Household Residents Research Articles

Level of food consumption score and associated factors among households in Konso Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundDespite several attempts made in the developing world to improve overall food consumption patterns, it is still a major problem. However, there is limited literature on evidence of FCS, particularly in the study area.ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the level of food consumption score and associated factors among households in Konso Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 488 households in Konso Zone, southern Ethiopia. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered, pre-tested, structured questionnaire. We assessed FCS through a seven-day dietary recall of food consumption. The households were labeled as “poor FCS” when they had a food composite score of <21.5; “borderline FCS” when they had a food composite score of 21.5–35; and “acceptable FCS” when they had a food composite score of >35 during the reference period. The data were entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 for analysis. The p-value, adjusted odds ratios (AORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to identify the associated factors.ResultsThe acceptable FCS among the study participants was 68.3% (95% CI: 63.9, 72.4), whereas 17.4% (95% CI: 14.1, 21.2) were borderline and 14.3% (95% CI: 11.3, 17.8) were poor. There was a higher level of acceptable FCS among households with household heads who were married (AOR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.08, 4.58), aged 18–24 years (AOR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.30), farmers (AOR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.39), and attended formal education (AOR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.65, 4.21).ConclusionThe prevalence of acceptable FCS was found to be low. The age of the household head, marital status, occupation, and residence had a significant relationship with the study outcome. Therefore, interventions should target younger-headed and unmarried households. Policies and programs should support the ownership of farmland and promote formal education.

The Peer Effects of Residents’ Carbon Emission Behavior: An Empirical Analysis in China

The responsible low-carbon behavior of household residents is a crucial factor for the purpose of achieving carbon neutrality in the economy and society. Based on the peer effects theory, this study constructs a fixed-effects model to empirically analyze the existence, heterogeneity, and action mechanism of peer effects in household carbon emission behavior, which uses panel data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The results indicate that peer effects have a significantly positive impact on residents’ carbon emission behavior, and the results are verified by the robustness test in various ways. Further mechanism tests show that peer effects influence carbon emission behavior through methods including the learning imitation mechanism and competitive imitation mechanism. In addition, we find that peer effects have different impacts on residents’ carbon emission behavior in varying regions, income levels, education levels, and ages groups. This study aims to embed residents’ carbon emission behavior into the strong relationship between surrounding groups, raise consumers low-carbon awareness through publicity, guidance, and group interaction, form a low-carbon atmosphere for the whole society, and contribute to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals.

Antenatal Care Services Uptake and Associated Factors in Somaliland: Further Analysis of the 2020 Somaliland Demographic Health Survey

Purpose Antenatal care (ANC) is vital to maintain the health of pregnant women and their unborn babies. It was linked to a positive pregnancy experience. However, ANC uptake remained low in Somaliland, and no study has been conducted to assess possible predictors. Hence, the current study aimed to determine the level of ANC utilization and to identify its associated factors in Somaliland. Materials and Methods Somaliland Demographic Health Survey (SLDHS) Data 2020 were used. A weighted sample of 3,192 women aged 15-49 years participated in the study. The survey used a two-stage cluster design for sample selection. Descriptive statistics in the form of frequency and percentage and multilevel multinomial logistic regression analysis were carried out to determine associated factors and statistical significance was declared by p< 0.05. Results The findings showed that 62.4% (95% CI: 60.7-64.1) of the women did not utilize ANC services, while 23.4% (95% CI: 21.9, 24.9) partially utilized and 14.2% (95% CI: 13.0, 15.4) adequately utilized ANC services. The odds of adequately utilizing ANC service decreased by a factor of 0.88 for women aged 35 and above compared to 15 - 24 year old women (AOR= 0.88, 95% CI: 0.61, 1.26). Women with higher educational levels had significantly higher odds (AOR=4.31, 95% CI: 1.54, 12.02) of adequately utilizing ANC compared to those with no formal education. The employment status, marital status, household wealth index, residence and region were also found to be associated with the utilization of Antenatal care. Conclusion The study showed low adequate utilization of ANC services in Somaliland. The variables, including age, education, wealth index, marital status, employment status, residence and region, were significantly associated with ANC utilization. Governmental and non-governmental organizations should enact a strategy with targeted intervention focusing on women from nomadic and rural communities, those from poor households, and low educational levels.

