Do social media literacy skills help in combating fake news spread? Modelling the moderating role of social media literacy skills in the relationship between rational choice factors and fake news sharing behaviour

This study modelled the rational factors that predict fake news sharing behaviour. It also tested the moderating role of social media literacy skills. The focus was on social media users in Nigeria. An online survey was conducted to gather the responses from participants across Nigerian geopolitical zones. Structural equation modelling (SEM) Smart PLS 3.6 was used to analyse the data. We found that information sharing, the news finds me perception, trust in social media and status-seeking lead to fake news sharing among social media users in Nigeria. Specifically, trust in social media and status-seeking had a greater effect on fake news sharing behaviour. We also found that social media literacy skills significantly moderate the relationship between information sharing, status-seeking, the news finds me perception, trust in social media and fake news sharing in such a way that the effects/relationships are stronger among those with low social media literacy skills. This outcome contributes to theory and practice which was highlighted in the concluding aspect of this study.     

Technology adoption and the challenges of inclusive participation in economic activities: Evidence from small scale oil palm fruit processors in southwestern Nigeria

The lack of technology adoption has been mentioned as a source of lack of inclusive participation of low income groups in economic activities leading to income disparity in developing countries. The study utilized an input-process-output framework to develop a set of indicators to inform the development of policies and practices to ensure the participation of low income groups in economic activities. The input element consists of technology adoption influencing factors such as socio-economic characteristics and innovating units and institutions that provide support for innovation activities. The process and output elements consist of the level of technology adoption in production processes and productivity measures respectively. Focusing on small-scale oil palm fruit processors in Nigeria, the study revealed that inadequate funding of the input processes lead to inadequate technology adoption in specific unit operations of palm oil production. Utilising selected physicochemical properties of palm oil as indicators of productivity, the samples of palm oil assessed were found to be unsuitable for industrial use and may limit the processors from participating in formal sectors of palm oil production. The study recommends policy levers that will enhance input factors through adequate funding to improve the technological base of the small-scale oil palm fruit processing.     

Fake news and COVID-19: modelling the predictors of fake news sharing among social media users

Fake news dissemination on COVID-19 has increased in recent months, and the factors that lead to the sharing of this misinformation is less well studied. Therefore, this paper describes the result of a Nigerian sample (n = 385) regarding the proliferation of fake news on COVID-19. The fake news phenomenon was studied using the Uses and Gratification framework, which was extended by an “altruism” motivation. The data were analysed with Partial Least Squares (PLS) to determine the effects of six variables on the outcome of fake news sharing. Our results showed that altruism was the most significant factor that predicted fake news sharing of COVID-19. We also found that social media users’ motivations for information sharing, socialisation, information seeking and pass time predicted the sharing of false information about COVID-19. In contrast, no significant association was found for entertainment motivation. We concluded with some theoretical and practical implications.     

Palm Oil: A New Ethics of Visibility for the Production Landscape

The explosion of the palm oil industry in recent decades has transformed vast swathes of the Malaysian and Indonesian countryside. Milica Topalovic , Assistant Professor of Architecture and Territorial Planning at ETH Zurich, asserts that the resulting agro-industrial landscapes challenge the very concept of what is rural, and considers how such areas should be conceptualised.     

In the Pursuit of Pleasure: The Not so Fleeting Life of the Pavilion and its Ilk

Author and architecture critic for the London Evening Standard, Robert Bevan reflects on the enduring appeal of the temporary structure, speaking ‘to a latent desire for freedom and movement’ as a hangover of our nomadic past in a sedentary ‘civilised’ society. He highlights the type's historical apex in Henry VIII's palatial pop-up on the Field of the Cloth of Gold, questioning the purpose and purposelessness of more recent examples.     

The impact of the petroleum sector on the output of the Nigerian construction sector

The petroleum sector plays an important role in the Nigerian economy, as it is the single largest revenue earner of the country and one of the largest contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP). This study estimated the impact of petroleum and gas revenue on the performance of the construction sector using a polynomial distributed lag model. We extracted data on the petroleum and gas sector (PGS), the GDP and construction sector output (CNS) for this study from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin. The analysis employed econometric methodology, which includes testing for stationarity and co‐integration as well as estimating the distributed lag model. The result shows that the petroleum and gas revenue significantly affected construction output for three consecutive years starting from their year of occurrence. The study concluded that the PGS has a far‐reaching impact on the growth and development of the construction sector. It therefore recommends supporting the channelling of funds from the petroleum sector into development of constructed facilities infrastructure.     

