A household’s financial security is essential for the satisfaction of the needs and wants of its members, both communal and individual. It constitutes a kind of foundation for all of a household’s financial decisions that impact its standard of living. The article aims to assess the level of financial security of Polish households in 2005–2013. The research draws on data from Genworth Index, HBS conducted by the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and Social Diagnosis (Diagnoza społeczna) overseen by the Social Monitoring Council. The study shows that Poland is characterized by a low level of financial security relative to other European countries, especially Western and Scandinavian. More than three-quarters of Polish households experience financial problems and exhibit both a low propensity to save, and low savings rates.
Based on values of indexes describing financial standing the analyzed aggregate units (socio-economic groups of different size) were classified into classes of a similar financial position.The analysis proved that the households of self-employed people with one, two or three people and non-workmen’s households with one or two people had relatively the best situation. The households were characterised by the highest disposable income per head, the lowest percentage of people living below the thresholds of the subsistence wage and social minimum and a high rate of the percentage of cash used to satisfy higher-order needs. The pensioners’ households with three, four, five, six or more people, old age pensioners’ households with five, six or more people, farmers’ households with four, five, six or more people, workmen’s and self-employed people’s households with six or more people were in the worst financial situation. Above all, their poor situation was proved by the lowest disposable income per head and the highest share of food expenses in their budgets.
Livestock rearing plays a pivotal role in providing population with food commodities and contributes 46.3% of the gross agricultural output of Uzbekistan. Aftermath of independence many state enterprises, which were main livestock commodity producers were closed down. As conseąuence, now the livestock population take place in household plots and newly formed small sized private farms. Considering the rareness of research on livestock rearing in Uzbekistan in the last two decades this paper aims at finding out problems faced by livestock producers during the transition period and analyzes possible solutions for further improvement based on survey results of 56 livestock farms and 80 household farms from the region Khorezm. Improvement of input and output market infrastructure and appropriate institutional changes in land and water use rights would allow further development of the livestock sector in conditions of market economy.
В статье анализируются особенности потребления, которые имеют место в современной Украине перед лицом новых политических и экономических вызовов. Обращается внимание на такие составляющие потребления, как потребитель, с учетом его потребностей, предпочтений и личностных характеристик, а также на домохозяйство, которое в нынешних условиях находится под сильным воздействием не только макроэкономических, но и социальнодемографических факторов, а также факторов стратификационного порядка. Особое место в статье отведено анализу развития интернет-коммерции в украинском обществе. Сделан вывод, что при своей консервативности украинский потребитель все более склонен к овладению новыми интернет-технологиями для приобретения товаров и услуг on-line. Характерной тенденцией является то, что украинский потребитель все больше в своих потребительских предпочтениях становится похожим на европейцев. При этом, в связи с аннексией Крыма Россией и ее неприкрытой агрессией против Украины, нарастают патриотические тенденции в потребительском поведении и предпочтениях украинцев, направленных на поддержку национального товаропроизводителя и бойкота российских товаров.
Food self-supply is one of the ways of satisfying food needs, which is achieved through bypassing the market, in households located in rural areas. The studies conducted in 2011 and 2012 in 1000 households in Mazowieckie Province demonstrated a large scale of self-supply. A signifi cant portion of households declares consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as homemade preserves produced in their own household. The main objective of this article is to assess the phenomenon of food self-supply of households located in rural areas of Mazowieckie Province, with particular emphasis on their income. Based on the literature and conducted studies, the authors have formulated a hypothesis that the signifi cance of food self-supply in rural households diminishes with the increase in household income.
Housing conditions largely affect the standard and quality of life. The problem connected with housing conditions is an important social issue for each country due to its socializing, economic and social functions. Having in mind the importance of apartments in terms of the population security and stabilization, the authors of this paper have made an attempt to present the housing situation in Poland through an analysis of regional diversification of housing indexes. Additionally, subjective assessments of housing conditions by the population of provinces: the Kujawsko-pomorskie, the Mazowieckie and the Warmińsko- -mazurskie, have been presented. These studies were carried out using the method CAPI. Based on the analyses it was found that housing resources and conditions in Poland are significantly poorer as compared to those in Western Europe and the disproportions can be noticed throughout the country.
The paper presents a selection of indexes describing financial standing of households. Based on their values the analyzed aggregate units (socio-economic groups of different size) were classified into classes of a similar financial position.
In a bid to strengthen the agricultural sector in Nigeria, the Kwara State Government invited thirteen Zimbabwean farmers to participate in agricultural production in Kwara State in 2004. The main objective of this study therefore was to examine the effect of the activities of these foreign farmers on local farmers’ poverty status. A questionnaire was administered on the heads of farming households. A total of 240 respondents were used for the study, which was comprised of 120 contact and 120 non-contact heads of farming households. The analytical tools employed included descriptive statistics and the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke method. The result indicated that the non-contact farming households are poorer than the contact farming households. Using the disaggregated poverty profile, poverty is most severe among the age group of above 60 years. The intensity of poverty is also higher among the married group than the singles. Based on the education level, poverty seems to be most severe among those without any formal education. It is therefore recommended that a minimum of secondary school education should be encouraged among the farming households to prevent higher incidence of poverty in the study area.
Background. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) belong to group of so-called persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These compounds occur in nearly all elements of the environment, including household dust which constitutes one of a major route for human exposure. Their main adverse effects on human health are associated mainly with endocrine disruption – they interfere with thyroid function exhibit anti-androgenic action. Objectives. To develop and validate analytical method for determination of BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153, and BDE-209 congeners in household dust. Material and methods. Household dust was sampled in residences from Warsaw and the surrounding areas. An automated Soxhlet extraction of samples was then performed and PBDE congeners were subsequently measured in cleaned-up extracts by GC-μECD. The identity of quantified compounds was confirmed by GC/MS. Results. Household dust samples were fortified at levels of 2.88, and 28.8 ng g-1 for BDE-47, BDE-999, and BDE-153, and for BDE-209 at levels of 101.2, and 540 ng g-1. Recoveries ranged between 72 – 106%. The relative standard deviations (RSD) were less than 16% for all PBDE congeners analysed. The relative error determined on the basis of multiple analyses of certified reference material ranged from 1.07 – 20.41%. The method’s relative expanded uncertainty varied between 16 – 21%. Conclusion. The presented method was successfully validated and can be used to measure concentrations of BDE-47, BDE-99, BDE-153 and BDE-209 congeners in household dust.