Household Provision Research Articles

COVID-19, livelihoods and gender: Material, relational and subjective realities in rural Zambia

This study explores material, relational and subjective elements of wellbeing as micro-level gendered impacts of COVID-19 policy responses on agro-based livelihoods. Using a test case of rural Zambia, we apply a mixed methods research design and draw data from household surveys, household case study interviews, group discussions, and multi-level interviews. Results show gendered impacts at four significant levels of granularity: markets and material wellbeing, household provisioning, labour and care burdens, relationships and social networks, and disruptions to membership organisations and social initiatives. Production and processes leading to market disruptions lead to a gendered reconcentration of economic activities around men who flex financial muscle and flout COVID-19 guidelines respectively. Women on the other hand are squeezed out of production and market circuits, quickly loosing livelihood strategies and getting relegated to unpaid and invisible household work. Whereas women endeavour to find ways to support their families, such as attempting to maintain group savings initiatives, low levels of policy satisfaction, including declining production and market dynamics limit actions towards inclusive and equitable forms of COVID-19 recovery in rural geographies. We call for holistic interventions that consider community patterns of livelihoods and how they are impacted by the pandemic, necessitating a focus on gender sensitive initiatives that are locally driven, build resilience and empower women.

Residential size and volume differentiation across urban zones at El Perú-Waka', Peten, Guatemala

AbstractLocated at the western edge of the Classic Maya heartland, El Peru-Waka' was one of the most densely aggregated urban cores in the Lowlands. With households packed next to each other, it can be difficult to define where one ends and another begins. Nevertheless, survey and excavation data suggest that differences in household provisioning and generational cycling created considerable variation in household wealth across the city. This paper employs household area (m2) and volume (m3) to calculate Gini coefficients for the El Peru-Waka' urban core and immediate hinterlands to quantify household differentiation across the urban landscape. Comparison of the coefficients for the total study area with those for individual urban zones (core, periurban, hinterland) demonstrate that while El Perú-Waka' exhibits high overall household differentiation, this differentiation is considerably muted within a given urban zone. This demonstrates the impact of settlement location on differences in household size and architectural investment.

Criteria for Determining Low-Income Households: Building Practices and Prospects for Improvement

The article considers the actual problems of the methodology for constructing criteria used in determining low-income households. The purpose of the research is to clarify the criteria developed by Russian statistics based on the accounting of monetary features. The approach proposed in the research to combining monetary and material components allows forming multidimensional criteria reflecting the minimum required level of household provision with financial and material resources, as well as resource capabilities of various household groups. The estimates developed on its basis also make it possible to identify intergroup differences for household groups formed according to multidimensional characteristics. The approbation of the proposed approach in the research was carried out on the basis of the data from the Russian official statistics of living standards, developed under the section «Income, expenses and living conditions of households». According to the approbation results, the deprivation characteristics of the decile income groups of the Russian population were revealed by the level of their provision with housing conditions, durable goods and resources for improving housing conditions. On the basis of criteria developed taking into account non-monetary components, in the low-income households the research identified groups with the status of extreme, desperate and moderate poverty, as well as a group with increased risks of changes in property status. According to the estimates, in 2019 restrictions on housing conditions and the availability of durable goods were fixed in all decile groups of households with per capita monetary incomes up to 35 thousand. rub. per month. This level can be considered as a criterion determining the boundary below which the corresponding income groups of households can be classified as poor on the basis of material resources.

Gendered dynamics of the flow and use of migrant remittances in Northern Ghana

ABSTRACT This paper draws on qualitative data to examine gendered dynamics of remitting and remittance use in households in northern Ghana. The findings indicate that remitting and remittance use are shaped by the interaction of social norms on household provisioning and agency of household members. While social norms on gender roles and conjugality tend to shape patterns of remitting, the household context and the agency of the individual household members sometimes interact to produce remitting behaviours that are not consistent with the general patterns in the community. Gender roles prescribed by the conjugal contract may change when one partner migrates.

