Search results for: socio-economic benefit

Authors: Darius Phiri, Moses Chibesa, Donald Zulu, Robby Kasubika

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In Zambia, wildlife is co-managed by Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) and the local communities by sharing management responsibilities and benefits derived from harvesting wildlife resources under a benefit sharing mechanism. Although the benefit sharing mechanism has been formulated under good principles, it is still facing numerous challenges. In response to these challenges, a study on the sustainability of ZAWA benefit sharing mechanism was carried out in order to assess its potential and continuity in line with community empowerment and wildlife resources management. Systematic sampling was used with a sampling intensity of 4% to administer three types of questionnaires to community members in Mumbwa Game Management Area (GMA), ZAWA officers, and to the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources (MTENR) staffs. The collected data was then analysed using SPSS version 16.5. The findings indicated that many people in the GMA do not participate fully because of lacking satisfactory benefits. However, the mechanism contribute to the community well-being and can still remain sustainable especially if measures to address the current challenges are put in place.

Keywords: benefit sharing, concessions, licenses, poaching, local communities, sustainability

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Authors: Safiyya A. Abba, Shehu U. R. Aliyu

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This paper deals with Islamic social security: a discourse explores the meaning and nature of Islamic social security system. The paper reviews the social security framework and operations during the early period. The paper further identifies the instruments of Islamic social security discusses its principles and objectives. The paper discovers that Islamic social security is a personification of a comprehensive welfare approach in view of its varied instruments that are deeply rooted in the Islamic law, unique principles and realistic and achievable objectives. Furthermore, the Islamic social security system has far reaching socioeconomic implications; social justice, cohesion, equity, a catalyst for poverty eradication, income redistribution, economic growth and development.

Keywords: Islamic social security, basic needs, zakat, socioeconomic justice, equity

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Authors: Indrani Gupta, Leena Vachasiddha, Rakesh Kumar

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Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai intends to undertake Mumbai Sewage Disposal (MSDP) for improvement of environment in and around Mumbai city. Sewage generated from the city currently gets partly into the inadequate collection system for treatment and the rest into nearby marine water body through drains. This paper addresses the cost benefit analysis of MSDP works for better compliance of sewage treatment and disposal. Cost benefit analysis indicates that the investment in sewage treatment is economically beneficial and will provide immense social, environmental, health and economic benefits. Monetary values of positive benefits such as avoided health costs, enhanced fish catches and improved tourism have been quantified. The total capital cost of the project is estimated to be about INR 51,510 million and operation and maintenance cost is about INR 2240.6 million per year. The cost benefit analysis indicates that a benefit of about 25,882 million per year can be achieved due to the implementation of this project. Other than these benefits, better marine ecosystem quality; higher property cost; improved recreational opportunities were not included because of lack of information.

Keywords: waste water treatment, cost-benefit analysis, health, tourism, fisheries

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Authors: Orapan Thosingha, Tassana Boontong, Prapa Yuttatri, Vilaivan Thongcharoen, Soparn Potaya, Mattika Chaichan, Chanin Chakkrapopyodhin, Khwanthida Phimphakarn, Taddao Nabnean

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This research aimed to explore symptom experiences among Thai adults with chronic illnesses living in an urban community area of Bangkok. The sample was 670 adults with ages ranging from 20-59 years. The majority of them (65.2%) had more than one disease. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes were the first three diseases among them. About 58% were female, and 51.1 % stayed with their couples. The studied sample had relatively low socioeconomic status; 33.7% were wage workers, 15.2% were street vendors, and 10.4% were unemployed. About 54 % had family incomes less than 10,000 baht (300 US Dollars) per month, and 41.6% addressed that their incomes were not adequate for daily living. Although the majority of them (63.7%) did not have to pay for hospital visits, they still had to pay for public transportation and could not earn a wage or any income on the hospital visit day. The first three physical symptoms they experienced were knee pain (60.5%) due to being overweight, headache (47.0%), and insomnia (44.6%). About 45% stated that their incomes decreased after having chronic illnesses and 37.2% expressed that having lower incomes affected their living, 34.5% perceived being a burden, and 34.3% regret about depending on others. It can be concluded that adults with low socioeconomic status who experienced chronic illnesses and resided in an urban community area had complex needs. While caring for them, nurses should pay attention not only to a disease-related domain but also to a social-related domain. Reached-out clinics led by professional nurses who are well-prepared for primary medical care and home visit are strongly recommended. National Health Security Office should adopt this policy and develop an action plan to serve the needs of chronically ill adults with low socioeconomic status.

