No description available.

No description available.

The objectives of this study were to explore adolescents’ perceptions and experiences of poverty and its associated stigma when at school and within their communities. The study attempted to do this by uncovering the effects of poverty on adolescents’ lives; exploring their understanding of the meaning of being poor; exploring how the poverty-related stigma impacted their self-esteem, identity and experiences of the world; and investigated the elements of stigma that maintain the social distance between adolescents from poverty-stricken households and their peers. The study employed a qualitative research design. It used a focus group approach in conjunction with participatory research techniques such as ranking exercises. The issues that the participants raised revolved around a lack of access to money and how this in turn resulted in a lack of access to many other things, which led to a low quality of life for poor children and youths. The definitions they gave of the concept of poverty made reference to a lack of access to things such as houses, food and money. Other indicators of poverty that were mentioned related to the physical and psychological manifestations of the problem. The causes of poverty identified by the participants could broadly be grouped into two groups, namely financial aspects, and personal and family aspects. The issues the participants raised relating to poverty indicated that many of the problems faced by communities, families and children affected by the AIDS pandemic are linked to poverty. Conclusions from the study demonstrated that poverty is multidimensional in nature and therefore affects children and their families in a multitude of ways. The results also showed that the issues mentioned by the participants were not just products of poverty but problems in their own right. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

This study provides a descriptive analysis of the destitute and homeless central Durban. A quantitative and qualitative examination was undertaken to present a description of both the objective and subjective conditions ofthe destitute and homeless population in central Durban. The quantitative analysis was based on survey data gathered by the eThekwini Homeless Forum over 2002. This survey data provided information for 637 respondents, which this study captured and analysed on data editing software. The qualitative data was collected through ethnographic interviews carried out within night shelters in central Durban. The quantitative analysis revealed the existence of a significant youth contingent within the population, with 15-19 year olds being the most represented. Further, the majority of the respondents report to have been on the streets for less than two years. Two interesting hypotheses for future study arise from this; has there been a massive recent influx of members of central Durban's street population; or does the population experience . significant recycling and rehabilitation of new members? The analysis further revealed that the majority of the destitute and homeless population are from KwaZulu Natal, pointing to a population whose members, for the larger part, have not experienced and massive displacement from their place of origin. The qualitative analysis revealed individuals who have had varying life experiences, and who at present have varying levels of aspiration; but nevertheless, would all benefit and react positively to an engagement from external organisations like the eThekwini Homeless Forum. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The main aim of this study is to investigate the poverty situation and outline a strategy for poverty alleviation in the rural area of Mashau. Mashau is one of the villages in the Limpopo province of South Africa and it forms part of the 70% of the country's most poor people who are in the rural areas. Chapter 1 of this study presupposed by way of a central theoretical argument that community based job creation projects that ensure the participation of all stakeholders, community members, government, traditional leaders, non-government and faith-based organizations and business people, can be a useful poverty alleviation strategy in general and also in Mashau. This should be implemented in line with the human centred approach. Each of the four objectives (1.3) comes under scrutiny in Chapters 2-5 respectively. The quest to investigate and assess the poverty situation at Mashau and to come up with a relevant strategy required a broader understanding of the economic and demographic context of the entire Republic of South Africa. That is why Chapter 2 of this study mainly focused on identifying the core variables that are used to measure levels of poverty in South Africa, whilst Chapter 3 focused on current strategic initiatives for poverty alleviation on the part of the government. Chapter 4 paid attention to the scale, manifestations and causes of poverty in Mashau. It became clear that the majority of people in Mashau are unemployed, lack the basics of life and are unable to access services. They depend mainly on government social grants and natural resources (small-scale farming) for subsistence. Although South African policies and frameworks for poverty alleviation are among the best in the world, they have failed the country's people regarding implementation. Mashau village is one of many examples of this neglect. The government has succeeded in building a small number of RDP houses and providing other services at a very low pace. But further than that, the Mashau people cannot experience and enjoy the beauty of South African economic policies and strategies for poverty alleviation. Chapter 5 suggests a relevant strategy for poverty alleviation at Mashau. The strategy proposed affirms the central theoretical argument outlined in Chapter 1. It may be concluded that the suggested strategy can only succeed if the implementation plan or program is put in place together with monitoring and evaluating systems. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

