Medium Income Group Research Articles

Analyzing the Household Income and Consumption Expenditure: Reality of Rising Cost of Living in Malaysia

Malaysia has been experiencing rapid socioeconomic transition over many years and achieved remarkable socioeconomic development and economic growth in the last few decades. Basically, such growth and development brought significant improvements in the level of income of low- and middle-income households. However, the cost of living in Malaysia has increasingly become a serious economic issue due to the increase in inflation. This paper addresses the question of how the cost of living can affect household income and expenditure. The finding of this research is threefold. Firstly, the income gap between households is increasing every year. This implies that the program to increase the income of the lower-income group should be given priority so that national development can be felt by all levels of society to achieve the goal of inclusive national development. Secondly, the monthly income average of households shows a steady increase. However, B40 earnings growth needs to be improving greater as an effort to reduce the income gap between the highest with low- and medium-income groups. Thirdly, income growth for each household group is still greater than inflation. This shows that on average households can still cope with the burden of rising costs and thus deal with the cost of living depending on how they model their spending patterns. This study highlights that to address the cost of living problem, the policy or program planned by the government should touch three important elements of income, price, and spending patterns. Also, this study highlights that to address the cost of living problem, a holistic approach is essential. This study also proposes that each of the economic agents, the government, the private sector, and the households have their roles in economics to develop better economic welfare among society. Keywords: cost of living, income, low-income, middle income, living standard, spending patterns

Income inequality and healthcare utilization of the older adults-based on a study in three provinces and six cities in China.

The objective of this study is to gain a more nuanced understanding of the specific impact of income inequality on the utilization of healthcare services for older adults. Additionally, the study aims to elucidate the moderating and mediating roles of public transfer income and psychological health in this context. A systematic examination of the impact of income inequality on healthcare utilization among older adults was conducted through field questionnaire surveys in six cities across three major geographical regions (West, Central, and East). The analysis employed baseline regression, as well as mediating and moderating effect tests. First, there is a negative relationship between income inequality and the use of therapeutic healthcare services (β1 = -0.484, P < 0.01) and preventive healthcare services (β2 = -0.576, P < 0.01) by older adults. This relationship is more pronounced in the low- and medium-income groups as well as in the western region. The mediating effect of psychological state is significant (β3 = -0.331, P < 0.05, β4 = -0.331, P < 0.05). Public transfer income plays a significant role in regulation. The moderating effect of public transfer income on therapeutic services was more significant in low-income groups (β5 = 0.821, P < 0.01). The moderating effect of public transfer income on preventive services was more significant in middle-income groups (β6 = 0.833, P < 0.01). The study clearly demonstrates a significant negative correlation between income inequality and the utilization of healthcare services by older adults. Furthermore, the study reveals that this relationship is particularly pronounced among older adults in low- and medium-income and Western regions. This detailed analysis of regional and income level heterogeneity is of particular value in this field of research. Secondly, this study attempts to integrate the two pivotal dimensions of public transfer income and psychological state for the first time, elucidating their moderating and mediating roles in this relationship. The findings indicate that public transfer income serves as a moderating factor, exerting a notable "reordering effect" on income inequality and resulting in a "deprivation effect." Such factors may impede the utilization of medical services, potentially influencing the psychological state of older adults.

Social inequality in the association between life transitions into adulthood and depressed mood: a 27-year longitudinal study.

