This doctoral thesis consists of 4 self-contained chapters, bound together by their focus on household behavior and social interaction: Bargaining over Risk: The Impact of Decision Power on Household Portfolios. This paper provides an analysis of the internal financial decision-making process of households, employing a unique panel of household finances of the entire Swedish population. Exploitation of a source of exogenous variation in sex-specific labor demand reveals that the distribution of decision power among spouses is a driving force behind the aggregation of spouses’ preferences on financial decision making. Peer Effects and Academic Achievement: Regression Discontinuity Approach. The estimation of peer effects in schools has received much attention in recent years but convincing estimates are hard to produce due to self-selection. This paper overcomes this problem by employing a regression discontinuity design where student assignment into high-ability classes constitutes the source of identifying information. Domestic Equality and Marital Stability: Does More Equal Sharing of Childcare affect Divorce Risk? There is an unanimity that divorce wreaks havoc upon families in which it occurs and individuals growing up in a one-parent family are more likely to deal with term economic and social difficulties. Identifying means by which divorces can be reduced is therefore an important task from a public policy perspective and this paper investigates whether more equal sharing of childcare is successful in doing so. Do Classroom Peers Matter in an Early Tracking System? The potential for peers to affect educational achievement of students is central to many important policy debates, for instance on the impacts of ability tracking. Whether tracking affects efficiency and equality of opportunities depends on how peers enter the educational production function and this paper provides estimates of this. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2014. Sammanfattning jämte 4 uppsatser</p>

Darbo tikslas. Nustatyti LSMU ir ASU studentų požiūrio į buities ekologiją sąsajas su studijų programa bei praktine veikla. Uždaviniai. Išanalizuoti aukštųjų mokyklų studijų programas, susijusias su ekologijos mokslais; įvertinti studentų, studijuojančių ekologijos mokslus, žinias apie namų ūkio ekologiją bei jos poveikį sveikatai; nustatyti žinių apie buities ekologiją sąsajas su studijų programa bei praktine veikla. Tyrimo metodika. Empirinio tyrimo analizės objektas - studentų elgesys buityje ir studijų programų bei praktinės veiklos atspindys. Darbe naudoti tyrimo metodai: studentų anketinė apklausa; lyginamoji, vertinamoji ir statistinė analizė. Rezultatai. Apklausti 374 studentai, studijuojantys 17 – oje skirtingų Lietuvos sveikatos mokslų ir Aleksandro Stulginskio universitetų studijų programų, susijusių su ekologijos mokslais. Tyrimo metu nustatyta, kad daugumos studijų programų studentai turi palyginti geras deklaratyviąsias žinias, tačiau nustatytas reikšmingas procedūrinių ir veiksmingumo žinių trūkumas. Išvados ir praktinės rekomendacijos. LSMU ir ASU studentai, studijuojantys ekologijos mokslus, turi pakankamas žinias apie namų ūkio ekologiją bei jos poveikį sveikatai. Nustatyti statistiškai reikšmingi skirtumai tarp skirtingų studijų programų studentų turimų žinių buities ekologijos srityje bei nepakankamos teorinių žinių apie buities ekologiją sąsajos su praktine veikla. Atsižvelgiant į tyrimo rezultatus, studijų dalykuose, susijusiuose su ekologijos mokslais... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. Identify Lithuanian university of health sciences and Aleksandras Stulginskis university students approach to the ecological household links to study program and practical activities. Objectives. To analyze the high-school study programs related to ecological sciences; assess students, studying ecological sciences, knowledge of household ecology and its impact on health; to identify knowledge about the ecological household links to the study program and the practical activities. Methods. Research object - student behavior at home and its connection to study programs and practice reflection. Methods: structured group of individuals (students) questionnaire; comparative, evaluative and statistical analysis. Results. Interviewed 374 students studying in 17th different Lithuanian university of health sciences and Aleksandras Stulginskis university undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, related to the ecological sciences. The study found that the majority of students have relatively good declarable ecological knowledge, but it is a significant lack of procedural (performance) and effectiveness knowledge. Conclusions and practical recommendations. No statistically significant differences has been identified between the different study programs students existing household ecology knowledge. However, the study established a weak knowledge of the ecology interface with domestic practices. It is recommended, in study subjects related to ecology, to seek... [to full text]

Namų ūkiuose kaupiami nebenaudojami vaistai gali kelti pavojų gyventojų saugumui. Kaupiami nenaudojami ir pasibaigusio tinkamumo laiko vaistai padidina apsinuodijimo tikimybę tiek vaikams, tiek suaugusiems. Be to, netinkamai iš namų ūkių šalinami naikintini medikamentai gali sukelti ir rimtų aplinkosaugos problemų. Tyrimo tikslas ir uždaviniai. Pagrindiniai šio tyrimo siekiai yra išanalizuoti farmacinių atliekų susidarymo namų ūkiuose priežastis, nustatyti tolimesnius pacientų veiksmus šalinant netinkamus vartoti medikamentus iš namų ūkių ir įvertinti pacientų turimas žinias ir pasirinkimą juos grąžinti į vaistines. Tyrimo metodai. Šio tyrimo respondentai buvo pasirinkti atsitiktinai, o tyrimo dalyvių pildyta anketa - anoniminė. Anketa buvo sudaryta iš 18 klausimų ir į ją atsakyti sutiko 378 respondentai, apsilankę trijose visuomenės vaistinėse, esančiose Šiaulių mieste. Rezultatai. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad nenaudojamų ar pasibaigusio tinkamumo laiko vaistų galima aptikti atitinkamai 92,1 proc. ir 61,1 proc. namų ūkių. Nustatyta, kad vyrai, vyresni nei 50 metų asmenys ir sergantieji lėtine liga pacientai dažniau nesilaiko vaistų vartojimo nurodymų. 65 metų ir vyresniems pacientams gydytojas dažniau keičia gydymo metodą, jiems dažniau pasireiškia šalutinis vaisto poveikis, dėl kurių priežasčių jų namų ūkiuose dažniau susidaro farmacinės atliekos. Netinkamų vartoti vaistinių preparatų grąžinimas į vaistines nepriklauso nuo paciento išsilavinimo, lyties, amžiaus... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Home-generated pharmaceuticals that are no longer used can jeopardize the safety of residents. The generated expired medications increase the probability of poisoning in both children and adults. In addition, medical wastes improperly disposed of household can cause environmental problems. Aim and Goals. The survey primarily aims at analyzing the causes of pharmaceutical waste generation by households, identifying further steps taken by patients towards the removal of medical wastes and assessing the patient knowledge about the proper disposal of medications from the household kits. Methods.A random sample of the survey respondents completed the anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire was composed of 18 questions. Responses were provided by 378 respondents who visited three community pharmacies located in the city of Šiauliai. Findings. The research results revealed that 92.1% of the households kept unused medications whereas 61.1% of the households had expired medications. It was determined that the male patients as well as the patients older than 50 years and those who were afflicted with chronic diseases were more frequent to ignore the instructions on medication use. The physicians would frequently alter the method of treatment for 65-year-old or older patients. Such patients were also more frequent to experience adverse effects of the medications therefore excess pharmaceutical waste would accumulate in their households. The return of unsuitable medications back to... [to full text]

Interest in school transportation has emerged in response to concern over the reduced levels of physical activity among children and youth. Recent Canadian policies emphasize population health intervention to encourage active travel among this younger population; urban planners and public health professionals have also highlighted the importance of the neighbourhood built environment. However, this “child-youth friendly” turn in policy and planning practice, particularly in Canada, has arguably occurred in advance of conclusive and generalizable knowledge about the relationship between the built environment and children’s travel. Within this context, this thesis is the first quantitative research that examines school transportation mode choice behaviour in the largest Canadian city, the City of Toronto. At first, a Behavioural Model of School Transportation was outlined. This exercise was followed by three empirical studies that explored school travel by children and youth, using travel data from Transportation Tomorrow Survey. The first of these three studies investigated the association between the built environment and the likelihood of walking or being driven, for journeys to and from school. The next study focused on a measurement issue; the potential influence of the modifiable areal unit problem on statistical modelling of the built environment - mode choice relationship was examined. Lastly, the potential influence of travel interactions among household members, the built environment, and unobservable spatial dependency (i.e., spatial auto-correlation), on school travel outcome of children and youth, were examined. The results indicated that caregiver availability may influence travel mode choice. The built environment near both home and school locations was associated with the likelihood of walking. In addition, the correlates of mode choice were different between children and youth, which perhaps, reflects a child’s cognitive development with age as an independent traveller. These findings suggest the need for neighbourhood-wide improvement in the built environment, and age-specific population health interventions at schools and in the communities.

This study examines two of the reasons that prevent people from taking part in green electricity programs: trust concerns that these programs may raise, and lack of benefits that come with visibility of participants’ involvement. While the current literature takes notice of their influence, in this study it was decided to investigate both factors in more detail. In particular, with the help of a survey, the study focused on the reactions of electricity consumers to the proposition of participation in green electricity programs in a controlled setting, in which levels of trust concerns raised and benefits of visibility provided by the programs could be varied. The study was conducted in Oakville, an affluent southern Ontario (Canada) suburb. The results are based on 160 received responses to 500 questionnaires that were sent out by mail. While the results of this study point towards the conclusion that both factors have an influence on participation in green electricity programs, their relative strength cannot be estimated by these results. One can, however, claim that the combined influence of trust concerns and benefits of visibility is quite strong. This research shows that at a 95% confidence level, willingness to participate in a program that proposes paying premium for electricity from solar panels installed on a participant’s roof (low trust concerns, high benefits of visibility) is 30% + 19.3% higher than willingness to participate in a program that proposes paying premium for electricity from undisclosed solar farms (high trust concerns, low benefits of visibility). Additional data about trust concerns, appreciation of benefits of visibility, and concerns about installation of solar panels on one’s own roof, provided by the survey, are also presented in the text. In conclusion, it is recommended that future research should more clearly separate the strength of influence of trust concerns from the influence of benefits of visibility on green electricity program participation. It is also important to study which features of these programs make them more trustworthy and visible. An important implication of this study for policy makers and green electricity proponents is to concentrate on allaying trust concerns, and enhancing benefits of visibility when designing policies or drafting plans for green electricity programs. The creation of an independent green electricity program certification system and a greater accent on the local presence of such programs is suggested.

