Home economics programmes in Oyo state secondary schools: a survey

The purpose of this study was to identify the curricula emphases in home economics in Oyo state secondary schools and to describe selected aspects of teaching and the teacher. Sixty-two home economics teachers in Oyo state responded to a mailed survey indicating the degree of emphasis given to 50 topics in five subject-matter areas of home economics: (i) clothing and textiles, (ii) foods and nutrition, (iii) home management and family economics, (iv) housing, and (v) human development and the family. The most taught subject-matter areas (in order) are foods and nutrition, home management and family economics and clothing and textiles while human development and the family and housing were the least taught subject-matter areas. A similar response was given for teacher's reported level of competence and subject-matter preference. Scores on the topics within each subject-matter area, however, indicated that all the five subject-matter areas were moderately emphasized in the curriculum. These three philosophical views of home economics exist concurrently in Oyo state secondary schools: (i) home economics as home-making education, (ii) home economics as household management, and (iii) home economics as cooking and sewing. Suggestions for improving and strengthening the current home economics programmes are discussed. This research was conducted during 1987–1988 in the Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.     

Book Reviews

Books reviewed:
James C. McCann, Maize and Grace: Africa's Encounter with a New World Crop 1500–2000 .
T. Lang and M. Heasman, Food Wars: The Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets .
Richard A. Walker, The Conquest of Bread: 150 Years of Agribusiness in California .
Paul Nugent, Africa Since Independence: A Comparative History .     

Bureaucrats and Babies: Government Regulation of the Supply of Genetic Material*

One might object to the sale of genetic material on the ground that it constitutes a trade in human beings. We argue that such exchange does not constitute a morally significant departure from current practice concerning the sale of other bodily property. Some utilitarians have argued that there is no justification for suppliers of genetic material receiving the competitive market-clearing price for their product. They maintain that utilitarian objectives would be better advanced by distributing genetic material through a government board. We contend that competitive market exchange of genetic material is preferable both because it does more to further individual liberty and because it is more efficient.     

LABELLING CHARACTERISTICS AND DEMAND FOR RETAIL GROCERY PRODUCTS IN AUSTRALIA*

This paper examines whether labelling characteristics affect short‐run demand for manufactured foods in Australia. We estimate the effect of common labelling characteristics on demand using data from 92 brands in 12 product categories from major supermarket stores across Australia over the period 2002 to 2005. We find that certain characteristics – such as whether the product is made from recycled materials, certified as being Australian‐made, is a private label product, is health‐conscious or supports a charity – have a positive effect on demand. However, being an environmentally‐friendly good had a negative impact on demand as did products which offer the chance to win a prize and uncertified Australian‐made goods.     

The Distribution of Household Health Expenditures in Australia*

Out‐of‐pocket health expenditures in Australia are high in international comparisons and have been growing at a faster rate than most other health costs in recent years. This raises concerns about the extent to which out‐of‐pocket costs have constrained access to health services for low income households. Using data from the ABS Household Expenditure Survey 2003–2004, we model the relationships between health expenditure shares and equivalised total expenditure for categories of out‐of‐pocket health expenditures and analyse the extent of protection given by concession cards. To allow for flexibility in the relationship we adopt Yatchew's semi‐parametric estimation technique. This is the first detailed distributional analysis of household health expenditures in Australia. We find mixed evidence for the protection health concession cards give against high out‐of‐pocket health expenditures. Despite higher levels of subsidy, households with concession cards do not have lower out‐of‐pocket expenditures than non‐cardholder households except for the highest expenditure quintile. Cards provide most protection for GP out‐of‐pocket expenditures.     

Human Resource Structures: Reducing Discrimination or Raising Rights Awareness?

Using data from 84 hospitals linked to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination-charge data, we consider how four human resource (HR) structures affect hospitals' receipt of discrimination charges. HR structures that establish accountability (affirmative action plans, EEO units) are marginally related to charges. Structures that moderate bias (management diversity training) reduce the odds of receiving a charge while structures that raise employees' rights awareness (employee diversity training) increase the odds of receiving a charge. Structures relate differently to sexual harassment versus personnel charges.     

The 1985 Ohio Thrift Crisis,the FSLIC's Solvency,and Rate Contagion for Retail CDs

This paper uses both an ARIMA transfer-function intervention model and a panel data analysis to examine the effect of the Ohio deposit insurance crisis in 1985 on the pricing of six-month retail certificates of deposit (CDs) for federally-insured Ohio banks and savings and loans. Adjusting for pricing reactions due to changes in market rates, we find a significant, unanticipated rise in CD-rate premiums on the initial event week of the crisis that continued for approximately seven weeks. Consistent with a contingent insurance guarantee hypothesis, rate premiums are found to be risk based.     

Subjective and Objective Criteria in Consumer Choice: An Examination of Retail Patronage Criteria

Traditionally consumer researchers and consumer educators have made a distinction between objective and subjective evaluative criteria for consumer choice. This paper examines the validity of this distinction using data on consumers evaluative criteria for department stores. The study found evidence that consumers use evaluative dimensions composed of both subjective and objective evaluative criteria, suggesting that both types of information are necessary for choosing among department stores.