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Household Members (household + member)
Selected AbstractsDevelopment of an Estimation Procedure for an Activity-Based Travel Demand ModelCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 7 2008W. Recker The method uses a genetic algorithm to estimate coefficient values of the utility function, based on a particular multidimensional sequence alignment method to deal with the nominal, discrete attributes of the activity/travel pattern (e.g., which household member performs which activity, which vehicle is used, sequencing of activities), and a time sequence alignment method to handle temporal attributes of the activity pattern (e.g., starting and ending time of each activity and/or travel). The estimation procedure is tested on data drawn from a well-known activity/travel survey. [source] Household Composition and Housing Expenditures in Rental-Occupied and Owner-Occupied MarketsFAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 3 2008Aydogan Ulker This article examines the relationship between household compositions and housing expenditures in rental-occupied and owner-occupied markets. The author finds that renters allocate their budget proportionately between housing and nonhousing goods for an additional household member, leaving the budget share of housing expenditures unchanged. For homeowners, nevertheless, an extra member implies a reduction in housing expenditures as a share of total budget. Although age and gender compositions turn out to be significant in determining the budget share of housing expenditures for renters, they play no major role for homeowners. And although an increase in the number of working members for renters significantly reduces the share of budget spent on housing, it has no significant impact for their owner counterparts. Moreover, keeping total expenditures constant, the main income source of the head of the household does not make any difference in terms of resource allocation across housing and nonhousing goods for both renters and owners. [source] A Pivotal Moment in 50 Years of Headache History: The First American Migraine StudyHEADACHE, Issue 5 2008Stewart J. Tepper MD Objective., To describe the magnitude and distribution of the public health problem posed by migraine in the United States by examining migraine prevalence, attack frequency, and attack-related disability by gender, age, race, household income, geographic region, and urban vs rural residence. Design., In 1989, a self-administered questionnaire was sent to a sample of 15,000 households. A designated member of each household initially responded to the questionnaire. Each household member with severe headache was asked to respond to detailed questions about symptoms, frequency, and severity of headaches. Setting., A sample of households selected from a panel to be representative of the US population in terms of age, gender, household size, and geographic area. Participants., After a single mailing, 20,468 subjects (63.4% response rate) between 12 and 80 Years of age responded to the survey. Respondents and nonrespondents did not differ by gender, household income, region of the country, or urban vs rural status. Whites and the elderly were more likely to respond. Migraine headache cases were identified on the basis of reported symptoms using established diagnostic criteria. Results., In total, 17.6% of females and 5.7% of males were found to have 1 or more migraine headaches per year. The prevalence of migraine varied considerably by age and was highest in both men and women between the ages of 35 to 45 years. Migraine prevalence was strongly associated with household income; prevalence in the lowest-income group (less than $10,000) was more than 60% higher than in the 2 highest-income groups (greater than or equal to $30,000). The proportion of migraine sufferers who experienced moderate to severe disability was not related to gender, age, income, urban vs rural residence, or region of the country. In contrast, the frequency of headaches was lower in higher-income groups. Attack frequency was inversely related to disability. Conclusions., A projection to the US population suggests that 8.7 million females and 2.6 million males suffer from migraine headache with moderate to severe disability. Of these, 3.4 million females and 1.1 million males experience 1 or more attacks per month. Females between ages 30 and 49 years from lower-income households are at especially high risk of having migraines and are more likely than other groups to use emergency care services for their acute condition. [source] Transmission of tuberculosis from adults to children in a Paris suburbPEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Fouad Madhi MD Abstract Tuberculosis in children is often acquired by contact with a family or household member. The aim of our study was to evaluate risk factors for latent infection and active disease in exposed children in a suburb of Paris. We examined medical records for the period 1997,2000 at six departmental centers for medical prevention in Val de Marne. Thirty-nine patients aged 18 years or more with M. tuberculosis -positive sputum samples, and living with children or adolescents, were identified. Ninety-one children, aged 3 months,17 years, were exposed to these index cases. All the children initially underwent a tuberculin skin test and chest radiography, and children with no criteria for latent infection or active disease at time of initial evaluation were asked to attend a second evaluation 3 months later. Overall, 20 of the 91 (22%) children were infected, including 4 children identified only at the second evaluation. Eight (40%) of the 20 infected children had active disease, including 2 of the 4 children identified at the second evaluation. The risk of infection was not influenced by the children's age, but was significantly associated with three characteristics of the adult cases, i.e., age younger than 40 years, presence of cavitary lesions, and smears with more than 100 bacilli per microscopic field. In conclusion, our results call for early examination of all exposed children, in order to prevent infection and progression to active disease, and for a routine second evaluation after the adult contact has ended. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2002; 34:159,163. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Drought, Domestic Budgeting and Wealth Distribution in Sahelian HouseholdsDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 5 2000Matthew Turner Over the past twenty-five years, Sahelian households have experienced recurrent harvest failure and greater reliance on remittances from migratory wage labour. Household subsistence has become less dependent on household grain stores and more on the liquidation of individual wealth stores. This study investigates how these broader changes have affected struggles between household members over obligations to support the household in the Zarmaganda region of western Niger. As the land-derived leverage of male patriarchs has declined and household dependence on individual wealth stores has increased, domestic budgeting has become more contested. Household heads make case-by-case moral claims on other household members during times of grain shortage. Women and subordinate males invoke Islamic law, which accords primary provisioning responsibility to the household head, to protect their individual wealth in times of grain deficit. This article investigates the nature of these budgetary struggles, showing how individuals' decisions to contribute individual wealth to support the household are best understood as highly situated, affected not only by the specific material conditions of the household but also the interplay of the moral, structural, and individualistic imperatives that derive from one's position within the household. Using reconstructed livestock wealth histories for the members of fifty-four households in western Niger, this study investigates the material consequences of these struggles. Male heads of corporate households, the historic managers of the household's land and agricultural labour, have lost wealth relative to their wives and married male subordinates since the drought of 1984. [source] Helicobacter pylori in familial clusters based on antibody profileFEMS IMMUNOLOGY & MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Bee Ling Ng Abstract Studies have shown a high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in close communities and that intrafamilial spread during early childhood may be a route of transmission. A total of 72 household members from 21 families were enrolled in this study. Sera from individuals showed 50/72 (69.4%) seropositive for IgG against H. pylori by ELISA. Western blots showed diversity in the protein profiles with molecular masses ranging from ,8 to 130 kDa. Cohen's , statistical analysis of the blot patterns showed that nine families demonstrated similar profiles (100%), while 4 other families showed varying similarities (17,50%). The results support the hypothesis of intrafamilial transmission of H. pylori. Furthermore, serological studies can be used as an effective approach to determine the familial status in relation to H. pylori infection. [source] Household Decisions and Equilibrium EfficiencyINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC REVIEW, Issue 4 2000Hans Haller A general equilibrium model is introduced where a household may consist of several members, each with individual preferences and/or resources. When households obey collective rationality, certain intrahousehold externalities can be fully internalized by the respective households so that competitive exchange among households is efficient. As a rule, however, such intrahousehold externalities are not fully internalized by individual household members acting in their personal interest so that competitive exchange among such individuals is only efficient in exceptional cases. [source] Smoking cessation interventions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the role of the family: a systematic literature reviewJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 6 2007Karen A. Luker Abstract Title.,Smoking cessation interventions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the role of the family: a systematic literature review Aim., This paper is a report of a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of family-focused smoking cessation interventions for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to determine what data on families are documented in studies of smoking cessation interventions. Background., Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major public health problem and cigarette smoking is the most important factor contributing to its development and progression. However, smoking cessation rates are low and relapse is common. The role of families in smoking cessation efforts has received little attention. Methods., All studies were included in the review that (i) addressed an evaluation of a psycho-social/educational smoking cessation intervention for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, (ii) addressed some information on the family (i.e. living arrangements, marital status, smoking history of family members, support for quitting) and/or included the family as part of the intervention and (iii) were published between 1990 and 2006. Electronic data sources, existing systematic reviews of smoking cessation interventions and the grey literature were reviewed. Results., Seven studies were included. Six studies (11 papers) included data on marital status, smoking status of household members, support for quitting smoking and related variables. In two of the studies, the variable on the family was used to analyse smoking cessation outcomes. One additional study met the inclusion criterion of an evaluation of a smoking cessation intervention, which also included a family focus in the intervention. Conclusion., No conclusions about the effectiveness of a family-focused smoking cessation intervention could be drawn from this review. Further research is needed to determine if a more family-focused intervention, in conjunction with pharmacological and counselling approaches, would lead to improved smoking cessation outcomes. [source] Impact of interviewing by proxy in travel survey conducted by telephoneJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 1 2002Daniel A. Badoe Telephone-interview surveys are a very efficient way of conducting large-scale travel surveys. Recent advancements in computer technology have made it possible to improve upon the quality of data collected by telephone surveys through computerization of the entire sample-control process, and through the direct recording of the collected data into a computer. Notwithstanding these technological advancements, potential sources of bias still exist, including the reliance on an adult member of the household to report the travel information of other household members. Travel data collected in a recent telephone interview survey in the Toronto region is used to examine this issue. The statistical tool used in the research was the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique as implemented within the general linear model framework in SAS. The study-results indicate that reliance on informants to provide travel information for non-informant members of their respective households led to the underreporting of some categories of trips. These underreported trip categories were primarily segments of home-based discretionary trips, and non home-based trips. Since these latter two categories of trips are made primarily outside the morning peak period, estimated factors to adjust for their underreporting were time-period sensitive. Further, the number of vehicles available to the household, gender, and driver license status respectively were also found to be strongly associated with the underreporting of trips and thus were important considerations in the determination of adjustment factors. Work and school trips were found not to be underreported, a not surprising result giving the almost daily repetitiveness of trips made for these purposes and hence the ability of the informant to provide relatively more precise information on them. [source] Collective Household Models: Principles and Main ResultsJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 4 2002Frederic Vermeulen In the traditional approach to consumer behaviour it is assumed that households behave as if they were single decision-making units. This approach has methodological, empirical and welfare economic deficiencies. A valuable alternative to the traditional model is the collective approach to household behaviour. The collective approach explicitly takes account of the fact that multi-person households consist of several members which may have different preferences. Among these household members, an intrahousehold bargaining process is assumed to take place. In addition to providing an introduction to the collective approach, this survey intends to show how different collective household models, each with their own aims and assumptions, are connected. [source] Introduction to the special issue on the role of nonfarm income in poverty reduction: evidence from Asia and East AfricaAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2006Keijiro Otsuka Abstract In this special issue, we present seven studies that collectively attempt to investigate the role of non-farm income in long-term and short-term poverty reduction in Asia and Africa. The first four studies out of the seven use long-term panel data over two decades in the Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, and India. These studies show drastic increases in non-farm income shares and corresponding declines in poverty levels over time, especially in the Philippines and Thailand. Education levels of household members and returns to education also increased significantly in these countries. The remaining three studies use cross-sectional and short-term panel data from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. These African studies show high proportions of poor households and low shares of non-farm income that are somewhat comparable to the situation in the 1980s described in the Asian studies. Without the Green Revolution that provided stable farm income and potential financial resources to invest in children' education in Asia, it is not clear if African farm households can follow the Asian examples. [source] Effects of E-Commerce on Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Case Study of Grocery Home Delivery in FinlandJOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY, Issue 2 2002Hanne Siikavirta Summary In this article, we present a literature review of the general and environmental effects of e-commerce in various parts of the demand-supply chain. These are further translated into effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the food production and consumption system. The literature study revealed many opportunities for e-commerce to reduce GHG emissions in the food production and consumption system. Some possibly negative effects were also identified. Electronic grocery shopping (e-grocery) home delivery service was chosen as the subject of a case study because of its direct and indirect potential for reducing the GHG emissions in the food production and consumption system. GHG emission reduction potential through the implementation of various e-grocery home delivery strategies was quantified. Depending on the home delivery model used, it is possible to reduce the GHG emissions generated by grocery shopping by 18% to 87% compared with the situation in which household members go to the store themselves. We estimate that the maximum theoretical potential of e-grocery home delivery service for reducing the GHG emissions of Finland is roughly 0.3% to 1.3%; however, the current and estimated future market potential is much smaller, because the estimated market share of e-grocery services is only 10% by 2005. Narrowing the gap between the theoretical and the actual potential requires a model that would simultaneously provide additional value to the consumer and be profitable to companies. To be able to achieve significant reductions in GHG emissions, system-level innovations and changes are required. Further research is needed before conclusions can be reached as to whether e-commerce and e-grocery are useful tools in that respect. [source] The distributive consequences of machismo: a simulation analysis of intra-household discrimination,JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 8 2006José Cuesta Abstract Empirical evidence questions the unitary allocation model of the household that underpins the standard measurement of monetary poverty and inequality. Intra-household gender discrimination has been widely shown to shape expenditure decisions, nutrition status, and human capital accumulation of household members. However, conventional poverty and inequality analyses are conducted for the household as a whole, which might lead to different conclusions compared with studies based on individuals. Using recent developments in intra-household bargaining modelling, this paper constructs non-cooperative allocation rules dominated by gender discrimination among household members. Estimates for Chile show a substantial worsening of poverty and inequality under such allocation rules. This suggests that intra-household discrimination deserves some of the attention typically directed to extra-household discrimination in labour markets, access to public services or political participation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Design and evaluation of prophylactic interventions using infectious disease incidence data from close contact groupsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES C (APPLIED STATISTICS), Issue 3 2006Yang Yang Summary., Prophylaxis of contacts of infectious cases such as household members and treatment of infectious cases are methods to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. We develop a method based on maximum likelihood to estimate the efficacy of such interventions and the transmission probabilities. We consider both the design with prospective follow-up of close contact groups and the design with ascertainment of close contact groups by an index case as well as randomization by groups and by individuals. We compare the designs by using simulations. We estimate the efficacy of the influenza antiviral agent oseltamivir in reducing susceptibility and infectiousness in two case-ascertained household trials. [source] Mental health status of vulnerable tsunami-affected communities: A survey in Aceh Province, IndonesiaJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2007Renato Souza The authors determined the prevalence of severe emotional distress and depressive symptoms using the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25 (HSCL; Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth, & Covi, 1974) in tsunami-affected communities that had experienced armed conflict arising from the ongoing independence movement in Aceh Province, Indonesia. We also evaluated determinants of severe emotional distress. The data were collected for the purposes of a mental health assessment. In our sample (N = 262), 83.6% demonstrated severe emotional distress, and 77.1% demonstrated depressive symptoms. In multivariate regression models, severe emotional distress was positively associated with the number of tsunami-related deaths among household members. Our data suggests a need for effective interventions in this vulnerable population. [source] THE GEOGRAPHY OF INSECURITY: SPATIAL CHANGE AND THE FLEXIBILIZATION OF LABOR IN METRO MANILAJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2009GAVIN SHATKIN ABSTRACT:,There has been considerable attention in the urban studies literature to the implications of spatial change associated with globalization for the urban poor in advanced economies, but much less so in developing countries despite the fact that this is where most urbanization is occurring. This article attempts to address this issue in the context of Metro Manila, a globalizing city of 10.7 million that sits in a larger mega-urban region of some 17 million. It does so through an analysis of data collected through two methods: a sample survey of six low-income settlements in the Metro Manila region that collected information about housing conditions, income, and employment of household members, commuting, and household heads',opinions regarding spatial change; and in-depth interviews with a subset of respondents that were intended to generate narratives and stories that would elucidate the experience of households with spatial change. The study identifies three main issues confronting the surveyed households: the social impacts of the flexibilization of labor in the Metro Manila region, gender and age differences in access to employment, and the prevalence of extremely long commutes on the urban fringe. The article concludes that the issues faced by Metro Manila households are in many ways quite distinct from those in cities in advanced economies. It further argues that these differences have important implications both for urban policy and practice in addressing equity issues, and for theories of globalization and issues of spatial change and social equity in cities. [source] Intrafamilial transmission of hepatitis C virus: a systematic reviewJOURNAL OF VIRAL HEPATITIS, Issue 2 2000Ackerman To examine the risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission between patients infected with HCV and their household members (siblings, offspring and parents), as well as their stable heterosexual partners, a systematic search of the MEDLINE database was undertaken for all relevant articles published up to June 1997. English language publications or those supplemented with an English abstract that reported studies concerning hepatitis C, and household, intrafamilial, sexual and intraspousal transmission of HCV, were reviewed. Data from uncontrolled and controlled studies were collected and analysed separately. Studies reporting the exclusive use of first-generation anti-HCV antibodies without supplemental tests were excluded. Pre- or postnatal mother-to-child transmission of HCV and homosexual and heterosexual transmission of HCV among non-permanent couples were not included. Unweighted data from individual studies were pooled for each category of family member. Data were also analysed separately for Japanese and non-Japanese studies because there is evidence that intrafamilial transmission may differ, based on endemicity of the viral infection. Comparisons were drawn only from controlled studies that reported the prevalence of HCV in family members of both HCV-positive and HCV-negative controls. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for each family category. In uncontrolled studies, the pooled prevalence of anti-HCV among 4250 stable sexual contacts of patients with HCV-related chronic liver disease (CLD) was 13.48%, while the pooled prevalence of anti-HCV among 580 stable sexual contacts of patients who contracted HCV as a result of multiple transfusions was 2.41%. In controlled studies, the pooled prevalence of anti-HCV among 175 siblings and household contacts of patients with CLD was 4.0% compared with 0% among 109 contacts of anti-HCV-negative controls (OR 9.75, 95% CI 0.91 ad infinitum). The pooled prevalence of anti-HCV among offspring of Japanese HCV-infected CLD patients was 17% compared with 10.4% among offspring of HCV-negative Japanese controls (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.21,2.58, P=0.002). The pooled prevalence of anti-HCV among spouses of non-Japanese HCV-infected CLD patients was 15.2% compared with 0.9% in the spouses of non-Japanese HCV-negative controls (OR 20.57, 95% CI 6.05,84.08, P=0.0001). The prevalence of anti-HCV among non-Japanese offspring and Japanese spouses of HCV-infected patients was not increased compared with controls. HCV genotype homology and mutant analysis studies in pairs of HCV-infected patients and their HCV-infected contacts showed that concordant genotype homology was found in 66% of non-sexual contacts and in 74% of sexual contacts. Sequence homology of greater than 92% was found in 19 out of 35 pairs. Hence, evidence exists that familial, non-sexual and sexual transmission of HCV does occur. In Japanese patients, transmission probably occurs in younger family members while, in non-Japanese patients, transmission probably occurs at an older age, after contact with an HCV-infected spouse. [source] Labour migration and change in older people's living arrangements: the case of Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS), ThailandPOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 5 2008Min Qin Abstract This study involves an investigation of changes in older people's living arrangements in the context of a 4-round panel design from the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS), Thailand. The respondents were 2320 persons aged 60 and above, who were co-residing with family members in addition to, or other than, their spouse at the time of the first round of the census. Survival analysis is used to interpret the data. Results indicate that labour migration plays an important role in changes in the living arrangements of older people. Migration increases the risk of living alone. Other demographic and socio-economic factors of importance include the marital status of older people, economic security, household assets, household size, and household members living nearby. The paper concludes by discussing policy implications of the findings. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Study of the Reliability and Validity of the Community Health Intensity Rating Scale (CHIRS) in the Turkish CommunityPUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, Issue 3 2007Aysun Çelebio ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the Community Health Intensity Rating Scale (CHIRS) that was translated into the Turkish language and applied in the Turkish community. The CHIRS is a tool that assesses the intensity of need for care of persons/families in the community. The original version of the tool was translated into Turkish, examined for face validity and language appropriateness by the Turkish experts, and then applied to 372 families living in Odemis, Turkey. Significant correlations were found between total scale score (TSS) and total number of household members, and between the TSS and the total number of visits to any health institution within the previous month. In addition, the self-health care needs evaluation scores supported predictive validity. For reliability, min,max values, standard errors and deviations, skewness, and kurtosis coefficients of parameter scores, domain scores, and TSS were examined. The mean TSS was 26.7 (± 5.32) and the mean age of the participants was 35.0 years. For internal consistency, Cronbach's , (.525) and Guttman split-half coefficient (.629) values were established for the TSS. In conclusion, the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of CHIRS have been established. [source] Using Multiperiod Variables in the Analysis of Home Improvement Decisions by HomeownersREAL ESTATE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2002Kermit Baker Though approaching $200 billion a year, spending by homeowners and rental property owners on improvements and repairs to the stock of existing housing units has received little attention in the academic literature. Historically, studies of the determinants of home improvements have focused heavily on the static characteristics of the housing unit (age, value, size, location) and of the occupants (age, income, household composition). This article extends this inquiry by incorporating dynamic factors, namely changes in the composition of the household and previous spending on home improvements. The results of these enhancements are encouraging. Additions of household members and having recently undertaken a major home improvement project are significantly related to home expansion projects. [source] GENDER DISCRIMINATION, INTRAHOUSEHOLD RESOURCE ALLOCATION, AND IMPORTANCE OF SPOUSES' FATHERS: EVIDENCE ON HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE FROM RURAL INDIATHE DEVELOPING ECONOMIES, Issue 4 2006Nobuhiko FUWA D12; D13; D63; D64 Data collected from rural India was used to examine the rules governing intrahousehold resource allocations. Testing for gender-age discrimination among household members using Deaton's (1989) method, results suggest a general bias favoring boys over girls in allocation of consumption goods, however, the findings are not always statistically significant. Intrahousehold resource allocation rules are then examined to see if such