Household Energy consumption pattern in rural Kerala

The present thesis critically analyzes the micro level issues that influence the rural household energy behavior in Kerala. The aim of the study is to examine the energy consumption pattern at the household level in rural Kerala and to assess the variations in rural household energy consumption pattern across geo-climatic and socio-economic clusters. The researcher assess the attitudes of the rural households towards energy sources, uses and devices. The study tries to identify the factors influencing the adoption of energy conservation practices and shift to the improved energy

Influence of personality factors on the consumption of personal care products

The study is significant from both an application perspective of marketing management as well as from an academic angle. The market for personal care products is a highly fragmented one, with intense competition for specific niche segments. It is well known in marketing literature that the bulk of the volume of sale is accounted for by the minority who are the heavy users. This study will help the marketers to identify the personality profile of such a group and understand how the interaction of personality factors at least partially explains differences in consumption. This knowledge might be useful for better segmentation using psychographic variables as well as for designing specific advertisement campaigns to target the vulnerable groups of customers. From a theoretical perspective, the research may contribute to understanding how specific personality variables and their interaction lead to differences in consumption. The knowledge corresponding to self theory, social comparison theory, persuasibility, evidence from psychology of eating disorders: these all may be integrated into a common frame work for explaining consumption of products having a social function.

Role of social pressure as a key contributor of materialism and related status consumption

“At resale stores I have seen brand new clothes with original price tag still hanging from the sleeve. Some children have so many toys that they stay frustrated, not knowing which one to pick up for their next amusement. Presumably sensible adults trade in perfectly good cars just to have something shinier and newer. Didn’t us once live productive normal lives, without all these gadgets” [Cunningham (2005)]. During late eighties, nearly forty four percent of the participants, who took part in a consumer survey conducted in the US, responded positively to the question “My closets are filled with still 2 unopened items” [Faber and O’Guinn (1988)]. Reading such excerpts does not greatly surprise us anymore; as such reports have become common now. For many people shopping has moved beyond something that caters to their needs and wants and has become a hobby [Cunningham (2005)], an activity that they engage in to satisfy their hedonistic or pleasure-seeking goals [Ramnathan and Menon(2006), O’Cass and McEween (2004), Faber and O’Guinn (1989)]. Others look at their new possession as something that fills a void in their lives [Belk (1985), Diener et al. (1993)].

Evaluation of the Power Consumption of Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor networks are one of the fastest growing areas in broad of a packet is in transit at any one time. In GBR, each node in the network can look at itsneighbors wireless ad hoc networking (? Eld. A sensor node, typically'hop count (depth) and use this to decide which node to forward contains signal-processing circuits, micro-controllers and a the packet on to. If the nodes' power level drops below a wireless transmitter/receiver antenna. Energy saving is one certain level it will increase the depth to discourage trafiE of the critical issue for sensor networks since most sensors are equipped with non-rechargeable batteries that have limitedlifetime. Routing schemes are used to transfer data collectedby sensor nodes to base stations. In the literature many routing protocols for wireless sensor networks are suggested. In this work, four routing protocols for wireless sensor networks viz Flooding, Gossiping, GBR and LEACH have been simulated using TinyOS and their power consumption is studied using PowerTOSSIM. A realization of these protocols has beencarried out using Mica2 Motes.

Evaluation of the Power Consumption of Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor networks are one of the fastest growing areas in broad of a packet is in transit at any one time. In GBR, each node in the network can look at itsneighbors wireless ad hoc networking (? Eld. A sensor node, typically'hop count (depth) and use this to decide which node to forward contains signal-processing circuits, micro-controllers and a the packet on to. If the nodes' power level drops below a wireless transmitter/receiver antenna. Energy saving is one certain level it will increase the depth to discourage trafiE of the critical issue forfor sensor networks since most sensors are equipped with non-rechargeable batteries that have limited lifetime.