This thesis examines the concept of water cooperatives as an alternative model to create access, supply and manage water services in poor urban and peri urban areas. Two case studies from the Municipality of Moreno, Buenos Aires are presented in this thesis in order to account for the feasibility of the model. The primary data for this research is derived from participant observation, key informant interviews, household questionnaire-based interviews and archival research. The significance of researching water cooperatives is that they have traditionally been dismissed in regard to their potential of being a practical alternative to large water concessions and public run water services in the Global South. Research on alternatives such as water cooperatives is key, particularly in the face of growing de-privatization in the water sector in the province of Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area is an important case study for research on water governance because it was intended to be the World Banks model for which other countries would strive to emulate when reforming and improving water services by means of private concessions. The first part of the thesis examines the political and social history of water cooperatives in Argentina and the effects of privatization on the cooperative model. The second part outlines the theoretical advantages and disadvantages of the governance model and positions these theories against the realities of an existing water cooperative and a poor peri-urban community that has a strong affinity for implementing the model in their community. The two case studies presented in this thesis help to elucidate why the water governance model is able to serve poor peri-urban communities that otherwise remain unserviced by the traditional public or private water governance models. This is significant if we are earnest about providing water and sanitation services to all.

Earlier quantitative entrepreneurial studies with a focus on poverty rate has centred their arguments and analyses entirely on income differences which has resulted in a high poverty rate among self-employed. Their results shows that variables such as age, gender, hours of labour and structure of the household significantly affect the poverty rate among self-employed. In this study we aim the focus on material living standards instead of income differences, thus using a more representative approach while studying entrepreneurial poverty. The purpose of the study was to examine how personality traits (big five) affect the material living standards among the self-employed in Sweden, using a group of employed as a control group. Variables earlier known to affect the poverty risk among self-employed where used as control variables together with education and household income. With this new aspect on entrepreneurial research, we found that four out of five personality traits affect the material living standard among self-employed. Two out of the five personality traits, openness and extraversion, where found uniquely on self-employed. Among the control variables only gender and household income seemed to affect the material living standard, thus excluding the effect of age, hours of labour, education and household structure. This indicates that personality traits should be considered using while studying poverty among the self-employed.

Gauti rezultatai parodė, kad slaugomų sunkai sergančių asmenų ir jų artimųjų gyvenimo kokybė pasižymi tam tikromis ypatybėmis, tačiau slaugymo procesas, kaip veikla, nėra pagrindinis veiksnys, keičiantis gyvenimo kokybę. / Quality of live is individual evaluation of the status of very persons based on the ground of system of culture influenced by physical, psychological health, level of its independence and by communication between the persons and environment.

This thesis asks the following fundamental question: to what extent can economic and social rights be made effective through law? Because this question touches at once upon the effectiveness of these rights and on their status as norms of positive law, attempting to answer it requires first, an openness to other disciplines, and subsequently, to the question of the respect and control of these norms, namely that of sanction. From the outset, a preliminary and multidisciplinary analysis of the issue of contemporary poverty hints at an undeniable deviation with "pure legal theory". Moreover, economic and social rights are becoming more and more tangible in national legislation and more frequently invoked before the court (who is turn are showing a growing openness). 'Hard law' does have a place in this implementation, notably a symbolic one. Thus, the first part is dedicated to the determination of the role of 'hard law' as well as to the relevance of judicial activism. Given the limitations of 'hard law', the second part examines the issue of alternate courses of State action as opposed to any other demands for rights. Two forms of 'soft' and 'reflexive' law will then be examined in the interest of rendering economic and social rights effective: respectively from within the State, and from outside its framework. First, strategic planning (accompanied by outcome-based management) may serve to coordinate the State apparatus in the struggle against poverty. In what concerns the role of law at a societal level and in the context of a complex society, societal guidance will be preferred to impose strategic planning. In this way, it will be possible to shed light on other forms of sanction, which may be complimentary to legal ones. Finally, it is necessary to establish certain control and follow-up mechanisms of this category of rights, more relevant and innovative in order to garner a greater effectiveness of economic and social rights.