Housing policy in Nigeria: Government policies for housing Nigeria's urban poor and the working class: Laudable promises,great expectations,colossal failure

On 11 June 1976, delegates from Nigeria and 131 other nations' governments unanimously endorsed 64 “Recommendations for National Action” at the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat) in Vancouver, Canada. These covered six key aspects of the human settlement question: settlement policies and strategies; settlement planning; shelter, infrastructure and services; land; public participation; and, institutions and management. Although most of the Recommendations were radical, the Nigerian government endorsed all of them. Indeed, Nigeria's Report to the Conference contained many promises which emphasised the Nigerian governments' commitment to the activity of improving the housing circumstances of her poor majority. The central aim of this paper is to attempt to examine what these promises were worth and what, after 9 years and 7 months, Nigerian governments have done to implement the Recommendations on “Shelter, Infrastructure and Services”. Since one of the major Habitat recommendations under this section was on the need for national governments to provide appropriate housing and its related services which are within the economic reach of the majority of their people, this paper attempts to analyse in detail the ability of low-income households in Nigeria to pay for government-built dwelling units. The three main parameters of the housing economics equations which I have used to establish this are: the initial capital cost of the dwelling unit; total annual household income; and the annual economic rent. It also examines the gap between the quantitative housing need and the official response; and, the adequacy and reliability of water supply refuse disposal and sewerage facilities. The paper concludes that there is still a very serious mismatch between the people's real needs and priorities and public housing policies aimed at meeting them.     

An Assessment of Sheltered Housing Design in Belfast,Northern Ireland

This article presents a UK-based research that has studied the existing sheltered or assisted living housing population and its future housing options and preferences. This meets an identified need to know and understand users' needs and requirements in much more detail that outlines what is liked and disliked by older people about sheltered housing, so that those who plan and design such housing can be aware of their views. The study also sought to understand the architects' challenges in designing and adapting this type of housing. The sheltered housing managed by housing associations in Belfast, Northern Ireland, was assessed through a series of site visits, structured interviews, and a focus group with stakeholders. Findings revealed older users' keen interest in participating in their housing needs assessment, identified building design concerns and provided recommendations for potential design guidelines.     

South to south learning experiences: Popular housing problems in Nigeria and India

Slums exist in every known city of the world. Their problems are basically that of urban poverty and deprivation. The management of slums and governmental attitudes have varied from one country to another. Generally in most it has been one of intolerance and denial of utilities. Governments in fact pretend they do not exist. India is one country that has lived with slums and will continue to do so. It has shaped policies to recognise their usefulness and provide them with amenities, however minimal. What lessons can we learn in Nigeria from the India experience? The paper highlights the universality of slums and spontaneous settlements in most Third World Cities. It goes on to examine the Nigerian situation with a special focus on Lagos, the present Federal Capital. This is followed by an appraisal of the Indian housing situation. The Slum Upgrading Projects of New Delhi and other Indian cities are also examined in the context of the agencies involved. Finally conclusions and recommendations are made in an attempt to draw parallells and for us in Nigeria to selectively learn from the experience of another major Third World nation.     

Revisiting the urban housing crisis in Zimbabwe: Some forgotten dimensions?

The housing problem in Zimbabwe has become synonymous with housing shortages. The mismatch between housing supply and demand has for long been accepted as the housing problem. Virtually all policies and strategies aimed at alleviating the housing problem reflect this pre-occupation with numbers. The quantitative dimension has been taken so seriously by policy makers that policy and practical responses are aimed almost exclusively towards new construction. This paper re-examines the wider housing crisis in urban Zimbabwe. It looks at problems of obsolescence, overcrowding and other qualitative aspects. It concludes by cautioning that although some of these problems have to do with numbers, construction alone is not the complete solution.     

Explaining Attitudes towards Self-employment among Immigrants: A Canadian Case Study

Implicit in Canada's immigration policies is that some immigrants are endowed with a particular entrepreneurial spirit, and that this spirit relates to immigrants’ origin. This paper examines whether attitudes towards entrepreneurship indeed relate to origin, or whether they can be explained through labour market circumstances at the place of settlement and/or Canada's immigrant selection procedure. The empirical study focuses on the reported attitudes towards entrepreneurship. A survey of 509 Vancouver residents of a predominantly Chinese immigrant neighbourhood, a predominantly South Asian immigrant neighbourhood, and a neighbourhood of non‐immigrants reveals that ethnic origin is a weak indicator of entrepreneurial attitudes. Instead, urban or rural background emerges as a more powerful predictor. The results also raise doubts about whether the Canadian government's immigration policy, which selects immigrants on the basis of economic potential, indeed selects immigrants with a greater desire to become self‐employed. Furthermore, the amount of time immigrants have spent in Canada does not significantly affect attitudes towards entrepreneurship.     