Changes in Mental Health Among Adolescents in South Korea Before and After COVID-19: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis From 2015 to 2022

PurposeThis study aimed to examine changes in mental health among adolescents by comparing data from the period following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with the period before the pandemic. MethodsWe estimated the annual prevalence of stress perception, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation among middle and high school students using data from the Korean Youth Health Behavior Survey spanning from 2015 to 2022. We then compared mental health status across 2 periods—pre-COVID-19 (2015–2019) and during COVID-19 (2020–2022)—employing an interrupted time series analysis. We adjusted for covariates, such as household economic status, residence type, self-rated health, and history of hospitalization, due to violence. ResultsWe analyzed data from 472,385 adolescents (242,819 boys and 230,016 girls). Stress perception, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation showed an increasing trend during the pre-COVID-19 period, followed by a decrease in the first year of the pandemic and an increasing trend in the second and third years. Boys experienced a faster increase in stress and depressive symptoms during the second and third years of the pandemic compared with the pre-COVID-19 period, whereas girls showed trends similar to those observed before the pandemic. Middle school students experienced a more rapid increase in these indicators than high school students during the second and third years. DiscussionAdolescents' mental health initially improved in the first year of COVID-19 but worsened during the second and third years of the pandemic. This suggests a need for intervention policies and programs to support adolescent mental health.

Environmental Dimension of Value Chain Linkages: Empirical Assessment of India’s Manufacturing Sector

The emergence of global value chains (GVCs) has presented emerging nations like India with possibilities to combine into the worldwide economic system, which has had a major effect on the economy and the environment. With India’s manufacturing sector accounting for 15% of India’s gross value added, it is one of the main engines of the country’s economic expansion. Additionally, it is vulnerable to changes in technology and ranks second in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, after the production of electricity. This study attempts to draw interrelations between CO2 emissions embodied in trade and GVC participation for this sector. Using the autoregressive distributive lag approach for the time period 1995–2018, this study exhibits significant cointegration between value chain participation and embodied emissions in gross exports for the short run and long run. However, while the impact of economic growth is positive for foreign emissions embodied through imported intermediates and negative for the emissions embodied in India’s exports of domestic goods, there exist important policy implications in this regard. Also, it is vital for an emerging nation like India to accord primacy to other indicators like the Environmental Stringency Index and spending on research and development so as to reduce its carbon emissions and improve its ecology. Novelty in this study arises from the fact that it utilises inter-country input–output statistics, OECD on fuel combustion to the resident industry and household, where carbon emissions have been decomposed into the foreign and domestic emissions embodied in gross exports for India’s manufacturing sector. JEL Classification: F110, F664, B223

Blood glucose control among type 2 diabetic farmers in Chinese resettlement areas: a mixed methods study

BackgroundDue to China’s rapid urbanization, many farmers have relocated to urban resettlement regions. There is limited research on the glycemic control of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) farmers in these areas. This study examined their blood glucose control and its determinants.MethodsThis study took place from March 2021 to January 2022 in a resettlement community in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China. In the first phase, a quantitative survey of 181 T2DM farmers was conducted using a questionnaire to gather demographic data, blood glucose control status, disease cognition levels, and treatment compliance. Inclusion criteria were migrant workers with ≥ 3 months of residence and local household registration and T2DM patients who met the diagnostic criteria of the Chinese guidelines. In the second phase, qualitative research involved face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 15 patients with varying blood glucose control levels to analyze their experiences.ResultsThe blood glucose control rate in this particular group was 27.62%, and the average disease cognition score was 2.5 ± 0.75. Many patients (67.96%) had inadequate treatment compliance, specifically in monitoring compliance (4.45 ± 1.92) and regular review compliance (3.58 ± 1.74).ConclusionThere is a need for tailored programs to improve glycemic control among resettled farmers. Enhancing disease awareness and treatment compliance through targeted education and support is crucial. Further studies are needed to evaluate different treatment regimens’ impact on glycemic control.Clinical trial numberNot applicable.