discrimination is based on the unanimous decision of parents. The novelty in our test on allocation rule are: (1) use of grandparental variables as extra-household environmental parameters (EEPs) in expenditure estimation, (2) derivation of a test of the unitary model that only requires EEPs, and (3) semi-formal use of survival status of grandparents in testing collective models. It is interesting that spouse's father characteristics are importantly correlated with greater mother and child goods expenditure shares, and smaller father goods shares. Their survival status matters, and this is stronger evidence for a collective as opposed to unitary model. [source] Intra-Household Resource Allocation, Consumer Preferences and Commodity Tax Reforms: Australian EvidenceTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 247 2003Paul Blacklow Empirical analysis of household expenditure behaviour has traditionally ignored the issue of resource allocation between household members, assuming that they have identical or unitary preferences. This paper relaxes that assumption, develops a household sharing rule and proposes intra-household demand systems that are able to identify differences in the preferences of members from conventional data. The resulting price and expenditure elasticities are used to demonstrate that collective demand models suggest different directions for commodity tax reforms to those implied by the traditional unitary model. [source] Household smoking behaviours and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among infants: are current strategies effectively protecting our young?AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 3 2010Justine B. Daly Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of infant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) among infants attending child health clinics in regional NSW; the association between such exposure and household smoking behaviours; and the factors associated with smoking restrictions in households with infants. Methods: Parents completed a computer-based questionnaire and infant urine samples were collected. Information was obtained regarding the smoking behaviours of household members and samples were analysed for cotinine. Results: Twenty seven per cent of infants had detectable levels of cotinine. Infant ETS exposure was significantly associated with the smoking status of household members, absence of complete smoking bans in smoking households and having more than one smoker in the home. Smoking households were significantly less likely to have a complete smoking ban in place. Conclusions: This study suggests that a significant proportion of the population group most vulnerable to ETS were exposed. Implications: Future efforts to reduce children's exposure to ETS need to target cessation by smoking parents, and smoking bans in households of infants where parents are smokers if desired reductions in childhood ETS-related illness are to be realised. [source] Household size and residential water demand: an empirical approach,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2010Fernando Arbués The effectiveness of pricing policies depends on the price elasticity of consumption. It is well documented that residential demand for water is influenced by heterogeneity associated with differences in the size of the household and socioeconomic characteristics. In this paper, we focus on household size. Our initial hypothesis is that users' sensitivity to changes in price is different depending on the number of household members. To this end, we carry out an empirical estimation of urban water demand in Zaragoza (Spain) distinguishing between households with different sizes using data at the individual level. As far as we are aware, this approach to urban residential water demand is new in the literature. The analysis suggests that all households are sensitive to prices regardless of size. A more relevant finding is that small households are more sensitive to price changes. [source] Household Epidemics: Modelling Effects of Early Stage VaccinationBIOMETRICAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2009Nyimvua Shaban Abstract A Markovian susceptible , infectious , removed (SIR) epidemic model is considered in a community partitioned into households. A vaccination strategy, which is implemented during the early stages of the disease following the detection of infected individuals is proposed. In this strategy, the detection occurs while an individual is infectious and other susceptible household members are vaccinated without further delay. Expressions are derived for the influence on the reproduction numbers of this vaccination strategy for equal and unequal household sizes. We fit previously estimated parameters from influenza and use household distributions for Sweden and Tanzania census data. The results show that the reproduction number is much higher in Tanzania (6 compared with 2) due to larger households, and that infected individuals have to be detected (and household members vaccinated) after on average 5 days in Sweden and after 3.3 days in Tanzania, a much smaller difference. [source] Determinants of Household Income Mobility in Rural ChinaCHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 2 2010Xuehua Shi D31; O15 Abstract This article uses multivariate regression and decomposition analyses to assess household income mobility determinants and their contributions to income mobility in rural China from 1989 to 2006. The findings indicate that households with lower initial income level, higher share of wage income, higher educational level of household members, larger number of non-agricultural employed household members and younger heads are more mobile. Moreover, besides initial income, change in the share of wage income, change in the share of non-agricultural employed household members, and change in average year of education of household members are the most important factors that account for income mobility. These findings necessitate more emphasis on policies that promote non-agricultural employment and education to enhance household income mobility in rural China. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||