Household savings and residential mobility in informal settlements

Strategies to help the one billion people worldwide who live in informal settlements have mainly focused on slum upgrading, sites and services programs, and tenure security. In contrast, there has been less attention on what enables slum dwellers to transition into the formal housingsector, which has the dual benefits of improving service access and escaping social stigma. In this paper the authors investigate residential mobility among slum dwellers in Bhopal, India. Their analysis shows that one in five households succeeds in getting out of a slum settlement, and a major determinant is the household's ability to save on a regular basis. Due to limited outreach of institutional housing finance, most slum dwellers rely solely on household savings for purchasing a house. These findings underscore the urgent need to improve savings instruments for slum dwellers and to downmarket housing finance to reach the poorest residents of rapidly growing cities in developing countries.Housing&Human Habitats,Urban Housing,Banks&Banking Reform,Urban Services to the Poor,Urban Services to the Poor

Information-based instruments for improved urban management

The task of urban managers is to ensure the provision of basic urban services, such as water, waste removal, security, transport, and an environment conducive to economic activity, while maintaining fiscal sustainability of city operations. City managers in developing countries face increasing pressure in achieving these goals because of rapid urbanization, the larger responsibilities following decentralization, and the economic challenges of globalization. Based on experience in Bangalore, India, the authors argue that effective, forward-looking urban management requires a much better information infrastructure than is currently available in most cities.Environmental Economics&Policies,Public Health Promotion,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Decentralization,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,ICT Policy and Strategies,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Municipal Financial Management,Banks&Banking Reform

A duplicated spinous process of the C7 vertebra

Normally the 7th cervical vertebra (C7) has a long non-bifid spine. A bifid spine is a feature of typical cervical vertebrae such as C3–C6. In contrast to past studies, which have described a bifid spine in the C3–C6 cervical vertebrae, this study is a report on the presence of a duplicated spinous process in the C7 vertebra with an intervening space. The presence of such anomalies may be associated with other congenital anomalies and needs a careful and thorough clinical approach. This is an extremely rare finding which may be of clinical interest to radiologists, neurologists, orthopaedic surgeons, anthropologists and forensic personnel. The present case report describes the anatomical details in the bone specimen along with its radiological picture in a case of a duplicated spinous process of the C7 vertebra

A triplicate obturator foramen

The obturator foramen is a large opening in the hip bone situated below and anterior to the acetabulum. The obturator foramen is enclosed by the obturator membrane, apart from the part above near the obturator groove, where the obturator vessels and nerve pass through. The present study reports multiple openings in the obturator foramen detected incidentally in a left hip bone specimen and discusses its clinical implications. To the best of our knowledge, the occurrence of multiple openings associated with the obturator foramen is rare and has not been reported in any standard textbook of anatomy or in any research study. Anatomical knowledge of the presence of such anomalies may be clinically important for radiologists interpreting skiagrams and surgeons performing operative procedures in the hip region

Anatomical observations on os inca and associated cranial deformities

The present study describes the presence of os inca, incomplete metopic suture with asymmetrical frontal sinuses and multiple sutural deformities in a skull bone. Os inca has been reported to be associated with other cranial deformities. However, the present study, besides reporting os inca and associated sutural abnormalities, also highlights the presence of an unusual pterion in such cases. The aim is to provide anatomical insight into the morphology of sutures, frontal sinuses and associated cranial abnormalities. These are important findings which may be relevant for surgeons and radiologists in clinical practic

An asymmetrical inferior articular process of a lumbar vertebra

The present case report describes the topographical anatomy and radiological study of an asymmetrical inferior articular process of a lumbar vertebra, which was detected during routine osteology teaching of undergraduate medical students. The inferior articular process of the lumbar vertebra on the left side was rudimentary, while that on the right was normal in size. On the left side an additional bony projection was noted anterior to the rudimentary inferior articular process. The difference in height between the inferior articular processes of the two sides may play an important role in the kinematics of the particular joint. The orientation of the facets of the articular processes of the vertebrae are important for axial weight transmission and anomalies involving these can possibly alter the orientation of movements in that particular segment. An asymmetrical inferior articular process may be related to disc prolapse and may be a cause of back pain. In view of the paucity of research reports of anatomicoradiological study of the inferior articular process of a lumbar vertebra in relation to other parts of the vertebra, we, as anatomists, believe that knowledge of anomalies of the inferior articular process may be relevant for academic, anthropological and clinical purposes