Joy Maina

• PhD
• Professor at Ahmadu Bello University

Housing adequacy, measured using residential satisfaction ratings of housing environment attributes, was analysed for relationships with health status and satisfaction with life (SwL) among students living off-campus within the near-campus neighborhood of Samaru proximate the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria main campus. Results from a pilot stu...

Research indicates that as of 2022 Nigeria's housing deficit is approximately 28 million units. The benefits of Modular Construction (MC) offer a solution towards offsetting the housing deficit while simultaneously achieving the goals of sustainable urban development which aims at developing environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable c...

Despite the research-proven benefits of Prefabricated Construction (PC), studies indicate a problem of low adoption in developing countries as Nigeria; due to inadequate skill and awareness of roles for PC among construction stakeholders. The skills problem/gap is attributable to complex operations involved in the Life Cycle Stages (LCS) of PC. The...

Purpose: This study assessed the level architecture firms in the Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) deploy marketing strategies and practices and how these relate to business performance of the firms. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey of 86 respondents representing registered firms in the NCI was employed collect data on firm ch...

The nature of most construction activities exposes workers to health and safety risks associated with extreme hot weather conditions especially within developing countries in the global south. Considering the magnitude of health and safety risks associated with extreme heat exposure and the prevailing safety culture, and attitude among workers that...

Purpose This study aims to establish marketing practices which predict business performance of architecture firms within the Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) to address the sustained poor business performance of firms, which affects allied professionals as many projects in the built environment depend on design proposals from architects. Desig...

This study assessed relationships between awareness, satisfaction, and willing(ness)-to-pay (WTP) remuneration for architectural services from client perspectives toward improving the public image and business performance of architects in Nigeria. Likert ratings of 16 officially approved architectural services based on residential developments from...

Women in organisations experience a ‘glass ceiling’ that prevents them from reaching top management levels or executive status in the construction industry thus raising the question of gender equality in the workplace. This study investigates the glass ceiling barrier in the Nigerian construction industry organisations and how this is perceived by...

This study seeks to address the growing body of research on residential satisfaction in emerging cities like Lokoja in Kogi State, Nigeria. While numerous studies have examined the factors that influence residents' satisfaction with their location and housing, there is a dearth of knowledge in this area for emerging cities. This study aims to ident...

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been examined from perspectives of many allied construction professionals in order to improve service delivery and project success but rarely from architectural perspectives. Architects are major stakeholders in the construction industry whose design practices are deeply entwined with the performance of other...

This study investigated potential clients' willingness to pay for architectural services in the Kaduna Metropolitan Area. This is to address the dearth of insight into problems associated with payment for architectural services observed across the country. Employing a survey approach with 100 respondents from various economically viable sectors in...

A framework for exposing, attracting, developing and retaining females as a panacea to bridging the Gender Gap in STEM

Transformation of public housing by homeowners is a well-documented phenomenon in developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. Few studies systematically analyse spatial and morphological patterns which emerge from user perspectives and residents’ lived-in experiences as a means of informing designs in future. The lack of such vital feedback is proffer...

Academic success, linked to socioeconomic advancement and key positive indicators inlife has largely been investigated along STEM courses especially in Nigeria. In this study, academic success was predicted at two levels: second class lower (2.2) and second class upper (2.1) degreesusing 244 questionnaires from architecture undergraduates at Kano U...

Residential satisfaction has been studied globally across varying contexts in part due to it's links with quality of life, residential mobility, success or failure of housing projects. Few studies assess residential satisfaction in Northern Nigeria. This study investigated correlates of residential satisfaction in Investment Housing Estate, Gombe....

This study assessed satisfaction with dwelling unit attributes as well as support services and infrastructure within public housing estates across Northern Nigeria as such studies are rare in literature but important for design and policymaking. Results of descriptive statistics, Principal Component Analyses and Regression from 125 respondents in A...

This study explored gender disposition of architecture students in design studio based on technical, sequential, precise and confluent processes using a survey of 69 final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Department of Architecture. Data was analysed in SPSS v21 for descriptive statistics, Chi square, I...