Wind characteristics and energy potential assessment in Akure,South West Nigeria: econometrics and policy implications

This paper analysed 11 years of daily mean wind-speed data, measured at Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria, using Weibull and Rayleigh distribution functions. While both distributions showed good agreements in extreme-value estimation patterns, investigation of their wind-speed characteristics modelling criteria, using goodness-of-fit statistics, revealed that the wind data followed the Weibull more than Rayleigh. Monthly wind-speed of Akure city ranged from 1.41 to 4.24 m/s by the Weibull fittings and from 1.40 to 4.16 m/s by the Rayleigh fittings. Overall results, of 2.71 m/s (Weibull) or 2.70 m/s (Rayleigh) mean wind-speed and 18.51 W/m² (Weibull) or 22.26 W/m² (Rayleigh) mean power density, indicated Akure a low wind-speed site, requiring low wind-speed turbine for generating wind energy. Econometric analyses of power output simulations using such turbine system resulted in affordable wind energy cost. These bear policy implications for sustainable wind energy usage in this and similar regions of the world.     

A survey of anthropometry of rural agricultural workers in Enugu State,south-eastern Nigeria

In developed countries, large amount of anthropometric data are available for reference purposes; however, anthropometric data of Nigerian populace are lacking. As a result, most agricultural machines and equipment used are designed using anthropometric data from other populations of the world. A total of 377 rural agricultural workers within the age limit of 18–45 years, who are involved in different agricultural activities, were selected from six rural agriculture-based communities in Enugu state. Thirty-six anthropometric body dimensions were measured including age and body weight. A comparison between the male and female data indicated that data obtained from male agricultural workers were higher than that obtained from their female counterparts in all body dimensions except chest (bust) depth, abdominal breadth and hip breadth (sitting). In terms of design parameters, it was observed that the data from Nigerian agricultural workers were different from that obtained from agricultural workers in north-eastern India.

Practitioner Summary. Anthropometric data of Nigeria populace are lacking. As a result, most agricultural machines and equipment used are designed using anthropometric data from other populations of the world. It was observed that the data from Nigerian agricultural workers were different from that obtained from agricultural workers in north-eastern India.     

Unexpected Luxury: Wild Silk Textile Production among the Yoruba of Nigeria

Abstract

Mulberry silk produced in China is the type most recognized and used in silk garments. There are at least seven additional silk fiber sources. The Yoruba are a large ethnic group in Nigeria who use native silk that they call sányán from the Anaphe moth as one of their most prized fiber resources. Throughout colonial and post-colonial history, both Nigerians and others investigated methods for domesticating wild silk production. Yoruba strip cloth, called aso-òkè includes three main categories: sányán, etù and alãrì, each appropriate for persons of high social standing and for important occasions, displaying cultural significance. Cotton becomes used as a substitute for expensive silk yarns, being dyed the traditional color of the silk fabrics. To the Yoruba aesthetic, the purpose of something is more important than its actual form. Even as weavers now produce the traditionally sányán cloths with substitute fibers, the cloth's glory remains.     

Comparative Absorption of Crude Oil from Fresh and Marine Water Using Recycled Rubber

Crude oil spillage is a major environmental pollution in the Niger–Delta area of Nigeria. The use of recycled rubber from enormous available scrap tires for pollution control of oil-polluted fresh and marine water and the attendant survival of aquatic organisms (fish) in these polluted waters was investigated. The absorption capacity of rubber particles for the oil was the same in both the oil-polluted fresh and marine waters and depended on the rubber particle size and temperature of absorption. The survival time of the fish depended on the amount of rubber added to and the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the oil-polluted waters. The survival time increased from 3.5 to 7.25?h as the rubber to oil ratio was increased from 0.5 to 2.5. At a ratio of 3, the oil film on the water was no longer continuous and the survival time increased to 6,000?h. The survival time increased with the DO concentration in polluted water. In the absence of added rubber particles, the DO concentration decreased within 2?h from 5.27?mg/L to less than 3?mg/L, a value below the limit required for aquatic organism survival.