School of People Environment and Planning

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    Communicating poverty : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Philosophy, major in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2003) Pimentel, Maria Oliva Bernadette P
    Poverty is a major problem in the Philippines. Different policies and programs have been instituted to address it. Each administration designs its own program according to its definition of poverty and this serve as historical footnotes to their administration. Communication is used as a strategy to generate awareness and secure people's acceptance of poverty policies and programs. However, it has been used as a political tool to enhance an administration's image. More open forms of communication need to be developed to avoid political patronage. The study examined the poverty alleviation policies and programs of the government and attempted to gain a deeper understanding of how these were implemented. Subsequently, it assessed the role communication plays in the delivery of these programs. The research yielded a wealth of data that links poverty, communication and programs. The study reveals that people's conditions affect their capacity to gather and receive information. In their dire conditions their information needs revolve around their wellbeing, livelihood and security. Likewise, the poor rely on handed-down information and search for other forms of communication such as mass media to confirm the information. The nature of communication remains top-down despite the democratic setting, as barriers prevent unfavourable information to reach the top. The sifting of information takes place, filtering out failures of programs, which may in turn affect the image of the Presidency or the administration. The free flow of information has yet to truly manifest character. The study identified several strategies to implement this. Interpersonal communication is one of the best methods and tapping the local officials to serve as the conveyor of information, can be maximised. Several trends regarding poverty as well as communication have surfaced in the last few years. It could be summarised that the poor people's participation in the crafting of programs that affect their lives is an important aspect. It is therefore paramount to establish linkages and open communication lines between them and the government.
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    Banking on foodbanks for poverty alleviation? : a critical appraisal of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practices : a thesis presented in (partial) fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Leslie, Helen Margaret
    Foodbanks entered New Zealand's voluntary welfare sector in the early 1980s when structural adjustment programmes, introduced by the fourth Labour Government, resulted in an increase in poverty amongst certain groups in New Zealand society and concurrently placed greater responsibility on the voluntary sector for the provision of welfare services. While previous foodbank research has focused on examining the issues related to the utilisation, development and growth of this voluntary welfare provider throughout New Zealand, this thesis aims to take such enquiry a step further by analysing the effectiveness of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practice in the alleviation of poverty in New Zealand society. It achieves this task through the application of a theoretical model utilising contemporary development theories and approaches to the data obtained through fieldwork with four Palmerston North Foodbanks. These are: the Salvation Army Foodbank, the Palmerston North Foodbank, the Saint Vincent de Paul Foodbank and the Saint Mary's Foodbank. The conclusions deduced from this process will show firstly, that development theory (traditionally reserved for the analysis of development practice in developing countries) is appropriate to the analysis of Palmerston North foodbanks' development practice and secondly, that although the majority of these foodbanks display some features of the community development mode of development practice referenced in the theoretical model, the mode of development practice most dominantly used is a relief mode. This relief mode of development practice is ineffectual in the long term relief of poverty. The challenge issued is for foodbanks to move towards the articulation of an alternative development mode of development practice which seeks not only to effectively alleviate the very real poverty experienced by foodbank clients, but also to sustain this alleviation.
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    Housing, the state and urban poor organisations in metro Manila : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1996) Storey, Donovan
    This study has sought to place housing into social and political contexts of analysis. It suggests that the failure to house the urban poor is a result of particular political systems in operation throughout the Third World. In particular, the system of neopatrimonialism is forwarded to explain the logic of many Third World regimes and to describe the nature of their relationship with society. Civil society is neither passive nor stagnant however. The proliferation of community organisations and Non Government Organisations in the South is testimony to this. Many feel that these actors may create enough pressure to challenge current development directions. Whilst this study supports this argument it is qualified support, as the nature and direction of this change is not clearly understood nor apparent. In examining these processes research was conducted in Metro Manila during 1994. There is strong evidence to confirm the endurance of neopatrimonialism in the Philippines and its effect on the logic of politics and the character of state-society relations. There are also clear connections between the historical development of the Filipino state and the housing crisis. In looking at the response of social actors, two urban poor organisations are studied in a comparative context, as is the role of an intermediary NGO. This study finds some support for the argument that NGO/UPO alliances are more progressive and impactive than 'traditional' UPOs, though there is evidence to suggest there are as many similarities as contrasts. UPOs that operate within urban or national social movements may be involved in change, though it is still unclear whether this is progressive or will be at the forefront of social and political transformation. While UPOs play an important role in civil society, expectations of their place in an 'alternative society' should still be circumspect and cognizant of the adversities these groups confront.
