Household Attitudes Research Articles

Handling and Illegal Disposal of Excess Household Solid Wastes in Katutura Township of Namibia

This study examined the modes of handling of generated excess household solid wastes and attitude towards illegal disposal in Katutura township in Windhoek, Namibia. This was particu- larly significant because the capital city, Windhoek was once the cleanest city in Africa. Hence, the study aimed at generating data that would be of benefit to the local municipality towards review of waste management operational strategies and applicable local byelaw especially in this densely populated low-income township. A mixed method of qualitative (observational) and quantitative survey through the use of questionnaire was adopted. Presented data was based on a total of two hundred and thirty-four (234) respondents. Results showed that 46.6% of respondents were between the ages of 21-30 (43.7%) and employed with a 92.3% literacy level. About 66.7% were well aware of the concept of waste management and possessed the knowledge (94%) of its implementation. Majority of respondents (70.9%) generate wastes with- in the 240L waste bin volume per week while those that generate excess handle the wastes in several ways. About 44.3% place excess wastes beside the bin before municipal collection while a combination of 46.4% engage in different forms of illegal disposal. Ironically, about 77.8% of respondents were aware of what constitutes illegal waste disposal. A good number of respondents (62.1%) were satisfied with the municipal waste management. Suggestions on further improvements were however provided. Of great concern in this study was the apathetic attitude (50.4%) of respondents towards the illegal waste disposal practices. This might be contributing factor towards the loss of cleanliness ranking by the city.

Key Factors of Rural Households’ Willingness to Pay for Cleaner Heating in Hebi: A Case Study in Northern China

As coal-fired heating in winter in rural areas of northern China exacerbates air pollution, promoting cleaner heating transition is of significance for environmental sustainability. However, this is difficult as intentions and actions of rural households are deficient. This case study in northern China aims to estimate rural households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for facilities and energy for cleaner heating and explore its key factors. The survey-based analysis found that the total annual WTP for cleaner heating (sum of the WTP for heating facilities and energy per year) varied from RMB 250 to RMB 6800 (RMB 100 ≈ USD 15 in 2018), with a quite low average and a huge difference. The variation of the WTP can be attributed to economic and demographic features and environmental attitudes of households. Improvement of household income and environmental concern will enhance the WTP for cleaner heating, but a high vacancy rate and aging population in rural areas will generally inhibit it. Based on this study, some policy suggestions were proposed to promote cleaner heating transition in rural households; specifically, more attention should be paid to the poor and aged households.

The Socioeconomic Effects of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on Jordanian Households

This article examines the attitudes of Jordanian households towards the COVID-19 crisis with special attention given to the actual and anticipated effects of the pandemic on livelihoods at the following levels: household income, financial coping mechanisms, financial capabilities to withstand periods of curfew implementation, access to electronic assets/internet, rise in food prices during curfew, access to health, potable water, ability to meet essential needs, social security enrollment statues, additional livelihood streams, variations in income pre- and post-curfew, changes in employment/income status, disabilities within households, number of household members, educational attainment levels, demographics including nationality, place of residence, relationship status, age and sex. This article thus provides concrete data in a manner that can be useful for government and development institutions in responding to the needs of Jordanian households in both the short and long terms. Main findings include increased unemployment rates which have an exacerbating effect on already dire economic situations. This is particularly the case among large families, some of which consist of live-in extended family members who are persons with disabilities and in need of regular medical attention normally available in non-pandemic conditions. Findings also illustrate an increased fear of forced eviction (a clear protection concern) among survey participants, in addition to a lack of access to essential items. These concerns, moreover, are accompanied by narrowing access to basic rights such as health and education. Thus, a key recommendation for further research is analysis of health sector adaptability and educational retention rates among Jordanian students in light of a potentially extensive pandemic situation.

НЕФОРМАЛЬНАЯ ЭКОНОМИКА СССР КАК ФАКТОР ПОСТСОВЕТСКОГО РАЗВИТИЯ

The article analyzes the quantitative relationship between the informal economy in the Soviet republics of the 1980s and the characteristics of the market economy in these republics after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Methodologically, the study relies on the logit, linear probability model and least-squares method. The logit and linear probability model are used to quantify the fixed effects affecting the attitudes of households in different countries in the 2000s to the market economy in comparison with the planned economy. The authors compare the obtained fixed effects with the size of the informal economy in Soviet republics of the 1980s using the least-squares method. The study shows a direct relationship between people’s involvement in the Soviet informal sector and their subsequent adaptability to the new conditions of the market economy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thus, the possible positive impact of the informal economy on the adaptation of the population to the market economy is empirically proved. The authors conclude that the Soviet informal economy helped facilitate households’ transition to the market economy and in the medium term had a positive impact on post-Soviet economic development.

