Understanding the role that tourism play in poverty alleviation globally has been a research focus of many studies in different countries. For an extended period the trickle down method of wealth distribution, where it was believed that riches find its way down the value chain to the poor in terms of taxes spent on welfare, infrastructure, grants etc., was globally accepted. In recent years though, focus on tourism as tool for increasing economic growth and poverty alleviation has been placed at the centre. It is true that in many cases tourism made a difference in the lives of the poor but it is also true that in many instances this is not the case. This dissertation analysed the perceived contribution made by tourism to poverty alleviation in Mozambique in general, and Praia de Bilene and Macanetta peninsula in particular. These are pre-eminently tourist destinations and ideally suited for a study of this nature. The primary goal of this dissertation was to determine the contribution of tourism to poverty alleviation in Mozambique by assessing Praia Bilene and Macanetta peninsula. The first objective was to describe and understand the link between tourism and poverty. It was found that the traditional definition of poverty no longer applies to most situations. That it is better to view poverty as a lack of access instead of money, access to natural resources, bureaucratic processes, capital markets and entrepreneurship. The review analysed different research methods, looking in depth at the livelihood analysis, ST~EP and MPI. The three pathways namely direct, indirect and induced levels on how tourism affects the poor were also explored. The most challenging area has to be the quantifying of tourism impacts on communities and local livelihoods. Concluding that the measurement of tourism impacts on poverty alleviation is an intricate debate and not easily accomplished. The second objective was to analyse the current status of the tourism industry in Mozambique. With 48% of sub-Sahara living in poverty, the picture in Mozambique is even drearier, with 54% living under the poverty line and 81% living under the $2 poverty line in the country (OPHI, 2013:1), confirming that it is one of the world’s poorest countries. Mozambique’s profile was analysed on its poverty status, tourism development, growth and the tourism impacts on the local communities of Bilene and Macanetta. It was found that several tourism opportunities are scooped up by foreigners and that this causes a major leakage of resources from regions where poverty alleviation by tourism is attempted. At a 7% GDP growth rate Mozambique is making very good progress, but due to being so poor and behind it is not reducing the poverty fast enough. The third objective was to determine the perceptions of two Mozambique communities on tourism impacts and the impact of tourism on their poverty status by incorporating the multi-dimensional poverty index. A perception analysis was done by means of a structured questionnaire presented to random residents from all walks of life at the two specific locations mentioned. The correlation between MPI and perceptions of the impacts of tourism shown that resident’s perceptions of tourism do not influence their deprivation scores negative or positive. It was however determined in an open question that an overwhelming 4 out of 5 people felt that tourism did contribute to poverty alleviation. The perceptions and reality therefore differ. The last objective was to draw conclusions and make recommendations with regard to the contribution of tourism to poverty alleviation in selected Mozambican communities. Conclusions were drawn as to the effectiveness of tourism as a strategic method in the onslaught against poverty in the selected communities. Amongst these conclusions was the fact that poverty seems to be an increasingly complex phenomenon. Due to the difficulty in defining poverty, a wide variety of research methods need to be used to assess the situation. No single approach to impact valuation of tourism on poverty can present all the answers. Concluding in this analysis into poverty and tourism’s relationship it was determined that not only did the factual data show that tourism did not alleviate poverty at these locations but that the population, in stark contrast to empirical proof, determined in their own mind that they perceived a definite improvement due to tourism. Thus residents do not necessarily receive personal benefits from tourism but they are positive towards the tourism industry. This should be utilised by creating opportunities for higher levels of participation in the industry as well as generating more tangible, positive affects for the local population in Mozambique. / MA (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Understanding the role that tourism play in poverty alleviation globally has been a research focus of many studies in different countries. For an extended period the trickle down method of wealth distribution, where it was believed that riches find its way down the value chain to the poor in terms of taxes spent on welfare, infrastructure, grants etc., was globally accepted. In recent years though, focus on tourism as tool for increasing economic growth and poverty alleviation has been placed at the centre. It is true that in many cases tourism made a difference in the lives of the poor but it is also true that in many instances this is not the case. This dissertation analysed the perceived contribution made by tourism to poverty alleviation in Mozambique in general, and Praia de Bilene and Macanetta peninsula in particular. These are pre-eminently tourist destinations and ideally suited for a study of this nature. The primary goal of this dissertation was to determine the contribution of tourism to poverty alleviation in Mozambique by assessing Praia Bilene and Macanetta peninsula. The first objective was to describe and understand the link between tourism and poverty. It was found that the traditional definition of poverty no longer applies to most situations. That it is better to view poverty as a lack of access instead of money, access to natural resources, bureaucratic processes, capital markets and entrepreneurship. The review analysed different research methods, looking in depth at the livelihood analysis, ST~EP and MPI. The three pathways namely direct, indirect and induced levels on how tourism