Improving student housing services at Umm Al-Qura University: A proposed perception: تحسين خدمات الإسكان الطلابي بجامعة أم القري: تصور مقترح

The study aimed to identify the reality of the services provided by Umm Al-Qura University to its students in the field of student housing, and to provide a proposed vision for the development of student housing service at Umm Al-Qura University in light of global experiences. The study used the descriptive and analytical method. The study population consisted of university housing students (scholarships students) at Umm Al-Qura University, and the sample size reached 104 students. The researcher used the questionnaire as a study tool. Among the most important findings of the study: There is great satisfaction on the part of the housing students on the housing administration’s dealings with students. The results showed the students' need to hold open dialogue meetings with the housing administration to exchange experiences, transfer expertise and experiences, and listen to different points of view through the establishment of trips and entertainment tours, there are places in the housing for the practice of various student activities. Among the most important findings of the study: Building additional housing units, taking into account when designing, increasing the size of apartments and rooms, establishing a public park around student housing to increase the percentage of oxygen and in order to become an outlet for students' free time, establish communication channels between students and the administration of student housing after the student’s graduation from the university, to benefit from the multinationality through language courses and cultural

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS FOR REDUCING THE VULNERABILITY OF THE HOUSING SERVICE SECTOR ASSOCIATED WITH NATURAL HAZARDS

Houses or living in buildings near the coastline are more likely to experience damage from natural disasters such as flooding, tsunamis. The damages to the housing service sector near the coastline due to natural hazards can cause billions of dollars annually. Most tsunami waves from natural disasters are less than 10 feet. It has been known that elevating your house will help reduce damage to our property from most natural disasters near the coastline. To improve the resiliency of the housing sector, reconstructing houses by the method of elevating coastal houses will be useful to minimize the associated risks and property damage. The major objectives of this research are to conduct a benefit-cost analysis in terms of private, financial, economic, efficiency using nominal and real terms for minimizing the vulnerability of houses near the coastline associated with natural hazards. To measure the benefit and cost of a strategy of elevating coastal houses, this research will conduct a benefit-cost analysis due to the investment costs for reconstructing houses by the method of elevating coastal houses using historical economic and financial data. Reducing risks of property damages and economic perturbations in the housing service sector through reconstructing houses by the method of elevating coastal houses will lead to improving the resiliency of interrelated infrastructures and sectors. Moreover, the resiliency of the houses near the coastline will help in speeding the recovery from or resistance to natural hazards in the long run.

Monitoring and Evaluation of Housing Service Delivery in Zimbabwean Local Authorities

This study investigates the effectiveness of monitoring and evaluation systems for housing service delivery in local authorities in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has been experiencing poor housing service delivery and the Midlands province is characterized by housing backlog, poor quality housing projects, lack of housing finance, lack of technical capacity, and no new partnerships. Despite the Government of Zimbabwe introducing monitoring and evaluation tools in all public institutions to achieve good governance and effective housing service delivery, this did not fully address the housing problems experienced in the province. The research utilized the mixed-methods approach with a case study research design using urban and rural local authorities in the Midlands Province. The article recommended that the three tiers of government should work collaboratively with the aid of a monitoring and evaluation system to solve housing delivery problems. This study is critical for local government housing delivery performance management.

Intervening in the cycle of poverty, poor housing and poor health: the role of housing providers in enhancing tenants’ mental wellbeing

Poverty, poor housing and poor health are complexly interconnected in a cycle that has proven resistant to intervention by housing providers or policy makers. Research often focuses on the impacts of the physical housing defects, particularly upon rates of (physical) illness and disease. There has been comparatively little research into the ways in which housing services can underpin the generation of positive health and, especially, wellbeing. Drawing on qualitative data from 75 tenants in the social and private rented sectors, this paper describes the findings of a research project that tracked tenants’ experiences across their first year in a new tenancy in Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The project collected data on tenants’ perceptions of housing and housing service quality, financial coping and health and wellbeing, which was analysed using the principles of Realist Evaluation to elucidate impacts and causal pathways. Being able to establish a sense of home was key to tenants’ wellbeing. The home provided many tenants with a recuperative space in which to shelter from daily stressors and was a source of autonomy and social status. A sense of home was underpinned by aspects of the housing service, property quality and affordability which are potentially amenable to intervention by housing providers. These findings raise questions about the extent to which social housing providers and the private rental market in the UK are able to meet the needs of vulnerable tenants. They suggest that approaches to housing provision that go beyond providing a basic dwelling are needed to successfully intervene in the cycle of poverty, poor housing and poor health.

Cantonment of troops and housing service in Belarus (mid 1850s – mid 1870s)

The article reveals the essence of one of the phenomena of the era of Alexander’s reforms which on the scale of the Russian Empire was most common in Belarus but until now has not become the subject of research by Belarusian historians. According to the sources identified in the archives and book repositories of Belarus, Russia, Lithuania the military post due to the special geostrategic position of the Belarusian provinces in the mid 1850s – mid 1870s was an integral attribute of the daily life of hundreds of thousands of their inhabitants. In the present study is the first to assess the extent of involvement of the population in Belarusian provinces in support of troops of the Russian Empire housing allowance, sets out the principles and forms of army civilian infrastructure and food within the housing service, the role of local civil administration and selfgovernment in the cantonment of the troops on the ground. For the first time most of the used ones are mentioned.

Research on the Evaluation and Influence Mechanism of Public Housing Service Quality: A Case Study of Shanghai

Government provision of public housing services eases the disorderly spread of urban space, avoids the social risks caused by high density, and maintains a safe social life. The role of public housing services in realizing urban sustainable development has become increasingly prominent, yet the provision of adequate public housing of a decent quality in a desirable location is a major challenge. Therefore, this study proposes a holistic conceptual model of public housing service quality (PHSQ) and establishes corresponding evaluation indicators to objectively evaluate the current status of housing services. The results show that the overall PHSQ is low- to medium-quality; the city center has become a high-quality gathering area, and the suburbs are generally low-quality. The spatial pattern shows that a single high-quality center coexists with multiple low-quality centers, forming an approximate M-shaped distribution pattern. The geodetector results show that foundation supporting capacity, government control capacity, resource agglomeration capacity, market driving capacity, and social promotion capacity significantly affect the PHSQ. The influence produced by the interaction between different factors shows an enhanced relationship, especially between public discourse expression and other factors, implying the need to remove the overemphasis on “supply-side reform” and focus on the effectiveness of demand-side factors.