Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Compared with social conditions of developing countries'

Using the assumptions of various schools of thought on development as the theoretical framework, an attempt is made to examine the effects of foreign investment on the socioeconomic growth of 50 developing countries by means of multiple regression models that utilize some external and internal variables assumed to affect the growth rate of GNP. Results from these models indicate that new inflows of foreign investments and amounts of domestic investments are positively related to growth while accumulated stocks of foreign investments have no effect on growth. This suggests that development funds, designed specifically for increased domestic investments, would be the most effective way to increase GNP.

There is limited understanding of how both trends and determinants of neonatal mortality vary from post-neonatal mortality, and more specifically how health care variables are associated with deaths in the first month of life. In particular the association between care at delivery and neonatal mortality is difficult to determine: in developing countries many women only seek skilled care once complications arise, making poor outcomes more probable. It is therefore inappropriate to directly compare outcomes from those who did and did not receive care at delivery due to this heterogeneity between the groups. This three-paper PHD thesis attempts to address some of these issues. Chapter 1 provides an overview of what is known about the determinants of neonatal and child mortality, before developing a conceptual framework for the analysis of neonatal and post-neonatal deaths. Chapter 2 (paper 1) provides a comprehensive analysis of the quality of Demographic & Household Surveys (DHS) data, before describing how trends in neonatal mortality differ from post-neonatal mortality over the short- and medium- term. It then examines how the associations between gross domestic product and neonatal, post-neonatal and early childhood mortality at national level differ using both cross-sectional and longitudinal data. Chapter 3 (paper 2) uses DHS data from Bangladesh to carry out bivariate and multivariate analysis to determine how the determinants of neonatal mortality vary from those of postneonatal mortality. It also tries to identify groups of women who are at ‘high’ or ‘low’ risk from institutional deliveries and compares rates of neonatal mortality. The risk categories are based on socio-economic, maternal health and health care utilisation factors that influence whether or not they are likely to have planned their delivery care or sought hospital care only in the event of complications. Chapter 4 (paper 3) furthers this work using Indian DHS data by examining how the association between health care determinants and neonatal mortality differ by asset quintile, mother’s education and state-level access to professional attendant at delivery. In this chapter I also use instrumental variable methodology to overcome the problem of endogeneity between delivery care variables and neonatal mortality. This technique enables me to examine the association between professional assistance at delivery while adjusting for the heterogeneity between women who do and do not seek such care. Chapter 5 concludes with a summary of key findings, as well as outlining areas for further research in this area.

The HIV and AIDS pandemic has resulted in 14 million children being orphaned worldwide. In Lesotho alone, where this study was carried out, there are about 180 000 of these children (UNAIDS, 2007). Teachers, especially in Lesotho‘s primary schools need to be equipped to better deal with the challenges that result from having these children in their classrooms. At the Lesotho College of Education, where I have worked for 12 years as a teacher educator, pre-service and in-service student teachers are not trained to offer care and support to orphans and vulnerable children. They experience problems in the classroom emanating from the needs of these children. This study followed an action research design to find ways to support teachers to better deal with the issues they face as a result of having orphans and vulnerable children in their classes. Using a qualitative approach, educators perceptions, feelings, attitudes and experiences in dealing with orphans and vulnerable children in their schools were identified, and it became apparent that educators were negatively affected on a personal and professional level. It was concluded that the development of resilience in educators would help them to better cope with orphans and vulnerable children in their classes. The chosen intervention Resilient Educators Programme (REds) was implemented and evaluated and findings revealed that it was beneficial in increasing educator resilience. Recommendations, based on the findings of the study, were made for future teacher education in this area.

This study attempts to address the performance of military and civilian regimes in promoting socioeconomic development and providing military policy resources in the Third World. Using pooled cross-sectional time series analysis, three models of socioeconomic and military policy performance are estimated for 66 countries in the Third World for the period 1965-1985. These models include the progressive, corporate self-interest, and conditional. The results indicate that socioeconomic and military resource policies are not significantly affected by military control. Specifically, neither progressive nor corporate self-interest models are supported by Third World data. In addition, the conditional model is not confirmed by the data. Thus, a simple distinction between military and civilian regimes is not useful in understanding the consequences of military rule.