Attitudes and policies towards residential development in the Scottish countryside

This paper reports the results of a two-year study of attitudes towards residential development in the Scottish countryside, and how these impinge upon processes of policy formulation for land release. The research focused on two casestudy districts while also exploring processes of policy formulation at national and local levels.At a national (Scottish) level, the most potent influence on policy was found to be the professional ideologies of the civil service elite, with professional planners' opposition to housebuilding in the countryside increasingly challenged by the emergence of a housing professional community. At the local level, policies were the outcome of a struggle between individual councillors acting ‘parochially’ on behalf of their constituents (notably high-status, home-owners, landowners and farmers) and planning officials acting in accordance with dominant professional planning ideologies to oppose rural residential development.     

Resources,environment and economic development in Nigeria

It is argued that Nigeria must focus on effective environmentally protective intensive farming, resource management methods, and strong family planning programs. Other contributory factors are recognized as the lack of democracy and the "ill-advised" internal policies of the government. The emphasis is on man-made decisions about migration, natality, and land use practices that have ecological consequences that significantly affect the economy. Land degradation in Nigeria is attributed to improper agricultural and husbandry practices. Land degradation has severe ecological, economic, and human costs. Awareness of environmental problems in Nigeria is growing. Natural disasters such as the droughts of 1984-85, continued soil depletion, accumulations of soil wastes, increased flooding in urban areas, and land erosion in Anambra state are evidence of the growing environmental problems. Agricultural development should involve changing rural land use practices, using technology that is "appropriate" to the climate, crops, and culture of the people, and introducing agroforestry. Population growth in Nigeria puts pressure on the fragile ecosystem. Actual carrying capacity is a rough calculation. Nigeria's population growth patterns follow a pattern that suggests population pressure on carrying capacity. The acceleration of population growth has strained the traditional system of agriculture. Land is overused, and cultivation continues on unsuitable land. Domestic policies during the oil boom encouraged rapid industrialization at the expense of the environment. Migration increased to urban centers, but cities did not provide suitable housing, waste disposal, safe water supplies, and other basic facilities.     

Piketty comes to South Africa

One of the most valuable features of Capital and Ideology is its concern to take history seriously and consider how the emergence of different political and economic regimes relate to discourses about fairness and justice across time. This paper pushes this agenda further by acknowledging that the experience of a few developed nations should not be taken as the template for the generalized study of inequality dynamics across time and space. In this paper, we interrogate Piketty's analysis and policy proposals against specificities that are central to understanding the production and reproduction of inequalities within South Africa. We reflect on the South African case, the structure of inequality and its changes since 1994. We review a battery of policy interventions that have been implemented to address inequality in the last 25 years. We emphasize that the long shadow cast by centuries of colonialism and various forms of apartheid strongly affirm Piketty's emphasis on understanding history. But this is both affirmation and critique given the foundational, imbedded impact that this specific legacy has had on post‐apartheid society and its policies. Piketty is aware that the levels of inequality in South Africa are so high that this is “unknown territory.” We map out some of this territory to reveal how these extreme initial wealth and racial inequities inform the reproduction of inequalities in all dimensions and undermine well intentioned policies. We claim that understanding extractive histories, imbedded wealth inequalities, and complex social and political institutions allows us to understand and confront some of the reasons why even in light of progressive policies, many of which are in line with the proposals from Piketty, government interventions have thus far failed to reduce inequality.     

