Background School meals have been seen to promote healthy dietary habits and social equality, in children, if parents are involved. The positive effects in the design of a sustainable school food service system come from a two-way communication between Food Service Professionals (FSP), and parents.  Objective The purpose of the study was to compare what aspects of the school meal FSP, and parents find important, and to see if there are differences, or similarities, that could have implications for how service quality is perceived (by the parents). Method Web-based questionnaire completed by 227 FSP, and 153 parents for children 6-16 years old. Individuals’ expectations were explored using a Food Service Quality Index. Groups were compared with Mann‐Whitney U‐test, and Chi2-test with a set significance level of p-value <0.05. Results High expectations were reported on the Servicescape (physical meal setting), and the Service meeting, by both the FSP, and the parents. The school canteen atmosphere, and a welcoming attitude was rated as extremely important, by both the FSP, and the parents. Expectations on school food service quality were high among parents with high education. Comments from the respondents were primary related to normative values about food quality, and culinary aspects.  Conclusion The expectations were related to hospitality and service, in the Servicescape, with an “inviting school canteen”, “to feel welcome”, and “to answer children’s questions” in the school canteen, for the majority of the FSP and the parents. The findings of this study suggest future research in how cooperation with parents could be implemented through parental representations in school food councils, and digital platforms. / Bakgrund Skolmåltider har visat sig främja hälsosamma kostvanor, och social jämlikhet hos barn, om de utformas i samverkan med föräldrar. Positiva effekter kan ses vid en tvåvägskommunikation mellan personal och föräldrar.  Syfte Syftet med studien var att jämföra vilka aspekter av skolmåltiden som föräldrar, och måltidspersonal anser som viktiga, och att se om det finns skillnader, eller likheter som kan påverka hur servicekvaliteten uppfattas (av föräldrarna). Metod Webbaserat frågeformulär ifyllt av 227 måltidspersonal, och 153 föräldrar till barn,6 – 16 år, inom måltidsservice. Deltagarnas förväntningar undersöktes med hjälp av ett Food Service Quality Index (FSQI). Grupper jämfördes med Mann-Whitney U-test, och Chi2-test med en signifikansnivå p <0.05. Resultat Höga förväntningar rapporterades gällande den fysiska måltidsmiljön (the Servicescape), och servicemötet (The Service meeting), både av måltidspersonalen och föräldrarna. Skolmatsalens atmosfär och en välkomnande attityd beskrevs som extremt viktigt, både för måltidspersonalen och föräldrarna. Förväntningarna på skolmåltidskvaliteten var hög bland föräldrar med hög utbildning. Kommentarerna från respondenterna var primärt relaterade till normativa värden om livsmedelskvalitet, och kulinariska aspekter. Slutsats Förväntningarna var relaterade till gästfrihet och service, i servicelandskapet (Servicescape), med "en inbjudande skolmatsal", "att känna sig välkommen" och "att svara på barns frågor" i skolmatsalen, för majoriteten av FSP och föräldrarna. Resultaten av denna studie kan ligga till grund för ytterligare forskning kring hur samarbete med föräldrar kan implementeras genom föräldrarepresentanter i skolmatråd och digitala plattformar.

No description available.

This study has looked at two separate locations, Malmö in Sweden, and Medellin in Colombia, and what the possibilities of rainwater harvesting are in those locations. The paper investigated data gathered by low-cost sensors in Malmö region, as well as sampling and measurements of rainwater collected in Malmö and Medellin, analysed by laboratories in both countries. Important data for the paper are quantity, quality, as well as environmental benefits and the economical perspective of rainwater harvesting. There are several steps that can be taken towards a more sustainable use of the Earth’s resources, and rainwater harvesting is included in the possibilities already at hand. But there is need for further development of monitoring and ways to qualify water for different purposes. It is possible to utilize rainwater for many things, and with that, ease the pressure on the local water supply infrastructure. This study has shown some important parts of that process, and that even low-cost sensors can help in gathering essential data for further evaluation of the usability of the rainwater. By collecting parts of the rainwater, flooding due to extensive downpour can be mitigated to some extent. Moreover, considering the low price of the sensors tested in this study, it is possible to use several low-cost sensors to determine the usability to some extent. Had the measurements rendered in values being too low compared to the laboratory results, the risk would have been greater. The consequence is that usable water could be regarded as not usable since the sensors returned an overall higher value compared to the laboratory results. Furthermore, the research found that the environmental benefit can be substantial. But there are more positive implications when gathering water for usage locally. For example, the water supply can become more distributed and with that, less prone to cause events such as water leaks, polluted water, and extreme events that have rendered an unserviceable infrastructure.

