Orientador: Sonia Maria Pessoa Pereira Bergamasco / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agrícola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T13:38:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 QueirozNeto_Exzolvildres_D.pdf: 1535434 bytes, checksum: 7c0c35b4ea381b61693350a521667666 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O espaço é um recurso único e sua disponibilidade ocorre por um processo de vivência e nenhuma atividade humana se pode realizar sem a sua apropriação permanente ou temporária. O espaço rural constitui-se em uma forma-conteúdo complexa objeto de uso herdado do passado, portanto, de forma durável que reúne visões de mundo, elementos simbólicos, materiais e imateriais, natureza, força de trabalho, consumidores, saberes, cultura, normas, contradições, conflitos, contrastes, lógicas, instituições, atores sociais, entre outros, em configurações espaciais diferenciadas, ora fragmentadas, complementares, dinâmicas, adensadas, dispersas, difusas. O trabalho analisa o espaço rural do município de Oliveira em Minas Gerais para além da descrição e da dimensão da racionalidade setorial econômica e procura explicar a organização sócio-espacial da terra em uma perspectiva da complexidade e de articulação das múltiplas variáveis do espaço rural. Neste sentido, procura responder o problema de pesquisa de como famílias de agricultores no espaço rural do município de Oliveira, MG estruturam a organização sócio-espacial da terra, a relação com o ambiente, as ações frente as política públicas, as influências urbanas e a economia. Esta análise compreendeu a dinâmica espacial em seus múltiplos referenciais e escalas. Os objetivos se enredaram pela compreensão, análise e explicação do espaço rural a partir da organização social da terra. Empreendeu-se a análise dos diálogos, das políticas públicas, do ambiente e das ações dos atores sociais envolvidos com o espaço rural do município Adotou-se como método de pesquisa a observação, a entrevista e a análise de fontes secundárias. O espaço rural de Oliveira, MG apresenta processos de modificações e transformações na organização social da terra que englobam desde a trama institucional, os atores sociais, a política, o Estado, o mercado e o ambiente. Por conseguinte, a organização sócio-espacial da terra é uma construção dos atores sociais no cotidiano e em um determinado contexto. Estudar o espaço rural de Oliveira foi um descortinar de reminiscências empíricas em busca do crepúsculo da fragmentação do pensamento / Abstract: Space is a unique resource and its availability is a process of living and no human activity can take place without its appropriation permanent or temporary. The countryside is in a form-content use complex object inherited from the past, so in a way that meets sustainable worldviews, symbolic elements, material and immaterial nature, labor, consumers, knowledge, culture, norms , contradictions, conflicts, contrasts, logical, institutions, social actors, among others, in different spatial configurations, sometimes fragmented, complementary, dynamic, densely populated, scattered, diffuse. This study examines the rural municipality of Oliveira in Minas Gerais beyond description and the size of sectoral economic rationality and seeks to explain the socio-spatial organization of land in a perspective of complexity and coordination of multiple variables of the countryside. In this sense, attempts to answer the research problem of how farming families in rural areas of the municipality of Oliveira, MG structure the socio-spatial organization of the land, the relationship with the environment, the actions against the public policy, urban influences and the economy . This analysis included the spatial dynamics in its multiple references and scales. The goal is entangled by the understanding, analysis and explanation of rural social organization from the ground. Undertook the analysis of the dialogues, public policy, the environment and the actions of social actors involved in the rural areas of the city was adopted as a research method observation, interview and analysis of secondary sources. The rural de Oliveira, MG show processes of changes and transformations in the social organization of land that range from the plot institutional, social actors, politics, the state, market and environment. Therefore, the organization of socio-spatial land is a construction of social actors in everyday life and in a given context. Studying the rural de Oliveira was a disclosure of reminiscences empirical dusk in search of the fragmentation of thought / Doutorado / Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável / Doutor em Engenharia Agrícola

No description available.

