This dissertation aimed to examine the consequence of health-induced poverty and two policy responses to address this issue among older adults in the United States and China. Specifically, Paper I investigates whether public transfers crowded out private transfers among rural and urban Chinese older families and if this dynamic would change when health care expenses were high. Paper II examines the effect of New Rural Cooperative Medical Insurance, a national health insurance program for rural residents in China, on changing the incidence of health-induced poverty among middle-aged and older beneficiaries. Paper III tests the effects of closing the Medicare Part D donut hole (coverage gap) through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on changing prescription drug cost-induced poverty. Overall, the findings obtained from these three papers provide empirical evidence that health-induced poverty is prevalent among older adults in both China and the United States and the current public transfers and health policies are either ineffective or insufficient to reduce health-induced poverty as intended.

World food security will be one of the greatest global challenges in the 21st century and utilisation of an increased range of food crops is generally regarded as being vital to meeting this challenge, including the use of legumes. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea) is an African indigenous legume that shows great potential to improve the food and economic security of small scale farmers living in semi-arid regions of South Africa. This study sought to investigate the potential for Bambara groundnut to enhance the food and economic security of small scale farmers in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 43 Bambara groundnut producers were interviewed about Bambara groundnut production and their perceived enablers and barriers of utilizing Bambara groundnut. The study found that the majority of Bambara groundnut producers were old (>65 years of age), female small scale farmers who produced the crop for primarily household use. There were however a small number of farmers who produced Bambara groundnut on a larger scale, mostly to sell. Most farmers perceived that local demand was higher than supply and were able to obtain a high market value for Bambara groundnut. There appeared to be potential economic opportunities for many of the farmers to sell Bambara groundnut. The main reason why most farmers in this study did not sell Bambara groundnut was because the yields they obtained were too low. The main enablers perceived by farmers for Bambara groundnut production were a) The high nutritional value of Bambara groundnut; b) The good taste of the seeds; c) The nitrogen fixation properties of this legume and its ability to improve soil fertility; d) The legume intercrops well with maize; e) Bambara groundnuts high drought resistance; f) Cultural traditions associated with Bambara groundnut; and g) Use as animal feed. The main barriers were a) Low yielding characteristics of Bambara groundnut; b) Lack of available farmland; c) Lack of irrigation; d) Poor land management practices; e) Low soil fertility; and f) The crop's susceptibility to water logging. Overall the farmers were positive about Bambara groundnut production and could potentially benefit from advancements made in this sector of agriculture. The study concludes with recommendations to help improve small scale farmers' production of Bambara groundnut with the aim of improving their food and economic security.

Submitted in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Community Work) at the University of Zululand in the Department of Social Work, South Africa, 2008. / This study is about the impact of Ugu Community Foundation in uplifting the community of Mtubatuba. The study was conducted on the progress of the Ugu Community Foundation in uplifting the community .As an evaluative research, unstructured interviews were conducted. A sample of twenty projects members was drawn and interviewed from a number of projects fall under Ugu Community Foundation. Related literature has been reviewed that focuses on poverty alleviation and community upliftment through income generating projects. The findings of the study revealed that the projects were able to generate income to alleviate poverty. The findings also revealed a need for the advanced training for the project members and the market. Recommendations based on the findings were made.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the The University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / The study investigated the poverty alleviation involving Land Reform Program (LRAD) Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development at Nhlahlayethu Farm (Umkhanyakude District). Besides land that has been taken back from White farmers and given to Black people; very little has been done to show the difference in poverty alleviation. Observations indicate that agricultural activity in land reform projects (LRAD- Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development) decrease significantly on land that was commercially viable under previous management. Large numbers of people presently own land that was initially owned by one person. Therefore, the first aim of the study was to investigate challenges and opportunities of land reform projects. The second aim of the study was to determine the general perspectives of the target farmers on agricultural farming. The third objective of the study was to investigate the general causes of non- functionality of land reform projects. The fourth objective of the study was to investigate how the whole group of farmers could work the farm up to its full potential and to determine how the Department of Land Affairs and Agriculture, could collaborate to improve development efforts towards sustainable land reform projects. The findings revealed that farmers experience a lot of challenges caused by the lack of funds and farming equipment after the land has been transferred. This ends up making the program of land reform not fully effective in alleviating poverty. Positive perspective of farmers towards farming is hindered by the lack of' farming management skills accompanied by the rate of illiteracy. Policies between the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs need to be aligned so that after transferring the farm to beneficiaries, resources are available for supporting the target farmers. On the basis of the findings of this study, recommendations to the Land Reform Program (LRAD- Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development) as well as for directing future research were made.