Titel: Kvalité i hållbarhetsrapporter - En kvantitativ studie om kvalité i statligt ägda företag och privatägda företags hållbarhetsrapporter Författare: Isabelle Fernqvist & Desiré Kolmodin Handledare: Linus Axén Nyckelord: Hållbarhetsrapportering, Kvalité, Kvalitetsindex, Omfattning, Hybridorganisationer, Statligt ägda företag, Privatägda företag Bakgrund: Hållbarhetsrapportering är ett högst aktuellt och omtalat ämne i dagens samhälle, där förväntningar på företag att rapportera sina hållbarhetsaktiviteter och klimatrelaterade risker ökar allt mer. Kvalitén på innehållet i hållbarhetsrapporter är av stor betydelse då företags intressenter riskerar att reagera negativt om hållbarhetsrapporten inte uppfyller deras förväntningar. Trots det visar undersökningar att svenska företag tenderar att enbart redovisa positiva miljöavtryck snarare än konkreta miljökonsekvenser, och brister därmed i sin hållbarhetsrapportering. Tidigare studier uppger en brist på forskning om hur olika ägarstrukturer kan påverka kvalitén på hållbarhetsrapporter. Statligt ägda företag och privatägda företag skiljer sig i ägarstruktur och har därmed olika syften med sina verksamheter, vilket driver studien att jämföra om det finns skillnader i kvalité mellan företagens hållbarhetsrapporter. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att förklara och jämföra kvalité i statligt ägda företag och privatägda företags hållbarhetsrapporter Metod: Studien har en kvantitativ metod med en deduktiv ansats, då en hypotes genereras utifrån en litteraturgenomgång. En innehållsanalys genomförs för att koda kvalitativ information i hållbarhetsrapporter till kvantitativ information genom att samla in data från årsredovisningar och hållbarhetsrapporter. Insamlad data från 30 statligt ägda företag och 30 privatägda företag analyseras sedan i SPSS. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att olika ägarstrukturer påverkar hållbarhetsrapportering i form av att statligt ägda företags hållbarhetsrapporter har bättre kvalité jämfört med privatägda företag. Ett signifikant positivt samband föreligger mellan kvalité och statligt ägda företag där statligt ägda företag uppnår ett högre genomsnittligt kvalitetsindex och rapporterar fler antal ord i sina hållbarhetsrapporter. Av studiens kontrollvariabler visade storlek starkast signifikant positivt samband med kvalitén i hållbarhetsrapporter. / Title: Quality in sustainability reports - A quantitative study about quality in state-owned enterprises and privately owned enterprises sustainability reports Authors: Isabelle Fernqvist & Desiré Kolmodin Supervisor: Linus Axén Keywords: Sustainability reporting, Quality, Quality Index, Extent, Hybrid organizations, State-owned enterprises, Privately owned enterprises Introduction: Sustainability reporting is a current and discussed topic in today's society, where expectations on companies to report their sustainability activities and climate-related risks are increasing. The quality of the content in sustainability reports is of great importance as companies stakeholders can react negatively if the sustainability report does not meet their expectations. Nevertheless, studies show that Swedish companies tend to report positive environmental impacts rather than concrete environmental consequences which can lead to inadequate sustainability reports. Previous studies show a lack of knowledge on how different ownership structures can affect the quality in sustainability reports. State-owned and privately owned enterprises differ in ownership structure and thus have different purposes with their organizations, which leads the study to compare whether there are differences in quality between sustainability reports. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to explain and compare quality between stateowned enterprises and privately owned enterprises sustainability reports. Method: The study has a quantitative method with a deductive approach, as a hypothesis is generated based on a literature review. A content analysis is performed to code qualitative information in sustainability reports to quantitative information by collecting data from annual reports and sustainability reports. The collected data from 30 state-owned and 30 privately owned enterprises are then being analyzed in SPSS. Conclusion: The results of the study show that different ownership structures affect sustainability reporting where state-owned enterprises´ sustainability reports have better quality compared to privately owned enterprises. There is a significant positive relationship between quality and state-owned enterprises. They achieve a higher average quality index and report more words in their sustainability reports. The control variable size showed the strongest significant positive relationship with quality in sustainability reports.

Background Previous research has emphasized the importance of objectivity in voice quality evaluation. Acoustic voice quality index (AVQI) is a multiparametric objective index, that quantifies overall voice quality. Over the past decade, international studies have demonstrated strong diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of AVQI to voice disorders. Ithas yet been inconclusive whether AVQI is independent of factors such as age and gender or if AVQI is affected by different types of continuous speech segments.  Aim  The aim of this study is to gather descriptive data regarding AVQI’s performance in a healthy Swedish-speaking population. Another objective is to investigate the potential impact of varying characteristics, such as age and gender, and type of continuous speech samples on the AVQI values.  Method  The present study gathered speech samples from 137 participants aged 20 to 90 years with a balanced gender distribution. These samples contained two different types of continuous speech, from which separate AVQI valuesin the acoustic analysis were computed. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was then used to study the effects of age, gender, and type of continuous speech used on the resulting AVQI values.  Results  Descriptive normative data was gathered for the overall voice quality of the age groups included in this study. A statistically significant main effect of age on the AVQI values was observed. Statistical analysis revealed no significant effect of speech type, speaker gender or the interaction of age and gender on the AVQI values.   Conclusions  In conclusion, the present study offered data for AVQI values in the Swedish-speaking population. AVQI scores were higher in older participants compared to the younger participants. No other significant effects were found in this study. AVQI values obtained in this study and comparisons carried out with international AVQI values indicatepotentially successful use of the acoustic voice quality index in the Swedish-speaking population with some precautions.

No description available.

This work aims to give a contribution to studies about employment quality and workforce life conditions of people living in the rural megaregions of Minas Gerais, specially the paid employee. The focus will be the megaregions of Minas Gerais, distinguished by more and less modernization, in the cultivation of coffee, sugar cane and corn, considering both agricultural employees and families. Taking into consideration the decrease of agricultural employment occurred in the 2000 s and the growth of non-agricultural activities, giving rise to the New Ruralism and the new forms of occupation for the paid job outside agriculture, a comparative analyzes of job quality and life conditions for the non- and agricultural employees will be made. The analyzes will indicate if the non-agricultural employment (ERNAs) leads to a better quality of employment and life conditions, when compared to agricultural one. The results obtained in this work indicate a better level of quality in the agricultural employment for the employees living in the more modernized megaregions and with city residence; the conditions are worse for the employees with rural residence working in the less modernized megaregions. Agricultural employee life conditions were clearly better for those living in the city and worse for those living in the rural area. In this sense, for the agricultural families and employees the rural environment continues to reproduce more precarious conditions in relation to the job, mainly in the poorer megaregions. On the other hand, for non-agricultural employees, job quality index was better than for those agricultural, with the exception of qualified employees living in the rural area of megaregion TMAP and Northwest of Minas Gerais. However, the quality of non-agricultural employment was better for more traditional activities, such as those performed in the more modernized megaregions industries, and it was worse for more precarious activities such as paid domestic work (SDR) in the less modernized megaregions. Life conditions were revealed better for all non-agricultural activities, when compared to the agricultural ones, occurring improvement in all selected activities and showing evolution in the mentioned decade. However, those conditions were worse in the less modernized megaregions, and in terms of number, these regions received the largest number of non-agricultural employees. Even presenting better life conditions, the non-agricultural employees are concentrated in the poorer megaregions and in more precarious activities such as paid domestic work (SDR). In conclusion, more than delve into the study of the impacts of modernization in the paid job in Minas Gerais, this work aims to reveal if working conditions (measured by IQE) and families life conditions (measured by ICV) in the rural area implied improvement for non-agricultural employment in comparison with agricultural employment, and if these changes implied in bigger rural development or if it emphasized more the inequalities in rural areas in Minas Gerais. In this investigation the data from the IBGE 2000 and 2010 Demographic Census were used, in the construction of the IQE and ICV indexes, based on the Balsadi (2005) methodology; for the definition of megaregions more and less modernized the data from Censo Agropecuário and PAM were used. / Este trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir com os estudos em torno da qualidade do emprego e condições de vida da força de trabalho residente no setor rural das Mesorregiões de Minas Gerais, especificamente, o empregado assalariado. O recorte compreende as Mesorregiões de Minas Gerais, separadas por mais e menos modernizadas nas culturas do café, cana-de-açúcar e milho, envolvendo os empregados e as famílias agrícolas. Considerando a queda dos empregos agrícolas ocorridos na década estudada e o crescimento das atividades não agrícolas, considerando o novo rural e as novas formas de ocupação para o emprego assalariado fora da agricultura, será realizada também uma análise comparativa da qualidade do emprego e as condições de vida oferecidas a esses empregados agrícolas e não agrícolas, destacando, a partir dos resultados, se os empregos rurais não agrícolas (ERNAs) se consubstanciaram em maior qualidade do emprego e condições de vida quando comparados aos agrícolas. Os resultados obtidos na tese apontam para uma maior qualidade do emprego agrícola para os empregados nas Mesorregiões mais modernizadas, mas com residência urbana, sendo piores para os empregados com domicilio rural e presentes nas Mesorregiões menos modernizadas. As condições de vida dos empregados agrícolas também foram nitidamente melhores para os empregados com domicílio urbano e piores para aqueles com domicilio rural. Nesse sentido, para os empregados e famílias dos empregados agrícolas, o setor rural continua reproduzindo condições mais precárias em relação ao emprego, principalmente, nas Mesorregiões mais pobres. Já para os empregados das atividades não agrícolas, a qualidade do emprego foi melhor que para os agrícolas, com exceção dos empregados qualificados e com domicílio rural na Mesorregião TMAP e Noroeste de Minas. Entretanto, a qualidade do emprego não agrícola foi melhor para as atividades mais tradicionais, como a indústria das Mesorregiões mais modernizadas, e pior para as atividades mais precárias, como serviços domésticos remunerados (SDR), por exemplo, nas Mesorregiões menos modernizadas. As condições de vida se mostraram mais elevadas para todas as atividades não agrícolas, quando comparadas às agrícolas, ocorrendo melhora em todas as atividades selecionadas, o que representa uma evolução na década, continuando, porém, sendo piores para as Mesorregiões menos modernizadas e que, em volume, absorveram o maior número de empregados não agrícolas. Assim, mesmo apresentando condições de vida melhores, os assalariados não agrícolas estão concentrados em maior número nas Mesorregiões mais pobres e nas atividades mais precárias como, principalmente, nos SDR, e serviços. Em síntese, mais que aprofundar o estudo dos impactos da modernização no emprego assalariado de Minas Gerais, este trabalho busca evidenciar se as condições de trabalho (medido pelo IQE) e condições de vida das famílias (medido pelo ICV) no meio rural significaram melhoras para os empregos não agrícolas, em comparação aos agrícolas, e se essas mudanças implicaram em maior desenvolvimento rural ou se acentuaram ainda mais as desigualdades no meio rural mineiro. Foram utilizados na investigação os dados do Censo Demográfico de 2000 e 2010 do IBGE, para a construção dos índices do IQE e do ICV, fundamentados na metodologia de Balsadi (2005), e o Censo Agropecuário e PAM, para a definição das Mesorregiões mais e menos modernizadas. / Doutor em Economia

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Standards define target reliability levels that govern the safety of designed structures. These target levels should be around an economic optimum for the class of structure under consideration. However, society may have safety requirements in excess of that required to achieve an economic optimum. The LQI criterion can be used to determine society’s willingness to invest in safety, thereby defining a minimum acceptable safety- or reliability level. This thesis determines economically optimised reliability levels for reliability class two concrete structures in South Africa, over a range of typical input parameters. Rackwitz’s (2000) approach is used here, adjusted for the South African context. The structure is described using a simple limit state function, defined as the difference between load and resistance, with resistance a function of a global safety parameter. South African construction costs, costs of increasing safety, failure costs and discount rates are used in the objective function for economic optimisation. Life Quality Index (LQI) theory is used as a basis to derive society’s willingness to pay (SWTP) for safety and the corresponding reliability level is found by applying the LQI criterion. In the South African context the derivation of SWTP presents some challenges, which is discussed. Situations where the minimum required reliability would exceed the economically optimum reliability level are discussed. Various reliability based cost optimization case studies are conducted covering a broad range of typical concrete design situations. From these case studies a range of target reliability indices are derived for typical concrete structural components and failure modes. Obtained values are compared to current South African target levels of reliability provided by the South African loading code and recommendations are made. The approach used by Rackwitz (2000) is compared with results obtained from case studies and used as basis to estimate optimum reliability levels for other types of buildings. Functions are written in MATLAB to allow replication of the study for others seeking to derive optimum reliability indices. