Average Education Level Research Articles

Focus on Health Literacy: Recommendations to Improve European Union Risk Management Plan Public Summaries.

The complexity of drug risk information often exceeds patients' abilities to understand and effectively act on it. The authors evaluated a layperson-focused European Union Risk Management Plan Public Summary and revised it to improve its understandability and usability by applying health literacy principles. The Suitability Assessment of Materials was used to test the appropriateness of the document for readers with low-to-average literacy levels. Two rounds of usability tests were conducted with American adults who had low to average education levels to identify areas of confusion. Revisions were made within perceived regulatory constraints. A number of health literacy principles can be applied to improve the understandability and usability of the document; however, the document contains many inherently complex concepts. The authors recommend that stakeholders reassess the intended use of the document by members of the public and rethink its scope and structure, with close involvement of patients and caregivers.

Valuing the benefits of creek rehabilitation: building a business case for public investments in urban green infrastructure.

In an effort to increase the livability of its cities, public agencies in Australia are investing in green infrastructure to improve public health, reduce heat island effects and transition toward water sensitive urban design. In this paper, we present a simple and replicable approach to building a business case for green infrastructure. This approach requires much less time and resources compared to other methods for estimating the social and economic returns to society from such investments. It is a pragmatic, reasonably comprehensive approach that includes socio-demographic profile of potential users and catchment analysis to assess the economic value of community benefits of the investment. The approach has been applied to a case study area in the City of Brimbank, a western suburb of Greater Melbourne. We find that subject to a set of assumptions, a reasonable business case can be made. We estimate potential public benefits of avoided health costs of about AU$75,049 per annum and potential private benefits of AU$3.9million. The project area is one of the most poorly serviced areas in the municipality in terms of quality open spaces and the potential beneficiaries are from relatively low income households with less than average health status and education levels. The values of cultural (recreational benefits, avoided health costs, and increased property values) and regulating (reduction in heat island effect and carbon sequestration) ecosystem services were quantified that can potentially offset annual maintenance costs.

Assessing the Health of Local Journalism Ecosystems: Toward a Set of Reliable, Scalable Metrics

In 2009, The Knight Commission released a report identifying access to credible and relevant information as a key requisite for healthy communities (Knight Commission, 2009). This report subsequently led to a comprehensive assessment by the Federal Communications Commission of how community information needs are being met in the broadband era (Waldman, 2011), as well as further exploration by the Commission into how this issue could be researched in ways that could inform policymaking (Friedland et al., 2012). The present research seeks to continue this line of inquiry by developing and testing a set of scalable performance metrics that could serve as analytical tools for assessing variations in the health of local journalism ecosystems across communities or over time; or as components of more comprehensive assessments of the relationship between the health of local journalism and other vital measures of community health, engagement, and political participation. This research compares online local news ouput for three communities that vary in important ways, such as their average household income, average level of education, and broadband penetration. To assess the health of the local journalism ecosystems, four researchers first identified all possible outlets for journalism (both digital and “traditional”) in each of the three communities. The online presence of each outlet – websites as well as social media – was then determined; virtually all outlets within each community had an online presence. Content from one constructed week of social media (Twitter and Facebook), and one continuous week of website news stories was then coded for several key variables, including: originality, whether it addressed a pre-determined “critical information need” (Friedland et al., 2012), and whether it was about the target community. The quantity of information produced by these outlets was controlled for the size of the population, by calculating for each community the number of journalism stories and social media postings produced in the given week per 10,000 capita; per capita measurements (as well as strict percentages) were also used to assess the outputs according to the key normative criteria outlined above (originality, about community, addressing critical information needs). In addition, output concentration (the extent to which the production of stories/social media posts was concentrated within a limited number of local journalism sources) was computed for each community across all of these categories of journalistic output using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The results show drastic differences in the availability and quality of local online journalism, which seem to mirror existing structural inequalities. The community with higher household income, level of education, and broadband penetration was remarkably better served than the poorest and least educated community. The third community, which falls in the middle in terms of education and wealth, but is markedly more diverse, also fared poorly relative to the highest-income community. These findings point to the possibility of pronounced “digital divides” separating communities of different types in relation to the per capita output of local journalism. The authors recommend several specific ways in which further research could supplement and further validate these results, and discuss the implications for communications policy in the digital age.

