Family Dwellings Research Articles

Radiation dose estimation for indoor radon, thoron and their progenies using a stochastic method-a small-scale survey in Wuhan, China.

Passive radon monitors with CR-39s are widely used in major epidemiological surveys. However, the conventional CR-39 track density determining strategy makes it difficult to accurately estimate the concentration because of the heterogeneity of tracks on CR-39s. This study introduced a stochastic method, Latin hypercube sampling, to improve the track density determining strategy and provide the probability distribution of 222Rn concentration and equilibrium equivalent thoron concentration. The first 222Rn and 220Rn discriminated survey was conducted in Wuhan, China, in 2018 using RADUET® and deposition-based passive 220Rn progeny monitors and applying the stochastic method to the measurement. The results indicate that the stochastic method could decrease the effects of the track heterogeneity on the CR-39s and provide reliable results. The 220Rn progeny contributed more than 40% of the total inhalation dose in the survey, which cannot be ignored in urban family dwellings.

Assessment of livestock husbandry practices and production constraints among smallholder mixed crop-livestock production systems in the Majang zone, southwest Ethiopia

Livestock production plays a significant role in improving the livelihoods of poor smallholder farmer households in the Majang zone. However, despite its importance, there is limited information on husbandry practices and constraints on livestock production to design and implement effective interventions to maximize productivity. The aim of this study was to assess husbandry practices and major constraints on livestock production in the Majang zone, southwest Ethiopia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 168 households (HHs) through a face-to-face interview from January to May 2021. The results revealed that mixed crop-livestock farming is the dominant livestock production system in the study area. The overall average herd size per household (HH) was 2.15 ± 0.11 cattle, 0.15 ± 0.01 sheep, 0.31 ± 0.09 goats, 0.10 ± 0.02 donkey, 0.04 ± 0.00 mule, 0.13 ± 0.02 horses and 0.24 ± 0.02 chickens. Overall herd size did not differ significantly by AEZ except for sheep (p < 0.05). The primary reason for keeping cattle, goats, sheep, equines and poultry were milk production (27.4 %), meat for home consumption (33.9 %), cash income (33.3 %), transportation (85.1 %), and meat for home consumption (72 %), respectively. In the dry and wet seasons, natural pasture, crop residues, indigenous fodder trees and shrubs (IFTSs), nonconventional feed resources (NCFRs), crop stubbles and improved forages were the main livestock feed resources. The majority (60.1 %) of respondents practiced free-grazing systems. Separate sheds, family dwellings, kraals, and open-walled sheds were the main housing systems used for animals. The majority (79.2 %) of respondents used rivers as a source of livestock drinking water. Trypanosomiasis (18.45 %), African horse sickness (66.1 %) and Newcastle disease (47.02 %) were the most important diseases of livestock. Diseases (35.7 %), lack of access to artificial insemination (35.7 %) and inadequate veterinary services (11.3 %) were identified as the top three constraints limiting production. It is recommended that constraints identified by farmers should be considered in developing and implementing effective interventions to improve livestock productivity and their contribution to poverty alleviation in the study area.

The Influence of Space Standards on Housing Typologies: The Evolution of the Nuclear Family Dwelling in England

This article explores the evolution of dwelling typologies in London, examining how regulations and standards have transformed housing layouts and indirectly informed personal and social interactions at home. Housing policy of the past century, as reflected through space standards, type plans, housing manuals, and reports, reveal a socio-political agenda of promoting nuclear family dwellings, traditionally a household of parents and their children. This article contributes to this discussion by exploring the contextual drivers, spatial reasoning, and evidence underpinning the decisions of housing reports such as the &lt;em&gt;Tudor Walters Report&lt;/em&gt; (1918), the &lt;em&gt;Dudley Report&lt;/em&gt; (1944), and the &lt;em&gt;Parker Morris Report&lt;/em&gt; (1961). Changes in household structures can be seen through regulations: from multiple families sharing a house, to the separation of individual families into single homes, to prioritising the individual over the family unit. This article analyses how five historical moments in which typological shifts promoted nuclear family dwellings that have determined spatial hierarchies and family dynamics around cooking, eating, and socialising. Similarly, societal shifts in housing expectations, such as the changing perceptions of social status symbols, privacy, gender roles, and household dynamics have contributed to the spatial arrangement and layout of homes. By shedding light on the socio-technical transformations, this research highlights the need for innovative design solutions and evidence-based space standards to meet contemporary needs.

