Search results

Despite a significant evidence base illustrating the issue of housing insecurity and homelessness experienced by women over the age of 55 in Australia [Pawson et al., 2018; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), 2021b; Mission Australia 2022; Per Capita 2022], there continues to be a knowledge gap in the representation of older women in current Federal and New South Wales (NSW) State Government housing and homelessness policies and initiatives. This paper aims to identify the extent and ways in which older women were represented (or not represented) in the Federal and NSW State housing and homelessness policies in 2022.

Of the total primary and supplementary Federal and NSW State policy and strategy documents, 16 were collected through a systematic review and then analysed using a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework and feminist lens to explore quotes, phrases, keywords and language choices which suggested prevalent themes, rhetorical devices and dominant discourses.

Three significant themes were identified by the analysis (1) “relinquished responsibility”, (2) “inconsistent rhetoric” and (3) “homogenising and ideological cherry picking”. These themes presented the authors with three main discussion points to inform policy reform which we have addressed in relation to policy implications, evidence-based policy decision-making and impacts on older women.

The combination of a systematic review with CDA provides a unique approach to exploring homelessness policy for older women.

Social housing offers occupants comfort, safety and protection against extreme weather conditions. However, social housing occupants in various regions of Nigeria face various challenges. This paper aims to use a quantitative approach to examine the factors that contribute to the challenges faced by occupants in social housing within a semi-arid climate of Nigeria.

An exploratory cross-sectional survey was used to administer 1,032 copies of structured questionnaires to occupants of social housing in Maiduguri, one of the largest urban centers of the semi-arid climate in Nigeria. A total of 955 responses were retrieved, giving a response rate of 92.5%. The statistical model used in analyzing data was relative importance indices and factor analysis.

The results show that poor quality of FM services provided, poor maintenance of building components, damage to materials and valuables in the Harmattan period and housekeeping problems due to dust deposition in doors, while the poor response to occupants’ complaints/reports is the least among the occupants’ challenges in order of importance. Moreover, the results of the factor analysis further established that inadequate FM services and poor environmental conditions are the two factors contributing to the occupants’ challenges in social housing within the semi-arid climate of Nigeria.

This paper seeks to examine the factors contributing to social housing occupants’ challenges in the semi-arid climate of Nigeria. The paper should inform policymakers, academics and professionals.

The provision of facilities management (FM) services, facilitated by a well-suited sourcing strategy, significantly influences the optimization of dwelling unit performance, augmentation of occupants’ living experiences and the establishment of a secure and comfortable environment. Consequently, this study aims to examine the sourcing approach used for delivering FM services in social housing within Nigeria’s semi-arid climate and to assess the effectiveness of the chosen sourcing approach in the provision of FM services.

Data collection involved one-on-one interviews conducted with five principal/senior staff members of the Borno State Housing Corporation in Maiduguri, Northern Nigeria. For data analysis, the NVivo R1 software package and Stata 13.0 were used. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, and the findings were presented through narrations and direct quotes from participants. Logistic regression analysis was subsequently used to assess the effectiveness of the adopted in-house approach in providing FM services in the context of social housing.

Administrators of social housing in the semi-arid climate of Nigeria exclusively adopted an in-house sourcing approach for providing FM services. Nevertheless, the in-house approach was conclusively determined to be ineffective in delivering FM services within the specific context of social housing in the semi-arid climate of Nigeria.

This investigation centred on examining the sourcing strategy used by social housing administrators for delivering FM services in social housing within a semi-arid climate of Nigeria. Additionally, the study delved into evaluating the efficacy of the chosen sourcing approach in the actual provision of FM services.

Ageing populations, although exhibiting marked differences across countries and cultures, are a global phenomenon. Old‐age dependency ratios in most developed countries are projected to double by the year 2050. In Australia there will be a strain on economic growth as a large part of the population moves from pre‐retirement to post‐retirement age over the next 25 years. A disproportionate amount of this strain will be concentrated in aged‐care housing or retirement accommodation. Current evidence suggests that existing housing stock for older people is inadequate. As the Australian population ages, the maintenance and long‐term performance of retirement housing is a key concern of government and housing providers. This study looked at four aged‐care or retirement providers across Australia and examined the performance of the current housing stock managed by these providers. The interviews revealed that housing design decisions in retirement stock, although critically important to the changing needs of occupants and the adequate supply of suitable housing, are often ill‐considered. The findings critically question the idea of simply building ‘more of the same’ to relieve demand. This study has major implications for the future of Australian retirement housing, especially as the population ages dramatically.

The purpose of this paper is to provide additional evidence that housing prices significantly impact aggregate refinancing and thus directly influence mortgage termination.

Regression analysis is applied to examine refinancing activity in US cities.

The evidence shows that positive appreciation in housing prices provides the borrower with positive incentives to refinance in response to the associated increased borrowing capacity when mortgage rates have declined. On the other hand, depreciation in housing prices may depress refinancing.