This research is an investigation of the spatial organization of household activities and especially the storage facilities in Ancient Burgaz. The four well-preserved houses at the Northeast Sector, their artefact assemblages which come from the final occupation floor level dated to the 4th century B.C., and the storage containers have been evaluated. The spatial distributions of the artefacts were studied through the use of quantitative methods with the objective of identifying storage spaces in Burgaz houses. The results of this quantitative analysis and the observations regarding Burgaz houses have been compared to other contemporary sites in ancient Aegean.

This is a collection of papers on three Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Thailand. All four studies rely on household survey data for analyzing topics related to poverty and conflicts. Trust and Conflict in Southern ThailandThe insurgency in Thailand’s southern border provinces has caused thousands of casualties since 2004. This paper investigates the impact of mistrust of the government on the violent conflict. I analyze how failure to address local grievances has led to a breakdown of trust and created conditions for an insurgency. Empirical tests are carried out using a survey of individual trust in government institutions conducted at the beginning of violent conflict. It is shown that sub-districts where the population displayed lower levels of pre-conflict trust experienced higher levels of lethal violence during the conflict. Factors influencing trust in government institutions are analyzed using ordinal logistic analysis. Economic and ethno-linguistic factors are identified as the main determinants of trust towards the government. Political polarization in ThailandThe article traces recent political polarization to earlier institutional reforms opening up the political system to increased electoral competition. The increased influence of the rural majority led new political entrepreneurs to introduce welfare policies. The new polices were opposed by urban tax payers, setting off a process of policy driven polarization that drew on underlying cleavages in Thai society. Empirical tests based on voting patterns in the most recent general election using a seemingly unrelated regression model provide support for the hypothesis of policy driven political polarization. The analysis highlights the vulnerability to increased polarization after introduction of institutional reforms that alter the balance of power between different parts of the electorate. Ethnic Minority Poverty in Lao PDREthnic minorities have a significantly higher poverty incidence than the majority in Lao PDR. Based on survey data the determinants of minority poverty are analyzed, the sources of inequality decomposed, and the expected impact of polices to address minority poverty estimated. When economic factors are controlled for, ethnicity does not have any significant effect on poverty. Decomposition shows that unequal access to resources and demographic variables largely explain the majority-minority poverty gap. Rural Poverty in CambodiaCambodia has been growing rapidly over the past few years, but remains one of the poorest countries in East Asia. This paper analyzes rural poverty in Cambodia to identify the factors that explain its occurrence and persistence. The reduction of rural poverty in Cambodia requires (1) improvements in agricultural productivity and (2) the establishment of other income earning opportunities for the rural population. An econometric analysis of the Cambodian Socio-Economic Survey shows that the main causes of poverty differ between landowners and the landless, and between different regions.

No description available.

This thesis presents an ethnographic account of everyday life for eighteen healthy and safe, small town, Aotearoa/New Zealand children aged between ten and eleven years. It undertakes a social constructionist analysis of five domains of the children's lives; self and identity, their relationships with each other, their relationships with adults, time and space, and safety and risk. These domains reflect the intersection between the children's own lives and their wider contexts. The approach taken is consistent with the new social studies of childhood perspective that has been articulated over the past 15-20 years. This approach, developed in response to a perceived over-determinism in the developmental accounts of childhood, brings to the foreground the need to document more fully children's standpoints. The children held a sense of themselves as good people and their thoughts about the future, relationships and themes of stability were prominent areas of self-development for them. Their friendships provided important social and emotional resources. Making and sustaining friendships involved delicate processes of positioning and while they provided emotional sustenance they could also be a source of confusion and anxiety. Intense friendships were important for both boys and girls. Relationships with adults were critical and time was an important component of good relationships. The children thought about time in a variety of ways, but the linear progression of time from the present out to the future was not a strong component of this. Home was important place to the children, home as stability, as a place for time with parents and for free time were prominent themes. It was also a place of self-care for a number of the children. School time was experienced as time to play with friends and socialise, and schoolwork time. Social time was more prominent in the children's thinking than work time. Global discourses about risk and safety played a powerful role in influencing the ways in which the children spent their time, particularly the ways in which they utilised public spaces. The children were keen to participate in the research and were insightful social commentators demonstrating a passionate interest in being able to express their views and to think about the way that different dimensions of their social worlds influenced the things they were able to do.

The timing of work over the day or week is fundamental to the nature of paid work and the interaction between work and leisure. However, due to data limitations, little research has been done on the timing of work in Australia. The Australian Time Use Survey, conducted nationally by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in 1992 and 1997, provides a unique opportunity to examine actual work timing arrangements in the Australian workforce. (For complete abstract open document)