Sewing the Revival Tents: Black Women’s Christian Organisations and the Public Duties of Home-Making in Early-Apartheid East London, 1950–1963

This article examines the history of black women’s Christian activity in the East Bank location of East London (also known as Duncan Village) in the early years of apartheid. Oral, textual and photographic evidence in particular show how church women exercised Christian public motherhood through their use of religious space. Black women’s identities as Christian mothers sometimes brought them into the arena of formal political protest, as when women of the manyano supported the 1952 Defiance Campaign in East London. Much of the time, however, women’s Christian motherhood was defined in practical domestic terms of child-raising and house-keeping. Yet, this article argues, the authority and activity of manyano women extended far beyond nuclear family dwellings. Through their role in the construction of churches, black Christian women asserted their right to the city and their authority over young people in a context where their individual homes were highly insecure. This history of Christian public motherhood shows how gendered popular religious culture left a lasting mark on the urban landscape of apartheid South Africa.

Evolutionary Trends in the Landscape of Hausa Open Spaces

This study took the ‘origin-pattern-function’ of landscape progression as the central theoretical framework and conducted a systematic study on the evolution of open-space landscape patterns in Habe cities, situated between the river Niger and the river Benue in northern Nigeria. This study aimed to explore the embedded landscape cosmology in Hausaland and the origins of its historic mythology. A descriptive research and review approach was adopted, to explain and interpret prevailing practices, existing circumstances, attitudes, reasons, and on-going processes. It unveils the planning of open spaces and houses according to an ancient cosmology that organized towns during the Habe Hausa Dynasty. The open spaces appear to be a sphere of convergent and divergent forces that maintain a delicate balance, whereas the outcrop hills of central Hausaland are domicile places with religious appeal and better defensibility. Further, the physical effects of Islamic influence are visible in the landscape of Hausa cities, such as locating a mosque in the heart of the city as well spatial expressions of the practice of the seclusion of women. The study also revealed that the concept of triple outdoor space in the landscape of Habe cities is identical with that of the traditional Hausa family dwellings enclosed by a compound wall with a gate. This paper presents the key enablers of the Hausa cities’ transformation into commercial, administrative, religious, and agricultural centers. It recommends that in the event of landscape development without certain public guidelines or natural practices, complicated mediation measures should be invoked if disorder is not to prevail. It finally seeks a comprehensive application of local practices and innovative methods with the aim of averting vulnerability of urbanization.

Multidimensional Assessment of Student Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Latent Profile Analysis Integrating Positive Psychology