affects the poor were also explored. The most challenging area has to be the quantifying of tourism impacts on communities and local livelihoods. Concluding that the measurement of tourism impacts on poverty alleviation is an intricate debate and not easily accomplished. The second objective was to analyse the current status of the tourism industry in Mozambique. With 48% of sub-Sahara living in poverty, the picture in Mozambique is even drearier, with 54% living under the poverty line and 81% living under the $2 poverty line in the country (OPHI, 2013:1), confirming that it is one of the world’s poorest countries. Mozambique’s profile was analysed on its poverty status, tourism development, growth and the tourism impacts on the local communities of Bilene and Macanetta. It was found that several tourism opportunities are scooped up by foreigners and that this causes a major leakage of resources from regions where poverty alleviation by tourism is attempted. At a 7% GDP growth rate Mozambique is making very good progress, but due to being so poor and behind it is not reducing the poverty fast enough. The third objective was to determine the perceptions of two Mozambique communities on tourism impacts and the impact of tourism on their poverty status by incorporating the multi-dimensional poverty index. A perception analysis was done by means of a structured questionnaire presented to random residents from all walks of life at the two specific locations mentioned. The correlation between MPI and perceptions of the impacts of tourism shown that resident’s perceptions of tourism do not influence their deprivation scores negative or positive. It was however determined in an open question that an overwhelming 4 out of 5 people felt that tourism did contribute to poverty alleviation. The perceptions and reality therefore differ. The last objective was to draw conclusions and make recommendations with regard to the contribution of tourism to poverty alleviation in selected Mozambican communities. Conclusions were drawn as to the effectiveness of tourism as a strategic method in the onslaught against poverty in the selected communities. Amongst these conclusions was the fact that poverty seems to be an increasingly complex phenomenon. Due to the difficulty in defining poverty, a wide variety of research methods need to be used to assess the situation. No single approach to impact valuation of tourism on poverty can present all the answers. Concluding in this analysis into poverty and tourism’s relationship it was determined that not only did the factual data show that tourism did not alleviate poverty at these locations but that the population, in stark contrast to empirical proof, determined in their own mind that they perceived a definite improvement due to tourism. Thus residents do not necessarily receive personal benefits from tourism but they are positive towards the tourism industry. This should be utilised by creating opportunities for higher levels of participation in the industry as well as generating more tangible, positive affects for the local population in Mozambique. / MA (Tourism Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

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))

The study aimed at establishing the relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Zomba (Malawi). The main objective of the study emanated from huge concern regarding obstacles being faced by young females in education in most developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which continues to contribute to young female school drop outs. The study had set empirical and theoretical objectives as guidance. The theoretical objectives were: to review the literature on the trends of young female education in sub-Saharan Africa and in Malawi; to review theoretically the relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Malawi; to review the literature on cultural practices and gender biases that hinder young female education participation and success in sub-Saharan Africa and Malawi; to document the economic benefits of young female education; and to review gender disparities in education in Malawi. The empirical objectives were set as follows: establish if there is a gender bias in the households perceptions in terms of education support; establish if there is a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of young female education across different categories of heads of households; establish if there exists a statistically significant relationship between household Socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation in Malawi; and establish if there exists a statistically significant relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and girl success for those in school. The literature of the study was based on the theoretical objectives relating to what other studies have done on female education. A comparison across the world was conducted on factors hindering girls’ education and some of the trends on girls’ education in Malawi were reviewed from the past decade or so. It was observed that there is a gender bias in education, boys being given more precedence over girls, that from the factors that hinder children’s ability to attend, school girls seemingly had more share of the problems. The empirical portion of the study was based on data that were collected from random households in Zomba district. A total of 327 households with school aged children were interviewed. The study adopted a quantitative analysis where different quantitative methods were used such as descriptive analysis (cross tabulation, frequencies and means) and a logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between household characteristics and girls’ education. Overall, the descriptive and cross tabulations analysis showed that there is a gender bias in education with boys receiving more benefits compared to girls, and more girls than boys either repeat classes more or even drop out of school. Most girls dropped out of school because of pregnancy-related issues. It was also discovered that parental perceptions that were based on cultural norms hindered girls’ education participation, where most parents, especially from the rural areas, do not regard female education as important, and where given a choice, they would rather have their girl child drop out of school and get married. The regression analysis was based