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Standaarde spesifiseer teiken betroubaarheidsvlakke wat die veiligheidsvlak van ontwerpte strukture bepaal. Hierdie teikenvlak moet rondom die ekonomiese optimum wees vir die klas van struktuur onder oorweging. Die samelewing verkies moontlik ‘n hoër veiligheidsvlak as wat deur die ekonomiese optimum dikteer word. Die LKI (Lewens Kwaliteit Indeks) maatstaf kan gebuik word om die samelewing se bereidwilligheid om in veiligheid te belê te bepaal en sodoende ‘n minimum veiligheidsvlak bepaal. Hierdie tesis bepaal die ekonomiese optimum betroubaarheidsvlak vir klas twee beton strukture in Suid-Afrika vir wisselende parameters. Rackwitz (2000) se benadering word in hierdie studie gebruik en is aangepas vir Suid-Afrikaanse omstandighede. Die struktuur word beskryf deur ‘n eenvoudige limiet staat funksie, gedefinieer as die verskil tussen die las en weerstand, met die weerstand as die funksie van ‘n globale veiligheidsparameter. Suid-Afrikaanse konstruksie koste, veiligheidsvermedering koste, falingskoste en diskonteer koerse word gebruik vir optimering. Die LKI teorie word gebruik om SBB (Samelewing Bereidheid om te Belê) vir veiligheid af te lei en die ooreenkomstige betroubaarheidsvlak word bepaal deur die LKI maatstaf toe te pas. In die afleiding hiervan vir Suid-Afrikaanse omstandighede is sekere uitdagings teegekom wat bespreek word. Situasies waar die minimum betroubaarheidsvlak hoer is as die ekonomiese optimum word bespreek. Verskillende betroubaarheids gebaseerde optimering gevalstudies word gedoen op tipiese beton struktuur elemente. Van hierdie gevalstudies is optimum betroubaarheidsindekse vir die tipiese beton elemente en galingsmodusie afgelei. Die betroubaarheidsindekse word vergelyk met huidige betroubaarheidsindekse soos wat voorgeskryf is in die Suid-Afrikaanse laskode (SANS10160-1(2011)). Rackwitz (2000) se benadering word vergelyk met die resultate van die gevallestudies en word gebruik as basis om optimum betroubaarheidsvlakke vir ander tipes geboue te voorspel. MATLAB funksies is geprogrameer om minimum en optimum betroubaarheidsindekse af te lei.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T10:44:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MARIA CECILIA ALVES DE VASCONCELOS.pdf: 1811097 bytes, checksum: 7225cbf224da270e10a80f038703183e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-11 / Among the parameters used by the scientific community, the biomass evaluation is the most precise one in terms of presenting the biological components of the soil. Intending to evaluate the potential of the legumes Campo Grande Stylo, calopo (Calopogonium mucunoides) and pigeon pea regarding the recovery of damaged soil, sixteen plats of these legumes were planted in latin square form for later microbial biomass analysis. The microbial biomass was analyzed according to the Vance et. (1987) principles. No significant differences were found compared to the fallow, although circumstances like the lack of precipitation, the time of the year and the production of dry matter affected the microbial biomass development. The studied legumes that presented the largest microbial biomass production were the Campo Grande Stylo and the calopo (Calopogonium mucunoides), showing a trend of improvement compared to the fallow. Despite the stress factors, the microbial biomass showed a trend of improvement on the plats where the legumes were seeded, and it can be considered a prior parameter of agrisystem changes. / Dentre os parâmetros utilizados pela comunidade científica, o que apresenta maior sensibilidade na caracterização dos componentes biológicos do solo é a avaliação de biomassa microbiana (BMS). Com o objetivo de avaliar o potencial das leguminosas Calopogônio, Estilosantes e feijão Guandu na recuperação dos solos degradados e na melhoria da biomassa microbiana, foi realizado o plantio das leguminosas e posterior análise da biomassa microbiana em dezesseis canteiros distribuídos em um quadrado latino. A biomassa microbiana foi analisada conforme os princípios de Vance et. (1987). Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas em relação ao pousio, porém fatores como a baixa pluviosidade, época de plantio e produção de massa seca influenciaram o desenvolvimento da BMS. As leguminosas estudadas que apresentaram maior produção de BMS foram o Estilosantes e o Calopogônio, evidenciando uma tendência de aumento em relação ao pousio. Mesmo com fatores de estresse, a biomassa microbiana nos canteiros com as leguminosas evidenciou um potencial de aumento, podendo ser considerado um parâmetro que antecede alterações no agrosistema.