Background: The mental health of young adults, especially university students, has become an increasingly concerning issue. In order to develop targeted interventions and support initiatives, it is essential to comprehend distinct mental health profiles and identify vulnerable groups among Tunisian university students. This study aimed to achieve three main objectives: (a) to empirically identify different profiles of mental health among young adults in Tunisia, based on a person-centred approach using the dual-factor model of mental health, (b) to outline the identified profiles, which incorporate both psychopathological symptoms and indicators of positive subjective well-being, across sociodemographic and academic achievement factors, and (c) to establish predictors of these profiles.Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected from a cohort of teenage Tunisian university students (n = 1185, 54% females), aged between 18 to 24 years old (Mean = 21.10; SD = 2.02). Participants completed an online survey, which included assessments of socio-demographic characteristics, academic achievement, stress, depression, anxiety, spiritual well-being, life satisfaction, and happiness.Results: Analysis of latent profiles revealed the existence of three distinct mental health classes. The first profile (21.1%) represented individuals with poor mental health. The second profile (42.5%) consisted of individuals with moderate mental health, and the third profile (36.4%) comprised individuals with good mental health. Significant differences were found between these three classes regarding family income and academic completion (p&lt;0.01 and p&lt;0.001, respectively). Multinomial logistic regression analysis provided Odds Ratios (OR) with Confidence Intervals (CI), revealing that the poor mental health class was associated with low family income (OR: 3.28; 95% CI: 1.90–5.63) and failed academic achievement (OR: 46; 68% CI: 28.23–77.20). Additionally, the moderate mental health class was linked to low family income (OR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.30–2.72), living with family (OR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.49–0.99), and failed academic achievement (OR: 1.50; 95% CI: 1.06–2.11). However, no significant associations were found for middle family income (OR: 1.27; 95% CI: 0.93–1.74) and dwelling in university residence (OR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.60–1.10) as predictors.Conclusion: This study revealed that a considerable number of university students aged 18 to 24 were vulnerable to mental health issues, irrespective of gender and age. However, students belonging to classes with low incomes and those who did not pass exams were identified as the most vulnerable groups. It is crucial to pay particular attention to these students and provide appropriate support and interventions.

Impact of COVID-19 on the parents or caretakers of patients with chronic psychiatric illness

Background: The World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency on January 30, 2020, and on March 12, 2020, it declared that COVID-19 had become a pandemic due to the spread of the virus to several nations. Furthermore, interruption of treatment of patients with chronic psychiatric illness would be dangerous or fatal. All this may put the parents/caregivers in further stress. According to experts, the COVID-19 pandemic was an instance of traumatic stress and was likely to worsen current mental health issues and cause the emergence of new disorders in others for an extended period of time. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the impact of COVID on the parents or the caregivers of the patients with chronic psychiatric illness. Materials and Methods: An offline questionnaire was created and dictated to the parents/caretakers in their vernacular language. Data collection was done from July 2022 to September 2022. Results: Out of many, a particular concern is the lack of physical consultations and the unavailability of medications for their patients. Many caregivers’ stress levels became worse due to a lack of awareness and use of telemedicine services, which may have been prevented. Due to the lockdown and the issues mentioned above, the caregivers’ physical and mental health was also impacted. Caregivers experienced higher financial stress and suicidal thoughts than the normal population. Caregiver challenges were also linked to several demographic characteristics such as nuclear or joint family and urban dwellings. Conclusion: Improved access to health care for patients with chronic illnesses in these situations, proper guidance to caregivers regarding patient care, adequate knowledge, usage, and awareness of telemedicine among caregivers, an emphasis on ways of combating suicidal thoughts among patients and caregivers, financial assistance whenever possible, and special guidelines for caregivers’ mental and physical health as well may all help decrease the strain associated with caregiving. Ultimately, by these implementations, patients with chronic illnesses can receive better care and treatment during future outbreaks.

The Epidemiology of Young People's Work and Experiences of Violence in Nine Countries: Evidence from the Violence against Children Surveys.

Globally, 497 million young people (15-24 years) are in the labour force. The current research on work and violence indicates reciprocal links across the life course. This study draws on data from 35,723 young people aged 13-24 years in the Violence Against Children Surveys (VACS) in nine countries to describe the epidemiology of work in order to explore associations between (1) current work and violence and (2) childhood violence and work in a hazardous site in young adulthood. The prevalence of past-year work among 13-24-year-olds was highest in Malawi: 82.4% among young men and 79.7% among young women. In most countries, young women were more likely to be working in family or domestic dwellings (range: 23.5-60.6%) compared to men (range: 8.0-39.0%), while men were more likely to be working on a farm. Work in a hazardous site was higher among young men compared to women in every country. Among children aged 13-17 years, we found significant positive associations between past-year work and violence among girls in three countries (aORs between 2.14 and 3.07) and boys in five countries (aORs 1.52 to 3.06). Among young people aged 18-24 years, we found significant positive associations among young women in five countries (aORs 1.46 to 2.61) and among young men in one country (aOR 2.62). Associations between childhood violence and past-year work in a hazardous site among 18-24-year-olds were significant in one country among girls and in three countries among boys. Continued efforts are needed to prevent hazardous work, improve work environments, and integrate violence prevention efforts into workplaces.