Keywords: chronic illnesses, urban community, socioeconomic status, symptom experiences, low incomes

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Authors: Linda P. M. Pluymen, Mariska M. G. Leeflang, I. Stegeman, Henock G. Yebyo, Anne E. M. Brabers, Patrick M. Bossuyt, E. Dekker, Anke J. Woudstra, Mirjam P. Fransen

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Weighing the benefits and harms of colorectal cancer screening can be difficult for individuals. An existing online decision aid was expanded with a benefit-harm analysis to help people make an informed decision about participating in colorectal cancer screening. In a randomized controlled trial, we investigated whether those in the intervention group who used the decision aid with benefit-harm analysis were more certain about their decision than those in the control group who used the decision aid without benefit-harm analysis. Participants were 623 (39% of those invited) men and women aged 45 until 75 years old. Analyses were performed in those 386 participants (62%) who reported to have completed the entire decision aid. No statistically significant differences were observed between intervention and control group in decisional conflict score (mean difference 2.4, 95% CI -0.9, 5.6), clarity of values (mean difference 1.0, 95% CI -4.4, 6.6), deliberation score (mean difference 0.5, 95% CI -0.6, 1.7), anxiety score (mean difference 0.0, 95% CI -0.3, 0.3) and risk perception score (mean difference 0.1, -0.1, 0.3). Adding a benefit-harm analysis to an online decision aid did not improve informed decision making about participating in colorectal cancer screening.

Keywords: benefit-harm analysis, decision aid, informed decision making, personalized decision making

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Authors: Shaun G. Abbott, Rebecca C. Reynolds, John B. F. de Wit

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Low physical activity (PA) levels are a major public health concern in Australia. There is some evidence that PA interventions can increase PA levels via various methods, including online delivery. Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) people participate in less PA than the rest of the population, partly due to poor self-regulation behaviors associated with socioeconomic characteristics. Interventions that involve a particular method of self-regulation, Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII), has regularly achieved healthy behavior change, but few studies focus on PA behavior outcomes and no studies examining the effect of MCII on the PA behaviors of low SES people has been done. In this study, a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will deliver MCII for PA behavior change to individuals of relative disadvantage for the first time. The current pilot study will predict sample size for a future full RCT and test the hypothesis that sedentary participants from areas of relative socioeconomic disadvantage of Sydney, who learn the MCII technique will be more physically active, have improved anthropometry and psychological indicators at the completion of a 12-week intervention compared to baseline and control. Eligible participants of relative socioeconomic disadvantage will be randomly assigned to either the ‘PA Information Plus MCII Intervention Group’ or a ‘PA Information-Only Control Group’. Both groups will attend a baseline and 12-week face-to-face consultation; where PA, anthropometric and psychological data will be gathered. The intervention group will be guided through an MCII session at the baseline appointment to establish a PA goal to aim to achieve over 12 weeks. Other than these baseline and 12-week consultations, all participant interaction will occur online. All participants will receive a ‘Fitbit’ accelerometer to record objectively. PA as a daily step count, along with a PA diary for the duration of the study. PA data will be recorded on a personalized online spreadsheet. Both groups will receive a standard PA information email at weeks 2, 4, and 8. The intervention group will also receive scripted follow-up online appointments to discuss goal progress. The current pilot study is in recruitment stage with findings to be presented at the conference in December if selected.

Keywords: implementation intentions, mental contrasting, motivation, pedometer, physical activity, socioeconomic

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Authors: Jose Funes, Jeff Sauer, Laixiang Sun

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This research examines determinants of multifamily housing development and spillovers in the District of Columbia. A range of socioeconomic factors related to income distribution, productivity, and land use policies are thought to influence the development in contemporary U.S. multifamily housing markets. The analysis leverages data from the American Community Survey to construct panel datasets spanning from 2010 to 2019. Using spatial regression, we identify several socioeconomic measures and land use policies both positively and negatively associated with new housing supply. We contextualize housing estimates related to race in relation to uneven development in the contemporary D.C. housing supply.

Keywords: neighborhood effect, sorting, spatial spillovers, multifamily housing

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Authors: Eileen Kim

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As socioeconomic disparities grew in New York during the 1970s, artists represented new values that came with the times. Street art, in particular, was birthed from a distinctly urban, fringe setting to ultimately become one of the most lucrative forms of art today. Examining the economic and psychological reasons behind the rise of street art, this paper delves into the development of the art market as a parallel insight into human behaviors and economic models such as supply and demand. The purpose of this study is to show the role of the increasingly divided socioeconomic classes and the rise of art collecting as an asset-building form. This study concludes that the iconography and market value of street art represented distinct values that came from a series of intertwined social matters such as racial tensions and revolutions in industrial innovation.

