Alyce M. Fanslow

Assessing the causal relationship among communication, money management practices, satisfaction with financial status, and satisfaction with quality of life

The purpose of the study reported here is to assess the causal relationship among communication, money management practices, satisfaction with financial status, and quality of life. The data used were collected in 1986 through personal interviews. The sample size is 123 interviewees, and the unit of analysis is the households money manager. Results show that the money managers who are more knowledgeable about financial matters, and those who are highly indebted, communicate more about money matters and report more money management activities. Satisfaction with financial status is caused mainly by economic factors (net worth and savings). The demographic factors that influence satisfaction with quality of life are marital status and household size. Satisfaction with quality of life is also predicted by income and satisfaction with financial status.

Net Worth and Financial Satisfaction as a Function of Household Money Managers' Competencies

The purpose of this study was to test hypotheses derived from the systems theory of family resource management in the area of family financial management. Money managers in 123 households in central Iowa were interviewed during fall 1986. A path analysis model based on multiple regression analyses was tested. The typical household money manager was a married, 49-year-old woman in a two-member household with a median after-tax income of

A food intake assessment device for upper elementary school children

20,760. Money man agers who were more knowledgeable practiced more recommended planning and implementing behaviors than less knowledgeable money managers. House holds were more likely to have a higher level of net worth if the money manager used optimum planning practices and were more satisfied if the money manager used recommended implementing practices. Because this study suggests that money managers who use the principles of financial management do achieve greater net worth and satisfaction, educators should target their efforts toward the identified competencies.

The NATs--Nutrition Achievement Tests for the elementary grades

Abstract We designed a food intake assessment device to facilitate gathering objective data about food choices and the adequacy of the diets of children. The device consists of a card display of 40 foods and a pictorial representation of a day with which students indicate their typical food patterns. The back of each food card indicates the contribution that a serving of the food made to a food group. We conducted a field test with 532 third-grade to sixth-grade students from 12 schools in 6 states to determine validity, scoring accuracy, and usability with diverse groups. Overall, students selected foods that we considered typical of usual meal patterns in the United States, although total daily energy intake from the selected foods was somewhat lower than the RDAs for these age groups. Teacher-calculated scores agreed reasonably well with computer-calculated scores. This device that assesses food behavior rather than nutrition knowledge may be useful as part of the evaluation instrumentation for nutrition education programs in elementary schools.

Knowledge and Skills Needed by Community Members.

Abstract This paper describes the development and validation of 3 nutrition achievement tests for kindergarten through sixth grade. Test I was for kindergarten, first grade, and second grade; test II, for third and fourth grade; and test III, for fifth and sixth grade. Test developers constructed 2 prototypes of each test from items paired for content and verified for accuracy. A nationwide sample of 3,393 pupils who had previously received a minimum of 8 hours of nutrition education responded to the prototypes. Based on item-analysis data, the better items from each pair were selected for the final form of the nutrition achievement tests, which appear to be valid and reliable. The tests may be used to evaluate individual childrens achievement or to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition education programs.

Profiles of Success: Mexican Textile Handcraft Entrepreneurs and Their Businesses

Abstract Knowledge and skills needed by lay participants in community development were proposed by 14 community development (CD) consultants around 10 topical areas. One hundred knowledge and skills statements resulted. The importance of these statements for lay participants in CD was judged by 116 CD youth leaders and 117 CD adult specialists. Judgments were subjected to factor analysis, and nine factors emerged. An analysis of statement mean scores showed an additional 17 individual statements were judged important. The factors and individual statements provide a viable base for the development of training programs for lay CD participants.

