Rural women in Zimbabwe are disproportionately represented among the poor. Among the interventions taken to mitigate the poverty suffered by women is the concept of income-generating projects (lGPs). Government, non-governmental organisations and donor agencies support the IGPs. After years of channeling resources through the IGPs to alleviate the poverty of mostly rural women, it is necessary that we take stock of the benefits that have been realised. The aim of this thesis is to identify the benefits and pitfalls of the IGPs in alleviating poverty. A case study of two projects in Chinamora communal lands in Zimbabwe demonstrates that IGPs do provide some benefits to participants and their households. Limited funding for start-up capital and lack of viable markets are among the major impediments to increased benefits. There is evidence that women can successfully organise themselves and explore previously male dominated areas of production such as carpentry. This suggests that IGPs do have the potential to somewhat alleviate poverty. making it necessary for the supporting institutions to seriously consider improving the shortcomings presently plaguing IGPs. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Office Management and Technology)-Durban Institute of Technology, 2004 v, 105 leaves / This topic was initiated because of love of community development and information communication application by the researcher. It was further strengthened by taking part during the International Wowen University (Ifu) practice in 2000. The main theme of the study was Information Age. Ifu is well known as the virtual university, which is based in Germany at the University of Hamburg. The researcher, together with eight other women from different countries, designed and developed a model for community development by using ICTs. The model can be used as a basic guide for similar projects. The work, therefore in this thesis is based on personal experiences shared experiences, and research as well as by reading others experiences. This study provides ideas for potential community development by using Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in rural areas with special reference to Ward Three of Durban Metro. The results of the study confirmed the saying “If you can’t beat them join them”. This study reported on research conducted in two different rural areas known as Bamshela and Ward Three. The results from the first area Bamshela, illustrated the way forward for Ward Three. Since the ICTs center exists in Bamshela the author received more information about the centre’s utilisation than its establishment. The focus on the second area emphasises the necessity, awareness and participation in community development. The three specifics focuses on whether there is a need for the ICTs centre for community development. Further more the study focused on areas where ICTs played prominent roles, such as in policy making, education, globalisation, ICTs, community development and participation of community members in community development projects.

The research aimed at assessing the extent to which the provincial Government's development programmes are succeeding in reducing regional unemployment. The research focused on the North West Province Central District, which is the second largest of the four districts. It comprises of 5 Municipalities of Mafikeng, Ditsobotla, Setlakgobi, Tswaing and Zeerust. The objectives of the research were to determine: Assess the extent of unemployment. poverty and development status of each of the municipal areas falling within the central region. To assess the prevalence of unemployment in the study area with a specific focus on providing analysis of socio-economic development trends. To development programmes aimed at eradicating poverty in the province especially in the Central District. To evaluate the extent to which government development policies programmes and projects are succeeding in curbing the increasing of unemployment and underdevelopment in the region. From the information gathered, the following results or findings were discovered: The challenges of poverty and unemployment cannot be dealt with by the current approach from the provincial government's planning processes, which tend to focus more on smaller projects than large- scales projects. The current level of migration of people from rural to urban areas seems to be a viable option for most people caught in poverty and under-development in the rural areas. Most people have moved out of the central district to look for jobs outside the region. The majority of the funded projects are too small to make any noticeable impact on the major challenges facing the province. The majority of the proposed projects directly initiated by the provincial government have not taken off the ground. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng campus, 2006

Thesis (M.M.S.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a orientação para a sustentabilidade nas atividades de inovação desenvolvidas pelas empresas participantes dos Arranjos Produtivos Locais (APLs) da Mesorregião Sudoeste do Paraná, bem como sua influência no desempenho sustentável dessas organizações. Para esse propósito, inicialmente realizou-se um estudo qualitativo de caráter exploratório junto à quatro empresas, sendo uma representante de cada APL do Sudoeste do Paraná (Confecções, Móveis, Alumínio e TI), por meio da aplicação de entrevistas individuais baseadas em um roteiro semiestruturado, as quais foram analisadas através da técnica de análise de conteúdo. Com base nas características identificadas na etapa qualitativa, o estudo assumiu natureza quantitativa e caráter descritivo a partir da adaptação de um questionário que posteriormente fora aplicado em 191 empresas, das quais resultaram 106 casos válidos. A análise dos dados efetivou-se, primeiramente, por meio de estatística descritiva, para posteriormente serem utilizadas as técnicas estatísticas de análise fatorial e regressão linear múltipla. Os resultados permitiram confirmar que