Keywords: art industry, cultural representation, ethnicity, markets, public property, social classes, street art

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Authors: Sue Lynn Kim, Sang-Gyun Lee, Joan P. Yoo

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Although adolescents in low socioeconomic status (SES) have been reported to less engage in health promoting behaviors (HPB), the specific mechanism between their SES and HPB has not been extensively studied. Considering the Korean education system which focuses only on college entrance exams while lacking of interest in students’ health, and unique traits of adolescents, such as ego-centric thinking, family members can significantly contribute to develop and enhance adolescents’ HPB. Based on the review of related literature and previous researches, this study examined the mediating effect of family-based activities on the relationship between SES and adolescents' HPB. 636 adolescents (4th graders in elementary and 1st graders in middle school) and their parents from the 1st year survey of Seoul Education & Health Welfare Panel were analyzed by AMOS 19.0 utilizing structural equation modeling. Analytic results show that adolescents in low SES were less likely to engage in family-based activities as well as HPB. This association between SES and HPB was partially mediated by family-based activities. Based on the findings, we suggest that special education programs to enhance HPB should be required in schools and community organizations especially for adolescents in low SES who may have difficulties in doing family-based activities due to parents’ low income and insufficient leisure time. In addition, family-based activities should be encouraged to enhance HPB by raising parents' awareness about the importance of family-based activities on their children's HPB.

Keywords: family-based activity, health promoting behaviors, socioeconomic status, HPB

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Authors: Mokhtar Kouki Inès Rekik

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This paper focuses on the assessment of the air pollution and morbidity relationship in Tunisia. Air pollution is measured by ozone air concentration and the morbidity is measured by the number of respiratory-related restricted activity days during the 2-week period prior to the interview. Socioeconomic data are also collected in order to adjust for any confounding covariates. Our sample is composed by 407 Tunisian respondents; 44.7% are women, the average age is 35.2, near 69% are living in a house built after the 1980, and 27.8% have reported at least one day of respiratory-related restricted activity. The model consists on the regression of the number of respiratory-related restricted activity days on the air quality measure and the socioeconomic covariates. In order to correct for zero-inflation and heterogeneity, we estimate several models (Poisson, Negative binomial, Zero inflated Poisson, Poisson hurdle, Negative binomial hurdle and finite mixture Poisson models). Bootstrapping and post-stratification techniques are used in order to correct for any sample bias. According to the Akaike information criteria, the hurdle negative binomial model has the greatest goodness of fit. The main result indicates that, after adjusting for socioeconomic data, the ozone concentration increases the probability of positive number of restricted activity days.

Keywords: bootstrapping, hurdle negbin model, overdispersion, ozone concentration, respiratory-related restricted activity days

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Authors: Mohamed Hamed Mohamed Ahmed Alameer

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Population studies, essentially deals with the size, growth, and distribution of the population in a given area. Size, growth, and distribution are determined by three major factors, which are fertility mortality, and migration. Of these factors, fertility- as a number of live births a woman has actually had- is a potent socio-demographic force in vital process of population growth. So, fertility is a major component of population growth. It is one of the main determinants of population growth and has crucial role in population dynamic, because it measures the rate at which a population increased. In fact the levels of fertility are vary widely among nations, countries, geographic regions, ethnic, socio- economic groups, and religious groups. Fertility differential by religion have been empirically documented in a large numbers of countries. For instance, many researchers in developing and developed countries investigated the differential of fertility among Muslims and Non- Muslims. Most of them have found that fertility of Muslims is higher than fertility of non Muslims. And Muslims have a tendency for large families comparing to non- Muslims population. On the basis of this; Islam by it itself could play an important role in shaping attitudes and values of fertility, such as: sustainability of human kind, developmental reasons, religious Motivations, socioeconomic Motivations, and Psychological Motivation. Therefore, this paper investigates socio-economic values of fertility in Islam and compare it to Malthusian and neo Malthusian functionalists and conflict perspectives.

Keywords: islam, fertility, socioeconomic values, social sciences

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Authors: Hossam Elborombaly, Nader Y. Azab

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The Middle East region is rich with its architecture and urban settings. This makes it viable for exploring and applying different strategies that deal with conservation. Current context characterized by pollution, socioeconomic issues, behavioral problems, etc. affects architectural and urban heritage –literally- in all Middle Eastern countries. Although there have been numerous strategies in place to preserve and/ or rehabilitate heritage, all has been designed and implemented following political more than technical or methodical processes. This only resulted in more deterioration of the targeted areas. This paper explores different approaches in some selected Arab countries and relies on comparative analysis with some successful European experiences. The aim is to establish some solid basis for dealing with heritage areas; an approach that respects heritage and traditions without compromising sustainability or socioeconomic opportunities.

