Horizontal Immobility

2017 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Residential Choice ◽  
Residential Instability ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
High Crime ◽  
Violent Events

While poor families experience high residential instability, they also stay put for extended periods of time before moving. When they do move, they are likely to move laterally to a similarly disadvantaged place. These two processes—staying in place and churning—amount to “horizontal immobility.” Why do people get stuck in disadvantaged environments? Prevailing understandings focus on constraints to residential choice, but even under limitations, families make active residential decisions. Drawing on fieldwork with 50 renters in a low-income, high-crime Baltimore neighborhood, this article proposes that neighborhoods themselves shape narratives governing residential decision-making. In high-crime neighborhoods, renters stay put as long as they can craft a story that justifies remaining. But when the narrative is ruptured by violent events, residents are pushed to action, often a move. The logic behind these moves is motivated by a desire to restore a sense of safety. The concept of “narrative rupture” sheds light on when a family decides to move, representing a mechanism for how residential decisions are shaped by neighborhood forces to reproduce poverty. This concept also contributes to theories of how culture shapes action: we are most likely to act when the narratives supporting our current course of action break down.

Segregating Shelter

2013 ◽  
Vol 647 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie DeLuca ◽  
Philip M. E. Garboden ◽  
Peter Rosenblatt
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Residential Choice ◽  
Housing Projects ◽  
Voucher Program ◽  
Section 8 ◽  
Housing Choice Voucher Program ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
Housing Search ◽  
High Concentrations

Individuals participating in the HUD Housing Choice Voucher program, formerly Section 8, can rent units in the private market and are not tied to public housing projects in a specific neighborhood. We would expect vouchers to help poor families leave the ghetto and move to more diverse communities with higher socioeconomic opportunity, but many voucher holders remain concentrated in poor, segregated communities. We use longitudinal qualitative data from one hundred low-income African American families in Mobile, Alabama, to explore this phenomenon, finding that tenants’ limited housing search resources, involuntary mobility, landlord practices, and several aspects of the voucher program itself limit families’ ability to escape disadvantaged areas. We also find that the voucher program’s regulations and funding structures do not incentivize housing authorities to promote neighborhood mobility and residential choice. This combination of forces often keeps voucher recipients in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poor and minority residents.

scholarly journals Elusive quality: the challenges and ethical dilemmas faced by international non-governmental organisations in sourcing quality assured medical products

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. e004339
Author(s):  
Katherine Enright
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Medical Product ◽  
Moral Decision Making ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Medical Products ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Falsified Medicines ◽  
New Perspective

Although medical products that are of sound quality are fundamental to the delivery of healthcare, so too is their availability, affordability, accessibility and acceptability. However, achieving all of these aims consistently and simultaneously may be unfeasible due to a host of barriers—no matter the country. If uncertainty, constraints and conflicting priorities also threaten their delivery, not only does the situation becomes yet more challenging, the morally just course of action becomes yet more opaque. While global health organisations, supply chains and projects are heterogenous, international non-governmental organisations (iNGOs) responding to humanitarian crises or delivering development assistance in low-income and middle-income countries are undoubtedly prone to this issue. In a novel framing of the problem of substandard and falsified medicines, this article explores some ethical dilemmas that, directly or indirectly, could result in the quality of medical products in iNGO health projects to be compromised. Drawing on a broad literature base and years of experience as a senior humanitarian pharmacist, the author reflects on the barriers, culture and system that contributes to the existence and persistence of substandard and falsified medical products in global assistance projects. The paper offers an in-depth examination of pressures that may arise in four key areas (capacity, supply chain, bureaucracy and quality assurance) and postulates on the myriad ways in which this may alter the attitudes, behaviours and decision-making of iNGOs in a manner that disincentivises the prioritisation of medical product quality. This paper does not seek to excoriate the aid sector, but rather to lend a new perspective: that such predicaments are overlooked, real-world ethical dilemmas in urgent need of greater openness, research, debate and guidance, for the benefit of moral decision-making and patient care.

scholarly journals Nursing Home Staff’s Perceptions of Healthcare Decision Making for Unbefriended Residents

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 384-384
Author(s):  
Hyejin Kim ◽  
Molly Perkins ◽  
Thaddeus Pope ◽  
Patricia Comer ◽  
Mi-Kyung Song
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Care Physician ◽  
Healthcare Decision ◽  
Do Not Resuscitate ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Healthcare Decision Making ◽  
Facility Level