Joint Forces: The Impact of Intrahousehold Cooperation on Welfare in East African Agricultural Households

In low- and middle-income countries, poor cooperation between members of smallholder agricultural households may lead to inefficient allocation of productive resources. This study estimates the causal mediating effects of cooperation between spouses on household welfare and public goods provision in Ugandan and Tanzanian monogamous smallholder coffee farming households. The random encouragement to participate in an intensive training program coaching couples in farming as a household enterprise and participatory intrahousehold decision making, which stimulates cooperation and, in turn, household welfare and public goods provision, enables estimating causal mediating effects while avoiding challenges of endogeneity. Spousal cooperation has positive mediating effects on household welfare, measured by total household income per capita and food security, and on household public goods provision, measured by the adoption intensity of agronomic practices and use of improved seed for food crops. Spousal cooperation has larger effects on total household income per capita with longer duration of marriage. HIGHLIGHTS In Uganda and Tanzania, the Gender Household Approach program aims to improve gender relations by promoting spousal cooperation. Participatory decision making implies strengthening women’s voice and ability to include their claims in a household. GHA presents a concept of women’s empowerment that avoids backlash by promoting shared control of resources and agency. Programs that promote spousal cooperation can improve the welfare and public goods provision of agricultural households.

Material and Technical Base of Secondary Schools of the Khakass Autonomous Region in 1946-1964

The article is devoted to the review of the material and technical condition of secondary schools in the Khakass Autonomous Region in the mid-1940s - mid–1960s. The author traces the dynamics of the development of such elements of the material base of schools as school grounds, buildings and classrooms, equipment of classrooms, educational and methodological literature, visual teaching aids, as well as educational equipment and educational supplies. In addition, the living conditions of school boarding schools in the region are considered in dynamics. Considerable attention is paid in the article to the equipment of specialized classrooms (chemical, home economics, labor training and industrial training), taking into account the 1958 reform. The author introduced into scientific circulation the results of the analysis and processing of materials of archival funds. It is noted that the problem of low economic and household provision of boarding schools by the mid-1960s was not solved, which in conditions of a large radius of school service was one of the reasons for the failure of the universal education plan. It is concluded that the level of the material and technical base of schools did not correspond to the objectives of the Law on strengthening the connection of schools with life and on the further development of the public education system in the USSR. At the same time, the author points out that the provision of textbooks and teaching aids, stationery, was achieved before the end of the fifth five-year plan.

Methodology for study of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty in Ukraine

The article reveals the methodology for study of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty in Ukraine. It is noted that the material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty in Ukraine is part of their criminal punishment, so to ignore such an important direction in terms of reforming the criminal and executive system of Ukraine and its transformation into a penitentiary system is unacceptable and inappropriate.
 Moreover, it is emphasized that the material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty is not only part of the structure of procedure and conditions of serving a punishment, it is also a part of the protection of the rights and freedoms of convicts, as violations by the administration of a penal institution (depending on the level of security) housing and sanitary requirements of the legislation cause regular complaints of convicts and their relatives to the Secretariat of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the court.
 It is proved that the methodology for study of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty in Ukraine in general was not the subject of scientific research among domestic scholars. Thus, the issue of the methodology for study of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty in Ukraine became on the agenda of scientific research.
 It was stated that this problem became especially relevant today, when the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine proposed a new strategy for reforming the penitentiary system of Ukraine, and therefore there was a need for scientific support of those measures enshrined in relevant state programs (strategies, concepts, models, etc.).
 The study of the methodology for research of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty showed that the priority methods of such research are sociological, statistical, historical-comparative, comparative-legal and systemic. This approach allowed us to show the interconnected subsystems of research methods and its individual elements.
 The author’s definition of the methodology for study of criminal and executive principles of material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty is formulated – it is a system of scientific knowledge about the methods, techniques and tools that make up the set of tried and tested in the field of execution and serving of criminal sentences rational ways to improve the material and household provision of convicts to deprivation of liberty.