Videotape Versus Live Model Presentations in Teacher Preparation

In Oaxaca, Mexico, some Indian villages have long-established weaving tradi tions. Originally, craftspersons wove textiles for their own use or for local trade. These textiles were replaced by commercially produced items. To survive in a changing world, some entrepreneurial weavers turned to production for tourist and export markets. Craftspersons, based in home workshops in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, provided examples of entrepreneurs who developed tourist and export markets. These entrepreneurs were studied to understand how production and marketing were adapted to these new clients. Entrepreneur profiles were developed from case studies (N = 27) that used in-depth interviews and partic ipant observation in home workshops and markets for data collection. The pro files were based on personal background, production methods, marketing tech niques, and business practices salient to each group. The four entrepreneur pro files identified were Externally Oriented, Mass-Production Entrepreneurs; Internally Oriented, Local Showroom Entrepreneurs; Outdoor Market Entrepre neurs; and Design Entrepreneurs. The profiles are discussed in relation to profiles of midwestern U.S. manufacturing entrepreneurs. Findings serve as examples of possible roles for handcraft producers who are developing export and tourist markets.

An Inventory for Assessing Food Behaviors of Elementary School Children

Objectives of the study were to investigate the effectiveness of live model versus videotape model presentations of the demonstration and laboratory teaching strategies in home eco nomics education relative to student achievement and performance; and to contrast practice against no practice of each teaching strategy on student achievement and performance. Home economics education majors were randomly assigned to four groups: model live, no practice; model live, practice; model videotape, no practice; model videotape, practice. Instructional lessons of fifty minutes were planned and taught by the researcher with content held constant for each group. Dependent variable data were collected by an achievement test and an observational rating scale. Analysis of the correlations between test scores, ratings, and cumulative point averages showed no significant relationships for either teacher strategy. For the demonstration teaching strategy, a significant difference in student performance beyond the 05 level was found between live versus videotape model with the latter being superior. Demonstration achieve ment was not affected by presentation or practice. For the laboratory teaching strategy, no significant differences were found among the dependent variables and the presentation method or practice. The findings support the feasibility of videotape model presentations for the acquisition of knowledge and performance of the demonstration and laboratory teaching strategies in a similar preservice teacher education setting. Although practice of the teaching strategy did not seem to have any effect on achievement and performance, further investigation needs to be completed before practice is omitted from teacher preparation programs.

Cooperative extension service clientele's beliefs about food chemicals

Abstract This report describes the development, field testing, and summary statistics of a series of inventories designed to assess the food behaviors of elementary school students, grades 1 to 6. The content is that found in elementary school food and nutrition curriculum guides and focuses upon personal cleanliness, personal safety, and food quality. Students respond to cartoon items by selecting 1 of 3 responses to indicate their typical behavior. From results of a national field test with 1,673 students in 75 classrooms, we developed equivalent forms of the inventory. These inventories may serve as a valid and reliable part of a battery of instruments for evaluation of nutrition education programs.

Political Participation of Professional Home Economists

Abstract We examined Iowa Cooperative Extension Service clienteles beliefs about food chemicals in order to identify areas of misinformation, demographic characteristics of clientele who were likely to be misinformed, and common sources of nutrition information. Men and women were randomly selected (n = 1060) from Iowa Cooperative Extension Service mailing lists and asked to respond to a mailed survey of 96 statements representing popular misconceptions about food chemicals. Survey participants ranked the statements on a 99-point scale based on the strength to which they agreed or disagreed with each statement. Using factor analysis techniques, we identified five factors: food contamination by chemicals, naturally occurring vs. synthetic food chemicals, practices that enhance health, need for vitamin supplementation, and hyperactivity. Comparison of mean scores of respondents (n = 420) with mean scores of nutritionists (n = 4) revealed that the greatest difference of beliefs was in the area of hyperactivity, followed by natural vs. synthetic food chemicals, the need for vitamin supplementation, chemical contamination of food, and practices that enhance health. Women had stronger beliefs than men in all categories except practices that enhance health. Education was correlated negatively with all factor categories. Belief in factor statements was correlated most often with use of television, popular nutrition books, friends, and nutrition salespeople as sources of nutrition. Medical doctors, extension bulletins, and mass media were used most often as sources of nutrition information. Our results can be used to design educational materials about chemicals in food.