the study and utilised Participatory Reflection and Action (PRA) as the methodological paradigm and research design. The empirical part of this study was conducted in 2012. The data for the study were collected from 35 purposively selected volunteers who, at the time of the study, were involved in volunteer work at schools in their communities. All 35 volunteers participated in one workshop and one brainstorming session. Data were generated through a participatory workshop and follow-up brainstorming session and captured by means of posters and field notes. Inductive thematic analysis was used as the means of interpretation and I related the results to Lin’s Network Theory of Social Capital in interpreting the results. The results of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers were valued highly by them in dealing with the various challenges in their communities. The findings suggest also that the community volunteers invested themselves continuously in preserving their social support networks by reaching out to one another in times of crisis and by responding to each other’s needs by supporting one another. The findings suggest further that the volunteers maintained their social support networks by reinforcing the values that held them together and directed them in their efforts to support one another and their communities. The volunteers in the study attributed significant value to each other as sources of support and knowledge. They were able to meet their challenges together by learning from and identifying each other as resources. Modern communication media such as mobile phones were very important to the volunteers in maintaining their support networks with their colleagues and communicating with their communities. I therefore concluded that interventions in high-risk communities should be aimed at assisting community volunteers to gain access to and use such technologies effectively and appropriately in their networking. The value the community volunteers in the SHEBA project attributed to their social networks was clear from the benefits they derived from these networks. The findings of the study suggest that the social networks of the volunteers enhanced their sense of personal wellbeing as well as their sense of social belongingness. I concluded that social support networks could contribute significantly towards people’s overall wellbeing and that community interventions should adopt a holistic approach in high-risk communities thereby enhancing people’s hedonic, eudemonic, and social wellbeing. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Child poverty remains a global challenge with millions of children living in extreme income poverty in multidimensionally poor households (UNICEF, 2019a:20). This prompted the international call under the Sustainable Development Goals to end extreme child poverty and reduce by half children living in multidimensional poverty by 2030 (UNICEF, 2016a:85). In Zimbabwe, Mushunje and Mafico (2010:261) emphasise the need to find innovative ways to reduce child poverty. The goal of the study was to explore and describe how asset-based community development can reduce child poverty in Bindura district, Zimbabwe. The study employed the explanatory sequential mixed methods research design, which combined quantitative and qualitative research approaches in a two-phased study. Survey and case study designs were adopted in the respective phases. Quantitative data was first collected by means of a survey from a sample of 73 heads of households. Qualitative data which explained and interpreted the quantitative findings was then gathered through field observations, document analysis and semi-structured interviews with 23 participants, namely nine heads of households, three key informants and 11 children. The findings show that the multidimensional and overlapping manifestations of child poverty in the health, education and child protection domains are rooted in the multiple deprivations that characterise the households in which children live, namely constrained income sources, low income, low consumption expenditure, overcrowded housing conditions, constrained access to water and sanitation, limited ownership of durable household goods, and lack of human, social, physical, financial and natural assets. The study concludes that assets are central to child poverty reduction in the study area. In this regard, asset-based community development is identified as a strategy that can be employed to combine assets to reduce child poverty. In this context, the study recommends guidelines for an asset-based community development approach embedded in the principles of the sustainable livelihoods approach to reduce child poverty in Bindura district, Zimbabwe. / Thesis (PhD (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Social Work and Criminology / PhD (Social Work)

No description available.

With increasing incidence of severe disasters, global policies and frameworks have been shifting towards an emphasis on collaboration and community resilience. The greater use of information systems to assist with disasters has prompted a need to examine how technology can support collaboration and resilience. Hence, this thesis aims to identify a set of requirements for a collaborative online asset mapping tool through a requirement engineering process. A multiple case study design was used with the objective of answering: (1) what are the functional, non-functional, and general system requirements of an online asset mapping tool for disaster preparedness; (2) is a standard “off-the-shelf” asset-mapping application feasible for community development and adaptive capacity building for disaster management; and (3) what are the potential designs that can address the requirements? The specific cases examined were The Region of Waterloo, Ontario and Truro, Nova Scotia. The data from the cases was used to perform qualitative content analysis combined with activity diagrams, to determine and analyze the requirements for an online asset mapping tool to aid in disaster preparedness. The findings of the research included shared requirements between the two communities that encompassed: system purpose, system functionalities, user characteristics, and system requirements. Furthermore, prototype user interface (UI) wireframes were developed using the requirements results to show a potential design of an online asset mapping application. This thesis research addressed the need to design a tool that facilitates all aspects of the asset mapping process. Ultimately, this research builds the foundation to which future research can examine the requirements to design and develop a citizen-oriented tool to enhance community disaster resilience.