Patients' Evaluations of Gynecologic Services Provided by Nurse Practitioners

Abstract

The development, operating principles, and users' evaluations of a broad-based gynecologic program emphasizing effective birth control on a university campus are discussed. A major feature that is explored is the use of nurse practitioners as the primary service providers. The forces that resulted in the formation of the program and the methods used to enhance its effectiveness are described. The evaluations of 3,527 users over a three-year period are indicated by summarizing responses to a questionnaire covering the following topics; whether providing such a service was helpful, likelihood of arranging for the service elsewhere if unavailable at the health center, attitudes of staff, medical procedures used, availability of services, and the opportunity to thoroughly discuss concerns. The evaluations were seen as extremely supportive of both the program and the use of nurse practitioners in this setting.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in afield experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttestquestionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

Changing Attitudes Toward the Homeless: The Effects of Prosocial Communication With the Homeless

One hundred, thirty-four undergraduate students participated in a field experiment designed to examine the effects of extended, prosocial communication with homeless persons, upon attitudes toward the homeless problem, of behavioral intentions towards the homeless, and of causal attributions about homelessness. It was expected that prosocial interaction with the homeless would produce shifts in attitudes and behavioral intentions toward the homeless and homelessness and result in greater attributions of external causes to explain homelessness. Nineteen experimental participants worked 15 hours at a local homeless shelter. Their responses to a posttest questionnaire that measured a range of attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the homeless were compared with control participants who did not work at the shelter. Subsequent analyses furnished strong evidence of positive changes in attitudes and intentions toward homelessness among the shelter workers. These participants evaluated homeless people as less blameworthy and more socially attractive than did control participants; moreover, shelter workers indicated more personal responsibility and behavioral commitment to helping the homeless than control participants. They also perceived the homeless problem to be more serious and were more likely to attribute homelessness to bad luck than control participants. However, the two groups were equally likely to attribute homelessness to various external causes such as the economy, housing costs, and governmental policies. The results are interpreted as having policy implications for volunteer service.     

No place to play: Implications for the interaction of parents and children

A disproportionate number of impoverished families live in housing which does not allow easy access to safe outdoor play. This paper uses Bowlby's theory of attachment as a framework for considering the implications of a lack of outdoor access for parental strategies and for the interaction of parents and children. The situation of one family is discussed in detail in order to clarify how a lack of outdoor play opportunities may contribute to anxious and over-protective parenting, or to a fatalistic abdication of responsibility. Especially in situations of poverty where alternative opportunities are likely to be limited, the availability of outdoor play space can be a significant factor in supporting healthy development and flexible, responsive parenting, ana it should be a priority in the planning and management of low-income housing intended for families with young children     

Female Hitchhiking: Strain,Control, and Subcultural Approaches

Abstract

Racial attitudes of school teachers, school administrators, other professionals, and general occupational groups are examined using data from six national samples gathered as part of the General Social Survey between 1972 and 1977 by the National Opinion Research Center (N = 9210). Respondents' attitudes were measured on the following topics: open housing, programs to integrate housing, interracial marriage, interracial social relations, segregated schools, busing, and explanations for the Blacks' inferior jobs, income, and housing. The results indicate that in areas of interpersonal relations and housing, teachers and educators do harbor prejudicial attitudes; however, educators are comparable to other professionals regarding these attitudes and less prejudiced than laborers, farmers, clerical workers, craftsmen, managers, and administrators. Within the teaching profession, kindergarten and elementary teachers appear slightly more racially prejudiced than secondary school teachers. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Untangling the tolerance of socioeconomic inequality: Comparing Japan,the United States,South Korea,and the People's Republic of China

The last three decades have witnessed major institutional and structural transformations across both economically developed and developing countries. While many individuals and groups have benefited from these changes, they have simultaneously resulted in growing disparities between the haves and have-nots. The growing socioeconomic inequalities, however, have not been met with significant resistance and it has been even observed that people have become more tolerant of inequalities. This article explores the motivations behind tolerating socioeconomic inequality, and investigates how the tolerance of socioeconomic inequality has changed over the past 25 years, while also comparing it across very distinctive political and socioeconomic regimes. This study overcomes a gap in research by employing longitudinal, cross-sectional survey data to analyze temporal change in attitudes towards inequality. Fixed effects models are applied on five waves of World Values Survey data (1994–2020) on four distinctly different post-industrial countries: Japan, the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and the United States. The paper argues that, on an individual level, there is a tendency to accept inequality normalizing narratives and defend one's own self-interest, derived from one's structural position. This accounts for a considerable part of the variation in tolerance for socioeconomic inequality across these nations. The article concludes that trends in tolerating socioeconomic inequality have over time become more similar across these four countries with distinctly different political–economic regimes.     

