How religion influences the use of social media : the impact of the online user’s religiosity on perceived online privacy and the use of technology in Saudi Arabia.

Religion has a significant effect on people’s lives. It impacts human behaviour, thoughts, morale standards, attitudes and values. The literature shows that religiosity has an effect also on consumer behaviour. However, the concept of religiosity has been under-researched due to the sensitivity of religion (Swimberghe, Flurry, & Parker, 2011). According to Vitell (2009) there is still a need to develop a vigorous theoretical understanding of the impact of religiosity on the consumer behaviour. This thesis contributes to that knowledge by developing a model to explain the effect of the religiosity of the online user on their use of social media. Current research does not fully explain the specifics of religious influences on online user behaviours. This thesis main goal is to build a model that can measure the effect of intrinsic religiosity on the use of social media. The proposed model uses the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) along with Privacy concern to measure the effect of religiosity on the use of social media. This thesis empirically tests the proposed model linking religiosity, privacy concerns, technology acceptance and the use of social media. Allport and Ross' (1967) religious orientation scale (ROS) is used to measure the intrinsic religiosity. Xu et al's., (2011a) model of privacy concern is used to measure privacy concerns when using social media. Venkatesh, Thong and Xu's (2012) unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) is used to measure the user acceptance of social media. Using partial least square structural equation modelling, intrinsic religiosity (ROS), and privacy concerns along with technology acceptance are shown to influence the use of social media. The results show that religion has an indirect effect on the use of social media through privacy concerns and technology acceptance. The results also show that the model can predict the effect of intrinsic religiosity on the use of social media to share and disclose information. The implications from this study are significant both for policy and practice for social media companies as well as users. Information from this study will help social media companies to maximize users’ involvement with social media. It will also benefit the industry and the literature by providing a sound model that can measure the impact of religion on the behaviour of users

Ecology, climate change and control strategies for aspergillus flavus colonisation and aflatoxin contamination of pistachio nuts.