ANALISIS POTENSI DAN STRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN SAPI POTONG DENGAN POLA INTEGRASI KELAPA–SAPI DI KABUPATEN HALMAHERA SELATAN PROVINSI MALUKU UTARA

POTENTIAL ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT PATTERN OF CATTLE WITH INTEGRATED COCONUT-COW IN SOUTH DISTRICT HALMAHERA NORTH MALUKU PROVINCE. Animal agricultural integration often found in South Halmahera district is the integration using coconut plantation and local beef pattern called coco-beef integration. Expected potential of land area, population of cattle supported by human and natural resources as well as market opportunities could develop coco-beef integration patterns providing the increasing economic impact for farmer welfare. This study aims to analyze the potential and development strategy of beef integration with coconut plantations in South Halmahera district. The research was conducted in South Halmahera district of North Maluku Province since November 2014 to February 2015. The determination of respondents was performed using simple random sampling method. Criteria of respondents involved in this study were household farmers running a coco-beef integration, at least animal maintenance of more than one year and they had sold cattle. The results showed the particular characteristics of household farmers including coconut plantation ownership of 3.2 ha with the average number of animals of 8.7 heads, the average education level of junior high school, the animal breeding experience of 7.9 years and animal maintenance purposes as beef production and animal labor . Management aspects of farm animals were still under the traditional maintenance systems, animals were resistant to disease, and house hold farmer knowledge on animal reproduction was still limited. Aspects of feed resources were positively supporting in the development of beef cattle under integration pattern, especially the nutritional value of forage and land carrying capacities. Livestock productivity aspects had quite well potential and supported facilities, including infrastructures. Therefore, it can be concluded that South Halmahera District has potential in the development of beef cattle farm applying cattle integration patterns in form of coco-beef natural resources supported by potentials of human resources, good government policy, infrastructure availability and market opportunities based on the analysis of the potential of South Halmahera district located in a strategic position as a development area of beef and coconut plantation integration patterns. Keywords: Cattle, Coconut plantation, Integration, South Halmahera regency.

Profile of the Patients with Psychiatric Medication Abuse in a Mental Health Center.

Objectives There is an increasing demand for treatment for dependence on different psychiatric medication like benzodiazepines. The goal is to determine the user's profile that is attended in a mental health center. Material/Methods We obtained a sample of 30 users, divided into two groups: A) main drug benzodiazepines, B) primary drug others. Sociodemographic, psychiatric and drug use variables are collected, making a descriptive retrospective analysis, using means for quantitative variables and proportions for categorical variables. Results Group A is composed mainly of women (63.6%) of average age 46 years, and the group B of males (75%) with slightly higher average age (48 years). In group A and B the average level of education is primary/secondary education. Overall, they do not work and are single, having more pensioners and separated in group B. In both groups, more than half have a history of affective disorders, often followed by anxiety disorders, with higher prevalence in group A (54.6% vs 36.8%), and personality disorders (77.3% and 75%). In reference to group B, the primary drug of abuse is mostly alcohol. In general there is higher prevalence of nicotine dependence. Conclusion The profile of group A is a middle-aged woman who presents comorbidity with affective and personality disorders. The profile of group B is a middle-aged man, alcohol dependent, with earlier onset of use and with personality disorder.

School locations and traffic emissions—environmental (in)justice findings using a new screening method.

It has been shown that the location of schools near heavily trafficked roads can have detrimental effects on the health of children attending those schools. It is therefore desirable to screen both existing school locations and potential new school sites to assess either the need for remedial measures or suitability for the intended use. Current screening tools and public guidance on school siting are either too coarse in their spatial resolution for assessing individual sites or are highly resource intensive in their execution (e.g., through dispersion modeling). We propose a new method to help bridge the gap between these two approaches. Using this method, we also examine the public K-12 schools in the Sacramento Area Council of Governments Region, California (USA) from an environmental justice perspective. We find that PM2.5 emissions from road traffic affecting a school site are significantly positively correlated with the following metrics: percent share of Black, Hispanic and multi-ethnic students, percent share of students eligible for subsidized meals. The emissions metric correlates negatively with the schools’ Academic Performance Index, the share of White students and average parental education levels. Our PM2.5 metric also correlates with the traffic related, census tract level screening indicators from the California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool and the tool’s tract level rate of asthma related emergency department visits.