There is a growing consensus that the currently dominant economic practices, which excessively rely on incessant profitability‘, fails appropriately to value ethical components of environmental problems: valuation of bearers of intrinsic value (e.g. all creatures), or again bearers of inherent and instrumental value (e.g. species and ecosystems). This has led to a systematic defect in relevant decision-making with diverse associated economic, social and environmental disbenefits. Although the UN formulation of sustainable development (as opposed to the currently dominant development paradigm) provides us with guidance on formulating an alternative framework for sustainable development, it involves some serious problems. Some of these problems suggest the need for revisions, while others seem fatal to the definitions as they stand. This study argues that a different revision, suggested by the basic needs approach, can surmount the various problems, and present and defend a revised definition accordingly. The revised account recognises economic inequality and social injustice as the underlying causes for environmental injustice and thus appropriately focuses on the principles of environmental justice. This conveys a framework for corresponding systemically the interconnectedness between the seemingly competing aspects of sustainable development, the dynamic flux between development needs and environmental limits. I defend Attfield‘s version of biocentric consequentialism, which supplies a strong theoretical basis for such an ethically informed and comprehensive policy framework for sustainable development. Furthermore, I tackle different approaches to security and argue that it is hardly possible to attain a sustainable future,while disregarding the human security view in its wider sense. The study examines in close detail the applicability of the proposed policy framework for sustainable development to developing countries, with special reference to Bangladesh. It offers a list of recommendations for Bangladesh and concludes that a sustainable future for Bangladesh (and developing countries at large) is for the most part reliant on the successful implementation of recommendations of the broad general kind made in this study.

It is widely accepted as fact that the creation of a stable financial system is the catalyst which facilitates economic development and prosperity. However, developing countries which embark on a path of change often forget the cardinal rule: addressing the needs of those who suffer from poverty, inequality, and political strife. In other words, change starts from the ground up; not the other way around. First among the challenges facing these countries, is the need to change the lending rules followed by traditional financial institutions--banks and other private lenders--who are unwilling to provide their services to individuals with little income and few if any assets that can be used as collateral. Second, global organizations like the United Nations, World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund have failed to provide aid in a way that forces the creation of positive and sustainable change for fragile and destabilized societies. For this reason, many developing countries which receive financial aid are no better off than they were before the interventions occurred, and in some cases worse. Finally, other aid programs and even well-intentioned government efforts to reduce poverty fail simply because they are misguided. Too much attention and financial resources are devoted to grand schemes of long-term duration and not enough is given to impacting human lives in the present. In 1973, visionary economist Muhammud Yunus witnessed his beloved country of Bangladesh sinking into the deepest realms of poverty; much of its population in despair and left without hope of extricating itself from a bleak existence. The problem was compounded by the fact that its government was preoccupied with matters of State rather than those of its people; its financial institutions were oblivious to the pain and hunger which surrounded them, and international donors were simply giving away money without any form of control or direct involvement.; Out of this scenario, Yunus started with an idea that would alter not only his life, but the lives of people in Bangladesh and the world over: micro-finance. To this day, nearly every text written on the subject calls micro-finance a weapon in the fight against global poverty, but only a mere few recognize just how much of the gains made in this "fight" are attributable to the direct involvement of women in micro-financing. This thesis posits that while Muhammud Yunus created an idea for the benefit of "the global poor", it actually became a medium for the empowerment of women around the world. In fact, much of the praise awarded to micro-finance as success omit recognition of what should be obvious: the driving force behind the success of micro-lending is (poor) women. This statement does not seek to diminish the merits of an idea which has put a significant mark on the global economy, or to ignore the accomplishments of millions of men who through hard work have overcome poverty. However, what began as a genderless effort to help the poor of Bangladesh soon changed to one that overwhelmingly favored women. To this day, lending primarily to women has become the modus operandi of the microfinance industry for one reason above all: because women have proven they are a good business risk. The first part of this thesis will analyze the birth and development of the micro-financing system with special emphasis on its creator, Muhammed Yunus and the financial institution he founded for the purpose of implementing his idea, Grameen Bank. The second part will review the growth of micro-financing across the world with focus on Kiva, a web-based organization which represents the melding of micro-finance with 21st century technology. Finally, the thesis will look at Pro Mujer, a micro-financing organization which has successfully operated in Latin America for the last 20 years and developed a niche that expands the horizons of empowerment.
ID: 029808766; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.A.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113).
M.A.
Masters
Political Science
Sciences

This study analysed the representation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Mail and Guardian from 2000 to 2007. It drew on perspectives from cultural studies, the constructionist approach to representation and the sociology of news production. Through the use of the quantitative and qualitative research methods, content analysis and critical discourse analysis, this study established first, that few significant changes have occurred within the newspaper's coverage of the MDGs during this period, and second, that the people most affected by the MDGs and affiliated programmes are seriously under-represented and that the manner of representation marginalises and subordinates them.

