A review of FM services for enhancing and provisioning of optimal quality municipal services for local government in Malaysia

Facilities Management services are very significant for effective and efficient service delivery. Facilities Management services is not just to optimize running costs of buildings, but to raise efficiency of the management of space and related assets for people and processes, in order that the mission and goals of the organization may be achieved at the best combination of efficiency and cost. This study reviewed the FM Services for the enhancing and provisioning of optimal quality municipal services of local government in Malaysia. This study shows that FM services are paramount for effective service delivery most especially in local government. But FM services are not much recognized in Malaysia which makes many local government service deliveries inefficient. Indeed, in recent years, the series of services covered within the context of facilities management has been visible as more complex, facilities management has turned into the main operational and technical functions of an organisations. Materials and methods were carried out using secondary data and analyses critically to come up with reliable results. A way forward is that local government authorities should embark on using the FM services by employing staffs that are FM professionals in terms of in-house service delivery and outsourcing for the services that are detriment for the development of local communities. FM and community awareness programs in developmental project and in terms of decision making for any services to be rendered to the populace, local authorities should make sufficient fiscal effort to obtain all the resources that are potentially available to them and accountability should be employ for judicious utilization of financial resources. The research concludes by recommending that Malaysian local authorities should be concerned with their main constitutional responsibilities of provisioning of effective and efficient services based on the needs and wants of the local community through FM services

Review of community participation and FM services contributions toward provisioning of quality municipal services in Malaysian local authorities

Local authorities’ service delivery in recent times has categorised as a function of multiple players. Connecting with stakeholders such as customers, suppliers, employees, and local communities and their needs in an interactive session or communicative process has been classified as significant for successful Facilities Management (FM) services that bridges gaps that exist between those expectations and service provisioning that meets their wants and specific needs. FM will lead curtail wastage, less downtime and improve the bottom line. Beneficiaries of LAs services need to have a say in the decisions relating to the facilities provided, and if possible to take part in its provisioning or development and to manage it after completion. The methodology adopted in this research is secondary sources of data, were article, textbooks and statutory documents were critically reviewed. This study reviewed the community participation and FM services contributions towards enhancing and provisioning quality municipal services of LAs in Malaysia. This study shows that there are enormous benefits that both the LAs and local communities can achieve when community participation and FM services come together as a factor of service delivery. Service delivery changes have been complemented by improved community participation and FM systems. LAs in Malaysia can be successful in public sector service quality through the adoption of a community participation based on FM services approach. The results of this study shows that local government in Malaysia are yet to attain excellent level in times of community participation and FM service approach for adequate service delivery. A way forward lies on LAs to embrace service delivery best practice through synergy between community participation and FM at local levels, LAs should examine the revenue bases and expenditures of their local authorities, and the extent that their differences affect the capacity of local authorities in providing quality municipal services

The Impact of Ethno-Religious Crisis on Location Decisions and Values of Residential Properties in Jos, Nigeria

Location is among the main determinants of residential property value. It has been realised from the existing literature that location could either be tangible or intangible in nature. Tangible location factors include accessibility, transportation, closeness to central business districts etc. On the other hand, intangible location factors are those attributes of location that are invisible in nature. They include race, ethnic background, crime, safety, skin colour, native inclination, apartheid, cultural background, security, religious inclination, socioeconomic background, indigene ship and the like. This study is intended to examine the effect of these intangible location attributes on the values of residential properties in the study area. The data for this research was sourced through interviews, field survey and questionnaires. Tables and charts were employed in order to analyse the data for the research.  Pictures were also taken in order to give pictorial information of what is on ground. In order to arrive at the required sample size for the research, stratified random sampling was adopted. The study area was divided into two clusters, that is, Jos North and Jos South. The outcome of the research revealed that areas that are classified as violent free neighbourhoods command high rental and sales value of land and landed properties. The research discovered that people prefer areas that are predominantly of their religious and ethnic extraction. As a result of that, the residential pattern of the study area was drastically altered. It can be concluded that intangible location attributes play a vital role in dictating the price of land and landed properties. Investors and real estate developers should take into consideration intangible attributes of location when determining the worth of land and landed property in the study area. Keywords: Intangible Location Attributes, Landed Property, Rental Value, Residential Property and Sales Valu

