Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The study was conducted in Heuningvlei community in the Kgalagadi District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province. This study was part of the "Tshwaragano Project" with the general aim of empowering the disadvantaged communities in rural areas. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work empowerment programme for poverty stricken families in rural areas of the Northern Cape Province. To achieve this aim, the following objectives needed to be attained: • To study the psycho-social effects of poverty on rural families. This objective was achieved by means of a critical review and analysis of the relevant literature. It is therefore concluded that poverty is the most problematic social problem facing the South African society today. It is a global problem that troubles many families in South Africa and affects people both psychologically and socially. • To determine the fundamental causes of poverty on rural families and their strengths to survive. This investigation indicated that poverty in the SADC region is reflected in the low levels of income, and high levels of human deprivation. Unemployment is also the greatest single cause of deep poverty in rural areas. These factors can be traced back to education and illiteracy of Heuningvlei community members. There is close association between poverty and lack of education. Poor or non existent of agricultural practices also bears reference to the alarming rates of poverty in rural areas. • To design and implement a social group work empowerment programme for poverty stricken rural families. This programme was presented successfully over a stretch of eight group sessions to sixteen community members and was exceptionally appropriate to improve their knowledge regarding poverty. They also received skills to start their own income generating projects. By means of this programme the members of the group also enhanced their social functioning • To evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work programme in empowering poverty stricken rural families. The evaluation of the programme was done by means of a measuring scale instrument called Personal Multi-screening Inventory (PMSI) scale developed by the Perspective Training College in Potchefstroom. The results obtained through this evaluation indicated that a social group work empowerment programme had brought a significant change in the lives of the members. It was therefore concluded that the programme was successful and effective in the sense that members felt that there was a transition in their lives. Group members indicated that the Tshwaragano social group work empowerment programme provided a positive growth in their lives and it was a learning opportunity that shifted their thinking, for instance the discouragement of the feeling of "apathy" and dependence on the government. In summary it can be stated that proof has emerged from this research that a scientifically founded, well-planned social group work empowerment programme can undoubtedly be applied to improve the social functioning of poverty stricken rural families. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

The study was conducted in Heuningvlei community in the Kgalagadi District Municipality in the Northern Cape Province. This study was part of the "Tshwaragano Project" with the general aim of empowering the disadvantaged communities in rural areas. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work empowerment programme for poverty stricken families in rural areas of the Northern Cape Province. To achieve this aim, the following objectives needed to be attained: • To study the psycho-social effects of poverty on rural families. This objective was achieved by means of a critical review and analysis of the relevant literature. It is therefore concluded that poverty is the most problematic social problem facing the South African society today. It is a global problem that troubles many families in South Africa and affects people both psychologically and socially. • To determine the fundamental causes of poverty on rural families and their strengths to survive. This investigation indicated that poverty in the SADC region is reflected in the low levels of income, and high levels of human deprivation. Unemployment is also the greatest single cause of deep poverty in rural areas. These factors can be traced back to education and illiteracy of Heuningvlei community members. There is close association between poverty and lack of education. Poor or non existent of agricultural practices also bears reference to the alarming rates of poverty in rural areas. • To design and implement a social group work empowerment programme for poverty stricken rural families. This programme was presented successfully over a stretch of eight group sessions to sixteen community members and was exceptionally appropriate to improve their knowledge regarding poverty. They also received skills to start their own income generating projects. By means of this programme the members of the group also enhanced their social functioning • To evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work programme in empowering poverty stricken rural families. The evaluation of the programme was done by means of a measuring scale instrument called Personal Multi-screening Inventory (PMSI) scale developed by the Perspective Training College in Potchefstroom. The results obtained through this evaluation indicated that a social group work empowerment programme had brought a significant change in the lives of the members. It was therefore concluded that the programme was successful and effective in the sense that members felt that there was a transition in their lives. Group members indicated that the Tshwaragano social group work empowerment programme provided a positive growth in their lives and it was a learning opportunity that shifted their thinking, for instance the discouragement of the feeling of "apathy" and dependence on the government. In summary it can be stated that proof has emerged from this research that a scientifically founded, well-planned social group work empowerment programme can undoubtedly be applied to improve the social functioning of poverty stricken rural families. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Social Work))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

Thesis (M.T.S.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1988. / Vita. Bibliography: leaf [74]

Thesis--Catholic University of America. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-206).