<p>Recent trends in community development efforts rely on social capital to solve issues at the local level through consensus building, increasing capacity and citizen empowerment. The asset based community development (ABCD) approach assumes relationships and partnerships built on networks of trust and shared norms build communities beneficial for all members. The current community capacity building approach blurs political interests and supports the current neoliberal agenda of the state and private interests to shift the responsibility and management of social problems to the community. This project calls in to question the potential of an assets based community development strategy as it has been attempted in Hamilton, Ontario to lead to long-term structural change in addressing social issues at the root. Findings suggest that despite the number of community projects appearing on the ground, there is little evidence to support asset based community development and social capital that leads to long-term structural change in communities, or economic prosperity to the extent proponents suggest. Furthermore, contrary to the claim of resident leadership, the findings suggest models that attempt to include resident participation are still managed, funded, and administered by professionals in organizations in a ‘top down’ manner. Additional discussion will explore how social capital and capacity can be used toward meeting social justice outcomes in communities.</p> / Master of Social Work (MSW)

No description available.

Text in English / This study analyses the application of a community based intervention, the Care Group (CG) model, in relief work in Somalia and South Sudan. On the basis of expert interviews and a variety of documents it was researched whether the CG model is applicable to the context mentioned or if adaptations would be necessary. An increase in prolonged crises challenges humanitarian action to adapt relief work to longer-term interventions. The concept of combining the strengths of development cooperation and humanitarian action - Linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development - is looked at in this study. Furthermore, for example, the asset-based community development approach, humanitarian work and characteristics of a protracted crisis were explored as the theoretical back-ground. The findings and the conclusion of this research may provide inputs for other humanitarian NGOs that are working in chronic conflict situations and being confronted with the need to introduce a long-term method for Behaviour Change Communication. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

This study was conducted within the pressing social conditions of human vulnerability manifested in a worsening situation of homelessness which forces homeless people into a deplorable life in the inner city of Tshwane. The study is not a detailed strategic plan to design support services that could improve the situation. It is rather about imagining alternative ways to journey with homeless people in their struggle to regain their humanity; hence the title: Facing homeless people in the inner city of Tshwane. Chapter 2 analyses homelessness in the inner city of Tshwane, locating it within the bigger picture of the City of Tshwane. It takes into account the poverty that drives poor people to the margins, resulting in further human degradation. It exposes the adverse conditions that homeless people endure due to the absence of a social support net. The study obtained its information primarily from conversations with homeless people and with practitioners in church based organisations dedicated to addressing homelessness. Out of these conversations, five different causes of homelessness emerged, ranging from economic and political, to health, social and cultural factors. Chapter 3 describes a number of church-based initiatives in the inner city of Tshwane that address the situation of homeless people, analysing their strengths and weaknesses in responding to the causes of homelessness as identified in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes a number of church-based initiatives in the inner city of Tshwane that address the situation of homeless people, analysing their strengths and weaknesses in responding to the causes of homelessness as identified in Chapter 2. Chapter 4 develops an urban theological vision in response to this situation, in the light of the notions of holiness and hospitality in the Wesleyan tradition. Contemplating this teaching, a framework was generated for the journey of the inner city church with homeless people in their efforts to regain humanity, by prioritising economic, political, health, social, and educational strategies. This chapter highlights the fact that John Wesley’s Methodist movement campaigned for the abolition of African slavery. It also journeyed with poor and vulnerable people like widows, orphans and prisoners, using Methodist “Societies” and “Classes” to integrate them into society. Finally, Chapter 5 presents an integrative urban theological vision and a set of contextual strategies for the inner city church to journey with homeless people, following the horizons of human liberation developed in earlier chapters. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D.Th. (Missiology (Specialisation in Urban Ministry))