Household-level data on well-being, inequalities, and social capital in Western Province, Zambia.

This article presents survey data from households from the Muoyo-Mukukutu area in Western Province, Zambia based on stratified sampling. Data from 411 households were collected using a questionnaire survey from 2022. Understanding the complexities of well-being is crucial for informing policies to enhance the quality of life and reduce multidimensional poverty in developing countries. Hence, the survey focuses on subjective and objective well-being and their determinants. Survey data contains details on various dimensions of objective well-being, such as living standards, health, and nutrition. It also covers the issue of subjective well-being (life satisfaction), including the related concept of freedom of choice. Moreover, we collected detailed information about diverse forms of inequalities and deprivations at the societal and intra-household level, paying particular attention to the areas of social capital and decision-making power. Additionally, the data contain details about the relationships with and attitudes to traditional leaders and statutory government representatives, respondents' economic activities and aspirations (with a special focus on agriculture), and their various socio-demographic characteristics. Individual survey results can be compared with a robust set of data as we intentionally used questions applied in other international surveys when possible.

Spatial task for rats testing position recognition of an object displayed on a computer screen.

We developed two spatial tasks for rats employing computer monitor for stimuli presentation. Both tasks were aimed for testing rats' ability to recognize position of a distant object. In the first task the object was stationary except moments when it jumped from one position to another. In the second task it moved continuously across the screen. Rats were trained in an operant chamber located in front of the monitor. They responded to the object position by pressing a lever for food reward. Responses were reinforced when the object was displayed in a to-be-recognized position in the first task and when it was passing through a to-be-recognized region in the second task. The to-be-recognized position as well as the to-be-recognized region had to be determined with respect to surrounding orientation cues. Responding rate of well trained rats negatively depended on the distance between the object and the to-be-recognized position/region. In the first task this relationship was apparent during a short time after the object changed its position and it held even for newly presented unfamiliar positions of the object. We conclude that in both tasks the rats recognize position of the object by estimating distance between the object and the to-be-recognized position/region. We also analyzed contribution of timing behavior to the solution of the second task.