Households And Houses

The author presents a large comparative database derived from ethnographic and architectural research in Southeast Asia, Egypt, Mesoamerica, and other areas; proposes new methodologies for comparative analyses of houses; and critically examines existing methodologies, theories, and data. His work expands on and systematizes comparative and cross-cultural approaches to the study of households and their environments to provide a firm foundation for this emerging line of study.

This book had its genesis in a series of 6 popular and well-attended ASOR conference sessions on Household Archaeology in the Ancient Near East. The 18 chapters are organized in three thematic sections: Architecture as Archive of Social Space; The Active Household; and Ritual Space at Home.

Seeking to expand both the geographical range and the diversity of sites considered in the study of ancient Greek housing, Ancient Greek Houses and Households takes readers beyond well-established studies of the ideal classical house and now-famous structures of Athens and Olynthos. Bradley A. Ault and Lisa C. Nevett have brought together an international team of scholars who draw upon recent approaches to the study of households developed in the fields of classical archaeology, ancient history, and anthropology. The essays cover a broad range of chronological, geographical, and social contexts and address such topics as the structure and variety of households in ancient Greece, facets of domestic industry, regional diversity in domestic organization, and status distinctions as manifested within households. Ancient Greek Houses and Households views both Greek houses and the archeological debris found within them as a means of investigating the basic unit of Greek society: the household. Through this approach, the essays successfully point the way toward a real integration between material and textual data, between archeology and history. Contributors include William Aylward (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Nicholas Cahill (University of Wisconsin, Madison), Manuel Fiedler (Freie Universität, Berlin), Franziska Lang (Humboldt Universität, Berlin), Monike Trümper (Universität Heidelberg), and Barbara Tsakirgis (Vanderbilt University, Nashville).

There have been few studies in Ancient Near Eastern archaeology that have concentrated on domestic buildings, with little existent information about houses. This represents a serious lacuna in the knowledge of Mesopotamian culture, considering the importance of the house in society, as the main space of social dynamics. This book addresses this gap, analysing the characteristics and the variations of Mesopotamian houses in the third millennium, which represents a critical period for early urbanization. It identifies common aspects and differences, and relates those characteristics to the socio-economical history of the period to broaden the understanding of this interesting period in Mesopotamian culture. To examine variations and use of space, seven sites were analysed from north (Tell Melebiya, Titris Höyük, and Tell Taya), central (Khafajah and Tell Asmar) and south Mesopotamia (Tell Abu Salabikh and Shuruppak) for a total number of 68 house plans. Several aspects have been investigated, such as the size of households, the evidence of wealth, the concept of privacy, and the role of women in society. The database of houses collected in this book also offers a reference for other sites to analyse houses and households.

"This book explores changes in houses and households in the southeastern United States from the Woodland to the Historic Indian Period (ca. 200 B.C. to A.D. 1800). Most studies of domestic architecture in the Southeast have been conducted at the single-site scale. As a result, broader spatial and temporal patterns of variation in houses and households are not well understood. To address this problem, Steere constructed a database that catalogues the architectural features of 1,258 structures from 65 sites in the Southern Appalachian region and surrounding areas. Significant trends identified by this comparative study include changes in the size and spacing of houses, changes in architectural investment, and a secular trend toward the increasing segmentation of houses. Using a theoretical framework developed from household archaeology and anthropology, Steere argues that certain aspects of this architectural variation can be explained by changes in household economics and household composition, symbolic behavior, status differentiation, and settlement patterning. More generally, he proposes that large-scale patterns of diachronic and synchronic variation in domestic architecture are best explained by changes in social organization"--Provided by publisher.

Chikungunya fever is a vector borne disease transmitted by mosquitoes that became widely prevalent in most of the coastal States of Indian Union since 2006. It causes numerous health problems to the victims and cognitive problems for medical practitioners and policy makers. Several episodes of the fever have shown long term physical and neurological disability besides short term morbidity. There is no vaccine available to prevent Chikungunya though it is generally considered non-fatal. Hence the disease can be treated at relatively low cost by simple measures to prevent the severity of the disease. However, poor people treated the diseases relatively costly. Though the disease was not new to India, the disease caused panic among the public and resulted in socio political and medical concern when the epidemic outbreak penetrated fast in to rural and urban areas after 2006.The symptoms, side effects and socio-economic impacts were not similar in the affected areas. In the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, the disease inflicted more among the rural agricultural laborers and tapper workers in rubber plantations, resulted in severe loss of employment and productivity. The present study is an attempt to analyse the economic impact of Chikungunya fever at the household level in Kanyakuramari District. This report presents the results of the study The Economic Impact of Chikungunya Fever on Household level in Tamil Nadu: A study in Kanyakurmari District This project is undertaken with the financial support from Malcolm and Elizabeth Adiseshaiah Trust, Chennai. This financial assistance is gratefully acknowledged. I am indebted to Presidency College for providing the necessary facilities to undertake the project. I fail in my duty if I dont mention the helps extended by the post graduate students of Marthandam Christian College, Kanyakumari. I am indebted to Prof. R.Nagaraj of MIDS for his valuable guidance in undertaking the project. I also gratefully acknowledge the support of Mr.K.Sampath Kumar. B.P.Chandramohan

Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.