Pistachio nuts (Pistacia vera L.) have become one of the most important products in the economy of many countries including the USA, Iran, Syria, Greece, Turkey, China, EU and the Middle East. Pistachio nuts are very commonly colonized by spoilage mycobiota especially aflatoxigenic species because they are very hygroscopic and can adsorb water. Aspergillus flavus can contaminate pistachio nuts with aflatoxins (AFs), especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) classified as a class 1a carcinogen. The objectives of this project were (a) to examined the mycobiota and the aflatoxin producing strains of Aspergillus section Flavi species in pistachio nuts originating from different countries and sourced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), (b) investigated the effect of the interactions between temperature and water activity (aw) on the ecology and molecular ecology growth and AFB₁ production by Aspergillus flavus strains in vitro on pistachio nut-based media and in stored raw pistachio nuts (c) evaluate the effect of Climate Change (CC) interacting factors on growth and AFB1 production by strains of A.flavusand on relative genes expression of the aflD and aflR genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway for AFB₁ production, (d) examine whether acclimatisation to 1000 ppm CO₂ of A.flavus strains AB3 and AB10 for 5 generations affected growth and AFB₁ production; and (e) to examine the use of gaseous O₃ for the control of germination, A.flavus populations and AFB₁ contamination of stored pistachio nuts for up to 4 weeks. Pistachio samples were colonized by a range of Aspergillus and Penicillium species. In some samples, typically phyllosphere fungi such as yeasts, Mucor, Rhizopus, Alternaria, Epicoccum and Phoma species were isolated. 10 different species of A.flavus were isolated and molecularly identified. The relative toxigenic nature of strains was evaluated using selective media and HPLC and confirmed using molecular tools. Four strains were used in ecological studies and two (AB3, AB10) in other studies. The ecological studies showed that optimum growth of AB3 and AB10 strainswas at 0.98 or 0.95 aw and 30-35°C. The effect of the same factors on aflR gene expression of the two strains showed optimum condition at 30-35°C and 0.98 aw; with optimum conditions for AFB₁ production at 35°C and 0.98 aw for strain AB3. There was little difference between the effect of using a non-ionic (glycerol) or ionic (NaCl) to modify water stress in in vitro studies. The effect of interacting CC factors on growth of A.flavus colonisation was not significant. However, AFB₁ production was stimulated. With regards to aflD gene expression, at 35°C, the relative expression was higher in current CO₂ conditions (400 ppm) for both strains except that for strain AB3 the gene expression was higher at 1000 ppm CO2 at 0.95 aw. However, at 37°C, the expression was generally higher in the 1000 ppm CO₂ than with existing atmospheric CO₂ levels. The aflR gene expression was higher at 1000 ppm CO₂ at 37°C for both strains. AFB₁ production was higher at 35°C at the two CO₂ levels for both strains. At the same temperature, AFB1 production was significantly increased at 1000 ppm CO₂ and 0.98 aw. At 37°C, AFB₁ production was either decreased in strain AB3 or similar as in strain AB10 when exposed to 1000 ppm CO₂. This suggests that CC factors may have a differential effect depending on the interacting conditions of temperature (35 or 37°C) as in some cases for AFB₁. Acclimatisation influenced growth of one strain while there was no significant effect on another strain when colonising pistachio nuts. For AFB₁, the production was significantly stimulated after ten days colonisation after acclimatisation for one strain, while there was no significant increase for the other strain. This suggests that there may be intra-strain differences in effects of acclimatisation and this could influence mycotoxin contamination of such commodities as mixed population of contaminant fungi often occurs. Exposure of conidia to gaseous O₃ initially had lower germination percentages when compared to the controls at different aw levels. Complete inhibition of germinations was observed after 12 h treatment of 200 ppm O₃ at 0.98 aw. However, spore viability appeared to recover and the germination was increased after 24 h and reached 100% after 48 h. Growth rates of mycelial colonies were decreased with increasing of O₃ dose and colony extension was significantly inhibited by O₃ treatment at 0.98 aw. Variable effects on AFB1 production during exposure to O₃ treatment after in vitro exposure of colonies of A.flavus incubated for ten days at 30°C. The populations of A.flavus were significantly decreased by O₃ exposure; however, there was little difference between 50-200 ppm treatment levels. A reduction in AFB₁ was only observed in the 50 ppm O₃ × 0.98 aw treatment in stored pistachio nuts. The relationship between exposure concentration × time of exposure and prevailing aw level to determine the efficacy in terms of toxin control needs to be better understand.PhD in Environment and Agrifoo

Interacting Abiotic Factors Affect Growth and Aflatoxin B1 Production Profiles of Aspergillus flavus Strains on Pistachio-Based Matrices and Pistachio Nuts

© 2021 Baazeem, Garcia-Cela, Medina and Magan. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Pistachio nuts are an economically important commodity produced by many countries. They can be colonized by mycotoxigenic fungi, especially Aspergillus flavus, resulting in contamination with aflatoxins (AFs), especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), a Class 1a carcinogen. The objectives were to examine the effect of interactions between the two key abiotic factors, temperature and water activity (aw) on (a) in vitro growth and AFB1 production by four strains of A. flavus isolated from pistachio nuts, on a milled pistachio nut medium modified ionically (NaCl) and non-ionically (glycerol) in the range 20–35°C and 0.995–0.85 aw, (b) colonization of layers of raw pistachio nuts stored at different interacting temperature x aw conditions and on relative AFB1 production and (c) develop models to produce contour maps of the optimal and marginal boundary conditions for growth and AFB1 production by up to 4 strains of this species. On pistachio nut-based media, optimum growth of four strains of A. flavus was at 0.98–0.95 aw and 30–35°C. Optimum AFB1 production was at 30–35°C and 0.98 aw. No significant differences in growth was found on ionic and non-ionically modified media. Colonization of layers of raw pistachio nuts was slower and contamination with AFB1 significantly less than in in vitro studies. Contour maps based on the pooled data for up to four strains (in vitro, in situ) showed the optimum and marginal conditions for growth and AFB1 production. These data can be used to identify those conditions which represent a high, intermediate or low risk of colonization and AFB1 contamination in the pistachio nut processing chain. These results are discussed in the context of the development of appropriate intervention strategies to minimize AFB1 contamination of this economically important commodity.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Climate change, food security and mycotoxins: do we know enough?

