Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-100). Also available on the Internet.

The thesis represents the first thorough study of forms of charity and medical and poor relief in an Italian city in the post-Renaissance period. It complements the studies of other Italian cities carried out for an earlier period and contributes to comparison between European patterns of charity. The study reverses the usual demand-centred approach, which sees transformations in charitable provision mainly as a response to changing demographic and economic conditions, by focusing instead on the role played by changes in the nature of "supply", i.e. in the social composition of governors and benefactors and in the indirect and symbolic meanings which charity embodied for its dispensers. The main argument of this study is that the nature of control over charity had a significant impact on the form initiatives towards the poor took: dynamics of conflict, prestige and patronage among the elites contributed to forge charitable attitudes and definitions of poverty to a much larger extent than it has been recognised. Wills and other biographical material, figurative representations of charity and analysis of the architectural form of institutions have been used, besides the more obvious sources, to trace shifts in the symbolic implications of charity. This study also contributes to a reassessment of the periodisation and the features usually regarded as typical of the 'Italian model' of charity and poor relief. It argues, in particular, that the importance of institutional forms of care and assistance has been exaggerated and the role played by outdoor relief for the poor and sick underestimated. Moreover, it emphasises the crucial function of the municipal government as agency of relief well into the early modern period.

A multitude of transitional water supply and distribution interventions are continually piloted in Kenya’s fast-growing urban settlements to meet national and global MDG targets, yet visible problems persist regardless of the investments made. This research evaluates the performance of four interventions led by public utilities and non- governmental organisations in the low-income settlements of Nairobi, Kisumu and Nakuru counties. To understand the service improvement received by the residents, this study used qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions and quantitative data from 1,168 household surveys. Service level analysis results showed making water more affordable using pre-paid technology reduced the effective price by 75% and increased consumption per household by 20 litres per day, resulting in the highest service progress. Improving water accessibility for the very poor via hosepipe door-step delivery reduced the burden on women carrying water by 43% although efforts failed to reduce the pricing structure, limiting the progress. Subsidised ‘first-time’ metered plot connections to increase the utility customer base experienced shortages in water supply and reluctance from landlords, restricting development. Despite showing no positive change, 81% of residents continued to rely on expensive self-supplied boreholes which were all contaminated. Although the utilities have made positive strides in service improvement, in the context of universal service this study has shown that the very poor remain the most difficult to access, forming the target of discrete interventions that experience difficulties in influencing a reliable supply, sustained price reduction and/or good water quality – essentially what is needed most. In investigating the longer term supply and demand shortfall, this study concludes that the equitable supply and innovative distribution of point source groundwater, with a bias for the poorest, could be the most resilient transitional solution for the utility to promote in the foreseeable future, out of necessity rather than desire.

In this study, extending credit to the low-income and poor households in South Africa: a system of principles is analysed. Access to credit plays a major role in improving the living standards of the households that are plagued by financial shocks. Access to credit enables the low-income and poor households to bridge the effects of financial shocks and/or emergencies such as illness, funerals, fire and theft and to improve household conditions in general. Currently, the low-income and poor households in South Africa find it difficult to access credit from the formal financial sector. The fundamental problem underlying inaccessibility of credit is ascribed to uncertainty, which presents complications in the delivery of such credit to the households. Different theoretical aspects like fundamental uncertainty, incomplete (asymmetric) information, limits to perfect arbitrage, bounded rationality, and market microstructures, for example, give rise to the uncertainty problem which then makes it difficult for formal financial institutions (as lenders) and borrowers to conduct financial transactions and, therefore, limits the provision of credit, especially to the low-income and poor households. The uncertainty problem implies that the low-income and poor households remain deprived of need-based credit and are further marginalised. The main objective of the study is to derive a system of principles that can act as a first point of reference in dealing with the uncertainty problem, thereby assisting in improving access to credit by the low-income and poor households in South Africa. The study adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods of research which are clearly expressed and substantiated to validate the study. To overcome the problem of uncertainty, the study recommends the development of a system of principles as a strategic instrument of dealing with the problem and to improve access to credit by the low-income and poor households in South Africa. Such a system is based on the seven principles, namely, socialisation, collateral substitution, decentralisation, localisation, customisation, training and government/judicial policies as an important benchmark to initiate the transformation of the uncertainty problem associated with extending credit to the low-income and poor households. The importance of such a system is based on the fact that the principles are interrelated, for example, they use peer pressure and monitoring as substitutes for collateral in securing credit and also minimises the transaction and administrative costs of financial contracts. Lending and borrowing activities take place under perfect and certain environment. / Dr. C.H. Schoeman

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 212-228). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX87034.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004. Directed by Gregory B. Lewis, Georgia State University. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 252-261).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Münster (Westfalen), 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [411]-432).

Childhood is a critical period of the life of human beings, and experiencing poverty at this stage can seriously hinder children’s development. A reliable measure of child poverty is the essential prerequisite for monitoring children’s living situations and for providing government with sound evidence for policy making. Despite the importance of the issue of child poverty, to date there has been no effective measure of child poverty in urban China. This study is an effort to fill this gap. In contrast to the conventional income-based approach to poverty, the deprivation approach initiated by Peter Townsend in the 1970s is able to offer a direct, non-monetary, and multidimensional lens through which to examine child poverty. On the basis of international definition of child poverty and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, in this current study the author constructed a child poverty measure — Child Deprivation Indicators (CDIs) — in China’s urban context. A quantitative approach was used and a survey called Child Poverty in Urban China was carried out in Beijing from October 2011 to March 2012. Employing a multistage sampling method, 1,000 households with children were selected to participate in the survey, and the response rate was 91%. After a process of indicator selection, survey, and threshold setting, 34 indicators covering six dimensions of children’s basic needs were chosen to constitute the CDIs. The six dimensions are diet, clothing, housing conditions, household facilities, education, and social interaction. Children lacking five or more indicators because of economic constraint would be identified as being deprived. According to the study findings, 12.7% of children were living in deprivation at the time of survey. The 34 items showed differing degrees of deprivation, ranging from 0.4% to 14.0%. Education and social interaction were the two dimensions demonstrating the widest deprivation. Significant and considerable differences were found between local and migrant children both in terms of deprivation rate and severity. Migrant children are seriously disadvantaged compared with their urban peers but they are not entitled to social assistance in cities. To further examine the newly constructed child poverty measure, the author compared the CDIs with two conventional poverty measures which are based on social assistance recipient status and on family income. Findings showed that they identified different groups of poor children with moderate degrees of overlap. In spite of this, the deprivation severities of children receiving social assistance or living in low-income families were significantly higher than those of non-recipient children and children from normal-income families, implying that these three different child poverty measures are closely related to each other. Several suggestions were generated to inform policy making and practice. First, government should raise the standards of social assistance and introduce child-specific assistance programmes. Second, migrant children should be treated equally to urban children and be entitled to social assistance. Third, in practice different child poverty measures should be utilized in conjunction with each other. Finally, with minor adjustments the CDIs can be utilized in other cities. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy