Cost and returns analysis of upland and lowland rice production among farmers in North Central Nigeria

Sustainability of the rice production and farmers’ income in Nigeria raises a serious concern due to the rising costs of production inputs and other factors beyond farmers’ control. As a result, the study compared the cost and returns of rice production in North central, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 387 rice farmers in the study area. Descriptive statistics, gross margin analysis and seeming unrelated regression were used to analyze the dataset collected. The findings revealed that most of the rice farmers were male, averagely young and have at least 9 family members in their respectively households. Results from Kwara State showed that total cost is higher among the upland rice farmers compared to their lowland counterparts, but reverse was the case in term of net profit, as this favoured the lowland rice farmers. For Niger State and pooled data, the lowland rice farmers had higher net profit than the upland rice farmers. Seemingly unrelated regression estimates indicated that costs associated with fertilizer, herbicide, seed, pesticide and labour used were significant and influencing factors affecting the revenue of rice farmers in the study area. While inaccessibility to cheap farm inputs was the major constraint affecting the rice farmers, other challenges include lack of storage, inadequate rainfall and inadequate credit facilities.  The study recommended seamless access to improved rice varieties by the farmers as this can scale up adoption of improved technologies, boost production and ultimately the net revenue of rice farmers. Farmers are also advised to join and/or form a registered occupational groups through which credit facilities can easily be accessed, to expand the farming operations because of the positive and complementary role of social group and access to credit

The influence of emerging market consumers’ purchase intention of luxury clothing on their purchase behaviour: a South African perspectives

The growth of the economy has occasioned a shift in consumption patterns in the South African luxury markets. This study aims to investigate the purchasing behaviour of emerging market consumers as regards luxury clothing. A survey was conducted and data was collected online from 300 emerging market consumers in SA by means of a survey questionnaire. The results of the study demonstrated that status, quality, and materialism all influence the purchase intention of emerging market consumers as regards luxury clothing. Status had the strongest effect on purchase intention for luxury clothing, followed by quality and materialism. Consumer intention to purchase luxury products was found to influence such consumers’ purchase behaviour. This study is significant for retail stores in South Africa selling luxury clothing, as well as those intending to enter the SA luxury clothing market. The study findings shed light on factors influencing purchase behaviour by emerging market consumers as regards to luxury clothing

Driving enterprise transformation: influence of organisational and geographical factors on business architecture efficacy

This study investigates how organisational and geographical factors affect the efficacy of business architecture in enterprises. Employing a quantitative research methodology, the research analyses data from a diverse range of organisations using ordinal logistic regression. The findings validate the hypothesis that factors like organisational alignment, industry sector, geographic region, organisational size, and adoption duration significantly influence business architecture's maturity and strategic impact. The study contributes to the understanding of business architecture's role in organisational strategy, highlighting the importance of contextual factors. It suggests that business architecture strategies should be tailored to specific organisational contexts, offering valuable insights for policy formulation and organisational strategy development. This research provides a foundation for future studies and practical applications in business architecture and enterprise transformation, emphasizing the need for a nuanced approach considering different organisational and regional characteristics

Reviewers should not destructively assume the role of a researcher

It cannot be nullified that the peer review process is characterized by reviewers who tend to destructively assume the role of researchers. In so doing, this behavior undermines the intellectual ability of researchers, especially novice researchers, who dedicate their time attempting to contribute to scholarly epistemology. Effectively, this concerning behavior of assuming the role of a researcher may denote that the reviewers downplay the reality that researchers certainly know something; no matter how little or greater it is. Thus, it cannot be fair-minded for reviewers to regard themselves as if they are gods of knowledge. With this in mind, this particular paper aims to explore and open a dialogue concerning the challenge of reviewers who destructively assume the role of an author or researcher, thereupon sabotaging the peer review process by imposing their personal scholarly interests. This is against the reality that such conduct may deter potential epistemologies that may potentially make a constructive social impact within and outside the arena of scholarship. In parallel, such behavior from the reviewers may lead to the rejection of scholarly contributions that can generate change in the academic community. By the same token, the rejection of papers, in large part, by the recommendations of destructive reviewers who assume researchers’ roles may demoralize novice researchers who have a strong determination to construct and assemble original, and innovative insights into the body of knowledge. In view of this fact, reviewers ought to appreciate the importance of recognizing the voices and narratives of the authors without imposing their personal interests that may compromise the quality and publication of valuable and well-deserving scholarly papers. On account of this, I conclude this scholarly dialogue by presenting some of the recommendations that may be considered to mitigate the problematized phenomenon

Integration of ecology and culture in encouraging village government innovation in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru area