Predicting success aids decision and policy makers in planning and managing important desired outcomes in any organisation. Although this is a common practice in educational disciplines, it is rarely employed in architecture education. Logistic regression analysis was employed to predict the probability of undergraduate students studying architectu...

Good learning environments are often directly linked with academic success though controlling for other factors such as socioeconomic status and entry qualifications are constantly required. This study, re-examines the above premise using qualitative open-ended responses from 29 students majoring in architecture from Ahmadu Bello University as stud...

This presentation highlights the often missing link between our electoral process, elected officials and environmental issues especially at grassroots level. It provides summaries on modalities to involve both electorate and elected officials in the fight against environmental ills challenging our society

Recently, research on the quality of Education has taken center stage in educational research. The concept of academic achievement and performance has been used to assess the quality of higher education. Self-reported data has played a key role in research in that regard. However, accuracy and reliability of self-reported scores from students have...

This study assesses the level of awareness and proficiency of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) as well as their advantages from 64 MSc students at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria. Results reveal extensive use of AutoCAD (92%) and Revit (87%). Significant differences were recorded in awareness and proficienc...

This study investigated barriers to the effective use of CAD/BIM in response to the dearth of data from Nigerian schools of architecture relative to information obtained from practice. This is important to bridge the gap between skill sets required in practice and those obtained from architecture graduates. Objectives of the study were to establish...

This study investigates residents' satisfaction levels with features of university staff housing to address the dearth in literature for this category of housing relative to public housing especially in northern Nigeria. This is important as satisfaction with the housing environment impacts quality of life, motivation and productivity of staff. A P...

The clamour for better quality graduates by architects in the Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) necessitates a look into the core competencies and the adequacy of architecture education in preparing architecture graduates for professional practice. 116 self-report likertscale questionnaires from architecture graduates (2009-2015), academics and...

This study examines the reliability of 94 self-assessed questionnaires employing architecture postgraduates and employers via t-tests and descriptive statistics. This is important as many studies employ self-assessment questionnaires with likert-scale responses to assess employability skills in non-technical disciplines such as design and the human...

In response to the demand for more housing units to cater for the increase in population, architectural housing research in Nigeria has generally benefitted from studies related to housing finance, mortgage, land acquisition, appropriate building materials, technology, satisfaction, quality, transformation, culture and the social aspects of urban p...

The perception of users of open public spaces is vast, ranging from the view of one individual to another in relation to specific open space. However, little research is available on the perception of users towards open public spaces especially in Nigerian institutions as well as the activities they partake in and what physical factors complement t...

Considering the rate of greenhouse gas emission, the impact of energy waste on the economy, there is then the need for determining the major contributing factors to its prevalence. Much work has been done towards documentation on industrial, commercial and residential energy consumption rate. Comparatively, little research exists on the rate of ene...

Sustainable traditional and vernacular aspects of African and Nigerian Architecture

Academic performance is affected by a number of factors including environmental, social, economic, cultural status, school background, lecturer characteristics, school facilities and resources, students' attitude and discipline. This research is aimed at assessing the factors that affect the academic performance of architecture students in two publ...

Recent changes in higher education (HE) has led to the evolution of learning activities taking place in virtually every space on campus-from formal environments such as classrooms, libraries and lecture theatres to informal settings such as spaces in between buildings, cafes and social spaces. Few studies report the way students employ informal spa...

This study set out to establish ways of improving wayfinding in Nigerian hospitals due to the rise of trauma cases resulting from insecurity and insurgency. This is important because such scenarios complicate wayfinding for local residents within hospital environments designed along western healthcare standards. Unique Adequacy approach was employe...

Academic performance of students in Higher Education is an issue of concern following rising global unemployment rates and funding problems because of its link to social and economic progress for many countries. This study investigates the influence of accommodation as a subset of school factors on academic performance of HE students employing stud...

Graduate unemployment is a problem for many countries. This problem is pronounced in Nigeria in part due to the economic recession facing the country and employers’ general assertion of graduates being unfit for the job market. This paper examines the prospects of graduates of architecture for employment via a questionnaire survey and interviews of...

