Perceptions Of Poverty Research Articles

Rural Poverty and its Consequences in Structurally Weak Rural Areas of Austria from the Mayors’ Perspective

Abstract Poverty, material deprivation and marginalization are widespread phenomena in rural areas and since the 1980s, the subject of geographical research. In this paper, we combine the (spatial-related) aspects of rural poverty and quality of life when the perception and evaluation of poverty by local decision makers (mayors) is linked to their efforts to keep the municipality vital. The specific focus on the “inner view” on poverty illustrates the complexity of the issue: It is not only the well-known difficulty to identify the extent of rural poverty and deprivation in rural municipalities as statistical data and the “hiddenness” of poor people obstruct an objective view on it but also the individual perception of decision makers. The results from 40 mayors of structurally very weak (rural) municipalities in Austria reveals limitations of political dealings with poverty and marginalization and sets the context for a reinterpretation of public services on the background of the politically much favored civic engagement.

Impact of the National Health Insurance Scheme on Drugstores and Traditional Medicines in Ghana

Ghana established a pro-poor hospital-based National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004. Since the introduction of the scheme, limited research has been undertaken on its impact on Ghana’s healthcare options, which consist of traditional medicines, commercial pharmacies (drugstores) and faith healing. This paper draws on an ethnographic study conducted in the Daakye District of Ghana, and argues that although the NHIS has led to increased patronage of hospital-based treatment, the other healthcare options remain popular. Interrelated factors, including poverty, remoteness and cultural perceptions, were found to be drivers of the popularity of the non-hospital healthcare options. This paper seeks to contribute to recent discussions in the Ghanaian media on the government’s intention to integrate traditional medicines into Ghana’s healthcare delivery system.

‘You Would Eat It If You Were Hungry’. Local Perceptions and Interpretations of Child Food Poverty

Research has shown that local food poverty reduction programmes have reached only a fraction of potential recipients and uncovered several reasons why those in need find access difficult. Here, through the example of a school‐holiday meals provision, we examine the providers and what impairs their effectiveness to react to the problems of food‐deprived children. The factors that emerged from interviews are as follows: an inappropriate perception of food poverty as a problem, the consequent inaccurate evaluation of need, and the consideration of parents’ ?deservingness’. More state action is required to eliminate these problems and ensure the equal access to provision.

Global Crisis, Development and the Emergence of Women Voices = Crisis global, desarrollo y la aparición de las voces de las mujeres

Abstract. Since the Seventies, the theme of development has gathered increasing attention from women, both of industrialized Countries and the Global South. This paper aims to provide a historical reconstruction of how and why women participated to this process, as well as to what extent they influenced the mainstream sector of development and defined alternative and more radical positions.Women academics, activists and development practitioners entered the development process after a pairs of decades: since the post-World War II the “development discourse” has been shaping the international agenda, the objectives to be realized for the improvement of life conditions, as well as the common perception of poverty and the concept of crisis. Until the Eighties, the development theorists assumed as universal the vision of woman –with related interpretation of their needs and roles– commonly shared in Europe and United States. In reply to this, emerged a the own position from the Global South, as a result of a intellectual emancipatory effort. This was a milestone for the transnational movement that encompasses different considerations of women’s roles in development.The concept of gender empowerment, that emerged within the current alternative movements, was later assumed at the Beijing Conference. This paper examines the different declinations this concept has assumed since then.Keywords: development, international cooperation, agency, gender empowerment, gender equality, feminism.Resumen. Desde los años setenta, el tema del desarrollo ha atraído la atención de las mujeres, tanto de los países industrializados como de los países del Sur. La intención de este estudio es dar una visión sobre la reconstrucción histórica de cómo y por qué las mujeres participaron en este proceso, así como en qué medida influyeron en el sector de desarrollo dominante y definieron posiciones alternativas y más radicales.Las mujeres académicas, activistas y profesionales del desarrollo entraron en el proceso de formulación de desarrollo después de dos décadas. Desde la posguerra, el “discurso del desarrollo” ha ido configurando la agenda internacional, los objetivos a alcanzar para la mejora de las condiciones de vida como la percepción común de la pobreza y el concepto de crisis. Hasta los años ochenta, los teóricos del desarrollo asumieron como universal la visión de la mujer –y la interpretación de sus necesidades y roles– comúnmente compartida en Europa y Estados Unidos. En respuesta a esto, surgió una postura propia del Sur Global, como resultado de un esfuerzo emancipatorio intelectual. Este fue un hito para el movimiento transnacional y feminista que abarca diferentes consideraciones del papel de las mujeres en el desarrollo.El concepto de women empowerment, surgido dentro de los movimientos alternativos actuales, fue más tarde asumido por la Conferencia de Beijing. En este trabajo se examinan las diferentes declinaciones que este concepto ha asumido desde entonces.Palabras clave: desarrollo, cooperación internacional, agencia, empoderamiento de la mujer, igualdad de género y feminismo.