Few studies have considered the life-course development of depressive symptoms in relation to life transitions in early-adulthood and whether these might affect depressive trajectories differently depending on specific indicators of parental socioeconomic status (SES). In the present work, we explore these questions using the adolescent pathway model as a guiding framework to test socially differential exposure, tracking and vulnerability of the effects of life transitions on depressed mood across different socioeconomic backgrounds. Latent growth modeling was used to estimate the associations between indicators of parental SES (parental education and household income) and depressed mood from age 13 to 40 with life transitions (leaving the parental home, leaving the educational system, beginning cohabitation, attaining employment) as pathways between the two. Our analyses were based on a 27-year longitudinal dataset (n = 1242) of a Norwegian cohort with 10 time points in total. To make socioeconomic comparisons, three groups (low, mid, and high) were made for parental education and income respectively. Depressed mood decreased from age 13 to 40. The low and high parental education groups showed a stable difference in depressed mood during early adolescence, which decreased in young adulthood and then increased slightly in mid-adulthood. The low household income group showed higher depressed mood across young adulthood compared to the medium and higher household income groups. For life transitions, leaving the parental home and beginning cohabitation was associated with an added downturn of the trajectory of depressed mood when adjusting for other transitions. However, adolescents with high parental education showed a relatively stronger decrease in depressed mood when leaving the parental home. Similarly, adolescents with a high household income showed a relatively stronger decrease in depressed mood when leaving the educational system. Depressed mood decreased over time and developed differently depending on parental education and household income. Life transitions were generally associated with reductions in depressed mood across time, but lower SES youths were not found to be more socially vulnerable these effects.

Socio-Economic Status and Fertility Behavior among Tamang Women in Bhaktapur

This study "Socio-Economic Status and Fertility Behavior among Tamang Women in Bhaktapur District" was carried out with the main objective of to identify the socio-economic status and fertility behavior among the Tamang women in the study area. The study included 169 married Tamang women of reproductive age group selected from census method. By conducting this research it is concluded that most of the women get married at the age of 15-20 years. Which was 48.5 percent of the total in the same way education, economic status, religion, occupation and family income were the dominant socio-economic factors of affecting the fertility behavior. Out of 169 respondents in the study area, 69.82 percent respondents were literate and 30.17 percent population was illiterate. Out of 169 respondents 60 percent were engaged in the agriculture sector, followed by 25 percent of hose hold workers. Most of the respondents were using family planning method for limiting birth. From the viewpoint of effects of socio-economic variables on fertility behavior, medium income group was 66.27 percent, low income 19.52 percent and high income was 14.20 percent. In education field, illiterate 30.17 percent, secondary level 79.66 percent and higher level 20.33 percent. In occupation involved in agriculture was 60.35 percent, household chose 24.85 percent, business 16.05 percent and other 4.73 percent. Similarly this study had found that the total number of respondents with their average CEB was 2.52 per family. High fertility culture was shown by these people. Lower fertility, behavior was associated with literacy and having higher age at marriage. It is argued that fertility remains high due to high child mortality. High fertility has ensured high dependency and family burden. Similarly current skewed distribution of population towards the younger ages would result high fertility level in the years to come.

Postpartum Care by Midwives: Socioeconomic Status has a Strong Influence on the Amount of Care Received An Analysis with Routine Data from BARMER Health Insurance

Socio-economic situation is associated with inequalities in access to health care and health-related resources. This also applies to pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. Compared to other European countries, Germany has very good care options for the postpartum period. It has an unique system of postpartum care, which comprises home visits by midwives for 12 weeks after birth and beyond in problem cases and thus has structurally good care options. So far, however, there are hardly any studies based on routine data that show which mothers receive homevisits in postpartum care and to what extent. The study population comprised 199,978 women insured with BARMER who gave birth to at least one child in the years 2017-2020. Some women were pregnant several times in this period of time. The services billed by freelance midwives for outreach midwifery care in the puerperium were considered for 227,088 births, taking into account the socioeconomic situation of the mothers. According to the definition of the German Institute for Economic Research, 26% of the mothers belonged to a low income group, 46% to a medium income group and 29% to a high income group. Similar to what was shown for midwifery care during pregnancy, large differences were also found with regard to postpartum care: While 90.5% of the women with a high income received home visits, only 83.5% of women with a medium income did so, and only 67.9% of women with a low income. The groups did not differ with regard to other characteristics such as rate of caesarean section, preterm births, twins, age or concomitant diseases to an extent that could explain the differences in care. Women who had received midwifery services in pregnancy were much more likely to receive home visits by a midwife in the postpartum period. Furthermore, there was a correlation with the density of midwives in the respective region. The results suggest that access to home-based postpartum care by freelance midwives is significantly limited for low-income women. In contrast to antenatal care, women in the postpartum period cannot switch to other service providers, as outreach postpartum care is a reserved activity of midwives. Women with low incomes thus receive less midwifery care, although they have a higher need for support (Eickhorst et al. 2016).