The history of economic thought is ‘flooded’ with neo-classical accounts despite the fact that neoclassical economics did not occupy history alone. This has caused the discourses on ‘lost alternatives’ to be relegated as the deterministic ‘straight line’ neo-classical historical discourses are elevated. Globally hegemonic neo-classical discourse aided this phenomenon as it served to subordinate any counterhegemonic local discursive processes towards alternatives. This study is premised on the theme of non-neoclassical ‘lost alternatives’ using the post-apartheid South Africa as a case study. Emerging from the apartheid regime, the impetus towards non-neoclassical redistributive policies was strong in South Africa but this did not gain traction as the ANC’s ‘growth through redistribution’ was replaced by globally hegemonic discourse which favoured ‘redistribution through growth’. This thesis postulates the idea of two waves of ‘internal’ discursive formations; capturing the transition to democracy up to 1996 as the first wave and the period from 2005 to about 2009 as the second wave. The developmental state paradigm (DSP) emerged as the central heterodox paradigm with ideas such as industrial policy, welfare, and social dialogue/compacts being main elements. The DSP was expressly chosen in the early 1990s, the first period of strong internal discursive formation, but faded as neo-classical policies, epitomised through GEAR, dominated the policy space. The DSP discourse gained vitality in the second wave of internal discursive formation (2005-2009) and it was associated with the subsequent Zuma’s administration. The study illustrates that the DSP has failed to be fully developed into a practical framework but remained only at rhetorical level with the phrase ‘developmental state’ inserted into government policy documents and documents of ANC as a ruling party. The thesis further illustrates that the DSP fared well ideologically because of its inclination to the ideology of ‘developmentalism’ tended to trump any socialist inclined policies such as a generous welfare regime. The thesis rebuts the notion of the DSP in South Africa which has only been amorphously developed with the phrase ‘developmental state’ becoming a mere buzzword. The thesis argues that the DSP in the 21st century is much more complex and the growing ‘tertiarisation’ of the economy makes the Social Democratic Paradigm SDP’s capability centric approach much more relevant for South Africa. The study goes further to argue that a (SDP) is much more suitable alternative for addressing South African colonial/apartheid legacies and consolidation of democracy.

The purpose of this dissertation is to study the planning and budgeting processes in Jordan to determine whether the findings of Caiden and Wildavsky about those processes in other poor countries generally are applicable to Jordan. An attempt is made to answer the research questions by comparing data from national plans, budgets, and expenditures during a fifteen-year period (1970-1984). In Jordan, as in other developing nations, the role of planning and budgeting is highly significant to the success of the country's hopes for development. This research tries to evaluate the role of planning and budgeting as policy instruments in the process of development in Jordan. The second focus of the dissertation concerns the possibilities and problems of assessing the impact of governmental policies on development. Specifically, an assessment is made to determine the impact of governmental expenditures on development as evidenced in Jordan s gross national product during the last fifteen years. The following questions are addressed in order to examine the impact of government action on economic development. First, what are the impact and significance of government expenditures, as a combined measure, on the gross national product in Jordan? Second, which governmental expenditure areas provide the greatest contribution to an increase in the Jordanian GNP? Data for Jordan are compared with Caiden and Wildavsky's assumptions about planning and budgeting in poor countries, and conclusions are drawn about how planning and budgeting have influenced economic and social development in Jordan.