Factors influencing rural household attitude towards solar home system in Ethiopia

Solar home system is a promising energy option for households living in off-grid areas of developing countries. However, household inclination towards consuming such clean energy is hampered by numerous factors. This study is motivated by the absence of more in-depth empirical studies on factors determining households' attitudes towards using SHS. By filling this gap, this study intends to generate informed policy recommendations. For this purpose, we used data generated from 228 adopted and 143 non-adopted households living in Basoliben district, northern Ethiopia by applying mixed data collection approaches. The ordered logistic regression model was employed to estimate factors influencing households' attitudes towards SHS. The findings reveal that being male household heads is 2.6% and 3.2% more likely to have unfavorable and neutral attitudes respectively and 5.9% less likely favorable attitudes towards SHS. As income increase by one Birr, households are about 8.2% more likely to have a favorable attitude towards SHS, and 3.8% and 4.4% less likely to have unfavorable and neutral attitudes towards SHS respectively. Households having a cell phone are 3% and 5.5% less likely to be in the unfavorable and neutral attitude category respectively and 8.5% more likely to be in the favorable attitude category. Likewise being accessed with media is 4.2% and 6.9% less likely they have unfavorable and neutral attitudes respectively, and 11% more likely they have a favorable attitude towards SHS. Moreover, households who attained training are 3% and 5% less likely they have unfavorable and neutral attitudes respectively, and are 8% more likely to have a favorable attitude towards SHS. The finding of this study suggests that improving the economic status of households, better media access, and training would play a crucial role in creating a positive attitude within rural households to increase the adoption of SHS in rural Ethiopia.

Participation of Community in Prevention and Control of Dengue Fever in Dharan Sub Metropolitan City of Province No 1, Nepal

Background: Dengue fever is known as a break-bone fever and its common symptoms are headaches, high grade fever, muscular, bone pains and decrease of platelets count. Community participation involving local government and household participants in controlling breeding areas of dengue mosquitoes is the only cost-effective and sustainable activities of ensuring prevention and control of Dengue fever. This study aimed to assess the perception of the general population regarding community participation in the prevention of dengue and to verify its effectiveness with the control practices observed at the homes in Dharan sub-metropolitan city of Province No 1.
 Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 250 households at the Dharan sub-metropolitan city of Province no. 1 in Nepal from August to October 2019. The technique of sample collection was done using purposive sampling and data were collected using a pretested close-ended questionnaire and observational checklists.
 Results: Slightly over half of the respondents 129 (51.6%) reported a positive attitude regarding community practice and almost three out of five 157 (62.8%) houses were observed to have good dengue control practices. The univariate results revealed attitude of households regarding community participation were significantly associated with the control practices observed in their homes (p<0.001).
 Conclusion: The study concludes that good community participation in collaboration with health volunteers and health institutions can have a positive impact on the dengue control practices at the household level. Hence, the spread of dengue out-break can be controlled by active collaborative community participation.

Community Attitudes Towards People with Mental Disorders (ODGJ) in terms of information sources and experiences of meeting ODGJ in RW 9 Kelurahan Tanggung, Blitar City

Negative knowledge and experience of people with mental disorder (ODGJ) tend to form negative attitude. Many residents still discriminate, such as social isolation. This research aimed to determine people’s attitude towards ODGJ in terms of meeting experienced and the sources of information they get. This research was observational analytic with cross sectional approach. The population of this research was all households in RW 9 Kelurahan Tanggung Blitar City of 199 households, with a sample size of 120 households taken by purposive sampling technique. Attitude data were collected using the Community Attitudes toward Mentally III (CAMI III) questionnaire and analyzed using the Spearman rho correlation test. The results of the analysis showed that attitudes of towards ODGJ in terms of sources of information they have obtained with p value 0,890, and attitudes of households with experience meeting ODGJ with p value 0,470, p value>0.05 which meant that there was no correlation between attitudes and information sources experience meeting ODGJ in RW 9 Kelurahan Tanggung Blitar City. Based on these results, it is necessary to carry out promotional activities in mental health services to form a positive attitude towards people with ODGJ.