Digital financial inclusion, educational attainment and household consumption

This paper selects the survey data of CHFS in 2017, 2019, and 2021 as a sample to explore the relationship between digital financial inclusion, educational attainment, and household consumption and finds that the development of digital financial inclusion promotes residents' consumption; the educational attainment of residents is positively correlated with household consumption; the leverage of household residents plays a mediating role in the relationship between digital financial inclusion and household consumption; and there is a difference in the impact of digital financial inclusion on household consumption differs between urban and rural residents.

Dwelling conversion and energy retrofit modify building anthropogenic heat emission under past and future climates: A case study of London terraced houses

Energy demand per capita is expected to increase with smaller dwelling units in Europe, as less energy is shared linked to the trend of fewer people per household. To meet the demand for more smaller units, a popular retrofitting approach is to split existing large dwellings. As this type of dwelling conversion (DC) affects both household size (HHS) and therefore the likely energy use behaviour of residents, building thermal performance and anthropogenic heat emission (QF,B) to outdoor environment are impacted. Here, the UK time use survey (TUS) provides activity information to allow comparison of the implications of DC to energy conservation measures (ECM) for terraced houses in both past and future London climates. Our results show that ECM can substantially reduce both heating energy demand and QF,B during cold seasons, whilst due to the absence of space cooling in UK residential buildings the ECM ineffectively diminishes summer demands. Further to this, the increased occupancy density resulting from DC increases summer peak QF,B by 53.8% at 17:00, which could intensify canopy-layer urban heat island effects. Although climate projected for the 2050′s should result in a decreased wintertime QF,B, the potential increase in summertime space cooling energy demand will see an associated increase in summertime QF,B. Occupancy patterns need to be considered as part of retrofitting assessments and climate change impacts due to their influence on HVAC usage schedule. The role of occupancy behaviour extends beyond retrofit strategies themselves, to larger urban extents (e.g. planning, policy making, urban weather/climate feedbacks) to ensure both energy saving and urban heat mitigation.

The influence of socioeconomic characteristics on active travel in US metropolitan areas and the contribution to health inequity.

The prevalence of chronic disease in the US adult population varies across socioeconomic groups in the USA where approximately six in 10 adults have a chronic condition. Walking or cycling reduces the risk to many of these diseases and is influenced by the built environment, accessibility, and safety. We performed multivariate logistic and linear regression on the Health-Oriented Transportation model parameters using the 2009 and 2017 US National Household Transportation surveys, restricted to adults in major metropolitan areas. Model covariates included socioeconomic and environmental characteristics. Using odds ratios (OR) adjusted for model covariates, we observe several significant variables in 2009 and 2017. Residents of households with no cars were more likely to walk or cycle than those with two cars; OR=5.4 (4.8, 6.0). Residents of households in a census block with population density greater than 2,5000 persons/square mile were more likely to walk or cycle than those with a population density of 2000-3999; OR=2.6 (2.3, 2.8). Individuals with a graduate or professional degree were more likely to walk or cycle than those with a high school degree; OR=2.1 (1.9, 2.2). Individuals that self-report as Black or African American, or Asian are less likely to walk or cycle than White; OR=0.60 (0.56, 0.66), OR=0.70 (0.65, 0.75). The proportional increase in all-cause mortality from estimated reductions in physical activity for African American, Asian, and Hispanic populations were 1.0%, 0.7%, 0.8%, respectively. Access to automobiles and the surrounding population density are primary factors in the decision to walk or cycle. After adjusting for these and other factors, members of low-income, low-education, Black or African American, and Asian populations in US metropolitan areas are less likely to walk or cycle than high-income, high-education, or White populations and the discrepancy in physical activity is likely to contribute to health inequity.