This thesis explores urban poverty and the adaptations of the urban poor in the slums of the megacity of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It seeks to make a contribution to understanding and analysis of the phenomenon of rapid mass urbanisation in the Third World and its social consequences, the formation of huge urban slums and new forms of urban poverty. Its focus is the analysis of poverty which has been overwhelmingly dominated by economic approaches to the neglect of the social questions arising from poverty. This thesis approaches these social questions through an ???urban livelihood framework???, arguing that this provides a more comprehensive framework to conceptualise poverty through its inclusion of both material and non-material dimensions. The study is based on primary data collected from slums in Dhaka City. Five hundred poor households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire to investigate the economic activities, expenditure and consumption, access to housing and land, family and social networking and cultural and political integration. The survey data was supplemented by qualitative data collected through fifteen in-depth interviews with poor households. The thesis found that poverty in the slums of Dhaka City was most strongly influenced by recent migration from rural areas, household organisation, participation in the ???informal??? sector of the economy and access to housing and land. Almost half of the poor households in the study locations were identified as ???hardcore poor???, that is having insufficient income for their physical needs. The remainder were found to be ???absolute poor???, those who experienced poverty and vulnerability but varied in their levels of income and consumption. This level of poverty was also characterised by their social, cultural and political marginalisation. In summary, the urban poor remain very much dependent on their household and social networking, the main social capital they use to adapt to life in Dhaka City. Overall, the urban poor in this study experience the highest level of poverty and vulnerability in their everyday life. The thesis argues that the experience of poverty in the megacity of Dhaka for these households follows the pattern of urbanisation without development, the very opposite to their expectations and aspirations.

Doctor Educationis
There is a wide-reaching consensus that data required for poverty analysis in developing countries are inadequate. Concerns have been raised on the accuracy and adequacy of household surveys, especially those emanating from Sub-Saharan Africa. Part of the debate has hinted on the existence of a statistical tragedy, but caution has also been voiced that African statistical offices are not similar and some statistical offices having stronger statistical capacities than others. The use of generalizations therefore fails to capture these variations. This thesis argues that African statistical offices are facing data challenges but not necessarily to the extent insinuated. In the post-1995 period, there has been an increase in the availability of household surveys from developing countries. This has also been accompanied by an expansion of poverty analyses efforts. Despite this surge in data availability, available household survey data remain inadequate in meeting the demand to answer poverty related enquiry. What is also evident is that cross sectional household surveys were conducted more extensively than panel data. Resultantly the paucity of panel data in developing counties is more pronounced. In South Africa, a country classified as ‘data rich’ in this thesis, there exists inadequate panel surveys that are nationally representative and covers a comprehensive period in the post-1995 period. Existing knowledge on poverty dynamics in the country has relied mostly on the use of the National Income Dynamic Study, KwaZulu Natal Dynamic Study and smaller cohort-based panels such as the Birth to Twenty and Birth to Ten cohort studies that have rarely been used in the analysis of poverty dynamics. Using mixed methods, this thesis engages these data issues. The qualitative component of this thesis uses key informants from Statistics South Africa and explores how the organization has measured poverty over the years. A historical background on the context of statistical conduct in the period before 1995 shows the shaky foundation that characterised statistical conduct in the country at the inception of Statistics South Africa in 1995. The organization since then has expanded its efforts in poverty measurement; partly a result of the availability of more household survey data. Improvements within the organization also are evidenced by the emergence of a fully-fledged Poverty and Inequality division within the organization. The agency has managed to embrace the measurement of multidimensional poverty. Nevertheless, there are issues surrounding xv available poverty related data. Issues of comparability affect poverty analysis, and these are discussed in this thesis. The informants agreed that there is need for more analysis of poverty using available surveys in South Africa. Against this backdrop, the use of pseudo panels to analyse poverty dynamics becomes an attractive option. Given the high costs associated with the conduct of panel surveys, pseudo panels are not only cost effective, but they enable the analysis of new research questions that would not be possible using existing data in its traditional forms. Elsewhere, pseudo panels have been used in the analysis of poverty dynamics in the absence of genuine panel data and the results have proved their importance. The methodology used to generate the pseudo panel in this thesis borrows from previous works including the work of Deaton and generates 13 birth cohorts using the Living Conditions Surveys of 2008/9 and 2014/15 as well as the IES of 2010. The birth cohorts under a set of given assumptions are ‘tracked’ in these three time periods. The thesis then analysed the expenditure patterns and poverty rates of birth cohorts. The findings suggested that in South Africa, expenditures are driven mostly with incomes from the labour market and social grants. The data however did not have adequate and comparative variables on the types of employment to further explore this debate. It also emerged that birth cohorts with male headship as well as birth cohorts in urban settlements and in White and Indian households have a higher percentage share of their income coming from labour market sources. On the other hand, birth cohorts with female headship and residing in rural, African and in Coloured households are more reliant on social grants. The majority of recipients of social grants receive the Child Social Grant and its minimalist value partly explains why birth cohorts reporting social grants as their main source of income are more likely to be poor when compared to birth cohorts who mostly earn their income from the labour market. Residing in a female-headed household, or in a rural area as well as in Black African and Coloured increases the chances of experiencing poverty. This supports existing knowledge on poverty in South Africa and confirms that these groups are deprived. The results of the pseudo panel analysis also show that poverty reduced between 2006 and 2011 for most birth cohorts but increased in 2015. Policy recommendations to reduce poverty therefore lie in the labour market. However, given the high levels of unemployment in the country today, more rigorous labour incentives are required.

