Household Types Research Articles

Educational Inequality and Household Dynamics in India: Exploring the Role of Caste Capital

The article uses caste capital as a conceptual tool to analyze educational inequalities by looking at the household-level differences and school differentiation among different caste groups in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India. Caste capital is the social, cultural, and economic assets associated with the hierarchical ranking of a group, which privileged groups could utilize to take advantage of disprivileged others. This includes an informed and conscious effort to create a cultural environment that values and prioritizes education for social and economic advancement. Based on a field survey at the household level, the findings indicate a strong connection between caste, household type, and school choice. The pattern of educational inequality becomes evident whereby individuals from higher caste backgrounds with more affluent households tend to have better educational opportunities. The findings show how caste hierarchy intersects with school choice, creating a hierarchy of educational opportunities producing and reproducing educational inequalities.

Preferences and Expectations for Home Robot Tasks: Comparison According to Age and Household Type in Republic of Korea

Most studies of consumer preferences and expectations for home robots focus on either older adults or single-person households (SPHs). However, with the rise in voluntary SPHs among young adults and seniors, it is critical to compare both age and household types in robot research. This study explored perceptions of home robots and willingness to use their features based on age and household type, in the context of the expanding home robot market in Republic of Korea. An online survey of 400 individuals was conducted, targeting young SPHs and multi-person households (MPHs) in their 20s and 30s as well as older SPHs and MPHs in their 50s and 60s. The survey covered four robot task categories, with 40 items derived from previous research: household chores (20 items), personal care (seven items), leisure/companion (nine items), and health (four items). The results helped predict the main target groups for each in-home robot task by identifying items that showed differences in responses between groups and interpreting these based on age, household type, and their combination. The study provides valuable data on consumer expectations, highlighting differences in responses according to both age and household type, offering insights for the robotics industry to effectively target their products.

Summer Energy Use and Comfort Analysis in Rural Chinese Dwellings: A Case Study of Low-Income Older Populations in Shandong

This paper aims to investigate the indoor environmental conditions and energy use behaviours of older individuals in rural cold climates of China, with a specific focus on cooling practices during the summer months in the Shandong region. This study employs a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative indoor environmental monitoring with qualitative interviews and observations, to explore the relationship between environmental factors, household living conditions, and energy use patterns across five types of elderly households: three generations living together, older people living with grandchildren, older people living with children, older couples living together, and older people living alone. Data collection was conducted over five weeks during the summer of 2023 using HOBO UX100-003 data loggers, while external weather conditions were monitored by the China Meteorological Administration. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to gain deeper insights into daily cooling behaviours and energy use. The results reveal that cooling practices and indoor environmental conditions vary significantly among the different household types. Multigenerational households showed more complex energy use dynamics, with younger family members frequently operating high-energy appliances like air conditioners, while older individuals tended to rely on natural ventilation and electric fans to reduce energy costs. In contrast, older couples and solitary older individuals demonstrated more conservative cooling behaviours, often enduring higher indoor temperatures due to limited financial resources and a desire to minimize energy expenditures. Despite the high energy use intensity in some households, many homes failed to achieve comfortable indoor environments, particularly in dwellings with minimal insulation and older building materials. This study concludes that economic status, household structure, and building characteristics play crucial roles in shaping cooling behaviours and indoor comfort during the summer.

Chinese Household Carbon Footprint: Structural Differences, Influencing Factors, and Emission Reduction Strategies Analysis

The wide variation in household characteristics, such as household size, income, and age, can lead to significant differences in carbon footprints. Based on data from 1132 Chinese households in 2021, this study examines the structural differences, multiple influencing factors, and mitigation strategies of household carbon footprints (HCFs) in China. The results indicate that indirect emissions, primarily from energy and food consumption, account for the largest share of household carbon footprints, making up over 65% of total emissions. Households with lower carbon footprints are characterized by a per capita living area of less than 20 square meters, rural residences, and shared living arrangements. Carbon footprints for the elderly and minors are lower than adults, while households with higher monthly incomes have the highest carbon footprints. The Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) reveals that the main factors influencing HCF include household size, income, and single status, with a more pronounced impact on affluent households than on average households. High-income households have the potential to reduce their carbon footprints through investments in energy-efficient technologies, whereas low-income households are more susceptible to the effects of household size and geographic location. It is recommended that policymakers adopt differentiated measures, such as setting higher reduction targets for larger and wealthier households while providing incentives and technical support to low-income households to achieve meaningful carbon reductions. More effective and equitable low-carbon policies can be formulated by addressing these structural disparities and leveraging the unique characteristics of different household types.

