Social Work Students' Perceptions of Poverty

ABSTRACT

Over a period of 14 years (1991-2004), graduate social work students (n = 2,213) in ten California schools were surveyed about their perceptions of poverty as they entered and exited their graduate programs. Entering students expressed preferences for societal/institutional change methods to address poverty, as opposed to methods of individual adaptation and were even more inclined upon graduation. Implications for social work education and practice are identified.     

Deservingness,children in poverty,and collective well being

Rising numbers of children and families have been thrust into poverty. However, debates about poverty policies and aid are in fact debates about ourselves—our logic of life and our humanity—as a nation, a culture, a people; and social welfare programs will always be underfunded and of limited effectiveness if people don't believe in them due to their ambivalence and confusion about poverty. Because poor children are innocent and indisputably dependent on adult caretakers, they may be our route out of this malaise. Their circumstance and our aspirations as a nation to be just, fair, and progressive, force us to resolve the confusion, conflict and ambivalence that fuel ineffective and inhumane social welfare policies and practices.     

Causes of Poverty in Old Age,Not a Structural Failing?

The failures of many nations in Africa to include programs on aging into their national and developmental agendas have put more elderly people in the region at risk of poverty. Adult children are in many cases hampered from providing financial support to elderly parents due to waves of economic difficulties in many of the countries. The views of 36 elderly Nigerians were sought on causes of poverty in old age through key informant interviews. Despite awareness of structural causes, the results point to the direction of belief that individuals also have significant roles in determining their own economic fate in old age.     

The disability–poverty nexus and the case for a capabilities approach: evidence from Johannesburg,South Africa

Debates about the relationship between poverty and disability continue and are important in that they contribute to policies regarding how best to address the needs of disabled people living in conditions of poverty. Increasingly, researchers have begun to use Sen's capabilities approach in understanding disability. However, the approach has not been adequately applied to understand the nature of the poverty and disability nexus, particularly in developing contexts. This article seeks to address this gap by reporting on evidence from a study conducted in eight of the poorest wards in Johannesburg. Using the capabilities lens we demonstrate the ways in which both poverty and disability compound one another to limit the capabilities of people. The findings point to the need for broad-scale as well as targeted social development policies and programmes to address the consequences of poverty and disability.     

皖西大别山地区致贫因素的研究

皖西大别山地区的贫困问题一直受到广泛关注。在对皖西大别山地区的致贫因素进行定性分析的基础上,分别采用2000年到2007年和2008年到2011年两个阶段的数据,以贫困发生率作为母序列,以从自然因素、经济因素、人力因素和社会因素四方面考虑选取的6个指标作为子序列,利用灰色关联度模型对8个县(区)的各指标与贫困的关联度进行分析,确定各因素影响贫困的重要程度以及趋势变化。还分析了可控影响因子与其他因子之间复杂的交互作用和影响关系。结果显示,人力因素与社会因素是皖西大别山区贫困的主要致贫因子。最后根据分析结果提出了一些针对性的政策建议。     

胡锦涛农村扶贫思想论析

共同富裕是社会主义的本质要求,坚持农村扶贫治理是实现共同富裕的关键之举,事关全面建成小康社会大局。胡锦涛高度重视农村扶贫开发,从新的视野和新的理论高度深化了扶贫开发理论,明确提出了一系列农村扶贫的科学路径,取得了农村扶贫的巨大成就。深刻领会和坚决贯彻胡锦涛农村扶贫思想,对于深入贯彻科学发展观、建设社会主义新农村和全面建成小康社会具有重要的时代价值。     

中国城乡多维贫困的测度及比较

传统的仅用收入或消费来衡量贫困的方法只能提供单一的信息,从多维角度则能够较全面地认识贫困。本文利用CHNS数据库中2000年和2009年数据,借鉴了多维贫困指数的构造及分解方法,对近十年来中国城乡多维贫困进行了测度、分解及分析,认为总体上城乡贫困程度均有所减轻,农村贫困严重于城市,应重视医疗健康保险、卫生设施、城市住房、做饭燃料等维度上的贫困,同时降低中西部省份的贫困。     

中国经济增长的亲贫性:1989-2009

改革开放以来,中国经济实现了高速增长,但这种高速增长是否亲贫？本文基于中国健康和营养调查(CHNS数据)数据,运用修正的减贫等值增长率,对中国经济增长的亲贫性进行了实证研究.研究发现,从长期来看,中国整体的经济增长具有较好的亲贫性,但农村经济增长的亲贫性欠佳.     

反贫困与社会工作的介入

全面构建和谐社会,需要反思原来的反贫困政策。目前的反贫困,仍没有脱离传统的救济式反贫困理念的羁绊。克服反贫困政策的缺陷与不足,需要专业社会工作的介入。专业社会工作的介入,是修正与弥合目前社会救助制度弊端、提升贫困群体“自助”能力的重要举措。本文将全面分析社会工作介入反贫困的必要性以及社会工作在反贫困领域中的作用,希望引起人们对社会工作在反贫困行动中的功能的认识,在反贫困政策设计和具体实践中注意发挥专业社会工作的功能,以期从社会工作专业化的角度发现反贫困行动新的可能路径。