Exploring the Effect of Operational Factors and Characterization Imperative to the Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles

The synthesis and application of silver nanoparticles are increasingly becoming attractive. Hence, a critical examination of the various factors needed for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles as well as the characterization is imperative. In light of this, we addressed in this chapter, the nitty-gritty on the operational parameters (factors) and characterization relevant to synthesis of silver nanoparticle. The following characterization protocols were discussed in the context of silver nanoparticle synthesis. These protocols include spectroscopic techniques such as ultraviolet visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Bibliometric structured review of mobile information systems

Abstract This study attempts to fill the identified research gap in the existing literature through a bibliometric analysis and discovered 20 highly global cited papers with 1376 citations and yielded eight (8) core categories of knowledge in MobIS: (1) Information Systems, (2) Adoption, (3) Acceptance, (4) Satisfaction, (5) Information Systems Success and (6) Information Systems continuance. The results show that the distribution of the annual papers flows along the downslope. It was a bit stable in 2016 and since then descend from 2017 to 2020. As a young discipline, there is a need for more productivity, impact, and collaboration in the field of MobIS

Teaching experiences during COVID-19 pandemic:narratives from ResearchGate

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has remarkably affected every sphere of our lives and education inclusive. It greatly disrupted the teaching and learning process, necessitating alternative approaches at different times to ameliorate the situation. In the new normal, various pedagogical tactics and teaching strategies are employed for content delivery. More so, different platforms are utilized to enable learning as well as assessment techniques. This study, therefore, sought to explore the teaching experiences during the pandemic. It also highlights the success factors of online teaching during the COVID-19 semester and the best assessment strategies used during the pandemic. The methodology adopted in the study is narrative and, precisely, the Naturalist narrative. The data utilized are the discussions and responses from questions posed on ResearchGate. The retrieved responses reveal both positive and negative experiences, but more of the challenges encountered dominated the reviews. Many factors account for the negative experiences such as internet issues including its cost, student’s participation rate, insufficient media instructions, lack of students preparation, and preference for face to face class. The responses further show that various platforms enable teaching to continue remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the preference of tools used by individuals differs based on interest, audience, location, the content of the course, accessibility, among others. We gave a conclusion and offered a useful suggestion for future study

Nigeria social enterprise perception on social issues, profit maximization, innovation, and knowledge sharing for poverty eradication

Abstract Poverty alleviation is one of the significant problems that social enterprise wants to solve. It could beabsolute, relative, generational, situational, urban, or rural poverty in Africa. There are scanty literature and a shallowunderstanding of how technology intervenes for social entrepreneurship in a developing context. This study wasconducted to address the identified gap. Quantitative method was used to gather data from the respondents utilizingNigerian samples. This study used SPSS ver. 26 and Python for the descriptive statistics and 5 Likert Scales dataanalysis for 33 measurement items. The result shows that Nigeria’s social enterprise focused on social issues such associal vision, social need, social change, social goal, social value, social mission, and social efforts. The knowledge ofSME owners’ insights on business start-ups in Nigeria and how social entrepreneurship could facilitate business growthand renewal is essential for future pursuit of social entrepreneurship. The importance of communication, operational,social, and collaborative technology was highlighted, and the study concluded with limitations and future researchopportunities

Insight from Nigerian banking customers discussions:a study of contextual semantic search and Twitter sentiment analysis

Abstract Globally, the bank is a significant financial institution that engages customers in millions daily. This financial institution helps its customers in saving their money, with withdrawals, and money transfer electronically. Despite the inevitability of these financial institutions, they are still struggling to improve their customer’s satisfaction index scores. The intervention of the Central Bank and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission are yielding positive results whenever the local bank failed, but the response time to the customer grievances is quite challenging. The literature reviewed for this study indicates the cruciality of the sentiment analysis technique. This study utilized Twitter Crawler API called the Twitter Scraper for data collection and Textblob, Vader and SentiStrength for the data analyses. The result shows the sentiments in the International Authorization Banking group as against the National Authorization group and a slight difference between the polarities of their customer’s tweets. This study gives new insights internationally and nationally to banking managers and proposes future research directions