Intangible Elements of Uncertainty in Property Valuation: Theoretical Underpinning

There has been a considerable and significant number of researches that looked into the uncertainty and risk of valuation process in various parts of the world, especially in the US and the UK. Early research tended to focus on the tangible methods used by valuers. In recent times, research has concentrated on anticipated risk that could be encountered in carrying out valuations and the way that valuation information is processed. The summary of the previous researches skip over a further latent and potential influence: that of the influence of intangible elements of uncertainty and risk on property valuation and the transaction which might follow The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation and also to have a thorough understanding of the risk inherent in property valuations. The main research questions that this study seeks to address include: What precisely are intangible elements of uncertainty with regard to valuations? How could intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation be minimized and dealt with? To what extent do intangible elements of uncertainty affect and influence property valuation? And should there be a general approach of anticipating and forecasting intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation? A mixture of self-administered questionnaires and in-depth personal interviews were considered most appropriate as data collection instrument for this research due to the advantages derivable from both approaches. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be employed to interpret and explain the associations found among the variables. This is a paper in progress and as such the expected outcomes of the study might suggest that the series of comparable evidence available is the most common factor that will affect a valuation certainty. Risk and uncertainty could be inherent parts of the valuation process as regularly the valuer is unable to identify and price correctly all existing and future influences on the value of the asset. It is recommended that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) should build up a standard methodology and approach to uncertainty expression, not only for the valuer’s peace of mind, but in order to offer the most excellent and promising service to the general community. Keywords: Intangible Elements, Property, Risk, Uncertainty and Valuatio

Socio-Economic Characteristics of Households Determining Housing Satisfaction in Bauchi Metropolis, Bauchi State, Nigeria

Life satisfaction and housing quality are inextricably linked, and socio-economic factors have an impact on both. Low income families in poor quality housing thus bearing the impact of income-related deficits with housing satisfaction. There is potential call for lower-income families to make more frequent housing adjustment in order to be content with less-than-ideal living conditions. In Bauchi, it has been observed that socio-economic characteristics of an individual translates into his earning, thereby influences his choice of location and housing satisfaction. This study's goal was to determine examining the impact of socio-economic characteristics of households on housing satisfaction in the study area. The study employed a quantitative methodology descriptive survey. 380 household heads received a questionnaire, of which 258 were recouped and used for data analysis. Households were surveyed employing stratified random sampling to gather data on the socio-economic characteristics of the households and satisfaction with environmental and physical characteristics. To determine the symbolic importance of the various elements, the gathered questionnaire was subjected to ordinal regression and descriptive statistics. According to the research findings, household’s satisfaction is correlated with their housing. There is significant link between socio-economic indicators and households’ housing satisfaction in the study area. The socio-economic factors in the study area that had a significant impact on housing satisfaction were gender and farming as a form of occupation. The government was advised to build the social facilities that are needed, repair the ones that are in bad shape, and implement the development control requirements as soon as possible

Intangible Elements of Uncertainty in Property Valuation: Theoretical Underpinning