Bromo Tengger Semeru with four districts in East Java, National Park (Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru) has incredibly great potential. This region not only showcases the magnificence and majesty of God's creations, Mount Semeru and Mount Bromo, but it also shows how well the Tengger Tribe Community gets along with one another. Due to the growth of the local tourism sector, the Tengger community has long been renowned for its great diversity and for continuously maintaining its traditions in the face of intense outside cultural pressures. The Tengger Community continues to uphold and perform a number of cultural practices and ceremonies, including the Yadnya Kasada Ceremony, Hari Raya Karo, Entas-Entas, Ojung, Unan-unan Ceremony, Mubeng Pujang Ceremony, Sesayut Ceremony, and Praswala Gara Ceremony. In the hopes of finding safety and tranquility in life, the Tengger people place great importance on the presence of rituals and customs, which at the very least aim to honor their ancestors. This paper is the outcome of a qualitative study employing observational data gathering methods, focus groups, and in-depth interviews. The one-month research project, completed in November 2023, painted a picture of how the Tengger community is integrating the development of customs, culture, and ecological management skills in order to foster innovation and harmony for the village government in Sapikerep Village, Probolinggo Regency, and Tosari Village, Pasuruan Regency, Bromo TNBTS Area

Improving the prediction of social media engagement in universities by utilizing feature selection in machine learning

This study aims to examine the importance of feature selection in machine learning, specifically in predicting user engagement with social media post photographs on university Facebook pages. The paper uses a thorough analysis to demonstrate the crucial significance of choosing suitable features and their corresponding algorithms. The research intends to demonstrate how this strategic approach affects the accuracy of prediction findings in social media interaction. The research presents a compelling case study involving 24 leading universities from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The results underscore the efficacy of the method, stressing that the meticulous selection of characteristics and the use of appropriate algorithms are crucial elements for attaining the best results in social media forecasts. Implications: The study's results have important consequences, particularly within the changing environment of machine learning and its use in social media. Feature selection and algorithm choice are vital for optimizing social media initiatives for institutions

The mediation effect of innovativeness on knowledge application and organizational innovation: Case of Tunisian companies

Today, the company is becoming more and more aware of the immense power of knowledge, the stakes of which are becoming more and more crucial. However, acquiring, developing and maintaining competitive advantage from internal resources and skills remains the overarching goal for every organization. It is for this reason that it is necessary to put in place a strategic plan for the application of knowledge. This research focuses on the efforts made by companies in terms of knowledge management processes in order to implement innovative solutions. The objective of this research is part of this perspective and aims to examine the relationship between the application of knowledge and organizational innovation by highlighting the mediating effect of innovative capabilities. To determine this relationship, a quantitative method was adopted using a total of 252 Tunisian senior managers. The results of the structural equation analysis reveal the existence of a significant influence of knowledge management on both types of technical and administrative organizational innovation

Exploring the opportunities and challenges encountered by immigrant entrepreneurs in Eastern Cape Province Towns

This research offers a comprehensive examination of immigrant entrepreneurship within Eastern Cape Province towns, with a specific focus on Sterkspruit and Aliwal-North The purpose of this was to investigate the opportunities and challenges faced by immigrant entrepreneurs within towns in the Eastern Cape Province. The qualitative research approach which followed a phenomenological research philosophy was adopted. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select 10 immigrant entrepreneurs. Thereafter, in-depth interviews were employed in gathering primary data from the selected sample which is African and Asian immigrant entrepreneurs operating in the selected towns (Aliwal-North and Sterkspruit) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The results of the study indicate that immigrant entrepreneurs enjoy some opportunities and also are faced with challenges in doing business in these towns. The results furthermore indicate that immigrant entrepreneurs know the causes of their challenges as they explain them. The results also indicate the possible ways the challenges can be managed or overcome. The study, therefore, concluded that some of the opportunities and challenges identified by the interviewed participants were of South African government policies and regulations. It was therefore recommended that as a way of improving the handling of business engagement, immigrant entrepreneurs attend business workshops and exposes.

The influences of psychological factors on investors decision making in the South African derivative market

Studies in behavioral finance have shown that human behavior often diverges from the rationality assumed by economists, as their decisions can occasionally be swayed by their emotional and psychological states. Given this concern, the study examines psychological factors influencing individual decision-making in the South African financial market. A structured questionnaire was used in collecting data from 414 participants who are individual investors actively involved in trading in the Johannesburg stock exchange market with the application of the random sampling method. The main objective of this study is to explore the psychological variables or biases that determine the investment decision-making of individual investors. Furthermore, this paper investigates psychological factors such as Anchoring, Herding, Overconfidence and Representative biases in investment decision-making. Findings revealed that all the variables, overconfidence, herding, anchoring and representative heuristics have a relationship with each other but the only variable that influences the individual investment decision is the representative heuristic while less consideration is given to another variable. The results of this study would help financial advisors understand the high importance of psychological factors and help them integrate behavioral insights into investment strategies. This will in turn help them provide better services to their clients. It will also help individual investors to acknowledge and understand the psychological factors influencing investment decisions and how to take note of them to make better decisions. Policymakers can consider the implications of psychological biases on market stability

The role of corporate social responsibility in SMEs in eThekwini municipality in South Africa

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have an important role to play in promoting sustainable development and social responsibility in their communities. In the eThekwini Municipality of South Africa, there are many opportunities for SMEs to engage in social responsibility activities. A validation approach can be used to assess the effectiveness of these activities and ensure that they are meeting the needs of the community. This study sought to investigate the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in eThekwini municipality in South Africa. Data collection from 210 small business owners or managers in the eThekwini Municipality revealed a significant relationship between community involvement, environmental awareness, and community upliftment in the quest to build long-term relationships with communities.  The primary objective for the study was to determine and establish the CSR activities of SMEs in the eThekwini Municipality