Equal Opportunities Policies,Employment and Patriarchy

This paper, based on research in the North of England, seeks to examine the interconnections between equal opportunities policies, women's employment and patriarchy in a local labour market. It is argued that organizations develop a selection of public patriarchal strategies, most notable of which are the denial of inequality and the use of ‘time’ to segregate and disadvantage women within the labour market and labour process. It is masculine culture which has determined the shape and operation of equal opportunities policies where time commitment, individualism and priority to employment are necessary in order to achieve. Equal opportunities policies fail to address not only structural inequalities but also the role that organizations themselves play in maintaining gender segregation. By individualizing women the policies may also undermine women's own employment coping strategies which depend on assistance from other women both inside and outside the employment setting.     

Re‐inventing the Gendered Organization: Staff Attitudes towards Women and Gender Mainstreaming in NGOs in Malawi

Gender inequality within non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) is constructed on a daily basis through the gendered norms, attitudes and practices of individuals within them. The continual re‐invention of a gendered organization ensures the maintenance of the status quo and therefore the privileging of male/masculine interests over female/feminine interests. Gender mainstreaming is an approach designed to alter the status quo and facilitate women's empowerment. In Malawi, many NGOs have adopted gender mainstreaming as a strategy to address gender inequality both within their organizations and with the communities where they work. Gender mainstreaming initiatives involve a variety of activities including hiring more women staff members, designing policies within the organization to promote gender equality and educating staff members about gender issues through training workshops. While these strategies represent important steps forward for gender equality, it is not clear to what extent these policies and initiatives are translating into meaningful change within the organization.     

Aversion to inequality in Italy and its determinants

The main goal of this paper is to estimate the preferences of the Italian society towards equity in order to verify whether preferences (i) have changed across the years, and (ii) can be related to specific socio-demographic characteristics. Introducing equity concerns in the implementation of economic policies is a fundamental problem faced by both economists and policy makers. This paper uses a social welfare function à la Jorgenson and Slesnick to estimate society’s aversion towards inequality by implementing a voting scheme for compiling individuals’ equity preferences into a social choice by majority rule. The results show that preferences are highly polarized toward a low and a high concern for equity aversion and that this concern is significantly related with several sociodemographic characteristics. Among them, income plays an important role with richer people tending to favor less equity. Results also show that preferences towards equity have changed across the years.     

Child protection: a survey of psychiatrists' knowledge and attitudes

The aim of the study was to examine psychiatrists' knowledge of the child protection process and their attitudes toward child protection training. An anonymous questionnaire survey was sent out to all psychiatric staff in a large psychiatric hospital. The response rate was 72 per cent. Fifty‐seven per cent of respondents had never attended child protection training and 16 per cent thought that it was of no relevance to their position. Significant differences in self‐rated knowledge were identified between those who had attended training and those who had not. Variations in the availability and quality of child protection training may result in psychiatrists not attaining the core knowledge required in order to work effectively as part of the child protection process. Hospital management should work towards prioritising and disseminating local child protection policies and procedures more effectively and consider routine child protection training as part of any new staff induction. The Royal College of Psychiatrists should consider inclusion of child protection in junior staff education programmes and as part of the MRCPsych examination curriculum. Likewise, consideration should be given to enhancing the status of child protection training in continuing professional development programmes for career‐grade psychiatric staff. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

US Social Work Students' Attitudes Shift Favorably Towards a Harm Reduction Approach to Alcohol and Other Drugs Practice: The Effectiveness of Consequence Analysis

Given the increasing numbers of people in need of treatment for problems associated with Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) problems and the concomitant likelihood that social worker caseloads currently reflect this increase, a critical analysis of social work student attitudes towards different approaches to AOD treatment is warranted. Our study examined United States' social work students' (n = 100) attitudes towards treatment approaches to practice with people who misuse/abuse AOD and enlisted a Consequence Analysis (CA) intervention designed to shift attitudes towards considering a harm reduction approach. The Harm Reduction Acceptability Scale (HRAS), as well as a two-item response measure, measured pretest and posttest attitudes. Findings demonstrate that at pretest both intervention and comparison groups were willing to consider a goal of moderation (a proxy for the acceptability of a harm reduction approach and a client-centered perspective), and neutral on the effectiveness of an abstinence-oriented approach. At posttest, the intervention group became more flexible and open to the broader philosophical perspective of a harm reduction approach while the comparison group became less so. Consequence Analysis appears responsible for producing the observed changes in attitude towards harm reduction. Implications for international social work education and training are discussed.