Rethinking Service-Learning: Bridging the Gap Between Academic and Student Affairs

Although the service-learning literature has clearly demonstrated the importance of reflection in connecting service to learning, this is often a difficult task for faculty. As colleges and universities continue to promote civic engagement through a wide array of service activities, in the classroom, and increasingly through co-curricular projects, greater emphasis needs to be placed on reflecting well. This study evaluated changes in perceptions of poverty by undergraduate students engaged in a co-curricular service project. Poverty was selected as one indicator for understanding concepts of justice. Pre- and post-project surveys were conducted by the student participants, who were members of an on-campus student organization. In addition, guided discussion-based reflection was facilitated by a faculty adviser as well as through interactions with patrons and site supervisors during the project. The findings revealed changes in student attitudes regarding structural issues that promote poverty. As a result, the study concluded that an expanded definition of service-learning which includes co-curricular service cannot be overlooked as an important outlet for student learning and the development of civically engaged citizens.

빈곤관이 사회복지 환경 인식에 미치는 영향 ╶사회복지관과 사회서비스기관 종사자 비교를 중심으로-

빈곤관이 사회복지 환경 인식에 미치는 영향 ╶사회복지관과 사회서비스기관 종사자 비교를 중심으로-

“Levantamiento bajo Cárdenas”: novas abordagens em torno do conflito antijesuítico no cabildo de Assunção em 1649

This paper discusses the revolt of Bishop Bernardino de Cardenas in Asuncion in 1649. Paraguayan historiography treats this event as Revolucion Comunera and presents it as a precursor of the emancipatory movements of Paraguay. The debate about the episode focuses on two positions, which highlight the figure of Cardenas as heroic leader and popular prominence during the revolt. We propose, in view of this context, to understand the economic and social panorama of the province of Paraguay in the mid-seventeenth century. Thus, we notice that the uprising of 1649 was not motivated by economic questions about access to Indian labor through encomiendas , but by a perception of poverty by the vecinos of Asuncion that was gestated as an anti-Jesuitical sentiment. Based on this sentiment, which Bishop Cardenas knew how to catalyze, the revolt broke out and had as its central point the expulsion of the priests of the Company of Jesus from Paraguay in the same year. Keywords: Revolucion Comunera, Bernardino de Cardenas, anti-Jesuitism, Paraguay.

Writing for Relief in Late Nineteenth-Century Dublin: Personal Applications to the Mansion House Fund in 1880

Focusing on a collection of personal applications made to the Dublin Mansion House Fund in 1880, this article explores the perception and experience of poverty and distress in late nineteenth-century Dublin. Despite the recent expansion of welfare history in Ireland, historians have been slow to examine urban poverty from the perspective of the poor. The article discusses some available sources and assesses the insights such material can provide into the situations facing and strategies adopted by the poor and vulnerable.

General practitioners' perspective on poverty: a qualitative study in Montreal, Canada.

Social inequalities in healthcare systems persist worldwide. Physicians' prejudices and negative attitudes towards people living in poverty are one of the determinants of healthcare inequalities. We know very little about general practitioners' (GPs) perceptions of poverty, which shape their attitudes. To identify the perceptions of poverty of GPs who deal with it in everyday practice. A qualitative study based on interviews with GPs working in deprived urban neighbourhoods. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with physicians working in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Montreal, Canada. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis consisted of interview debriefing, transcript coding, and thematic analysis using an inductive and iterative approach. Our study revealed two contrasting perceptions of poverty. The global conception of poverty referred to social determinants and was shared by the majority of physicians interviewed, while the moral conception, centring on individual responsibility, was shared by a minority of participants. The moral judgments and misunderstandings evidenced by GPs regarding poverty suggest avenues for improving general medical training. Understanding social determinants of health should be an important component of this training, to improve access to care for people living in poverty.