Digital Ability and Livelihood Diversification in Rural China

Livelihood diversification is an important strategy for rural households in developing countries, especially in China, which has the largest rural population in the world. In the current digital age, the existing literature lacks sufficient research on the influence of digital ability on livelihood diversification. Using survey data from 1914 rural households in China, this study evaluates the digital ability of rural households through item response theory. Additionally, the livelihood diversification of rural households is analyzed from two aspects: work type and industry. Finally, IV-Tobit models are set up to test the impact of digital ability on livelihood diversification. The results show that: (1) engaging in both agricultural production and employed work concurrently is the key strategy for rural households to diversify their livelihoods; (2) digital ability significantly promotes livelihood diversification, regarding both work type and industry; (3) digital ability’s capacity to diversify livelihood is particularly notable for low-income households, followed by the medium-income group, then the high-income group. These findings are meaningful for the sustainable improvement of rural households’ livelihoods.

Discrete/Continuous Model for Motorcycle Ownership and Utilization Across Income Groups in a Vietnamese Medium-Sized Motorcycle-Dependent City

Understanding vehicle choice and utilization is increasingly considered in addressing motorcycle-related challenges by policymakers. However, the linkage between the discrete-continuous decisions has not been examined across income groups. This study measures the interdependence between vehicle choice and utilization for income groups in a Vietnamese medium-sized city. Model estimation results show that contributing factors to households’ motorcycle ownership include individual and household characteristics and some aspects of the built environment. However, differences exist in motorcycle ownership and utilization between low- and medium-income groups. Results from this study may suggest that households may be more likely to buy an extra motorcycle as their incomes increase and this may generate more motorcycle-related issues in the future. On the positive side, we found that the non-motorized mobility resources available in the low-income group played a key role in reducing motorcycle ownership and usage. Therefore, we suggest that medium-sized cities should develop cycling infrastructure to facilitate the mobility of low-income groups as well as promote well-established travel behavior from cyclists; then, they may be less willing to switch to motorized vehicles as their income increases.

Effectiveness of post-disaster coping strategies among the farming households in the coastal districts of Odisha, India

Farmers in developing countries generally faced vulnerability in consumption due to income shocks caused by crop damage, price falls, disasters, etc. The ability to respond to such income shocks is determined by their asset structure labour endowment, access to credit and so on. Using information from 459 sample households in the three coastal districts of Odisha; India, this paper examines the effectiveness of ex-post coping strategies adopted by the farming households in the study regions. Based on wealth index score, we classified the sample households in to poor, medium and rich income groups for a deeper understanding of the impact floods on their consumption patterns. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression model was used for examining the effectiveness of post disaster coping strategies adopted the sample households. The results of regression model show that the practice of borrowing money from formal/informal sources is one of the most effective strategies resorted by the sample households in the study regions. Seasonal migration is an alternative strategy followed by poor and middle-income households in the study regions, whereas accessing to government or non-governmental assistance measures is an effective strategy on the part of richer households. Among the socio-economic characteristics, the educational attainment of household heads and the landholding size possessed by households have had a significant influence on narrowing down the consumption gaps. In this scenario, along with an effective implementation of welfare and employment generation programmes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), a widen access to the formal loan market helps farmers reduce migration and provide a secure income to the people which, in turn, helps them reduce their relative consumption gaps.