as empresas pesquisadas desenvolvem práticas voltadas ao desenvolvimento de inovações orientadas para a sustentabilidade, bem como a parcial relação entre essa orientação para a sustentabilidade e o desempenho organizacional nas dimensões econômica, social e ambiental. Futuras complementações dessa pesquisa pode-se dar com a investigação qualitativa dos resultados alcançados ou então a investigação de outros setores econômicos, bem como a inclusão de variáveis externas que permitam diferenciar melhor as organizações pesquisadas. / The present work has the aim to analyze the orientation for the sustainable in activities of innovation developed by the participated companies of Arrangement Productive Locals (APLs) in a region of Southwest of Paraná, and its influence in the sustainable performance of these organizations. For this purpose, initially it was carried out a qualitative study of explorer character joined to four companies, being a company represented by each APL in the Southwest of Paraná (production, furniture, aluminium and TI), by individual interviews based in a schedule half structured, that they were analyzed through the technique of analyzis of the content. Based on identification characteristics in the qualitative stage, the study accepted quantitative nature and a descriptive character to the point of the adaptation of a questionnaire that later it was applied in 191 companies, and turned out to be in 106 valid cases. The fact analysis happened by the descriptive statistic and later the facts were used in the statistic techniques of factor analysis and return of multiple linear. The results allowed to confirm that the researched companies develop practices that work in the development of innovation returned to the sustainable, and the relation between the orientation for the sustainability and the organizational performance in the economic, social and environment measures. Future complements of this research can give with the qualitative investigation of the obtained results or the investigation of the others economic sectors, like the inclusion of external variable that permit to differentiate better the research organizations.

In view of the high levels of poverty in most under-developed and developing countries, poverty reduction has become an international phenomenon. South Africa (SA) is a country faced with the challenge of poverty as a result of the high rates of unemployment fifteen (15) years after the introduction of the new democratic dispensation. Poverty reduction has been placed at the centre of global development objectives to improve people‟s lives through expanding their choices, their freedom, and their dignity. Numerous countries have developed poverty-reduction strategies, which are over-arching macro-strategies implemented by different social and economic sectors in collaboration with the private sector. South Africa, however, does not have an over-arching poverty reduction strategy, which is the key national governmental priority, although many poverty-reduction programmes exist. The existing poverty reduction initiatives in South Africa, such as Income Generating Projects (IGPs), are either established by Government or the Civil Society structures with the aim to assist in changing the standard of living of poor people so that they can at least meet their basic needs, such as food, shelter and clothing. This study focuses on the IGPs that operate in Atteridgeville, Tshwane, with the view to explore and describe the experiences of individuals who participate in these IGPs. A qualitative research approach was selected for the study and three IGPs were selected from the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) that affiliate to the Phelindaba Forum. This Forum coordinates social development activities in Atteridgeville, Saulsville and Mshengoville. The findings of the study indicated that although IGPs are established to benefit participants financially, there are other factors that motivate people to join and remain in the projects, such as moral support amongst members. Furthermore, some NGOs claim to facilitate IGPs, but in some instances, these IGPs are left to operate on their own without much needed assistance. The recommendation for future studies is that participants need to be engaged with in order to get a true reflection of how the IGPs operate. The assistance and support of NGOs are crucial for the sustainability of such projects. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science (Mental Health))

A sociedade mundial está vivenciando transformações desencadeadas principalmente a partir de meados do século XX, incluindo as esferas econômica, social, ambiental, cultural, espacial, política e institucional. Na literatura são apontados fatores como a globalização, os avanços tecnológicos e a reestruturação dos sistemas produtivos, como principais responsáveis por essas mudanças. Neste contexto, observa-se uma orientação do processo de desenvolvimento a partir das questões territoriais, como ocorre na articulação dos agentes locais para a formação dos clusters ou arranjos produtivos locais. Logo, APLs encontram-se no centro do debate contemporâneo sobre planejamento regional e políticas públicas de desenvolvimento regional. Diante do exposto, o objetivo geral desta tese é construir uma proposição metodológica para analisar a contribuição do arranjo produtivo local para o processo de desenvolvimento sustentável regional. Assim, inicialmente é apresentada uma proposta de configuração de matriz para este cenário, incluindo os principais componentes do APL e suas relações com as dimensões territoriais. Na sequencia, é construída a proposição metodológica de análise, com a sua aplicação em quatro etapas: seleção do APL, mensuração da eficiência coletiva (IEC), mensuração do impacto territorial (IIT), e a integração destes resultados em um painel denominado APL-DSR. Com relação aos aspectos metodológicos, a pesquisa está classificada como explicativa, com a aplicação do método de estudo de caso. A coleta de dados baseou-se em fontes