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Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1977. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 86). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Masters of Arts in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / This study seeks to investigate the challenges facing the recipients of child support grant with special reference to uMhlathuze District Municipality. The government in its efforts to alleviate poverty, to the previously disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of our communities introduced several poverty alleviation strategies like the Child Support Grant which replaced the Maintanance grant. The Child Support Grant has proven to be successful as it was able, according to the then Minister of Social Development, Mr Zola Skweyiya, to put about 8 million orphans and poor children in the safety net in 2008. However as successful as it may be the Child Support Grant as a strategy is fraught with administrative problems and fraudulent activities committed by the recipients of the grant themselves. The writer's findings upon conducting empirical research discovered that, recipients forge more children's birth certificates and even boast about having more babies because they command considerable cash from the grant and unemployed parents become excited when their children drop-out of school as a result of the grant benefits. Their reason was that they find it hard to cope with the cost of living as a result of the unforeseen challenges that escalate with each baby. The main aim of this study was to outline these challenges and make recommendations towards their solutions. The study also sought to answer the question of whether there were any exit programmes designed to assist the beneficiaries to support their children and cater for their needs as they grow until they reach tertiary education. The study was exploratory and purposive in nature. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research were used. Interview schedules that were used were the questionnaires and interviews. The sample was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of the Child support grant recipients and Phase two consisted of social workers and community development workers and two interview schedules were used respectively. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the respondents experienced hardships in terms of property ownership, employment, education, training and skills development, emotional and financial support. Lack of basic amenities such as health care and early child development programmes and social development programmes designed to supplement the grant are all social imperatives that they have rights to, according to the Bill of rights enshrined in the Constitution. This is a challenge for government and the community at large, if the situation is not changed the situation will cost government to loose huge amounts which could be used for other projects.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect receiving a Pell Grant or not receiving a Pell Grant had on graduation rates at Mississippi community colleges. National averages suggest that Pell Grant recipients graduate at a much lower rate than non-recipients. This proved not to be the case in Mississippi. There were three Mississippi community colleges that participated in this study. The total number of students involved in the study was 3,479. The colleges provided the researcher information on Pell Grant status, gender, and ethnicity (i.e., Caucasian, African American, Hispanic or non-Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, or other). Students were compared based on their Pell Grant status and then combined with their gender and ethnicity as well as the region of the state in which they attended community college. The researcher used a quasi-experimental design for the study. The data gathered allowed for chi-square tests to be performed based on Pell Grant status, gender, and ethnicity. Each test included all 3,479 students involved in the study. The study used an ANOVA to study the effects Pell Grant status had on graduation rates in the different regions of the state. The study found that the differences among graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients and non-recipients are significant for gender and the different regions of the state. The results are not significant for Pell Grant recipients and non-recipients nor are they significant for Pell Grant recipients and non-recipients combined with ethnicity. Mississippi African Americans and Caucasian students graduate at a much higher rate than the national average. This study finds that Mississippi students perform better than the national average when it comes to graduation rates. Considerations for future research are discussed.

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This thesis considers the effects of research funding process design in the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The program delivery mechanisms that the ARC and NHMRC use differ in detail and each council claims to be using the best selection model possible. Neither council provides evidence that peer review is the best possible way of delivering government funding for research and neither can produce empirical evidence that they use the best possible peer review model to determine excellence. Data used in this thesis were gathered over several years, forming a comparative case study of the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council, with illustrative data from comparable international organizations in the UK and USA. The data collection included: a survey of applicants, semi-structured interviews with experienced panel members and former staff, observation of selection meetings, and examination of publications by and about the research councils. Researchers firmly believe in peer review and their confidence enables the system to function. However, the mechanisms of grant selection are not well understood and not well supported by applicants, who criticize the processes used to assess their work, while supporting the concept of peer selection. The notion of excellence is problematic; judgements of excellence are made within frameworks set by the research councils and vary across disciplines. Allocation of research funding depends on peer review assessment to determine quality, but there is no single peer review mechanism, rather, there exist a variety of processes. Process constraints are examined from the perspectives of panel members, peer reviewers, council staff and applicants. Views from outside and inside the black box of selection reveal the impacts of process design on judgements of excellence and decision-making capacity. Peer reviewers in selection panels are found to use a range of differentiating strategies to separate applications, with variance evident across disciplines and research councils. One dominant criterion emerges in both the ARC and NHMRC processes, track record of the applicants. Program delivery mechanisms enable and constrain selection but every peer panel member has to make selection decisions by defining discipline standards and negotiating understandings within the panel. The extent to which peers can do this depends on the number of applications assigned to them, the size of the applicant field, and the processes they have to follow. Fine details of process design, panel rules and interactions are the tools that shape funding outcomes. Research councils believe they are selecting the best, most meritorious proposed research. However, I show in this thesis that the dominant discriminator between applicants in Australian selection processes is track record of the applicant. This effect is the result of several factors operating singly or in concert. Researcher track record, largely determined by quality and number of journal publications, is considered to be the responsibility of universities but support for this capacity building has not been systematically provided in Australian universities. Reliance on track record to determine the outcomes of all but the very best applications is very like awarding prizes for past work and is significantly different from the models of grant selection that operate in comparable international research councils.

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A dissertation submitted in the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / This study examined the relationship between the Child Support Grant (CSG) and teenage pregnancy. The first objective of the study was to establish the relationship, if any, between teenage pregnancy and the Child Support Grant. The second objective was to determine whether or not the variable of educational level, religious affiliation, and location play a role in teenage pregnancy and the support grant. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher constructed his own scale. The study used a quantitative methodology to establish the relationship between Child Support Grant and teenage pregnancy. Questionnaires were used to collect data. The questionnaires were distributed to fifty participants representing the total sample of the study. These questionnaires were correctly completed and were analysed using SPSS. The chi-square measure of association was used to test for the relationship between CSG and teenage pregnancy. The findings of the study indicated that teenagers differ in terms of whether there is a relationship between CSG and teenage pregnancy. Forty eight per cent of the participants were found to have a negative view on the notion that there is a relationship between CSG and teenage pregnancy, and fifty two per cent were favourably disposed. However, the difference was not statistically significant. In answering the second research question, this study revealed that variables such as educational level, location and religious affiliation did not have any influence on child support grant. This was confirmed by statistical tests performed. The limitations of the study were identified and suggestions for further research were documented.

<p><font face="Arial"> <p align="left">The findings in this study demonstrate that the Child Support Grant is only effective if it is incorporated into the household income, that recipients of the grant mainly spend it on food and in paying school fees for their children. Although the recipients share the same sentiments with regards to the amount of the grant, they all agree that it does have a positive impact on the lives of the children, especially when it is combined with the household income.</p> </font></p>