Evaluation of the Power Consumption of Routing Protocols for Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor networks are one of the fastest growing areas in broadwireless ad hoc networking (?Eld. A sensor node, typically'contains signal-processing circuits, micro-controllers and awireless transmitter/receiver antenna. Energy saving is oneof the critical issue for sensor networks since most sensorsare equipped with non-rechargeable batteries that have limited lifetime.In thiswork, four routing protocols for wireless sensor networks vizFlooding, Gossiping, GBR and LEACH have been simulated using Tiny OS and their power consumption is studied usingcaorwreiredTOoSuStIuMs.ingAMirceaal2izMaotitoens.of these protocols has been carried out using mica 2 motes

Pharmaceutical consumption and residuals potentially relevant to nutrient cycling in Greater Accra, Ghana

Recycling nutrients form sanitary wastes back into agricultural ecosystems offers an option to alleviate soil depletion in regions where the use of mineral fertiliser is limited. Exemplary nutrient and water cycling approaches, including collection, treatment and use of human urine, are established at Valley View University (VVU) in Greater Accra, Ghana. Concerns have been recently raised in regard to fate and impact of pharmaceutical residues in soils and interlinked environment. To evaluate in how far emerging knowledge can be transposed onto VVU, urban and rural environments in Greater Accra, spatial disease occurrence and drug consumption patterns were studied. Malaria has been found to represent the most severe health burden in Ghana, but there is also a high prevalence of infectious diseases. Drugs consumed in great quantities and in respect to their residual loads potentially problematic in the environment belong to therapeutic groups of: antibiotics, analgesics, drugs for diabetes, antimalarials, cardiovascular drugs and anthelmintics. Drug consumption revealed to be highest in urban and lowest in rural areas. At VVU the range of consumed drugs is comparable to urban areas except for the negligible use of diabetes and cardiovascular medication as well as contraceptives.

‘Green Consumption’ beyond mainstream economy: A discourse analysis

In contemporary society, green consumption is a popular concept. The life styles of people and consumption behaviors are moderated in accordance to the ‘green ideology’. The process of green consumption can be observed through social behaviors such as preference of bio foods, recycling, reusing, limiting the over consumption and using environmentally friendly transport systems. However, mainstream economic analyses on green consumption argued that consumer behaviors are due to the rational choice of individuality based on utility and self-preferences. The hypothesis of this paper on consumer behavior in green consumption is configured by discourses according to the discourse analysis.

Double burden malnutrition of preschool children and its association with brain development and milk consumption

Protecting the quality of children growth and development becomes a supreme qualification for the betterment of a nation. Double burden child malnutrition is emerging worldwide which might have a strong influence to the quality of child brain development and could not be paid-off on later life. Milk places a notable portion during the infancy and childhood. Thus, the deep insight on milk consumption pattern might explain the phenomenon of double burden child malnutrition correlated to the cognitive impairments. Objective: Current study is intended (1) to examine the current face of Indonesian double burden child malnutrition: a case study in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, (2) to investigate the association of this phenomenon with child brain development, and (3) to examine the contribution of socioeconomic status and milk consumption on this phenomenon so that able to formulate some possible solutions to encounter this problem. Design: A cross-sectional study using a structured coded questionnaire was conducted among 387 children age 5-6 years old and their parents from 8 areas in Bogor, West-Java, Indonesia on November 2012 to December 2013, to record some socioeconomic status, anthropometric measurements, and history of breast feeding. Diet and probability of milk intake was assessed by two 24 h dietary recalls and food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Usual daily milk intake was calculated using Multiple Source Method (MSM). Some brain development indicators (IQ, EQ, learning, and memory ability) using Projective Multi-phase Orientation method was also executed to learn the correlation between double burden child malnutrition and some brain development indicator. Results and conclusions: A small picture of child double burden malnutrition is shown in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, where prevalence of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is 27.1%, Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) is 24.9%, and overnutrition is 7.7%. This phenomenon proves to impair the child brain development. The malnourished children, both under- and over- nourished children have significantly (P-value<0.05) lower memory ability compared to the normal children (memory score, N; SAM = 45.2, 60; MAM = 48.5, 61; overweight = 48.4, 43; obesity = 47.9, 60; normal = 52.4, 163). The plausible reasons behind these evidences are the lack of nutrient intake during the sprout growth period on undernourished children or increasing adiposity on overnourished children might influence the growth of hippocampus area which responsible to the memory ability. Either undernutrition or overnutrition, the preventive action on this problem is preferable to avoid ongoing cognitive performance loss of the next generation. Some possible solutions for this phenomenon are promoting breast feeding initiation and exclusive breast feeding practices for infants, supporting the consumption of a normal portion of milk (250 to 500 ml per day) for children, and breaking the chain of poverty by socioeconomic improvement. And, the national food security becomes the fundamental point for the betterment of the next. In the global context, the causes of under- and over- nutrition have to be opposed through integrated and systemic approaches for a better quality of the next generation of human beings.

Experimentation and Stages of Acquisition for Tobacco Consumption in Spanish Adolescents

One area which has been largely neglected when studying the acquisition of addiction to smoking with the transtheoretical model is whether the individual had previously experimented with smoking. The importance of including the experimentation variable was supported by this research

Educational inequalities in quantity, duration and type of tobacco consumption among lung cancer patients in Asturias : Epidemiological analices

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Consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en profesionales de la salud (médicos y enfermeros) de dos IPS de primer nivel de atención en consulta externa de Bogotá

Estudio de cohorte transversal tipo encuesta en la que se analizó el consumo y la frecuencia de consumo (frecuencias VESPA) de sustancias psicoactivas, se realizó un tamizaje de alcoholismo por medio del cuestionario CAGE en médicos y enfermeros registrados en Bogotá, de 2 IPS (Institución Prestadora de Salud) seleccionadas y que aceptaran participar en el estudio voluntariamente, la información fue confidencial. Por medio de Excel y Epi info se realizó el análisis de los datos, encontrando que el 90% de los médicos y el 75% de las enfermeros consumieron sustancias psicoactivas en los 6 meses previos al estudio, la sustancia más consumida fue el alcohol, igualmente al resto de la población y profesionales de salud, el porcentaje de alcoholismo fue similar al de la literatura , el consumo fue más frecuente en profesionales jóvenes, en médicos fue igual para ambos géneros, en los enfermeros no se pudo estimar el dato.

Epidemiología de pacientes atendidos por uso de sustancias psicoactivas en el servicio de Toxicología de Colsubsidio 2011-2012

Introducción: Es una necesidad para los países del mundo, tener información epidemiológica mucho más precisa y oportuna sobre las sustancias psicoactivas (SPA), partiendo del conocimiento científico de porqué unas personas abusan de las sustancias y otras no. El objetivo de investigación es establecer el perfil epidemiológico y evolución de los pacientes consumidores de SPA que acuden al servicio de toxicología de Colsubsidio durante el 2011 y 2012. Caracterizar la población, identificar su patrón de consumo y explorar las tendencias, para poder generar estrategias dirigidas de atención y prevención. Metodología: Estudio descriptivo observacional exploratorio retrospectivo. 610 historias clínicas fueron analizadas para variables epidemiológicas y clínicas, por medio de análisis univariados acorde al tipo de variable y análisis bivariados exploratorios en los cuales se compararon proporciones. Resultados: Se evaluaron un total de 610 pacientes, 475 hombres y 135 mujeres. El promedio de edad, la mediana y la moda fue de 24,9, 17 y 16 años respectivamente; la mayoría solteros y cursando bachillerato; la mayoría menores de 18 años fueron remitidos por ICBF y psiquiatría. Los patrones de abuso y dependencia representaron los porcentajes más elevados. Las sustancias más consumidas fueron marihuana, etanol y tabaco. El tratamiento para el 44,3% de los pacientes fue valoración por especialidades, seguido de básico (33,1%), y sólo 1,1% asistieron para prevención en el consumo de SPA. Discusión: Es necesario dirigir los esfuerzos y recursos a la generación de campañas de diagnóstico temprano y prevención en el consumo de SPA principalmente para la población adolescente.

Alcohol consumption in young college students

Descriptive Cross-sectional study involving 787 students from a private university in Bogota. Its objectives were to determine the alcohol consump- tion prevalence, alcoholism and risk of alcoholism and determine the current pattern of alcohol con- sumption. A survey –which included the CAgE index– was used to collect the data. A prevalence of alcoholism of 23%, and of risk of alcoholism of 15% were found. Results show that alcohol con- sumption in university students begins in high school and it is a problematic conduct that it is worth being enlarged and analyzed in greater detail including other variables and perfecting the diag- nosis of alcoholism and its risk in order to achieve early identification and intervention.