Exploring the relationship between energy poverty and mental wellbeing: a qualitative study

Abstract Background Rising rates of energy poverty in Europe, affecting 11% of households, are a serious public health concern. The inability to meet energy needs impacts mental wellbeing, preventing people from productively engaging in society. Our objective was to explore this relationship within the context of three European cities, each characterized by distinct climatic conditions, cultural and societal characteristics and governance arrangements. This work is part of the European funded research project WELLBASED, grant no. 945097. Methods Semi-structured interviews (n = 34) were conducted with people experiencing energy poverty in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain. Purposive sampling ensured the representation of a diverse range of family and household types, gender and experiences with energy poverty. Thematic analysis was conducted using MaxQDA software. Preliminary results The analysis resulted in six themes: (1) worries and fear (2) stress (3) value of the home and neighborhood, (4) caring for others, (5) engaging with daily life and (6) autonomy in managing the situation and seeking for and receiving support. Participants were worried and stressed about the rising energy bills, the thermal discomfort, and health impacts of their poor housing conditions. In relation to caring responsibilities, participants were especially concerned about the impact on their children and prioritized children’s needs. Participants also expressed a strong will for independence and having control over their lives, but at the same time valued being seen and supported. Conclusions The persistent worries, fear and stress highlight implications of failure to meet energy needs for mental wellbeing. Caring responsibilities, engaging with daily life and autonomy proved important for mental wellbeing among people living in energy poverty. Our findings call for addressing energy poverty challenges in public health programs to improve mental wellbeing of vulnerable citizens. Key messages • People experiencing energy poverty in the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands recognize the impact of their energy poverty situation on their mental wellbeing. • The public health community needs to be informed and engaged about the impact of energy poverty on mental wellbeing in order to take action.

Preparedness, Challenges, and Opportunities for Digital Intervention for Chronic Disease Management: A Qualitative Study in Rural Areas of South Korea

ABSTRACT Motivated by the prevalence of an aging population and the associated increase in chronic diseases, coupled with rising medical expenditure, the Korean government initiated a pilot project in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, a rural area, to implement a “smart online-to-offline (O2O) digital health care model” aimed at managing and preventing chronic diseases. However, there is limited understanding regarding perspectives and levels of preparedness for digital health among stakeholders at various levels. In-depth focus group interviews were conducted with elderly and non-elderly community members, health care providers, and staff members at Pyeongchang Health and Medical Center. The study found the presence of both positive and negative perceptions and a lack of preparedness across different levels. At the end-user level, it was observed that community members, especially the elderly, have low levels of health and digital literacy, compounded by limited access to social support. At the health care provider level, there was uncertainty about the acceptance of the digital health program. At the area level, the need to bolster health staff members and enhance their capacity was observed. Recommendations include: customizing the design of the online and offline service components by considering end-user factors (such as age, occupation, and household type) that may contribute to disparities in health; establishing a platform for providers to share their experiences to facilitate the effective incorporation of digital health into their practices; and preparing an appropriate provider payment mechanism.

Electrical vehicles impact on unbalanced distribution networks considering different loads and energy prices

The expansion of distributed generation and erratic loads create many challenges for electricity distribution networks (DN), like grid congestion and load unbalance. Technological advances in recent years have made the use of electric vehicles (EVs) more economical and justified for network connection. The use of smart EVs in the network scale, in addition to the peak shedding, if it is used in a single phase, it can also lead to the improvement of load unbalance. This paper proposes an energy and cost management model for the appropriate and distributed deployment of single phase EVs in distribution networks to provide network support for a DN including renewable resources. By connecting or disconnecting single-phase smart EVs to the DN, unbalanced loads in this network will be balanced as much as possible. To evaluate the proposed model, a network of 13 buses has been used, and the calculations of these energy costs have been measured during 24 h by two types of household and industrial loads. These loads are unbalanced in the DN and single-phase EVs have the ability to improve the unbalanced load of the DN. Also, the energy price is variable during the day and depends on the peak load. From the sensitivity analysis and with the relative increase or decrease of load, load change effects on the cost of each DN per-unit power have been measured and compared with the presence or absence of single-phase smart EVs to obtain more practical results. According to this paper, the use of EVs, in addition to improving the load of the DN, greatly reduces the costs of DN.

