This dissertation studies the role of education and training in job creation and poverty alleviation in the Sicelo Township. The study focuses on three areas, namely, unemployment, poverty and education and training. The actual state of unemployment and poverty in Sicelo is determined and the role of education and training in solving the problems of unemployment and poverty is discussed. Unemployment is identified, amongst others, as a major determinant of poverty. The main component of any policy aimed at eradicating poverty should therefore focus on employment creation. Education and training is found to be important in labour force participation, finding employment and, therefore, in alleviating poverty. Across both genders, individuals with a low level of education have less chance of finding employment than those with a higher level. Both unemployment and poverty is measured and a profile of the poor in Sicelo is given in terms of several household-level indicators. To measure poverty, the following tools are used: the household subsistence level (HSL) as poverty line, the headcount index, the poverty gap and the dependency ratio. The dissertation shows that Sicelo, compared to Bophelong, experiences lower unemployment rates as well as lower levels of poverty. Most of the indicators show that households in Sicelo are better off than Bophelong. From the analysis it is clear that a high percentage of the poor population have only a primary or incomplete secondary education, which could therefore imply that the lack of education (especially higher education) is a contributing factor to unemployment and poverty in Sicelo. Hence this study shows that access to education is clearly a key component, not only for human resource development, but also of an individual's ability to cope with modern living and to benefit from available opportunities. The unemployment rate amongst the poor was determined at 61.7 percent for Sicelo and the number of poor unemployed persons estimated at 908. If the poor unemployed with skills could be assisted in acquiring further training in the same field in which they already have skills, job opportunities could possibly be found in catering, retail trade, building construction, sewing and welding. Assuming that jobs for all 908 unemployed poor persons in Sicelo could be created at an average monthly income of R600 per month, the impact on the Sicelo community would be that the headcount index would be reduced from 0.50 to 0.23 and the poverty gap index from 0.37 to 0.22. This implies that the percentage of households below their poverty lines would be reduced from the present 50 percent to only 23 percent, and the average shortfall in income of the poor households would be reduced from 37 percent to 22 percent. More training and/or higher qualifications may lead to an increase in the average income, which will result in the reduction of the headcount index. Finally, the dissertation concludes that investing in education and training indeed can create job opportunities and reduce unemployment. This conclusion was drawn from the contention that uneducated individuals have fewer employment opportunities than their educated counterparts. Educated people have also a higher income earning potential, and are better able to improve the quality of their lives. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

This dissertation studies the social cost of pollution in Leitrirn, which is a township in the Vaal Triangle area. Policies and technologies that may be implemented to reduce pollution inc poor communities are also discussed. The study focuses on three areas namely pollution unemployment and poverty. Leitrim experiences a high rate of both unemployment and poverty. Residents in this area also experience high levels of pollution. Compared to Rathanda township which is more rural. Leitrim is worse off in terms of unemployment poverty and pollution. Unemployment is a major determinant of povert in Leitrim. The main component of a policy aimed at alleviating poverty in Leitrim should therefore focus on employment creation. Unemployment and poverty are defined and measured in this dissertation and the poor in Leitrim are profiled in terms of their gender qualification employment, unemployment and their spending methods. For measuring poverty the Household Subsistence Level (HSL) is used as poverty line to determine the headcount index and the poverty gap. Pollution is identified as one the factors which affect the wellbeing of the poor negatively. Reducing the k\el pollution will therefore also reduce the depth of poverty in poor communities. This dissertation focuses on the following types of pollution: land-based pollution (littering), dust pollution, noise pollution and air (indoor smoke pollution & air pollution from coal fire) pollution. Alternative technologies such as BM implemented in full scale can reduce the level of air pollution by more that 50 percent. It will also reduce the monthly household expenditure of poor households on coal by at least J.5 percent. / Thesis (M.Com. (Economics))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2006.

[Truncated abstract] As a developing country, Indonesia has been struggling with complex and contentious development issues since Independence in 1945. Despite remarkable economic achievement during the New Order period (1966-1998), poverty has persisted and the benefits of development have been unequally distributed. Social welfare — the system of social security to protect the well-being of the weaker members of society has received little attention in Indonesia, both from the state and from the scholarly community. The historical neglect of social welfare in Indonesia has begun to be addressed recently, with the Social Safety Net (SSN) initiative. SSN is a social welfare program that was launched by the government of Indonesia to mitigate the deleterious impacts of the economic crisis that hit the nation in 1997. This thesis aims to assess how the SSN accommodated the needs and aspirations of poor women, particularly those who live in rural areas. The rural poor deserve attention because poverty in rural areas is widespread and often intractable, and because poverty in rural areas tends to be more invisible than in urban areas. The urban poor are more visible, because they are “in the face” of the powerful every day, and they are more likely to be able to access agencies of power than the rural poor.