Child Benefits and Poverty: The Case of Russia

25 years have passed since the beginning of the market reforms in Russia. Like other post-soviet countries, in the early 90s, Russia faced a period of sharp decline in real household incomes followed by gradual growth of the welfare of the population. However, income inequality remained a burning problem throughout this time. The poverty headcount is still about 13% on the average and varies greatly depending on territories and socio-demographic groups. Russian poverty has clear specifics: there is a high risk of poverty for families with children. This paper analyses effectiveness of child benefits from various perspectives. We estimate the benefits’ impact on the poverty of families with children using the concepts of absolute, relative and subjective poverty. The study is based on the pooled and panel household data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey conducted by the Higher School of Economics (RLMS HSE) in 2003–2015. We assess the influence of the child benefits on the probability of poverty using various econometric models. The results are robust and show that the system of child benefits all in all reduce the risk of absolute and relative poverty of the households. However, the subjective perception of poverty is positively correlated with the benefits. The study also reveals leaks and significant gaps in the coverage of poor families with the system of child benefits. Overall, the studybn confirms low effectiveness of the child benefits system in Russia and indicates a need for improving its targeting.

The Blame Index: Exploring the Change in Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Poverty

ABSTRACTThis study reports the development of a new Blame Index to determine attributions of the causes of poverty along a single structural-to-individual dimension. A multisite pre-/post-group design tested the degree of change in social work students’ (N = 177) perception of poverty as a result of taking a single BSW social policy course or an MSW foundation social policy course. Student respondents reported a significant shift toward structural and away from individual attribution of the causes of poverty, more support for government antipoverty benefit programs, increased awareness of the inadequacy of existing government antipoverty programs, and increased awareness of the difficulty in accessing government antipoverty benefits. Linear regression explained 17% of the change in the Blame Index with only race/ethnicity and the change in adequacy of benefits as significant predictors.

Children in Angola: Poverty, Deprivation and Child Labour

Child poverty is considered to be an obstacle for the development of children around the world and to have a negative effect on social, economic and human development of a country. Therefore, analysis of this situation becomes vital in the study of poverty. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence in this field, especially in countries such Angola, with a long history of internal conflict and violence. This paper aims to measure the levels of deprivation and multidimensional poverty of children in Angola and the perceptions of poverty and child labour that urban households have in this country. A mix-methods study was designed, initially using the Integrated Survey on the Well-being of the Population (IBEP) 2008–2009. The levels of deprivation and multidimensional poverty of households with children of 18 years old or younger were calculated and the characteristics of those households were analysed. In the second part, a thematic analysis of 21 semi-structured interviews was conducted. The interviews were done in Lubango, urban Angola, with 14 children (8 to 16 years old) and 7 heads of household. The findings revealed that more than 30% of children aged 5 to 17 years in Angola are multidimensionally poor and 52% of children aged 0 to 17 years are absolutely poor. In addition, parents and children in Lubango associate poverty with lack of food and an income which is inadequate to cover the basic needs in a household. In addition, child work is considered to be normal if the family does not have the means to provide the minimum dietary intake.

Income Inequality and Subjective Well-Being: Toward an Understanding of the Relationship and Its Mechanisms

Income inequality is emerging as the socioeconomic topic of our era. Yet there is no clear conclusion as to how income inequality affects the most comprehensive human outcome measure, subjective well-being (SWB). This study provides an explanation for the relationship between income inequality and SWB, by delving into its mechanisms, including egalitarian preferences, perceived fairness, social comparison concerns, as well as perceived social mobility. In a rigorous analysis using a large cross-country dataset, and accounting for the nested structure of the data, as well as controlling for a variety of individual and country characteristics, we find that SWB is higher where income inequality is higher. Importantly, we also find support for this relationship being moderated by perceptions of poverty being caused by unfairness, an individual’s relative socioeconomic standing, as well as beliefs about hard work leading to success. Our study highlights the dire need for further scholarly attention to income inequality and its complex effects on SWB.