A global dataset of 7 billion individuals with socio-economic characteristics

In global impact modeling, there is a need to address the heterogeneous characteristics of households and individuals that drive different behavioral responses to, for example, environmental risk, socio-economic policy changes and spread of diseases. In this research, we present GLOPOP-S, the first global synthetic population dataset with 1,999,227,130 households and 7,335,881,094 individuals for the year 2015, consistent with population statistics at an administrative unit 1 level. GLOPOS-S contains the following attributes: age, education, gender, income/wealth, settlement type (urban/rural), household size, household type, and for selected countries in the Global South, ownership of agricultural land and dwelling characteristics. To generate GLOPOP-S, we use microdata from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and apply synthetic reconstruction techniques to fit national survey data to regional statistics, thereby accounting for spatial differences within and across countries. Additionally, we have developed methods to generate data for countries without available microdata. The dataset can be downloaded per region or country. GLOPOP-S is open source and can be extended with other attributes.

Swarm electrification for Raqaypampa: Impact of different battery control setpoints on energy sharing in interconnected solar homes systems

In rural electrification, decentralized systems have proven to bring fast, affordable, and sustainable electricity supply for the last mile of energy access. Especially, solar home systems (SHS) have lately increased in number and impact. Recently, a new concept promises even better utilization of SHS and the potential for higher access to electricity. This concept is found under the name of swarm electrification, also known as interconnected SHS, nanogrids, or decentralized DC systems in rural areas. This paper studies the benefits of such interconnected SHS for a case study in the indigenous rural Highlands of Bolivia, an area called Raqaypampa. Our study emphasizes analyzing the energy sharing setpoints for the decentralized battery control and how the choice of these values influences energy distribution in the community. We draw concepts of energy justice into our discussion to evaluate different combinations of battery state of charge setpoints. Our study finds four types of households in Raqaypampa based on their demand for electricity. The modeled and simulated results of a potential energy sharing through interconnected SHS reveal three outcomes for the households based on the battery state of charge setpoints: Outcome I - Improving households, Outcome II - Depending households, and Outcome III - Deteriorating households. We conclude that a common approach of e.g. minimization of total unmet demand alone will not necessarily lead to just energy distribution, and it is crucial to integrate discussions about justice and community goals into the design process from the beginning.

Making room for everyone

Over the past decade, Waterloo Region has experienced significant population growth and a resulting wave of housing construction, but house prices and rents have continued to rise. To tackle the broader housing crisis affecting Ontario and Canada, calls for increased housing construction have grown, but advocates often emphasize quantities of homes needed without considering housing type or household composition of populations in need. We analyze publicly available data to compare temporal and spatial trends in housing construction and population growth across Waterloo Region. We also assess housing indicators across household types and various socio-economic indicators to highlight groups deserving greater attention in community planning efforts. Based on our findings, we advocate including equity-based analysis in future housing and land needs assessments. We further discuss the potential for “missing middle” housing to address a wider variety of household needs and propose options for municipalities looking to support greater housing diversity.

Uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations amongst 3,433,483 children and young people across four nations in the UK

Background and ObjectivesSARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people (CYP) can lead to life threatening conditions including COVID-19, transmission to more vulnerable individuals, or even long COVID. Vaccination against COVID-19 reduces the chance of infection and transmission of the virus, but vaccine uptake in the UK has been shown to decrease with age. ApproachWe undertook a multistate-model approach to estimate hazard ratios on national cohorts constructed from linked health and administrative data, adjusting for several demographic factors. The models were applied to 3,433,483 CYP aged 5-17 years between 4th August 2021 and 31st May 2022. The results were combined in a random effects meta-analysis. ResultsUptake of the first COVID-19 vaccine in CYP was lower compared to older age groups in the UK, and diminished further with subsequent doses (34%, 20% and 2% for 1st, 2nd, and booster dose respectively). Age of the CYP and vaccination status of the adults in the household were identified as important risk factors. For example, 5-11-year-olds were less likely to receive their first vaccine compared to 16-17-year-olds (adjusted Hazard Ratio [aHR]: 0.10 (95%CI: 0.06-0.19), and CYP in unvaccinated households were less likely to receive their first vaccine compared to partially vaccinated households (aHR: 0.19, 95%CI 0.13-0.29). Conclusions and Implications Our work highlights the need for targeted strategies to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and uptake among CYP, especially considering the influence of parental consent and household factors. Further research could help identify risk factors in household types to investigate more direct associations, which may be influenced by factors such as living with vulnerable people, familial structure, or deprivation.

