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No description available.

Low-income older adults are at high risk for developing diet-related chronic diseases. Nutrition education programs can improve dietary and lifestyle practices, thereby decreasing the incidence of diet-related diseases. Focus groups were conducted to gain insight into the needs and preferences of low-income older adults for nutrition education. Results were made available for use in the Smart Choices Nutrition Education Program at Virginia Tech to aid in the development of nutrition education programs. Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 35 elderly (28 females; 7 males), ages 55-90+ years, recruited from Congregate Meal Program sites in four regions of Virginia. Seventeen were African American, and 18 were non-Hispanic white. Discussion questions addressed practices for purchasing and preparing foods, importance of food to health, and preferences for education methods. The Determine Your Nutritional Health Checklist of the Nutrition Screening Initiative was used to assess nutritional risk of the elderly adults. Focus group discussions were audio-taped and written transcripts were made for use in data analysis. Themes of the discussions were identified in that analysis and reported in the following broad areas: Factors that Influenced Dietary Practices of Focus Group Participants and Perceived Needs and Preferences of Focus Group Participants for Nutrition Education. All elderly believed that food was important to their health and were interested in nutrition education. The predominant theme was the influence of a health condition on dietary practices. The elderly made food choices according to dietary restrictions imposed by their health condition. The most prevalent health conditions were chronic diseases, primarily hypertension, diabetes, and hiatal hernia. The majority (32) were at nutritional risk, with a larger number at high risk (20) than at moderate risk (12). Food preferences and sensory attributes of food also were important to them when making food choices. Some reported that convenience was important because they did not want to spend time and effort to purchase and prepare foods. Some also reported experiencing food insecurity, primarily from lack of money. The majority learned about food and cooking from family members, and only a few learned about nutrition and food choices from health professionals. Most wanted information about disease-specific food choices and preparation methods, and preferred to receive this information during group discussions because sharing ideas and opinions was an effective way to learn. Only a few were interested in television programs, while many were interested in written materials. Nutrition education programs for low-income elderly should teach these adults how to choose and prepare foods that are appealing and nutritious, as well as within dietary restrictions imposed by their health conditions. Educators should convey this information to them in group settings and distribute written materials, such as pamphlets and brochures, that outline "how-to" information. / Master of Science

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that Latinos represented 12.6% of the total population in the United States. It is projected that by 2010 Latinos will account for 15.5% of the population (1,2). Latinos account for 32% of the population in Texas, and specifically in Corpus Christi, Latinos represent 54% of the population (3). The purpose of this study was to compare reported versus actual physical activity among limited resource Latina mothers. This study also aimed to explore the validity of the existing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and Seven-Day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) physical activity assessment tools. Fifty-five Latina mothers from a Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas were recruited to participate in this study. Data were collected through a combined (BRFSS and PAR) physical activity questionnaire as well as through step counts using pedometers. BRFSS and PAR reported significantly different levels of moderate physical activity (p=0.0312) using Chi Square tests when appropriate. The response rate in PAR for all levels of activity intensity was higher than BRFSS. There were significant trends between the number of steps reported and BRFSS and PAR moderate physical activity. Further, the majority of subjects who averaged greater than 5,000 steps per day did not perceive themselves to be moderately active in either BRFSS or PAR. These findings question the validity of these physical activity assessment tools with this population. / Master of Science

The incidence of type 2 diabetes has greatly increased in the U.S. population over the last decade and continues to increase each year. Over 90% of those with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, for which obesity, diet, and inadequate physical activity remain the strong nongenetic determinants. In Virginia between 1994 and 1996, the estimated number of people with diabetes was 220,000 and another 75,000 were estimated to have the disease, but did not know it (http://www.vahealth.org accessed 7/10/01). A study has been conducted that involves two separate surveys. The Community Diabetes Education Survey (CDES) was an interview questionnaire or mailed questionnaire for assessing community diabetes education resources and was completed by Extension Nutrition and Wellness Specialty Agents and five Area EFNEP/FSNEP coordinators located throughout Virginia. The Diabetes Patient Survey was a client interview questionnaire assessing the attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge of persons with diabetes. This survey was conducted by FSNEP Program Assistants. More than 150 low-income adults who have type 2 diabetes and were enrolled in FSNEP at the time of data collection were interviewed. The results from this study showed hospitals were the main health agency to fill out CDES-II. Most diabetes education done by extension is delivered through a combination of methods like group classes, individual counseling sessions, phone or e-mail, and providing handouts. Almost all of the health agencies offer diabetes diagnosis and treatment for adults. Results from this study showed on gender, age, and race, the study sample was similar to the total FSNEP population, except that the percentage of African Americans was higher among the diabetes patients than among the general FSNEP population. The African American subjects also had diabetes longer (12 years vs. 8 years), although their current mean age was the same as Caucasians. The study did not reveal substantial differences in African Americans and Caucasians regarding recommendations they had received on dietary practices. Forty-nine percent of study's participants were physically active. Most participants exercised two to three times per week, for only 15 to 30 minutes at a time. The purpose of this research was to assess the extent to which diabetes education is available and easily accessible to the low-income adult population in Virginia and to assess FSNEP clients regarding attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge that may affect their management of diabetes. / Master of Science

While the market of high-class apartment in Vietnam remains rather „quiet‟, the medium and low-price apartment segments are attracting investors‟ interest and becoming scarce because the demand is growing faster than the supply (VietRees,2009). Moreover, apartments for low-income people draw the attention of more buyers due to reasonable price matching their affordability.Investors in Vietnam have begun to re-consider the market and found out a great demand for accommodation from low-income population. Most of them are from different provinces in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) so they don‟t have proper houses. According to a recent statistics, more than 80% of HCMC citizens in the age range from 18 to 35 have to live with their family; more than 90% of the immigrated young people have to live in rented houses; more than 30% of the total number of families have to live in houses of less than 36m2; thousands of families have to live in houses below minimum standards (Xay Dung, 2009). Most of the rest have to rent houses with very poor living conditions. Especially, the majority of Vietnam populations who are young, dynamic and usually rush to big cities for jobs having high demand to own an apartment even when they are still single. Hence, we can see that the housing market for low-income earners is full of potential and quite attractive.~ ii ~By modeling main risk factors in Monte-Carlo simulation on financial performance of the project in HCMC, the findings demonstrate that the period of loan and apartment selling price (positive risk factors) make financial performance of the project increase faster than other risk factors (including inflation rate) that decrease the profit of the project. Besides policies and flexible financial systems, risk management should be implemented regularly to control these risk factors from the beginning to the end of the project. Therefore, I could support the entrepreneurs to plan economic strategy specifically and effectively such as recommending how to make both state-owned and private projects successful and create profits for investors at an acceptable degree of risks as well as how to bring accommodation to low-income people with reasonable prices.The project will provide accommodations for approximately 2000 people. This number may not be large enough to create a significant social impact. However, if this business model and my research bring to good result, making benefits for its inhabitants and profits for the investors, it can be multiplied in larger scale and scope, hence creating more practical socio-economic benefits. It can be said that this project is the seed, laying premises for bigger project afterwards.For these reasons, I hope that this study is useful not only to investors, researchers, and low-income people in Vietnam but also to those in Sweden.