Two recent developments dominate the political economy of Sub Saharan Africa -- the adoption of economic structural adjustment reforms and the emergence of pressures for the democratization of the political process. Economic reform measures have spawned civil society, made up of anti-authoritarian, anti-statist, non-governmental organizations, that demand political liberalization. This study is an attempt to analyze, theoretically and quantitatively, the unanticipated association between these developments. Democratic institutions inherited by Sub Saharan Africa at independence were subverted either through military coups or by the abuse and misuse of the institutions by an inordinately ambitious political elite. Thus, about a decade into independence more than three quarters of the sub continent virtually came under authoritarian rule. Contemporaneously there was a decline in the economies of these countries, forcing them to borrow from international financial institutions, in order to offset their balance of payment difficulties. By the mid-1980s most of Sub Saharan Africa had also instituted structural adjustment programs. Using a pooled cross-sectional time series model of analysis, data gathered from Sub Saharan African countries are analysed to test the explanatory power of the three extant contending theories of development: classical, dependency, and neoliberal. Then, most importantly, the analysis examines the relationship between structural adjustment, the development of civil society, and democratization. Overall, the results indicate that the institutional structures generated by, and the political millieu created by structural adjustment are conducive for the evolution of civil society and for its activities for democracy. This political opportunity, however, is also found to be dependent on the level of restructuring involved. The more the political system is restructured, the more the freedom of political participation by civil society, and the higher the level of democratization. The study found a very weak relationship between structural adjustment and economic growth, thereby calling into question many current economic policies. It further demonstrated that no one single theory had the advantages over others in explaining the dynamics of both political and economic development in Sub Saharan Africa and, by extension, in other developing countries.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Community Work in the Department of Social Work University of Zululand, 2000.
The purpose of this study was to assess the efficiency of womens' development projects particularly agricultural extension projects with the aim of investigating their administration and impact on womens' livelihoods. The central view held by this study was that the important role played by women and the potential to fulfil an even greater role has been overlooked to a large extent in South Africa. Although there are numerous organisations and projects aimed at development at the rural and community level, very little attention has been paid to the role of women and the enhancement thereof. Special focus of the study was on women only development projects as it was assumed that these projects are starting points from which developing areas can start a movement of planned development. It was discovered that womens' development projects are still having some flaws because the recognition of such projects is still lacking from the work of development planners. Essentially, the problem encountered among project participants was that of dual or multiple roles performed by women and such environmental problems like lack of access to markets, transportation and theft of produce. Training, management and organisation, empowerment and capacity building is still lacking in project participants. Basically those women who participate in projects do so from destitution. They are old, uneducated and poverty- stricken such that very little about these projects seems to be attractive and very little income is being generated from them The study revealed that an awareness of the importance of development of women has started to surface, and some efforts are being made to accommodate women and to raise them. (v) The critical view of extension projects was that they comprise strengthening the autonomy of women to alleviate poverty. This suggests that women should be brought fully into the development projects and must be given opportunity to put their abilities to full use at every stage of the development process. Extension projects must be seen therefore to be acknowledging this reality. To achieve this, womens' extension projects have to be reconsidered so that they lead to women becoming effective and efficient managers, administrators and decision -makers. Ongoing support and training is needed to ensure that the skills and expertise of women who are project participants are gradually being improved and they are afforded a chance to develop and have equal access to opportunities at all levels in the society.
National Research Foundation and University of Zululand