Owned dog population size and ownership patterns in Costa Rica.

Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are one of the most common pets around the world but ownership patterns and human-dog interactions have been changing, particularly in developing nations. We conducted household surveys in Costa Rica to characterize dog ownership, the owned dog population, where dogs were confined at night and in the morning, and behaviors regarding selected dog care issues. We also compared these results to similar questionnaires used in Costa Rica over the past 20 years. We found 76% of households in Costa Rica owned at least one dog and on average there were about 1.4 dogs owned per household. These dog ownership rates are higher than previous estimates. The probability of owning a dog was highest on farms and lowest in single family dwellings without a yard, higher among respondents that owned their homes and decreasing with increasing human population density The total number of owned dogs in Costa Rica was estimated to be 2,222,032 (95% confidence intervals: 1,981,497-2,503,751). The sterilization rate for homed dogs in 2020 was approximately 62% (females: 67%, males: 61%) which is higher than the 18% of owned dogs that were sterilized in a 2003 survey. Overall, only 1.2% (95% CI: 0.3-2.5%) of owned dogs slept on the street with a slightly higher proportion on the street at 8 am. The number of owned dogs roaming the streets at night nation-wide was estimated to be 27,208 (95% CI: 7,557-56,619) compared to 43,142 (95% CI: 20,118-73,618) on the street at 8 am. The number of unowned free-roaming dogs in Costa Rica has never been estimated but we can generate some idea of the size of the unowned dog population by determining the proportion of free-roaming dogs on the street wearing collars. There was a negative relationship between human population density and owned dogs being on the street meaning fewer dogs roam the streets in highly populated areas compared to less populated areas. Overall, we identify trends against which future progress can be measured and provide information that are critical in designing effective humane dog management programs in Costa Rica in the future.

Home as an Uncanny Site of Violence in Polish-Jewish Autobiographical Texts on the Holocaust

Autobiographies frequently feature the author’s understanding of home as an anchoring ground for the creation of the self. While home in such texts often invokes childhood and family, in the context of Jewish life in twentieth-century Eastern Europe, home became a complex site with a double function. Because the German authorities targeted Jewish material culture early in World War II, the destruction of communal buildings and family dwellings was unavoidable; for many, it was the first encounter with what would become the Nazi project to murder the Jews of Europe. We argue that home in Jewish wartime autobiographical texts is made to signify both a nostalgic longing for the place and objects that represent intimacy, shelter, and belonging, and at the same time, a marker of profound losses. We trace this double meaning of home by analyzing a range of Polish-Jewish ego-documents from the 1940s. Through this analysis, we show that home’s double function allowed the authors to inhabit (textually) a place of memory, asserting a claim to a prewar life with its own specific material culture, while also depicting a haunted emptiness that stands in for other losses that the writer cannot represent through language. To develop this elaboration of home’s function in the texts, we draw on and expand the concept of domicide, which identifies the loss of home as a specific type of violence. We conclude that the impact of anti-Jewish violence on the self is expressed through memory and uncanny hauntings of material culture.

Material intensity in single-family dwellings: Variability between locations, functional unit and drivers of material use in Toronto, Perth, and Luzon

This study examines variability in material use in single-family dwellings within and between three different locations (Toronto, Perth, and Luzon). It investigates how the use of different functional units changes the perception of what buildings are more materially efficient and which location has the more materially efficient home building norms. Material intensities for 80 single- family dwellings in the three locations form the foundational data for the paper. Important variabilities exist in the material intensities of the single-family dwellings and change with the functional unit selected (e.g., 7–23% for 1 m2 functional unit). Toronto single-family dwellings appear to be one of the least material intensive when presented per 1 m2 floor area but become the most material intensive when presented per 1 building and 1 bedroom with the opposite for Luzon. Housing size is the most effective explainer of overall material use with foundations and walls consuming the most materials but in different ratios across the three locations.