Volatile and rising global fuel prices present a tremendous challenge to our energy-dependent economy, and the ramifications are especially great for low-income households. Residential weatherization programs represent a tremendous opportunity to shield vulnerable populations, but the allocation of funding and assessment of efficacy has historically been fraught with political and procedural hurdles. This report examines the methods of assessing the efficacy of low-income weatherization and proposes a set of best practices. / text

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-165). Also available via the Internet.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo descrever o valor percebido dos consumidores das camadas de baixa renda, moradores de bairros notadamente pobres de Porto Alegre, sobre o seu consumo de alimentos e produtos de limpeza, adquiridos preferencialmente em estabelecimentos comerciais (pequenos mercados) de bairros. Ao partir da premissa de que os consumidores das camadas de baixa renda pagam mais por seus alimentos e produtos de limpeza, se buscou investigar seus hábitos de consumo, procurando entender as motivações que norteiam seu consumo, aspectos cujo entendimento nos leva também a compreender o valor percebido que estes consumidores atribuem ao seu universo de consumo. Para tanto, o trabalho foi apoiado num referencial teórico essencialmente da área de marketing, transitando por aspectos essenciais da disciplina, como preço, comportamento de consumo, níveis de envolvimento e percepção de valor (noção de justiça X noção de injustiça). A opção pela abordagem qualitativa deve-se ao fato de que o objeto de estudo não demanda um resultado que possa ser expresso em números, mas a descrição e o melhor entendimento de um fenômeno social. Recentemente, Deighton; MacInnis; McGill & Shiv (2010) destacaram as pesquisas conceituais como ricas em ideias, na maior parte das vezes inovadoras, interessantes, fundamentadas teoricamente e capazes de estimular outras pesquisas, além de proporcionarem novas maneiras de se pensar o comportamento do consumidor. A utilização de uma etapa de observação ao trabalho proporcionou uma vivência fundamental do universo de estudo e sedimentou o terreno para a elaboração e execução das entrevistas em profundidade, instrumento este que propiciou uma riqueza significativa de informações na sua coleta. Por fim, a análise de conteúdo, apoiada nos trabalhos de Bardin (1979) e Minayo (2012), trouxe à tona resultados que demonstram um valor percebido de seu consumo altamente positivo pelas camadas de baixa renda da população, afastando a ideia de injustiça pelos preços mais altos que pagam e colocando os estabelecimentos comerciais (pequenos mercados) de bairros de baixa renda no centro de um processo de sociabilização das comunidades, aonde as pessoas encontram confiança, ética e, em especial, um universo de consumo com o qual tem afinidade cultural, colocando o valor percebido em um patamar muito distante dos modelos tradicionais de preço, qualidade e conveniência. / This monograph aims to describe the perceived value of low-income consumers, residents of poor neighborhoods in Porto Alegre, on their consumption of food and cleaning products, preferably acquired in neighborhood’s shops (small markets). Based on the premise that consumers of low income populations pay more for their food and cleaning products, seek to investigate their consumption habits, trying to understand the motivations that guide their consumption, aspects whose understanding leads us also to understand the perceived value these consumers attach to their universe of consumption. Therefore, the work was supported by a theoretical framework mainly in the area of marketing, moving through the essential aspects of the discipline, such as price, to consumer behavior, levels of involvement and perceived value (notion of justice X notion of injustice). The choice of a qualitative approach is due to the fact that the object of study does not require a result that can be expressed in numbers, but an understanding, as it is a description of a social phenomenon at its best. Recently, Deighton; MacInnis; Shiv & McGill (2010) highlighted the research conceptual as rich in ideas, in most cases innovative, interesting, theoretically grounded and able to stimulate further research, in addition to providing new ways of thinking about the behavior of consumer. Using an observation phase the work experience provided a fundamental study of the universe and cemented the ground for the development and implementation of in-depth interviews, this instrument that provided a significant wealth of information in its collection. Finally, content analysis, supported by the work of Bardin (1979) and Minayo (2012), brought up results that demonstrate a perceived value of their consumption highly positive by layers of low-income population, pushing the idea of injustice by higher prices they pay and putting commercial establishments (small markets) of low-income neighborhoods in the center of a process of socialization of communities, where people are trusted, ethical and, in particular, a universe with which the consumer has an cultural affinity, placing the perceived value at a level far away from the traditional models of price, quality and convenience.