Introduction: While the paradoxical association between overweight and household food insecurity (HFI) is well established amongst low-income women, findings remain inconclusive amongst children. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between household food insecurity (HFI) and child overweight outcomes in an inner-city, pre-school and school aged population. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design augmented by validated Early Pregnancy Study (EPS) data collected during a pregnancy 6 years prior. A random subset of mothers of child-bearing age (23-44 years) and the child resulting from that pregnancy (between 4-7 years of age at time of re-enrollment) were tracked and re-enrolled in this follow-up study. The primary exposure, HFI, was captured using an adaptation of the standardized US Food Security Scale -- embedded within a larger self-report questionnaire addressing selected maternal and child influences (such as health, exercise, and dietary risk factors) on child weight patterns. Maternal and the child BMI outcome was determined through in-home clinical assessment of height and weight and using standard CDC based cutoffs to classify weight status. Self-report and biologically confirmed prenatal EPS data were also obtained to establish useful baseline data and to enhance study results. Exploratory hypotheses examined: (1) Interrelatedness between select maternal and child health, social-environmental, and socio-demographic exposures and (2) Household food insecurity (HFI), prenatal and current maternal and child exposures were explored for their relationship with child BMI. Results: Thirty-six mother-child dyads participated in this follow-up study. Twenty-eight percent of mothers reported HFI; 83% of mothers were classified as overweight or obese and 58% of children were categorized as at-risk for overweight or overweight. Most bi-variate analyses yielded non-significant results, though in-utero drug use was significantly correlated, and mothers who tested positive for tobacco use during pregnancy were also likely to test positive for marijuana use, as determined through biological confirmation (p<0.05). Additionally, current maternal BMI as well as current maternal hip-to-waist ratio were each significantly associated with current child BMI (p<0.05). One unexpected finding included a significant association between current maternal BMI and presence of a co-morbidity in the child (p<0.05). No significant relationships were found between HFI or additional exploratory multivariate models looking at independent effects of prenatal and current maternal-child exposures in predicting child overweight, though current maternal BMI was predictive of child overweight in most analyses. Access to electronic medical record information was highly predictive of participation in this follow-up study (p<0.001). Discussion: This study provided an opportunity to better characterize an attrition-prone population, and, while it is possible to track and identify these women through electronic medical record databases, recruitment efforts were labor-intensive and attrition rates particularly high (~22% of mothers re-enrolled). Overall, the influence of household food insecurity on child overweight remains unclear. However, study findings also demonstrated that maternal weight alone was highly predictive of child overweight as early as pre-school, mirroring empirical evidence in this area. Ultimately, childhood obesity is more effectively prevented when treated as a familial concern. Future studies should continue to explore cumulative influences catalyzing obesity in young children in order to better inform understanding of early obesity onset. / Public Health

The Expanded Program on Immunization Sampling Method (known simply as EPI sampling) is a two-stage sampling procedure originally intended for quick estimation of disease prevalence in large geographical regions. The method was developed in the 1970s and all the subsequent assessments of its performance have been conducted by simulation. In her master's thesis, Reyes (2016) studied in detail the second-stage sampling of the method by developing formulas for the exact calculation of the household inclusion probabilities when sectors are used to identify the initial household to generate the EPI samples. The inclusion probabilities were used in turn to obtain exact mean, bias, variance and mean square error of any estimator of disease prevalence in the population. Thus, no extensive simulations are required and the results are exact rather than just estimates. This thesis is an extension of Reyes' (2016) work. The extension is two-fold; (a) employing strips rather than sectors because they narrow the geographic area for field workers and to use strips to select the first household for the EPI sample at the secondary stage, and (b) carrying out an analysis on simulated population and sampling plans, using both stages of the EPI method. Analyzing the simulated populations showed that equal weight estimator that samples primary units with replacement with probability proportional to size (EW1) should be used when the target characteristic is thought to be spread randomly throughout the population, and the Horvitz-Thompson estimator that samples primary units systematically with replacement (HTSYS) should be used when the disease is believed to spread from a central location or through pocketing. Comparing the strip and sector sampling methods at the secondary stage using their effective areas leads to a comparative basis in which the inclusion probabilities are identical for both methods. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

There is an emerging market of radical eco-innovations that require high involvement from the U.S. consumer for successful routinization. Yet, there exists a gap in knowledge that guides the dissemination of such innovations for related stakeholders. Among these innovations is the household digester (HD), which is marketed as an innovation capable of generating biogas and fertilizer through processing organic waste at its point-of-source (POS). The HD may surpass other high-involvement eco-innovations in respect to levels of involvement necessary for consumer routinization and sustained operation. However, previously unexplored factors within the contemporary U.S. landscape have spurred recent growth in HD adoption. This dissertation took a three-manuscript approach in the investigation of factors that influence the adoption and diffusion of HD in the U.S. The first of three studies tested a literature-based conceptual model framed within the multi-level perspective (MLP) to identify barriers and drivers of HD adoption. Qualitative data from expert interviews and social media posts inform the production of a taxonomy of complexities that depict the current state of HD in the U.S. Findings indicate that HD marketing during the Covid pandemic brought forth new adopter populations seeking resilience due to infrastructure distrust. The second study investigated motivations for HD adoption through operationalizing constructs from psychology literature and diffusion of innovation theory (DOI). Through in-depth interviews with adopters, the factors of relative advantage, compatibility, and cost were found to outweigh pro-environmental behavior (PEB) in adoption decisions. Furthermore, high-involvement was not found to influence adoption decisions. The final study employed a collective case study approach that explored paths to HD routinization among ten adopters. Results highlight the ability of adopters to overcome technical challenges through reinventions necessary for contextual adaptations. This dissertation contributes insights into the adoption and diffusion of radical high-involvement eco-innovations, offering implications for policy, practice, and future research in emerging innovations interacting within socio-technical transitions. / Doctor of Philosophy / A variety of emerging products are entering the U.S. consumer market that promote household sustainability, many of which require high levels of involvement from consumers for successful adoption. These high-involvement eco-innovations have been studied within the context of electric cars, organic foods, and other products that require extensive consumer research before purchase. However, this research focuses on a new product entering the U.S. market where involvement not only requires extensive pre-purchase research but also radical levels of interaction during operation and maintenance for successful product use. The household anaerobic digester is an apparatus that turns organic waste into cooking fuel and fertilizer. This innovation has been widely adopted in the developing world with some success, but technical issues during operation have been shown to result in discontinued use. This dissertation focuses on the adoption of household digesters in the U.S. Radical high-involvement eco-innovations need further scientific analysis to understand what factors might affect adoption, as well as explore the viability of such products entering a market where convenience is a social norm. This research aims to provide an analysis of this phenomenon through three studies. Chapter Two explores this new product and factors that may hinder or accelerate adoption in the U.S. Experts in the field of household digesters are interviewed for data collection, as well as analysis of social media posts where new adopters share information. This study aims to determine the social and technical complexities of Americans adopting household digesters. The Third Chapter assesses the purchase motivations of current adopters of household digesters in the U.S. This assessment takes place through interviews, where consumers provide information about their traits, values, and the degree to which they use the product to replace an existing technology. Chapter Four takes a further look at adopters to gain an understanding of paths to adoption and commonly shared practices that are employed to be successful in the adoption of household digesters. This study first presents the stories of each adopter and then provides a cross-case analysis that reveals commonalities of adopters regarding how paths to adoption often lead to shared practices for successful HD operation. The work is summarized in Chapter Five with conclusions, lessons learned, and recommendations for future research. This includes drawing connections between the three studies' findings and how the studies' chronology brought forth validation in the instruments used for data collection.

Housing researchers are aware of the lower homeownership rates and other housing problems of single women but there is very little research focusing on single women homeowners or the characteristics of the housing they buy. Also, since a wide body of research can be found that examines determinants of homeownership for various population groups, the importance of this study was in its focus on single women homeowners and the characteristics of their housing rather than the determinants of ownership for this group. Using data from the 1993 American Housing Survey (AHS), the study sample consisted of 639 women homeowners who were either widowed, divorced, separated, or never-married, and who did not own their previous residence. The study's purpose was to construct a profile of single women home- owners that included a description of their demographic and housing characteristics, the means by which they acquired their homes, and the changes made in their housing when they became homeowners. Additionally, this study examined which demographic and previous housing characteristics of this group were related to the housing characteristics of their present homes. Descriptive results from this study suggested that single women homeowners are primarily middle aged without young children at home, earn moderate incomes, and that the largest proportion of them live in the South and metropolitan areas. When compared to homeowners in general, single women homeowners' homes cost less and represented a higher proportion of attached and mobile home units. The results also showed that single women used low-down payment financing instruments to a lesser degree than did all homeowners. Results from statistical analyses suggested that significant relationships exist between single women homeowners' housing characteristics, and a) their demographic characteristics, b) their previous housing characteristics, and c) their reasons for moving and selecting their current homes and neighborhoods. Another key finding was that single women homeowners of varying marital status differed in their present and previous housing characteristics and their reasons for selecting the current home. The results of this study support suggestions made by other researchers that examining differences not only by gender but also by the variations in marital status will help to clarify and add to the knowledge of housing and its relevance to populations of varying social composition. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to understand Korean consumers' perceptual processes induced by comparative price advertisements. While controlling for intrinsic product cue effects, this study examines the joint effects of extrinsic cues, such as comparative price (regular price /sale price), brand name, country-of-manufacture, and retailer name, on a consumer's perception of a product's price and quality. In examining the effects of advertising contextual cues, this study incorporates consumer perceptual processes, the processes through which the external cues are perceived and compared to or moderated by other variables. The perceptual structure is based on relevant theories and accumulated knowledge from research in this area. Specially adapted theories for this study are the adaptation-level theory, the message learning theory, and the transaction utility theory. / Ph. D.