Thesis (MTech (Environmental Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019. / Forests are being depleted and the land becoming bare, with little to no vegetation in the Etayi constituency and in Namibia at large. People rely on the resources of forests for different reasons. Areas that had trees years back have turned into a desert-like environment due to deforestation. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that the cutting of natural forests has had in the Etayi constituency in the Omusati Region, Namibia. This examination has become necessary because forests in the Omusati region have undergone a rapid depletion over the past years. However, it should be noted that these environmentally degrading activities have contributed to the household income in the form of employment to the indigenous people. Forests has an important role to play in terms of the conservation of biodiversity. They also harbour unique and endemic species that are mainly adapted to extreme ecological conditions. They provide vital benefit to the ecosystem, such as wood for fuel, medicine, fodder for animals and tradable goods, like furniture. Furthermore, forests provide the soil with nutrients and reduce wind velocity, thus controlling wind erosion and the retardation of water and moisture depletion. With increasingly uncertain climatic conditions and their related impact across the continent at large, there is a need for new approaches towards the management of indigenous forests that support and promote land-users’ resilience to climatic variability and change. The role of forests in climate change mitigation is important as it sustains the ecosystem. The maintenance of ecological systems has been acknowledged as one of the most important facets of sustainable development. Subsequently, the involvement of several international and local policies and regulations has been established to ensure that natural resources, such as forests, are sustainably utilised. In rural areas/villages, overdependence on wood for fuel has been identified as one of the biggest threats to the forests. This has led to environmental degradation that includes, among others, deforestation, desertification, the extinction of species and soil erosion. Based on the many issues caused by the over-reliance on wood for fuel, this research sought to investigate the impact of the over-exploitation of natural forests in the environment. Ninety-seven (97) respondents, comprising of 51 females and 46 males, were used in this study. Four (4) villages in the Etayi Constituency were chosen for the study. The study employed a qualitative and quantitative approach, which included the following methods of data collection: questionnaires, observation and interviews with respondents in the Etayi community. A quantitative method enabled the researcher to ask questions such as how many and how often? It helped the researcher further to plot the responses into graphs and diagrams. Government representatives from the Constituency Council and Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry and Traditional Authorities in the four villages were interviewed. The study identified key threats to the forests as a result of high fuelwood collection. These threats include high levels of poverty, overdependence on the forests, a lack of understanding about the importance of forests for the environment, little or a lack of information regarding other alternative sources of energy and the lack of coordination in the management of fuelwood resources. Apart from fuelwood being used as a source of energy for cooking and lighting, the exploitation of local fuelwood has become commercialised to supplement household income. Since there is a lack of coordination in the management of natural resources, fuelwood resources are not being managed at all. A main argument identified by this study is that forest management must be a combined approach by all stakeholders. The roles of traditional leaders in forest management should be made public. The lack of an awareness campaign on the importance of forests, a lack of management coordination as well as poverty, makes it difficult for the forests policies to be implemented and for the traditional authorities to manage the forests efficiently. The study recommends that educational programmes, proper coordination between key stakeholders and awareness campaigns regarding the environmental importance of forests to residents would alleviate deforestation and over-exploitation of forests resources. Additionally, an emphasis on the relationship between traditional and local governance in the management of forests as sources of fuelwood and the physical environment should receive attention.

The local problem addressed in this study was the low reading achievement of high-poverty fourth-grade students in a small rural school in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to examine the perceptions of the campus principal and teachers at a sampled high-poverty and high achieving elementary school to determine best practices for meeting literacy needs of high-poverty students. This knowledge is important because student success in reading achievement contributes to overall academic success. The neo-sociocultural conceptual paradigm of Wertsch, del Rio, and Alverez, which links cognitive and cultural learning processes, was used as the conceptual framework for the investigation. The research questions centered on educators' perspectives of micro and macro sociocultural practices that contribute to high-poverty literacy. Interviews were conducted with 9 purposefully selected teachers and the principal. Inductive and comparative data analysis was used to elicit 15 major themes identified as micro and macro literacy improvement practices for high-poverty students. These practices included high quality professional development, instructional equity, and professional coaching. Using study results, a training program was designed for literacy specialists on how to implement inclusive literacy coaching strategies through the use of equity-based practices. The project study may contribute to positive social change by providing educators with strategies for increasing high-poverty students' literacy success in elementary schools. Improved literacy may increase high-poverty students' graduation rates, college preparation, career readiness, and chances for upward social mobility.

The current study consisted of two experiments to examine the impact of home-based therapy on mental illness in multiproblem families. Review of the literature focused on the interplay between poverty and mental illness in defining multiproblem families and the utilization of home-based therapy with this population and others. Experiment 1 focused on delineating the type and severity of psychological distress in families characterized as multiproblem. Subjects were 58 participants in the Community-Family Partnership, a Comprehensive Child Development Program located at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. In this sample, serious psychological distress was evident with depression in both women and men as a primary symptom. Female participants in Experiment 1 showed psychological distress across more subscales and higher standardized mean difference effect sizes on the global subscales of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised than male participants. Significant distress was also evident on the Somatization and Obsessive-Compulsive subscales for female participants and on the Hostility subscale for male participants. In a corollary to Experiment 1, participants in this study also fit the description of multiproblem based on their demographic characteristics. Experiment 2 implemented a home-based therapy program based on Sherman's Action Counseling model and evaluated its effectiveness in terms of reduction of psychological distress. Six individuals drawn from the Experiment 1 sample participated in Experiment 2. At pretest, they were not demographically different from the Experiment 1 sample, and they exhibited severe psychological symptoms such that their score profiles on the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised met both definitions of caseness for that instrument. These subjects participated in nine weekly sessions of home-based therapy based on the Action Counseling model. Therapy was very successful for one subject, moderately successful for four subjects, and not successful for one subject using reduction of psychological distress as the measure of effectiveness. Additionally, Experiment 2 examined elements of the therapy that contributed to effectiveness. Mastery of and implementation of the 10 Action Counseling steps appeared to contribute to therapy success. Limitations were discussed with respect to internal and external validity in the current study. Recommendations for future work were provided.