Black Theology uses the Exodus episode as its locus classicus for its view of God' s preferential option for the poor and the oppressed. The purpose of the dissertation is to determine to what extent Black Theology is scripturally justified in doing so. The investigation concludes that - i) the use of a praxis 'claimed to be Christian' in the hermeneutic of Black Theology, becomes questionable and unconvincing in that there is an illogical vacillation between a self-determined praxis-horizon and a text-horizon and that, ii ) when some aspects of Black Theology are measured using constraint criteria suggested by Kelsey, Black Theology exceeds the limits of acceptability by taking the exodus event as the locus classicus for the slogan that God is always on the side of the poor and the oppressed. While for some Black theology is indeed an important new stage in theologizing it must however be remembered that liberation theology, in Africa at least, is still in its infancy. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / Th.M. (Old Testament)

The aim is to explore how community participation can situate beneficiaries to discover and commit to what they need for the future in northern Ghana. The methodology used was observational, descriptive, qualitative and quantitative, cross-sectional and longitudinal survey. A convenient sampling method was used for the community and district selection process. Respondents were randomly selected to ensure equal opportunity for all those available at the time of the interview. Eight communities were used from the three regions of northern Ghana in which community-based pro-poor interventions by interventionists have either completed or are still in process. The participatory, reflective and participatory rural appraisal, techniques were used in the data gathering. The results show that 57% males and 43% females participated in the study. The study shows that 95.2% respondents from Northern region, 93.3%, from Upper West region and 88.7% from Upper East region participated more in NGO than government led activities. There were five main findings of the research. First, 61% of respondents give high priority to farm credit, boreholes/wells and dams. Respondents claim to gain maximum benefit from these interventions more. Second, 92.4% of respondents from the eight communities participate more in activities organised by NGOs for personal gain and motivation. Third, 53% of all target respondents participated actively at the implementation stage of the participation process. Fourth, there is low investment in the area of school, road and dam projects in the study communities. Only two of the eight communities benefited from a school or road project, and three out of eight communities benefited from dam projects. Fifth, 57% males against 43% females participate in pro-poor intervention activities in the eight communities. As a contribution to knowledge, the thesis shows community members in northern Ghana participate in activities when there is immediate motivation (either in cash or kind) or when projects border more on their main occupational areas. The thesis recommends that Government facilitates community members to demand the right to take active part in the participatory process in all pro-poor interventions in their communities. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

The new democratic government in South Africa introduced an education system that focused on quality and equality for all. The introduction of the new education system intended to remove inequality in the schooling system. The new education system was been accomplished through phasing out school fees and introducing a no-fee school policy. The aim of the no-fee school policy was to redress the imbalances of the past and to attract the poor and orphans to access education without paying mandatory fees (Wilderman, 2009:32). The no-fee policy came with interesting ideas for relieving pressure on both parents and learners. It attracted many learners who had dropped out of school in many years. This led to a dramatic increase of enrolment in no-fee schools. However, Borkum (2009:1) sees the disadvantages of the increased enrolment as overcrowding that reduces the quality of education, increases lawlessness in schools, and insufficient resources such as textbooks. The major challenges faced by these schools is the delay in releasing provincial funds, inadequate state funding, and loss of income from school funding. These make no-fee schools vulnerable, affecting quality of education and influences on the enrolment pattern of learners (Nsapato, 2007:2). Against this background, the study aimed to investigate factors influencing poor enrolment in a no-fee school in the foundation phase and to suggest strategies that could be used to overcome these challenges. The study adopted a qualitative research method and its design was a case study. Four educators were purposeful selected on the basis of three years teaching experience in a no-fee school in the foundation phase. Data collection strategies were semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Data analysis was done according to a systematic process of coding and categorising. Gathered data was categorised into constituent parts for coding purposes. Ethical issues considered were the following: permission to conduct the study, informed consent, confidentiality, and anonymity. Participants’ confidentiality and anonymity were maintained by using pseudonyms in the report. The voluntary nature of participation and the absence of punishment for withdrawal from the study were emphasised prior to commencement of the semi-structured interviews. The issue of trustworthiness in this study was considered through the following: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability. The data analysis from semi-structured interview revealed the following: the no-fee school policy has a negative impact on parents because parents were no longer involved themselves in the education of their children. The overburdened infrastructure has a negative effect on quality of education and the enrolment status, deterioration of quality of education in no-fee schools force parents to withdraw their children and register them to better schools, cooperation amongst stakeholders is necessary for the improvement of quality of education, teachers’ remuneration should also be improved and the maintenance of professionalism through discipline. Findings from document analysis revealed that poor enrolment in no fee school was caused by high rate of absenteeism in all registers. This compelled educators to withdrew learners’ from class registers hence poor enrolment figures in no fee schools. Staff meeting minutes revealed that enrolment of learners in no-fee schools could be improved through improvement of teaching and learning and the provision of adequate infrastructure and the reinforcement of the no-fee school policy packages such as the National School Nutrition Program in order to attract more vulnerable learners to these schools. Based on the findings, the following strategies are recommended for improving poor enrolment in no-fee schools: strengthening collaboration amongst the stakeholders in education; maintenance of discipline; enforcement of professionalism among teachers; continuous training of all stakeholders; and punctual disbursement of funds to no-fee schools. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Over the last century, developing countries have undergone rapid urbanisation resulting in marked social, economic and environmental changes. Africa is the least urbanised continent in the world but trends indicate that it is also the most rapidly urbanising region, accompanied by rising urban poverty. Urbanisation processes are often most pronounced in smaller urban centres since they experience the most severe pressures of population growth. Little is known about the role natural resources play along the rural-urban continuum and even less is known about the contribution of these resources within an urban context, particularly in small urban centres. In many sub-Saharan African cities, urban agriculture (the informal production of food in urban areas) has been used as a strategy to cope with increasing poverty levels but its role remains widely debated and uncertain. This thesis seeks to analyse the impacts of urbanisation on livelihoods and natural resource use, including home gardening and the collection of wild resources, in two South African towns and data was collected along the rural-urban continuum in Queenstown (Eastern Cape province) and Phalaborwa (Limpopo Province). Practices and contributions associated with agriculture and wild resource use were found to be significantly higher in Phalaborwa and this could be attributed to favourable environmental conditions and accessibility to wild resources due to the surrounding Mopani Bushveld. Rural households in Queenstown and Phalaborwa were more reliant on natural resources than their urban counterparts, but still diverse and incorporated a number of land-based and cash income generating strategies. Urban households tended to rely on one primary cash income strategy such as wage employment or state grants. However, natural resources did appear to play a subtle role in urban settings and particularly in the townships, where exclusion of natural resource contributions saw poverty levels increase up to 5%. Home gardening was practised by a wide range of people and not restricted to any one income group and, not surprisingly, wealthy cultivators who had access to resources such as land, water and fertilizer enjoyed increased benefits such as high produce yields. The results obtained suggest that rural-urban dynamics are complex and natural resource use in local livelihoods is contextualised within environmental settings, social preferences and historical contexts. Increasing pressures from the influx of people into small urban centres calls for a better understanding to how these processes are affecting livelihoods and natural resources to ensure sustainable management in the future.