Keywords: conservation, heritage, identity, urban conservation methodology,

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Authors: Mohamed Aly, Aliaa Rehan Youssef, Emad Sawerees, Mounir Guirgis

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Relevance: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common degenerative disease seen in all populations. It causes disability and substantial socioeconomic burden. Evidence supports that exercise are the most effective conservative treatment for patients with OA. Therapists experience and clinical judgment play major role in exercise prescription and scientific evidence for this regard is lacking. The development of clinical prediction rules to identify patients who are most likely benefit from exercise may help solving this dilemma. Purpose: This study investigated whether body mass index and functional ability at baseline can predict patients’ response to a selected exercise program. Approach: Fifty-six patients, aged 35 to 65 years, completed an exercise program consisting of open kinetic chain strengthening and passive stretching exercises. The program was given for 3 sessions per week, 45 minutes per session, for 6 weeks Evaluation: At baseline and post treatment, pain severity was assessed using the numerical pain rating scale, whereas functional ability was being assessed by step test (ST), time up and go test (TUG) and 50 feet time walk test (50 FTW). After completing the program, global rate of change (GROC) score of greater than 4 was used to categorize patients as successful and non-successful. Thirty-eight patients (68%) had successful response to the intervention. Logistic regression showed that BMI and 50 FTW test were the only significant predictors. Based on the results, patients with BMI less than 34.71 kg/m2 and 50 FTW test less than 25.64 sec are 68% to 89% more likely to benefit from the exercise program. Conclusions: Clinicians should consider the described strengthening and flexibility exercise program for patents with BMI less than 34.7 Kg/m2 and 50 FTW faster than 25.6 seconds. The validity of these predictors should be investigated for other exercise.

Keywords: clinical prediction rule, knee osteoarthritis, physical therapy exercises, validity

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Authors: Amirmohsen Behjat, Aleck Ostry, Christina Miewald, Bernie Pauly

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Substantial research has indicated that socioeconomic and demographic characteristics’ of neighborhoods are strong determinants of food security. The aim of this study was to develop a Food Insecurity Neighborhood Index (FINI) based on the associated socioeconomic and demographic variables to identify the areas at potential risk of food insecurity in rural British Columbia (BC). Principle Component Analysis (PCA) technique was used to calculate the FINI for each rural Dissemination Area (DA) using the food security determinant variables from Canadian Census data. Using ArcGIS, the neighborhoods with the top quartile FINI values were classified as food insecure. The results of this study indicated that the most food insecure neighborhood with the highest FINI value of 99.1 was in the Bulkley-Nechako (central BC) area whereas the lowest FINI with the value of 2.97 was for a rural neighborhood in the Cowichan Valley area. In total, 98.049 (19%) of the rural population of British Columbians reside in high food insecure areas. Moreover, the distribution of food insecure neighborhoods was found to be strongly dependent on the degree of rurality in BC. In conclusion, the cluster of food insecure neighbourhoods was more pronounced in Central Coast, Mount Wadington, Peace River, Kootenay Boundary, and the Alberni-Clayoqout Regional Districts.

Keywords: neighborhood food insecurity index, socioeconomic and demographic determinants, principal component analysis, Canada census, ArcGIS

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Authors: Kowser Ali Jan, R. Balaji

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A disaster hurts those affected. It also spares many in the affected areas, yet those spared may be indirectly affected. The analytical framework of prevention and coping has proved useful in many circumstances. Historically and currently, there has been limited quantitative information available on flood management in Jammu and Kashmir. This study focuses on the Cost-benefit Analysis (CBA) of flood management by District Disaster Management Kulgam, and the assessment is based on secondary pooled data collected from government offices, NGOs, published Journals, and local and national newspapers. It also described the scenario, the approach adopted, and the sources of flood damage cost information. The estimated total benefits account for 78686.18 lakh of rupees, and that of total costs account for 2218.75lakh of rupees. The Benefit-Cost ratio greater than one (>1) shows that Flood Management in District Kulgam was economically feasible and successfully managed. The State of Jammu and Kashmir takes essential prevention and management measures to bring down the damages due to floods to significant status.