This is a dissertation on the socio-economic impact of poverty reduction in Lesotho. The major thrust of the study was to address the problem of low community participation inherent in development activities. This was triggered off by the high incidence of poverty in Lesotho. The researcher had prior belief that this was a result of low levels of community participation. The study was meant to contribute to knowledge and test research hypotheses and theories. It was proposed that various programmes or initiatives can improve the socio-economic condition of the rural poor through enhanced community participation. Interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions were used to elicit data from the respondents. Qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed in the collection and analysis of data. The research focused on three villages in rural Lesotho. These are Liphiring, Majapereng and Qhalasi, all found at Taung in the Mohale's Hoek district. Also, development professionals in government and voluntary agencies were consulted for information. The total sample of 158 respondents was used for the study. The results of the study indicate very low levels of socio-economic development in the three villages. Unemployment was found to be at the head of all malaises. It is strongly demonstrated that government programmes have failed to ameliorate the situation. The failures of subsistence agriculture and limited non-farm activities have led to greater dependence of the villagers on government aid. The study has noted poor organizational capacity resulting in political conflicts in the villages. In addition, the study unearthed poor co-ordination and lack of collaboration between government and other development agents in the anti-poverty project. Finally, the study uncovered that programmes respond poorly to villagers' needs. The majority of households are of one mind that government programmes need to be restructured in order to better serve their needs. In the main, the study has noted very little achievement in poverty reduction. This research has shown that this resulted from low levels of community participation and poor implementation of policies by the government.
Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

CIDA, the leading Canadian agency in the area of international assistance, is responsible for approximately 78% of the country's aid budget. The Agency's mandate to "support sustainable development in developing countries, in order to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world" indicates that the Agency is concerned with social and cultural factors. However, CIDA does not have any specific mechanisms or tools such as SIA to help achieve its social and cultural sustainability goals. The objectives of this thesis were: a) to develop an analytical framework for undertaking and analysing SIA, and b) to compare CIDA's SIA-related strategies, procedures and mechanisms as they stand now to what is stated in the literature, so as to indicate how and when the Agency uses them, and also to assess their quality and effectiveness. The overarching question that constituted the pillar of this thesis was a two-pronged question: Do CIDA's strategies, procedures and mechanisms equal SIA without being SIA? And are those strategies, procedures and mechanisms adequate to cover issues that are normally dealt with through traditional SIA? This question was answered through 1) the application of the analytical framework on two proposals submitted to CIDA, and 2) an analysis of CIDA's SIA-related procedures based on the framework, key informant interviews, and a review of the literature on the Agency's policies, guidelines, and practices. Based on the literature review, the application of the analytical framework, and on the comments of the informants, the need for an SIA-type procedure for assessing social and cultural effects and impacts for CIDA funding is suggested. Such a practice might very well clarify the Agency's requirements in relation to the consideration of social and cultural factors in the development of projects. Also, it is important to stress that the process should not be reduced to a bureaucratic procedure blindly applied. CIDA could go without formulating a distinct protocol for SIA, as it already has several project planning tools and procedures that could lend themselves very well to the purpose of SIA. Indeed, the Agency's results-based management (RBM) framework could be altered so as to make it more holistic in that it would take into consideration both intended and unintended effects and impacts, and would better take into account social and cultural factors. The application of the logical framework analysis (LFA) can also be expanded to achieve similar goals. Further, the Agency could focus on developing a more integrated and comprehensive type of impact assessment that would touch on all the required types of assessments.