primárias e secundárias, incluindo pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e pesquisa de campo. O estudo de caso foi realizado no APL de Confecção do Sudoeste do Paraná, com a pesquisa de campo envolvendo os agentes locais deste arranjo produtivo, a partir de entrevistas estruturadas. Os resultados da coleta de dados foram analisados e interpretados em uma abordagem quanti-qualitativa, seguindo três encaminhamentos: análise qualitativa das respostas da pesquisa de campo, análise baseada na proposta metodológica APL-DSR, análise temporal baseada em simulações. Como principais resultados ressalta-se que o APL de Confecção do Sudoeste do Paraná alcançou uma boa avaliação na mensuração da eficiência coletiva, atingindo dois terços da escala IEC. Porém, apesar de positivo, o impacto territorial na região analisada foi discreto, atingindo um terço da faixa positiva normalizada da escala IIT. Para finalizar, evidencia-se a contribuição desta tese, a partir da construção da proposta metodológica de análise para avaliar a relação do APL no contexto do desenvolvimento sustentável regional, o que poderá auxiliar tanto na tomada de decisão para as políticas públicas, bem como no processo de autoavaliação do APL. / The world society is experiencing transformations triggered mainly from mid-twentieth century, including the economic, social, environmental, cultural, spatial, political and institutional. The literature pointed to factors such as globalization, technological advances and the restructuring of production systems as the main responsible for these changes. In this context, there is an orientation of the development process from territorial issues, as occurs in the articulation of local agents for the formation of clusters. Thus, clusters are at the center of contemporary debate on regional planning and regional development policies. Given the above, the general objective of this thesis is to build a methodological proposition to analyze the contribution of clusters to the process of regional sustainable development. Thus, is initially presented a framework configuration for this scenario, including the main components of cluster and its relations with the territorial dimensions. In sequence, is built a methodology of analysis with its application in four steps: selection of cluster, measurement of collective efficiency (IEC), measurement of regional impact (IIT), and the integration of these results on a panel called APL-DSR. Considering the methodological aspects, the research is classified as explanatory, with the method of case study. The data collection procedure was based on primary and secondary sources, including literature, documentary and field research. The case study was conducted at Clothing Cluster in Southwest of Paraná, with field research involving local actors of this productive arrangement, from the application of structured interviews. The results of the data collection were analyzed and interpreted in a quantitative and qualitative approach, following three referrals: a qualitative analysis of the responses of field research, analysis based on methodological proposal APL-DSR, temporal analysis based on simulations. The main results emphasizes that the Clothing Cluster in Southwest of Paraná achieved a good rating in the measurement of collective efficiency, reaching two thirds of the scale IEC. However, although positive, the territorial impact in the region analyzed was low, reaching a third of the positive range of the scale normalized IIT. Finally, highlights the contribution of this thesis, from the construction of the proposed methodology of analysis to assess the relation of cluster in the context of sustainable regional development, which could help both in decision making for public policy, as well as in the process of self-evaluation of cluster. / 5000

A sociedade mundial está vivenciando transformações desencadeadas principalmente a partir de meados do século XX, incluindo as esferas econômica, social, ambiental, cultural, espacial, política e institucional. Na literatura são apontados fatores como a globalização, os avanços tecnológicos e a reestruturação dos sistemas produtivos, como principais responsáveis por essas mudanças. Neste contexto, observa-se uma orientação do processo de desenvolvimento a partir das questões territoriais, como ocorre na articulação dos agentes locais para a formação dos clusters ou arranjos produtivos locais. Logo, APLs encontram-se no centro do debate contemporâneo sobre planejamento regional e políticas públicas de desenvolvimento regional. Diante do exposto, o objetivo geral desta tese é construir uma proposição metodológica para analisar a contribuição do arranjo produtivo local para o processo de desenvolvimento sustentável regional. Assim, inicialmente é apresentada uma proposta de configuração de matriz para este cenário, incluindo os principais componentes do APL e suas relações com as dimensões territoriais. Na sequencia, é construída a proposição metodológica de análise, com a sua aplicação em quatro etapas: seleção do APL, mensuração da eficiência coletiva (IEC), mensuração do impacto territorial (IIT), e a integração destes resultados em um painel denominado APL-DSR. Com relação aos aspectos metodológicos, a pesquisa está classificada como explicativa, com a aplicação do método de estudo de caso. A coleta de dados baseou-se em fontes primárias e secundárias, incluindo pesquisa bibliográfica, documental e pesquisa de campo. O estudo de caso foi realizado no APL de Confecção do Sudoeste do Paraná, com a pesquisa de campo envolvendo os agentes locais deste arranjo produtivo, a partir de entrevistas estruturadas. Os resultados da coleta de dados foram analisados e interpretados em uma abordagem quanti-qualitativa, seguindo três encaminhamentos: análise qualitativa das respostas da pesquisa de campo, análise baseada na proposta metodológica APL-DSR, análise temporal baseada em simulações. Como principais resultados ressalta-se que o APL de Confecção do Sudoeste do Paraná alcançou uma boa avaliação na mensuração