published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This work is a sociological analysis of factors that led to the political success of old-age insurance in the United States from 1935-1985. Archival documents, the Congressional Record, House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee Hearings, and secondary sources were used to piece together the social and political history of the program. The historical record was assessed in light of the pluralist, neo-Marxist and neo-Weberian theoretical frameworks typically utilized to study political change. Two key arguments are put forth. First, analyses that focus on the long-term process of social and political change are required to distinguish between the unique and the general. Other works that focus on isolated time periods cannot make these distinctions. It is also through longitudinal analysis that causality can be determined. Insights gained from a broader time-frame relate to specification of economic, political, and demographic shifts that shape the political agenda. Second, meso-level specification of organizational actors is necessary to assess the logic behind these actors' shifting positions. Organizational theory carries the analysis further than do previous theoretical perspectives, primarily because it specifies which political actors, either inside or outside the polity, attempt to influence their environment. It is through an organizational theory framework that we can determine effective strategies for instituting social change. Finally, using organizational theory and extrapolating from past events, some predictions for the future of Social Security are suggested.

No description available.

No description available.

M.Sc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / Retirement adequacy targets provide an indication as to how much wealth is needed at retirement to provide for an adequate retirement income. These targets have design and strategy implications for social security systems and retirement funds and can be used by individuals to assess their preparedness for retirement. The primary aim of this research was to estimate retirement adequacy targets for one- and two-adult households from Statistics South Africa’s Income and Expenditure Survey 2005/2006. Retirement adequacy targets were expressed as wealth-earnings ratios, defined as the multiple of salary at retirement required for a comfortably adequate retirement. The targets would be sufficient to provide for the higher of the preretirement lifestyle or subsistence living. An important subsidiary aim was to examine consumption behaviour at and in retirement. Non-healthcare consumption was not found to change at retirement if income levels remained at pre-retirement levels. For certain households, healthcare expenditure may increase on retirement and may be funded from the contributions to retirement savings that are no longer required in retirement. The retirement adequacy targets decreased with retirement age but there was not a clear relationship between retirement savings rates and the targets. Retirement adequacy targets decreased with income but were complex functions of household composition, sex of the head of the household, type of settlement, age, home ownership and the retirement savings rate. Where household members retired at different times, the earnings of the younger person during the semi-retirement phase reduced the targets substantially. The retirement adequacy targets estimated implied that the replacement ratio targets used by retirement funds and those suggested in the literature would not provide an adequate retirement income for most households. The results may thus have a significant impact on retirement planning in the future.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Rich people in Thailand are enjoying higher shares in income transfer than their poor counterparts. This strange phenomenon implies the malfunction of the Thai social security system. Studies on the relationship between social security development and social, economic and political factors are also very limited. These evident constraints are the rationales for this study. A comparative study was chosen because the justification of social security problems would be more objectively valid if r000esearch findings were compared with external criteria. In addition, comparative analysis would clearly pinpoint possible factors that influenced social security development in Thailand. Like many comparative studies, this investigation did not expect only to identify possible influential factors, but it also intended to learn how the modern social security system could be established in a more developed country. However, the findings would be more adaptable if they were transferred from a country that was economically and culturally close to Thailand. By these reasons, Australia, instead of other Western countries, was more appropriate to be the case for comparison. After reviewing theoretical and empirical literature, the research methodology was designed. Basically, the study applied both qualitative and quantitative methods in analysing data gathered from Thailand and Australia. Comparative evidence shows many problems in social security provisions in Thailand. Relatively narrow coverage, low quality and quantity of benefits and services, higher financial burdens borne by people, and marginal welfare rights are the important indications of the severity of the problems. Many factors are responsible for the existence of these problems. The problematic system of social security was partly the legacy of historical development. The effects of historical roots are intensified by many contemporary factors. Undesirable social values, volatile economic growth, late industrialisation and the defeat of socialism are the four major factors that account for the undeveloped social security system. The influences of the four major factors are supported by another four less crucial ones. These supporting factors comprise the elite�s agenda, workers� power, weak non-governmental organisations and population growth. The findings in both Thailand and Australia similarly indicate that religious institutions and colonial influence do not produce significant effects upon social security development. The comparative findings provide valuable guidelines for the suggestions of system development. Several findings help extend existing theoretical explanations of social security development as well. The study recommends comprehensive operational strategies for the improvement of Thai social security. The study made its final suggestion on the importance of applied research based on Western knowledge and experiences for the improvement of Thai social security.

none

Corporate social responsibility (CSR), originated from the West, has undergone significant changes along with time and context. Under the wave of globalization, it is imperative that corporate fulfill their social responsibilities worldwide. As various scholars hold different viewpoints, debates on the role of CRS and whether it is a positive or negative force continue to thrive. Based on the bipolarity, this paper analyzes the CSR in China, as well as its development and future perspectives. Mainland China (People's Republic of China) has become a focal point of global economic development in recent years, and this 'world factory' has a crucial role to play in the world's finance and industry chains. Corporate in China, therefore, cannot avoid being evolved in responsibilities in addition to making profits. The paper also made further observation on the change of corporate-social relations and drew conclusion of how Chinese corporate carry their social responsibilities. The paper began by analyzing the CSR of state-owned enterprises in the context of Chinese traditional planed economy; it then further looked into how the westernized concept evolved and developed during the economic reform in 1978 with the open policy for foreign direct investment (FDI), and how CSR in China was adapted in accordance with the ideology of socialism. The paper, through both domestic and international literature reviews, aimed to examine the course of evolution of CSR in China. Major case studies were utilized to describe the diversity of CSR development in China, and for comparison between CSR in China and that in the West.