The use of participatory research techniques to provide policy-makers with information about poor people's perspectives on poverty became increasingly common in the 1990s. This book focuses on the use of participatory research in poverty reduction policies, and presents a series of participants' reflections on recent and ongoing processes. The 1990s witnessed a shift in the application of participatory methodologies, adding to the project planning approaches of the 1980s a new focus on participatory research for policy. Much of this centres on poverty issues. In this volume, contributions from researchers and practitioners in the field of poverty reduction examine how participatory research has affected the way poverty is understood, and how these understandings have been acted on in policy-making for poverty reduction. Coming from diverse backgrounds, the authors' critical reflections feature various aspects of the relationship between participation and policy, spanning different levels, from the individual researcher to the global institution. They address technical, ethical, operational, political and methodological problems. Through raising their concerns, they highlight lessons to be learnt from current practice, and challenges for the future. These include the balancing of knowledge, action and consciousness in participatory research processes which can effectively influence the development of policy that reflects and responds to the needs and priorities of poor people.

This book examines how black children, who grow up in an impoverished environment construct their social reality, and why this process is a particularly critical factor in their perception and creation of self.

"Poverty in Europe" synthesizes the author's exploration of the topic as presented at the twelfth Yrjo Jahnsson Lecture at the University of Helsinki. This three lecture collection confronts the serious questions surrounding the persistence of poverty in rich countries. It covers the topics of financial poverty in the European Union, the economics of poverty and exclusion, and the political economy of poverty.

This special issue of Educational Studies explores poverty and schooling. Divided into two sections of articles and book reviews, the papers address topics such as: the creation of an urban normal school - what constitutes quality in alternative certification?; children with disabilities; educating students about poverty and health needs; and more. The contributors include K. Burch, N.K. Mutua, L.R. Bloom, J.H. Romeo and M. Haberman.

Contents:
1. Poverty, Ethnicity and Achievement in American Schools: Bruce J. Biddle; 2. First Person Plural: Education as Public Property: Peter W. Cookson Jr; 3. Poverty, Welfare Reform, and Children's Achievement: Greg J. Duncan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn; 4. Linking Bordieu's Concept of Capital to the Broader Field: The Case of Family-School Relationships: Annette Lareau; 5. Defensive Network Orientations as Internalized Oppression: How Schools Mediate the Influence of Social Class on Adolescent Development: Ricardo D. Stanton-Salazar: 6. Family Disadvantage, The Self, and Academic Achievement: David DuBois; 7. Policy, Poverty and Capable Teaching: Assumptions and Issues in Policy Design: Michael S. Knapp; 8. Social Class, Poverty and Schooling: Social Contexts, Educational Practices and Policy Options: Peter M. Hall

Contents:
1. Introduction: social exclusion, partnership and local governance - new problems, new policy discourses in the European Union John Benington and Mike Geddes
2. Social exclusion and partnership in the European Union Mike Geddes and John Benington
3. Partnerships against exclusion in a Nordic welfare state: a difficult mix? Mikko Kautto and Matti Heikkila
4. Local partnerships and social exclusion in France: experiences and ambiguities Patrick le Gales and Patricia Loncle-Moriceau
5. Grassroots local partnerships in Germany: instruments for social inclusion and economic integration? Karl Birkholzer and Gunter Lorenz
6. Catalysts for change? Public policy reform through local partnership in Ireland Jim Walsh
7. Partnership and local development in Portugal: from 'globalised localism' to a new form of collective action? Fernanda Rodrigues and Steven Stoer
8. A new approach to partnership: the Spanish case Jordi Estivill
9. Local partnership and social exclusion in the UK: a stake in the market? Mike Geddes
10. Partnerships as networked governance? Legitimation, innovation and problem solving John Benington
11. Local partnerships, welfare regimes and local governance: a process of regime restructuring? Mike Geddes and Patrick le Gales