Environmental Leprosy Through the Lens of Waste Disposal and Management in Bamenda II Municipality, Northwest-Cameroon

Waste, whether in solid or liquid form are indispensable parts of human activity. They emanate from man’s productive activities or as a by-product of the materials consumed by man. Man appears not able to deal sufficiently with this waste even though the natural environment is the recipient of this waste. In the Bamenda II municipal council, like in some other towns of Cameroon, solid waste dumping is indiscriminate and has exerted negative effect on the environment. This study termed environmental leprosy through the lens of waste disposal in Bamenda II had as objectives to investigate solid waste disposal methods as drivers to environmental leprosy, assess the relationship between household’s attitude and practices of indiscriminate solid waste disposal and identify measures that can be taken to eliminate environmental leprosy in Bamenda II Municipality. To achieve these objectives, data were obtained through primary and secondary sources using a mixed design method of inquiry which combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore data on solid waste dumping in the study matrix. Purposive and systematic sampling techniques were employed for the sample population of 156 using Miller & Brewer sample determination method. The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS logistic version 20. Results from the analysis showed that indiscriminate solid waste dumping have exerted negative effects on the environment thus environmental leprosy. The study also indicated that households attitude have also contributed greatly to indiscriminate sold waste dump in Bamenda II. The study therefore strongly recommends the Ministry of Health and that of Environment at the national and regional levels, to both agree on responsibilities for appropriate waste management policies that could be implemented in all regional municipal councils.

M40 Muslim Households Indebtedness for Luxury from Islamic Perspective

This research examines three variable components of M40 Muslim behavior comprise of understanding of Islamic debt principles, credit facilities offered and confidence in Islamic banking / financial products towards the purpose of indebtedness for luxury from an Islamic perspective. The M40 Muslim household's attitude towards debt is a mediator to the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. This research uses a quantitative research approach by distributing questionnaires to M40 Muslim debtors in Selangor. Data were collected using samples of 438 respondents from M40 Muslim who were indebted in Selangor based on stratified random sampling techniques and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings of this research have shown that with the variable of understanding of Islamic debt principles, credit facilities offered are significant to the attitude of Muslim debtors, while Muslim confidence in Islamic banking / financial products is not significant to Muslim’s attitude of debt. In addition, the findings also show that the attitude of Muslims to debt is significant and is capable of being a mediator between the variables of M40 Muslim households with the aim of being indebted to enjoy the luxury. In this research, the understanding of Islamic debt, the credit facilities offered and the attitude of indebtedness have a significant impact towards the motivation among the Muslim households to be indebted for luxurious means.

Rural Households’ Attitude towards Potential Use of Jatropha for Environmental Restoration in Saki West Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

The study examined rural households’ attitude towards potential use of Jatropha for environmental restoration in Saki-West Local Government Area. A purposive sampling procedure was used in selecting due to deforestation for charcoal production, while 120 respondents were sampled with a simple random technique from the study area. The data were collected through a well-structured questionnaire with interview section, and were analyzed with frequencies, percentages, mean scores, and Pearson product moment correlation. There was correlation between rural households’ awareness on use of Jatropha and use of Jatropha for environmental restoration (r = 0.399**, p < 0.05). The respondents’ attitude was significantly related to their behavior in utilization of Jatropha for environmental restoration (r = - 0.182*, p < 0.05). The study showed that awareness and attitude of rural households strongly influenced use of Jatropha for environmental restoration. The implication of this study is to ensure that the environment becomes free of hazards and degradation which affect survival of the ecosystem and biodiversity. Hence, government should join in the advocacy to open continuous channels of communication on the importance of Jatropha, and to also motivate the people to having right attitude towards the use of Jatropha as a measure to restoring the environment.
 Keywords: Attitude, Rural Households, Jatropha, Environment, Restoration

Brazilian youths' attitudes towards contemporary social values

This study aims to compare the outcomes from the study conducted by dos Santos et al. (2012) to the results found by researcher on her investigation about the impact of setting a minimum wage policy on young Brazilians' attitudes toward contemporary social values, which the data was collected from quantitative world survey. The research used the following questions to examine Brazilian youths attituded towards contemporary social values; Is there a relationship between households' satisfaction with the financial situation and the current Brazilian youths’ attitudes toward contemporary social values? Is there a relationship between socio-economic and Brazilian youths’ conceptions of achievement and success? Is there a relationship between social class and Brazilian youths’ opinion toward parents using physical punishment to discipline their children? The researcher used the following methods to examine the differences between the study variables; descriptive statistical analysis to present key variables in the sample, along with correlation, t-tests and ANOVA to further examine the relationships between variables. The results showed there was no statistically significant relationship between satisfactions with household financial situation and attitudes about doing good in society (social values), there was not a statistically significant difference in the mean scores between attaining/not attaining a university education and attitudes about achievement and success, and there was not a statistically significant difference in means scores among the three social classes in attitudes about physically punishing children. By comparing the outcomes from the study conducted by dos Santos et al. (2012) to the results from my investigation, I found there was similarity of opinions between participants in which education has relationship to having better future and helping youth become more independent; however, there were differences in opinions about the justifiability for parents to use physical punishment to discipline their children..