The first study investigates the factors that impact the duration of U.S. fresh fruit and vegetable imports. We employ both survival analysis (Kaplan Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazards model) as well as count data models. Our results indicate that SPS treatment requirements positively impact the duration of trade while new market access has the opposite effect. Other factors typically included in trade duration models (such as: GDP, transportation costs, tariff rates, etc.) were also investigated. We also employ a probit model to understand the factors impacting the probability that a country selects into exporting fresh fruits and vegetables to the United States. The second study estimates the goods-time elasticity of substitution for Food Stamp/SNAP participants versus non participants. We find that the elasticity of substitution for SNAP participants is not statistically different from zero. This indicates that SNAP participants have Leontief production function in household food production, implying that increasing the amount of SNAP benefits paid to participants will not lead to more food production if the time households dedicate to food preparation remains unchanged. This finding extends the analysis done by Baral, Davis and You (2011) and offers insights for policies related to the SNAP program. / Master of Science

In chapter 1, a comprehensive meta-analysis is conducted to synthesize the effectiveness, cost, and cost-effectiveness of lifestyle diabetes prevention interventions and compare effects by intervention delivery agent and channel. Sixty-nine studies meet inclusion criteria. The results show that participants receiving intervention with nutrition education experienced a reduction of 2.07 kg (95% CI: 1.52 to 2.62; p<0.001; 95% CI: 88.61% to 92.87%) in weight at 12 months with effect sizes over time ranging from small (0.17, 95% CI: 0.04 to 0.30; p=0.012; 95% CI: 80.42% to 91.14%) to medium (0.65, 95% CI: 0.49 to 0.82; p<0.001; 95% CI: 98.52% to 98.94). In sum, lifestyle interventions are effective in reducing body weight and glucose-related outcomes. Dietitian-delivered interventions achieve greater weight reduction compared to those delivered by other personnel. In chapter 2, this study attempts to examine the effects of household relative deprivation on children's health outcomes. A modified household production model is developed with energy intake, energy expenditure and a composite good as main inputs in the health production. A two-stage Stackelberg game facilitates the need to model the parent-child interaction which follows similar structure as You and Davis (2011). We use three measurements of relative deprivation based on per capita household income and four reference groups based on combinations of geographic and demographic characteristics. The results show that relative deprivation is negatively associated with child health. In chapter 3, we define "process benefits" as the direct effect on utility from engaging in an activity and examine how "process benefits" associated with food activities, both uptake and duration, are related to factors such as socio-economic status and demographics. A household production model is utilized to demonstrate the vital role of process benefits in home food production and the implications it will have for nutrition based policies targeting resources. The results display that the process benefits are associated with some demographic characteristics. This implies that shortfalls in food activities are not simply a matter of technology or resource shortfalls, but also reflect disutility associated from these activities which in turn will attenuate the impact of policies design to merely address resource shortfalls. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on marital relationships. MCI refers to age-related decline in memory and other cognitive processes that do not necessarily interfere with daily activities or the maintenance of social relationships with others (Petersen et al., 1999). Using social exchange theory as the theoretical framework to guide this qualitative study, aspects of the marital relationship explored from the nonimpaired spouses’ perspective were couple interaction, intimacy, and the division of household labor. In-depth interviews were conducted with five husbands and five wives (M age = 76.6 yrs., S.D. = 6.64). Open-ended interview questions that focus on issues specific to the marital relationship included: (a) range of activities participated in as a couple, (b) ways of showing care or affection toward one another, and (e) management of everyday life. In addition to participating in the semi-structured interviews, the spouses completed three standardized scales (e.g., Revised Memory & Behavior Problems Checklist, Zarit Burden Interview, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale). Their responses to these measures provided information about the memory and behavioral changes of the elder as it related to the outcomes for and responses of the spouse. Spouses noted both change and stability within their marriages. They expressed “mixed emotions” concerning the influence of MCI on both them as individuals and on their relationship. Husbands’ responses focused on the negative relationship outcomes (e.g., frustration, stress) associated with caring for a spouse with memory loss; however, wives reported higher levels of burden and depression on the standardized measures than did the husbands. Gender differences were found regarding how husbands and wives view their roles in context to the caregiving situation, as well as how they adapt and cope. Longitudinal research is needed to examine the changes in the dynamics of these late-life marital relationships over time. / Master of Science