Bionomic characterization of Anopheles mosquitoes in the Ethiopian highlands and lowlands

BackgroundThe protective effectiveness of vector control in malaria relies on how the implemented tools overlap with mosquito species-specific compositions and bionomic traits. In Ethiopia, targeted entomological data enabling strategic decision-making are lacking around high-risk migrant worker camps in the lowlands and resident communities in the highlands—resulting in suboptimal malaria control strategies for both populations. This study investigates spatial and temporal mosquito behavior, generating baseline evidence that will improve malaria control for both migrant workers in the lowlands and their home communities in the highlands.MethodsHourly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light trap collections were performed indoors and outdoors during the peak (October to December 2022) and minor (March to May 2023) malaria transmission seasons. These seasons coincide with the post-long rain and post-short rain seasons, respectively. Eight resident households were sampled from each of four villages in the highlands and eight households/farm structures on and near farms in four villages in the lowlands. The sampling occurred between 18:00 and 06:00. Spatiotemporal vector behaviors and hourly indoor and outdoor mosquito capture rates, used as a proxy for human biting rates, were calculated for overall catches and for individual species. Adult mosquitoes were identified using morphological keys, and a subset of samples were confirmed to species by sequencing ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) and/or mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1).ResultsIn the highlands, 4697 Anopheles mosquitoes belonging to 13 morphologically identified species were collected. The predominant species of Anopheles identified in the highlands was An. gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) (n = 1970, 41.9%), followed by An. demeilloni (n = 1133, 24.1%) and An. cinereus (n = 520, 11.0%). In the lowland villages, 3220 mosquitoes belonging to 18 morphological species were collected. Anopheles gambiae s.l. (n = 1190, 36.9%), An. pretoriensis (n = 899, 27.9%), and An. demeilloni (n = 564, 17.5%) were the predominant species. A total of 20 species were identified molecularly, of which three could not be identified to species through comparison with published sequences. In highland villages, the indoor Anopheles mosquito capture rate was much greater than the outdoor rate. This trend reversed in the lowlands, where the rate of outdoor captures was greater than the indoor rate. In both highlands and lowlands, Anopheles mosquitoes showed early biting activities in the evening, which peaked between 18:00 and 21:00, for both indoor and outdoor locations.ConclusionsThe high diversity of Anopheles vectors and their variable behaviors result in a dynamic and resilient transmission system impacting both exposure to infectious bites and intervention effectiveness. This creates gaps in protection allowing malaria transmission to persist. To achieve optimal control, one-size-fits-all strategies must be abandoned, and interventions should be tailored to the diverse spatiotemporal behaviors of different mosquito populations.Graphical

Analysis of paratransit crimes in Akure, Nigeria

BackgroundParatransit is a system that operates along a more or less defined route and then stops to take passengers on demand. They offer on-demand door-to-door service from any origin to any destination in a service area, and are operated by public transit agencies, community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators. In transit, criminal acts including rape, kidnapping and/or abduction, robbery, carjacking, vehicle theft, and even acts of terrorism are committed. These crimes are occasionally committed by other passengers since not every individual who boards a vehicle is a real traveller. This study examined the incidence of paratransit crimes in Akure, Nigeria using a Secured System Approach.ResultsThis study employed a household-based form of sampling to select the study locations in Akure. Convenient sampling was used to select two streets in each of the residential areas from which one hundred and twenty (120) houses were sampled purposively. The questionnaire was used to gather the primary data, with descriptive analysis. The study found that most of the transit crimes were perpetuated with taxi and motorcycles. Also, kidnapping was the major transit crimes in Akure. The Oba-Adesida road and Arakale road (situated along the study areas) were the hotspots for transit crimes in Akure. Finally, the respondents did not have a good perception of the proactiveness, integrity, reliability, respectability, and trustworthiness of security agencies regarding paratransit crimes in Akure.ConclusionsIncidence of paratransit crimes in Akure, Nigeria was explored among residents in Akure households. Kidnapping was dominant in Akure along Oba-Adesida and Arakale road, and mostly perpetuated with taxi and motorcycles. Since the participant did not have a good perception concerning the proactiveness, integrity, reliability, respectability, and trustworthiness of security agencies in Akure. Recommendations were suggested.