An assessment of perceived participatory climate change adaptation initiatives in Ghana

PurposeThis paper presents assessment results on the level of perceived knowledge in climate change and the extent to which participatory awareness in adaptation initiatives by management and the public in key selected areas identified to be highly impacted by climate change has fared.Design/methodology/approachExploratory research design, using snowball, purposive and simple random sampling methods, was employed to assess respondents' level of knowledge in climate change and participatory adaptation awareness activities. Focus group discussion was finally used to appraise returned responses that compared indigenous knowledge with scientific data to examine variables influencing key determinants.FindingsAge, gender, the level of education and work experience were all significant in determining outcome of responses by respondents on perceived level of knowledge in climate change and awareness in adaptation engagement efforts by the public. The study also confirmed existence of perceived knowledge and awareness gap with a marginal difference of 28% between management and stakeholder respondents.Practical implicationsAnthropogenic activities leading to climate change impacts are rarely linked to individual actions, lifestyles and community's sociocultural practices and choices.Originality/valueThere is a disconnect between what climate change managers know and are doing in terms of adaptation and mitigation efforts and what stakeholders should know and are expected to do toward achieving functional participatory engagements in Ghana. It calls for needs assessment on a governance system that will chart a new order to transform individual and household attitudes through curriculum development, awareness training, coping strategies to capacity building for members of the communities and households.

Household Attitudes toward Water Rate Increases Based on Perceptions of Water Service Reliability and Quality: An Exploratory Analysis

AbstractDue to the high costs associated with maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure systems, selecting an appropriate water rate to charge for water service is an important step for water ...

Analysis of household attitudes towards mobile banking in kota padang Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Method

The purpose of this study was to determine the household interest in using mobile banking in Padang City. The factors studied in this research were risks, benefits, conveniences, trusts, and technology systems. This study used primary data by conducting a field survey through questionnaires distributed to 273 respondents in the Sawahan Village, East Padang District, Padang City. The data analysis method in this research wass qualitative by using descriptive analysis techniques and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) processed with the AMOS program. Descriptive analysis was used to show the relationship between respondent characteristics such as age, sex, education level, occupation, and income and the respondent’s interests in mobile banking. While the results of the analysis obtained by the SEM method show that perceived benefits, perceived conveniences, perceived risks, technology systems influence household interest in mobile banking in Padang City, there is no influence of perceived trusts on household interest in mobile banking in Padang City.

Gender-norms, violence and adolescence: Exploring how gender norms are associated with experiences of childhood violence among young adolescents in Ethiopia

ABSTRACT Adolescence is a time of particular risk for violence perpetrated by parents, teachers, peers and intimate partners. Social norms that condone violent discipline, promote masculinities focused on violence, and support gender inequality play an important role in perpetuating violence. However, little is known about the relationship between inequitable gender norms and children’s experiences of violence from parents or other adults in the household. Utilising data from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) study, this paper explores how adolescent and household attitudes and community-level gender norms influence experiences of violence among young adolescents (aged 10–12) in Ethiopia. Our results show that community norms, rather than adolescent and household attitudes, are significantly associated with experiences of household violence. This result holds for boys and girls, and in rural areas. In urban areas, however, adolescent attitudes were more influential than community norms, perhaps indicating less cohesive communities. Overall, these findings suggest that violence prevention programming should prioritise shifting community norms, particularly in rural areas, in order to promote adolescent girls’ and boys’ right to bodily integrity.

Differential Rates of Return and Racial Wealth Inequality

Using data on household balance sheets from the Survey of Consumer Finances and data on macroeconomic rates of return from Jorda et al. (2019) we construct two alternative series for household rates of return by race from 1989 to 2016. Our estimates suggest a persistent racial gap in the rate of return on assets between 1 and 4 percentage points. The gap in returns remains even after conditioning on demographic factors, labor market factors, credit history, portfolio composition, household attitudes toward savings, financial literacy, and inheritance---suggestive of a role for discrimination. Recentered influence function (RIF) decompositions indicate between 40% and 53%---1.2 to 1.6 percentage points---of the difference in median returns between Black and White households is unexplained by observable characteristics. A standard Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition suggests that differential rates of return can explain up to 14% of the racial wealth gap at the mean. Finally, our data on differential rates of return allow us to effectively rule out explanations for the racial wealth gap based on myopia or excessive time preference. Given observed series for consumption and rates of return, a standard lifecycle model requires Black households to discount the future less than White households in order to match the data.