Keywords: cost-benefit analysis, nature, flood management, disaster

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Authors: Rosabelle Boswell

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South Africa, a country with experience of both colonial rule and apartheid is now more than 25 years past its first democratic elections. However, and as noted in this article, South Africa is still experiencing the legacies of racial segregation and is concerned to address inequality by attracting investment for socioeconomic development. The paper offered considers five cultural heritage impact assessments conducted in South Africa for offshore oil and gas exploration and development. The results of the research, from more than 20 towns and cities in southern Africa, indicate a rich intangible cultural heritage in South Africa and Namibia, and the potential impacts on investor engagements for more inclusive and sustainable coastal development practices. The discussion advances critical heritage studies, taking into account socioeconomic realities and aboriginal concepts of nature and nature management.

Keywords: cultural heritage impact assessments, intangible cultural heritage, South Africa, ocean philosophies

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Authors: Jessica Ordoñez, Francisco Ochoa, Pascual García

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The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between return migration in Ecuador and economic growth. The improvement of macroeconomic conditions in Latin America, starting in 2012, makes the region a new migratory destination, in both senses in north-south and south-south flows. Current studies highlight only the role of the entrepreneurial migrant in generating employment and economic growth in the region. Nevertheless, it has not been considered that not all migrants are entrepreneurs and that not all entrepreneurs contribute to economic growth. This research compares the socioeconomic and labor characteristics of migrant returnees working as freelancers in Ecuador. The principal aim is to demystify the role of migrant entrepreneurs in regional growth and to identify socioeconomic characteristics that can enhance growth. A panel econometric model was used, which is part of the information from labor and macroeconomic surveys.

Keywords: economic growth, entrepreneur, migration, returned migration

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Authors: Punam Shaw

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Relationship often refers to the acquaintance or association between two or more things, which are interrelated and interdependent. The socio-economic status is obviously a blending of two states, would, therefore, be a ranking of an individual by the society he or she lives in, and in terms of his/her material belonging, cultural possessions along with the degree of respect, power and influence wield. Hence, education, income and occupation of an individual play a significant role in society. Positive mental attitude leads to achieve the set goal, and improve performance particularly in team cohesiveness, which may be determined by various interrelated aspects, which can predict the future assessment in their respective field accordingly. The study intended to examine and explore the relationship between Socio-economic Status and Mental Toughness of cricketers. For the present study descriptive survey research method was used and selected 40 (male=20 female=20) U-17 years registered players under Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), as the sample population. Modified Socio-Economic Status Scale was used to collect the data regarding players, socioeconomic Status and to assess the mental toughness; Scott Barry Kaufman questionnaire was used. The data had been analysed through applying Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient and t-test as statistical techniques. The findings of the study showed that there is a positive correlation between socioeconomic Status and Mental Toughness among cricketers, it was found that significant difference was presented between male and female SES group. It was further revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female cricketers and in their different socioeconomic class with respect to their mental toughness.

Keywords: cricketers, mental toughness, relationship, socio-economic status

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Authors: Faisal G. Khamis, Ghaleb A. El-Refae

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Many researchers have studied socioeconomic, health, and security variables in the developed countries; however, very few studies used multivariate analysis in developing countries. The current study contributes to the scarce literature about the determinants of the variance in socioeconomic, health, and security factors. Questions raised were whether the independent variables (IVs) of governorate and year impact the socioeconomic, health, and security dependent variables (DVs) in Jordan, whether the marginal mean of each DV in each governorate and in each year is significant, which governorates are similar in difference means of each DV, and whether these DVs vary. The main objectives were to determine the source of variances in DVs, collectively and separately, testing which governorates are similar and which diverge for each DV. The research design was time series and cross-sectional analysis. The main hypotheses are that IVs affect DVs collectively and separately. Multivariate and univariate analyses of variance were carried out to test these hypotheses. The population of 12 governorates in Jordan and the available data of 15 years (2000–2015) accrued from several Jordanian statistical yearbooks. We investigated the effect of two factors of governorate and year on the four DVs of divorce rate, mortality rate, unemployment percentage, and crime rate. All DVs were transformed to multivariate normal distribution. We calculated descriptive statistics for each DV. Based on the multivariate analysis of variance, we found a significant effect in IVs on DVs with p < .001. Based on the univariate analysis, we found a significant effect of IVs on each DV with p < .001, except the effect of the year factor on unemployment was not significant with p = .642. The grand and marginal means of each DV in each governorate and each year were significant based on a 95% confidence interval. Most governorates are not similar in DVs with p < .001. We concluded that the two factors produce significant effects on DVs, collectively and separately. Based on these findings, the government can distribute its financial and physical resources to governorates more efficiently. By identifying the sources of variance that contribute to the variation in DVs, insights can help inform focused variation prevention efforts.