Thesis (MTech (Architectural Technology))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Informal settlements are increasing in the cities of the global South in line with the rapid rate of urbanisation that is taking place in countries of this region. The growth of informal settlements in these countries has been exacerbated by factors that are unique to this region, factors such as scarcity of resources, colonial legacies and rapid urbanisation. Cape Town, a city that relates to the global South both in terms of geographical location and socio-economic context, has also seen a rapid growth of informal settlements, particularly in the last two decades. Like other cities in this region, Cape Town has ambitions of being regarded as a global city. Global cities are modelled on cities of the global North such as London, New York and Tokyo. Beyond the economic prestige that is generally associated with the cities of the global North, the imagery that they conjure up is also seen as an inspiration to be emulated by cities across the world, and it does not include informal settlements. As such, informal settlements generate a host of attitudes. Attitudes towards informal settlements don’t just emanate from political authorities, but emanate from across the spectrum that constitutes inhabitants and interest groups in these cities, including the creators of informal settlements themselves. These individuals and interests, according to their social standing and thus influence, have varying degrees of agency in the matters related to informal settlements. The aim in this study is to probe the effect of these attitudes on housing delivery to the poor. Attitudes not only influence the choice of what is regarded as the norm, but also how any entity that is regarded as the ‘other’ is evaluated. Almost without exception, cities that have been characterised by large numbers of informal settlements have attempted, without success, to eradicate informal settlements from their urban fabrics. An overarching assumption in this study is that the resilience of informal settlements says something about their necessity, and the failure by some, to recognise this necessity or the utilitarian value of informal settlements is influenced by attitudes. This research is done by first using a literature review to elucidate on: • the social condition, that is, the phenomenon of informal settlements, • the relevant theories applicable to the academic field the thesis is anchored in (architecture) and other social orders impacting architecture such as modernism, • the construct of attitudes and its impacts on beliefs, evaluations and perceptions on the affect of objects. The Joe Slovo informal settlement is then used as an analytic case study to investigate the effects of attitudes on the dynamics that have seen the site being transformed into what had been conceived as a prototype for transforming informal settlements to formal housing. The study shows that such transformations, although often carried out in the name of changing the lives of the inhabitants of informal settlements, do not necessarily entail them remaining at the site post its transformation. In the case of Joe Slovo, it actually resulted in a sizeable number of the original inhabitants being relocated to a new, less favourable site.

Examines the use of Information and Communicative Technologies (ICT) by high school students from economically-disadvantaged households to complete homework assignments. Results of a survey of 240 high school students at an urban, inner-city high school located in Southern California, indicated, (1) the Digital Divide is narrowing among social classes, as most students reported having Internet access from their homes, (2) students willingness to embrace new uses of ICT in their studies, (3) the speed of completing homework was increased through the use of ICT multi-tasking and the use of search engines and, (4) computer maintenance issues were not a significant hindrance, as most students have some basic computer literacy skills.

This thesis shows that because the Poor People’s Campaign was created by and operated within the formal structure of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) - a nonprofit organization - it was unable to achieve success by almost any measure. SCLC’s organizational structure made it extremely difficult to create a national campaign from the ground up, and its leadership strategy guaranteed that it would be virtually impossible to sustain that kind of national campaign.