The purpose of this study is to assess the attitudes of a select group of social workers in the Portland area. The study will focus on their attitudes about the causes of poverty and actions to deal with problems of poverty. These attitudes will be examined in the context of a theoretical framework. The sample consists of those social workers and social work-related professionals who serve as field instructors for the Portland State School of Social Work. This means that the study will also provide information about the attitudes that Portland State social work students are likely to encounter in the field during the master's program. This information may be useful to the school in evaluating, developing, or modifying curriculum.

The last few decades have witnessed the emergence of global civil society advocacy networks as major players in global governance. This research aimed at using a case study of GCAP in critically analysing the politics and dynamics of crafting a global civil society advocacy alliance. Specifically, the study aimed to: a) identify, analyse, and document GCAP’s experiences, strategies and challenges in trans-national networking and advocacy; b) generate knowledge on recent developments in global civil society networking and advocacy. The study analyses the study phenomenon using two central features of GCAP: networking and advocacy. Chapter one attempts to give a background of the study and also discusses the methods used. Chapter two lays the theoretical framework and operationalises the concepts explored in the study. The report argues that alliances are very different from ‘normal’ forms of organisations because they are made up of diverse forms of organisations, coming together voluntarily to achieve a specific purpose. They are therefore, by their very nature, complex, unstable, and difficult to co-ordinate. Chapters Three and Four look at such intricacies and complexities of crafting and operations of global advocacy networks. I conclude this research arguing that despite challenges in alliances building and operations, global civil society organisations will still need to network if they are to remain relevant and effective in current global governance context. It is only in their unity that they will be able to confront their common challenges.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy / This study explores the challenges of urban planning for poverty reduction that are faced by public institutions in urban Kenya. The existing studies in urban planning show that very little is known about these challenges. However, it is well acknowledged that globally urban poverty has increased at rates much higher than rural poverty. Indeed, poverty presents a dilemma for policy makers and citizens in Sub-Saharan African cities such as Nairobi and raises questions as to why poverty continues to grow despite the implementation of urban plans, policies and poverty reduction programmes. As a largely uncharted research area, it was necessary to explore the problem in significant depth; thus a qualitative research methodology was adopted to explore the case study of the Local Authorities Service Delivery Action Plans (LASDAP) in Nairobi’s Viwandani ward. Data were gathered and triangulated by means of focus groups and in-depth and semi-structured interviews. These were supplemented by key informant data, document reviews and an extensive review of urban planning and political science literature. A total of ninety-nine people including sixty-six men and thirty-three women participated in this study. The respondents were drawn from communities in Viwandani, city planners and other staff from the City of Nairobi, central government, and politicians. To analyse these data, a range of analytical techniques, namely a hybrid of categorisations, data displays, pattern matching and in some cases theoretical propositions were applied. These generated a set of themes for discussing the challenges of urban planning from the case study. The results were cross-checked with interview respondents and key informants and then validated in key feedback consultations in the study communities. This study shows that a long tradition of “power over the constitution”, embodied by the notion of an imperial presidency not only imposes one’s will over the people, but also can virtually destroy institutions. This study also finds that the legal framework for urban planning in Kenya is anchored in stakeholders’ involvement that only pays lip service to citizen’s participation and to accountability. Since the old Constitution was not supportive of participation and accountability, the planning predictably restricted space for citizen participation and did not provide for significant accountability by public officers. Therefore, the participation in the LASDAP in Viwandani was simply a sophisticated form of manipulation of citizens that is conceptualised as facipulation in the study. Facipulation here refers to the facilitation of a project to give the impression that citizens have the power to influence decisions of the state while at the same time being manipulated to ensure that the covert interests of powerful actors in the state are not undermined. The study reveals that challenges which public institutions face in urban planning for poverty reduction are both multi-layered and complex. The results show that the institutional framework for implementing the LASDAP in Kenya was by design defective in planning for poverty reduction. The study further reflects that the processes of constitutional development affect the form and types of political institutions established for urban planning. To achieve an urban planning framework for poverty reduction, therefore, institutional reform processes should be cognisant of and address the insidious power represented by the reluctance to shift the current institutional framework away from the status quo. The framework should also be aligned to the aspirations as expressed in the recently promulgated Constitution. In this Constitution citizens of Kenya are vested with all sovereign power and power is to be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution.