<p>This minithesis seeks to understand why infrastructure projects fail to contribute effectively to poverty (rural) reduction. The thesis assumes that though infrastructure provision can impact positively on rural poverty reduction, the same infrastructure provision has worsened or put people in worse conditions of poverty. Therefore it is not automatic that infrastructure provision would reduce rural poverty as often held. The thesis goes on to postulate that a positive relationship between infrastructure and rural poverty reduction is best achieved within a broad or generic policy which provides the framework for providing such infrastructure. The thesis assesses these assertions empirically by first, testing the relationships between infrastructure and rural poverty reduction. Here a large scale infrastructure project in Ghana known as the Keta sea defence project serves as the case study. Secondly the thesis assesses Ghana&rsquo / s infrastructure provision policy environment and its implications on rural poverty reduction in the affected communities of the Keta sea defence project.</p>

Many historians have presented the narrative of Canada’s Second World War experience as a “good” war. Individuals and communities came together in patriotism and a common purpose to furnish the national war effort with military manpower, labour, financial contributions, and voluntary efforts. As the dark years of the Great Depression gave way to unprecedented levels of industrial and economic growth, falling unemployment rates, increased urbanization, and a wealth of social programs, Canada’s future was bright. However, this optimistic picture is not representative of Canada as a whole. Some regions fared better than others, and industrial Cape Breton was one of those that benefited the least from the opportunities presented by the war. Glace Bay, Cape Breton’s largest mining town and long-time hotbed of industrial strife and labour radicalism, serves as an ideal case study of the region’s largely unprofitable and unchanging wartime experience. Long plagued by poverty, poor living conditions, and underdeveloped industry, and desperately seeking to break free of its destitution, Glace Bay tried and failed to take advantage of wartime opportunities for industrial diversification and local improvement.

This thesis focuses on Canadian Prairie communities and how architecture plays a role in promoting community engagement and interaction. The ideal components of a healthy rural town include its identity, sense of community and a strong relationship to the landscape, all of which are threatened by both internal and external influences. The large urban centers in close proximity to rural communities are a major influence over the direction of development. The growth of the urban fabric is understood only after studying the historical factors that have shaped its foundation, as well as its relationship to larger regional forces. These forces have changed the urban morphology — shifting from an emphasis centered on community to one that is more focused upon economic development. This change does not suggest that these elements are completely separate from one another, but instead that the emphasis has shifted – bringing with it a whole new set of priorities. Increased development along major arterial highways is favoured over downtown growth; vehicular transportation dominates over the pedestrian; subdivisions are planned and built by developers to maximize economic gain rather than foster a sense of community; and community-based projects are no longer the norm. Unfortunately this has resulted in a loss of citizen participation and engagement. An in-depth urban analysis of the town is central to the development of future design and development strategies. Case studies of comparable cities, towns or villages will help guide the development of design principles, strategies and processes necessary to promote a healthy rural community. By exploring the complexities of rural development, strategies and interventions that address these issues can be articulated and applied.

This exploratory research focuses on impacts of the rural socio-cultural context on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption for business information needs using the Maldives as the study context, and attempts to develop a model to capture the influences of the rural context on ICT adoption decisions. The numerous ways in which rural context differs from urban context, such as small markets combined with familiarity among community members and reliance on interpersonal relationships, suggest potential impacts on the nature and management practices of rural businesses and provide an approach to explore ICT use in rural settings. Using findings from the literature, a theoretical framework was developed to outline how the socio-cultural context of a rural community of a developing country might affect ICT adoption by rural businesses. The research model predicts relationships between context factors and perceived benefits and barriers of ICTs, and between these perceptions and intentions to adopt/use ICTs. The initial phase of the research was exploratory in nature focusing on a few selected rural and urban businesses and the second phase consisted of a quantitative survey of 314 rural and urban businesses. The findings supported predicted differences between rural and urban contexts for all five factors included in the research model. The results also show that context factors explain 35.5% of variance on perceived benefits of ICTs and 49.3% variance on perceived barriers of ICTs. The findings raised questions about the disjoint between opinions of ICTs and actual use and the limited value derived from ICTs. The research also highlighted that promoting ICT adoption in rural businesses was a highly complex issue that has important linkages to public policy support. Overall, this research provides important insights into the complex dynamics that exist in rural settings that have implications for ICT use and provides empirical evidence to illustrate differences between urban and rural contexts, as well as the level of influence from different context factors on ICT adoption. This research has relevance for organizations working towards the development of rural communities.

This thesis focuses on Canadian Prairie communities and how architecture plays a role in promoting community engagement and interaction. The ideal components of a healthy rural town include its identity, sense of community and a strong relationship to the landscape, all of which are threatened by both internal and external influences. The large urban centers in close proximity to rural communities are a major influence over the direction of development. The growth of the urban fabric is understood only after studying the historical factors that have shaped its foundation, as well as its relationship to larger regional forces. These forces have changed the urban morphology — shifting from an emphasis centered on community to one that is more focused upon economic development. This change does not suggest that these elements are completely separate from one another, but instead that the emphasis has shifted – bringing with it a whole new set of priorities. Increased development along major arterial highways is favoured over downtown growth; vehicular transportation dominates over the pedestrian; subdivisions are planned and built by developers to maximize economic gain rather than foster a sense of community; and community-based projects are no longer the norm. Unfortunately this has resulted in a loss of citizen participation and engagement. An in-depth urban analysis of the town is central to the development of future design and development strategies. Case studies of comparable cities, towns or villages will help guide the development of design principles, strategies and processes necessary to promote a healthy rural community. By exploring the complexities of rural development, strategies and interventions that address these issues can be articulated and applied.