Navigating Family Welfare and Dwelling Space for Mercantile Migrants in Venice, 1550–1700

ABSTRACT Mercantile migrants in Venice drew upon family ties and ruler’s obligations to negotiate their rights and privileges. Drawing from a source base of immigrants’ petitions to the Venetian Collegio and the Cinque Savi alla Mercanzia, this paper reveals that foreign merchants also exploited the ties of trust and reciprocity that traditionally bound ruler and subject in medieval and early modern supplication. However, immigrants confronted limits to reciprocity when it came to the authorities’ moral or civic concerns in the regulation of space.

Today’s Children, Tomorrow’s Meals

Based on ethnographic fieldwork, this research explores rooftops as gendered spaces where women practice what I propose calling “bread-nurturing,” a gendered labor through which women secure and provide nutritious and delicious food for the family. Much of this food is cultivated on rooftops in a long-standing social practice of raising chickens, ducks, goats, and other animals on the roofs of family dwellings. I argue that rooftops are extensions of kitchens in which women practice their intimate knowledge of household food. Rather than simply pushing for an understanding of rooftops as gendered spaces, however, I regard rooftops as a pivotal resource for understanding values and relations of food and taste in Egypt.

Abiotic factors affecting the prevalence of Wolbachia (Rickettsiaceae) in immature Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Culicidae)

Wolbachia is a genus of gram-negative endosymbiotic bacterium of maternal transmission, located mainly in the gonads of arthropods, including mosquitoes such as Aedes albopictus. The current distribution of Ae. albopictus in Argentina is restricted to the subtropical northeastern region of the country. Here, we studied the seasonal prevalence of Wolbachia detected in Ae. albopictus larvae and the relationship between the abiotic factors of the larval microhabitat and the infection status, in Eldorado city, Misiones province, subtropical region. The prevalence of Wolbachia infection found was 76.89% (n = 312). From the total samples examined, 52.80% (n = 214) showed double infection with the wAlbA/wAlbB strains, 23.84% (n = 97) infection only with wAlbB, and 0.25% (n = 1) only with wAlbA. The prevalence of double infection did not present statistically significant differences between the sites studied. For single infection, the lowest prevalence value of the wAlbB strain (13.33%) was found in the natural park, whereas the highest was found in the family dwellings and cemeteries. Tire repair shops showed an intermediate value. The wAlbA single infection was identified once. Our results also showed an association between temperature and slightly turbid waters with exposure to the sun in the larval habitats and the probability of infection by Wolbachia.

Thinking about the quality of life on the diet

I served for 36 years in several hospitals as a medical social worker. In my childhood, my father was internist and my mother helped his work. She also prepared meal using several foodstuffs. Families in the district were almost two family dwelling. And elderly people cared neighboring children in their spare time. I studied social welfare and worked at some hospitals as the medical social worker. I gave the advise to solve the personal problem of patients. We (doctor, nurse, nutrtionist, pharmacist and medical social worker) discussed the improvement in quality of life of patients. After retirement, I worked as volunteer at social welfare council. Sometimes I visited the home of elderly people and prepared meal using foodstuffs of refrigerator and heard his memories of childhood.