Knowledge level of vegetable growers about drip irrigation

Water is the most precious, crucial and limiting natural resource, mainly important for agricultural production and day-to-day living of human beings. Drip irrigation is precise and regulated application of water and plant nutrients at frequent intervals and low pressure through emitters/drippers into the root zone of the plant with the help of close network of pipes. The present study was conducted in four adopted villages of SKNAU, Jobner. The total of 120 farmer respondents were selected from four selected villages by using of random sampling through proportional allocation method. The study revealed that majority (63.33 per cent) of vegetable growers belonged to middle aged group, 21.66 per cent were educated up to primary level, 71.67 per cent were doing Agriculture ,83.33 per cent belonged to medium income group, 39.17 per cent were medium land holding farmers and (73.34%) were member of one organization. It may be concluded that the majority of the vegetable growers (70.83%) were medium level of knowledge on drip system of irrigation. the age was found negatively and size of land holding’ was positively non-significant, furthermore, the independent variables like, Education, Occupation, Annual Income and Social participation were found in positive and significant relationship with the knowledge drip system of irrigation by the vegetable growers.

Training Needs Assessment of Poultry Farmers: Borich Training Need Analysis

Poultry is very important livelihood component for the rural people. For eff ective and effi cient poultry farming latest technologies are needed. In this regards farmer need to be trained. Past researches revealed that poultry farmers are facing many problems due to lack of information, education on many aspects. Thus, training is necessary to transmit the information and change the behavior of rural people towards poultry farming. Keeping this in view, a study was taken up on Training Need Assessment (TNA) of poultry farmers in poultry rearing practices. Present research study was conducted in GBPUA&amp;T, Pantnagar. Total 120 respondents were selected. Descriptive research design was used. It was observed that majority of farmers were middle age group, educated upto Intermediate level having medium family size and belonged to medium income group. Majority of farmers have medium level poultry farming experiences and medium level of mass media exposure and information seeking behavior. Results also revealed that culling and selection of birds, feeding and watering management, bird, meat and egg marketing, incubation and hatching, fi nance and loan facilities, vaccination and preventive measures are some of the perceived training needs of poultry farmers.

Breeding habitats and larval indices of aedes aegypti in different socio-economic groups of Pratap Vihar Area, Ghaziabad

Study of prevalence and distribution of Aedes aegypti mosquito was carried out in different socio-economic groups of selected localities in Partap Vihar, Ghaziabad. Knowledge regarding prevalence and distribution of Aedes aegypti mosquito is essential for appropriate interventions. This study was carried from July, 2019 to June, 2020. The study area was divided into three categories based on their socio-economic status. The three categories were High income group (HIG), Medium income group (MIG) and Low income group (LIG). A door-to-door survey was carried out to find out the Aedes breeding in all types of water filled containers present in and around houses and their premises. Immature stages of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes were collected during the larval survey and density level, was recorded using different indices. During the study it was observed that plastic containers were the most preferred breeding site for breeding of Aedes aegypti in all categories that is HIG.MIG and LIG. The house index was higher in the month of November in LIG and HIG categories and in MIG category it was highest during September month. The BI in all the localities was recorded below critical level (i.e. 20). Containers found in Low income group (LIG) were found to be contributing more to the Aedes aegypti breeding than MIG and HIG localities. The CI was observed to be higher in all the three types of categories in the month of October In the study it was concluded that sudden upsurge of dengue can be controlled by targeted interventions including sustained vector surveillance in densely populated place like Pratap Vihar.