O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar adequação do uso do salário mínimo, em comparação com outras medidas de renda, na investigação de aspectos de segurança alimentar e nutricional no Brasil; especialmente quanto à representatividade do poder aquisitivo, à qualidade nutricional do padrão alimentar da população e às alternativas para solução de situações de insegurança alimentar. A partir de dados disponibilizados pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e pelo Departamento Intersindical de Estatística e Estudos Econômicos (DIEESE), foram conduzidas análises sobre: (1) evolução do poder aquisitivo do salário mínimo desde sua criação até atualmente, em comparação ao valor monetário necessário para aquisição dos itens alimentares inicialmente previstos na cesta básica utilizada para seu cálculo; (2) adequação nutricional da cesta básica de alimentos em relação às recomendações nutricionais vigentes na atualidade; (3) qualidade nutricional do consumo alimentar da população brasileira em comparação à dieta baseada em itens da cesta básica pela aplicação do Índice de Qualidade da Dieta Revisado; (4) caracterização de domicílios brasileiros em situação de insegurança alimentar para mapeamento das atitudes adotadas em resposta à escassez de alimentos. Os resultados obtidos indicaram deterioração da relevância do salário mínimo no contexto alimentar e nutricional, devido à ausência de atualizações monetárias de valor em períodos críticos da inflação brasileira e à mudança nas recomendações nutricionais em decorrência da evolução do conhecimento na área, sem correspondente revisão da composição da cesta de alimentos originalmente proposta como base para cálculo do salário mínimo. O padrão de consumo alimentar da população brasileira e a dieta baseada no consumo dos itens da cesta básica de alimentos foram caracterizados por baixo consumo de frutas, vegetais e cereais, além de excesso de ingestão energética proveniente de gorduras e açúcar. Em relação à insegurança alimentar, observou-se preferência por atitudes de redistribuição intradomiciliar de alimentos ou busca de apoio em rede social proximal dos indivíduos em situação de insegurança alimentar. Programas governamentais raramente são mencionados como parte das ações principais para mitigar problemas de escassez de alimentos no contexto domiciliar. A partir do conjunto de evidências analisadas, conclui-se que políticas de reajuste do salário mínimo e de distribuição de renda apresentam baixa efetividade em termos de promoção de um melhor padrão alimentar para população brasileira. Determinados programas governamentais direcionados à promoção da segurança alimentar e nutricional possivelmente apresentam insuficiência na cobertura ou baixa divulgação entre segmentos populacionais de menor renda, colocando em risco a garantia do acesso à alimentação adequada no Brasil. / The objective of the study was to assess the adequacy of the use of minimum wage in the investigation of aspects related to food and nutrition security in Brazil, in comparison to other income measures; especially referring to its characteristics in representing purchase power, nutritional quality of food consumption patterns at population level and alternatives for solution of food insecurity situations. Using data from the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Brazilian Interunion Department for Statistics and Economic Studies (DIEESE), a set of analysis was performed in relation to: (1) evolution of purchase power of the Brazilian minimum wage from its inception until nowadays, in comparison to the monetary value required to acquisition of the food items originally proposed in the basic food basket used for its calculation; (2) nutritional adequacy of the Brazilian basic food basket in comparison to recent nutritional recommendations; (3) nutritional quality of the food consumption patterns from the Brazilian population in comparison to a diet based on items of the basic food basket, using the Healthy Eating Index Revised adapted for Brazil; (4) characterization of Brazilian households under food insecurity in order to map attitudes adopted to deal with food scarcity. The results showed deterioration of the relevance of the Brazilian minimum wage in the food and nutrition context, due to the absence of updates in its monetary value during periods of high inflation in Brazil, and due to changes in nutritional recommendations derived from advances in knowledge without revision of the composition of the basic food basket originally proposed for estimation of the minimum wage. The Brazilian population dietary pattern nowadays and the diet based on the basic food basket were marked by low proportion of fruits, vegetables and cereals; and excess of calories from fats, oils and sugar. In relation to food insecurity, results pointed to preference for adoption of attitudes related to intra-household food redistribution and support of social networks in order to deal with lack of food. Government programs were rarely mentioned as potential solutions for reducing the impacts of food scarcity in the household context. The evidences analyzed in the study indicated that policies for adjustment of the minimum wage and programs for income distribution in Brazil had low effectiveness for promotion of improvements in food consumption patterns among the Brazilian population. Certain government programs directed towards promotion of food security probably present insufficient coverage or low dissemination among low income segments of the population, compromising the assurance of adequate access to food in Brazil.