Evaluation of Public Housing Programmes in Nigeria: A Theoretical and Conceptual Approach

The aim of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical and conceptual framework for an alternative approach to evaluation of public housing programmes in Nigeria. It seeks to address limitations of existing approaches where one theory or discipline has the upper hand in evaluating public housing programmes. This paper proposes a broad-based framework for assessing relationships between input, output and outcomes of public housing programmes through a realistic approach to evaluation based on objective-oriented theory, theory-driven evaluation paradigm and conceptual issues. This approach allows for the use of logical framework to explain the complex connections between underlying programme theory and outcomes. The distinct features of this alternative evaluation approach include: an open-ended evaluation approach; housing providers and residents participation; broad-based and a multi-faceted data gathering approaches and analysis in distinguishing the outcome of different housing delivery strategies in public housing programmes

GENDER AND LEARNING IN THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STUDIO

This study aimed at gaining a better understanding of the link between the learning characteristics of students of architecture and their gender. The Learning combination inventory was administered to both undergraduate and post graduate architecture students from the second to sixth year in a private university in Nigeria. Using Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, it was found that out of four processing patterns, (Sequential, Precise, Technical and Confluent) there were sex differences in Technical and CP with the male students scoring significantly higher than their female colleagues in both cases. Gender identity differences were also investigated based on Bem’s gender schema and the masculine students were found to be more proficient than the feminine students in both technical and CP. These findings suggested that male and masculine students were more creative than female and feminine students. The implications of these findings as well as positive steps that can be taken to ginger higher levels of creativity in the female students were fully discussed

Subjective Life Satisfaction in Public Housing in Urban Areas of Ogun State, Nigeria

This study investigated subjective life satisfaction of 452 residents in 10 newly constructed public housing estates in urban areas of Ogun State Southwest Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and subjected to descriptive statistics, factor and multivariate regression analyses. The result shows that 61% of the respondents were generally satisfied with life in their current residences. A larger proportion of them were also found to be satisfied with the physical and spatial characteristics of the dwelling unit components of their housing environment but were dissatisfied with access to housing services and infrastructural facilities. Tenure, income and marital status as well as satisfaction with the size of residence, housing services and management of the housing estates and housing delivery strategy were among the strongest predictors of subjective life satisfaction among the respondents. This implies that among other factors, satisfaction with housing environment as well as housing delivery strategy have a significant influence on residents’ satisfaction with life in public housing. Therefore, public housing developers need to take adequate steps to improve residents’ satisfaction with the size of main activity areas in dwelling units, housing services and management of housing estates and encourage the participation of users in housing delivery process in order to enhance the subjective life satisfaction of residents of public housing in urban areas in Nigeri

Assessment of the Qualitative Adequacy of Newly Constructed Public Housing in Ogun State, Nigeria

The purpose of this paper is to present research assessing the level of qualitative adequacy of newly constructed public housing in urban centres in Ogun State, Nigeria. Design/methodology/ approach – The study followed a quantitative research strategy. A survey of 517 housing units constructed through four different strategies and selected based on quota of their existence in nine public housing estates was conducted with a questionnaire as the key data collection instrument. A five-point Likert scale was used in measuring the level of qualitative adequacy of four key housing sub-components. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Findings – Residents found the overall housing to be inadequate; they indicated that housing unit attributes were the most adequate and thus contributed most, while neighbourhood facilities were the least inadequate and contributed the least to qualitative housing adequacy. Research limitations/implications – The sample population comprised mainly house heads in public housing constructed between 2003 and 2009 therefore, the findings may not be considered to be applicable to all the public housing in the study area. However, the findings can form the basis for judging the performance of public housing in the current democratic dispensation in the study area. Practical implications – The findings imply that giving adequate attention to the provision of infrastructural facilities and maintenance of existing ones can enhance the qualitative adequacy of public housing. Originality/value – This paper is a pioneering effort at evaluating the qualitative adequacy of most recently constructed public housing in the study area