Climate change (CC) scenarios are predicted to have significant effects on the security of staple commodities. A key component of this impact is the infection of such crops by mycotoxigenic moulds and contamination with mycotoxins. The impacts of CC on mycotoxigenic fungi requires examination of the impacts of the three-way interactions between elevated CO2 (350–400 vs 650–1200 ppm), temperature increases (+2–5 °C) and drought stress on growth/mycotoxin production by key spoilage fungi in cereals and nuts. This review examines the available evidence on the impacts of interacting CC factors on growth and mycotoxin production by key mycotoxigenic fungi including Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium and Penicillium species. Aspergillus flavus responsible for producing aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a class 1A carcinogen and its growth appears to be unaffected by CC factors. However, there is a significant stimulation of AFB1 production both in vitro and in vivo in maize. In contrast, studies on Aspergillus section Circumdati and Nigri species responsible for ochratoxin A contamination of a range of commodities and F. verticillioides and fumonisins suggest that some species are more resilient than others, especially in terms of mycotoxin production. Acclimatisation of mycotoxigenic fungal pathogens to CC factors may result in increased disease and perhaps mycotoxin contamination of staple cereals. Predictive modelling approaches to help identify regions where maximum impact may occur in terms of infection by mycotoxigenic fungi and toxin contamination of staple crops is hindered by the lack of reliable inputs on effects of the interacting CC factors. The present available knowledge is discussed in the context of the resilience of staple food chains and the impact that interacting CC factors may have on the availability of food in the future

A cross-national investigation of psychological factors of donor behavior: the case of university endowment funds

Purpose: State funding is being reduced for higher education institutes (HEIs) is linked to several checks such as performance-based incentives (Hagood, 2019). This forces HEIs to look for other options for funding. Endowment funds are now becoming the main source of revenue for HEIs (Sörlin, 2007), largely provided by alumni. Thus, this study aims to examine the factors that lead to donor behavior in terms of university endowment funds. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of 627 participants in the survey from public universities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and 625 from public/private universities of the United States of America (USA), the authors conducted a cross-sectional survey-based analysis. Hypotheses were tested with regression analysis. Findings: The results revealed that in the USA, donors with substantial prestige within the institution are more likely to contribute to the endowment fund; however, in the KSA, this relationship was insignificant. Additionally, this study found that participation, brand interpretation and satisfaction positively impact identification with an organization, leading to donor behavior. Research limitations/implications: This research has successfully identified psychological factors for endowment funding; however, mediating or moderating variables affecting donor behavior should also be considered. Further, this study considers only two countries, the KSA and the USA; therefore, a larger cross-cultural context warrants more investigation. Practical implications: Overall results revealed several means through which the administrators and practitioners may efficiently manage and increase university endowment funds flow. This study's novelty is to conduct a cross-national investigation and identify the psychological factors of donation behavior toward university endowment funds, providing an opportunity for HEIs to understand the psychological factors in detail and motivate their alumni to be one of the important sources of funding even in developing countries. Originality/value: Many psychological factors underlie alumni's engagement in volunteerism and donation activities, especially in cross-national settings. Following social identity theory, this study explored identity-based donor behavior in terms of supporting universities through endowment funding

Effect of acclimatization in elevated CO2 on growth and aflatoxin B1 production by Aspergillus flavus strains on pistachio nuts

There is little knowledge of the effect of acclimatization of Aspergillus flavus strains to climate-related abiotic factors and the subsequent effects on growth and aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) production. In this study, two strains of A. flavus (AB3, AB10) were acclimatized for five generations in elevated CO2 (1000 ppm × 37 °C) on a milled pistachio-based medium. A comparison was made of the effects of non-acclimatized strains and those that were acclimatized when colonizing layers of pistachio nuts exposed to 35 or 37 °C, 400 or 1000 ppm CO2, and 0.93 or 0.98 water activity (aw), respectively. Acclimatization influenced the fitness in terms of the growth of one strain, while there was no significant effect on the other strain when colonizing pistachio nuts. AFB1, production was significantly stimulated after ten days colonization when comparing the non-acclimatized and the acclimatized AB3 strain. However, there was no significant increase when comparing these for strain AB10. This suggests that there may be inter-strain differences in the effects of acclimatization and this could have a differential influence on the mycotoxin contamination of such commodities