Is Financial Literacy Dangerous? Financial Literacy, Behavioral Factors, and Financial Choices of Households

Using purpose-built original 2018 Japanese survey data, we estimate the financial behaviors and attitudes of households. We find that financial literacy plays an important and consistent role in financial decision-making. However, the actual behaviors are counter-intuitive: People with high financial literacy tend to take too many risks, overborrow, and hold naive financial attitudes; that is, financial literacy makes people daring and reckless in some financial aspects. By contrast, financially literate people are good at retirement planning and are indifferent to gambling. Preferences such as risk and loss aversions and discount factors, also have a role in financial choices.

Higher-Order Income Risk over the Business Cycle

We extend the canonical income process with persistent and transitory risk to shock distributions with left-skewness and excess kurtosis, to which we refer as higher- order risk. We estimate our extended income process by GMM for household data from the United States. We find countercyclical variance and procyclical skewness of persistent shocks. All shock distributions are highly leptokurtic. The existing tax and transfer system reduces dispersion and left-skewness of shocks. We then show that in a standard incomplete-markets life-cycle model, first, higher-order risk has sizable welfare implications, which depend crucially on risk attitudes of households; second, higher-order risk matters quantitatively for the welfare costs of cyclical idiosyncratic risk; third, higher-order risk has non-trivial implications for the degree of self-insurance against both transitory and persistent shocks.

Social Security Money's Worth

This paper describes how three money's worth measures the benefit-to-tax ratio, the internal rate of return, and the net present value are calculated and used in analyses of social security reforms, including systems with privately managed individual accounts invested in equities. Declining returns from the U.S. social security system prove to be the inevitable result of having instituted an unfunded (pay-as-you-go) retirement system that delivered $7.9 trillion of net transfers (in 1997 present value dollars) to people born before 1917, and will deliver another $1.8 trillion to people born between 1918 and 1937. But young and future workers cannot necessarily do better by investing their payroll taxes in capital markets. If the old system were closed down, massive unfunded liabilities of $9-10 trillion would still have to be paid unless already accrued benefits were cut. Alternative methods of calculating these accrued benefits yield somewhat different numbers: the straight line calculation is $800 billion less than the constant benefit calculation we propose as the benchmark. Using this benchmark in a world with no uncertainty, we show that privatization without prefunding would not increase returns at all, net of the new taxes needed to pay for unfunded liabilities. These new taxes would amount to 3.6 percent of payroll, or about 29 percent of social security contributions. Prefunding, implemented by reducing accrued benefits or by raising taxes, would eventually increase money's worth for later generations, but at the cost of lower money's worth for today's workers and/or retirees. Computing money's worth when there is uncertainty is much more difficult unless four conditions hold prices into stocks and out of bonds has no effect whatsoever on money's worth when it i adjusted for risk: a dollar of stock is worth no more than a dollar of bonds. diversification can raise welfare for constrained households, but the exact money's worth must depend on specific assumptions about household attitudes toward risk. Calculations lik the Social Security Advisory Council that attribute over $2.85 of net present va $1 shifted from bonds to stocks completely overlook the disutility of risk. By estimate that a 2 percent of payroll equity fund carved out of social security w present value by about 59 cents per dollar of bonds switched into equities When the likely reductions in income and longevity insurance are factored in privatization and diversification is substantially less than popularly perceived

Households’ participation in solid waste management system of Homs city, Syria

Solid waste management practice is a matter of concern for public health and environmental protection and has become a major challenge in Syria. Improper waste management can bear adverse consequences on public health, environment, and natural resources. The current study focuses on households' participation in solid waste management in Homs city. Waste management plans can only be successful if the community support and actively participate in it, and as the largest stakeholder, households have an important role by reduction of waste volume and increasing the recovery rate. In respect to this issue, this study presents the findings of the research concerning the waste management practices applied by households at the local level in Homs city as well as the attitude of households (as service users) to the current solid waste management system. Data were assembled by a questionnaire survey conducted on 300 households in Homs city as well as formal interviews with officials and supervisors in related departments. We found that composting activities were not applied in the studied areas as well as waste separation practices were spurred by economic revenues earned without prior knowledge of the environmental benefits. Moreover, residents had to practice improper ways to remove their waste from residential areas in cases of inadequate and unreliable waste collection services.