In his foreword, the president of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, states plainly and precisely the rationale for this volume. "Evaluation is a central aspect of any poverty reduction endeavor. Evaluation implies that we have adopted a methodology that allows us to look in an effective way at the results of what we are doing so that we can, in turn, adapt our future actions toward the effective achievement of our goals. Evaluation adds value if we can learn something useful from it. It is not just a scorecard. It is something that helps us change our behavior or influence the behavior of others." This high powered collection of papers illustrates this statement. The network of world class scholars and development practitioners covers the gamut from methodological issues to policy concerns with respect to participatory evaluation, poverty reducing growth, macro and micro levels of intervention, health, nutrition and population programs, social inclusion and the changing role of the civil society. The participants include major figures, including a Nobel Laureate as well as cutting edge policy makers. Poverty reduction is examined in innovative ways-utilizing state of the art techniques of the social and economic sciences. The editors and contributors emphasize "what works" in poverty reduction programs. They point to making interventions context specific with a holistic vision of the problem. Contributors emphasize social funds and safety nets, social services, crisis prevention, informal social security and insurance systems, anti-corruption programs, mobilization of the poor, and ultimately, the creation, where none existed in the past, of a workable civil society. In short, this volume lies at the intersection of development economics and political economy. It seeks to promote development effectiveness through social learning and problem solving. The volume is unabashedly focussed on pro-poor growth. It has its roots in a conference sponsored by the Operations Evaluation Department, an independent unit within the World Bank. The goals of evaluation are to learn from experience, to provide an objective basis for assessing the results of the Bank's work, and to provide accountability in the achievement of its objectives. Osvaldo N. Feinstein is a manager, and Robert Picciotto, director general of the Operations Evaluation Department. The World Bank is located in Washington, D.C. with offices throughout the developing world.

The last decade has witnessed a conspicuous alteration in policies protecting unemployed people in modern welfare states. Social policies are increasingly designed to encourage economic independence. Policy makers have introduced a wide range of reforms linking disability, unemployment, and welfare programs cash benefits to work-oriented measures. Welfare policies are being framed by a new emphasis on recipients' obligations, emphasizing that the receipt of benefits creates a responsibility to take action towards becoming self-reliant. The objective is to minimize the duration of dependence or improve the well-being of family or community. Activating the Unemployed addresses this growing interest in work-oriented measures. This represents a shift in the dominant discourse on social welfare from focus on the citizen's rights to social benefits to emphasis on their responsibilities to work and lead an active life. In this volume, a distinguished array of international contributors provide cross-cultural perspectives to analyze recent diverse policy initiatives to activate the unemployed in nine countries-Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Each provides a systematic account of the background, design, implementation, and results of employment-oriented measures. Collectively they permit comparison of organized responses to common problems in the areas of public assistance (welfare), unemployment, and disability, among others. Further chapters seek to broaden perspectives on policy options, the issues raised, and lessons learned in the course of activating the unemployed. This thorough and insightful account addresses significant contemporary issues and concerns about welfare, social security, and unemployment. It will aid policy makers, professionals, and scholars in assessing current trends in welfare in various countries throughout the world. Neil Gilbert is Chernin Professor of Social Services and Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, and Director of the Center for Comparative Study of Family Welfare and Poverty Research. Dr. Gilbert served as a Senior Research Fellow for the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva and was twice awarded Fulbright Fellowships to study European social policy. His numerous publications include 22 books and 100 articles that have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Public Interest, Society, Commentary, and other leading academic journals. Rebecca Van Voorhis is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Social Work at the State University of California, Hayward.

Poverty and race -- two of America's most salient, and seemingly intractable, domestic problems -- form the cornerstone of this volume. Featuring contributions by some of the most progressive thinkers on these subjects, the book focuses on the key questions as we begin the new century. From the possibility of achieving true integration (as opposed to mere desegregation), environmental justice, education and its role as counter to structural poverty, to the promise (and lack thereof) of recent anti-poverty policies, Challenges to Equality shines an unflinching light on some of the most important issues we face as a society.

Poverty and race -- two of America's most salient, and seemingly intractable, domestic problems -- form the cornerstone of this volume. Featuring contributions by some of the most progressive thinkers on these subjects, the book focuses on the key questions as we begin the new century. From the possibility of achieving true integration (as opposed to mere desegregation), environmental justice, education and its role as counter to structural poverty, to the promise (and lack thereof) of recent anti-poverty policies, Challenges to Equality shines an unflinching light on some of the most important issues we face as a society.

Most of the literature on revitalizing downtowns have been based on the experience of large urban centres. This book provides a starting point for understanding the unique development problems of downtown in small urban communities. It includes a series of case studies that examine some principles of downtown revitalization, urban design and infrastructure redevelopment, waterfront and brownfields redevelopment, and retail and commercial redevelopment.

In June 1848, two irregular armies of the urban poor fought a four-day battle in the streets of Paris that decided the fate of the French Second Republic. The Parisian National Workshops and the Parisian Mobile Guard-organizations newly created at the time of the February Revolution-provided the bulk of the June combatants associated with the insurrection and repression, respectively. According to Marx's simple and compelling hypothesis, a nascent French proletariat unsuccessfully attempted to assert its political and social rights against a coalition of the bourgeoisie and lumpenproletariat, represented by the Parisian Mobile Guard. Through a detailed study of archival sources, Mark Traugott challenges this interpretation of these events and proposes an organizational explanation.

