Conditions Of Poor People Research Articles

The struggle and Islamic patriotism of Sunan Kalijaga in folktales of Central Java, Indonesia

This study aims to describe and explain (1) the hero figure and his worldview in the folktales ‘The Legend of Sunan Kalijaga’ and ‘The Legend of Ki Ageng Pandanaran’; and (2) Sunan Kalijaga’s struggle and patriotism in the two folktales. This research is an exploratory qualitative research. The data of this research were two folktales of Central Java and informants. Data collection techniques by analysing two folktales and notes on the results of interviews with informants. Data analysis was then employed in the interactive model. The results revealed that the hero figure in the two folktales was Sunan Kalijaga. Sunan Kalijaga faced deteriorating social conditions, that is, the condition of poor people and rulers who acted arbitrarily towards the people by collecting high tributes, who were extravagant, and who only focused on personal wealth and power. In the face of deteriorating social conditions, Sunan Kalijaga had a world view of Islamic religious humanism. Islamic religious humanism means humanising humans according to their role as abdullah and khalifah on earth. In addition, the Islamic struggle and patriotism of Sunan Kalijaga were shown in efforts to spread Islam as a rahmatan lil alamin [religion that aims to give universal love to fellow human beings and the universe and is opposed to violence against fellow humans and the universe] by emphasising tasawuf, makrifat and dakwah.Contribution: This study contributes to conveying the development of Islamic teachings in Indonesia, which were disseminated by Sunan Kalijaga as rahmatan lil alamin, not Islam that developed through methods and teachings of violence.

ARCHITECTURAL EXEMPLIFICATION OF SOCIAL SPACE FOR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS ON SOCIAL WELFARE

Purpose: The aim of this work is a study of the existing structure of social buildings in the Russian Federation and determination of the main directions of social space development for several generations on social welfare. A number of social problems is discussed as well as the improvement of living conditions of poor people on social welfare due to modernization of the existing social building typology. A new structure of social building development is proposed for several generations on social welfare.Design/methodology/approach: The development of the social space structure for several generations is based on the data collection. Theoretical and practical studies include the existing experience of social buildings formation for younger and older generations as well as the experience of creating living environment for several generations in common. Apart from the analysis of the existing experience, a socio-economic analysis is conducted, which will determine further demands for investigations of the issue.Research findings: It is shown that the problem of interest is underexplored, especially in the Russian Federation. However, the research findings in the field and related fields demonstrate the suppositions of the social space exemplification for several generations on social welfare. The problem of lonely people on social welfare, a lack of unity and understanding between people are the most important problems in the modern society. Thus, from the architectural viewpoint, it is crucial to build a social space for communication and interaction of people in the Russian Federation.Practical implications: The research results will assist in the formation of a new type of social buildings which will be further designed and constructed in the cities of Russia. The structure of social buildings will consist of subtypes depending on the needs discovered. The needs of people who live in a specified area will contribute to the formation of the functional structure. In this lies the potential to create the structure which will lead to the implementation of certain stages in the social buildings construction.Originality/value: It is possible to determine and rationalize basic principles of social space exemplification for several generations. The proposed strategy can be used to create a social space for several generations in cities of Russia. However, the process will be unique for every single area. The basic steps of the social space development are shown for several generations. The detailed analysis will allow using these steps to solve the problems posed. As there is a variety of factors in the social buildings formation which influence the existing stages, it is essential to study them. This will lead to eliciting some stages and modernization, or using just one of the stages, according to a structural scheme of a certain area. Finally, this research is a tool for further strategy development. The research results will help lonely people to find a family and, secondly, become meaningful members of the society. Moreover, it will provide them with comfortable accommodation.