Analyzing the multiscale patterns of jobs-housing balance and employment self-containment by different income groups using LEHD data: A case study in Cincinnati metropolitan area

Achieving a balanced jobs-housing relationship has been treated as a solution to relieve traffic congestion and air pollution. Jobs-housing ratio and employment self-containment (ESC) are applied to quantify different levels of jobs-housing balance. Though appropriated methods have been analyzed to explore jobs-housing relationship at multiple fixed scales, scale dependency problem remains unsolved and resulted in discord about jobs-housing relationship. Furthermore, the differences of the jobs-housing balance and ESC by various income groups received little attention. This paper proposed a K-medoids clustering method to explore the aggregate multi-scale patterns of jobs-housing ratio and ESC by higher, medium, and lower-income groups using 2016 longitudinal employment household dynamics (LEHD) data. To alleviate the scale effect, individual workers and jobs were simulated by Monte Carlo approach according to LEHD data provided within each block. Afterwards, we analyzed the jobs-housing relationship within multi-scale units by different aggregated groups. We found jobs-housing balance had a positive effect on ESC, while the effect varied by different income groups. Jobs-housing balance affects ESC more for lower-income group when the searching radius is <4 km, while beyond 4 km, jobs-housing balance has more effect on ESC of higher-income group. ESC of medium-income group is least affected. Employing the K-medoids clustering method, we classified the four patterns of jobs-housing and the two patterns of ESC for each income group. We further identified jobs-housing matched and mismatched areas through eight joint patterns of jobs-housing balance and ESC. Our work contributes to understanding of jobs-housing balance and commuting by scale variations and income.

Growth and Development of Health Insurance in India

A person or a group can acquire health insurance in advance after paying a charge known as a "premium." It is an additional funding source for expanding access to high-quality healthcare. Health insurance products is offered by general insurance and life insurance companies in India. A nation's health indicators are evaluated using factors such as fatality rate, pregnancy-related death. Since independence, India has made significant progress in every sector. However, according to the 11th Plan, the country's healthcare services cost was higher in private industry than in the public sector. To lighten the burden on the poor, a study group formed by the Ministry of Health recommended investigating a risk pooling scheme. This paper is based on growth and development of health insurance in India. Secondary data has been used for the study purpose and collected from various sources. This study is completely based on secondary data. The data was collected from reports published by WHO, IRDA, research articles and review articles pertaining to the health insurance industry in India. The market for health insurance in India is primarily untapped. The main target population is the medium-income group, which provides the brightest future for this industry.Classification-JEL: I12, I13

Influencing factors of insufficient and excessive folate intake in early pregnancy in Chengdu in 2017

To investigate the folate intake level of early pregnant women and its influencing factors in Chengdu. The healthy singleton pregnant women with 8-14 weeks of pregnancy in an obstetrical clinic of maternal-and-child health care institution in Chengdu in 2017 were selected as the object of the study. The basic information of pregnant women was collected by questionnaire survey, and the dietary intake of all kinds of food in early pregnancy was collected by 3-day 24-hour dietary recall method, and the average daily intake of folate was calculated according to China Food Composition(2018). A self-designed questionnaire was used to collect the use of folic acid supplements in pregnant women in the past one month, and the average daily intake of folic acid supplements was calculated. According to the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes(2013), the folate intake &lt;600 μg DFE/d was defined as insufficient, and folic acid supplements intake ≥1000 μg/d was defined as excessive. The influencing factors of folate intake were analyzed by binary Logistic regression model. A total of 1579 valid samples were included. The average folate intake of early pregnant women in Chengdu was 865.8(778.6, 1461.0) μg DFE/d, the average dietary folate intake was 145.4(101.9, 200.7) μg/d, and the average folic acid supplements intake was 400.0(400.0, 800.0) μg/d. The rate of insufficient intake of folate in early pregnancy was 12.1%, and the rate of excessive intake of folic acid supplements was 13.0%. Compared with the primiparous group, the risk of insufficient folate intake was higher in the multiparous group(OR=1.708, 95%CI 1.175-2.482). Compared with the low income group, risk of insufficient folate intake in the medium and high income group was lower(OR=0.660, 95%CI 0.477-0.913); taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy has a lower risk of overdose of folic acid than the non-taking group(OR=0.594, 95%CI 0.423-0.835). The phenomenon of insufficient intake of total folate and excessive intake of folic acid supplements coexists among women in early pregnancy in Chengdu, and the rational use of folic acid supplements is worthy of attention.