Domestic water supply in most developing countries has been a challenge that stakeholders fail to address. This problem has been attributed to increase in population and climate change. In other to reduce this change, households have adopted strategies such as wastewater reuse and water storage as measures. The study assessed households' wastewater...

The recent economic recession and attendant employment problems experienced by Nigerian youths have spawned a renewed focus on issues regarding employability and career prospects of future graduates nationwide. The problem is especially pertinent for female graduates from construction related disciplines where the odds of gaining employment have tr...

Studies in public housing delivery and transformation of dwelling units have continued to receive recent attention in academia with relatively few research efforts conducted in northern Nigeria. Such post occupancy evaluation studies provide architects and allied professionals important feedback towards improving future designs. The present survey...

Graduate unemployment has become a fundamental problem worldwide, necessitating studies that seek to identify generic transferable skills towards improving prospects for graduates in future. Several disciplines have received such research attention. There has been comparatively less attention paid to establishing generic skills/competencies that wi...

Graduate unemployment has become a fundamental problem worldwide, necessitating studies that seek to identify generic transferable skills towards improving prospects for graduates in future. Several disciplines have received such research attention. There has been comparatively less attention paid to establishing generic skills/competencies that wi...

Wayfinding research has received attention in recent years in part due to the increase of complex buildings and user difficulty in successfully navigating large institutional and educational buildings during normal and panic-induced activities such as fire or security alerts. Most of such studies have however been conducted outside Nigeria despite...

Pre-knowledge is the potential skill acquired before entering school or before its relevance is put to use, which aids, enhances or augments education. Drawing is an inevitable aspect of the architectural education and design and the ability to graphically present cognitive design proposals to physical entities is an essential skill for all archite...

A school is an environment where knowledge is acquired at various levels. The buildings or environment where this knowledge is acquired is as important as the knowledge itself. With the prevalence of secondary schools established often within residential quarters to cater to the needs of the Nigerian populace, it has become imperative that research...

In response to the demand for housing units which will cater to an increase in population, housing research in Nigeria has generally benefitted from studies related to housing finance, mortgage, land acquisition, appropriate building materials and technology. Comparatively less attention has been paid design and spatial requirements for future hous...

Architecture curriculum and education in Nigeria has come under criticism in recent years regarding the quality of graduates inadequately unable to carryout work relating to design and practice to meet the challenges of changing societal needs. To this end, the curriculum at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) was reviewed in April 2012 to address these...

Large numbers of multi-level buildings have been developed over the years in a disorganized manner producing complex environments where navigation poses great difficulties and frustration to users. Such difficulties become pronounced during emergencies where panic induces crowd stampedes often resulting in fatalities. Wayfinding research for multi-...

Contemporary problems observed in the built environment often necessitate architects and other construction professionals to employ interdisciplinary approaches from allied disciplines in order to adequately address them. However, few experiences by architects conducting fieldwork in this regard have been reported. This paper presents some practica...

Research findings on public housing delivery have over time guided government intervention in housing whilst raising awareness about areas in need of further research. Such areas include the relationship between housing and culture to inform future housing policies for Nigeria. Few studies have however addressed how culture-specific studies improve...

Women's access to education has been recognised as a fundamental right as captured by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) number 5 adopted by the United Nations which seeks to "achieve gender equality, empower women and girls" and to ensure that girls have access to all levels of education. Studies on women's education in construction have sho...

An increase in population recorded in traditional Nigerian communities facing rapid urbanization created a demand for housing. This has necessitated research regarding the socio-cultural needs of different cultures in the country. This gap is most evident the North East region where little or no intense architectural studies have been carried out i...

Summary of my doctoral work displaying how traditional and vernacular architecture displays changes in culture

Public housing delivery in developing countries often involves the provision of government-funded housing units. Over time, occupants transform such units to suit their changing needs or to increase and improve housing stock—a practice that has been the focus of several documented studies intended to inform policy makers about changing housing tren...

Vernacular compound and housing transformations in many traditional Nigerian communities have been the focus of several studies. Most of these have been conducted in areas occupied by well-documented cultures or large language groups. Comparatively less attention has been paid to unknown cultures of smaller groups, especially those in the northeast...