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One of the challenging factors in achieving sustainable growth is the inability of the Nigerian government to diversify the country's revenue base. This study aims to investigate the relationship between cash crop financing and agricultural performance in Nigeria.

Four crops were considered, namely, cotton, cocoa, groundnut and palm oil. The impact of cash crop finance shock on agricultural performance was investigated using the vector error correction model (VECM), while the long-run relationship was examined through the identification of long-run restrictions on the VECM.

The variance decomposition showed that financing shock is more sensitive to cause variation in aggregate employment than aggregate agricultural output in palm oil, while for cocoa, cotton and groundnut showed otherwise. The long-run structural equations exert a positive relationship between cash crop financing and agricultural performance, except for oil palm and cocoa financing that has a negative connection with agrarian employment.

The study is limited to the unavailability of data for agriculture sector capital utilisation, which was not used.

These results show that long-run benefit can be maximised by appropriate funding in cotton and groundnut production to promote sustainable growth.

The study examines the impact of cash crop financing on agricultural performance with the aim to promote sustainable growth in Nigeria using identified VECM.

The purpose of this paper is to examine users’ satisfaction and attachment to beaches along the Atlantic Ocean in Lagos, Nigeria.

This study follows a quantitative research approach. For convenience, data were collected through a systematic random sampling technique, from 682 users in 10 of the 27 beaches in the study area.

The study revealed that users were overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the beach, the sand that makes sauntering and opportunities to network with other users. The overall results reveal a strong association of users’ reliance (place dependence) and identification with the beaches (place identity). As such, users’ satisfaction, identity with and dependence on the beach environmental attributes were influenced by factors such as uses and activities, comfort and image, sociability and access and linkages.

The study can strengthen the development of design guidelines and social policy for beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria. Hence, the view may not be generalizable to other beaches along the Atlantic Ocean with different social, economic, cultural and political settings.

To build meaningful and emotional connections in beaches of developing countries, the paper of this nature is vital as it will aid the development of design guidelines and social policy for beaches through the provision of physical and social features that enhance people-place relationships.

The study aims to investigate consumer preferences across 25 attributes of plant-based milk (PBM) products and examine the key predictors and underlying mechanisms of consumer purchase decisions of PBM alternatives.

This study employed a multidimensional approach to investigate consumer preferences and the determinants of PBM purchasing decisions. Drawing on data from 819 online surveys conducted in the Jing-Jin-Ji region of China in 2021, we measured consumer preferences across 25 specific attributes and other individual characteristics. Purchasing decisions were framed as a two-stage process – the decision to purchase (frequency) and the decision on how much to pay (WTP). The Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) model was utilized to examine these dimensions separately, and the selected predictors were incorporated into OLS linear and Heckman’s two-stage regression analyses to establish the underlying mechanisms.

The findings indicate that consumers exhibit a strong preference for freshness and the absence of spoilage, followed by taste experiences such as taste and aroma. Preferences for milk preservation significantly increase the purchase frequency of PBM, while preference for calorie content has a negative and significant impact. Preferences for milk preservation, aroma and processing methods can also significantly increase WTP. Preferences vary across PBM categories. Social influence, knowledge and advertising exposure positively impact purchase frequency and WTP. Consumers with low food neophobia tend to be more responsive to product-related factors, such as freshness, calorie content and processing methods, in their purchase decisions.

This study contributes to the extant literature by comprehensively examining the determinants of consumer purchase decisions for PBM alternatives. The findings provide practical implications for marketers and policymakers, highlighting the strategic product attributes, consumer segments and marketing levers that can effectively target and cater to consumer preferences for PBM alternatives.

Library anxiety is a phenomenon that is different from other academic anxiety, which has implication on physical use of libraries. This study aims to investigate the phenomenon of library anxiety among undergraduates in federal universities in North-central, Nigeria.

Descriptive survey of the correlational type was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling technique was used in selecting five conventional federal universities, three homogenous faculties and six departments through multistage sampling technique. Five percent of the undergraduates (797) were selected from a total sample of 15,933. The instrument used was measuring scale on library anxiety (MSLA) developed by Bostick (1992). Descriptive statistics such as percentage mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the research questions.

The findings revealed that majority of the undergraduates (85.0%) experienced moderate level of library anxiety across the universities at varying degree. The most prevalent aspect of the library anxiety experienced by the undergraduates was inadequate knowledge of the library (x. = 2.14).

The study selected five conventional universities out of the seven federal universities in North-central, Nigeria.

Based on the findings, the study recommends library orientation programme for the undergraduates to increase their knowledge of the library. Likewise, the library staff should be more approachable and friendly so as to alleviate the library anxiety experienced by the undergraduates.

The purpose of this study is to examine records management practices as factors influencing the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion).

The study adopted the causal-comparative research design of the ex post facto type. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study. A four-point Likert scale questionnaire that ranged from strongly disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree was used to collect data. Three research questions were raised and answered. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The outcome shows the various records management practices that the Church engaged in which include the creation, maintenance, ease of access to, use, preservation and final disposal of the records. Other findings of the study also revealed the joint influence (positive relationship) of records management practices (records creation, use, maintenance and retention or disposal) on the administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) to be significant which follows that there is a significant positive relationship between records management practices and administration of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). Also, it is only record use (β = 0.27; t = 5.53; p < 0.05) that has a significant relative influence on the Church of Nigeria’s (Anglican Communion) administration. Others like record creation or received (β = 0.02; t = 0.28; p > 0.05), records maintenance (β = −0.06; t = −0.93; p > 0.05) and records retention or disposal (β = 0.11; t = 1.76; p > 0.05) have no significant influence on the church administration. Therefore, it is only records use that can predict or influence the administration of Anglican Church positively.