Price and income elasticities of selected fish commodities in Indonesia: a multi stage budgeting framework

Price and income elasticities are considered the main important parameters in analyzing demand for fish in Indonesia. This study was estimated price and income elasticities of selected fish commodities in Indonesia. A quadratic almost ideal demand system (QUAIDS) model was used to estimate those elasticities. A multistage budgeting framework approach was applied in the model. SUSENAS (National Social Economic Survey) data of 2019 were used in this study. The selected fish commodities were Tuna-Tongkol Cakalang (Tunas), Kembung (mackerel), Mas-Nila (Carps – Tilapia) Lele (Catfish), Bandeng (Milkfish), Udang (Shrimp), Olahan (Processed fish) and other fresh fish. National elasticities of selected fish commodities were illustrated in terms of different income groups, that is, low, mediun and high. Study revealed that price elasticities were ranging of -0.7088 – -1.1686 (low income group), -0.8550 -1.5119 (medium income group) and -0.6933 - 1.1745 (high income group). Income price elasticities were ranging of 1.1167 – 1.9561 (low income group), 0.9497-1.2963 (medium income group) and 0.6538 – 0.8559 (high income group). Elasticity is greater than 1 indicating elastics, whereas less than 1 indicating inelastic.

Socioeconomic Factors Influence Health Information Seeking and Trust Over Time: Evidence From a Cross-Sectional, Pooled Analyses of HINTS Data.

Assessed socioeconomic factors in health information seeking behavior and trust of information sources from 2007 to 2017. Pooled cross-sectional survey data. Health Information National Trends Survey. Data included 6 iterations of U.S. adults (Pooled: N = 19,496; 2007: N = 3,593; 2011: N = 3,959; 2013: N = 3,185; FDA 2015: N = 3,738; 2017: N = 3,285; and FDA 2017: N = 1,736). Outcome variables were health information seeking, high confidence, and high trust of health information from several sources. Independent variables were education and income group, controlling for other sociodemographic variables. Weighted descriptive and multivariate logistic regression for the pooled sample assessed associations by education and income. Fully interacted models with education/income-survey year interactions compared differences in outcomes between years. We found information seeking, confidence, and trust were associated with income and education, which supported previously reported findings. Additionally, our findings indicated low-and medium-income groups had significantly lower odds of seeking health information compared to those in a high-income group. Regarding trust of information, a high school education was associated with higher odds of trust in family and friends. We also found that, over time, information seeking, confidence, and trust behavior differed by income and education, with some differences persisting. Disparities by income and education in trust of information sources remained across time. Understanding optimal information sources, their reach, and their credibility among groups could enable more targeted interventions and health messaging. We also describe the implications for our findings in the context of COVID-19.

Demographic Studies of Autopsied Cases at North Bengal Medical College Hospital During the National Lockdown Period Due to COVID 19 Pandemic

The outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic in India has started from the month of March when many cases weretested positive for novel coronavirus. The high infectivity of the disease led many governments to imposestrict lockdown with the aim of limiting its spread. To restrict its spread and save the people of India ourgovernment has also imposed strict nationwide lockdown in a phase wise manner. Though the lockdown wasimposed to restrict the spread of COVID 19 but it had severe undesirable impact on the socio-economicaland psychological status of the people especially of low to medium income groups involved in private jobs.The aim of this study was to study the cases of autopsied unnatural deaths with special emphasis to find outthe correlation between demographic pattern of deceased with the lockdown. In this study we have analysedthe 961 cases of autopsied unnatural deathsin the mortuary of Department of Forensic Medicine, NBMCH,Darjeeling, West Bengal from the first day of lockdown up to the month of September (24th March 2020 toSeptember 2020). All data were analysed by appropriate statistical tolls like SPSS software. In this study wefound that male (66.4%) predominated over the females and most of the cases belongs to adult age group(44.27%). Persons involved in private jobs (44%) were more severely affected compared to the governmentjobs and cases of suicidal deaths (45.7%) rises but cases of deaths due to road traffic accidents (13.9%)drastically reduced during lockdown period.

