Analysis of social media use among academic libraries

Social Media (SM) has found uses and application in academic library for various services and functions. This assertion was to be determined among Nigerian university libraries in terms of what platforms, average number of posts, engagement in terms of like, share, comment of users, number of likes on the SM account, type of information disseminated on SM. The result shows a low use of SM among the sampled university libraries in terms of number of SM accounts operated, number of posts, level of engagement in terms of like, share and comment to post from the university libraries’ SM accounts. Also low number of likes for the SM, type of information disseminated is also very low. Most university libraries do not even have any SM accounts. Recommendations were made as to how to improve on the use of SM platform, services that can be rendered on it, how to make it more engaging, and the type of information that should be sent with the frequency of posting messages

Effective knowledge management as a performance enhancing tool in construction project management

Knowledge management is concerned with the development and exploitation of the knowledge assets of an organisation with a view to furthering the organisations’ objectives. The vital role that knowledge management processes plays in the performance of business organisations has been the basis of several studies - a number of companies, operating in various other industries, have proven the need for, and performance enhancing benefits of, adopting knowledge management processes in one form or the other. Taking these accounts into consideration, this research study attempts to test the hypothesis that effective knowledge management use would constitute a performance enhancing tool in construction project management enterprise in South Africa. The research survey is thus carried out among construction project management professionals in South Africa. The levels of awareness and use of knowledge management systems among construction project management professionals in South Africa is researched into; this revealed a mostly “medium to high” level of awareness and use. The Project Efficiency Review approach to performance measurement is primarily adopted for this study. This showed limited correlation between knowledge management use and enhanced performance in construction project performance. Other performance measurement approaches (Metrics, Economic and Market Value approaches) also showed limited correlation. Two causative factors for this situation are construction project scope changes and schedule delays, which are seemingly pervasive in contemporary South Africa. As such, further research is recommended to establish more appropriate “objective” performance measurement approaches that would be able to accommodate these complexities. This would facilitate the making of a business case for knowledge management use in construction project management

Production of amylase from Aspergillus niger using defined synthetic growth medium and also rice (Oryza sativa) as growth substrate. E3

Aspergillus niger grew in both a growth medium with rice as carbon and growth source and in a defined synthetic medium with varying carbon and nitrogen sources at 25 o C producing amylase. Optimum amylase activity in rice was expressed on the eighth day of incubation as 0.58 Units. In the synthetic growth medium with starch as carbon source and tryptone as nitrogen source, optimum amylase activity was expressed on the seventh day as 0.47 Units; with ammonium chloride as nitrogen source and maltose as carbon source of growth, optimum amylase activity was expressed on the ninth day as 3.525 Units. This investigation suggests a means of production of amylase for industrial purposes

A Rule-Based Higher Institution of Learning Admission Decision Support System

Higher education management is key to the development of any nation. Some of the challenges that are often managed include examination, admission, and record problem. In this work, we focused on the admission system in higher schools of learning because it is fundamental to solving other problems. We studied the application of Decision Support Systems in Schools and came up with a new Decision Support Tool for admission processing. The system relied on rules generated from information gathered from admission administrators. The significant of the work lied in the fact that uncertainty in admission process and unnecessary time wastage are eliminated

Financial Hardship from Purchasing Prescription Drugs Among Older Adults in the United States Before, During, and After the Medicare Part D “Donut Hole”: Findings from 1998, 2001, 2015, and 2021

BACKGROUND: Cost-related nonadherence compromises successful and effective management of chronic disease. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) aimed to increase the affordability of outpatient prescription drugs for older adults (older than age 64 years). The Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance coverage gap (“donut hole”) created by the MMA was fully closed in 2020 by the ACA. OBJECTIVES: To (1) describe prescription drug coverage and financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs among older American adults for 2021, (2) compare these results with findings from data collected before the MMA and during the progressive elimination of the Medicare Part D coverage gap, and (3) compute the likelihood for financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs using variables for year, prescription drug insurance coverage, health-related information, and demographics. METHODS: Data were obtained from 4 nationally distributed, crosssectional surveys of older adults to track coverage for and financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs. Surveys in 1998 and 2001 were mailed to national random samples of US seniors. Of 2,434 deliverable surveys, 700 (29%) provided useable data. Data were collected in 2015 and 2021 via online surveys sent to samples of US adults. Of 27,694 usable responses, 4,445 were from older adults. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses described relationships among financial hardship and demographics, diagnoses, and daily prescription drug use. RESULTS: Five percent of older adults lacked prescription drug coverage in 2021, continuing a downward trend from 32% in 1998, 29% in 2001, and 9% in 2015. Contrastingly, 20% of older adults reported financial hardship from prescription drug purchases in 2021, bending an upward trend from 19% in 1998, 31% in 2001, and 36% in 2015. Financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs was more likely to be reported by older adults lacking prescription drug insurance, taking multiple medications daily, and having a low annual household income across all survey years. The latter 2 of these 3 factors were still predictive of financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs among older adults with prescription drug insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Financial hardship from purchasing prescription drugs is still experienced by many older adults after the full implementation of the MMA and ACA. Lacking prescription drug coverage, taking more than 5 prescription drugs daily, and a low annual household income may increase the likelihood of experiencing this financial hardship. Pharmacists can be a resource for older adults making choices about their prescription drug coverages and purchases. DISCLOSURES: Funding was provided by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy New Investigator Program, the University of Minnesota Grant-in-Aid of Research Program, the Peters Endowment for Pharmacy Practice Innovation, the Chapman University Research Program, and the University Minnesota Research Program. Plain language summary Almost all older adults in the United States have prescription drug insurance, but many still cannot afford them. This is most true for those who take many daily prescriptions, do not have prescription insurance, and have a low income

