Patterns of household food expenditures: a cluster analysis

Working PaperIn this study we use the Diary Survey component of the 2001 and 2002 Consumer Expenditure Survey to investigate patterns of household food expenditures. We identify eight constellations of food expenditures that are more and less likely to be associated with healthy eating habits. These clusters include: Balanced, Full-service-dominated, Fast-food-dominated, Meat-eater, Miscellaneous-foods-dominated, Alcohol-dominated, Beverage-dominated, and Food-at-work-dominated. Only 29% of the households are in the Balanced cluster, which is likely to represent the most healthy eating pattern. A full 40% of the households are in one of the three food-away-fromhome clusters. Exploratory multivariate analysis shows that younger households are more likely to be in the Fast-food-dominated cluster, single male-headed households more likely to be in the Alcohol-dominated cluster, and minorities more likely to be in the Meat-eater cluster. Adult work hours and income-to-needs ratios are found to be positively associated with membership in the Full-service and Fast-food clusters

Net income, gross income, and bias in child support awards in gross income-shares states

Working PaperIn this study I discuss the pros and cons of using net income vs. gross income in gross income-shares states. It is argued that the "standardized net" approach is the best approach in determining child support awards based on the combined principles of equity and accuracy. However most states use gross income approaches for the sake of simplicity. Such gross income approaches can generate biases in support awards. Using 2004 tax structures and taking into consideration Earned Income Tax Credit and child tax credit, I estimate the direction, magnitude, and distribution of such biases under three different scenarios of "gross income" approaches. Results show that these biases can be either positive or negative depending on the particular assumptions made in the gross-to-net income conversion process. In some income combination cases, the biases can be quite substantial

Disparities in healthcare utilization in China: do gender and migration status matter?

ManuscriptUsing a multi-stage cluster sampling approach, we collected healthcare and demographic data from 531migrants and 529 local urban residents aged 16-64 in Shanghai, China. Logistic regressions were used to analyze the relationship between gender-migration status and healthcare utilization while controlling for predisposing, enabling and needs factors. Other things equal, female migrants and male locals had significantly lower actual healthcare utilization rates, compared to female locals. Female migrants were more likely to report "no money" as a reason for not seeking care, while male locals were more likely to report "self-medication" as a reason. Considering established gender differences in healthcare utilization, we conclude that female migrants as a group face the most healthcare access barriers among all groups

Sociodemographic and environmental correlates of active commuting in Rural America

pre-printPurpose. This research investigated participation rates in 3 modes of active commuting (AC) and their sociodemographic and physical environmental correlates in rural America. Methods. The 2000 Census supplemented with other datasets were used to analyze AC rates in percentage of workers walking, biking, and taking public transportations to work in 14,209 nonmetropolitan rural tracts identified by RUCA codes, including 4,067 small rural and 10,142 town-micropolitan rural tracts. Sociodemographic and physical environmental variables were correlated with 3 AC modes simultaneously using Seemingly Unrelated Regression for nonmetro rural, and for small rural and town-micropolitan rural separately. Findings. The average AC rates in rural tracts were 3.63%, 0.26%, and 0.56% for walking, biking, and public transportation to work, respectively, with small rural tracts having a higher rate of walking but lower rates of biking and public transportation to work than town-micropolitan tracts. In general, better economic well-being was negatively associated with AC but percentage of college-educated was a positive correlate. Population density was positively associated with AC but greenness and proximity to parks were negative correlates. However, significant differences existed for different AC modes, and between small rural and town-micropolitan rural tracts. Conclusions. Sociodemographic factors explained more variance in AC than physical environmental factors but the detailed relationships were complex, varying by AC mode and by degree of rurality. Any strategy to promote AC in rural America needs to be sensitive to the population size of the area and assessed in a comprehensive manner to avoid a "one size fits all" approach

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead