<p> This study explores the increasingly popular phenomenon of volunteer tourism in the Global South, particularly the governmental rationalities and socio-economic conditions that valorize it as a noble and necessary cultural practice. Using ethnographic material gathered during two volunteering programs in Guatemala and Ghana, I argue that, although volunteer tourism may not trigger social change, provide meaningful encounters with difference, or offer professional expertise, as the brochure discourse often promises, the formula remains a useful strategy for producing the subjects and social relations neoliberalism requires. The value of volunteer tourism should not to be assessed in terms of the goods and services it delivers to the global poor, but in terms of how well the pratice disseminates entrepreneurial styles of feeling and action. Three merits stand out in particular. First, volunteer tourism mobilizes a series of affective competencies and private sensibilities that fit the global logic of capitalism. Second, it represents a new type of moral and technical education that teaches young adults how. to operate in multicultural settings and globalized sites. Finally, by virtue of having lived and worked in places the Western imagination believes to be destitute and dangerous, volunteer tourists are better positioned to live fully in the global moment. Together, these effects demonstrate that, far from being a selfless and history-less rescue act, volunteer tourism is in fact a strategy of power that extends economic rationality, particularly its emphasis on entrepreneurship and competition, to the realm of political subjectivity. </p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p> This research identifies the socio-economic, demographic and ethnic composition changes that have occurred within the City of Hamilton from 1961 to 1981. Within this twenty-year time period, Hamilton has undergone growth, downtown renewal and gentrification. A statistical analysis of census data shows the extent to which these changes are reflected in the recent evolution of the socio-demographic structure of Hamilton.</p> <p> A factor analysis was performed on the data for each of the census years: 1961, 1971 and 1981. The factor scores were mapped to show the spatial distribution of socio-economic status, family status and ethnic composition. In general, the distributions conformed to the classical sectoral, zonal, and multiple nuclei models. The results revealed two areas where changes on these dimensions were most significant: the inner city and the Hamilton mountain.</p> </p> Statistical tests confirmed these changes. A significant increase in socio-economic status for the inner city area was observed in the period (1971-1981) following the renewal and gentrification. The mountain area retained its high family status throughout the twenty year time period, and ethnic composition became more dispersed throughout the city.</p> / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

<p> Cost data from different marine and pipeline scenarios were analyzed under changing world oil price and discount assumptions to determine a minimum economic scale for Beaufort Sea - Mackenzie Delta hydrocarbon development. Environmental and socio-economic impacts were included to supplement the purely economic analysis. </p> <p> The minimum economic scale project, a sixteen-inch pipeline through the Mackenzie Valley, was found to be marginally economic. When environmental and social costs were assumed to be internalized by the companies involved, and federal government exploration and development incentives disregarded, the minimum scale project was found to yield a negative internal rate of return. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980.

This thesis deals with the socio-economic development of the Liberec Region. In itself, the socio-economic progression is a very complex issue richly structured organizationally as well as institutionally. Matters regarding the realization of the socio-economic program were even more complicated by the completion of the second phase of the transformation of the public administration. The search for an optimal methodology for creating the strategic documentation together with tools for the realization of regional development plans is far from over. While the negotiation and approval of the strategic documentation is a complicated process, the realization of those plans is what causes most of the difficulties. In my opinion, the local Council of the Liberec Region has so far not been able to create adequate organizational and personnel capacity for the realization and the monitoring of the realization process of the existing documentation. The use of the EU funds for the realization of the plans as well as the cohesion policy of the Liberec region, just like the rest of the Czech Republic, in my opinion, is insufficient.