Exploration of Mode Choice Behavior for Regular and Short Distance Travel in a Developing Country

The study of mode choice behaviour is receiving a considerable interest in Bangladesh like in other developing countries. Hence, a questionnaire survey of 514 citizens in Chittagong city was conducted to explore mode choice behaviour for short distance and regular travel. Multinomial Logit Model (MNL) was used to assess the factors involved for various mode choices. Gender, age, profession, education, level of income, household type, vehicle ownership, and distance to a stopping spot all seem to be factors that have been found to be important for short-distance and regular travel using the MNL model according to a utility function. The major findings indicates that the majority of the people prefer the bus both for short and regular distance travel, whereas high earners choose the cars for regular travel. Journal of Engineering Science 15(1), 2024, 59-73

A dynamic simulation model for building cooling and heating energy considering climate-building system-occupant interactions

Residential buildings have a significant potential for energy conservation. The building energy consumption process is a complex system influenced by several factors at climate, building system, and occupant levels. This study introduces a novel model based on a multi-agent system to systematically integrate these multiple influencing factors, simulate their interactions, and estimate the resultant cooling and heating energy with dynamic variations over years considered. The automatic dynamic energy simulation was conducted over 30 years considering four temporal parameters (i.e., outdoor temperature, heat transfer coefficient of the building envelope, household type, and behavior pattern of occupants). A case building was used to validate the model, and the dynamic annual results were quite different from the static ones. The dynamic cumulative cooling energy consumption during 31 years was 0.69 % lower than the static one, whereas dynamic cumulative heating energy was 7.53 % higher compared with static energy. It highlighted the importance of considering dynamic multi-agent interactions. Besides, the roles of multiple energy influencing factors and dynamic parameters were compared and discussed. This study provides critical insights into improving building energy performance and offers a rapid and automatic approach for dynamic energy simulation.

Financial literacy, social security, and healthcare cost anxiety in China.

This study examines the impact of financial literacy and social security on healthcare cost anxiety in China using data from the 2021 Global Financial Inclusion database. Employing an ordered logit model and its marginal effects, we analyse how these factors influence varying levels of healthcare cost anxiety (worried, somewhat worried, and not worried at all) across total, female-headed and male-headed households. Financial literacy and social security both demonstrate significant negative effects on healthcare cost anxiety across all household types. It implied that individuals who save for old age and those with social security coverage are less likely to experience high levels of healthcare cost anxiety. The ordered logit results show consistent negative coefficients for financial literacy and social security across all household categories. Marginal effects analysis further illustrates how these factors affect the probability of falling into each category of healthcare cost anxiety. These findings underscore the importance of promoting financial literacy and expanding social security coverage as potential strategies to alleviate healthcare cost anxiety in China.

제주지역 노인의 지역사회 계속거주에 미치는 영향요인 연구

This study examined the factors influencing Aging-in-Place(AIP) in older adults in the Jeju region. Also, the study tried to find supporting ways of AIP for older adults. The study used data from the 2020 Ministry of Health and Welfare Survey on Korea Older Adults and analyzed 375 cases of older adults in Jeju. The influencing factors of AIP consisted of functional, structural, phenomenological, and ecological factors. The main results are as follows: First, 98.2% of older adults in a healthy situation chose AIP, but this number drops to 59.5% when their health becomes weak and unhealthy. Second, the factors influencing the AIP of older adults in the Jeju area were age as a functional factor, household type and economic satisfaction as a structural factor, housing and residential environment satisfaction variables with a phenomenological factor, and satisfaction with neighborhood relationships as an ecological factor. Based on the above results, this study suggested the policy to support older adults in the Jeju area as they lead their daily lives and face old age. In particular, the willingness to AIP decreases significantly when the health of older people in the Jeju region deteriorates; the study emphasized and discussed the importance of creating a residential environment.

Comparison of Dietary Behaviors and Health-Related Quality of Life of the Elderly Based on Their Household Type in Korea

This study analyzed the raw data from the 2021 National Health and Nutrition Survey conducted annually in Korea to investigate the dietary behavior, nutrient intake, and health-related quality of life of the elderly in the community based on their household type: single-person, couple, or non-couple family household. As a result of the study, based on the household type, significant differences were found in the frequency of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as in the frequency of consuming vegetables and fruits (P<0.05, P<0.01, P<0.001). After analyzing the impact of household type on the depression and happiness levels of the surveyed elderly, it was found that the depression levels of elderly individuals in single-person households were significantly 1.279 times higher, while their feelings of happiness were 0.561 times lower compared to elderly individuals living with their family, including a spouse (P<0.05, P<0.001). In order to enhance the health-related quality of life for elderly individuals living alone with low income and education levels, it is essential to provide systematic management and support activities.

