Introduction HIV infection is a global health concern and the epidemic is particularly serious in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding HIV-related knowledge, attitude and behavior is a key element for prevention programs. Because of rural-urban variations in social and economic factors, this study was conducted to assess urban-rural disparities in HIV-related knowledge, attitude and behavior in Burkina Faso. Methods This study is based on a nationally representative data from the 2010 Burkina Faso Demographic and Health Survey. Odds ratios from the logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between HIV-related knowledge, attitude and behaviors with residence (urban /rural). Results More rural residents were uneducated (82.13%), illiterates (80.13%), and poor (94.54%) compared to urban residents with values of 17.87%, 19.87% and 5.45%, respectively. The prevalence of HIV residents was significantly lower among rural residents (0.65%) as compared with urban residents (1.88%). Rural residents compared to urban residents were more likely to have incomplete knowledge or inappropriate HIV-related attitude and behavior: incomplete knowledge about HIV (OR = 3.38, 95% CI 3.15 – 3.63), incomplete knowledge of MTCT prevention methods (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.88 – 2.16), non-accepting attitude toward people living with HIV (OR = 3.01, 95% CI 2.78 – 3.26), unfavorable for youth education on condom use (OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.41 – 1.65), first sex before 15 years old (OR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.96 – 1.21), multiple sex partnership among men (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.33 – 1.75), don’t know any source of condoms (OR = 3.02, 95% CI 2.67 – 3.42) and don’t know any source of female condoms (OR = 3.27 95% CI 3.04 – 3.51). Conclusion Compared to urban residents, Burkina Faso rural residents tend to have limited HIV knowledge, limited access to condom. Also, compared to urban residents, more Burkina Faso rural residents had inappropriate HIV attitude and behavior. However, the HIV prevalence was lower among rural residents. The disparities between urban and rural residents of Burkina Faso with respect to HIV knowledge, attitude and behaviors calls for appropriate public health measures to increase HIV awareness in rural areas.

Introduction: Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is a basic human right, yet globally748 million people lack access to improved drinking water, 2.5 billion lack access to improved sanitation and 946 million still practice open defecation. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 66% of the global new HIV infections. Access to improved WASH is an important issue, especially for people living with HIV/AIDS. They are more prone to opportunistic infections like diarrhea arising from the lack of proper sanitation and access to clean water. In Kenya, there is a dearth of literature examining the association between HIV status and the access to improved water and sanitation. This study sought to address this topic. Aim: We set out to determine the association between HIV status and the access to improved water and sanitation in Kenya using the 2008 -2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS). Methods: The study analyzed 3753 HIV negative households and 422 HIV positive households. For descriptive statistics, a weighted sample was used to obtain the frequencies and percentages. Weighted bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was used to establish the association between HIV status and the independent variables of interest. Results: There were no statistically significant associations in access to improved water or improved sanitation comparing HIV status and covariates measuring the access to improved water and sanitation. We did find, however, a statistically significant higher odds of HIV positive households reporting treating their drinking water compared to HIV negative households (adjusted odds ratio = 1.4; 95% confidence interval 1.11, 1.84). Discussion: HIV positive patients are more vulnerable to opportunistic infections than the rest of the population.It is imperative for the Kenyan gorvenment to tailor specific interventions that are targeted to this particular group,through scaling up the access to basic sanitation and piped water as well as emphasizing appropriate water treatment methods at the point of use.