Development is central to the existence of every society including demographic entities that constitute a community of people. Community development is a process designed to create conditions of economic and social progress for the entire community with its active participation and fullest possible reliance on the community development initiatives. The support of either individuals or organisations for the community to realise its full potential is essential, likewise is the role of development agencies in community development a good omen towards the advancement of human development. This research looks at a number of development initiatives presented by aid agencies aimed at improving community life, solving serious problems of quality life, social exclusion, and resources availability. The research explores the socio-economic impacts of development initiatives led by development agencies in local communities, a case study of a peri-urban community of Msunduza, Swaziland. The study was guided by five objectives: i) To evaluate the positive and negative impacts of development initiatives led by development agencies; ii) To establish to what extent the Msunduza community know community development initiatives and how they perceive them; iii) To analyse the sustainability of development initiatives/projects led by the development agencies; iv) To determine what the participatory principles of community development are in the area; v) To draw conclusions and make recommendations that will improve community development through organisational interventions.

A healthy democracy is generally seen as one in which citizens participate regularly in formal political activities. Citizens’ participation in governance has come to be accepted as an expression of their rights and the manifestation of citizen agency. Access to information remains a crucial component of the right to participate. Transparency, as a normative and constitutional value, represents a means, not an end. The means is the mechanism of access to information. Within the South African context, there is evidence of an increase in participation of a variety of interest groups by means of different processes, as well as through the establishment of numerous consultative bodies and mechanisms for popular participation at all levels of the political structure (Houston, 2001:1). However, accountability to citizens can best be gauged by assessing citizens’ opportunities to influence legislation between elections. Ultimately, the effectiveness and sustainability of mechanisms aim at improving citizens’ participation in policy formulation in order to become effective when they are “institutionalized” and when the state’s own “internal” mechanisms are rendered more transparent and open to civic engagement. Furthermore, the success depends on some form of effective interaction between the state and civic society. In the case of South Africa, whilst the political context and culture for participation exist in the form of the constitutional provisions and several pieces of legislation, a discrepancy exist whereby many South Africans are excluded or devalued by the vast differences in wealth. Citizen’s votes may count equally, but they are still not able to participate on an equal basis between elections. Participatory mechanisms established to ensure citizen’s participation, access to information and monitoring inside and outside the legislature, remain ineffective. These unequal opportunities mean that the poorer and less organised segments of society are prejudiced in terms of influencing legislation and policy. Their lack of full and meaningful participation means legislative outcomes are less representative of, and responsive to, the interests of the poorer segments of society (Habib, Shultz – Herzenberg, 2005: 144). The focus of this study is limited to the province of KwaZulu-Natal. The aim is to, firstly, assess the extent to which citizens can control those who make collective decisions about public affairs. Secondly, it assess the extent to which citizens participate in the existing participatory mechanisms, and thirdly, the study explores the possibilities of the synergy between the state and civil society in promoting effective participation by its citizens. The study, therefore : 1. Assess the theoretical and policy framework for citizen’s participation in South Africa; and 2. Evaluate the level of participation and effectiveness of participatory mechanisms inside and outside the KwaZulu - Natal Legislature. The study introduces the theoretical and conceptual framework of citizen participation through a literature review; followed by an empirical study of citizen participation in the legislative process in the kwaZulu Natal legislature. The study makes the following findings: 1. The literature review concurs that South Africa has one of the most progressive and liberal constitutions in the world. This is coupled with a sound policy framework demonstrating genuine political will for citizens’ participation in policy formulation. 2. Within the political context and culture for citizen participation, the main question of how much control citizens have over the actions of their government remains. Another issue is whether existing mechanisms in the legislature are effective in engendering citizen’s participation and quality input in public policy – making processes. 3. The study showed that ultimately the effectiveness and sustainability of citizen participation mechanisms is improved when they are “institutionalised” and when the state’s own internal mechanisms of accountability are rendered more transparent and open to civic engagement. The study also highlighted the need for synergy between the state and civil society. This includes, among other things, participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, monitoring of public service delivery, investigative journalism and citizens’ advisory boards. The study, therefore, makes two recommendations: 1. A comparative Citizens Education and Outreach Programme be developed and spearheaded by both the legislature and civil society in kwaZulu-Natal; and 2. A further study needs to be undertaken to investigate the possible structural nature of the synergy (relationship) between the state and civil society in the province.