Feeding Practices and Lifestyle Changes after Migration: Perceptions of First Generation Latinas Living in an Emerging Community

Latinos are the fastest growing minority in the United States (US). Currently, Latinos make up 17.3% of the total US population and 49% are foreign born. After migration to the US, Latinos face a myriad of changes to which they need to adapt quickly. Some of the changes have health consequences, such as changes in feeding practices that have contributed to the high rates of childhood and adult obesity in this population. Although there is substantial research on lifestyle changes among Latinos, little research has been conducted in the Midwest, particularly in new growth communities that have experienced a significant influx of Latino immigrants in recent decades. The purpose of this study was to better understand Latina mothers' perceptions of how their family feeding practices changed after they migrated to the U.S and how living in a new growth community played a role. A total of 30 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of immigrant mothers from Latin American countries who were enrolled in a Women, Infant, and Children supplemental nutrition program. Interviews lasted on average 32 minutes and focused on retrospective accounts of lifestyle, eating behaviors, and family feeding practices as children growing up, and as adult mothers after migration. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim in Spanish, and analyzed by a bilingual team. Relevant quotes were translated into English. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes. To enhance rigor, a process of thematic analysis was enacted with triangulation of emic emerging inductive codes to identify potential comprehensive categories and well developed themes. Qualitative analysis of this phenomenological research was employed to describe “lived experience” from the participant's narrative data. Two thirds of participants were from Mexico, four from Central America, and six were from South America. Most (n= 25) women were married or living with a partner. Through thematic analysis, six themes emerged that help illuminate perceived lifestyle changes and challenges related to healthy eating in the US among first generation Latinas: 1) family and regional differences drive food preferences, 2) fresh is better, but inaccessible, 3) nutritional knowledge takes time and money to implement, 4) disconnect between nutritional knowledge and application, 5) perceptions of poverty and food sufficiency, and 6) diminished community context of cooking due to isolation. Findings suggest there are many changes in feeding practices that take place after migration to the US. Living in a new growth community played an important role in the perceptions that the participants had about food access. The results suggest that mere educational interventions can provide participants with solid knowledge about nutrition; however, more practical interventions are necessary to consolidate and promote healthy eating. Having a better understanding of lifestyle changes faced by Latina immigrants can facilitate the opportunity for nutritionists and other health care providers and researchers to identify modifiable family feeding behaviors to promote healthy eating and weight.Support or Funding InformationThis study was supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture under the under the Illinois Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I‐TOPP) grant (2011‐67001‐30101) to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois.

Family Benefits and Poverty: The Case of Russia

25 years have passed since the beginning of market reforms in Russia. Like other post-soviet countries, in the early 1990s Russia faced a period of sharp decline in real household incomes. Then a gradual growth of population well-being began. However, income inequality was deep throughout this time. The poverty headcount is still over 10% on average and differs a lot among territories and socio-demographic groups. Russian poverty has certain specifics: there is a high risk of poverty for young working families with children. This paper analyses the effectiveness of family benefits from various perspectives. We consider their impact on the poverty of families with children, using the concepts of absolute, relative and subjective poverty. The study is based on pooled and panel household data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey – Higher School of Economics (RLMS HSE), 2003-2015. We model the influence of child benefits on the probability of being poor and estimate various econometric models. Other controlled factors influencing recipient household risk of poverty include the type of settlement, family structure, education and employment. The results are robust and show the negative influence of family benefits on household risk for absolute and relative poverty. However, the subjective perception of poverty is positively correlated with benefits. The study also shows leakage and significant gaps in coverage in the system of family benefits. Overall, the study reveals the low effectiveness of family benefits in Russia and indicates a need for improved targeting.

