Abstract
Purpose
To enlighten the food consumers and drug users as to some of their incompatibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Examples from the literature covering compositions of food‐drug, food‐drug interactions, and dietary habits were collected from former works.
Findings
Major side‐effects of some diet(food) on drugs include alteration in absorption by fatty, high protein and fiber diets. Drugs such as methateiate, pyrimethamine, isonicotinic acid and asprin alter the transportation of some nutrients. Nutrient supplementations was found to be beneficial.
Research limitations/implications
Possible factors affecting the reactions need to be identified.
Practical implications
It helps food consumers and drug users to avoid using some of these materials and also to adopt nutrient supplementation as a better alternative where possible.
Originality/value
The knowledge helps food technologists, nutritionists, physicians and pharmacists to serve the public better.
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Samuel Sekyi, Benjamin Musah Abu and Paul Kwame Nkegbe
The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ access to credit, credit constraint, and productivity in the Northern Savannah ecological zone of Ghana.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine farmers’ access to credit, credit constraint, and productivity in the Northern Savannah ecological zone of Ghana.
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary data from the Ghana Feed the Future baseline survey involving a total sample of 2,968 farm households were used. The conditional mixed process (CMP) framework was applied to estimate access to credit, credit constraint, and productivity simultaneously. As a system estimator the CMP corrects for possible heterogeneity and sample selection bias.
Findings
The results from the estimations revealed that age, literacy, farm non-mechanized equipment, and group membership were the variables influencing farmers’ access to credit. Credit constraint conditions were determined by household size, locality, group membership, and household durable assets. Finally, the results showed that productivity of farmers was dependent on marital status, household size, locality, farm size, commercialization, farm mechanized equipment, group membership, and household durable assets.
Originality/value
This paper is the first, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, to use the CMP framework to jointly estimate access to credit, credit constraint, and productivity. The results indicate that estimating credit access and constraint models separately would have yielded biased estimates. Thus, this paper informs future research on farmers’ credit access, credit constraint, and productivity for informed policymaking.
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Ayantunji Gbadamosi, Ojo Olukayode Iwaloye and David Bamber
Given the diversity which exists among various groups of consumers, the purpose of this paper is to explore students' consumption of non‐alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.
Abstract
Purpose
Given the diversity which exists among various groups of consumers, the purpose of this paper is to explore students' consumption of non‐alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
Three focus groups and 20 in‐depth interviews were conducted with students in three universities located in Lagos, Nigeria.
Findings
Initial findings indicate that these students' consumption of non‐alcoholic beverages is influenced in many ways. Nevertheless, the most striking of these influences are found to be convenience of purchase, along with availability, price, health concerns, and culture/social reasons.
Originality/value
The main contribution of the study lies in the relevance of segmentation, targeting, and positioning activities of business organisations in respect of marketing of non‐alcoholic beverages. Based on the findings, the empirical study will serve as a valuable input to marketers in their planning, analysis, and implementation of appropriate marketing strategies to students vis‐à‐vis the highlighted influences on their consumption of this category of food. It will thus serve as a tool for creating competitive advantage in this prevailing volatile business environment.
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Mustapha Yakubu Madaki and Bavorova Miroslava
To investigate the relationship between food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, the accessibility of sanitation facilities, perceived economic and social constraints and…
Abstract
Purpose
To investigate the relationship between food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, the accessibility of sanitation facilities, perceived economic and social constraints and food safety practices among food vendors of higher institutions of learning in Bauchi State, Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
A purposive sampling method was used to select 6 out of 13 public higher institutions of learning in the state and a random sampling method was used in selecting 181 food vendors from the list of 342 food vendors in the 6 institutions. Face-to-face survey interviews were carried out between June–September 2018 completing a structured questionnaire.
Findings
The result of the structural equation model revealed that food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes and economic and social control affected the food safety behaviour of the food vendors. Inaccessibility to sanitation facilities affected food safety behaviour negatively.
Practical implications
Appropriate measures to improve the food safety behaviour of food vendors in higher institutions of learning could include, for example, food safety training that could increase food safety knowledge and awareness, as well as improved access to sanitation facilities at vending sites.
Originality/value
There is no previous study that investigates the relationship between food safety knowledge, food safety attitudes, social and economic constraints, access to sanitation facilities and the food safety behaviour of food vendors in higher educational institutions in Nigeria.