The Central Appalachian region is home to several resource-extraction industries, a host of globally unique aquatic wildlife species, and region-wide poverty. These overlapping circumstances make solving environmental issues in the region challenging. Of particular focus is the coal mining industry, both because of its prevalence and because of controversial methods of practice such as mountain top mining. One of the primary concerns in the region is the extirpation of sensitive aquatic macroinvertebrate species. Several studies have suggested the primary driver of this loss of biodiversity is due to increased conductivity in streams impacted by these mining practices. The reality is that several pollutant sources coexist in these Central Appalachian watersheds. Because of geographic isolation, many headwater communities lack proper sewerage and discharge directly into nearby waterways, compounding potential effects of upstream mining activities. Additionally, several legacy sites exist throughout the Appalachian region, both underground and surface mining in nature. To best mitigate ecological impacts of all of these pollutant types, relative contributions of each must be understood, as well as the nature of the pollution contributed by each. As a contribution towards this region-wide need for better information on pollution, the studies comprising this dissertation seek to better understand the composition of these different pollutant sources and their in-stream contributions to conductivity. The first paper found that these sources are indeed distinct in their inorganic ion make-up: surface coal mining was found to contribute primarily Ca, K, Ni, Se, and SO₄⁻², while untreated household waste (UHW) was primarily associated with P. HCO₃⁻ Mn, and Si were found to be associated with a legacy underground discharge. The second and third scientific studies included here analyzed conductivity's effect on Virginia Stream Condition Index (VSCI) versus other water quality and habitat parameters as well as the effect of specific ion suites on VSCI score. Findings indicated that excellent habitat extends species resilience against elevated conductivity, with passing VSCI scores found at conductivity in the 600-800 µs/cm range in cases of excellent habitat metric scores. Meanwhile, VSCI score suppression was highly related to surface mining-related inorganic ions (Ca, K, Mg, Ni, and SO₄⁻²), but also negatively correlated with ions related to UHW (P and Na). These results indicate the need for quantification of biological responses to specific ions in order to initiate targeted mitigate of pollutants in Central Appalachian watersheds. / Ph. D.

This PhD dissertation represents an effort to understand individual behavior leading to decisions regarding natural resource use and compliance with conservation policy at the government and at the community levels through the analysis of specific cases in the Brazilian Amazon. I first analyze the case of smallholder land clearing along the Transamazon and BR-163 highways in the face of Brazilian Forest Code enforcement by the federal government. My hypothesis is that smallholder land clearing paths over time are affected by assessments of the probability of being caught violating the Forest Code. I develop a dynamic decision model that considers the potential benefits and costs accrued from land clearing through time by a representative smallholder and include her perception of the probability of Forest Code enforcement, unobserved to the researcher. I apply an endogenous switching regressions econometric model to data collected with a sample of 542 households in 2003 and 2013/14. I find that longer land tenure frontiers where there are opportunities for smallholders to transition to cattle grazing from agriculture deserve the attention of enforcement of land clearing laws and restrictions and that the use of the forest by a smallholder is a protective signal that must be considered and encouraged. My results suggest that alleged government efforts to enforce the Forest Code among smallholders in the sample region have been ineffective. The second case I analyze is that of fisher households that enforce community fishing agreements, known as accords, in the floodplains of the Amazon River surrounding the city of Santarém. My hypothesis is that individual households benefit from their own fishing accords enforcement effort through fishing time savings. A factor demand analysis applied to data collected with over 600 households reveals that statistically important drivers of labor demand and fuel include the level of dedication of a household and its history in implementing fishing accords, the landscape, the flood cycle, the distance to the main regional market and biomass. The average household fishing time savings from enforcing accords range between 59 and 36 eight-hour days for a six-month-period, an important argument for continuing the enterprise. / PHD