more on the relationship between household characteristics and girls’ education. Two regressions were used, one having success and the other school participation as the dependent variables and household characteristics like income, distance to water point, distance to school, age of child, age of parents and location as the independent variables. Overall, it was observed that children that came from rural areas had a higher probability of dropping out of school, and if the household was located in areas far from the water point and school, their girl child had a higher probability of dropping or repeating a class. In addition, the age of child and parents played a role in girls’ education. The study recommends that the government, in collaboration with the non-governmental organisation that deal with girls’ education in Malawi, should continue to explore other ways of dealing with the problems faced by girls in schools. There is need to educate parents, especially those in the rural areas, about the importance of girls’ education and this could be done through village-by-village campaigns through the chiefs. Government should also look into some of the cultures practised in different communities and maybe set by-laws stopping girls from attending for The relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Zomba (Malawi) Page vi example initiation ceremonies during school days. Lastly, it should be every woman’s duty who has benefited from education to give back to the community by helping young girls who are having difficulties in accessing quality education.

The study aimed at establishing the relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Zomba (Malawi). The main objective of the study emanated from huge concern regarding obstacles being faced by young females in education in most developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which continues to contribute to young female school drop outs. The study had set empirical and theoretical objectives as guidance. The theoretical objectives were: to review the literature on the trends of young female education in sub-Saharan Africa and in Malawi; to review theoretically the relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Malawi; to review the literature on cultural practices and gender biases that hinder young female education participation and success in sub-Saharan Africa and Malawi; to document the economic benefits of young female education; and to review gender disparities in education in Malawi. The empirical objectives were set as follows: establish if there is a gender bias in the households perceptions in terms of education support; establish if there is a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of young female education across different categories of heads of households; establish if there exists a statistically significant relationship between household Socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation in Malawi; and establish if there exists a statistically significant relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and girl success for those in school. The literature of the study was based on the theoretical objectives relating to what other studies have done on female education. A comparison across the world was conducted on factors hindering girls’ education and some of the trends on girls’ education in Malawi were reviewed from the past decade or so. It was observed that there is a gender bias in education, boys being given more precedence over girls, that from the factors that hinder children’s ability to attend, school girls seemingly had more share of the problems. The empirical portion of the study was based on data that were collected from random households in Zomba district. A total of 327 households with school aged children were interviewed. The study adopted a quantitative analysis where different quantitative methods were used such as descriptive analysis (cross tabulation, frequencies and means) and a logistic regression analysis was used to analyse the relationship between household characteristics and girls’ education. Overall, the descriptive and cross tabulations analysis showed that there is a gender bias in education with boys receiving more benefits compared to girls, and more girls than boys either repeat classes more or even drop out of school. Most girls dropped out of school because of pregnancy-related issues. It was also discovered that parental perceptions that were based on cultural norms hindered girls’ education participation, where most parents, especially from the rural areas, do not regard female education as important, and where given a choice, they would rather have their girl child drop out of school and get married. The regression analysis was based more on the relationship between household characteristics and girls’ education. Two regressions were used, one having success and the other school participation as the dependent variables and household characteristics like income, distance to water point, distance to school, age of child, age of parents and location as the independent variables. Overall, it was observed that children that came from rural areas had a higher probability of dropping out of school, and if the household was located in areas far from the water point and school, their girl child had a higher probability of dropping or repeating a class. In addition, the age of child and parents played a role in girls’ education. The study recommends that the government, in collaboration with the non-governmental organisation that deal with girls’ education in Malawi, should continue to explore other ways of dealing with the problems faced by girls in schools. There is need to educate parents, especially those in the rural areas, about the importance of girls’ education and this could be done through village-by-village campaigns through the chiefs. Government should also look into some of the cultures practised in different communities and maybe set by-laws stopping girls from attending for The relationship between household socio-economic characteristics and young female education participation and success in Zomba (Malawi) Page vi example initiation ceremonies during school days. Lastly, it should be every woman’s duty who has benefited from education to give back to the community by helping young girls who are having difficulties in accessing quality education.