PRIMARY MORTGAGE INSTITUTIONS CHALLENGES FOR FINANCING HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Housing provision, is a capital intensive, which requires huge financial obligations, the requirement that is tough to meet by many households, thereby leading to ever-increasing housing stock deficit in Nigeria. Over the years, government made some efforts trying to meet up with housing finance demands of the citizens through the creation of mortgage institutions to mobilise and facilitate housing finance, delivery and ownership, especially among the low and medium income groups. Despite all efforts, conditions attached to housing finance, accessibility remained a clog in the wheel of housing provision and ownership to especially low and medium income groups. The purpose of this research is to investigate accessibility of Primary Mortgage Institutions housing finance by potential consumers. The paper explored qualitative research methodology in data collection and analysis using Nvivo tool. It was found, conditions attached to housing finance accessibility remained the primary factor that deprived most of the prospective borrowers. Therefore, accessing housing finance from the Primary Mortgage Institutions remain a key challenge to most low and medium income groups which also hampered housing provision and ownership.

Effect of Internal Control on Performance of Cooperatives in Nigeria: A Case Study of CSM Cooperative Society Abuja, Nigeria

This paper examined the impact of internal control on operational performance in CSM Cooperative Society. Cooperatives have become a good source of affordable finance for both low and medium income group all over the world. As critically important as cooperatives are to the growth and development of Nigeria vide the provision of funds for business and investment hence employment, they may not survive in the long term if they are not properly managed. The presence of an effective and efficient internal control system will go a long way in aiding the cooperatives to manage their operations well. The study investigated internal control impact on performance of cooperatives in Abuja. The target population was the Executive Management Committee, Senior Management, Senior and Junior staff of CSM Cooperative, Abuja, Nigeria. Survey method was employed, and questionnaires were distributed to all the categories of employees identified. Multiple-Linear Regression was used to analyze the data collected vide a 5 point Likert-scale questionnaire. The study revealed that the relationship between internal control (monitoring, control environment, control activities) and performance of cooperatives is not significant. It was recommended that cooperatives should ensure that they seek for and implement measures that increase profitability in addition to instituting a good and functioning system of internal control. The study also recommended that future research should add the two variables of internal control not covered in this research and also use a sample number of cooperatives in Abuja.

Thermal analysis of building model with acrylic and aluminium based roof coating materials

Rapid growth of industries in the urban cities is becoming a global phenomenon which is leading to situations wherein the green cover and open spaces are getting transformed through occupying of these spaces for accommodating the population into dwellings and to improve the basic facilities through construction of roads. This phenomenon is leading to condition wherein the heat from the sunlight is trapped in the roof of the buildings and pavements. The roof surfaces in India particularly are covered either with concrete/asbestos/metals. These surfaces exhibit heat island effect wherein heat gets trapped onto these surfaces. This also has led to increase in heat waves majorly in the urban regions of India. Presently, about 10% of total population of India have facilities such as air coolers/air conditioners which are used to tackle these heat waves. The demand for these components has been increasing exorbitantly in recent days thereby the demand for electricity has also increased at a faster pace thereby putting lot of pressure on the country’s energy requirements. Increase in population in urban regions being from low to medium income group, it is evident that the low-income group population may struggle to afford the initial investment on the air conditioners and running cost of the same. Usage of coatings which can keep the roof cooler especially in the summer times can be a good strategy to tackle this challenge. The present study was aimed at studying the effectiveness of acrylic based and aluminum-based coatings in terms of temperature changes onto the surface of the roof and inside the walls of the scaled model building. Studies evidently showed a surface temperature reduction in the range 3 °C to 5 °C for models coated with cool roof coatings when compared to bare roof models with aluminum-based coating showing good performance.