Keywords: ANOVA, crime, divorce, governorate, hypothesis test, Jordan, MANOVA, means, mortality, unemployment, year

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Authors: Won-Seok Kim, Hyung-Ik Shin

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Self-rated health (SRH) is a subjective assessment of individual health and has been identified as a strong predictor for mortality and morbidity. However few studies have been directed to the factors associated with SRH in persons with disabilities (PWD). We used data of 7th Korean national survey for 5307 PWD in 2008. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to find out independent risk factors for poor SRH in PWD. As a result, indicators of physical condition (poor instrumental ADL), socioeconomic disadvantages (poor education, economically inactive, low self-rated social class, medicaid in health insurance, presence of unmet need for hospital use) and social participation and networks (no use of internet service) were selected as independent risk factors for poor SRH in final model. Findings in the present study would be helpful in making a program to promote the health and narrow the gap of health status between the PWD.

Keywords: disabilities, risk factors, self-rated health, socioeconomic disadvantages, social networks

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Authors: Suzan Odabasi

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Suicide attempts and mental health problems among immigrants have been increasing and have become important public health concerns during the last century. Immigrants may face more difficulties in society because of social conflict, language barriers, inadequate social support, socioeconomic problems, and delay in accessing help. The limited number of research has shown that: first-generation migrants may be at higher risk of mental disorders and a higher prevalence of suicide attempts. The main aim of the proposed work is to identify to what degree each of these pressures is causing higher suicides currently observed. In addition, a comparison will be conducted between females and males and also rural and urban areas for which recent data are available. Specifically, this study investigates how accessing mental health services, the uninsured population rate, socioeconomic factors, and being an immigrant affect Turkish immigrants’ mental health and suicide attempts.

Keywords: access to healthcare, immigration, health economics, mental health economics

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Authors: Amirmohsen Behjat, Aleck Ostry, Christina Miewald, Bernie Pauly

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Farmers’ Markets have become one of the important healthy food suppliers in both rural communities and urban settings. Farmers’ markets are evolving and their number has rapidly increased in the past decade. Despite this drastic increase, the distribution of the farmers’ markets is not even across different areas. The main goal of this study is to explore the socioeconomic, geographic, and demographic variables which affect the establishment of farmers’ market in rural communities in British Columbia (BC). Thus, the data on available farmers’ markets in rural areas were collected from BC Association of Farmers’ Markets and spatially joined to BC map at Dissemination Area (DA) level using ArcGIS software to link the farmers’ market to the respective communities that they serve. Then, in order to investigate this issue and understand which rural communities farmer’ markets tend to operate, a binary logistic regression analysis was performed with the availability of farmer’ markets at DA-level as dependent variable and Deprivation Index (DI), Metro Influence Zone (MIZ) and population as independent variables. The results indicated that DI and MIZ variables are not statistically significant whereas the population is the only which had a significant contribution in predicting the availability of farmers’ markets in rural BC. Moreover, this study found that farmers’ markets usually do not operate in rural food deserts where other healthy food providers such as supermarkets and grocery stores are non-existent. In conclusion, the presence of farmers markets is not associated with socioeconomic and geographic characteristics of rural communities in BC, but farmers’ markets tend to operate in more populated rural communities in BC.

Keywords: farmers’ markets, socioeconomic and demographic variables, metro influence zone, logistic regression, ArcGIS

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Authors: Noor A. Hakim

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Several studies in the developed countries investigated the prevalence of diabetes and obesity among individuals from different socioeconomic levels and suggested lower rates among the higher socioeconomic groups. However, studies evaluating diabetes risk and prevalence of obesity among the population of middle- to high-income status in developing countries are limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk of developing type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the weight status of female students in private universities in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study of 121 female students aged ≤ 25 years old was conducted; participants were recruited from two private universities. Diabetes risk was evaluated using the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score. Anthropometric measurements were assessed, and body-mass-index (BMI) was calculated. Diabetes risk scores indicated that 35.5% of the female students had a slightly elevated risk, and 10.8% had a moderate to high risk to develop T2DM. One-third of the females (29.7%) were overweight or obese. The majority of the normal weight and underweight groups were classified to have a low risk of diabetes, 22.2% of the overweight participants were classified to have moderate to high risk, and over half of the obese participants (55.5%) were classified to be at the moderate to high-risk category. Conclusions: Given that diabetes risk is alarming among the population in Saudi Arabia, healthcare providers should utilize a simple screening tool to identify high-risk individuals and initiate diabetes preventive strategies to prevent, or delay, the onset of T2DM and improve the quality of life.

