The first chapter analizes conditional assistance programs. They generate conflicting relationships between international financial institutions (IFIs) and member countries. The experience of IFIs with conditionality in the 1990s led them to allow countries more latitude in the design of their reform programs. A reformist government does not need conditionality and it is useless if it does not want to reform. A government that faces opposition may use conditionality and the help of pro-reform lobbies as a lever to counteract anti-reform groups and succeed in implementing reforms. The second chapter analizes economies saddled with taxes and regulations. I consider an economy in which many taxes, subsidies, and other distortionary restrictions are in place simultaneously. If I start from an inefficient laissez-faire equilibrium because of some domestic distortion, a small trade tax or subsidy can yield a first-order welfare improvement, even if the instrument itself creates distortions of its own. This may result in "welfare paradoxes". The purpose of the chapter is to quantify the welfare effects of changes in tax rates in a small open economy. I conduct the simulation in the context of an intertemporal utility maximization framework. I apply numerical methods to the model developed by Karayalcin. I introduce changes in the tax rates and quantify both the impact on welfare, consumption and foreign assets, and the path to the new steady-state values. The third chapter studies the role of stock markets and adjustment costs in the international transmission of supply shocks. The analysis of the transmission of a positive supply shock that originates in one of the countries shows that on impact the shock leads to an inmediate stock market boom enjoying the technological advance, while the other country suffers from depress stock market prices as demand for its equity declines. A period of adjustment begins culminating in a steady state capital and output level that is identical to the one before the shock. The the capital stock of one country undergoes a non-monotonic adjustment. The model is tested with plausible values of the variables and the numeric results confirm the predictions of the theory.

The Employee Assistance Programme is regarded as a tool that could assist employees in organisations with both their personal and work-related problems. This has become evident as more employers are offering these services to their employees. The goal of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of social workers’ views and experiences in rendering EAP services in the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH). The study used a qualitative research approach by focusing on the explorative, descriptive, and contextual designs. Constructivist theory and the person-environmentfit model formed the framework of this study. Purposeful sampling (a criterion-based sample) was used to select social workers rendering EAP services in the GDOH. Eleven social workers who met the criteria participated in the study and their ages ranged between 33 and 50 years. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis was used, and data verification was conducted based on the Guba model. The findings in this study indicate that EAP is an important programme. However, it is not prioritised by the GDoH. Consequently, EAP practitioners experience challenges that negatively affect the provision of quality EAP services. Despite the challenges, most of the EAP practitioners nonetheless continue to render these services albeit under difficult circumstances since they love and have a passion for the work they do. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

This study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services offered in Zimbabwean universities. A mixed-methods design consisting of quantitative and qualitative approaches was adopted for the study and data were collected through questionnaires and unstructured interviews. The population for this study comprised all the 18 universities in Zimbabwe with approximately 75 000 students and 200 counsellors. The participants in the study comprised eighty (80) students (40 males and 40 females) in their second year of study and upwards and nineteen (19) guidance counsellors (11 females and 8 males). The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Version 20 was used to analyse quantitative data derived from closed-ended questionnaire items. Frequencies and percentages were then derived from the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from open-ended questionnaire items and interviews. The study revealed that although both students and guidance counsellors expressed positive perceptions of guidance and counselling services offered in their universities, in terms of their potential benefits to students, the majority of students regarded personal-social, career, placement, consultation, assessment, referral and evaluation services ineffective. The majority of guidance counsellors also regarded assessment, follow-up and evaluation services offered in their universities ineffective. The study also showed that the majority of guidance counsellors (63.2%) were not professionally trained. It also emerged from the study that internal evaluation of guidance and counselling services offered in the universities was never taken seriously. The study also showed that Zimbabwean universities were not adequately resourced in terms of guidance and counselling personnel and materials. The study revealed that generally guidance and counselling services offered in Zimbabwean universities were not effective. The study recommended that if Zimbabwean universities and their stakeholders collaborated and instituted a clear guidance and counselling policy which, among other important things, stipulates how guidance and counselling programmes would be run in universities, the effectiveness of guidance and counselling services offered in universities would most likely be enhanced. It was also recommended that if universities employed adequate fulltime professionally qualified guidance counsellors; periodically run training and in-service training workshops for the guidance counsellors and peer guidance counsellors; build proper infrastructure for all guidance and counselling activities; and secure proper assessment tests, the quality of guidance and counselling services offered in universities may be enhanced. The study also recommended that if guidance and counselling personnel were supervised regularly, and guidance and counselling services offered to students evaluated periodically and objectively, the guidance and counselling services offered in universities would be enhanced. This study may be significant to university counsellors, students, stakeholders and researchers in that it shares knowledge about the importance of effective guidance and counselling services offered to students and what constitutes effective guidance and counselling services. / Psychology of Education / Ph. D. (Psychology of Education)

The purpose of this study was to identify critical childcare resources that student parents utilize that allow them to access higher education at varying levels, but also to make assumptions about parents unable to enroll due to barriers and/or lack of resources. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1) To what extent does subsidized childcare facilitate student parents' access to higher education? Is subsidized childcare a more important resource for some groups of students than for others?, and 2) Are student parents making childcare-enrollment trade-offs in order to pursue higher education? Are certain groups of students more vulnerable to making trade-offs?

