Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-143).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-143).

Thesis (MA)--Macquarie University, School of History, Philosophy and Politics, 1979. / Bibliography: leaves 168-179.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Breslau.

Thesis--University of Pennsylvania, 1905. / Bibliography: p. 65-74.

Thesis--Catholic Univ. of America. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 253-259.

After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) abolished its total ban on religious activities in 1982, a Buddhist revival has taken place in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Decades later, after the state gradually opened the public welfare sector to non-state actors, Buddhist charities have grown into important social service providers in the country. However, Buddhist charities do not constitute a homogenous category, nor is the emergence of Buddhist charities without direction and monitoring by the Chinese state. This thesis answers the question of why there are different types of Buddhist charities, namely Buddhist merit societies, Buddhist charity foundations and Buddhist charity federations by examining the PRC’s institutions of religions, social organizations and charitable NGOs in the past decades. I have divided the timeline since 1982 into three major time periods and examine the interaction between various levels of government and Buddhist charities. This thesis has demonstrated that the existence of different types of Buddhist charities is the result of inconsistency and fragmentation of these interactions. While the central-led institutionalization of social organizations is creating more obstacles for Buddhist charities to survive, local governments have more interest in their usefulness to the local development. The reason to the question that why Buddhist charities have different identities such as Buddhist merit society, Buddhist charity foundation and Buddhist charity federation has a close link to whether Buddhist groups or sites have sufficient financial resources and well-established government connections.

This thesis investigates the work and operation of the Manchester-based poverty relief charity, the Wood Street Mission (WSM), between 1945 and 1990. While the history of post-war welfare has underlined the survival and growth of the voluntary sector at a national level, the development of middle-class philanthropy at a local and community platform remains neglected. By focusing on the WSM, this thesis explores the way in which a small charitable organization adapted to the post-war welfare state, and responded to important economic and social problems. It argues that local middle-class philanthropy in post-war Britain was a resilient and dynamic force within the mixed economy of welfare. In particular, it demonstrates that the WSM performed a diverse range of work in the fields of health, leisure, education and advice as a means to alleviate urban tension deriving from inflation, unemployment, housing, and juvenile delinquency. Moreover, the study establishes that the WSM combined traditional poverty relief activities with pioneering youth projects in responding to local community needs. Looking beyond traditional explanations of philanthropy as driven by either ‘social control’ or ‘kindness’, this research adopts a contemporary approach for the framing of charitable action in the post-war period, which accounts for central and local government policies, voluntary sector associations, and commercial forces. This thesis also develops historical understanding of the post-war experience of welfare by exploring the oral testimonies of former employees of the WSM, and people that received assistance, within the framework of a theory of memory composure. By drawing on memory theory, it offers a fresh perspective on the role of both altruism and stigma in post-war society by investigating how charity staff and ‘clients’ have interpreted and reconstructed their pasts. Building on research by Alessandro Portelli, Alistair Thomson and Penny Summerfield, it provides an important theoretical development through applying memory composure theory to the context of poverty and charity. The thesis will argue that charity staff and ‘clients’ accounts of the past were not only structured by different understandings of poverty, but also shaped by expressions of empathy. It demonstrates long-standing and contemporary definitions of poverty, as well as class, political and religious interpretations of the term, structured their oral recollections of the WSM. Moreover, it demonstrates that wide ranging concepts of empathy were conveyed in the narration of accounts concerning the WSM’s post-war activities, including an imagining of oneself in another’s situation and being emotionally affected by someone else’s experiences. Using the WSM as a site of study, this thesis breaks new ground in the historiography of post-war welfare in Britain by exploring the relationship of poverty, charity and memory.

The purpose of this study was to find out under what conditions people would be willing to donate money to public education; and to find out if foundations as an alternative for financial support, are an option for the schools. The study researched two primary questions dealing with individual's willingness to give, a voice factor, and the conditions under which people will philanthropically support public education, a choice factor rooted in exchange theory. The data was collected by structured, open-ended interviews with a selected sample of thirty residents of the subject school district. The sample included fifteen residents who supported a recent, failed budget override effort in the subject district, and fifteen residents who did not support the override. The data was qualitatively evaluated to derive answers to the study's research questions. Analysis of the data found that eighty-three percent of the respondents would conditionally donate money to public education through a foundation. One of the findings was the respondents' desire to have a voice in the functioning of the system through controlling their donations by manner of giving, or through designation of monies by earmarking for specific areas. Among the variables that affected the willingness to allocate private money to public education, perception of quality was the primary factor that was directly responsible for the decisions of the respondents. Conceptually this study looked at voice as an indicia of involvement, and as a way to reverse organizational exit. The ultimate goal of involvement becomes commitment or loyalty. Foundations may precipitate a process of increased community involvement in public schools.