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    Poverty in three villages in Papua : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Development Studies at Massey University
    (Massey University, 2006) Rumbewas, Spener
    The principal objective of this thesis is to explore the issue of poverty in selected research sites in Papua. This objective is broken down to four questions: how is poverty understood, how is it measured, what are its causes and how is it alleviated? Two approaches were utilised to investigate the above questions. Macro level investigation was based on exploring data available in the official publications while the micro approach was based on fieldwork carried out in the selected sites. The results of the first approach are examined in chapters two, three and four, and the second approach are discussed in chapter five, six, seven and eight. In relation to the first question, the macro exploration found that poverty is understood mainly in terms of a lack of basic components of life such as income, consumption or basic needs. Understanding poverty from this approach normally uses the poverty line, which is set up based on these items, to separate the poor from the non-poor. According to this line, poverty refers to those people whose consumption falls below the line while the rest are non-poor. This view looks at poverty from one dimension that is an economic dimension. Hence, it does not provide a complete picture of human poverty, which covers not only the economic dimension but also others such as vulnerability, powerlessness, isolation, and a lack of choice. The micro investigation adopts a poverty understanding stemming from the experience of the poor. This investigation found that the poor understand poverty from what they feel to be lacking in their environment. In this approach, poverty is a lack of assets, in particular natural, physical, human, social and financial assets. Nonetheless, those affected by poverty argue that their poverty is not related to nature, but to physical, human, social and financial assets. This view seems to offer a broader picture of human poverty and hence, it is useful for formulation of or as a basis for a poverty reduction policy. With regard to the second question, the macro approach found that poverty measurement employs a quantitative measurement of both items and methods. The quantitative items can include income, consumption or basic needs (food and non-food), which are valued in monetary terms. The quantitative methods apply statistical techniques such as headcount index, poverty gap index, poverty severity index and others to measure poverty. This measurement only considers the quantitative aspect and, therefore, it does not pay attention to the qualitative aspect of human poverty. The micro approach on the other hand, attempts to amalgamate both aspects into a poverty measurement. One of the approaches that attempts an amalgamation of the two is the participatory approach, which is utilised in this study. Although it is a qualitative-based approach, it still opens the window to the use of quantitative approaches. The micro approach seems to offer some benefits such as giving more depth of information regarding human poverty, directly touching the lives of the poor, and facilitating a bottom-up policy to alleviate poverty in the local context. In the third question, the macro exploration demonstrates that structural forces such as agents, class and institutions bring about poverty through their policies, programmes and rules. The micro investigation on the other hand, shows that individual characteristics and a lack of assets contribute to poverty. This investigation sees that poverty at the micro level is a result of the mutual operation of structural forces, individual characteristics and a lack of assets. With regard to the last question, both approaches demonstrate a variety of polices to eliminate poverty as discussed in chapters three, six, seven, eight and ten. One framework for a poverty reduction strategy is the Asian Development Bank (ABD) three pillars strategy: social development, pro-poor growth and good governance. However the emphasis is for government commitment and the political will to alleviate poverty. Some experts underline this as a prerequisite to implement a poverty reduction policy because, as they argue, without this the policy will either not exist or will develop only very slowly. The selected sites experienced poor environments in terms of infrastructure, poor education and skills, poor health and nutrition. This is indeed a manifestation of poor government policies as identified by the poor. From the poor's point of view, it was found that all participants in the fieldwork identified poor policy as a contributing factor of poverty they experienced. This was also justified by looking at the ranking of institutions they gave. In these rankings, government institutions were generally given a rank of less importance by the poor. Participants stated that these institutions were not trusted and were not effective in providing support to the poor.