This paper deals with the concept of juslice considering its approaching from the abstraction or appreciation and the perception or action of coming to fruition in each social group. The concept of social group is emphasized, and, within this, the process how the justice is constructed. / El presente artículo trata de aproximarse al concepto de justicia desde la abstracción o valorización y la percepción o materialización que hace cada grupo social. Se resalta el concepto de grupo social y dentro de éste el proceso de construcción de la justicia.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Thesis (DPhil (Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

This thesis deals with the treatment of disturbed children. Beginning with the institutional care of children, it traces developments to the modern conception of foster home placement and the evolution of child guidance clinics. The value of institutional care for emotionally disturbed teenage boys is considered. Three types of residences now in existence in the United States are described for comparison purposes (in an appendix) The principal methods used are (1) case study of six teenage boys and their parents from Vancouver Children's Aid Society files. (2) comparative analysis of the behaviour of the boys prior to and following placement in the Group Residence. The behaviour of the boys at the Residence being assessed from existing group work records. The scope of the thesis is of necessity limited. Very extensive case work and group work records had to be summarized, and the developmental history of six boys together with brief details of parental history are compared. Excerpts from the group records which display the progress of the boys in the Residence are included. The value of all excerpt material is assessed by the researcher, and an attempt is made to indicate the progress made by the boys during their stay at the Group Residence. Some other possible causative factors are discussed, and a brief Resume made of the strengths and limitations of the Residence. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This study has grown out of a seven month contact which the writer had, in a local group work agency, with a gang of delinquent teen aged girls and boys from the downtown section of Vancouver. It is based largely upon the process records which she kept on the gang during its stay in the agency, with certain corroborative material from other community sources such as case work agencies, the Family Court, the Police Department and the newspapers. The problem of delinquency is approached from a group work point of view; the chief purpose of the Thesis, therefore, is to indicate the strengths and short-comings of the group work process, as used here, as a treatment method. At the same time, the study deals with the family and environmental difficulties which have led the gang and its members into their present anti-social position. It stresses too, the attitude of the gang to the rest of society and in turn the reaction of society to the gang. The First Chapter gives the background of delinquency in Vancouver. In it the writer comments on the increasingly serious nature of the problem in the city. She touches on the various factors responsible for the delinquent child’s failure to adjust successfully - poor family relationships, bad environmental influences, crowded housing, limited recreational facilities and others - all of which have been considerably aggravated by the war. And in conclusion, she gives a general picture of the youngsters themselves and the gangs they have formed as a security against the rejection which, they have suffered during their growing years. The Second Chapter introduces the gang to the agency. The writer tells of the referral made by the head of the women's division of the City Police, who, in the course of her duties, had become interested in some of its girl members. A description of the girls and their family backgrounds is included in this chapter. The first period of activity when the club operated as a girls’ group, with the boys constantly in the background, is discussed. And the girls’ preparations for the inclusion of the boys as guests at a Christmas party are described. The Third Chapter deals with the first contact which the writer had with the boys at the Christmas party. Their attitude to the agency and to the group leader is very evident in the account of their destructive and quarrelsome behaviour on this occasion, following the section on the party, a description of the boys and their family backgrounds is given, which makes their belligerent attitude to the world around them quite understandable. The Fourth Chapter presents the gang as a whole, with the boys established, ostensibly as members of a dance committee, but actually as the governing body of the club. In this section, the complexities of relationships between the members of the gang and particularly between the girls and boys make up the major portion of the narrative. Their activities inside and outside the agency are described fully and indicate very clearly the instability and insecurity of their daily existence. In the Fifth Chapter, the writer continues her discussion of the club as a mixed activity, with the relationships between the girls and boys gradually worsening until they reach an open break. A description of the desperate attempt by the boys at a reconciliation is followed by an account of the withdrawal of the girls as a result of the mistreatment they have received at the hands of the boys. In the Sixth Chapter, the experience of the gang in the agency is evaluated in accordance with Bernstein's Criteria for Group Work. In this section, the following questions are answered. Has the area of concern to the members been enlarged? Do specific interests develop so that they find wider expression both within and without the agency? Has the group matured in its sense of responsibility to the agency? How have the standards of behaviour of the group been affected by the experience in the agency? Have the prejudices of the group based on nationality, financial status and other factors been affected? In the Seventh Chapter, the writer comments once again on the delinquent's position in the community. She indicates the limitations which a group work agency, handling this type of youngster, unsupported by other resources, must face. And she points out the necessity of a co-operative effort on the part of all welfare organizations and the community as a whole as the only effective method of dealing with the problem. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate