Rebecca P. Lovingood

Household Task Performance Roles of Husbands and Wives

This exploratory study involved conceptualization and empirical analysis of household task per formance roles and social-demographic characteristics. Roles were viewed as recurrent patterns of action resulting from a combination of human resources and household tasks, and affected by social-demographic characteristics. Data were collected in 1972 from husbands and wives in 100 young families. Although spouses shared in making and implementing task decisions, they tended to specialize, i.e., they differentiated roles. Wives had somewhat more total responsibility than husbands, especially in implementing decisions. Factor analysis yielded 14 factors, indicating dimensional variations among five types of fami lies. Further research with a larger sample is needed to examine hypotheses that could be generated from the factor analysis.

Electric Energy Used by Major Cooking Appliances

Energy consumption and time were compared for cooking one weeks meals for a four- member family with a conventional range, a smooth-top range with thermostatically con trolled surface units (Smooth-top T), a smooth-top range with nonthermostatically controlled surface units (Smooth-top N), and a countertop microwave oven in conjunction with each range. Procedures were developed within parameters of the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers Standard Menu for Range Energy Testing. The microwave oven in conjunction with the conventional range used the least energy and time. Of the ranges, the conventional and Smooth-top T were similar in energy consumption. Although cooking on Smooth-top T was slower than the microwave or the conventional, cook ing on Smooth-top N was the most energy—and time—consuming.

Satisfaction of Elderly Residents in Subsidized Housing: The Effect of the Manager’s Leadership Style

AbstractThe objectives of this study were to determine the direct effect of an apartment manager’s leadership style and the direct and indirect effects of functional health, morale, and social activity on residential satisfaction using a path model probability sample of 210 elderly residents from 19 federally subsidized apartment complexes.The path model positioned functional health, morale, and social activity as exogenous variables with leadership style as the intervening variable. Residential satisfaction was the dependent variable. Separate analysis was conducted for respondents with less than nine years of education and for those with more education.The total effect of every bivariate relationship was greater for those with less education. The total effect of leadership style on residential satisfaction was .446 for those groups with less education and .267 for the group with more education; for social activity, .371 and .178; for functional health, -.093 and .014; and for morale, .134 and .019, resp...

Appliance Ownership and Household Work Time.

Data from 2, 100 two-parent, two-child households were analyzed to determine the relationships of demographic variables, ownership of 11 appliances, and time spent in four categories of household tasks. Over 60 percent of the households owned at least seven of the eleven appliances studied. A theoretical model of the Household Task Performance System was developed for the analysis. Appliances were grouped according to whether they operate independently or require a con tinuous input of time from an operator. Little evidence was found that appliance ownership is related to less time being spent in household tasks. There was, in fact, a positive relationship between the number of appliances owned that re quire continuous attention and time spent in the related tasks. Controlling for quantity or quality of outputs resulting from inputs to the household task perfor mance system was not possible due to limitations of the data base.

Total And Active Time Required To Prepare Convenience And Home-Prepared Foods With An Electric Range And A Microwave Oven

Total and active time required to prepare 20 convenience foods and their home- prepared counterparts with a conventional electric range and a countertop mi crowave oven were measured. The majority of home-prepared foods (91%) re quired more total preparation time, and all home-prepared foods required more active preparation time, than did the convenience counterparts. Most foods pre pared with the electric range (78%) required more total preparation time than did foods prepared with the microwave oven. However the majority of microwave- prepared foods required more active preparation time or the same amount of active time as foods prepared with the electric range.

Household Equipment Research: Past Accomplishments, Challenges for the Future.

Household equipment research has been conducted continuously, but at a rel atively low level, in a number of colleges and universities throughout the 75 year history of the American Home Economics Association. Researchers have re sponded to needs of families for information regarding new appliances or in novative features on appliances. Energy and consumer protection have been frequent topics in recent years. Titles of many studies prior to 1950 reflected concerns of engineers engaged in product development; those since 1950 are more reflective of the concerns of marketers. If household equipment research is to continue, researchers in the field must cooperatively address the interrelated problems of conceptualization, visibility, funding, and a “reactive” perspective.

Energy Consumption of a Smooth‐Top and a Conventional Electric Range in Family Meal Preparation

This study was designed to compare the energy consumption of a smooth-top range with thermo statically controlled units and a conventional electric range in preparing meals for a family of four for one week. A 21-meal menu was prepared on the top surface of each range using precise duplication of procedures. Electrical energy consumed by each range per meal was recorded in watt-hours. Total energy consumption was 11,965 watt-hours for the smooth-top and 11,850 watt-hours for the conventional range; a difference of only 0.97 percent. Operating costs would be similar for these cooking systems under controlled conditions, but actual energy consumption in home situations may vary.

Cost of Preparing Convenience and Home-Prepared Foods With an Electric Range and a Microwave Oven

The composite cost of preparing 20 convenience foods and their home- prepared counterparts with an electric range and a microwave oven was deter mined. Per-serving costs were calculated for food, fuel used in preparation, and active preparation time at two wage levels. The majority of convenience foods (74%) cost more for food alone than did the home-prepared counterparts, while 52 percent of home-prepared foods cost more for fuel alone. Nearly all home- prepared foods (98%) had a higher cost for active preparation time at either wage level. When food and fuel costs were combined, 74 percent of convenience foods cost more than the home-prepared counterparts. However, when the cost of active preparation time was added, home-prepared foods become more expen sive. The combined cost for food, fuel, and active preparation time at minimum wage was greater for 70 percent of home-prepared foods than for convenience foods, and the combined cost with time valued at the market wage rate of a cook was greater for 91 percent of home-prepared foods.

Relative Cost of Owning and Using Traditional and Innovative Cooking Appliances

A matrix was developed to provide a framework to organize information and compare the relative cost in monetary and human resources of owning and using traditional and innovative residential major cooking appliances. Laboratory data collected by the first author and by other university researchers with the same five types of cook tops and a microwave oven were analyzed with ANOVA, Student-Newman-Keuls, and Tukeys HDS procedures. Data were then used to complete the matrix comprising monetary and human resource dimensions thought to contribute to the total cost of ownership and use. Each dimension was assigned a weight to represent its level of importance to consumers. Based on the data, appliances were ranked high, medium, or low on each dimension of the matrix, and a total score was developed for each appliance. The microwave oven received the highest score, followed in order by cooktops with conventional gas burners, conventional electric coils, solid elements, and induction elements. Additional work is needed to refine data collection techniques, to expand the data set to include all types of major appliances currently available for surface cooking, and to validate the content and weights of the matrix.

National appliance energy conservation act: Analysis of product changes and the impacts on housing

Summary NAECA was enacted in 1987 and amended in 1988. Minimum efficiency standards have been established for air conditioners, heat pumps, dishwashers, clothes washers and dryers, furnaces, refrigerators and freezers, water heaters, and gas direct heaters. The DOE has not established minimum efficiency standards for televisions, microwave ovens, ranges and ovens. Appliance manufacturers have reduced energy consumption using improved insulation, more efficient motors, electronic controls, efficient compressors, and non‐continuous burning pilots. Energy efficient appliances can prevent pollution by reducing the demand for electricity. From 1990 to 2015, the cumulative energy impact of the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988 is estimated to be an 0.8 percent savings of all fuels. However, energy efficient residential appliances are only one factor in the total energy consumption equation.