Application of linear programming in production planning

Optimum utilization of limited resources in the production floor demands that the production manager makes decisions on the best allocation of limited resources. Linear programming techniques are applied in this study to a production planning problem in a feed mill producing company. The linear Programming model was formulated based on data obtained from the company operations’ diary. Data was processed with the help of Management Scientist Version 5.0. The study reveals improved profit through streamlining of the product range and cutting off the less productive products. This suggests the company may adopt the outcome of the linear programming techniques in production planning to improve monthly profit. This study has shown that linear programming techniques are powerful tools that can be of help to managers in decision making and allocation of limited resources and indicate operations and profit improvement

Optimization of processing parameters on the proximate properties of maize and soybean extrudates

Maize (TZSR-W-1 NARZO-20) and soybean (TGX1448) flours were used for the development of extruded products. The flour formulations were maize (46-52%), soybean (21-32%), and moisture content (16-26%). Central Composite Design (CCD) in Response Surface Methodology consisting five factors (maize to soybean-water weight ratio -X1, soybean to water weight ratio -X2, barrel temperature (120, 160 and 200oC) -X3, die diameter (6, 8 and 10mm) -X4 and screw speed (120, 160 and 200rpm) -X5 at three levels was used to determine the optimum process condition for the proximate properties of the extruded products. The process parameters significantly influenced the dependent variables at p<0.05. The coefficients of regression (R2) for the response equations ranged between 0.967 and 0.999 which is an indication that the variables were adequately fitted to the regression equation and could predict the proximate values of the extrudates. The optimum process condition at desirability index of 1 were X1 (0.99), X2 (1.10), X3 (190oC), X4 (124rpm) and X5 (10mm)

Attitude of undergraduate students to information literacy: Bowen University experience

The study investigated the rationale behind undergraduates’ apathy for information literacy (IL) programme at Bowen University, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and a multi-stage sampling method was used to select a sample size of five hundred participants spread across disciplines and levels of study. A questionnaire containing closeended, structured items was used to gather data from the respondents and descriptive analyses, including percentages and frequency count were used to analyse the data collected. Three research questions were developed and answered and three research hypotheses were tested through the instrument. Results show that students’ attitude to information literacy significantly influences their information literacy skill and students’ perception of information literacy significantly influences their information literacy skills. Although perception of IL does not predict influence of IL on students, attitude to IL determines the influence of IL on students’ information literacy skills. The study further revealed that the erroneous equation of technology literacy with information literacy was largely responsible for students' lukewarm disposition to information literacy. The study concludes by recommending a paradigm shift from the traditional teaching delivery to a technology-driven, interactive pedagogy that will ginger the interest of the students and thus effect the desired attitudinal change to IL

Modelling the influence of hot air on the drying kinetics of turmeric slices

The influence of different drying temperatures and slice thicknesses on the drying kinetics of turmeric slices was studied to show how moisture is removed. The best model for predicting the drying kinetics was also determined. Turmeric slices (3 mm, 5 mm, and 7 mm) were dried at 40, 50, and 60 °C in a laboratory oven dryer. Four thin layer drying models (Newton, Henderson and Pabis, Logarithmic, and Page) were fitted to the experimental data and the selection was done based on the model with the highest correlation coefficient (R2), and lowest reduced chi-square (χ2), the sum of square error (SSE), and root mean square error (RMSE). Drying time varied between 420 min and 1140 min as the air temperature increased from 40 °C to 60 °C. The effective moisture diffusivity coefficient increased with increasing drying temperature and was found to be between 1.35×10-10 m2/s, and 5.00×10-10 m2/s, 3.00×10-10 m2/s and 10.91×10-10 m2/s, and 4.56×10-10 m2/s and 13.00×10-10 m2/s at 40 °C, 50 °C, and 60 °C, respectively. The values obtained for the activation energy for moisture diffusion were found to be 56.809, 56.060, and 45.561 kJ/mol for 3, 5, and 7 mm, respectively. The page model was found to best describe the oven drying of turmeric slices