There has been a considerable and significant number of researches that looked into the uncertainty and risk of valuation process in various parts of the world, especially in the US and the UK. Early research tended to focus on the tangible methods used by valuers. In recent times, research has concentrated on anticipated risk that could be encountered in carrying out valuations and the way that valuation information is processed. The summary of the previous researches skip over a further latent and potential influence: that of the influence of intangible elements of uncertainty and risk on property valuation and the transaction which might follow The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation and also to have a thorough understanding of the risk inherent in property valuations. The main research questions that this study seeks to address include: What precisely are intangible elements of uncertainty with regard to valuations? How could intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation be minimized and dealt with? To what extent do intangible elements of uncertainty affect and influence property valuation? And should there be a general approach of anticipating and forecasting intangible elements of uncertainty in property valuation? A mixture of self-administered questionnaires and in-depth personal interviews were considered most appropriate as data collection instrument for this research due to the advantages derivable from both approaches. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be employed to interpret and explain the associations found among the variables. This is a paper in progress and as such the expected outcomes of the study might suggest that the series of comparable evidence available is the most common factor that will affect a valuation certainty. Risk and uncertainty could be inherent parts of the valuation process as regularly the valuer is unable to identify and price correctly all existing and future influences on the value of the asset. It is recommended that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) should build up a standard methodology and approach to uncertainty expression, not only for the valuer’s peace of mind, but in order to offer the most excellent and promising service to the general community. Keywords: Intangible Elements, Property, Risk, Uncertainty and Valuatio

Community participation as mediating variable for enhancement of citizen satisfaction in Malaysian municipal councils. Batu Pahat municipal council in perspective

This study highlighted the important of community participation as mediating variable in municipal council service delivery and enhancing citizen satisfaction, it was also investigated the level of satisfaction of citizen in the study area. The important and effects of quality municipal service, municipal awareness, community participation was also highlighted. The study was conducted in Batu Pahat Municipal Council, so the item of measurement of the variables has been tested and confirmed their reliability and consistence of the survey instrument. Some hypothesis was postulated using the research variables. Vivid explanation of variables and their relationship. The study provides a structural model for enhancing citizen satisfaction. Questionnaires was developed and administered using simple random sampling. The respondents for this research was 401,921, the samples size was 383 but it was rounded to 400 respondents. The study employed some hypotheses in order to guide the research in achieving the overall aim of the research as well as testing the stated hypotheses and the diagrammatic representation was presented and also the factor analysis was conducted to measure the reliability of the research constructs, multivariate was conducted by using Spss IBM version 23 and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of the study reveal that community participation, municipal awareness and quality municipal services are the major drivers of citizen satisfaction in study area. In addition, using community participation as mediating variable will enhance citizen satisfaction, the study also found a strong empirical evidence for enhancing citizen satisfaction. The study concluded that citizen satisfaction can be enhance through adding community participation as mediating factors, municipal awareness also should be inculcated to makes the local people enlighten about the process of municipal service delivery

A Theoretical Perspective on Rural Housing Development and the Problems Associated with Housing Developers in Nigeria: Evidence from Dass Metropolis

Housing is one of the basic needs of any society. It is a component of men’s environmental interactions which is expected to serve important functions, like biological, Psychological, socio-cultural and economic needs of individual facilities and/or communities. Biological, man needs an environment within which he can take shelter and protection against external forces. Psychologically man needs housing so as to satisfy his personal needs such as privacy and self-fulfillment. Socio-culturally, housing is a symbol that reflects the status of an individual family or community. It also reflects the economic value of a society. Therefore, there is a need for a study of rural housing development so as to find solutions on how to improve the rural housing and also the living condition of rural dwellers. The study will be centered on issues related to the development of rural housing in the study are

Enzymatic Processing of Pigeon Pea Seed Increased their Techno-Functional Properties

Neglected and underutilized crops (NUS) are those crops that are entirely ignored or little attention is paid to them by agriculture researchers, plant breeders and policy-makers. There has been renewed interest in NUS as many of these varieties and species, along with a wealth of traditional knowledge are being lost at an alarming rate. This chapter provides an overview of underutilized legumes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). There is a recognized need to explore the diversity of indigenous micro symbionts associated with underutilized legumes. The biochemical mechanism in legumes remains elusive to date as evidence is mounting for allelopathic inhibition of nitrifying microorganisms by root exudation of phenolic compounds. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to explore the potential relationship between enzymatic processes of certain legumes and high tolerance to drought stresses, high biomass productivity, erosion control and dune stabilization and general soil health. Pigeon pea among other legumes have a huge untapped potential for improvement of both in quantity and quality of production in Africa