da eficiência coletiva, atingindo dois terços da escala IEC. Porém, apesar de positivo, o impacto territorial na região analisada foi discreto, atingindo um terço da faixa positiva normalizada da escala IIT. Para finalizar, evidencia-se a contribuição desta tese, a partir da construção da proposta metodológica de análise para avaliar a relação do APL no contexto do desenvolvimento sustentável regional, o que poderá auxiliar tanto na tomada de decisão para as políticas públicas, bem como no processo de autoavaliação do APL. / The world society is experiencing transformations triggered mainly from mid-twentieth century, including the economic, social, environmental, cultural, spatial, political and institutional. The literature pointed to factors such as globalization, technological advances and the restructuring of production systems as the main responsible for these changes. In this context, there is an orientation of the development process from territorial issues, as occurs in the articulation of local agents for the formation of clusters. Thus, clusters are at the center of contemporary debate on regional planning and regional development policies. Given the above, the general objective of this thesis is to build a methodological proposition to analyze the contribution of clusters to the process of regional sustainable development. Thus, is initially presented a framework configuration for this scenario, including the main components of cluster and its relations with the territorial dimensions. In sequence, is built a methodology of analysis with its application in four steps: selection of cluster, measurement of collective efficiency (IEC), measurement of regional impact (IIT), and the integration of these results on a panel called APL-DSR. Considering the methodological aspects, the research is classified as explanatory, with the method of case study. The data collection procedure was based on primary and secondary sources, including literature, documentary and field research. The case study was conducted at Clothing Cluster in Southwest of Paraná, with field research involving local actors of this productive arrangement, from the application of structured interviews. The results of the data collection were analyzed and interpreted in a quantitative and qualitative approach, following three referrals: a qualitative analysis of the responses of field research, analysis based on methodological proposal APL-DSR, temporal analysis based on simulations. The main results emphasizes that the Clothing Cluster in Southwest of Paraná achieved a good rating in the measurement of collective efficiency, reaching two thirds of the scale IEC. However, although positive, the territorial impact in the region analyzed was low, reaching a third of the positive range of the scale normalized IIT. Finally, highlights the contribution of this thesis, from the construction of the proposed methodology of analysis to assess the relation of cluster in the context of sustainable regional development, which could help both in decision making for public policy, as well as in the process of self-evaluation of cluster. / 5000

Preface: "The need for development as observed today is a problem peculiar to the 20th century. The current situation is characterised by the fact that there are no more empty places on the earth, while our use of dwindling resources is curbed by environmental constraint." (Mouly and Costa, 1974, 155). The need for development is not equally felt by all nations as disparities in income and standards of living on a national basis have dissected the world into developed and underdeveloped countries. Disparities also exist within nations. These divisions are not simply determined nor are the terms related to development clearly defined - a matter that will be discussed in Chapter Two. Impetus to developing underdeveloped countries may be provided by various means, such as a general injection of capital or by more specific development projects. The purpose of these projects is to initiate changes that are intended to promote rapid development of an area. An interest has been shown by Geographers in the ability of these projects to stimulate economic growth in surrounding areas (Silberfein, 1976). The resulting success of development projects is closely related, if not determined, in large measure, by the aims. In view of the need for the aims of development projects to be successfully fulfilled, research into what constitute constructive developmental aims would be beneficial. Previous studies have revealed problems encountered with conflicting aims and objectives (Mountjoy, 1971); poorly defined aims (de Wilde, 1967); and inadequate groundwork prior to initiating the project (Berry, 1976). It is the intention of the study to examine the impact made by a development project in an underdeveloped area, and thereby assess the extent to which the development aims have been carried out. In order to carry out an examination of a development project in an underdeveloped area, an area in need of development had to be selected; a project within the area chosen for study; and the particular aim of the project examined. The Ciskei, a Homeland in South Africa, was chosen as a suitable area for study. A number of factors contribute towards it being an area in need of development, particularly as the Ciskei is a small country and dependent on South Africa, which is explained in the overview of the Ciskei in Chapter One. Three characteristics of underdevelopment noted by Seers (1972) are poverty, inequality and underemployment. Of these three factors it was decided to focus on unemployment as the indication of the extent to which development has taken place. The reduction of unemployment was one of the aims of the Keiskammahoek Irrigation Scheme, the project chosen for study. The overview concludes with a presentation of the Keiskamma Irrigation Scheme.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MA (Anthropolgy))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Anthropology and Archaeology / unrestricted