Socio-economic contributions and determinants of locals engagement with Boswellia papyrifera in lowland woodlands in Burie Zuria district, Ethiopia

Ethiopia's lowland woodlands are comprised of the major gum and resin-producing genera Acacia, Boswellia, and Commiphora. Boswellia papyrifera is primarily found in the degraded drylands, Burie Zuria district is the existence of the species; however, limited information is available on the woodland socio-economic contribution and determinants of locals' use of woodlands for their livelihoods, particularly Boswellia papyrifera. So to fill this gap, the study was conducted to examine the locals' socio-economic benefits from the woodland and to identify the determinants of locals' engagement in the collection of the benefits for better wise use and conservation policy implementation. The data was collected from household interviews, focus group discussions, and key informants. Species' socio-economic benefits were analyzed through descriptive statistics, whereas determinants of local's willingness to use woodlands were analyzed through an econometric model. The dependent variable used was annual income gained from the woodland and explanatory variables taken were gender, marital status, livestock number, family size, land holding size, age of the respondent, education level, wealth status, perception of local communities towards forest cover change, and distance from woodlands to the household's residence. Based on the results, the total annual income derived from the woodland by the sampled households' was a mean of 1759.45 USD. The result shows the woodland species shares 14.37 % of the total annual income, but because of legal investors Boswellia papyrifera had no contribution to this share. However, the local communities use woodlands for their livelihoods due to explanatory variables, and the usage percentage shows significant differences. The multiple linear regression results showed that the model was significant at a 5 % probability level, and 95.9 % of the variation was due to the explanatory variables. Age of respondent, family size, total land holding size, and education level showed positive and statistically significant relations to annual income derived from the woodland while other remaining variables showed non-significant. The result concludes that the species contributes significantly to local communities' livelihoods and engagement in gathering timber and non-timber products. The study recommended that awareness about the use of non-timber products in addition to forest products be created among the locals, and policies related to woodland sustainability and conservation should also be implemented.

How does digital literacy impact household carbon emissions? Evidence from household survey in China

In the background of rapid development of digital technology, exploring the relationship between residents' digital literacy (DL) and household carbon emissions (HCEs) is of great practical significance for China to achieve the carbon peak carbon neutral goal. Based on the three-period panel data of the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) 2016-2020, we categorized digital literacy into digital learning, digital socialization, and digital consumption, and explored the impact of digital literacy on HCEs and its mechanisms. We find that digital literacy significantly and positively affects HCEs, while household life cycle, government governance, and ecological risk perception have a negative moderating effect on digital literacy affecting HCEs respectively. We also find that DL has the largest impact coefficient on HCEs from developmental consumption compared to survival and enjoyment consumption, and that DL has a more significant impact on HCEs from the consumption of young and middle-aged residents compared to older residents. These findings suggest that the dissemination of information and knowledge about carbon emissions through digital technologies, such as Internet platforms, can strengthen residents' awareness of environmental protection and thus promote their low-carbon consumption behavior.