The fundamental objective of this study was to determine the impact of PLAS Land Reform Projects on the livelihood (financial, human, physical, natural and social capitals) of beneficiaries. The population of the study included all beneficiaries (97) of PLAS projects within Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality. Fifty four beneficiaries were randomly selected from all 36 projects and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data collected was sorted, coded and analysed using version 21 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Frequency count and percentage were used to summarize the data. The identified major constraints affecting PLAS projects were found to be: lack of resources (77.9%), lack of finance (77.8%), lack of water (77.8%), lack of incentives (66.7%), lack/poor infrastructure (64.8%) and high inputs cost (59.3%). The respondents indicated that lack of finance was caused by both lack of government support and inability to access credit from financial institutions, Jack of assets and land ownership which could be used as security to secure loans. Binary Logit Regression Model was used to determine factors influencing the impact of PLAS projects on the livelihood of beneficiaries. Five explanatory variables found to be statistically significant were: size of projects (Z=1-.905: P<0.05), purchase price of projects (Z=-2.258: P>0.01), sufficient funding (Z=1.657: P<0.01), established market (Z=2.552: P<0.01) and age of farmers' (Z=-2.697: P>0.05). Wilcoxon Sign-rank Sum Test was used to determine the "before" and "after" impact of PLAS Land Redistribution projects on the livelihood (financial, human, physical, natural and social capitals) of beneficiaries. The findings showed that significant difference existed on the livelihood (social, financial, physical, natural and human capital) before and after participating in PLAS projects. The result indicated an inverse relationship in terms of the impact of PLAS projects on the livelihood of beneficiaries implying that discontinuation or no participation in PLAS projects could reduce livelihood capitals or negatively affect beneficiaries' livelihood. / Thesis (M.Sc.(Agric Economics) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

Increased access to energy is a key factor to reduce poverty and to gain increased development and prosperity. Access to energy is not equally distributed globally. On average a Swedish person consumes more energy than 12 individuals in Tanzania. The Msambara village arose in the 1930s. 80% of the inhabitants are children and the families are large. Life expectancy is 52 years for women and 54 for men. The entire region is very poor and the standard of living in Msambara is low, even compared to other parts of the country. In rural Msambara in Tanzania the cooking method is very primitive and is usually carried out indoors on three stones. Indoor pollution is contributing to eye infections. Incomplete combustion not only emits greenhouse gases increasing global warming, but also more directly emits particles effecting human health. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to burning caused by air pollution, especially since they are responsible for cooking. The women pull a heavy load in the household work. They are responsible for raising and caring for children, managing farms, collecting firewood, fetching water, visiting the market and cooking for the family. The adoption of biogas technology reduces the need for traditional energy and thereby reduces environmental degradation. In addition, the residue is an improved agricultural fertiliser. Biogas technology has social considerations; burning of biomass for cooking reduces indoor air pollution and reduces workload to collect firewood, often performed by women. Moreover, biogas is desirable from an economic point of view. The method in this work can conveniently be divided into three different parts. These are the designing and construction process as well as the socio-economic study. The socio-economic component is split into two different sections, which are field study and data modelling. The study shows that the social negative impact may or may not be reduced by the introduction of the biogas facility, but the biogas facility in the way it is made will potentially contribute to sustainable economic growth for the household. It also shows that the household’s organic waste produced from human, animal, kitchen and garden waste is enough to provide the necessary gas needed for cooking and no additional firewood will be needed. Two diary cows, in addition to the household’s waste, will provide enough gas needed to introduce cooling capacity for food storage. By adding cooling capacity in the household, time will be saved from the food preparation process but the introduction of biogas itself will not reduce the individual work burden when no cooling capacity is installed. The study also shows that placing the digester in the ground makes a stable environment for the mesophilic and methanogenic microbes. The Socio-economic study indicates that by introducing an alternative method to cooking, positive health effects will arise and the household benefits economically. It is not possible from this thesis to conclude that by adding and treating human toilets as a substrate that possible health benefits will take place. / Sammanfattning Ökad tillgång till energi är en nyckelfaktor för att minska fattigdom och för att få ökad utveckling och välstånd. Tillgången till energi är inte jämnt fördelad globalt. En svensk person konsumerar i genomsnitt mer energi än 12 individer i Tanzania. Byn Msambara uppstod på 1930-talet, 80 % av invånarna utgörs av barn, familjerna är stora. Medellivslängden är 52 år för kvinnor och 54 år för män. Hela regionen präglas av fattigdom och levnadsstandarden i Msambara är låg, även jämfört med andra delar av landet. I Msambara som ligger på Tanzanias landsbygd är tillagningsmetoden mycket primitiv och utförs vanligen inomhus på tre stenar. Den rökiga inomhusmiljön leder ofta till ögoninfektioner. Den ofullständiga förbränningen frigör inte bara växthusgaser och bidrar till den globala uppvärmningen, utan mer direkt avges partiklar som påverkar människors hälsa. Kvinnor och flickor är särskilt utsatta för luftföroreningar eftersom de är ansvariga för matlagning. Kvinnorna drar ett tungt lass i hushållsarbetet. De är ansvarig för uppfostran och vårdnaden utav barnen, hushållsarbetet, sköta jordbruket, samla ved, hämta vatten, besöka marknaden och att laga familjens mat. Introduktion av biogasteknik minskar behovet av traditionell energi och miljöbelastningen. Rötresten är dessutom ett förädlat gödningsmedel. Biogas introduktionen ger positiva sociala konsekvenser då det leder till reducerade luftföroreningar inomhus och minskar behovet av att införskaffa ved, vilket nästan undantagslöst utförs av kvinnor. Dessutom är biogas positivt ur ekonomisk synvinkel. Arbetsmetoden är tydlighetens uppdelat i tre delar. Nämligen dimensionering av rötkammaren, uppförandet av densamma och en okonstlad socioekonomisk studie som i sin tur är uppdelad i en fältstudie och simulering. Studien kan inte visa på att summan av de sociala negativa effekterna minskar med införandet av biogasanläggningen men däremot att den potentiellt bidrar till stärkt ekonomi för hushållet. Den visar också att hushållens organiska avfall som produceras i form av avfall från människor, djur, kök och trädgård är fullt tillräckligt för att producera den nödvändiga gasen som behövs för matlagning. Ingen ytterligare ved kommer att behövas. Två kor förutom hushållets avfall ger den biogas som krävs för att driva ett kylskåp vilket ökar hållbarheten vid matförvaring. Genom tillförandet av kyleffekt till hushållet frigörs tid vilket innebär en tidsbesparing. Införandet av biogas i sig minskar inte den individuella arbetetsbördan. Studien visar också att placeringen av rötkammaren i marken utgör en stabil miljö för de mesofila metanogena. Den socioekonomiska studien visar att införandet av den alternativ matlagningsmetoden medför positiva hälsoeffekter och är ekonomiskt gynnsamt för hushållet. Från denna studie är det inte möjligt att dra slutsatsen att tillförandet och behandlingen av den mänskliga toaletten i rötprocessen ger hälsofördelar.