Introduction: Millions of children worldwide die before they reach their fifth birthday. Approximately 50% of all deaths in children are associated with malnutrition. Although remarkable improvements have been seen in the past few decades, child malnutrition remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia. Malnutrition has been linked to various morbidities and as the underlying cause of 57% of mortality in the country. It is caused by complex and multidimensional biological, social economic, and environmental factors. There are scarce literatures examining the environmental factors, such as access to water and sanitation, on the likelihood of child malnutrition as measured by stunting, wasting, and underweight in Ethiopia, which the current study sought to investigate. Aim: The primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between households’ access to water and sanitation facilities and the likelihood that a child will become stunted or wasted or underweight. Methods: The study utilized a nationally representative data from 2011 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. The sample size was 9,611 children aged 0-59 months. A weighted descriptive statistical analysis was performed to examine the frequency distribution of the study’s primary independent variables (sanitation and water), dependent variables (childhood stunting, wasting, and underweight), and all other variables included in the study. Weighted bivariate analysis was conducted using logistic regression to quantify association between stunting, wasting, and being underweight and different independent variables. Weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to control for potential confounders while examining the relationship between the primary independent and dependent variables. Odds ratios, 95% confidence limits, and p-value were calculated. We considered three sets of potential confounders: child’s (child’s gender, child’s age, and child’s size at birth diarrheal disease, fever), maternal (maternal education) and household characteristics (maternal BMI, place of residence, wealth index, stool disposal, time to get water). Only variables that showed significant association (p-value Main results: Approximately 44%, 10%, and 29% of the children under-five years of age were stunted, wasted, and underweight, respectively. About 54% of the study population used unimproved source of drinking water and about 82% used unimproved sanitation facility. Our bivariate logistic analysis revealed that children in households with unimproved source of drinking water had higher odds of stunting compared to children in households with improved drinking water source (OR: 1.2; 95% CL 1.02-1.34). Adjustment for child’s characteristics yielded AOR: 1.2; 95% CL 1.0-1.4. Addition of maternal characteristics attenuated this association (AOR: 1.1; 95% CL 1.0-1.3 1.0; 95% CL 0.8-1.2). Finally, inclusion of household characteristics showed stunting was not associated with unimproved source of drinking water (AOR: 1.0; 95% 0.8-1.2). The bivariate analysis revealed household access to unimproved source of drinking water was not significantly associated with wasting (OR: 1.0; 95% CL 0.8-1.3) and underweight (OR: 1.2; 95% CL 1.0-1.4). Adjustment of child, maternal, and household characteristic showed an inverse association between source of drinking water and wasting (AOR: 0.7; 95% CL 0.6-0.9). In the bivariate analysis, access to unimproved sanitation was significantly associated with stunting (OR: 1.3; 95% CL 1.02-1.74) and underweight (OR: 1.5; 95% CL 1.1-2.1). Compared to children living in homes with access to improved sanitation facility, children in household with unimproved sanitation facility had 1.4 increased odds of being stunted (95% CL 1.1-1.9) after adjustment for child’s characteristics. Adjustment of child, maternal, and household characteristics attenuated this association (AOR: 1.1; 95% CL 0.8-1.5). Children in household with unimproved sanitation facility had higher odds of being underweight after adjusting for child characteristics (AOR: 1.6; 95% CL 1.2-2.2). Addition of maternal characteristic reduced the association (AOR: 1.5; 95% CL 1.1-2.0). Finally, the addition of household characteristics further attenuated this association (AOR: 1.4; 95% CL 1.1-1.9). Children from households with improved water but unimproved sanitation had higher odds of wasting and being underweight compared to children living in household with both services: AORs adjusted for child’s characteristics were 2.3 (95% CL 1.3-4.3) for wasting and 2.4 (95% CL 1.6-3.6) for underweight; when maternal characteristics were included, AORs were 2.2 (95% CL 1.2-4.1) and 2.1 (95% 1.4-3.3) for wasting and underweight, correspondingly; finally, when household characteristics were included AORs were 2.0 (95% CL 1.1-3.9) and 1.9 (95% CL 1.2-3.0), respectively. Conclusion: Our results suggest that household access to unimproved source of drinking water and sanitation increase the likelihood of malnutrition. Therefore, initiatives to increase access to improved sources of drinking water and sanitation facilities along with nutritional intervention could help alleviate the high burden of malnutrition in Ethiopia.

Community and Regional Planning / In the past two decades, Austin has tremendous population growth, job opportunity in the downtown core and transportation challenges associated with that. Public transit, and particularly rail, often is regarded as a strategy to help reduce urban traffic congestion. The Urban Rail, which combines features of streetcars and light rail, is introduced into Austin as a new transit rail. The City of Austin, Capital Metro and Lone Star Rail are actively studying routing, financial, environmental and community elements associated with a first phase of Urban Rail. This thesis collected 2010 Origin and Destination Rail Transit Survey data from Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The research focuses on the rail transit ridership. Two regression models are applied to analyze the factors influencing Austin rail transit ridership. One model is focusing on the socioeconomic characteristics. One model is focusing on the spatial factors. Our model shows that demographic factors have more significant effect than spatial factors. In addition, this work also tries to analyze the correlations between those factors and make recommendations based on the analysis result. / text

The increased competition among charity sport events (CSEs) require charity organizations to utilize more sophisticated marketing programs - segmenting and targeting diverse participants more effectively. The study examines the effectiveness of demographic, psychographic, behavioral segmentation variables. In-depths interviews with 14 participants were conducted to obtain profiles of the four segments of survivor-centered teams, family and friends, company-sponsored teams, and other organization teams. The distinct profile of each segment had a combination of psychological, behavioral and demographic characteristics. Participation mode was identified as a proxy segmentation variable that can be easily obtained by event organizers at the time of participant registration Management of participant segments was discussed. / text

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between psychosocial and demographic characteristics associated with success among individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Unlike previous research which has predominantly focused on the limiting effects of rheumatoid arthritis, the present study sought to identify factors that were related to success. One hundred and ninety-eight individuals who met the criteria for this study, returned completed questionnaires. Success for people with rheumatoid arthritis was measured on the scales of self-esteem, social activity, and physical activity. Participants were categorized as either "high" or "low" on the success scales in order to see what demographic and psychosocial variables were related levels of self-esteem, social activity, and physical activity. Data analysis included reliability of the success scales, and analysis of variance to determine the relationship among the three scales and selected demographic characteristics. Discriminant analysis was used to explore what demographic and psychosocial factors were related to high (as opposed to low) self-esteem, social activity, and physical activity among 24 participants. The success scales were found to be reliable. There was no significant relationship among the success scales and sex, occupational level, and ethnicity. Results of the discriminant function identified that generally, individuals with high (as opposed to low) self-esteem were very motivated and had a positive outlook on life. People with high (as opposed to low) social activity had fewer physical limitations and a better view of themselves. High (as opposed to low) physical activity was found among people who generally were highly motivated and believed they had some control over their rheumatoid arthritis.