Includes bibliography. / The Olushandja dam is located in the northern part of Namibia, in the Omusati region - one of the four regions into which the former Ovamboland was divided after independence. The Olushandja dam is part of a two-dam supply system comprising the Calueque dam, on the Cunene river in Angola and the Olushandja dam in Namibia. Construction on Olushandja dam was completed in 1975. It acts as a storage and balancing dam for water supplied from Calueque. Olushandja dam is 17, 7kms long and about 300m wide. For the last 20 years it has been managed at 30% as this is the capacity at which evaporation balances injection of water into the dam and seepage. As part of a plan to upgrade the pumping facilities at Calueque and Olushandja dams, upgrading at Olushandja was initiated early in 1995, and involved repairing the north wall pump station and pumps, and the repair of the sluice gates at the south wall. Upgrading of the Calueque facilities is envisaged for 1996. With upgrading virtually complete at Olushandja, the UCT team were commissioned to conduct a SIA on the effect of changing the water level in the dam on the rural communities living in the vicinity of the dam. The SIA forms part of a full EIA looking at the overall environmental effect of changing the water level at which the dam is currently managed. The impact of the SIA will therefore be in terms of management rather than construction.

Secure property rights are a major predictor of economic growth, yet property rights in much of the world are a function of political power. Those with political connections have privileged access to state institutions, benefit from preferential contract enforcement, and face fewer risks of expropriation in the private sector. This dissertation examines how consumers and firms navigate the complex interaction between formal and informal institutions in these environments of selectively enforced rule of law. I use original experimental data from Senegal, a state that epitomizes political property rights. In Paper 1, I argue that political connections produce moral hazard in exchange and introduce biases in judicial enforcement. I present evidence from a field experiment in which I created and operated a sales company, randomizing political connections and formal contracts during transactions. The results show that asymmetric political connections decrease buyers’ propensities to trade and that formal contracts only increase exchange among connected buyers. This work challenges conventional wisdom and extant literature on the value of political connections and formal contracts in the private sectors of developing countries. Paper 2 examines how political connections and formal contracts, among other state and nonstate influences, affect the behavior of firms under selective rule of law. To illustrate the complicated decision calculus that firms face when social, formal, and political factors all motivate exchange, I implemented a conjoint experiment with 2,389 firm managers. The results show that firms avoid deals with partners that have low-to-mid-level political connections, yet seek out deals with the most highly connected firms—despite believing they are more likely to breach contracts. These results demonstrate the countervailing effects of political connections and suggest why consumers and firms may react to them differently. Finally, Paper 3 asks how firms enforce their property rights when deals go astray. I argue that contract formality can shape firms’ property security strategies and demand for rule of law, and test this using evidence from a survey experiment administered to firms in both the formal and informal economies. I present descriptive evidence that enforcement strategies differ by firm formality status and political connections. The experimental findings show that while formal contracts increase the use of legal enforcement institutions, they also widen the enforcement gap between formal and informal firms. Together, these papers present theory and evidence of politically determined economic behavior under selective rule of law. The results imply that political connections are a form of rent-seeking that can suppress overall trade and produce market inefficiencies. Under these conditions, state institutions may unintentionally exacerbate political and economic inequalities.