UNVEILING THE MULTIGENERATIONAL LIVING: IMPACTS ON THE FAMILY DYNAMICS AND RELATIONSHIPS

It is a global trend now that multigenerational households are multiplying; the same situation has become rife in Pakistan. This research analyzes the effect of intergenerational cohabitation on the family relations, caregiving arrangements, etc. A mixed methods approach, comprised of surveys and in-depth interviews, was employed to explore the factors affecting family dynamics in multigenerational households. They conclude that this type of household encourages strong family connections and tradition but can also present struggles with independence and privacy for both the parents and their adult children and culture clashes. The study explores how cultural norms and local economic factors impact the multigenerational lifestyles of families. The results of study provide significant information in obtaining the required information and reaching desired conclusion and extracting certain recommendations based on the outcomes. This is important as these findings could inform the future policies in addressing multigenerational households in tailor-made format in Pakistan to support the family well-being, fostering the empirical basis and ultimate separate focus upon each generation.

Inability to face unexpected expenses and monetary poverty in Poland: Are these two faces on the same coin?

Research background: The economic literature often states that monetary poverty does not coincide with other types of poverty. The paper examines monetary poverty and financial distress, which refer to distinct aspects of poverty. It addresses the issue by explaining how the same household characteristics affect these different types of poverty. Purpose of the article: The paper aims to identify socioeconomic variables influencing financial distress and monetary poverty in Poland. In addition, the relative contribution of household-level variables in explaining McFadden’s R2 for the financial dimensions under consideration is assessed. Methods: The study relies on data from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey in 2022. Logistic regression analysis empirically tests the impact of socioeconomic variables on financial distress and income poverty. Moreover, the relative importance of regressors is determined using the Shapley-Owen decomposition analysis. Findings & value added: The results have revealed that the smallest group consisted of only monetary poor households, followed by both monetary poor and financially distressed. The largest group was made up of households that experienced only financial distress. Such an incomplete overlap in experiencing the examined types of poverty implies the importance of studying financial distress alongside traditional income indicator. The study indicated a statistically significant role for characteristics such as disability, unemployment, education, the burden of the repayment of debts, household type, and tenure status in experiencing all the types of poverty considered. Furthermore, it was observed that the explanatory power of the models varied depending on the types of poverty under consideration. The results also revealed a substantial relative contribution of education to McFadden’s R2 in all models, indicating that education level substantially explains vulnerability to financial fragility. The contribution of other regressors varied among the models describing the types of poverty analyzed. These findings should stimulate policymakers, as effective policies are needed to alleviate different types of poverty.

Clusters of Sociodemographic Characteristics and Their Association with Food Insecurity in Mexican University Students.

Food insecurity (FI) expresses irregular access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. We analyze the association between clusters of sociodemographic characteristics and FI in university students from Mexico. The Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale was applied, and household type, socioeconomic status (SES), and the characteristics of the head of the household, among others, were asked in a cross-sectional study. We performed Two-Step cluster analysis and logistic regression models. We included 466 university students (72.5% women, 47% with FI). We identified three clusters; Cluster-1 (n = 163) included a single-parent (37.4%) or co-resident/roommate (27%) household type, middle SES (63.2%); the head of the household is usually a woman (76.1%), single (71.8%), and with bachelor's degree (41.7%) or less educational level (46.6%). Cluster-2 (n = 144) included the nuclear (89.6%) household type, high SES (76.4%); the head of the household is usually a man (79.2%), in a relationship (99.3%), and with a bachelor's degree (63.2%) or graduate level (33.3%). Cluster-3 (n = 147) is very similar to Cluster-2. The difference is that Cluster-3 includes middle SES (70.1%), and the head of the household's educational level is high school or less (100%). Only belonging to Cluster-1 was positively associated with FI (OR = 1.96, 95%CI: 1.24, 3.09). These results show the interrelationships between multiple sociodemographic characteristics and should contribute to developing interventions that simultaneously address numerous sociodemographic factors to diminish FI in university students.

Loneliness in Bavaria before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Loneliness represents asignificant health risk and is associated with numerous mental and physical conditions. The aim of this paper was to describe the prevalence of loneliness in Bavaria before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to socio-demographic attributes. Data sources were the German Ageing Survey (DEAS) and the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Univariate statistical analyses were carried out for different socio-demographic attributes, such as age, gender, type of household, education, and financial resources. According to the SOEP, the proportion of adults who are often or very often lonely increased from 2.3% in 2017 to 16.2% in 2021. In 2021, women had ahigher prevalence of loneliness than men (21.0% vs. 11.3%), and younger adults had the highest prevalence of loneliness (18 to 25years: 31.7%) compared to the other age groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness increased in almost every population subgroup in Bavaria. Further studies are needed to examine whether this development is temporary or represents along-term effect even after the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been lifted.