RESOURCE PROVISION OF HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CARPATHIAN REGION OF UKRAINE: THE ASPECT OF SOCIAL VULNERABILITY OF THE POPULATION

The article is devoted to the study of aspects that affect the social vulnerability of the population of the Carpathian region. The resource provision of domestic households in the focus of social vulnerability was analyzed, which included the analysis of such indicators as wages, income from entrepreneurial activity, protected resources of the social sphere in monetary terms. A review of the available statistical data made it possible to formulate the negative trends that occurred over the last decade in the structure of resource provision of domestic households. The increase in the share of wages in the incomes of households in the Carpathian region is negatively perceived, which is substantiated by relevant explanations. In particular, the general reduction of state social payments to the population was critically assessed, in connection with which significant attention was paid to the definition of the living wage, which serves as the basis for calculating these payments and other state charges. Attention is paid to the issue of preschool education in the Carpathian region; formulated how households with children of preschool age constitute one of the most socially vulnerable groups of the country’s population. The protracted processes of external migration, which are characteristic of the Carpathian region, and which lead unequivocally to destructive demographic distortions in it, are also emphasized. Based on the given data, we can talk about the existence or development of “unhealthy” socio-economic processes that affect the way of life of the local population of the Carpathian region and that will determine the development trends of the region in the nearest medium-term perspective. It is noted that today the issue of social vulnerability of Ukrainians is exacerbated even more by the full-scale war with Russia, so the request to develop a better toolkit for analyzing resource provision and population needs becomes urgent.

Household Characteristics and Energy Provision of Rural Households in Central Nepal

Access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services is the primary aim of Sustainable Development Goal 7 and underpins other SDGs for improving health and welfare. In keeping with the SDG objectives, national governments and development agencies have been advocating reduction of households’ dependency on traditional sources of energy and encourage the transition to clean energy. Whilst policy interventions for this have had some success, a large proportion of households, especially in the rural areas of developing countries still continue to face energy shortages and lack of access to clean energy continues to be a major developmental challenge. This study investigates the energy use of 295 rural households in three rural villages in central Nepal. Results demonstrate that households continue to depend on traditional sources of energy with limited access to clean energy. Furthermore, access to clean energy amongst households in rural Nepal is determined by households and community socio-economic status. The paper argues that much more needs to be done to enhance households’ access to clean energy and reduce their dependency on traditional sources of energy and the distributional implications of such measures need to be properly considered.

Distance Learning For Schoolchildren: Readiness For Challenges

The stability of the school education system depends on many factors, and one of the most significant is the professionalism of the teaching staff, the willingness of the teaching staff to respond to new challenges and effectively carry out professional activities in the most difficult conditions. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the need to make significant changes in the functioning of the education system as soon as possible, including the transfer of the educational process to a remote mode. Despite the timely measures taken at the federal and regional levels to ensure the continuity of the educational process and preserve a single educational space, while maintaining the health of all participants in educational relations remained an absolute priority, the school education system faced serious difficulties. The situation was complicated not only by the presence of certain problems in the provision of educational organizations and households with the necessary technical means, but also by the fact that a significant part of the teaching staff did not have the practice of teaching remotely and by the beginning of the pandemic were not ready to organize the educational process using distance learning technologies. The article presents the results of a sociological study on the readiness of teachers to carry out professional pedagogical activities in the conditions of forced restrictions caused by the pandemic, based on a comparison of the monitoring data carried out on the eve of the pandemic with the data of 2021.

