Livelihood Opportunities Through Informal Housing in the New Capital City of Dodoma, Tanzania

Between March 2008 and March 2009 we conducted a desk study and field work on informal and low cost housing endeavours undertaken by building artisans in the new capital city of Dodoma in Tanzania. The study focused on the livelihood opportunities that can be derived from the informal housing building sub-sector as semi-skilled artisans’ grapple with the realities of unmet housing needs of the designated capital city of Tanzania. The argument is that there is a market for construction of low-cost housing in informal settlements in the new capital city even though these settlements are beset with problems of lack of legal tenure, poor infrastructure and sanitation. It is further argued that informal construction work offers possibilities for employment and income earning for semi-skilled artisans. It was felt that a detailed study of informal housing building would provide a better understanding of the key factors and trends affecting the livelihood opportunities of people in the sub-sector and the expectation was that the findings would enlighten on the phenomenon and stimulate policy debates on how the sub-sector can be developed sustainably considering the fate of those concerned. The results show that the sub-sector could contribute immensely in the construction of the new capital city as well as improving the livelihoods of the practitioners if only they were well organised in cooperatives, enabled capacity-wise and training and given legal recognition. Key words: Artisan; Building; Capital; City; Dodoma; Informal; Housing; Livelihoods; Policies; Poverty; Settlements; Sub-sector; SWOT; Tanzania; Theory; Urbanisation; VulnerabilityRésuméEntre Mars 2008 et Mars 2009, nous avons mené une étude théorique et travail de terrain sur le logement informel et peu de coûts efforts entrepris par la construction des artisans dans la nouvelle capitale de Dodoma en Tanzanie. L'étude a porté sur les moyens de subsistance qui peut être dérivé de la construction de logements informels sous-secteur de s'attaquer semi-qualifiés des artisans avec les réalités des besoins de logement non satisfaits de la capitale désigné de la Tanzanie. L'argument est qu'il ya un marché pour la construction de logements à bas prix dans des établissements informels dans la nouvelle capitale, même si ces établissements sont en proie à des problèmes de manque de tenure légale, la médiocrité des infrastructures et l'assainissement. Il est en outre soutenu que les travaux de construction informelle offre des possibilités d'emploi et de revenus pour les artisans semi-qualifiés. On a estimé qu'une étude détaillée de la construction de logements informels permettrait une meilleure compréhension des facteurs clés et les tendances affectant la possibilités de subsistance des populations dans le sous-secteur et l'attente était que les résultats seraient éclairer sur le phénomène et de stimuler les débats politiques sur comment le sous-secteur peut être développé de façon durable considérer le sort des personnes concernées. Les résultats montrent que le sous-secteur pourrait contribuer énormément à la construction de la nouvelle capitale, ainsi que l'amélioration de la subsistance des praticiens, si seulement ils étaient bien organisés en coopératives, ont permis le renforcement des sages et de formation et une reconnaissance juridique.Mots-clés: Artisan; Bâtiment; Capitaux; Ville; Dodoma; Informelles; Logement; Les moyens de subsistance; Les politiques; La pauvreté; Les colonies; Sous-secteur; SWOT; Tanzanie; Théorie; L'urbanisation; La vulnérabilit

Bio-optical properties of the cyanobacterium <i>Nodularia spumigena</i>

In the last century, an increasing number of extreme weather events have been experienced across the globe. These events have also been linked to changes in water quality, especially due to heavy rains, flooding, or droughts. In terms of blue economic activities, harmful algal bloom events can pose a major threat, especially when they become widespread and last for several days. We present and discuss advanced measurements of a bloom dominated by the cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena conducted by hyperspectral optical technologies via experiments of opportunity. Absorption coefficients, absorbance and fluorescence were measured in the laboratory, and these data are available at https://doi.org/10.4121/21610995.v1 (Wollschläger et al., 2022), https://doi.org/10.4121/21822051.v1 (Miranda et al., 2023) and https://doi.org/10.4121/21904632.v1 (Miranda and Garaba, 2023). Data used to derive the above-water reflectance are available from https://doi.org/10.4121/21814977.v1 (Garaba, 2023) and https://doi.org/10.4121/21814773.v1 (Garaba and Albinus, 2023). Additionally, hyperspectral fluorescence measurements of the dissolved compounds in the water were carried out. These hyperspectral measurements were conducted over a wide spectrum (200–2500 nm). Diagnostic optical features were determined using robust statistical techniques. Water clarity was inferred from Secchi disc measurements (https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.951239, Garaba and Albinus, 2022). Identification of the cyanobacterium was completed via visual analysis under a microscope. Full sequences of the 16S rRNA and rbcL genes were obtained, revealing a very strong match to N. spumigena; these data are available via GenBank: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OP918142/ (Garaba and Bonthond, 2022b) and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/OP925098 (Garaba and Bonthond, 2022a). The chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin levels determined are available from https://doi.org/10.4121/21792665.v1 (Rohde et al., 2023). Our experiments of opportunity echo the importance of sustainable, simplified, coordinated and continuous water quality monitoring as a way to thrive with respect to the targets set in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. 6, 11, 12 and 14) or the European Union Framework Directives (e.g. the Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Framework Directive).</p

Multi-dimensional modeling and simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices

Self-consistent modeling and multi-dimensional simulation of semiconductor nanophotonic devices is an important tool in the development of future integrated light sources and quantum devices. Simulations can guide important technological decisions by revealing performance bottlenecks in new device concepts, contribute to their understanding and help to theoretically explore their optimization potential. The efficient implementation of multi-dimensional numerical simulations for computer-aided design tasks requires sophisticated numerical methods and modeling techniques. We review recent advances in device-scale modeling of quantum dot based single-photon sources and laser diodes by self-consistently coupling the optical Maxwell equations with semiclassical carrier transport models using semi-classical and fully quantum mechanical descriptions of the optically active region, respectively. For the simulation of realistic devices with complex, multi-dimensional geometries, we have developed a novel hp-adaptive finite element approach for the optical Maxwell equations, using mixed meshes adapted to the multi-scale properties of the photonic structures. For electrically driven devices, we introduced novel discretization and parameter-embedding techniques to solve the drift-diffusion system for strongly degenerate semiconductors at cryogenic temperature. Our methodical advances are demonstrated on various applications, including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, grating couplers and single-photon sources

Gender and environmental entitlements for sustainable livelihoods in Tanzania: the cases of Moshi Municipality and Tanga City

This paper is about a study conducted as a contribution to emerging critiques on the role of gender1 and environmental entitlements by focusing on the implications of intra-community dynamics and ecological heterogeneity. The study was built on a conceptual framework highlighting the central role of institutions in mediating environment and society relationships. Grounded in an extended form of entitlements analysis, the framework of the study explored how differently positioned social actors (men and women) command environmental goods and services that are instrumental to their livelihoods.Keywords: gender, environmental entitlements, sustainable livelihood