The aim of the thesis is to investigate local impacts of large investments. This problem has been approached from three directions and, therefore, the study consists of three themes, namely: the changing spatial patterns of corporate activities, the short-term local economic impacts of invest­ments, and the long-term socio-economic impacts of investments on the local municipality. In order to put the impact studies of investments into a broader context the first theme provides an analysis of the macro-orientated processes that change the spatial pattern of a forest- based industry. The empirical investigation is based on a case-study of a major Swedish forest company (SCA — Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget), analysing its development from the 1950s to the present (Paper I). The locational changes of production plants, sales units and headquarters have been mapped and, parallel to this study of the company's spatial evolution, the underlying corporate strategies are discussed. The second theme focuses on the short-term local economic impacts of investments which are carried out at production units. The empirical data has been collected from a major investment introducing a new technology (Light Weight Coated paper - LWC) at Ortviken, an SCA-owned paper mill in Sundsvall. The point of departure for the analysis is the identification of contracted suppliers and their location in order to obtain a picture of the investment's diffusion in the local economy. As the choice of supplier is an important part of the study, criteria on how suppliers are chosen have also been examined (Paper II). Moreover, by using results from a number of similar investment studies, an attempt is made to summarize general experiences within a tentative model for estimating the share of local purchase deriving from major investments: the Local or Non-Local (LNL) model (Paper III). The third theme of the thesis pinpoints long-term local impacts of large investments. The investment generates impacts not only concurrently with the implementation phase, but also during the operation period of the invested item. The investigation of long-term socio-economic impacts has been performed by two studies employing different methodological approaches. The first study (Paper IV) deals with ex ante local impacts of locating a nuclear waste repository in Storuman or Mala, two sparsely populated municipalities in northern Sweden. The model is a traditional macro- formulated cohort model which is combined with a 'basic/non-basic' assumption regarding the intcrdependency within the local trade and business. The second study (Paper V) refers once again to the forest-based industry by emphasising the long-term socio-economic impacts of the investment examined in Paper II. This paper employs a micro-analytical modelling approach, so that, the municipal population is represented individually within the model. A microsimulation model is elaborated in order to analyse the long-term (15 years) local population and labour market dynamics induced by the LWC-investment. Some major findings of the thesis are: * The share of local purchase is connected to the composition of the investment. Analyses have shown that the higher the technological demand and the more technically advanced the goods and services related to the investment, the smaller is the local share of the purchase. *  It has proved possible to trace chain effects on different local labour-markets induced by changes in production at a particular place of work. Through linkages between the partial labour markets the closure of a major place of work will not only affect the occupational groups to which laid-off employees belong, but also give rise to changes in unemployment levels in many other occupations. / digitalisering@umu