Problems of Information Support for Social Assistance to the Population During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The article deals with the actual problems of providing targeted social assistance to the population during the economic crisis. The research subject is a set of measures to stabilize the income of the population, implemented by the Government of the Russian Federation in 2020 during the most acute phase of the crisis associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the research is to analyze and summarize the practice of social assistance to the population, to identify problems and prospects for using the monetary approach to neutralize the negative socio-economic consequences of the restrictions associated with the pandemic. The main aspects of the analysis involve measures to stabilize the income of the population, including measures to support employment in the economy and stabilize labor income, as well as measures of targeted social assistance to households implemented in Russian practice. In the research, the monetary approach is considered in a broad context, extended to the criteria determining the resource provision of households and the population property status, the characteristics underling the households grouping by the degree of need, and targeted assistance measures implemented in the cash transfers form. The results of the research revealed a number of problems with the monetary approach using in the implementation of the anti-crisis strategy in the Russian Federation in its simplified version, focused on the indicators of household monetary income without taking into account other components of disposable resources. Additional challenges in identifying targeted social assistance groups during the pandemic were associated with the established practice of building structural groupings of households, based on the dichromatic principle, as well as the transition from 2021 of russian statistics to the new principles of calculating the minimum subsistence level, which is the basic criterion for determining the property status of the population. Improving the effectiveness of social assistance measures to the population in the Russian Federation during economic crises involves adjusting the existing methodological and information base used in assessing the degree of household need. If detailed statistics are available, the corresponding monetary indicators can serve as an information basis for identifying the objects of targeted social assistance. Such indicators, by analogy with foreign practice, can also be supplemented by non-monetary characteristics that determine the degree of household need on other grounds, on the basis of combination of which their groups can be identified in accordance with the priorities and types of social assistance provided. The article was prepared within the framework of the RANEPA state task research.

Оцінка ефективності використання індивідуальних біогазових установок для переробки біовідходів селянських господарств

The purpose of the article is to determine the prospects for the introduction of biogas technologies by households in Ukraine and the energy, economic and environmental benefits from their use. Research methods. Dialectical methods of cognition of processes and phenomena, analysis and synthesis were used - to study the current state of waste accumulation by households; empirical - for a comprehensive assessment of the current state of household provision; scientific abstraction - to summarize the results, form conclusions and determine the prospects for biogas production in peasant households in Ukraine. Research results. The analysis of the main characteristics of households in Ukraine is carried out and the prerequisites for organizing the production of biogas by households are determined. According to the assessment of household income and expenses, it was determined that the costs of housing and communal services tend to grow. In addition, the prices for natural gas for the population will also grow, thus replacing natural gas with biogas of our own production becomes especially relevant. The potential of biogas production from household waste in Ukraine has been analyzed. The positive economic and environmental factors of the construction of individual biogas plants for rural residents are characterized. A number of measures have been proposed to facilitate the construction of individual biogas plants. The positive effects of waste and wastewater utilization have been determined. Proposals have been formulated for the development of individual biogas plants in Ukraine. Scientific novelty. The advantages of biogas production in individual biogas plants from biowaste in Ukraine have been substantiated. The economic benefits of biogas production by households are presented. Possible obstacles for the construction of individual biogas plants are considered. Practical significance. The applied significance of the results is considered as the basis for the formation of a strategy for the production of biofuels from agricultural crops and waste in Ukraine. Tabl.: 6. Figs.: 3. Refs.: 13.

Barriers and facilitators of household provision of dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives in families with preschool-age children.

This study aimed to explore barriers and facilitators of the provision of dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives (PBDA) by parents of preschool-age children, a previously unexplored area of research. Five focus groups of parents were conducted and audio-recorded. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. University of Guelph, in Guelph, ON, Canada in 2019. Thirty-two (n 19 mothers, 13 fathers) parents of preschool-age children. Most (59 %) were university or college educated. Facilitators common to both dairy and PBDA provision included perceived nutritional benefits, such as dairy's Ca, protein and fat content, and PBDA's protein content, and the perception that PBDA adds variety to the diet. Facilitators unique to dairy v. PBDA provision included the taste of, familiarity with, and greater variety and accessibility of dairy products, specifically child-friendly products. A facilitator unique to PBDA v. dairy provision was ethical concerns regarding dairy farming practices. Barriers common to both dairy and PBDA provision included perceived cost, concerns regarding the environmental impact of production, and high sugar content. Barriers specific to dairy included use of antibiotics and hormones in dairy production. A barrier specific to PBDA was the use of pesticides. Behaviour change messages targeting parents of preschoolers can emphasise the nutrition non-equivalence of dairy and some PBDA and can educate parents on sources of affordable, unsweetened dairy and PBDA.