Housing price movements, not only collateral constraints on refinancing but also the disincentive to engage in cash‐out refinancing caused by depreciation as well as the incentive for cash‐out refinancing brought by appreciation, should be included in modeling total termination risks of mortgage‐backed securities.

In contrast to previous studies, this paper provides empirical support for both the incentive and the disincentive to engage in cash‐out refinancing produced by housing price changes, in addition to support for the traditional collateral constraint effect of housing prices on refinancing.

The main aim of this study is to ascertain the progress in implementing the actions contained within the BME Housing Action Plan for Wales, by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) and social landlords in Wales.

The research was carried out between December 2004 and May 2005. This paper discusses some of the main findings from the systematic review of BME housing strategies and action plans covering 22 local authorities and 32 housing associations in Wales.

It was clear from all aspects of the research that the WAG's BME Housing Action Plan for Wales is having a positive impact on the profile and awareness of BME housing issues in Wales. However, the degree and extent of progress varied throughout Wales.

BME housing issues have a high profile in the social housing sector in Wales. It is important that this positive profile is maintained and does not lose momentum due to increasing and competing priorities.

Currently, the lack of incentives for compliance (and penalties for non‐compliance) presents a potential disincentive to the long‐term sustainability of the present enthusiasm and momentum on BME housing issues in Wales.

This research is the first to evaluate the progress made by social landlords in implementing the WAG's BME Housing Action Plan for Wales.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze empirically major factors that affect housing prices in Istanbul, Turkey using the classification and regression tree (CART) approach.

The data set was collected from various internet pages of real estate agencies during June 2007. The CART approach was then applied to derive main results and to make implications with regard to the housing market in Istanbul, Turkey.

The CART results indicate that sizes, elavators, existance of security, existance of central heating units and existance of view are the most important variables crucially affecting housing prices in Istanbul. The average price of houses in Istanbul was found to be 373,372.36 New Turkish Liras. The average size of a house was 138.37 m². The average age of houses is 15.07 years old with the average number of rooms being 3.11. The average number of baths is 1.43 and average number of toilets is 1.22. Only 5 percent of homes have storage space, 45 percent of homes have parking space, 64 percent of homes are heated with furnace, whereas only 29 percent of homes are used central heating system. Among the 31 variables employed in this study, it was concluded size, elavator, security, central heating unit and view are the most important factors that have impact on housing prices in housing market in Istanbul.

Future research and analysis of housing market in Istanbul and in Turkey can benefit from the method used in this study and findings derived from this research to come up with more general model(s) to include more houses in a wide range of regions in Turkey to analyze the determinants of housing prices in Turkey in general.

Examining housing prices using the CART model is relatively new in the field of housing economics. Additionally, this study is the first to use the CART model to analyze housing market in Istanbul and in Turkey and derive valuable housing policies to be used by the authorities.

The Government's drive to improve the overall health of the population, by tackling health inequalities and measures such as reducing falls and ending fuel poverty, has created a policy framework to address the housing related aspects of health. Opportunities for the NHS and local authorities to work with the voluntary sector to achieve these aims mean that there are new possibilities for wide‐ranging, innovative responses to improving people's health by tackling housing issues.Care & Repair England has undertaken research which examines how home improvement agencies (HIAs) are working with health‐sector partners to bring about health improvement through housing‐related initiatives and services.The resulting report, Healthy Homes, Healthier Lives, brings together key evidence that demonstrates the beneficial impact of improved housing conditions on health and examines the current policy context. A spectrum of joint projects is profiled including schemes providing information and training for health and care sector staff, a range of joint approaches to falls prevention, hospital discharge services and initiatives to address fuel poverty and cold, damp housing.

Examines the relationship between the Government and private housing associations within the framework of rented housing reform. Identifies the factors which limit housing associations and may prevent later more genuinely private sector involvement in low‐cost rented housing provision. Concludes that the finance of housing associations should be carefully watched in the light of recent legislation intended to implement the Government′s Manifesto.

Japan signed the Kyoto Protocol to reduce the nation's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission by 6% below the 1990 level. The housing industry is no exception being required to reduce the negative impact of the housing delivery on the environment. Today, all newly-constructed detached houses being built by Sekisui House Ltd. are designed to alleviate the societal pressure, accompanied basically with the following techniques and/or technologies: (1) the reduction of energy use relating to air-conditioning by improving the houses' insulation performance to meet Japan's energy saving standard set in 1999, as well as ventilation by making use of a passive ventilation system driven by stack effect; (2) the reduction of energy consumption that derives from domestic hot water by applying a high-efficient water heater, where the system performance is improved from 80% to 95% of the efficiency-today, Japanese housing manufacturers also tend to promote the installation of a gas engine cogeneration system and air-source heat pump water heater in housing; (3) the micro-power generation by the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation system; and (4) the cooling effect achieved by tree shading, which helps lower the ambient temperature around buildings during the summer. The company's ‘Action Plan 20’ reflects the global warming prevention (or CO₂ emission reduction) strategy, considered to be effective in the delivery of low-carbon housing in Japan.