The purpose of the study was to determine if one company-sponsored EAP and health program influences some behaviors and lifestyle choices of employees when off the job. This study compared the perceptions of employees and management regarding what is within the “legitimate” (job-related) EAP scope. During the past four decades the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has increased in number and scope such that an estimated 50 percent of working Americans currently have access to an EAP. Designed originally to treat alcoholic workers, they now address other behavioral health problems such as drugs, family, emotional, financial and legal difficulties. In concert with EAPs, other initiatives have proliferated at the work site including health and wellness programs and drug testing policies. These convergent forces have served to create a blurring of the distinction between personal prerogatives regarding health and the work domain. What was once the province of the community—health care—has now shifted to the employer. This trend places EAP mental health practitioners, in particular, in the dual relationship of serving both client and company. Other issues which come to light include privacy, confidentiality, personal responsibility, paternalism, and de facto reinforcement of company-imposed values on the individual regarding lifestyle, fitness and even family life. The employees of a public utility in central California were surveyed. The entire population of 2,030 received the questionnaire; 575 people responded (28.3%). The findings were that all dimensions of EAP services were perceived to be job-related by a majority of the respondents. No more than 40 percent of the respondents felt that any single service was not job-related. That maximum was regarding smoking cessation. Although behavior had changed on some of the individuals as a result of EAP participation, the accompanying findings that those services were job-related nullified the distinction between behaviors at work and behaviors off the job. This raises the question of why employees think that EAP services are job-related. That and other aspects of EAP use patterns are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of "An Achievable Dream" (AAD), a program developed for at risk elementary students in Newport News, Virginia, in improving academic achievenlent, self concept, and school attendance. One hundred rising fourth grade students were identified in 1992 to participate in the pilot year of this program. Eighty-four students completed the entire year and were included in this study. A review of effective programs currently operating throughout the country examined other programs with similar goals. A case study detailed the history of the program, the adaptations made since the program's inception, and a summary of baseline data on the students. A program evaluation validated the structure of AAD, assessed the impact of AAD as it related to achieving the stated goals, and served as the foundation for a decision model for program continuation. Data was obtained through individual interviews, a review of written program materials, attendance records, and from individual student scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) reading comprehension subtest, the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP), and the Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale (PHCSCS). All AAD program components were validated except student selection procedures. Many students were selected for inclusion into the program who did not fit the criteria for selection. Results of the evaluation showed little change in school attendance patterns and a decline in reading achievement percentile scores on both the ITBS and the DRP. Scores on the PHCSCS indicated that the majority of the students had an average to above average self concept. The decision model for program continuation included recommendations for consideration in program continuation. / Ed. D.

En la Municipalidad Provincial de Lambayeque se viene generando inseguridad alimentaria de la mano con los procesos de la gestión administrativa del PVL. Cabe mencionar que, el programa evidencia carencias respecto al proceso adquisición de insumos desde años anteriores realizándose de manera inadecuada y obviando la normativa ley de contrataciones del estado. A ello, el presente trabajo de investigación, tiene como objetivo general poder determinar la GA y su incidencia en la adquisición de insumos alimenticios en el programa del vaso de leche de la Municipalidad Provincial de Lambayeque 2021, lo cual se desarrollaron los siguientes objetivos: Describir la GA en el proceso adquisición de insumos alimenticios del Programa de Vaso de Leche; Analizar el procedimiento de la gestión administrativa que incide en la adquisición de insumos alimenticios del Programa Vaso de Leche y Proponer acciones internas para optimizar el proceso de adquisición de insumos alimenticios del Programa Vaso de Leche. Asimismo, la investigación se presenta como enfoque mixto debido a que se busca la recopilación, el análisis e incluso la integración en proporción a investigación cuantitativa y a la vez cualitativa, de tipo aplicada siendo de nivel descriptivo, aplicando la técnica documental para la realización. Finalmente, realizando la investigación se determinó que efectivamente existen carencias en el proceso. Por ello se recomiendan acciones internas para optimizar el proceso y así conseguir la finalidad del programa social alimentario denominado PVL. / In the Provincial Municipality of Lambayeque, food insecurity has been generated hand in hand with the administrative management processes of the PVL. It is worth mentioning that the program shows deficiencies regarding the process of acquiring inputs from previous years, being carried out inadequately and ignoring the state contracting law regulations. To this end, the present research work has the general objective of being able to determine the GA and its incidence in the acquisition of food supplies in the glass of milk program of the Provincial Municipality of Lambayeque 2021, which the following objectives were developed: Describe the GA in the process of acquiring food supplies from the Glass of Milk Program; Analyze the administrative management procedure that affects the acquisition of food supplies for the Glass of Milk Program and Propose internal actions to optimize the process of acquisition of food supplies for the Glass of Milk Program. Likewise, the research is presented as a mixed approach because it seeks the collection, analysis and even integration in proportion to quantitative and qualitative research, of an applied type being of a descriptive level, applying the documentary technique for the realization. Finally, carrying out the investigation, it was determined that there are indeed deficiencies in the process. For this reason, internal actions are recommended to optimize the process and thus achieve the purpose of the social food program called PVL