Social capital, in broad terms, refers to norms, networks, trust and forms of social connections in societies that allows people to gain access to resources. This study involves a reconceptualisation of the concept of social capital. An overview of social capital literature reveals that economic needs are still dominant in both the theory and practice of development efforts that make use of social capital. It would therefore appear that the social capital paradigm is not balanced in that it does not clearly provide for the satisfaction of the diverse range of needs that people, particularly those in the rural communities, often experience. A resource-orientated approach is suggested in broadening the concept social capital to include the satisfaction of a wider variety of needs. An effort is made in the literature study, to capture the manifestations of social capital in different societies globally, with particular emphasis on community life in developing communities of the world. In addition, the discussion of social capital is deepened to include need satisfaction. A matrix of needs, as proposed by Max-Neef (1991), is used to argue that social capital would better be seen as a synergetic resource for the satisfaction of various needs. Instead of understanding social capital as a need, single satisfier, or as a `factor of production', an argument is put forward that such a conception of social capital is incomplete and inaccurate and that, instead, social capital should be understood as a multi-dimensional resource that can be used to service various needs of communities. Extensive fieldwork amongst agricultural producers in the Vhembe district of Limpopo provided ample evidence of social capital, although a precise fit with the mainstream theoretical perspectives was not found. The unusual profile of social capital reaffirmed the argument that social capital is present in different forms in rural developing communities and that social capital can best be seen as multi-dimensional because it has the ability to satisfy a wide variety of needs at different levels. Better use can be made of the concept of social capital by viewing it as multi-dimensional and linked to resources relevant to a wide variety of needs. Further research is needed if social capital is to be used by development planners.
Sosiale kapitaal verwys breedweg na norme, netwerke, vertroue en verskillende vorme van sosiale skakeling. `n Oorsig oor sosiale literatuur toon dat ekonomiese behoeftes die sosiale kapitaal teorie en praktyk domineer, veral tydens ontwilkkelingspogings wat gebruik maak van sosiale kapitaal. Hierdie studie behels `n heroorweging van die konsep sosiale kapitaal. Die sosialekapitaal - paradigma blyk ongeballanseerd te wees aangesien dit nie volkome voorsiening maak vir die verskeidenheid van behoeftes wat mense in landelike gemeenskappe dikwels ondervind nie. Deur die sosiale kapitaal konsep te verbreed, naamlik volgens die bevrediging van `n verskeidenheid van behoeftes, word `n hulpbrongebasseerde benadering tot sosiale kapitaal voorgestel. Tydens die literatuurstudie is gepoog om die manifestasies van sosiale kapitaal in verskillende samelewings van die wêreld vas te lê, met besondere verwysing na ontwikkelende gemeenskappe van die wêreld. Daarbenewens word die bespreking oor sosiale kapitaal spesifiek gekoppel aan behoeftebevrediging. `n Behoefte matriks, soos voorgestel deur Max-Neef (1991), is gebruik om te betoog dat sosiale kapitaal eerder as `n medewerkende hulpbron gesien behoord te word vir die bevrediging van verskillende behoeftes. Volgens hierdie siening word sosiale kapitaal nie beperk tot die bevrediging van enkele ekonomiese behoeftes nie. Hoewel uitgebreide veldwerk genoegsame bewyse van sosiale kapitaal opgelewer het, kon `n presiese ooreenstemming met die hoofstroom sosiaal teoretiese perspektiewe nie gevind word nie. Die ongewone profiel van sosiale kapitaal het die argument bevestig dat sosiale kapitaal as `n multidimensionele hulpbron verstaan behoord te word. Dit het die vermoë om `n wye verskydenheid behoeftes op verskillende vlakke te bevredig. Die konsep sosiale kapitaal kan beter gebruik word mits dit as multidimensioneel gesien word, asook gekoppel word aan hulpbronne wat relevant is aan `n wye verskeidenheid behoeftes. Verdere navorsing is nodig vir sosiale kapitaal om deur ontwikkelingsbeplanners gebruik te word.
Summary in Afrikaans and English
Development Studies
D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

This thesis discusses issues relating to development, sin and salvation. It examines the development visions of the Millennium Declaration and NEPAD Documents and compares them with the values of the Kingdom of God. It identifies some lessons from the Millennium Declaration and NEPAD Documents, and the Kingdom of God for the Union Baptist Church of Mozambique. These lessons are to help the denomination as it involves itself in the mission of the Kingdom of God in the community in Mozambique. The thesis argues that there is a relationship between the visions of the Millennium Declaration and the NEPAD Documents, and the values of the Kingdom of God on a number of issues such as the issues of sickness, orphans, vulnerability, gender inequality, poverty, the poor, hunger, unemployment, oppression, exploitation, wars, crime, violence against women and children, injustice and corruption. The Kingdom of God is about love, health, well-being for all, care, justice, unity and solidarity; harmony, life, peace, freedom, restoration, acceptance, righteousness, community, and salvation that includes both spiritual and physical salvation of the whole person both now in this life before death and after death. However, the thesis argues that the eschatological aspect of the Kingdom of God helps us see that sin is deeply rooted in human life, and even our best efforts at development will not rid the world of sin. The Church therefore has to remind society of this deeper sin, and to proclaim the gospel of the forgiveness of sins, while struggling with the evidence of that sin in poverty, sickness, injustice and violence. The church, especially the Union Baptist Church of Mozambique, has to be a key player in striving for Kingdom values. The church is called to holistic and integral mission. It should take a leading role in the issues that concern our people and society today, because that is doing the will of God. The commandment to love our neighbour as we love ourselves has to be expressed through our participation in integral mission, which is concerned with all human beings and all God's creation. The shalom of the Kingdom has to be experienced by all, and the church must be the means through which shalom is realised.
Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu- Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2004.