Examining the Role of Childhood Experiences in Developing Altruistic and Knowledge Sharing Behaviors among Children in Their Later Life: A Partial Least Squares (PLS) Path Modeling Approach

Previous research on child development advocates that motivating children to make a choice to forfeit their own toys with others develop sharing behavior in later life. Borrowing the conceptual background from the child development theory, this study proposes a model of knowledge sharing behavior among individuals at the workplace. The study proposes a unique conceptual model that integrates the cognitive/behavioral, and other childhood theories to explain the knowledge sharing behavior among individuals. The study uses psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social learning theories to explain the development of altruistic behavior in childhood as a determinant of knowledge sharing behavior. This study develops and empirically tests a research framework which explains the role of childhood experiences in developing altruistic behavior among children and the translation of this altruistic behavior into knowledge sharing behavior later in their professional life. This study explores those relationships using PLS-SEM with data from 310 individuals from Pakistan. The study concludes the role of parents and child-rearing practices as central in developing children’s altruistic attitude that leads to knowledge sharing behavior in their later life. The implications and future research directions are discussed in detail

Solving a fractional differential equation via θ-contractions in ℜ-complete metric spaces

In this manuscript, we introduce the notion of ℜα-θ-contractions and prove some fixed-point theorems in the sense of ℜ-complete metric spaces. These results generalize existing ones in the literature. Also, we provide some illustrative non-trivial examples and applications to a non-linear fractional differential equation

Impacts of climate change interacting abiotic factors on growth, aflD and aflR gene expression and aflatoxin B1 production by Aspergillus flavus strains in vitro and on pistachio nuts

Pistachio nuts are an important economic tree nut crop which is used directly or processed for many food-related activities. They can become colonized by mycotoxigenic spoilage fungi, especially Aspergillus flavus, mainly resulting in contamination with aflatoxins (AFs), especially aflatoxin B1 (AFB1). The prevailing climate in which these crops are grown changes as temperature and atmospheric CO2 levels increase, and episodes of extreme wet/dry cycles occur due to human industrial activity. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of interacting Climate Change (CC)-related abiotic factors of temperature (35 vs. 37 °C), CO2 (400 vs. 1000 ppm), and water stress (0.98–0.93 water activity, aw) on (a) growth (b) aflD and aflR biosynthetic gene expression and (c) AFB1 production by two strains A. flavus (AB3, AB10) in vitro on milled pistachio-based media and when colonizing layers of shelled raw pistachio nuts. The A. flavus strains were resilient in terms of growth on pistachio-based media and the colonisation of pistachio nuts with no significant difference when exposed to the interacting three-way climate-related abiotic factors. However, in vitro studies showed that AFB1 production was significantly stimulated (p < 0.05), especially when exposed to 1000 ppm CO2 at 0.98–0.95 aw and 35 °C, and sometimes in the 37 °C treatment group at 0.98 aw. The relative expression of the structural aflD gene involved in AFB1 biosynthesis was decreased or only slightly increased, relative to the control conditions at elevated CO, regardless of the aw level examined. For the regulatory aflR gene expression, there was a significant (p < 0.05) increase in 1000 ppm CO2 and 37 °C for both strains, especially at 0.95 aw. The in situ colonization of pistachio nuts resulted in a significant (p < 0.05) stimulation of AFB1 production at 35 °C and 1000 ppm CO2 for both strains, especially at 0.98 aw. At 37 °C, AFB1 production was either decreased, in strain AB3, or remained similar, as in strain AB10, when exposed to 1000 ppm CO2. This suggests that CC factors may have a differential effect, depending on the interacting conditions of temperature, exposure to CO2 and the level of water stress on AFB1 production