M.Tech. / South Africa is one of the countries in the world that has delivered the highest number of houses to the poor through various delivery mechanisms. This was done to fulfill her vision of adequate housing for all, as reflected in the National Housing Policy framework. Over the last fifteen years, the African National Congress [ANC] led government has vigorously ensured that essential services were made available to advance the lives of ordinary people. Since 1994 to date, about 2 700 000 houses have been delivered, providing more than 13 million people with secure homes. One of the housing strategies, as contained in the National Housing Policy of 1994, was to provide subsidy assistance to low income groups to enable them to become home owners and improve their quality of life. The Housing Subsidy Scheme, adopted as the channel of delivery, has to date helped reduce the housing backlog and is tending to reach the goal of eradicating informal settlement by 2014. This research work is an evaluation of the post-occupancy experience of housing subsidy beneficiaries. The study evaluated satisfaction levels of subsidy beneficiaries, what beneficiaries actual do with the subsidized houses after they have been allocated to them, to ascertain if the subsidized houses have improved the beneficiaries’ lives. It also evaluates if the progressive strategy of housing to South Africa citizens is being realised; as well as determining government commitment in maintaining these houses. The methodology used for the study was both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative research was conducted in four already established housing subsidy locations in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province of South Africa. A structured questionnaire with dichotomous, multiple choice, scaled, matrixtype and open-ended questions was used to conduct interviews and obtain data during the survey. Findings from the study revealed that the progressive strategy of housing is successful in fulfilling its vision to supply adequate housing to all its citizens. However, beneficiaries are not satisfied with the subsidized houses, because of the units’ sizes. Also, defects occurred in the houses delivered. These defects include roof leakages, cracks in walls, lack of finishing internally and externally, and defects in roof trusses. The cause of these defects was a result of poor quality control mechanisms put in place by the Department of Housing. Lastly, it was also revealed that the government has no plans in place to prevent slum conditions in the subsidized housing areas, by means of a well structured maintenance system. Based on the findings from the study, it is recommended that the Department of Housing and administrator of subsidized housing units in Gauteng should conduct a complete and thorough needs analysis of the beneficiaries of a proposed housing subsidy development, it is also recommended that government should provide as wide a choice of housing and tenure options as is reasonably possible. This can be achieved through the rental housing option. It is further recommended that the Gauteng Department of Housing should set up an independent section to carry out monitoring of subsidized houses during construction and formulate an appropriate maintenance culture that will help in encouraging beneficiaries to maintaining the subsidized house. In addition, the Department of Housing should move beyond the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as contained in the South Africa Constitution, to the use of the housing to improve the lives of the citizens and lastly, the Gauteng Department of Housing should conduct more post-occupancy evaluations of housing subsidy beneficiaries’ experiences. By conducting more POE, the Department of Housing will be well informed of the satisfaction levels of the occupants whether the house is up to standard, if the houses have improved the lives of occupants and what actually they are doing with the houses once they are allocated to them.

Educational and societal demands have drawn much attention to child care issues in America. Two pieces of legislation have had a tremendous impact on many society issues, but none more profoundly than that of center-based child care. Few societal issues have the potential to have such a dramatic impact on the lives of children, especially low-income children, as child care. The awareness of the importance of child care was also heightened by the scientific discoveries of brain development. The overwhelming results of the discoveries in brain development include the nature of learning and the importance of the critical periods in brain development. Scientists have neurological proof that the years before kindergarten are the most important years of development in a child's life. These are the years that a growing number of children, especially low-income children, are spending in child care. Research has documented the importance of early childhood experiences for not only educational achievement but also for adult outcomes. In spite of what is known about child development and the benefits of quality child care for healthy child development, many children do not have access to quality child care services. Although the benefits of quality child care are most evident with low-income children, they are the least likely to receive high quality child care services. The purpose of this study was to gather baseline data on the condition of child care services for low-income children in Mississippi as it existed in 2001. In doing so, the sample consisted of 100 child care centers that participated in the Partners for Quality Child Care Project. This descriptive study collected data using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised, the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale, and the Caregiver Interaction Scale. The findings suggested that overall child care for preschools and infant/toddlers was minimal. This level of child care meets the basic standards of health and safety without much opportunity for many developmentally appropriate experiences. However, an investigation of the caregiver interaction as measured by the Caregiver Interaction Scale revealed that there was some evidence that caregivers in 2001 provided care that was warm and supportive.