The quantity–quality fertility–education trade-off

At the national level, it has long been observed that a country’s average education level is negatively associated with its total fertility rate. At the household level, it has also been well documented that children’s education is negatively associated with the number of children in the family. Do these observations imply a causal relationship between the number of children and the average education level (the quantity–quality trade-off)? A clear answer to this question will help both policymakers and researchers evaluate the total benefit of family planning policies, both policies to lower fertility and policies to boost it.

Self-Assessment of Adherence to Medication: A Case Study in Campania Region Community-Dwelling Population.

Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess self-reported medication adherence measure in patients selected during a health education and health promotion focused event held in the Campania region. The study also assessed sociodemographic determinants of adherence. Methods. An interviewer assisted survey was conducted to assess adherence using the Italian version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Participants older than 18 years were interviewed by pharmacists while waiting for free-medical checkup. Results. A total of 312 participants were interviewed during the Health Campus event. A total of 187 (59.9%) had low adherence to medications. Pearson's bivariate correlation showed positive association between the MMAS-8 score and gender, educational level and smoking (P < 0.05). A multivariable analysis showed that the level of education and smoking were independent predictors of adherence. Individuals with an average level of education (odds ratio (OR), 2.21, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.08–4.52) and nonsmoker (odds ratio (OR) 1.87, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–3.35) were found to be more adherent to medication than those with a lower level of education and smoking. Conclusion. The analysis showed very low prescription adherence levels in the interviewed population. The level of education was a relevant predictor associated with that result.

Fiscal Space and Public Spending on Children in Burkina Faso

Despite high growth rates in recent decades, Burkina Faso is still a poor country. The government acknowledges the need for a stronger commitment to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly regarding the reduction of poverty. At the same time, the Burkinabe budget deficit has grown in recent years in response to various crises which have hit the country. There are strong pressures to rapidly reduce this budget deficit, but there are active concerns about how this will be achieved. The country thus faces difficult choices: how to ensure better living conditions for children, attain the millennium goals and ensure they have a better future in the present budgetary context? To answer this question, three policy interventions were identified: (i) an increase in education spending, (ii) a school fees subsidy and (iii) a cash transfer to households with children under the age of five. The same total amount is injected into the economy in each of the three cases, facilitating comparison between the three scenarios. The discussions also made it possible to identify the three financing mechanisms that appear most realistic: (i) a reduction in subsidies, (ii) an increase in the indirect tax collection rate and (iii) an extension of the timeframe to reduce the public deficit to ten years rather than five. The results indicate that increased public education spending helps raise school participation and pass rates, thus increasing the supply and education level of skilled workers, leading to a reduced incidence and depth of both monetary and caloric poverty. School fees subsidies have more differentiated effects on education: they promote children’s entry into school to a greater degree, but are less effective at inducing them to pursue their studies. Finally, the supply of skilled workers increases slightly, but their average level of education is lower than in the reference scenario. This type of intervention has a beneficial impact on poverty, greater than under increased public education spending. Cash transfers have a limited impact on educational behaviour, and thus on the supply of skilled workers, but substantially reduce the incidence and depth of poverty. The results are qualitatively similar under each financing approach. In sum, if the objective is to achieve improved education and economic performance, the best intervention appears to be to focus on increased public education spending. However, if reducing child poverty is prioritized, it is cash transfers to families that appear more suitable. Regardless of the intervention considered, the most suitable financing mechanism appears to be a temporary increase in the public deficit, because it is accompanied by a smaller negative effect on the quality of life of the most destitute.

Características de los consumidores de productos orgánicos y expansión de su oferta en Lima

Healthy food trends have contributed to an increase in the number of organic and natural food stores in Lima. This study: (a) examines the characteristics of consumers of organic and natural products; and (b) analyzes the increase in organic and natural products stores in Lima as a consequence of eleven years of economic growth in the capital. Results show that organic stores in metropolitan Lima are more successful in those areas of the city inhabited by residents with middle and high incomes as well as higher than average levels of education. This indicates that it should be possible to establish such stores in other regions of Peru where consumers with similar characteristics can be found.