This thesis explores how children’s experiences of childhood in Kyrgyzstan transformed after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) and the consequent transition to market economy. In particular it studies the interrelations of culture and economic circumstances and their effects on child agency in times of economic, social, cultural and political change which were not given enough attention in the relevant literature. I sampled 40 children (aged 12 and 16) from a state school in an underprivileged area and a prestigious private school (used as economic dividers) to study the complexity of child agency and structure in their daily lives. An ‘agency’ concept was applied as a theoretical framework conceptualised through the four components as action, freedom, purposiveness and outcome and was formulated as the setting-based ability of children to act in response to cultural and economic structures and relationships at home, school and the neighbourhood. The effects of low and high income on child agency are not straightforward due to the changing traditional culture in the Kyrgyz society, which makes agency not only a social and cultural construct, but one affected by economic conditions. The study demonstrated the nuances of child agency as freedom in high income, its conflicting purposes in low income and differentiated outcomes of short and long term wellbeing between the two groups. Economic circumstances do not only influence the dynamics of agency across settings, age and gender but challenge the very notion of the classic Western concept of agency as an independent ability to act. The findings elaborate on the concepts of the new sociology of childhood (Prout and James, 1997) and the cultural politics of childhood (James and James, 2004), as these theoretical frameworks do not account sufficiently for economic dis/advantages as a structural factor of agency, which emerges as a socially shared process of acting whose nature depends on material circumstances.

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<p>In the United States, poverty has been historically higher and disproportionately concentrated in the American South. Despite this fact, much of the conventional poverty literature in the United States has focused on urban poverty in cities, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest. Relatively less American poverty research has focused on the enduring economic distress in the South, which Wimberley (2008:899) calls “a neglected regional crisis of historic and contemporary urgency.” Accordingly, this dissertation contributes to the inequality literature by focusing much needed attention on poverty in the South. </p><p>Each empirical chapter focuses on a different aspect of poverty in the South. Chapter 2 examines why poverty is higher in the South relative to the Non-South. Chapter 3 focuses on poverty predictors within the South and whether there are differences in the sub-regions of the Deep South and Peripheral South. These two chapters compare the roles of family demography, economic structure, racial/ethnic composition and heterogeneity, and power resources in shaping poverty. Chapter 4 examines whether poverty in the South has been shaped by historical racial regimes.</p><p>The Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) United States datasets (2000, 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013) (derived from the U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement) provide all the individual-level data for this study. The LIS sample of 745,135 individuals is nested in rich economic, political, and racial state-level data compiled from multiple sources (e.g. U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research, etc.). Analyses involve a combination of techniques including linear probability regression models to predict poverty and binary decomposition of poverty differences. </p><p>Chapter 2 results suggest that power resources, followed by economic structure, are most important in explaining the higher poverty in the South. This underscores the salience of political and economic contexts in shaping poverty across place. Chapter 3 results indicate that individual-level economic factors are the largest predictors of poverty within the South, and even more so in the Deep South. Moreover, divergent results between the South, Deep South, and Peripheral South illustrate how the impact of poverty predictors can vary in different contexts. Chapter 4 results show significant bivariate associations between historical race regimes and poverty among Southern states, although regression models fail to yield significant effects. Conversely, historical race regimes do have a small, but significant effect in explaining the Black-White poverty gap. Results also suggest that employment and education are key to understanding poverty among Blacks and the Black-White poverty gap. Collectively, these chapters underscore why place is so important for understanding poverty and inequality. They also illustrate the salience of micro and macro characteristics of place for helping create, maintain, and reproduce systems of inequality across place.</p> / Dissertation

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No description available.