Research has consistently shown that skilled artisans and not unskilled proletarians stood at the forefront of the revolutionary struggles of the nineteenth century. Traugott compares the social identities of the main participants on opposite sides of the conflict and sorts out the reasons for the political alignments observed. Drawing on work by Charles Tilly and Lynn Lees, Traugott demonstrates that the insurgents were not highly proletarianized workers, but rather members of the highly skilled trades predominant in the Parisian economy. Meanwhile, those who spearheaded the repression were little different in occupational status, though they tended to be significantly younger. Traugott's "organizational hypothesis" makes sense of the observed configuration of forces. He accounts for the age differential as a by-product of the recruitment criteria that Mobile Guard volunteers were required to meet. Finally, he explains why class position creates no more than a diffuse political predisposition that remains subject to the influence of situation-specific factors such as organizational affiliations.

Armies of the Poor helps clarify our understanding of the dynamic at work in the insurrectionary turmoil of 1848 in particular and in the great waves of early industrial revolutionism in general. It now is a standard interpretation for subsequent research on the French Revolution of 1848. Armies of the Poor will be of interest to historians seeking a re-interpretation of a major revolutionary episode and social scientists considering a re-examination of Marx and Engels' hypotheses of the roots of political mobilization and protest.

Open and distance learning has been used in many ways in the recent past to provide both primary education and adult education. The Commonwealth of Learning works with governments, schools and universities with the aim of strengthening the capacities of Commonwealth member countries in developing human resources required for their economic and social development. Many existing policy documents link distance education with new information and communication technologies, portraying them as a promising universal access and exponential growth of learning.
This book reviews world experience in order to answer key questions about open and distance learning in basic education. It is the first major overview of this topic for twenty years.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203187628

This title was first published in 2000: Analyzing the poverty trends in Mexico during the 1980s and early 1990s, this work is concerned with the extent to which changes in the levels of poverty have modified the extent of participation in the labour market. The period covered is 1982 to 1994, when the Mexican economy experienced an economic crisis and the government set in motion the main stabilization policies and structural adjustment reforms. The author challenges the idea that adjustment reforms have had "social costs" in terms of income and formal employment loss. Despite income losses, well-being indicators continued to improve; and employment statistics show that employment grew despite the economic crisis and adjustment. The paradox of household income decline and the increase in income poverty is explained.

First published in 1997, this volume looks at the rationale for, the implementation of, and the economic and social effect of the World Bank Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) in Ghana from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. It shifts the focus from a primarily economic evaluation of these programmes and includes issues such as their impact on vulnerable groups within the Ghanaian society and on poverty in general. Therefore, it must be asked whether the 'ordinary Ghanaian' has gained anything from any wealth creation in Ghana. The book will be useful for both academic and policy purposes.

The studies collected here centre on the social and economic life of medieval Germany, within a broader European context. The first three articles engage the day-to-day workings of rural society: literature, verbal attack and the language of mediated settlement of conflicts lead to a nuanced view of social hierarchy, in which the meek too have a say. The next group examines some major elements of rural life, dealing with technology, resources, ecology, transport, communication and credit. In the second part, the author focuses on the life of the Jews in Germany, first charting the process of settlement of Jews in Germany, the dynamics of social stratification and household composition, and the impact of economics and persecution on settlement patterns. A case study uncovers the motives and steps that led up to the expulsion of the Jews of Nuremberg in 1498. These themes are followed up into the early modern period, when German Jewry mostly came to live a village life. The last studies deal with the economic history of medieval European Jews, including professions other than moneylending, and with the function of women in economic life.

This work explores the lives and literacies of different generations of people living in Spitalfields and The City at the end of the 20th century. It contrasts these two square miles of London, which outwardly symbolize the huge difference between poverty and wealth existing in Britain at this time. The book presents a study of living, learning and reading as it has taken place in public settings, including the school classroom, clubs, places of worship, theatres, and in the home. Over fifty people recount their memories of learning to read in different contexts and circumstances. Eve Gregory and Ann Williams contextualize the participants' stories and go far to dispel the deep-seated myths surrounding the teaching and learning of reading and writing in urban, multicultural areas. The result is both poignant and highly significant to the study of literacy.