Wage compression and the gender pay gap

There are large international differences in the gender pay gap. In some developed countries in 2010–2012, women were close to earnings parity with men, while in others large gaps remained. Since women and men have different average levels of education and experience and commonly work in different industries and occupations, multiple factors can influence the gender pay gap. Among them are skill supply and demand, unions, and minimum wages, which influence the economywide wage returns to education, experience, and occupational wage differentials. Systems of wage compression narrow the gender pay gap but may also lower demand for female workers.

Bonesetter interventions and consequences.

Delaying the treatment of bone and tendon injuries may cause unmanageable complications. Bonesetters continue to cause delays in treatment. The purpose of this study was to analyze the medical outcomes of delay due to bonesetter intervention and factors affecting patient treatment preference. Among outpatients treated at our clinic between January 2010-December 2012, bonesetter-intervened patients were included, and patient demographics, clinical outcomes, and possible social factors were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical examinations and radiological screening measurements were used to evaluate outcomes. Of the 162 patients, 97 (59.8%) were male, and mean age was 27.5±9.4 years. Eighty-nine (54.9%) of the patients lived in a rural area, and 108 (66.7%) underwent surgery. Bonesetter preference was dictated primarily by elderly relatives (47.6%) or neighbors (33.3%). Patients with a primary school education and unemployed patients mostly preferred bonesetters (p=0.03 and p<0.01, respectively), the explanation for which was the long treatment period and concern of being disabled (p=0.04). Complication rate among patients who were evaluated at a hospital was 33.9%. Despite being medically unreliable and often times harmful, bonesetting is still accepted as an alternative treatment modality among uneducated patient and thus remains an ongoing problem in Turkey. Improvements in average education level and increased dissemination of accurate information via various media and non-governmental organizations will be effective in the correction and prevention of the afore-mentioned complications regarding bonesetter interventions.

The key determinants of consumer ethnocentrism in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The area of this research relates to consumer behavior and the effects that the influence of consumer ethnocentrism has on the national economy. Therefore is consumer ethnocentrism, as an attitude of spending and consumption of local products, the subject of this research. The aim is to identify the key determinants of the consumer ethnocentrism phenomenon, in order to explain the habits of consumers in the purchase and consumption of local products. The empirical research found the key determinants that influence the level of consumer ethnocentrism among the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A questionnaire as a data collection form, was used, so as the Cronbach alpha coefficient to measure the reliability of the CET scale, as well as the analysis of variance. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS statistical software. The results confirmed recent findings conducted in Bosnia and Herzegovina in this field. It was found that the Bosnian - Herzegovinian ethnocentric consumers and their propensity to purchase local products are defined by promotional activities, frequency of purchases of consumer goods, status in the household, number of household members, the average monthly household income, education level and employment status of the household head.

The impact of unilateral or bilateral cataract surgery on visual acuity and life quality of elderly patients.

In the current study, the CLVQOL was used to assess VRQOL before unilateral or bilateral cataract surgery and at the end of the follow-up period in order to determine the greater beneficial mode of surgery for patients, if one of the two surgical methods is more beneficial over the other. The patients were classified as receiving unilateral (group A) and bilateral cataract surgery (group B). There were no significant differences between groups A and B before the operation in terms of life quality scores, binocular weighted average LogMAR BCVA, age, educational level, gender, systematic and ocular comorbidities, and the complications of the operation. It was shown that visual acuity improved more significantly with bilateral cataract surgery than with unilateral surgery in elderly patients with a high preoperative disease burden in Shanghai city. However, the improvement in life quality was not different in patients receiving either bilateral or unilateral cataract surgery.

Impact of demographic changes on agricultural development in Montenegro

Number of citizens in a country represents its primary production potential. Montenegro has signifcant natural resources for rural development. However, many problems follow rural development, and one of those problems is the demographic problem. The paper analyzes demographic changes in Montenegro by its regions, as well as gender and age structure of the population in the period 1948-2011. Statistical methods (tabular views, percentage accounts, base and chain indexes and graphs) are used in the preparation of the paper. They are used as “desk research” method and method of comparison. The aim of the paper is to highlight the trend of demographic changes and their impact on the development of agriculture in Montenegro, in the period 1948-2011. The obtained results indicate negative consequences of demographic changes (population and deagrarisation), as well as the reduction of the agricultural population. They have also influenced the decrease of agricultural production and the formation of unfavourable environment for its improvement. One of the greatest consequences of deagrarisation is the lack of manpower. Montenegrin agriculture is characterized by the aging of the rural population and signifcantly lower average level of education.