In 1996, socio-economic rights were included in the Constitution of South Africa as fundamental human rights. The state is thus compelled to give attention to the protection of people's socioeconomic rights. The question is: Is it the duty of the state alone, or does the church also have a calling with regard to socio-economic rights? In this study, the calling of the church with regard to the protection of socio-economic rights in South Africa is researched. Firstly, socio-economic rights as ethical principle are evaluated in the light of the Scripture. The conclusion is that socio-economic rights are important human rights that can be grounded as fundamental human rights. Thereafter, the history of the origin of socio-economic rights is researched and evaluated. In the history of socio-economic rights, it is grounded in the natural dignity of a human being. However, the Bible teaches that God gave people dignity. The history of socio-economic rights in South Africa is also researched and evaluated. South Africa has a long history of colonialism, segregation and apartheid, and the church has not always been an effective advocate for socio-economic rights. To understand the calling of the church with regard to socio-economic rights, the calling of the church in society is researched. Views of different church and theological traditions are researched and evaluated. The reformed view focuses on the kingdom of God, and the calling of the church with regard to socio-economic rights is described as worship, fellowship, testimony and service. In conclusion, concrete guidelines of how to be an advocate for socio-economic rights are given to the church. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

Infants’ gestures feature prominently in early language. The observation that accomplishments in gesture presage verbal milestones prompted the question of whether encouraging infants to gesture would bring on language gains. This thesis addressed this question, remedying many of the shortfalls of previous research. In a yearlong longitudinal study, high-SES mother-infant dyads (n = 40) were randomly allocated to one of four conditions: Symbolic Gesture training, British Sign Language (BSL) training, Verbal training and a Non-Intervention Control group. Infants’ language was continually assessed between the ages of 8 to 20 months to determine the impact of encouraged gesture on language development. With the exception of a small number of boys, encouraging gesture did not affect infants’ language development. However, the expressive language of boys who started the study with a low language ability was improved by gesture. A gesture-training intervention was delivered to low-SES mothers at a Sure Start children’s centre. Infants of mothers trained to gesture showed greater gains in their receptive and expressive vocabularies than infants of mothers who attended sessions aimed to improve general communication (without gesture instruction). Gesture helped reduce the discrepancy between the language abilities of infants from low and high-SES backgrounds. Qualitative investigations revealed how encouraging mothers to use gestures with their infants led to perceived wider, non-linguistic benefits. However, a comparison of maternal and infant stress scores revealed no difference between gesturing and non-gesturing mother-infant dyads. Infants, who because of biological and/or environmental factors have lower language abilities than their peers, stand to benefit from encouraged gesture in infancy. Through early intervention, gesture has the potential to reduce the disadvantage that children from lower-SES families face from impoverished language abilities. By changing the course of their early development, encouraged gesture could ultimately bring about lasting benefits.