Silver nanoparticle synthesis by Acalypha wilkesiana extract: phytochemical screening, characterization, influence of operational parameters, and preliminary antibacterial testing

Single pot green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was successfully carried out using medicinal plantextract ofAcalypha wilkesianavia bottom-up approach. Five imperative operational parameters (pH, contact time,concentration, volume ratio and temperature) pivotal to the synthesis of silver nanoparticles were investigated.The study showed pH 9, 90 min contact time, 0.001 M Agþconcentration, volume ratio 1:9 (extract: Agþsolu-tion), and temperature between 90–100�C were important for the synthesis ofAcalypha wilkesianasilvernanoparticles (AW-AgNPs). Phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of saponins,flavonoids, phenols andtriterpenes for A.wilkesiana. These phytomolecules served as both capping and stabilizing agent in the greensynthesis of silver nanoparticles. AW-AgNPs was characterized by UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Fourier TransformInfrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). The surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) was observed at 450 nm which is acharacteristic absorbance region of AW-AgNPs formation as a result of the collective oscillation of free electron ofsilver nanoparticles. FTIR Spectroscopy confirmed the presence of functional groups responsible for bioreductionof Agþ. SEM and TEM results confirmed a well dispersed AW-AgNPs of spherical shape. EDX shows the elementaldistribution and confirmed AgNPs with a characteristic intense peak at 3.0 keV. AW-AgNPs showed significantinhibition against selected Gram negative and Gram positive prevailing bacteria. AW-AgNPs can therefore berecommended as potential antimicrobial and therapeutic agent against multidrug resistant pathogens

Stigma of Covid -19 on economic activities:a case study of Shein in Mexico

Abstract During the economic crisis due to a virus called COVID-19, different countries were affected worldwide, and several micro and macro companies have been affected because they had to temporarily close their business platform or experience a decrease in their sales. The conflict has reached Mexico, causing a voluntary quarantine. Mexicans’ perception of China has worsened because of the pandemic. International companies from China are affected by their operations. This store has a decrease in sales due to a bad perception of Chinese products by Mexicans. This research embarked on quantitative methodology with descriptive statistics, correlation and ANOVA through SPSS version 26 to answer the arising research questions. The results show a mixed feeling of the buyers. Some customers wish to continue to patronize e-commerce while others wish to disassociate themselves with the e-commerce platform due to the stigma of the country of origin. This finding reveals that there is a tendency for the e-commerce platform to lose some of its customers. This study contributes to the literature of stigma theoretically and managerially. The managerial contribution will help SHEIN to regain their lost reputation and other companies that suffers from COVID-19 stigmatization

A review of thematic growth of International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

Abstract The growth in education, research, and development in developing economies cannot be compared with their developed counterparts. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), which have played a key role in nations’ socio-economic development, can leverage developing economies. The International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT) emerged to promote research and development using ICT in developing nations. The emergence has, over the years, churned out significant scientific publications. This review intends to commemorate the late IJEDICT founding editor and investigate the contribution of academic papers published in the journal to develop education using ICT in developing countries and the thematic growth of the publication forum. The paper presents a bibliometric content analysis of 692 studies published in IJEDICT from inception, 2005 until January 2021. Findings from this review suggest useful implications for researchers, ICT managers, institutions, policymakers, and nations

Customer satisfaction:refunds from European airlines during COVID-19

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has affected most industries globally and has led to many sectors coming to a standstill. One of the major problems it has caused concerns restrictions on movement as well as travel bans. These restrictions have negatively affected the transport industry, and especially aviation, worldwide. This paper analyses reviews given by passengers to different European airlines regarding refunds during the pandemic. The data was extracted during January 2020 and February 2021. According to the results, over 94 per cent of the customers were not satisfied with the services they received. Airline names turned out to be negatively correlated with the final overall ratings of the airlines, indicating that the higher the negative perception of the name, the lower the passengers’ ratings of the airline. Ninety per cent of the passengers concerned flew Economy Class and 27 per cent of them were citizens of the United Kingdom: 88 per cent of them were travelling for “leisure”. The vast majority of flights originated in London (9%), and the busiest route was London to Stockholm. The city with the highest number of layovers was Istanbul