Do higher levels of education and skills in an area benefit wider society?

Formal schooling increases earnings and provides other individual benefits. However, societal benefits of education may exceed individual benefits. Research finds that increased average education levels in an area are correlated with higher earnings, even for locals with relatively little education. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates appear to have especially strong external effects, due to their role in stimulating innovation and economic growth. Several strategies to test for causality find human capital externalities do exist.

High-Quality Rank and File Employees and Financial Reporting Outcomes

We examine whether high-quality rank and file (i.e., non-executive) employees are associated with improved financial reporting outcomes. We argue that high-quality rank and file employees provide better information for executives to use when making reporting choices, and that these employees are better able to identify and uncover intentional financial misreporting, perhaps before it even develops into a larger misreporting event. We use the average education level of the workforce in MSA(s) where the firm operates as a proxy for the quality of the firm’s rank and file employees, and find that firms with a higher-quality workforce produce financial statements with higher accruals quality, fewer internal control system violations, and fewer restatements, suggesting that these employees improve their firm’s mandatory disclosures. We also find that firms with higher-quality rank and file employees issue management forecasts that are more frequent, timely, accurate, precise, and less biased, suggesting that the benefits of high-quality rank and file employees also extend to firms’ voluntary disclosures. In additional analyses, we find that when financial reporting violations do occur, the quality of the firm’s workforce is positively associated with the likelihood that an employee blows the whistle to a regulator. Overall, our findings suggest that high-quality rank and file employees are positively associated with financial reporting quality.

Android applications for advertising and promotion of some restaurants in Alexandria

The benefits gained by the users of Android application to advertise and promote restaurants have been identified. The disadvantages, that must be avoided or improved whether in a mobile phone or on an internet site, have also been stated. A survey of the research sample showed that this modern grade of technology is most used by and helpful to the adolescent males who cope with all the spheres of their everyday modern life while adolescent female do not use this technology as much as the males. People with jobs are more interested in learning of these restaurants from newspapers than elsewhere. People above the average level of education, including university students, tend to be the class which exerts maximum use of that technology.

An investigation of the socio-economic status of the addicts in Lashar and Nikshahr county and its comparison with ordinary.

The world today is threatened by great disasters and catastrophes and one of the greatest of them is addiction. Addiction is a disaster that threatens all age and sex groups. For instance, in our country more than 2% of people are addicted. In this study, two groups of addicted (170) and healthy (167) individuals that had been selected in the systematic random method, were investigated in terms of the socio-economic status. The data was collected through the questionnaire. The average age and education level were 34.8 and 4.22 respectively among the addicted and 31.27 and 6.3 respectively among the healthy individuals. 83.1% of the addicted and 74.7% of the healthy individuals were married. A significant difference was observed between the education level and addiction with the p=0 using the t-test. A significant relationship was observed between the existence of addiction in the family with the p=0 and addiction among friends and addiction with the p=0.0001 and between job and addiction with the p=0.0115 and between addiction and the level of income with the p=0.0065.

Validation of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in Spanish as a screening tool for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia in patients over 65 years old in Bogotá, Colombia.

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was developed as a simple screening tool for cognitive impairment. This study is the first validation in Latin America of the MoCA in Spanish (MoCA-S), which was developed in Colombia (South America). Aiming to perform the first validation of the MoCA-S, we developed a study of concordance by conformity to assess the MoCA-S compared with diagnostic consensus by interdisciplinary assessment in the Memory Clinic (the best diagnostic method available) and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the MoCA-S. A total of 193 subjects were evaluated, 109 of whom were patients, including 26 who met the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) clinical criteria, based on neuropsychological testing, and 83 who had mild dementia (MD). The remaining 84 participants were healthy subjects from the community. The psychometric evaluation of the MoCA-S was appropriate. Using a cutoff score of ≥ 23, the MoCA had sensitivities of 76.0% to detect MCI and 92.7% to detect MD and a specificity of 79.8%. The percentage of patients clearly labeled by the MoCA-S was 85%. The MoCA-S is a valid screening tool and is useful for identifying MCI and MD in Colombia. The MoCA-S is valid and adequate for application in Colombia with good internal consistency, inter-observer reliability, and content validity. However, the average educational level was high in this study; thus, caution should be exercised when extrapolating these results to individuals with lower educational levels.