A research report presented to the Faculty of Humanities (School of Education) / This study explored Grade 3 and 4 learners’ experiences of the Foundation Phase Life Skills curriculum in one urban ex-model C school. The aims of this research were to understand learners’ perceptions of the importance of being taught Life Skills and to examine their perspectives of the applicability of Life Skills in their lives. The research focused on what learners’ understanding of the Life Skills curriculum is, to what extent they think it is relevant to their lives and what their experiences revealed about the curriculum. This was done to address the limited research available in South Africa on learners’ experiences of the Life Skills curriculum. This research was conducted with children because they are thinking, agentic beings who are capable of expressing their views of the world and should be heard. It took place in an ex model C school located in an upper middle class suburb of Johannesburg. Considering that the study sought to understand learners’ experiences, a qualitative research approach was used. The data were collected from a total of 15 learners by conducting four semi-structured focus group interviews, each interview comprised of 4 boys and 4 girls at a time. In order to analyse the data thematic content analysis was done in order to identify themes. From the analysis, themes were identified and findings from these revealed that children thought the Life Skills curriculum was important and helped them develop skills for their lives. They were able to identify topics that interested them or affected them, with safety being a major concern. They also showed an awareness of what it means to be socially responsible in their interactions with others. It is clear that teachers need to be more aware of how the curriculum supports children's everyday needs. More research may need to be done with township, rural and/ or private schools to further understand Foundation Phase learners’ experiences with the Life Skills Curriculum. / NG (2020)

Large-scale water project development is one of the most contentious areas of infrastructure development, physically displacing an estimated 40 to 80 million people throughout the past century. Overwhelming evidence of the adverse socio-economic impacts on local communities resulting from large dam construction has called into question whether such development truly benefits the majority or, rather, serves to promote elite accumulation of wealth at the expense of marginalized peoples. One of the most glaring issues concerning large dam development is the age-old question of distribution as those living in dam areas or downstream of dammed rivers suffer a disproportionate share of costs while enjoying few benefits. Recognized by the WCD (2000) as one of seven strategic priorities in decision-making concerning large dams, benefit sharing is one way to increase equity among stakeholders. A handful of countries around the world have incorporated benefit sharing mechanisms into large-scale water and hydroelectric projects, including Lesotho. With construction of Katse Dam beginning in the late 1980s, residents of Khohlo-Ntso have a quarter of a century’s experience with Africa’s second largest water transfer and hydroelectric project, the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). While the adverse impacts of the LHWP on rural highlands Basotho communities has been widely documented, only one other study has researched benefit sharing within the LHWP. The central aim of this study was to discover what were local residents’ perceptions of LHWP benefit sharing as a community living only 10 kilometers downstream of Katse Dam. This research utilized a qualitative case study design to gain an in-depth account of local residents’ experiences, including their level of awareness of the LHWP benefit sharing mechanism, their experiences as a downstream community and their suggestions for transforming the LHWP into a more equitable project. Triangulation of qualitative methodological research techniques was employed to collect data including in-depth semi-structured interviews, focus groups and primary document analysis. The main findings of this study were that after living with Katse Dam for 25 years, local residents of Khohlo-Ntso are still unaware of their rights under the LHWP Treaty, do not know about the LHRF and have little hope of sharing benefits of the project.

No description available.

The concept of ‘empowerment’ has been widely used among development practitioners since the early 1990s. This thesis aims to contribute to the literature on empowerment by developing an analytical framework that incorporates: (a) the dialectical nature of power, (b) multiple levels of analysis, and (c) the subjectivities of power that different actors have and that affect the way they respond to policies. The model is applied to the analysis of Mozambique’s transition to peace and the study of a national initiative called District Development Fund, known as the ‘7 Million’, which aims to promote empowerment by reducing poverty and promoting local participation in the rural districts. The analysis focuses, on the one hand, on the ‘7 million’ policy formulation, stressing the power struggles that shaped its final outcome and, on the other hand, the policy implementation in the district of Angoche, where I conducted extensive fieldwork. I argue that, even though the ‘7 million’ had some positive aspects – including providing a discourse that underlines the relevance of the districts and the local community in matters of governance – its effects in promoting local empowerment have been far below its potential. One of the reasons for this is to be found in the dynamics of power-to and power-over that take place at the local level and that partly reflect structural aspects linked to the Mozambique state formation and peacebuilding process. More generally, the case illustrates the limitations and contradictions of policies that aim promoting ‘bottom-up’ empowerment from the ‘top-down’.