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Adamu Sa'ad Madaki, Kamsuriah Ahmad and Dalbir Singh
This paper examines factors influencing successful information technology (IT) integration in developing countries’ e-government sectors, analyzing benefits and challenges to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines factors influencing successful information technology (IT) integration in developing countries’ e-government sectors, analyzing benefits and challenges to understand interconnections among factors. This study aims to overcome barriers and maximize benefits, contributing to advancing knowledge and effective IT integration implementation practices, to enhance service delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses interpretive philosophy and qualitative methods to explore factors affecting IT integration implementation. Using systematic literature review, it identifies key knowledge, insights and future research directions, contributing to theory enrichment through model development elucidating IT integration factors influencing IT integration implementation in the e-government public sector and its broader ecosystem.
Findings
The findings indicate that while IT integration implementation enhanced efficiency, data security and service delivery, implementation challenges such as resource constraints, resistance to change and interoperability issues, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on remote and hybrid work, are evident. Unique to Nigeria are public trust and unreliable power supply issues, significantly impacting service delivery. Notably, the study emphasizes the interconnection between these challenges and benefits, illustrating the complexity of IT integration in the e-government public sector, aligning with similar findings in the literature on other countries.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations include regional variations and a narrow temporal scope, impacting generalizability. Methodological choices may affect inclusivity, and contextual factors might not be fully captured. Policymakers can use findings for targeted strategies, while collaboration fosters understanding and monitoring ensures sustained success.
Originality/value
The study’s originality lies in its comprehensive examination of IT integration in the e-government sector, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. Through a systematic review from 2004 to 2024, it identifies unique challenges and benefits, emphasizing management’s role and proposing innovative frameworks for future research.
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Aminu Musa Ahmed and Abd Halim B. Ahmad
The purpose of this paper is to examining and analyzing the predictors of criminal recidivism among the ex-prisoners in metropolitan Kano-Nigeria using social ostracism as a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examining and analyzing the predictors of criminal recidivism among the ex-prisoners in metropolitan Kano-Nigeria using social ostracism as a predictor. However, the study utilizes two main dimensions of social ostracism; being ignored and being excluded in analyzing criminal recidivism.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is quantitative in nature. Data were collected using survey method. Purposive sampling method was used and the population of the study were the ex-prisoners who are released after their prison terms. A total of 256 sample size was utilized and data were analyzed using Partial Lease Squares – Structural Equation Modeling.
Findings
The findings revealed that, there is significant positive relationship between ignoring and exclusion of ex-prisoners in relation to criminal recidivism ( < 0.001***). The model used in the study shows that being ignored is having small effects, whereas being excluded is having medium effects (f2 0.121, 0.203), with predictive relevance (Q2 0.1884).
Practical implications
Going by the study findings it was concluded that social ostracism of ex-prisoners in metropolitan Kano is having positive effects toward criminal recidivism. It is recommended that policy should be made to reduce the exclusion of ex-prisoners so as to reduce their chances of becoming criminal recidivists.
Originality/value
Though many predictors were used in analyzing recidivism, this study used social ostracism which is not previously used as a sole predictor of criminal recidivism.
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Biao He, Vincent Homburg and Rune Halvorsen
This study aims to identify Chinese municipal agencies’ and cadres’ drivers to implement government websites’ accessibility upgrades, and to explain how these drivers are…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify Chinese municipal agencies’ and cadres’ drivers to implement government websites’ accessibility upgrades, and to explain how these drivers are interrelated to shape the implementation outcome.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conducted a single case study using qualitative interviews, online follow-up conversations, fieldwork observations and policy documents in the capital municipality MD of J Province, East China. The authors analyzed the case from the theoretical perspectives of institutional pressures, organizational capacity and individual intentions.
Findings
Coercive pressure through policy mandate and benchmark incentivized the responsible agency and cadres in MD to initiate the implementation of the accessibility upgrades and “meet the set targets.” The responsible agency’s enhanced organizational capacity and local cadres’ engagement allowed them to “outperform” as their eventual way of achieving the mandate requirements. The implementation outcome resulted from the interplay of all levels of incentives. Coercive pressure predominantly drove the launch of the upgrade project, meanwhile significantly influencing the organizational- and individual-level incentives that additionally explained the outperformance.
Originality/value
This study provides a nuanced, in-depth understanding of how sedimented factors and especially their interrelationships drive the implementation of e-government initiatives and shape the implementation outcome in Chinese municipal agencies.
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This study aims to empirically assess how infrastructure development influenced economic growth in Zambia from 2000 to 2020.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically assess how infrastructure development influenced economic growth in Zambia from 2000 to 2020.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses data from the World Development Indicators (WDI), spanning from 2000 to 2020. The selection of this time period was determined by the availability of data related to the research. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach was used for data analysis.