Keywords: risk of type 2 diabetes, weight status, college students, socioeconomic status

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Authors: Faisal Alazzaz, Andrew Whyte

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Off-site construction methods have played an important role in the construction sector in the past few decades. It is increasingly becoming a major alternative technique and strategic direction compared to traditional in-situ method. It produces a significant amount of value for the construction industry and the economy more generally. To date, an impressive number of studies have been lunched on the perceived perception of off-site construction. However, it seems that a quantifying benefit on the offsite construction area is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the recent research literature on the benefits of off- site construction and provides future direction. In the beginning, this paper provides a brief history and current value of the off-site construction followed by a detailed discussion on the benefit of off-site construction. These benefits include but not limited to time saving, quality improvement, relieving skills shortages, cost reduction and productivity improvement. Toward this end, off-site construction should learn from other productive industry similar to services or manufacturing industry by applying operational management tools and techniques with extensive focus on employee empowerment will shed the light on future uptake of Off-site construction. This study is of value in providing scholars have a clear picture of perceived benefit of off-site construction research and give an opportunities for future uptake of off-site method.

Keywords: building projects, employer empowerment, off-site construction benefits, productivity

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Authors: Chander Shekhar, Jeetendra Yadav, Shaziya Allarakha

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Hypertension has been described as an 'iceberg disease' as those who suffered are ignored and hence usually seek healthcare services at a very late stage. It is estimated that more than 2 million Indians are suffering from hypertensive heart disease that contributed to above 0.13 million deaths in 2016. The paper study aims to know the prevalence of Hypertension in India and its variation by socioeconomic backgrounds and to find out risk factors discriminating hypertension with special emphasis on consumption of tobacco and alcohol among men aged 15-54 years in India. The paper uses NFHS (2015-16) data. The paper used binary logistic regression and discriminant analysis to find significant predictors and discriminants of interest. The prevalence of hypertension was 16.5% in the study population. The results suggest that consumption of alcohol and tobacco are significant discriminant characteristics in carrying hypertension irrespective of what socioeconomic background characteristic he possesses.

Keywords: hypertention, alcohol, tobacco, discriminant

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Authors: Michaela Wang

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Since British established colonial settlements across the East Coast, Native Americans have suffered stark socio economic disparities in comparison to their neighboring communities. This paper employs the 1990, 2000, and 2010 United States Decennial Census to assess whether and to what extent the casino economy helped to close this socioeconomic gap between the Mohegan tribe and its surrounding community. These three Decennial Censuses cover two decades, from six years prior to the erection of Mohegan Sun casino to 14 years afterwards, including the Great Recession 2007-2009. Income, employment, education and housing parameters are selected as socio economic indicators. The profitable advent of the Mohegan Sun in 1996 dramatically improved the socio economic status of the Mohegan Tribe between 1990 and 2000. In fact, for most of these indicators––poverty, median household income, employment, home ownership, and car ownership––disparities shifted; tribal socioeconomic parameters improved from well below the level of New London County in 1990, to the same level or above the county rates in 2000. However, economic downturn in 2007-2009 Great Recession impacted Mohegan people remarkably. By 2010, disparities for household income, employment, home ownership, and car ownership returned. The casino bridged socio economic inequalities, but at the face of economic crises, the mono-product economy grew vulnerable.

Keywords: socio economic, indigenous, native American, disparity

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Authors: K. Assis, B. Bonaventure, A. Abdul Rahim, H. Affendy, A. Mohammad Amizi

Abstract:

Oil palm smallholders are considered as a very important producer of oil palm in Malaysia. They are categorized into two, which are organized smallholder and independent smallholder. In this study, there were 1000 oil palms smallholders have been interviewed by using a structured questionnaire. The main objective of the survey is to identify the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics of smallholders with their knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Ganoderma disease. The locations of study include Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. There were three important aspects studied, namely knowledge of Ganoderma disease, attitude towards the disease as well as the practices in managing the disease. Cluster analysis, factor analysis, and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data collected. The findings of the study should provide a baseline data which can be used by the relevant agencies to conduct programs or to formulate a suitable development plan to improve the knowledge, attitude and practices of oil palm smallholders in managing Ganoderma disease.

Keywords: attitude, Ganoderma, knowledge, oil palm, practices, smallholders

Procedia PDF Downloads 366

Authors: Y. Long, L. Liu, K. V. Branin

Abstract:

One challenge faced by procurement decision-maker during the acquisition process is how to compare similar products from different suppliers and allocate orders among different products or services. This work focuses on allocating orders among multiple suppliers considering rebate. The objective function is to minimize the total acquisition cost including purchasing cost and rebate benefit. Rebate benefit is complex and difficult to estimate at the ordering step. Rebate rules vary for different suppliers and usually change over time. In this work, we developed a system to collect the rebate policies, standardized the rebate policies and developed two-stage optimization models for ordering allocation. Rebate policy with multi-tiers is considered in modeling. The discontinuous cost function of rebate benefit is formulated for different scenarios. A piecewise linear function is used to approximate the discontinuous cost function of rebate benefit. And a Mixed Integer Programing (MIP) model is built for order allocation problem with multi-tier rebate. A case study is presented and it shows that our optimization model can reduce the total acquisition cost by considering rebate rules.

