The process of housing improvement in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a moderate one. This moderate rate of housing activity is largely due to an acute shortage in PNG of affordable, industrially produced modern building materials. The process is further hampered by increasingly changing personal consumer choice behavior. A survey was administered to a random sample of residents of the Burnbu settlement, one of the oldest and largest squatter settlement in Lae, PNG. The results of the study lend support to available evidence that a number of environmental factors play a major role in individual choice behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Boyd, D. J. (1990). New wealth and old power: Circulation, remittances and the control of inequality in the Eastern Highland Community, Papua New Guinea. In J. Connell (Ed.), Migration and development in the South Pacific (pp. 97-106). Canberra, Papua New Guinea: National Center for Development Studies, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University.
2.
Brain, J. L. (1982). Witchcraft and development. Journal of the Royal African Society, 81(324), 371-384.
3.
Christie, M. (1980). Changing consumer behavior in Papua New Guinea: Its social and ecological implications (Report No. 3). Canberra, Papua New Guinea: Center for Research and Economic Studies.
4.
Cloutier, G. , & Alexander, K. D. (1977). Urbanization, education and supernatural: The survival, adaptation and diffusion of supernatural practices in an urban situation. Unpublished research paper, Lae, Papua New Guinea.
5.
Conroy, J. D. (1987). Shelter for the homeless: Asia-Pacific needs and Australian responses (A Development Dossier). Canberra, Papua New Guinea: Australian Council for Overseas Aid.
6.
Cooper C. , & Sarkissian, W. (1986). Housing as if people mattered. Berkeley: University of California Press.
7.
Cooter, R. D. (1989). Issues in customary land law (Discussion Paper No. 39). Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Institute of National Affairs.
8.
Duncan, J. S. (1985). The house as a symbol of social structure: Notes on the language of objects among collective groups. In I. Altman & C. Werner (Eds.), Home environment (pp. 133-151). New York: Plenum.
9.
Foster, G. M. (1965). Cultural responses to expressions of envy in Tzintzuntzan. Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, 21(1), 24-35.
10.
Gilbert, A. , & Ward, P. N. (1984). Community participation in upgrading irregular -settlements: The community response. World Development, 12(9), 912-922.
11.
Kaitfla, S. (1990). Building materials and their role in housing improvement: The case of upgraded squatter settlements in Tanzania. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Queensland, Australia.
12.
Kaitilla, S. (1991a). The upgrading of squatter settlements in Tanzania: The role of security of land tenure and the provision of amenities in housing improvement. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 26(3/4), 220-236.
13.
Kaitilla, S. (1991b). The influence of environmental variables on building material choice: The role of low-cost building materials on housing improvement. Architecture and Behavior, 7(3), 205-222.
14.
Kaitilla, S. (1992), The influence of overseas trade on housing quality among the Siassi of Papua New Guinea. Architecture and Behavior, 8(3), 267-278.
15.
Lawless, R. (1986). Housing needs and policies in Tunis. Ekistics, 53(318/319), 157-161.
16.
Mangin, W. (1967). Latin American squatter settlements: A problem and a solution. Latin American Research Review, 2, 65-98.
17.
Morauta, L. (1979). Facing the facts: The need for policies for permanent urban residents (Discussion Paper No. 26). Boroko, Papua New Guinea: Institute of Applied Social Economic Research.
18.
Norberg-Schulz, C. (1963). Intentions in architecture. Universitetsforlaget: Allen Unwin Ltd.
19.
Peter, T. , & Olson, J. C. (1990). Consumer behavior and marketing strategy (2nd ed.). Boston: Irwin.
20.
Rachlin, H. (1989). Judgement, decision and choice: A cognitive behavioral synthesis. New York: W. H. Freeman.
21.
Riebe, I. (1987). Kalam witchcraft: A historical perspective. In M. Stephen (Ed.), Sorcerer and witch in Melanesia (pp. 211-245). New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
22.
Salmen, L. F. (1986). Listen to the people: Participant observer. Evaluation of Development Projects. New York: Oxford University Press.
23.
Stephen, M. (Ed.). (1987). Sorcerer and witch in Melanesia. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
24.
Stretton, A. (1979). Urban housing policy in Papua New Guinea (Monograph No. 8). Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research.
25.
Stretton, A. (1984). The building industry in Papua New Guinea: The industry structure and labor market (Monograph No. 23). Boroko, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research.
26.
Tumer, J.F.C. (1976). Housing by people: Towards autonomy in building environmentLondon: Marion Boyars.
27.
Van der Linden, J. (1981). The squatter's house as a source of security in Pakistan. Ekistics, 48(286), 44-48.
28.
Warupi, A. W. (1977). Sorcery, magic and witchcraft amongst the Roro and Mekeo people. In R. Adams (Ed.), Socio-Economic change in Papua New Guinea (pp.180-204). Unpublished student research papers, Papua New Guinea University of Technology, Lae.
29.
White, J. (1990). Education, inequality and social change in the Rai coast district of Papua New Guinea. In J. Connell (Ed.), Migration and development in the South Pacific (pp. 120-136). Canberra, Papua New Guinea: National Center for Development Studies, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University.
30.
Willis, I. (1974). Lae, village and city. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
31.
Wilson, M. (1971). Religions and the transformation of society: A study in social change in Africa. London: Cambridge University Press.
32.
Wiser, W. H. , & Wiser, C. V. (1971). Behind mud walls, 1930-1960. Berkeley: University of California Press.