Abstract ‘Unbefriended’ adults are those who lack decision-making capacity and have no surrogates or advance care plans. Little data exist on nursing homes (NHs)’ healthcare decision-making practices for unbefriended residents. This study aimed to describe NH staff’s perceptions of healthcare decision making on behalf of unbefriended residents. Sixty-six staff including administrators, physicians, nurses, and social workers from three NHs in one geographic area of Georgia, USA participated in a 31-item survey. Their responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and conventional content analysis. Of 66 participants, eleven had been involved in healthcare decision-making for unbefriended residents. The most common decision was do-not-resuscitate orders. Decisions primarily were made by relying on the resident’s primary care physician and/or discussing within a facility interdisciplinary team. Key considerations in the decision-making process included “evidence that the resident would not have wanted further treatment” and the perception that “further treatment would not be in the resident’s best interest”. Compared with decision making for residents with surrogates, participants perceived decision making for unbefriended residents to be equally-more difficult. Key barriers to making decisions included uncertainty regarding what the resident would have wanted in the given situation and concerns regarding the ethically and legally right course of action. Facilitators (reported by 52 participants) included some information/knowledge about the resident, an understanding regarding decision-making-related law/policy, and facility-level support. The findings highlight the complexity and difficulty of healthcare decision making for unbefriended residents and suggest more discussions among all key stakeholders to develop practical strategies to support decision-making practices in NHs.

scholarly journals Healthy eating: a matter of prioritisation by households or policymakers?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Joreintje Dingena Mackenbach
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Food System ◽  
Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽  
Healthy Foods ◽  
Fruit And Vegetable ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Abstract I reflect upon the potential reasons why American low-income households do not spend an optimal proportion of their food budgets on fruits and vegetables, even though this would allow them to meet the recommended levels of fruit and vegetable consumption. Other priorities than health, automatic decision-making processes and access to healthy foods play a role, but solutions for the persistent socio-economic inequalities in diet should be sought in the wider food system which promotes cheap, mass-produced foods. I argue that, ultimately, healthy eating is not a matter of prioritisation by individual households but by policymakers.

scholarly journals Housing Programs for the Poor in Addis Ababa: Urban Commons as a Bridge between Spatial and Social

2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422198997
Author(s):  
Marianna Charitonidou
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Housing Program ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Government

The article presents the reasons for which the issue of providing housing to low-income citizens has been a real challenge in Addis Ababa during the recent years and will continue to be, given that its population is growing extremely fast. It examines the tensions between the universal aspirations and the local realities in the case of some of Ethiopia’s most ambitious mass pro-poor housing schemes, such as the “Addis Ababa Grand Housing Program” (AAGHP), which was launched in 2004 and was integrated in the “Integrated Housing Development Program” (IHDP) in 2006. The article argues that the quotidian practices of communities and their socio-economic and cultural characteristics are related to the spatial attributes of co-housing practices. Drawing upon the idea that there is a mutual correspondence between social and spatial structures, it places particular emphasis on the analysis of the IHDP and aims to show that to shape strategies that take into account the social and cultural aspects of daily life of the poor citizens of Addis Ababa, it is pivotal to invite them to take part in the decision-making processes regarding their resettlement. Departing from the fact that a large percentage of the housing supply in Addis Ababa consists of informal unplanned housing, the article also compares the commoning practices in kebele houses and condominium units. The former refers to the legal informal housing units owned by the government and rented to their dwellers, whereas the latter concerns the housing blocks built in the framework of the IHDP for the resettlement of the kebele dwellers. The article analyzes these processes of resettlement, shedding light of the fact that kebele houses were located at the inner city, whereas the condominiums are located in the suburbs. Despite the fact that the living conditions in the condominium units are of a much higher quality than those in the kebele houses, their design underestimated or even neglected the role of the commoning practices. The article highlights the advantages of commoning practices in architecture and urban planning, and how the implementation of participation-oriented solutions can respond to the difficulties of providing housing. It argues that understanding the significance of the endeavors that take into account the opinions of dwellers during the phase of decision-making goes hand in hand with considering commoning practices as a source of architecture and urban planning frameworks for low-cost housing in this specific context. The key argument of the article is that urban planning and architecture solutions in Addis Ababa should be based on the principles of the so-called “negotiated planning” approach, which implies a close analysis of the interconnections between planning, infrastructure, and land.

Regulatory focus and construal level theory on low-income consumer indebtedness: Evidence from an emerging market

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrícia de Oliveira Campos ◽  
Marconi Freitas da Costa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Regulatory Focus ◽  
Task Complexity ◽  
Emerging Market ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Construal Level Theory ◽  
Construal Level ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Low Income Consumers

PurposeThis study aims to further analyse the decision-making process of low-income consumer from an emerging market by verifying the influence of regulatory focus and construal level theory on indebtedness.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental study was carried out with a design 2 (regulatory focus: promotion vs prevention) × 2 (psychological distance: high vs low) between subjects, with 140 low-income consumers.FindingsOur study points out that the propensity towards indebtedness of low-income consumer is higher in a distal psychological distance. We found that promotion and prevention groups have the same propensity to indebtedness. Moreover, we highlight that low-income consumers are prone to propensity to indebtedness due to taking decisions focused on the present with an abstract mindset.Social implicationsFinancial awareness advertisements should focus on providing more concrete strategies in order to reduce decision-making complexity and provide ways to reduce competing situations that could deplete self-regulation resources. Also, public policy should organize educational programs to increase the low-income consumer's ability to deal with personal finances and reduce this task complexity. Finally, educational financial programs should also incorporate psychology professionals to teach mindfulness techniques applied to financial planning.Originality/valueThis study is the first to consider regulatory focus and construal level to explain low-income indebtedness. This paper provides a deeper analysis of the low-income consumers' decision process. Also, it supports and guides future academic and decision-making efforts.