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger: A Socio –Political Study of Poverty and Injustice

Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize winning debut novel The White Tiger is sharp, fascinating, attacks poverty and injustice. The White Tiger is a ground breaking Indian novel. Aravind Adiga speaks of suppression and exploitation of various sections of Indian society. Mainly a story of Balram, a young boy’s journey from rags to riches, Darkness to Light transforming from a village teashop boy into a Bangalore entrepreneur. This paper deals with poverty and injustice. The paper analyses Balram’s capability to overcome the adversities and cruel realities. The pathetic condition of poor people try to make both ends meet. The novel mirrors the lives of poor in a realistic mode. The White Tiger is a story about a man’s journey for freedom. The protagonist Balram in this novel is a victim of injustice, inequality and poverty. He worked hard inspite of his low caste and overcame the social hindrance and become a successful entrepreneur. Through this novel Adiga portrays realistic and painful image of modern India. The novel exposes the anxieties of the oppressed.

Role of Civil Society in Poverty Alleviation and Social Inclusion in India: Challenges and Expectations

Without amelioration of the living conditions of marginalized section of a nation, the goals of development and the process of nation building cannot be achieved and completed successfully. These have been the indispensible conditions of progressive development of a nation state like India. In India as the former growth-oriented strategies of development have failed to make or bring significant improvement and amplification of socio-economic living conditions of poor people entirely, the fundamental role of the state has been reconsidered to mitigate the difficulties of poverty, socio-economic inequalities and unemployment. Following this, in the last part of twentieth century a new perspective of governance has come into existence. In this new perspective many national governments of developing countries like India have started to adopt such policies and strategies of development which are likely to alleviate the distress of poverty and make social inclusion of the marginalized sections. Curtailment of the role of Government and the extension of the role of civil society organizations and NGO's has been suggested in this new perspective to meet these ends. In India, it has become clear in recent years that the effectiveness of efforts to achieve human development goals depends largely on the quality of its governance and the extent to which its governments interact with civil society organizations to accomplish these goals. Moreover, the central government has started to allocate a plenteous part of national budget to local authorities, as the greater role of the civil society organizations can be achieved to solve the harsh realities. This paper intends to analyze the role and objectives of civil society organizations and those principles and processes through which the civil society organizations in decentralized governance have been working for eradication of poverty and social inclusion of poor people, especially the village dwellers. It also focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the state and civil society organizations in this area along with the various challenges and possible outcomes.

Social capital and poverty of the wage‐labour class: problems with the social capital theory

Social capital, understood as norms of reciprocity and associational life, is supposed to provide a bottom‐up approach to poverty alleviation world‐wide. The World Bank says that social capital is a necessary condition for long‐term development and that social capital is the capital of the poor. This paper will argue that much of the literature is too sanguine of the benefits of social capital for the poor. It is, of course, important to look at the extent to which social capital can help the poor. But how the conditions of the poor people can also affect their social capital is equally important to examine, and this has often been neglected by many scholars who have been busy to prove that social capital is a new paradigm of development. Based on qualitative interviews in two rural areas in Orissa, eastern India, this paper seeks to examine whether and to what extent poor people of the daily wage labour class benefit from their social capital. It then goes on to unpack the mechanisms in which the economic‐political conditions under which poor people live and the spatiality of these conditions affect the production of social capital. By seeking to unpack the dialectical relation between social capital and poverty, the paper aims at problematizing the overly optimistic claims about social capital. It shows that it is untenable to posit social capital as an independent variable and poverty as a dependent variable because the economic‐political conditions of poor people have an enormous constraining effect on social capital itself and its supposed material benefits for the poor.

Introduction: Food policy, food aid and economic adjustment

In this introduction to Food Policy's special issue the guest editors look at the various ways in which food policy, food aid and economic adjustment can interact to mutual advantage. As developing countries pursue economic adjustment strategies to compensate for the unprecedented world recession, concern is being expressed about the condition of poor people in low-income countries and the need for ‘adjustment with a human face’. With increasing amounts of aid resources being used for adjustment programmes, interest has grown that food aid should also be used more purposefully to support the adjustment process.