This dissertation is an analysis of population and households of a village in Northeast Japan, using historical documents from the period between 1760 and 1870. The population of the village increased 1.73-fold in 110 years with the average growth rate of 0.50 per cent per annum. In general, the population shifted from a low pressure regime characterized by relatively low fertility and low mortality to a high pressure regime with high fertility and high mortality. Fertility was found to be the driving force of the population growth, but high mortality slowed down the growth between 1800 and 1835. Migration played only a minor role. However, migration made a significant impact on the population growth through fertility by changing the nature of service. The increase in fertility resulted mainly from changes in marital fertility rather than changes in nuptiality. The most important factor contributing to the increase in marital fertility was the transformation of labor from servants with yearly contracts to day laborers which increased couple's exposure to the risk of childbearing by affecting coital frequency. In addition, increased employment opportunities and improved wages, which were brought about by the development of market economy and small-scale industry centering around a highly profitable cash crop, safflower, had a positive effect on marital fertility. The number of households increased 1.50-fold throughout the period. An increase in the number of lower class households was solely responsible for the increase in the number of households of the village. The mean household size rose from 4.8 to 5.6. The household size was positively associated with socio-economic status. As in the case of fertility, increased employment opportunities and improved wages were primarily responsible for the increase in the number of households and in the household size. Namely, the increased employment opportunities and improved wages made peasants, especially those of the lower class, less dependent on land, and allowed them to establish new branch households more easily. The most frequently-encountered household types were simple and multiple family households, the two types combined accounting for over 70 per cent of all households of the village. The proportion of multiple family households increased throughout the period, whereas the proportion of simple family households declined.

Wenn die Bevölkerungszahl abnimmt, dann gelten zunächst einfache Zusammenhänge: weniger Menschen benötigen weniger Wohnraum und weniger Schüler auch weniger Schulplätze. Kann diese Kausalität auch auf den Verkehr übertragen werden? Bedeutet eine verringerte Bevölkerungszahl schlicht und einfach auch, dass es weniger Verkehr geben wird? Schaut man sich die verschiedenen nationalen, regionalen und auch kommunalen Verkehrsentwicklungspläne an, ist man geneigt zu glauben, dass im Verkehr das genaue Gegenteil gilt: Angebotsverbesserungen im Öffentlichen Verkehr, Lückenschlüsse im klassifizierten Straßennetz, Ortsumgehungen, aufwändige und kostspielige innerstädtische Verkehrslösungen, die sehr häufig mit einer immensen Flächenneuinanspruchnahme verbunden sind. Hier werden die Qualität der Verkehrsnetze respektive die Erreichbarkeit deutlich verbessert – ist das die richtige und effizienteste Strategie? Wozu soll dieser Aufwand dienen, wenn die Region schrumpft? Es leitet sich die Notwendigkeit ab, Antworten auf eine ganze Reihe von Fragen zu geben, wie z. B. Wird weniger oder mehr gefahren werden? Werden die Wege kürzer oder länger und wohin können/müssen sich die einzelnen Verkehrssysteme entwickeln?

Psychosomatic health, including sleep, is important for adolescent well-being and daily functioning. Sleep difficulties are more seldom studied per se and whether there is socio-demographic variation in sleep difficulties among adolescents in Sweden is less known. The overall aim of the present study was to examine the frequency and social distribution of sleep difficulties among adolescents in Sweden. The child supplements of the Survey of Living Conditions, a Swedish nationally representative sample of ages 10-18, from years 2002 and 2003 were used (n=2531). Information from adolescents was linked to information from parents in a cross-sectional study design. Based on logistic regression analyses, variation in sleep difficulties was present according to gender, age, family structure, family economy, parent’s unemployment and residential area. No systematic sleep inequality by social class was found in the present study. The main results showed that adolescent girls, older age groups of adolescents, adolescents living in reconstituted families, living in families with a lack of cash margin, having unemployed parents and living in big cities reported sleep difficulties to a greater extent. Social factors, together with biological, psychological and cultural factors interact in explaining the variation in sleep difficulties.

The mining industry is one of the largest employers in South Africa in an attempt to thrive in a continuously changing environment and in line with the modem organisation's focus on the various dimensions of employee well-being, mining organisations need the services of engaged workers. The objective of this research was to establish the relationship between work engagement and demographic characteristics, job characteristics and work-home interaction of employees working in the mining industry. A random sample of 320 employees was taken from various mining companies in the Gauteng and North West Provinces. The job characteristics, UWES and SWING questionnaires were used as measuring instruments. Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, structural equation modelling and logistic regression analysis were used to analyse the data Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations confirmed the construct validity of the measuring instruments. Chi-square and t-tests indicated positive relationships between work engagement and race, autonomy, social support, instrumental support, task characteristics, positive work-home interference and positive home-work interference. Logistic regression analyses revealed that race, autonomy, task characteristics and positive home-work interference were significant predictors of work engagement. Recommendations were made for further research. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007