Thesis (M.Journ.)University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Lincoln University, 2009. / Also available via the World Wide Web.

Inaug. - Diss. -- Frieburg i. Breslau. / Vita. Bibliography: p. 86-88.

Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Originally produced as the author's Thesis (M.A.--American University in Cairo, 2004). / Includes bibliographical references (p. [81]-85).

No description available.

World economy has been doing well in recent decades even taking into account the current financial crisis. However, there are even more people suffering from poverty and related issues than earlier. I am going to discuss the issue of helping poor people in the context of ethics. In my thesis, I will firstly state the standard of absolute poverty, which will be the main focus in the remainder of the text. Then, I will present the argument given by a contemporary philosopher, Peter Singer, that urges us to give money to the poor people. I will go through his argument and his analogy between saving a drowning child and giving out our money for charity on poverty relief. Many people may think his theory controversial and difficult to accept. Afterwards, I will present main arguments against Singer. I will assess these arguments and claim that some of them fail as criticisms of Singer’s central claims. However some do successfully point out the flaws of Singer’s argument, and some actually aim at questioning the entire discussion of poverty relief. I will try to present and assess the effectiveness of the alternative arguments by other philosophers that avoid these criticisms and that try to support the aid in a different way. The main question in my thesis in whether we have any moral obligation to help the poor people around the world. And if we have such duties, to what extent we are obliged to do so. I will do the literature review on different arguments and try to give my own opinions in different parts in my thesis.

With a narrowly defined unemployment rate of 26.5% in South Africa, this paper contributes to the salient task of exploring a job creation programme in a high growth sector of the global coffee production network, namely the production of espresso based beverages by baristas for sale in restaurants, cafes, and hotels. Situated in the qualitative paradigm with an inductive research agenda, this research utilises the case study method to explore Ground UP, a skills training programme of a local not-for-profit, which provides barista skills training that unemployed people can use to become economically active in context of the specialty coffee industry. By applying the concepts of upgrading in the context of a global production network and a descriptive focus on both the Ground UP programme, as well as the characteristics and dynamics specialty coffee industry in South Africa, this research examines the potential for this industry to offer a pathway out of poverty. Applying a theoretical lens to this descriptive case study, the theme of governance features strongly, and the analysis reveals that Ground UP, as an agent of palliative development, can help beneficiaries to access a pathway out of poverty. It is also argued that the extent to which they will be able to capture the gains in the specialty coffee industry in the longer term will be impacted on external factors and other key players in the industry as well as their positioning in a global production network.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Community Work) in Social Work at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2012. / The responsibility of social development and improvement of living standards for the rural poor has, in the past, been solely the responsibility of governments. Through changes in scope and new partnerships, this responsibility has been partially entrusted on the civil society which is deemed to be very close to the communities and has a better capacity to contribute towards the betterment of living standards in rural communities. This study, Assessing the Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in Poverty Alleviation through the Creation of Sustainable Livelihoods in UThungulu District, seeks to bring an understanding on the role of the civil society towards creating sustainable livelihoods in a bid to alleviate poverty. The study comprises literature from various sources to present the argument on the subject. It also reveals the assessment of the work done by essential oils NGO, Winrock International, in the area of UThungulu District. It then proposes the recommendations for the future development initiatives on the role of the civil society towards creating sustainable livelihoods.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / This study took place in four villages at gaMolepo area. The villages form part of Wards three and four of the Polokwane Municipality in the Limpopo province, Republic of South Africa. The purpose of the study is to explore factors that might have an impact on the communities' anti-poverty projects. The study focuses on four projects: two agricultural projects and two non-agricultural projects. The study applies both the qualitative and quantitative methodologies to collect and collate data from the projects. The findings of the study largely confirm what other researchers have already discovered, such as: the role played by the educational level of the beneficiaries of these projects on the success of their projects. The best performing project has 70% of its members who attained secondary education, and the worst performing has only 16.7%. Projects in which the beneficiaries show the best level of dedication and commitment as measured by the rate of members’ absenteeism succeed, unlike those having the highest rate of absenteeism. The top two best performing projects keep proper accounting records and have appropriate leadership than the bottom two least performing projects (Sehlale Women’s Project and Bethel Vegetable Project). The majority of members of these projects, as in most rural areas, are women. Interestingly, the top best performing project is registered as a Close Corporation. This might suggest that an anti-poverty project, which is accountable to the taxpayer, as in a Close Corporation, is likely to be successful as the law compels it to adhere to strict business practices. The same cannot be said of the Non-Profit Organisations. One noteworthy finding is an observation that the worst performing projects (Sehlale Women’s Club and Bethel Vegetable project)comprise largely of pensioners (58% and 57% respectively), and show the highest degree of disunity. However, the researcher suggests further in-depth research on the impact of anti-poverty projects registered as Close Corporations versus Non-Profit Organisations. Furthermore, the findings that the least performing projects tend to have the majority of pensioners and are the most disunited need further research to determine whether they perform poorly because of disunity, or because the members are pensioners, or both.