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo descrever o valor percebido dos consumidores das camadas de baixa renda, moradores de bairros notadamente pobres de Porto Alegre, sobre o seu consumo de alimentos e produtos de limpeza, adquiridos preferencialmente em estabelecimentos comerciais (pequenos mercados) de bairros. Ao partir da premissa de que os consumidores das camadas de baixa renda pagam mais por seus alimentos e produtos de limpeza, se buscou investigar seus hábitos de consumo, procurando entender as motivações que norteiam seu consumo, aspectos cujo entendimento nos leva também a compreender o valor percebido que estes consumidores atribuem ao seu universo de consumo. Para tanto, o trabalho foi apoiado num referencial teórico essencialmente da área de marketing, transitando por aspectos essenciais da disciplina, como preço, comportamento de consumo, níveis de envolvimento e percepção de valor (noção de justiça X noção de injustiça). A opção pela abordagem qualitativa deve-se ao fato de que o objeto de estudo não demanda um resultado que possa ser expresso em números, mas a descrição e o melhor entendimento de um fenômeno social. Recentemente, Deighton; MacInnis; McGill & Shiv (2010) destacaram as pesquisas conceituais como ricas em ideias, na maior parte das vezes inovadoras, interessantes, fundamentadas teoricamente e capazes de estimular outras pesquisas, além de proporcionarem novas maneiras de se pensar o comportamento do consumidor. A utilização de uma etapa de observação ao trabalho proporcionou uma vivência fundamental do universo de estudo e sedimentou o terreno para a elaboração e execução das entrevistas em profundidade, instrumento este que propiciou uma riqueza significativa de informações na sua coleta. Por fim, a análise de conteúdo, apoiada nos trabalhos de Bardin (1979) e Minayo (2012), trouxe à tona resultados que demonstram um valor percebido de seu consumo altamente positivo pelas camadas de baixa renda da população, afastando a ideia de injustiça pelos preços mais altos que pagam e colocando os estabelecimentos comerciais (pequenos mercados) de bairros de baixa renda no centro de um processo de sociabilização das comunidades, aonde as pessoas encontram confiança, ética e, em especial, um universo de consumo com o qual tem afinidade cultural, colocando o valor percebido em um patamar muito distante dos modelos tradicionais de preço, qualidade e conveniência. / This monograph aims to describe the perceived value of low-income consumers, residents of poor neighborhoods in Porto Alegre, on their consumption of food and cleaning products, preferably acquired in neighborhood’s shops (small markets). Based on the premise that consumers of low income populations pay more for their food and cleaning products, seek to investigate their consumption habits, trying to understand the motivations that guide their consumption, aspects whose understanding leads us also to understand the perceived value these consumers attach to their universe of consumption. Therefore, the work was supported by a theoretical framework mainly in the area of marketing, moving through the essential aspects of the discipline, such as price, to consumer behavior, levels of involvement and perceived value (notion of justice X notion of injustice). The choice of a qualitative approach is due to the fact that the object of study does not require a result that can be expressed in numbers, but an understanding, as it is a description of a social phenomenon at its best. Recently, Deighton; MacInnis; Shiv & McGill (2010) highlighted the research conceptual as rich in ideas, in most cases innovative, interesting, theoretically grounded and able to stimulate further research, in addition to providing new ways of thinking about the behavior of consumer. Using an observation phase the work experience provided a fundamental study of the universe and cemented the ground for the development and implementation of in-depth interviews, this instrument that provided a significant wealth of information in its collection. Finally, content analysis, supported by the work of Bardin (1979) and Minayo (2012), brought up results that demonstrate a perceived value of their consumption highly positive by layers of low-income population, pushing the idea of injustice by higher prices they pay and putting commercial establishments (small markets) of low-income neighborhoods in the center of a process of socialization of communities, where people are trusted, ethical and, in particular, a universe with which the consumer has an cultural affinity, placing the perceived value at a level far away from the traditional models of price, quality and convenience.