Keywords: discontinuous cost function, mixed integer programming, optimization, procurement, rebate

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Chau-Kuang Chen, Juanita Buford, Colette Davis, Raisha Allen, John Hughes, James Tyus, Dexter Samuels

Abstract:

During the post-Civil War era, the city of Nashville, Tennessee, had the highest mortality rate in the country. The elevated death and disease among ex-slaves were attributable to the unavailability of healthcare. To address the paucity of healthcare services, the College, an institution with the mission of educating minority professionals and serving the under served population, was established in 1876. This study was designed to assess if the College has accomplished its mission of serving under served communities and contributed to the elimination of health disparities in the United States. The study objective was to quantify the impact of socioeconomic status and adverse health outcomes on primary care professionals serving disadvantaged communities, which, in turn, was significantly associated with a health professional shortage score partly designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Various statistical methods were used to analyze the alumni data in years 1975 – 2013. K-means cluster analysis was utilized to identify individual medical and dental graduates into the cluster groups of the practice communities (Disadvantaged or Non-disadvantaged Communities). Discriminant analysis was implemented to verify the classification accuracy of cluster analysis. The independent t test was performed to detect the significant mean differences for clustering and criterion variables between Disadvantaged and Non-disadvantaged Communities, which confirms the “content” validity of cluster analysis model. Chi-square test was used to assess if the proportion of cluster groups (Disadvantaged vs Non-disadvantaged Communities) were consistent with that of practicing specialties (primary care vs. non-primary care). Finally, the partial least squares (PLS) path model was constructed to explore the “construct” validity of analytics model by providing the magnitude effects of socioeconomic status and adverse health outcome on primary care professionals serving disadvantaged community. The social ecological theory along with statistical models mentioned was used to establish the relationship between medical and dental graduates (primary care professionals serving disadvantaged communities) and their social environments (socioeconomic status, adverse health outcome, health professional shortage score). Based on social ecological framework, it was hypothesized that the impact of socioeconomic status and adverse health outcomes on primary care professionals serving disadvantaged communities could be quantified. Also, primary care professionals serving disadvantaged communities related to a health professional shortage score can be measured. Adverse health outcome (adult obesity rate, age-adjusted premature mortality rate, and percent of people diagnosed with diabetes) could be affected by the latent variable, namely socioeconomic status (unemployment rate, poverty rate, percent of children who were in free lunch programs, and percent of uninsured adults). The study results indicated that approximately 83% (3,192/3,864) of the College’s medical and dental graduates from 1975 to 2013 were practicing in disadvantaged communities. In addition, the PLS path modeling demonstrated that primary care professionals serving disadvantaged community was significantly associated with socioeconomic status and adverse health outcome (p < .001). In summary, the majority of medical and dental graduates from the College provide primary care services to disadvantaged communities with low socioeconomic status and high adverse health outcomes, which demonstrate that the College has fulfilled its mission.

Keywords: disadvantaged community, K-means cluster analysis, PLS path modeling, primary care

Procedia PDF Downloads 524

Authors: Armando Cartenì, Ilaria Henke

Abstract:

Recently, the Italian government has approved a new law for public contracts and has been laying the groundwork for restarting a planning phase. The government has adopted the indications given by the European Commission regarding the estimation of the external costs within the Cost-Benefit Analysis, and has been approved the ‘Guidelines for assessment of Investment Projects’. In compliance with the new Italian law, the aim of this research was to perform a feasibility study applying quantitative methods regarding the revamping of an Italian tourist railway line. A Cost-Benefit Analysis was performed starting from the quantification of the passengers’ demand potentially interested in using the revamped rail services. The benefits due to the external costs reduction were also estimated (quantified) in terms of variations (with respect to the not project scenario): climate change, air pollution, noises, congestion, and accidents. Estimations results have been proposed in terms of the Measure of Effectiveness underlying a positive Net Present Value equal to about 27 million of Euros, an Internal Rate of Return much greater the discount rate, a benefit/cost ratio equal to 2 and a PayBack Period of 15 years.

Keywords: cost-benefit analysis, evaluation analysis, demand management, external cost, transport planning, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 186