Financial Development and Income Inequality: The Case of Ecuador

Financial development, characterized by the growth and sophistication of the financial system, is crucial for the global economy, since it facilitates investment, savings and the efficient allocation of resources, in addition to contributing to the reduction of poverty and inequality by allowing, broader access to financial services. Ecuador has experienced significant changes in its financial system during recent decades, such as dollarization, liberalization, digitalization, diversification of services, and strengthening of regulation and supervision. The research focuses on establishing the influence of financial development on income inequality. The autoregressive distribution of lags (ARDL) methodology was used with the purpose of identifying short- and long-term relationships. The variables included are the Gini index, financial development, financial instability, public social spending, and final consumption spending by resident households, trade openness and gross fixed capital formation. After applying the ARDL model, the main results show that credit allocation to the private sector plays a significant role in reducing income inequality, and its effect intensifies over time. Received: 22 October 2023 / Accepted: 9 April 2024 / Published: 5 May 2024

Evaluation and valuation of tajan river basin ecosystem services

Rivers as a blue ecosystem have a lot of ecosystem services that awareness of the value of their services will protect them as much as possible and communities will benefit from their environmental services. In this study, Tajan river basin ecosystem services in the north of Iran was valuated. To valuate, the choice experiment method was used to estimate willingness to pay. Tajan river basin ecosystem services attributes including regulating, supporting, provisioning and cultural services and a price attribute at three levels were determined. Data from 239 resident households of Mazandaran province were used in 2017. The empirical analysis did by the conditional logit model and mixed logit model. Also, multi criteria decision making including techniques Entropy, TOPSIS and SAW used for evaluating the role and importance of the Tajan river basin ecosystem services. The findings indicated that residents were willing to pay for the conservation of Tajan river basin ecosystem services, 13.77 USD per year. It was for regulating, supporting, provisioning and cultural services of Tajan river basin, 2.62, 6.30, 2.50 and 2.35 USD per year to move away from the status quo to the improvement status respectively. Also, findings of weighting and prioritization of Tajan river basin ecosystem services with TOPSIS and SAW methods showed that supporting and provisioning services had the highest weight for the evaluation Tajan river basin ecosystem services. In other words, the residents prefer the services as the most important Tajan river basin ecosystem services. Results showed that willingness to pay can be introduced as a useful tool to investigated people's preference for conservation of river basin ecosystem services under various activities. Therefore, by determining the value of river ecosystem services, community will understand that river services are of great importance, and the application of its value in calculations related to comprehensive management of basin water resources will provide a suitable economic solution to increase user utility the river.

Association between women’s empowerment and contraceptive failure in Indonesia: 2017 IDHS data analysis

Background: Contraceptive failure has negative consequences, including unwanted pregnancies and abortions, which can cause maternal morbidity and mortality. Contraceptive failure is influenced by individual factors such as the user and the quality of the contraceptive method/device. One of the individual factors is the cultural factor which can be seen from the empowerment of women in improving the quality of health, including the use of contraception. There is no study which has discussed women’s empowerment as the determination of contraceptive failure. Purpose: Therefore, this study aims to analyze the association of women’s empowerment in contraception failure in Indonesia. Methods: The data source used is the results of the 2017 IDHS (Indonesia’s Demographic and Health Survey) with the unit of analysis from the period of using contraceptives to women who get pregnant while using contraceptives. The dependent variable is the duration of contraceptive usage. The main independent variable is women’s empowerment as measured by four indicators, namely asset ownership in the name of the wife, ability of decision-making in the household, ability to earn cash by working, and attending at least junior high school. Data were analyzed using the survival analysis method. Results: The results of the analysis show that the four factors of women’s empowerment have a significant negative association with contraceptive failure after controlling for socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental factors. Conclusion: Variables that are positively associated with contraceptive failure are participation in household decisions, education, residence status, and internet usage. Variables that are negatively associated with contraceptive failure are asset ownership, working status, and number of children.