The Heterogeneous Nature of Urban Poor Families

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Salcedo ◽  
Alejandra Rasse
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Poor Families ◽  
Heterogeneous Nature ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Different Cultures

This paper addresses the scholarly debate on cultural homogeneity or heterogeneity of urban poor families. While authors such as Lewis (1959) or Wacquant (2000 ; 2001) claim that structural disadvantages are linked to a particular type of identity or culture, others such as Hannerz (1969) , Anderson (1999 ; 2002) , or Portes ( Portes and Manning, 1986 ; Portes and Jensen, 1989 ) believe that it is possible to find different behaviors, expectations, decision–making processes, and outcomes among people living in seemingly identical structural conditions ( Small et al., 2010 ). Using Santiago, Chile, as a case study, we differentiate five different cultures or identities among the poor. Those identities seem to be the product of different historical and political circumstances, as well as of different types of public policies. The paper ends with a discussion of the need for poverty reduction policies to consider these differences among the poor.

scholarly journals Making spaces for co-production: collaborative action for settlement upgrading in Harare, Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne Shand
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Power Relationship ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Collaborative Action ◽  
Service Consumer

To make co-production work as a strategy for urban development, and to establish a basis for collaborative action, states and organized communities must find a way to manage their unequal power relationship. Effective partnerships, constructed through projects of co-production, require participants to move beyond institutionally defined roles of service provider and service consumer to forge new terms for collaboration and spaces for joint decision-making. The processes of making space for co-production can be centrally important to establishing the legitimacy of development activity that includes the urban poor as stakeholders. Drawing from research undertaken in Harare, Zimbabwe, this paper examines how a memorandum of understanding was used to frame dialogue between community and state actors and facilitate co-production of housing and infrastructure in a low-income settlement.

scholarly journals Community-based Programs for Childhood Immunization and Prevention of Childhood Diseases: Sustainable Support in Mothers’ Decision-Making – A Health Belief Model Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Kemeugni Ngandjon ◽  
Alfred Laengler ◽  
Thomas Ostermann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Health Belief Model ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Belief ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
World Health ◽  
Vaccination Program ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Belief Model

Abstract Background: The childhood vaccination program (EPI) is claimed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most cost-effective intervention to reduce child mortality. Therefore, in low-income countries governments and health authorities invest in vaccination programs to reach the herd immunity. However, despite the resources allocated to the EPI, epidemics preventable through vaccines are still reported in these countries. In Cameroon, the Foumbot district in the West region has witnessed measles epidemics since 2010 and in 2013 a polio outbreak was reported. Methods: The design of this study is a cross-sectional survey. A total of 160 mothers of children between the ages of 12 to 23 months were interviewed. The Health-Belief-Model was applied to design a community-related framework regarding maternal decision-making.Results: The outcome of this survey shows that 60% of the children studied were completely vaccinated, 37.75% were partially vaccinated, and 1.25% had not received any vaccine. The logistic regression analysis shows that affiliation to Islam (OR=0.2) and a poor knowledge of infectious diseases (OR=0.3) were significant predictors of complete childhood vaccination failure. Conclusion: Starting the vaccination program at birth and a good knowledge of infectious diseases were important factors for complete childhood vaccination. Additionally, health facilities presented a shortage of qualified health personnel. Public health authorities should invest in health education programs with the goal of developing skills for health- seeking behavior in individuals and communities.

scholarly journals Adolescentes del África Occidental: motivaciones y reflexiones del proceso migratorio. Un análisis comparado

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
José-Javier Navarro-Pérez ◽  
Ángela Carbonell ◽  
Francisco Xavier Aguiar-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Protection System ◽  
Family Influence ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Migration Process ◽  
Adult Status

This article presents the perception of professional experts and adolescents from West Africa on their migration process and their passage through Spain as they head toward Europe. Its objectives are 1) identify the reasons to migrate, 2) analyze family’s influence on decision-making, and 3) point out the factors conditioning the migration process. Qualitative techniques such as a life story, a panel of professional experts, Delphi, and SWOT were used. The results further deepen into the scarcity of the families’ financial resources, the adult status that adolescents originally receive, low income, and low qualification as main motivationsfor migrating. In conclusion, thistype of migration isidentified and built on the same parameters as adults. Different perceptions were found between adolescents and professionals regarding remittances and family influence to migrate. As implications for the practice, it was identified the importance of specializing the protection system professionals who attend the needs of young migrants.

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