Digital transformation of the sphere of life as a basis for the growth of social value

The Covid-19 global pandemic has pushed the world to develop a digital economy. The processes of digital transformation do not bypass any sphere of human life and activity in Ukraine: there is a need to do business online; there is a need for remote work; increased opportunities for distance education. In order to reap the benefits of digitalization in all areas of application, it is important to use appropriate digital tools, which in turn helps to create high added value for the state, increase the efficiency of the economy and business and as a result lead to economic and social impact. The article reveals the connection between digital transformation and social value. Since each person lives in a separate system of values, objects and phenomena that are designed to meet all its needs, and can be involved in certain areas of life, such as economics, law, ecology, medicine, pedagogy, sports, art, all this and forms social values. That is, social value is the significance of phenomena and objects of reality in terms of their compliance or non-compliance with the needs of society, social groups or individuals. We get used to the fact that any service can be obtained without leaving home, using a smartphone, by electronically signing documents generated in the same smartphone, so we can easily move to activities and life in the virtual world (online). The article considers digital transformation projects that have already become popular among the citizens of Ukraine, as well as analyses the provision of households with fixed access to the Internet in urban and rural areas, which is a necessary condition for providing opportunities to use relevant services. The availability of websites of enterprises for certain types of economic activity was traced and the possibility of providing interactive services through it was studied, which really increases the possibilities of using digital services and increases the company's profits. The modern world of technology is rapidly evolving, so the digital transformation is an irreversible and endless process, and social values will always be relevant in the new conditions in which society will live and work.

Features of sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures among the personnel of camp training events in military educational organizations in the context of the spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus infection

The experience of medical maintenance for assembly events annually held on the basis of the educational process of the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov. The main directions of the organization of sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures among the personnel at each stage of the camp gathering have been determined. It is shown that at the preparatory stage it is advisable to develop additional plans that concretize sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures for the stages of the camp gathering. At the stage of accepting participants, the main direction is the organization of events that prevent the introduction of infection with the arriving personnel. At the main stage of the camp training, the leading role belongs to disinfection measures. At the stage of departure of participants, the main efforts should be focused on minimizing the potential risk of infection along the route and the introduction of infection into their military units. The features of disinfection are described depending on the type of object being processed. The results of testing a designed device for fixing dispensers with a skin antiseptic on the basis of a unified military stand in a camp gathering are presented. The features of the organization of medical control over the material and household provision of the personnel of the training camp are stated. The basic principles of prophylaxis and anti-epidemic protection during assembly activities in the context of the spread of COVID-19 have been formulated.

Consumer financial distress during economic downturn: evidence from five provinces of Zimbabwe

PurposeDespite the inescapable picture of hardships and circumstances in Zimbabwe, there has not been dedicated research focused on understanding the management of household finances, particularly to assess financial distress and how it varies among Zimbabweans. This study aims to use survey data to measure financial distress and ascertain the socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural factors associated with it among Zimbabweans.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 1,006 survey respondents from five provinces of Zimbabwe was used. The principal component analysis approach was used to create a composite financial distress score. The t-test for the equality of means and analysis of variance were used to test for the difference in financial distress between groups, whilst the ordinary least squares regression was used to determine the factors associated with financial distress after controlling for other factors.FindingsThe study found that consumer financial distress was mainly explained by locality (urban/rural and province), frequency and level of income (informality) and age. Having saved in the past 12 months did not significantly differentiate savers from non-savers on financial distress. The study also found that gender, level of education, marital status, role in household financial decision-making and role in household provisioning were not significant predictors of financial distress.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings have policy implications, especially for the government of Zimbabwe, its agencies and local authorities. Enacting policies that create opportunities for inclusive and sustainable livelihoods and economic growth should be the priority. In addition, instituting favourable policies that allow informal business to grow, formalise and integrate with the formal economy may help to sustainably grow the economy and alleviate the financial hardships among consumers. For consumers, adopting financial behaviours that ensure that they live within their means cannot be over emphasised.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to profile the socioeconomic, demographic and behavioural factors associated with financial distress during the economic downturn among the impoverished Zimbabweans.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2019-0640.

Защита работников предприятий ТЭК от действия вредных производственных факторов на основе повышения эффективности санитарно-бытового обеспечения

Защита работников предприятий ТЭК от действия вредных производственных факторов на основе повышения эффективности санитарно-бытового обеспечения

PARENTAL ABSENCE AND GRANDPARENT CAREGIVING IN THE WAKE OF THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN OPIOID EPIDEMIC

The contemporary American drug overdose epidemic has wreaked havoc on individuals, families, and communities across the country. As increasing numbers of middle-aged adults become addicted to or die from drugs, grandparents may be called upon to provide care for their grandchildren. However, few studies examine the broader social impacts of the drug overdose epidemic. This paper fills this gap in the literature by examining whether the opioid epidemic has contributed to increased grandparental care provision and coresidence. I use data from the 2000 Census and the 2011-2015 American Community Surveys, and data on drug overdose mortality (a measure of the epidemic’s severity) and socioeconomic indicators. I find consistent and robust associations between increases in drug overdose mortality and increases in: children’s likelihood of experiencing parental absence from the household, grandparent-grandchild coresidence, and grandparental provision of custodial care. Fixed-effect estimates correspond to an additional 158,138 grandparents coresiding with grandchildren, and a 3% increase in the proportion of coresident grandparents who are primarily responsible for their grandchildren. These associations are stronger among younger (aged 30-64) versus older (aged 65+) grandparents. This paper leverages multiple measures and nationally-representative data to demonstrate that increases in precarious family arrangements, vulnerability, and the burden of caregiving among older adults are occurring in response to the opioid epidemic. These findings suggest that the epidemic is placing considerable and unexpected strains on older adults’ financial and emotional resources at a time when they themselves may be requiring care, retiring from the labor force, and experiencing declines in health.

Coverture and the Marital Partnership in Late Medieval Nottingham: Women's Litigation at the Borough Court, ca. 1300–ca.1500

AbstractWomen engaged in litigation in Nottingham's borough court as both plaintiffs and defendants for a variety of reasons relating to trade, household provisioning, misbehavior and interpersonal disputes. This article examines how women's litigation was determined by the doctrine of coverture and the way that women's marital status shaped and defined their experience of the law. In doing so, it explores how these pleas reveal the workings of the marital partnership within a late medieval English town. In order to contextualize the experiences of women “under coverture,” the article first traces the ways in which all manner of female marital and household identities were documented in the court records, analyzing the descriptors that court scribes attached to individual women's names. The article highlights inconsistency in the way that women's identities were recorded and in the way that the marital partnership was represented through the litigation of spouses in the borough court. The dual focus of this article not only adds new evidence to ongoing discussions of the nature of medieval coverture but also interrogates how we identify coverture and women's marital statuses based on the evidence of court records.

The electoral migration cycle

This paper proposes a new test of Tiebout sorting that relies on the exogenous time structure of recurrent local elections. The test is based on the idea that competitive elections represent periodic perturbations to the Tiebout equilibrium of local public good provision and allocation of households to communities, so that their schedule should affect the timing of households' sorting decisions. On the other hand, internal migration flows that have nothing to do with the demand for public goods over which localities vote recurrently ought to be orthogonal to the timing of elections in a reduced-form migration equation. I exploit the staggered schedule of mayoral elections in Italy to analyze migration, elections, and public budget data across several thousands of municipalities, and find evidence of a systematic influence of the electoral calendar on the timing of sorting decisions.