The study is the original findings of the authors.

The upsurge in global youth migration remains a major concern for policymakers, politicians and academia at large. Given the emerging interests in youth migration and informal jobs in cities around the world, this study aims to establish the barriers limiting the transition of migrant youths, in informal settings, into formal jobs and the consequent impact on their livelihood.

Leveraging the push-pull approach of the functionalist migration school, this study uses a primary research design. A structured questionnaire was administered among 150 migrant youths who were selected across informal settings in Lagos, using a convenient sampling technique. Then, a structured face-to-face interview was later conducted among 40 selected migrant youths.

There is a skill mismatch between the competence of the youths and the requirements of firms in the formal sector, and the migrant youths are largely disenfranchised from opportunities that flow within certain networks. Another critical constraint includes language barrier, ethnicity and religious biases by certain employers. Most migrant youths are economically better off compared to where they came from, even though they are yet to exit the poverty trap.

This study critically examined the challenges faced by the migrant youth population in Lagos, Nigeria, in their bid to transition from informal employment to formal employment.

This study examines how technological innovation (TECIN) and human capital development (HCD) combine to impact industrial productivity (INPR) and competitiveness in Africa.

The study used secondary data covering the period from 1996 to 2021 on 36 African countries, in a panel data framework of fixed effect and generalized method of moments techniques.

The study found that while TECIN negatively affected INPR in Africa, HCD exerted a strong positive influence. The interaction of TECIN and HCD showed a joint positive impact on INPR, emphasizing the role of human capital in mitigating transitional productivity loss tied to new technology assimilation. The results also showed positive individual and combined effects of TECIN and HCD on industrial competitiveness in Africa.

The findings therefore compel the need for implementation of policies that can simultaneously advance TECIN and strengthen HCD for sustainable industrial development in Africa. Governments in African countries need to allocate more resources to research and development to foster home-grown technologies, revamp educational curricula to align with industry needs and emphasize practical skills training, and facilitate technology transfer partnerships to enhance technological capabilities and INPR.

Although previous studies acknowledge the importance of TECIN and HCD for enhancing INPR and competitiveness in Africa, there is a noticeable lack of comprehensive studies that investigated the interplay between TECIN and HCD for industrialization gains.

The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of what public relations in university libraries encompasses. This is especially important in the digital age. Information has economic value and requires an information marketplace in which such value can be exchanged. The paper also aims to educate librarians, information managers/analysts and the library clientele/public about the various benefits associated with public relations and marketing of library services.

After a literature review of available resources (academic literature, journal articles, and books) the benefits associated with public relations in organizations – libraries being client‐oriented organizations – are investigated by means of a questionnaire survey administered to 180 students at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile‐Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.

From the findings contained in 150 returned questionnaires, it was discovered that some 40 per cent of students do not know where to locate materials in their disciplines within the University's Hezekiah Oluwasanmi Library. An even higher number have a poor opinion of the library staff competences. This points to the fact that the library's marketing and promotional efforts were not enough to attract the attention of the library patrons. The library needs to take on a greater role in this respect and use its ICT capabilities more.

The paper increases the understanding of what public relations encompasses and how it can be utilized by librarians and information managers/analysts in discharging their mandate of information provision. The ideas and discussions put forth may give the librarians/managers new insights into the provision of public relations services in their libraries. The study makes recommendations concerning the marketing of library resources in order to create awareness and enhance the library's visibility. It also advocates that the library's web site should be used in promoting library services and activities.

The study examined library personnel awareness of the availability of emergency response plans, their forms and roles in safety routine preparedness and control in federal and state university libraries in Southwest Nigeria.

The survey research design alongside a multi-stage sampling procedure comprising purposive, randomisation and total enumeration techniques guided the study. The population consisted of 327 library personnel drawn from 12 federal and state university libraries (i.e., six each). The questionnaire and structured interview methods were used for data gathering. Of the 327 copies of the questionnaire administered, 249 copies, representing 76.1%, were duly completed and found valid for analysis. Whereas the acceptance threshold of ≥90% response rate and a criterion mean of 2.50 were adopted for making judgements regarding the research questions, while the hypothesis was tested using chi-square statistics with cross-tabulation.

The state university libraries in the studied region are extremely lagging behind their federal counterpart in terms of emergency preparedness, judging by the availability of emergency response plan (ERPs). However, documenting the plans for routine emergency response is not widespread among the university libraries; thus, the extent of response preparedness is both simplistic and doubtful. Despite the seemingly proactive nature of the federal university libraries over their state counterpart, librarians in both settings do not perceive effectiveness and preference in either the written emergency response plan (WERP) or unwritten emergency response plan (UERP) as an emergency preparedness and control measure.

The research increases knowledge of emergency preparedness in university libraries beyond the mere availability of ERPs. Through a comparative empirical analysis, the desirability of the WERP as a measure of emergency response preparedness in university libraries has been strengthened.