Open and distance learning has been used in many ways in the recent past to provide both primary education and adult education. The Commonwealth of Learning works with governments, schools and universities with the aim of strengthening the capacities of Commonwealth member countries in developing human resources required for their economic and social development. Many existing policy documents link distance education with new information and communication technologies, portraying them as a promising universal access and exponential growth of learning.
This book answers the key questions to these issues and assesses the impact and effect of the experience of basic education at a distance all over the world and in a wide variety of forms. This is the first major overview of this topic for twenty years.

'The alleviation of poverty and the protection of the environment are both critical challenges for the vindication of basic human rights for all of humankind. This relationship is however not necessarily an easy one. While there is an inextricable link between poverty and the degradation of the environment, a sophisticated analysis of a problem needs to deal with those cases where the need to increase economic opportunity for poor communities may appear to conflict with fragile ecosystems or the preservation of traditional practices. This collection provides the most sustained engagement with these problems. Drawing on the expertise of a range of distinguished authors, this book presents the reader with an integrated global engagement with these problems. In doing so, it represents a landmark effort towards the creation of a coherent literature to deal with one of humankind's most pressing challenges.' - Dennis Davis, Judge of the High Court, South Africa This timely book explores the complex relationship between the alleviation of poverty and the protection of the environment. There is every reason to believe that these issues are in many ways interdependent. However this book demonstrates that there are situations where alleviation of poverty and the protection of the environment appear to be in a fraught relationship. The contributing authors illustrate that the role played by law in this relationship, whether at the international or national level, will vary depending on the situation and will be more successful at pursuing environmental justice in some cases than in others. This interdisciplinary study will appeal to academics and students in environmental law and other environmental disciplines, environmental policy makers and NGOs interested in issues of poverty, environment and indigenous peoples. Contributors: C.D. Aceves-Avila, D. Behn, K. Bubna-Litic, M.A. Cohen, E. Couzens, J.J. Gonzalez Marquez, S. Gruber, O.F. Jauregui, M. Kidd, Y. Le Bouthillier, P. Martin, A. Mumma, L.C. Paddock, C.G. Pring, G.W. Pring, S. Sabzwari, D.N. Scott, D. Shelton, S.L. Smith

'Skilfully packaged papers ... the book represents a rich and comprehensive documentation of the current status.' - Building Research & Information

'Deserves to join the other essential texts on the bookshelves of all those concerned with eradicating fuel poverty'. - Energy Review

This study, first published in 1993, analyses the relationship among poverty, food insecurity and commercialization in rural China by employing agricultural household models. Data are derived from a 10,000 household subsample of the annual rural household consumption and expenditure survey.

This study addresses the experience of, and responses to poverty in a range of transition economies including Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Romania, Albania and Macedonia. It covers topics such as the definition of poverty lines and the measurement of poverty; the role of income-in-kind in supporting families; homelessness and destitution; housing; the design, targeting and administration of welfare; and personal responses to economic transition.

As urban populatiCC'lS in developing countries oootinue to grow rapidly, cne of the nest critical issues in the Third W:lrld has beoane p:rovidirYJ shelter and other basic services such as clean water, heal th clinics, and sewage disposal to the urban poor. This book of nine case studies of urban programs and projects in Ind:oesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Korea, India, and Sri Lanka focuses en impediments to slum upgrading. The authour discuss each project's evoluticn, the capabilities and resources of inplenenting agencies, the problems of interagency relaticoships and coordinaticn, costs and funding, the difficulties of developing effective linkages with poor cx:mnunities, and the accessibility of the new services to the urban poor.

Unemployment is one of Southern Europe's most serious political problems. Though much has been written about unemployment's causes and cures, systematic attention to its consequences is lacking. This collection of original essays deals with the effects of unemployment on regimes, parties, immigrants, economies and families, highlighting the differences and the similarities among Southern European states and offering lessons about the profound human consequences of unemployment in general.

The individual and institutional capacities required for the prevention and reduction of nutritional insecurity and hunger in lesser-developed countries as the twenty-first century approaches are identified in this book. Household nutritional "security" can be defined as the successful
The essays in this book champion the idea of increasing, or scaling up, grass roots operations to provide nutritional security, while scaling down the efforts of national and international institutions. Scaling up involves strengthening local capacities to improve and expand upon current successful programs by building upon existing local culture and organizations. This, in turn, enables the programs to strengthen relationships with national governments, international bilateral/multilateral donors, as well as non-governmental organizations. Scaling down concerns the ways and means by which these various organizations encourage and complement the local development. Therefore, as local capacities are scaled up, the national/international control over decisions and functions is, ideally, scaled down. The volume also directly addresses the resultant complication: how to create programs that are both culturally specific and that will flourish well into the future.