This project attempts to explain impulsive behavior which is described here as behavior that cannot be explained by a rational thought process. There will be a concentration on the direct relationship between perceptions of equity and the intention to quit.

Text in Afrikaans / The purpose of the research was to determine the extent to which health issues, and particularly work stress, are managed at a welfare organization. The group investigated consisted of 49 registered social workers employed at nine welfare organizations in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. The research process was directed by quantitative research, the research information being obtained through a literature study and structured questionnaire. A number of health issues were identified in the workplace. Based on the empirical investigation it was concluded that health management does not enjoy a high priority at welfare organisations. The health issues that have the most impact on the respondents' work ability are work stress and burnout. It is recommended that organisations compile a holistic policy for health management. There is a need for implementation of employee assistance and wellness programmes for health management. Such programmes promote the productivity and general wellbeing of social workers. / Die doel van die navorsingstudie was om te bepaal tot watter mate gesondheidskwessies, in die besonder werkstres, by 'n welsynsorganisasie bestuur word. Die ondersoekgroep het bestaan uit 49 geregistreerde maatskaplike werkers werksaam by nege welsynsorganisasies in die Nelson Mandela Metropool. Die navorsingsproses is deur kwantitatiewe navorsing gerig en die navorsingsinligting is met behulp van 'n literatuurstudie en gestruktureerde vraelys bekom. Daar word tans 'n aantal gesondheidskwessies in die werkplek geidentifiseer. Na aanleiding van die empiriese ondersoek is daar tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat gesondheidbestuur nie 'n hoe prioriteit geniet by welsynsorgnisasies nie. Die gesondheidskwessies wat die mees beduidende impak op die respondente se werkvermoe het, is werkstres en uitbranding. Daar word aanbeveel dat organisasies 'n holistiese beleid ten opsigte van gesondheidsbestuur opstel. Daar is 'n behoefie aan die implementering van werknemerhulp- en werknemerwelstandprogramme vir gesondheidsbestuur omdat sulke programme die produktiwiteit en algemene welstand van maatskaplike werkers kan bevorder. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Social Work)

This study evolved from an involvement with professional people in a rural and semi-rural environment thereby taking into account the role which the Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) plays in their professional context of work. Two underlying factors motivate the study. Firstly, that professional needs and capacities of faith, belief and spirituality are not been catered for in the EAPs. Secondly, that an African-Christian wholesome sense making approach provides more satisfactory answers to the lack of faith, belief and spirituality in the EAPs than the modern versions of the classic dualist and tripartite anthropological schemes of soul and body or soul, spirit and body. Furthermore, a wholesome sense making approach supports and tackles people’s wellness and well-being levels more satisfactorily than the classic dualist and tripartite views. An outline of an EAP in which faith leaders and consultants and their programmes are integrated and which contributes to the enhancing of well-being levels and performance management of professional people is described. The main focus of the study revolves around wholesome foursome experiential patterns in which alternating emphases of faith experience are acted out in the sense of ‘I believe God, I believe myself, I believe my human neighbours and I believe the physical natural environment’. This four side pattern of faith experience functions as an important theoretical assumption in the study. A second theoretical assumption has to do with the foursome processual framework of God’s grand acts of creation, reconciliation (redemption= cross and resurrection of Jesus), renewal (ongoing renewal of everything) and consummation and fulfilment towards the end (aim and goal) in which we as people and the physical natural environment are intrinsically and continuously involved. A third theoretical assumption revolves around the foursome experiential professional performance pattern of ‘I perform for God, I perform for myself, I perform for my human neighbours and I perform for the physical natural environment’. The foursome experiential patterns are also set as evaluative pointer patterns around which the empirical investigative part is constructed. / Philosophy & Systematic Theology / D.Th. (Systematic Theology)