APPLICATION OF FUZZY-MLP MODEL TO ULTRASONIC LIVER IMAGE CLASSIFICATION

In this paper, we propose the application of fuzzy-MLP in theclassification of ultrasonic liver images. The four sets of ultrasonic liverimages used in the experiment are: normal, liver cysts, alcoholic cirrhosisand carcinoma.To deal with the sample images efficiently, we extract textural features fromthe Pathology Bearing Regions (PBRs) of the ultrasound liver images. Theselected features for the classification are entropy, energy and maximumprobability-based texture features extracted using gray level co-occurrencematrix second-order statistics. The fuzzy-MLP model is constructed for theselected features classify various categories of ultrasonic liver images.The efficacy of Fuzzy-MLP model and conventional artificial neural network(ANN) has been compared on the basis of the same feature vector. A testwith 82 training data and 110 test data for all the four classes shows 92.73%classification accuracy for the proposed fuzzy-MLP model. It is comparedwith the 81.82% counterpart provided by conventional ANN method

Prefiguring Houses in a Traditional City: A Case for Benin House Types and Characteristics

House mean different things to different people. House could be a dwelling, home, hut, place for; entertainment, rest, sleeping, receiving guest, and a palace. The interpretation of house as shelter makes it a basic necessities of life. Thus the focus of the paper is to identify and document house types in Benin by observing the physical characteristics and type’s classification from the organization and pattern of architectural plan documented. The study explored qualitative and quantitative approach using observations, descriptive frequency, architectural sketches, photographs and interview guide. The findings revealed a cross sectional characterising and classifying houses in Benin City, Nigeria which reflect the typical cross section structure of a traditional city. The result of study would however, influence professional in built environment and policy maker decision positivel

Domestic Violence: The Pre‑ and Post‑diagnosis Experience of Women Living with HIV in a Rural Community in Northwest Nigeria

Background: Domestic violence (DV) is a fundamental human right problem. Stigma and discrimination increase the incidence and affects care. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the prevalence, types of DV pre‑ and post‑diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV),perpetrators, and the response to it in a rural community in Northwest Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A descriptive and cross‑sectional study of 261 women was done. The sample was selected by proportionate allocation and systematic sampling. Data of respondents were obtained employing an interviewer‑administered questionnaire. The analysis was done using Chi‑square, Fishers exact, and McNemar’s tests. Results: Less than one‑quarter of respondents, 60 (23.0%) and 62 (23.8%), had experienced at least one form of DV pre ‑ and post‑diagnosis, respectively. The types observed were mainly verbal (44/60 [73.4] and 55/62 [88.7]) and psychological (43/60 [71.6%] and 40/62 [64.5%]) pre‑ and post‑diagnosis, respectively. The difference in the experience of DV pre‑ and post‑diagnosiss was not statistically significant. Majority of the perpetrators were the current husband (n = 37; 59.7%) and siblings (n = 9; 14.5%); educational level and occupation were significantly associated with the occurrence of DV (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Although the prevalence of DV among women living with HIV was high, the pre‑ and post‑diagnoses of violence experienced were the same. DV should be included as part of the care and management of this group of women. Keywords: Domestic violence, human immunodeficiency virus, Nigeria, wome

Sense of Community And Demographic Factors As Predictors Of Neighbourhood Satisfaction

Neighbourhoods are studies because that is the place people spend the largest portion of their time. That probably explain the interest that researchers and policy makers have developed in neighbourhood satisfaction studies over the last couple of decades. In many studies on neighbourhood satisfaction a diverse range of factors have been identified as playing significant roles in its outcome. These range from the physical attributes of the neighbourhood to demographic factors and also to such concepts as sense of community. This study investigate the combined effect of demographic factors and sense of community elements in predicting neighbourhood satisfaction. The study employed quantitative methods to obtain data on the relevant variables using the survey method. Out of 1400 questionnaires distributed 1132 were returned and analyzed. The study found that of the selected demographic factors only level of education significantly predicted neighbourhood satisfaction. Of the elements of sense of community: membership, integration and fulfillment of needs and shared emotional connection were found to be significant predictors of neighbourhood satisfaction. The study supports earlier studies on certain predictors of neighbourhood satisfaction. While suggesting that many more factors may actually be relevant in its prediction.eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.140