Examining the Nexus of Financial Inclusion, Household Consumption, and Economic Growth: A 3SLS Approach

The relationship between finance and the economy is a long-standing debate in the development literature. While some researchers argue that finance tracks economic growth, others contend that finance is a crucial determinant of economic growth. The research findings on this topic differ depending on the country, period studied, data analyzed, and research methodology employed. 
 On the other hand, the relationship between economic growth and financial inclusion is a relatively new area of study in academic literature. The primary objective of financial inclusion is to guarantee that each person has access to and uses financial products at an affordable cost. Within this context, accessing and using financial products is seen in the framework of financial citizenship. 
 This paper examines the impacts of digital banking and financial inclusion on economic growth and household consumption in Turkey. For this purpose, financial inclusion and digital banking indices have been constructed. Further, the relations between these indices with the GDP Index and the Resident Household Consumption Index are examined by the three-stage least square (3SLS) methodology with two equations. The results show that digital banking and financial inclusion positively impact economic growth and household consumption.

Legal nuances of implementation by members of military servicemen’s families the rights to housing and utility benefits

The article notes that the legal aspects of providing housing and utility benefits for family members of military personnel are particularly relevant and sensitive at the same time since this category of persons needs special support from the state in connection with the fact that military personnel, standing on the guard of the security of Ukraine, often sacrifice their health and life, and therefore, as gratitude and compensation from the state of such victims, preferential housing and utility services should be provided both to the military personnel themselves and their family members.
 The author of the article has proved that after the death of a person discharged from military service who received a disability during military service, the need for additional social protection for dependent family members does not disappear, but rather increases, and therefore the provision of such a benefit can- not be terminated after the death of a person released from military service. In order to maximally protect family members who have lost such a close person, discharged from military service, who became a person with a disability during military service, it should be provided that the provision of benefits provided for in Part 5 of Art. 12 of the Law of Ukraine “On Social and Legal Protection of Military Men and Members of Their Families” [5], family members after the death of a person discharged from military service, who received a disability during military service, are not terminated. This will contribute to legal certainty, which means that it will significantly reduce the likelihood of litigation regarding these issues.
 The article states that in order to be recognized as having the status of “family member of a service- man”, it is sufficient to have at least one of three conditions: (1) blood (family) ties or marital relations with a serviceman; (2) permanent residence with a serviceman; (3) running a joint household with a serviceman, and not all three together.
 It was established that the legal constructions “family member of a serviceman” and “family member dependent on a serviceman” are not identical categories. Establishing the circle of dependents of a ser- viceman is not used to provide housing, while housing is provided to a serviceman and members of his family. The content of the specified decision does not give grounds for the conclusion that, for example, an adult daughter who got married automatically ceases to be a member of the plaintiff’s family as a military serviceman. To resolve the issue of whether a child of a serviceman who has reached the age of majority and is married remains a member of his family, it is necessary to clarify the issue of joint residence and management of a joint household.

Lithic tool provisioning in the western Aztec provinces: A view from Calixtlahuaca

Lithic tool provisioning in the western Aztec provinces: A view from Calixtlahuaca

Toxicity and Risk of Biopesticides to Insect Pollinators in Urban and Agricultural Landscapes

Pollinators play important roles in providing pollination services, maintaining biodiversity, and boosting crop production. Even though pollinators are essential to the environment and agriculture, their decline has been noted across multiple studies in the recent past. Both natural and anthropogenic factors have contributed to their decline. Much of the focus has been placed on climate change, habitat loss, pests and pathogens, and synthetic pesticides, but relatively little is known about the effects of biopesticides. Biopesticides are biological control agents derived from living organisms and are classified into three groups: microbial, biochemical, and plant-incorporated protectant-based products. Biopesticides are formulated similarly to their synthetic counterparts and are readily available and used within urban and agricultural settings by pest management experts and household residents. The general public and much scientific literature support the prevailing idea that biopesticides are environmentally safe and pollinator friendly in comparison with synthetic versions. However, such generalizations are based on studies with a few key pollinator species and may not be relevant to several other species that provide crop pollination services. Studies focused on native pollinators have shown that some biopesticides have lethal and sublethal effects. Because each biopesticide exhibits varying effects across pollinator species, it could be dangerous to generalize their non-toxicity across taxa and environmental settings. In this article, recent research in this direction is discussed.