This exploratory research focuses on impacts of the rural socio-cultural context on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) adoption for business information needs using the Maldives as the study context, and attempts to develop a model to capture the influences of the rural context on ICT adoption decisions. The numerous ways in which rural context differs from urban context, such as small markets combined with familiarity among community members and reliance on interpersonal relationships, suggest potential impacts on the nature and management practices of rural businesses and provide an approach to explore ICT use in rural settings. Using findings from the literature, a theoretical framework was developed to outline how the socio-cultural context of a rural community of a developing country might affect ICT adoption by rural businesses. The research model predicts relationships between context factors and perceived benefits and barriers of ICTs, and between these perceptions and intentions to adopt/use ICTs. The initial phase of the research was exploratory in nature focusing on a few selected rural and urban businesses and the second phase consisted of a quantitative survey of 314 rural and urban businesses. The findings supported predicted differences between rural and urban contexts for all five factors included in the research model. The results also show that context factors explain 35.5% of variance on perceived benefits of ICTs and 49.3% variance on perceived barriers of ICTs. The findings raised questions about the disjoint between opinions of ICTs and actual use and the limited value derived from ICTs. The research also highlighted that promoting ICT adoption in rural businesses was a highly complex issue that has important linkages to public policy support. Overall, this research provides important insights into the complex dynamics that exist in rural settings that have implications for ICT use and provides empirical evidence to illustrate differences between urban and rural contexts, as well as the level of influence from different context factors on ICT adoption. This research has relevance for organizations working towards the development of rural communities.

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Darbe analizuojamišalies kaimo bendruomenių veiklos pagrindai, aptariami strategijų komponentai bei kaimo bendruomenių strateginį planavimą įtakojantys dokumentai.Nagrinėjami Žemaitijos regiono vietos veiklos grupių suformuotų strateginių nuostatų ypatumai, strategijų kokybės kriterijai. / This work is consisted of three parts. In the first part essentials and components of strategic activity of Lithuanian rural communities, law deeds are analyzed. In the second part methods and process of research are described. In the third part strategic attitudes of 5 Zemaitija region's local work groups, which represent this region's rural communities, are discussed, situation of region's rural communities, demands of inhabitants and phases of strategie's formation are analyzed.

Kaimo bendruomenių plėtros nuostatos kinta vis labiau ryškėjant tendencijoms kuo racionaliau panaudoti vietinius gamtos ir kultūros išteklius. Todėl atliktas tyrimas Plungės rajono kaimo vietovėje padėjo identifikuoti svarbiausius vietos gyventojų poreikius, atsižvelgiant į ekonominius, gamtinius ir kultūrinius faktorius. Respondentai pažymi, kad turi bendravimo problemų, dažnai būna neįdomus, neįvairus kultūrinis gyvenimas, nedraugiški žmonių tarpusavio santykiai. Šios problemos labai įtakoja visą kaimo kultūrą ir jo dvasinį paveldą. Magistro darbe pateikiamas kaimo aplinkos, paslaugų, kaimo problemų įvertinimas, gamtos ir kultūros paveldo Plungės rajone apžvalga ir jų panaudojimo galimybės kaimo bendruomenių plėtrai, bendruomenių projektiniai sumanymai. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamos išvados, kuriose pabrėžiama projektų, integruojančių įvairius kaimo bendruomenių poreikius, tinkamai panaudojant gamtos ir kultūros išteklius, įgyvendinimo svarba. Kaimo bendruomenių plėtra priklauso nuo tinkamo gamtos ir kultūros išteklių panaudojimo. / Attitudes towards rural communities development have been experiencing changes, which reveal a tendency of using local natural and cultural resources more effectively. For this purpose a research carried out in a settlement in Plungė district helped the authors of the paper identify the main needs of the local residents in terms of economic, natural and cultural factors. Respondents stressed that it is difficult to come into social contacts, often cultural life is uneventful and monotonous, relations among the people lack friendliness. The evaluation of the rural environment, services and problems is given in the master’s work, the natural and cultural heritage in Plungė district has been overviewed and plans for future undertakings by local community have been outlined. Provided conclusions stress the importance of the implementation of such projects which integrate different needs of rural communities and integrate natural and cultural resources. Development of the rural communities depend on the best using of the natural and cultural resources.

Magistro darbe išskirtos svarbiausios Plungės rajono kaimo bendruomenių plėtros galimybės ir prioritetai bei numatytos priemonės jų įgyvendinimui. Išanalizuoti ir susisteminti įvairių Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių teoriniai kaimo bendruomenių plėtros tyrimai. Identifikuotos Plungės rajono kaimo stiprybes, silpnybes, galimybes ir grėsmes bei gyventojų poreikiai. Išanalizuota Plungės rajone registruotų kaimo bendruomenių veikla, jų problemos ir galimybės. Patvirtinama autoriaus suformuluota mokslinio tyrimo hipotezė, kad kaimo bendruomenės plečia savo veiklą, siekia gerinti vietos gyventojų gyvenimo kokybę, įtakoja paslaugų teikimą, tačiau plėtros procesą lėtina gyventojų pasyvumas, nepasitikėjimas savo galimybėmis, nesugebėjimas sutelkti žmogiškąjį ir socialinį kapitalą. / In this master’s final paper have been distinguished possibilities and priorities of the development of rural communities in Plunge area and have been formulated the means for their implementation. The theoretical aspects of the development of rural communities of different Lithuanian and foreign authors was analyzed and systematized in the Master’s Paper. After identification of needs and problems of rural areas of Plungė, analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats was prepared. The activity of rural communities in Plungė area, their possibilities and problems was analyzed. The hypothesis formulated by the author is confirmed: rural communities expand their activity, aim to improve the quality of life of local inhabitants, influence services, however, the passivity, the distrust in their capabilities have been noticed in the activity of rural communities.