Performance assessment of solar water heating system using CO2 under various climate conditions

Water heating without greenhouse gas emissions is indispensable for sustainable development in low sun regions. The integration of solar energy in domestic water and space heating systems is a sustainable pathway. Kyoto and Montreal protocols have already banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons and granted a time limited permission to hydrochlorofluorocarbons. Synthetic refrigerants outperform natural refrigerants, yet 196 countries agreed on phasing out these refrigerants under Paris Accord in 2015. Industries, researchers and policy makers are retrofitting existing heating and cooling systems to integrate natural refrigerants worldwide. In this regard, an evacuated glass tube solar water heating system is simulated in Transient Systems Simulation Program (TRNSYS®) using low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. Parametric analysis is carried out to determine optimal sizes and configurations of solar collectors, heat exchangers, tank volumes and heights for annual performance assessment of solar water heaters. The optimized model was dynamically simulated under diverse weather conditions of Pakistan (Karachi), Australia (Melbourne) and China (Beijing). Our results show an optimal selection of solar water heating system parameters using 6 m2 collector area, 0.42 m3 tank volume, and 1.2 m tank height fulfil single family dwelling heating demands. Moreover, use of low global warming potential hydrofluoroolefins(HFOs) R-1234yz and R-1234yf refrigerants shows even superior thermal performance. The highest annual solar fraction values were recorded for CO2 (0.720289) and R-410a (0.723428) under various weather conditions. Our findings show that use of synthetic refrigerants slightly improves the performance of system, however, giving weightage to environmental benefits the natural refrigerants take precedence over synthetic refrigerants. This research work recommends an adoption of natural refrigerants as an environmentally superior and sustainable option.

世代間居住からみた「中年期」の世帯形成と住居の変化 : ライフサイクルの変化による家族・住居の変容に関する研究

世代間居住からみた「中年期」の世帯形成と住居の変化 : ライフサイクルの変化による家族・住居の変容に関する研究

SENIORZY NA WROCŁAWSKIM OSIEDLU POPOWICE – WYBRANE ZAGADNIENIA

Contemporary block housing estates, apart from technical problems, face the new problem of an ageing society. These housing estates, built in the 1970s and 80s, were inhabited primarily by young people, typically families with children. Many years later, the children, after gaining independence, left their family dwellings, leaving their ageing parents. Studies show that these housing estates are currently largely inhabited by seniors, who often live alone. This paper presents a study performed on the large-panel housing estates, Popowice, in terms of how it satisfies the needs of seniors. The paper also presents examples of apartment designs that sanction the needs of seniors, including seniors with special needs.

The impact of having children on domain-specific life satisfaction: A quasi-experimental longitudinal investigation using the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data.

Longitudinal studies have documented improvements in parents' life satisfaction due to childbearing, followed by postpartum adaptation back to baseline. However, the details underlying this process remain largely unexplored. Based on past literature, set-point theory, and results from an exploratory sample, we investigated empirically how first childbirth affected satisfaction with specific domains of life. In a preregistered study, we compared parents with matched childless respondents in their trajectories of life satisfaction, and also satisfaction with family life, health, sleep, work, housework, leisure, dwelling, household income, and personal income. First-time parents and childless respondents were matched in a procedure combining exact and propensity score matching. Using the population-representative German SOEP data (N = 3,370), longitudinal multilevel models revealed heterogeneous effects of childbirth on different domains of satisfaction: Both mothers' and fathers' satisfaction with family life increased temporarily in a similar fashion to life satisfaction before going back to baseline within five years after childbirth. However, only mothers experienced drastic losses to satisfaction with sleep and satisfaction with personal income. For the remaining domains, parents' satisfaction largely resembled that of the matched childless respondents. These divergent domain trajectories underscore the need for multivariate analyses in life satisfaction research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Type Projects as Tools: Housing Type Design in Communist Romania

This paper investigates so-called type projects and the process of housing typification in Romania under the communist regime (1948–89). It studies designs for housing of particular types (‘type projects’), primarily apartment buildings, disseminated through catalogues, that were used as more than just models for construction. They were ‘tools’, the active interface between political goals and actual buildings, similar to the contexts of contemporary developments in Eastern and Western Europe. Politicians exerted governmental control to ensure an institutional control over the design and production of type projects. A type project, with plans, section, elevation and specifications, contributed to the organization of the socialist lifestyle within family dwellings, led to new urban forms and cityscapes, standardized construction, guided industrialization and sustained the prefabrication of housing, especially large-panel prefabrication. This paper examines how these types entirely determined housing production.