Findings
The findings show that economic growth is cointegrated with capacity to generate electricity, proving the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between them. Furthermore, the empirical results established that electricity generation capacity had a positive and significant impact on economic growth. Similarly, in the short run, electricity generation capacity, and mobile cellular services had a positive impact on economic growth.
Practical implications
Policy measures should prioritise increasing capacity for producing electricity and expanding access to energy by relevant economic sectors. Increased access to energy by these sectors can raise productivity, spur economic growth and accelerate industrialisation. Also, in the light of climate change, it is crucial that policymakers explore alternate sources of electricity generation, such as green and renewable sources. Furthermore, policy initiatives should prioritise expanding mobile cellular infrastructure, given that mobile cellular technology has become a vital component of economies and continues to offer unprecedented opportunities for economic growth.
Originality/value
This study presents novel empirical evidence on the unique relationship between infrastructure and economic growth in Zambia, highlighting electricity generation and mobile cellular services as pivotal factors for enhancing productivity and spurring industrial development.
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Mostafa Esmaeili, Hamed Hashemi Mehne and D.D. Ganji
This study aims to explore the idea of solving the problem of squeezing nanofluid flow between two parallel plates using a novel mathematical method.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the idea of solving the problem of squeezing nanofluid flow between two parallel plates using a novel mathematical method.
Design/methodology/approach
The unsteady squeezing flow is a coupled fourth-order boundary value problem with flow velocity and temperature as the desired unknowns. In the first step, the conditions that guarantee the existence of a unique solution are obtained. Then following Green’s function-based approach, an iterative method for solving the problem is developed.
Findings
The accuracy of the method is examined by comparing the obtained results with existing numerical data, indicating excellent agreement between the two. In addition, the effects of nanoparticle shape and volume fraction on the flow and heat transfer characteristics are addressed. The results reveal that although the nanoparticle shape strongly affects the temperature distribution in the squeezing flow, it only has a slight impact on the velocity field. Furthermore, the highest and lowest Nusselt numbers belong to the platelets and spherical nanoparticles, respectively.
Originality/value
A semi-analytical method with computational support is developed for solving the unsteady squeezing flow problem. Moreover, the existence and uniqueness of the solution are discussed for the first time.
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Keywords
Ilyana Abdullah, Wan Hasrulnizzam Wan Mahmood, Hafidz Fazli Md Fauadi, Mohd Nizam Ab Rahman and Saiful Bahri Mohamed
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian palm oil mills (POMs) by comparing the status of their current…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian palm oil mills (POMs) by comparing the status of their current achievements and the levels of priority placed on their practices.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was used to collect data about 20 sustainable manufacturing practices from 51 POMs located in Malaysia. A five-point Likert scale was considered for recording variations in priorities and current practices with regard to sustainable manufacturing. A Cronbach’s α reliability test and a binomial test were undertaken to assess the internal consistency and the validity of the survey data. Spearman’s ρ correlation analysis was employed to determine the linear correlation between each of the sustainability practices identified. Factor analysis was conducted to reduce the number of sustainable manufacturing practices based on factor loading and to derive a clustering of these factors.
Findings
The results showed that employees’ well-being has the highest level in terms of both priority and current achievement. However, for other sustainable manufacturing practices, there was a difference where the current achievement of these practices in the Malaysian POMs was seen to be slightly lower than the priority given to them. Strong correlation of significant value was observed between the minimization of production waste and pollution prevention practices. From factor analysis, 15 practices of high factor loading were grouped into a proactive sustainability strategy and a preventive sustainability strategy.
Research limitations/implications
The study was still relatively exploratory. Future studies could investigate the barriers to the implementation of sustainable manufacturing practices at Malaysian POMs. The sample, which consisted of 51 Malaysian POMs, represented an important sector of the Malaysian economy. Reliance on stated, rather than revealed, preferences may limit the implications of the analysis undertaken for this study, but it does represent a major step forward in understanding the past in what was a highly recommended sector for investigation due to the paucity of extant data. A more broadly based, random sample of POMs from other countries would provide a better understanding of issues related to sustainable manufacturing practices.
Practical implications
The results of this study can be used by practitioners to adjust the sustainable manufacturing practices currently applied and further studies may go on to examine the reasons and implications for discrepancies between priorities and desired sustainability goals in more detail.
Originality/value
The survey conducted about sustainable manufacturing practices amongst Malaysian POMs was focussed on the three dimensions of sustainability, namely, the economic, environmental, and social elements involved.