Clerics and Scriptures: Experimentally Disentangling the Influence of Religious Authority in Afghanistan

This article unpacks the psychological influence of a Muslim cleric’s power to mobilize for collective action in an experiment in Afghanistan. The same cleric requests contributions for a hospital from day laborers when dressed as a civilian and as a cleric. InCiviliancondition, 50 per cent contributed and 17 per cent made large contributions; inClericcondition, 83 per cent contributed but average giving did not increase as most gave the smallest possible amount. Inclusion of a recitation of Qur’anic verses in theClericcondition maintains the 82 per cent contribution rate while increasing large contributions to 30 per cent, doubling average contributions. Formal education and subjective perception of poverty appear to drive the opposing effects of cleric and scripture. These results suggest that the power to activate spiritual channels lies in the scripture, not with the human wielding religious authority, who instead appears to induce minimal compliance with Islamic norms of charitable giving.

УРОВЕНЬ КОНФЛИКТОГЕННОСТИ КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНОГО ПОЛЯ «БОГАТСТВО/БЕДНОСТЬ» В ЯЗЫКОВОМ СОЗНАНИИ РУССКИХ И КИТАЙЦЕВ

The article is devoted to the comparative analysis of the perception of poverty and wealth in Chinese and Russian world view and indification of the conflictogenity level of the units included in the “wealth/poverty” conceptual field. The topicality of the research is reasonable for necessity to study the above said concepts as the basic cultural values that determine relationships between people in society and the fields of concern. The topic is especially actual due to deepening relationships between Russia and China and economic, political and social changes that took place in the countries during the last decades. The target of the research is to reveal conflictogenity level of the the units included in the “wealth/poverty” conceptual field, which is represented in language consciousness of Russians and Chinese and directed at production of optimal strategy and tactics of successful intercultural communication. The basic research methods are cognitive ones (method of measuring the semantic similarity of language units; cognitive interpretation of the study results) and psycholinguistic. To collect data about the conceptual field in language consciousness of Chinese the association experiment was conducted. To research Russian language con-sciousness we used data of association dictionaries.

Pobreza subjetiva y reconocimiento étnico en Colombia: análisis para principales regiones, año 2013

En este artículo se contrasta empíricamente la hipótesis que, en Colombia, la raza tiene un efecto significativo en la percepción de pobreza de los propios individuos y condiciona la manera como éstos perciben los diferentes aspectos de bienestar. Se emplea la Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida (ECV) realizada en Colombia para el año 2013. La estimación de un modelo logit multinomial revela que el ser afrocolombiano aumenta la probabilidad de percibir que el ingreso promedio del hogar no es suficiente para cubrir sus gastos mínimos y aleja la probabilidad de percibir que éstos sean, al menos, suficientes.

Diversity and Redistributive Preferences: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment in Colombia

Does socioeconomic diversity affect individuals' preferences for redistribution? I exploit exogenous variation in exposure to diversity from a large-scale financial aid program that drastically raised the share of low-income students at elite universities in Colombia. I survey students who entered college before and after the policy rollout and show that diversity promoted social interactions among low- and high-income individuals. As a result, high-income students had more accurate perceptions of poverty and inequality and stronger support for redistribution.

Economic predictors of child maltreatment in an Australian population-based birth cohort

A correlation between socioeconomic disadvantage and child maltreatment has long been observed, but the drivers of this association are poorly understood. We sought to estimate the effects of economic factors on risk of child maltreatment after adjusting for other known influences using the Australian Temperament Project, a population-based birth cohort of 2443 individuals and their parents. We used logistic regression to estimate associations of childhood economic factors (parental education, occupation, and unemployment; type of housing; and retrospective perception of poverty) with retrospective reports of perceived child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and witnessing of domestic violence), controlling for demographic factors, parental mental health and substance use, and child health. We then used these estimates to approximate the proportions of child maltreatment—population attributable fractions—that are theoretically preventable by addressing childhood economic disadvantage. Economic factors were associated with all types of child maltreatment. For the most part, these associations diminished only partially when controlling for noneconomic confounders, supporting hypotheses of causal relationships. Jointly, economic factors were significant predictors of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and witnessing of domestic violence but not of emotional abuse or neglect. Retrospective perceptions of childhood poverty were, in particular, strongly associated with most forms of child maltreatment but not with sexual abuse after accounting for other economic factors. We estimated that 27% of all child maltreatment was jointly attributable to economic factors. These findings suggest that strategies that reduce economic disadvantage are likely to hold significant potential to reduce the prevalence of child maltreatment.