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M.Com. (Business Management) / Mobile marketing has rapidly grown during the past years, and will continue to grow with advancements in technology, enabling mobile phones to be used for much more than simple calls and personal text messaging. This study investigates how a mobile marketing company, Mobitainment, can successfully communicate, through mobile marketing initiatives, with the lower income segments. The various characteristics of the lower income segment are understood, and the possible strategies that Mobitainment can implement, are established. Strategy is a crucial element in every business unit of an organisation. The marketing department is no exception. Porter’s Five Forces model provides the basis from which companies can get to understand their operating environment prior to developing the appropriate marketing strategy. It is through the marketer’s understanding of the consumer behaviour as well as the various message appeal factors, that the appropriate mobile marketing message can be designed. The study used a mixed research approach in that both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to address the objectives. The qualitative part of the study entailed the use of semistructured interviews in order to collect information from marketing managers working in different mobile marketing organisations. The quantitative part involved the administration of a questionnaire on consumers in the LSM 4 to 6 segments. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted and a hundred and forty questionnaires were distributed. The questionnaires were distributed to individuals in Tsakane, Daveyton, Springs and Johannesburg. The quantitative data was analysed using two main tools, descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis, whilst the qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the quantitative study found that many of the individuals in the LSM 4-6 segments own mobile phones which are able to perform the functions found in smartphones such as send and receive emails as well as access the Internet; the LSM 4-6 segments do not have a strong attitude for or against mobile marketing; mobile marketing communication has an influence on the buying behaviour of the LSM 4-6 segments; the message appeal factors are a crucial part of driving consumers to make a purchase, and ‘relevance’ has the strongest influence on the LSM 4-6 segment’s buying behaviour. The results of the qualitative study show that there are several challenges that Mobitainment can face when targeting the lower income segment such as the literacy levels of the lower income segment and survey fraud. SMS, USSD, MMS, IVR and Mobile Applications were identified to be suitable strategies to implement when targeting the lower income segment. The above strategies ‘fit’ with the preferences and buyer behaviour of the LSM 4-6, and the recommended strategies can be used with discounts, vouchers and other incentives to drive the buying behaviour of the LSM 4-6.

Inquiry skills in young low-income children may be an important point of intervention for promoting school readiness and later academic achievement. The current study aimed to investigate and measure the inquiry skills of low-income preschoolers. In a newly-designed, game-based assessment (the Inquiry Game), children were instructed to ask questions to determine a target picture among an array of pictures varying by color and object type. Asking constraint-seeking questions that use color and object type to eliminate multiple pictures is a more efficient strategy (and thus evidence of greater inquiry skills), in comparison to asking about a specific picture. One hundred and sixty Head Start preschoolers’ inquiry skills were assessed using the Inquiry Game at three time points. Data on children’s problem solving, math, language, and literacy skills were also collected to examine concurrent and predictive validity of the measure. Results revealed that asking about one picture at a time was the most popular strategy at all time points; however, children asked more efficient questions in the winter and spring when compared to performance in the fall. Analyses revealed a relationship between inquiry skills and vocabulary, verbal reasoning, and matrix reasoning ability. Results, as well as future directions, are presented and discussed.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-55).

The issue of “subdivided units” has aroused the attention of general public in recent times. It commonly refers to individual living apartments being subdivided into two or more smaller flats for rental purpose. These subdivided housing are often existed in old buildings with crowded living condition, poor hygiene standards and lack of fire safety facilities, which have therefore posed health and safety hazards to thousands of their residents who have no alternatives but to endure this poor living environment due to the financial limitations. In view of the growing public concern towards the issue of subdivided units due to the happening of several tragic cases in recent years involving subdivision of apartments, the government has announced the proposal of a licensing scheme or landlord registration system in early September, 2013 for regulating the safety and hygiene situations of subdivided flats. By examining the current condition of the subdivision of housing units in Hong Kong, the goal of this study is to explore the underlying causes of the subdivision of flats and the implications of this housing issue to the community of Hong Kong. In order to do so, the study first explains the development of subdivided housing in Hong Kong, including the brief history of urban development and housing policy of Hong Kong resulting to subdivision of units, and the development of subdivided housing in the global context is also covered. The environment of subdivided flats is also studied in details, including their building structures, fire safety facilities and environmental hygiene conditions. Then the conceptual framework of the study is going to be discussed, which is to investigate the reasons contributing to the emergence of subdivided units in Hong Kong, in which this study is focused on examining the relationship of “market failure” of housing market and the emergence of subdivided units in Hong Kong. Questionnaire survey is done on the tenants living in subdivided units, which both legal and illegal subdivided units are covered in the survey, whereas an in-depth interview is conducted on the landlord operating the rental business of subdivided dwellings. The next chapter describes and analyses the findings of the survey and in-depth interview. The perspectives of the stakeholders including tenants and landlord of subdivided flats are revealed on their reasons of living in and operating the business of subdivided housing, their evaluation of the living conditions and safety of subdivided flats, their feedbacks towards the Licensing Scheme of subdivided units proposed by government as well as their recommendations for resolving the problem of subdivided flats. The conceptual framework – the relationship of “market failure” phenomenon of housing market and the emergence of subdivided units in Hong Kong will also be discussed based on the analyzed data. Finally, this study ends with the implication that the emergence of subdivided housing is contributing to multi-factors, such as lack of public rental housing units, geographical proximity and astronomically high housing prices. However, among these factors, market failure is considered as the dominant factor of driving the residents, especially lower class to select residing in subdivided dwellings. In view of the analysis result, recommendations are made for assisting policy makers to resolve the subdivided housing problem in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

The rate of persistence among low-income college students continues to lag far behind that of high-income college students (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Mortenson, 2007). Research cites academic and social integration along with economic, social, and cultural capital affect college students’ ability to persist (Bourdieu, 1986; Tinto, 1993). Low-income college students possess lower levels of capital and are six times less likely to persist than their high-income peers (Mortenson, 2007). This qualitative study explored the experiences of low-income college students who have forged a path to success through their persistence. The role of resilience was explored as resilience aids individuals in overcoming adversity. Through an interpretivist lens and a conceptual framework based on social, cultural, and economic capital, this study used phenomenology to add to the literature on student persistence by researching low-income college students and the role of resilience in their lives. / text