Farmers’ Access to Agricultural Information Sources: Evidences from Rural Pakistan

The current study was conducted to probe farmers’ accessible agricultural information sources in rural areas of Pakistan. For this purpose a random sample of 160 households from four districts of the Punjab province of Pakistan was selected. Data were collected using validated and expert reviewed questionnaire with the help of interview method. The results revealed that majority of farmers (47.5%) ranked neighbor-friends-relatives as first source of information while 31.9% of farmers ranked this source as second and 33.7% farmers’ ranked it as third major source. With contrast to this very less farmers (10%) ranked agricultural extension staff as first information source. Keeping in view the study results, the performance of extension staff is not encouraging;therefore government should plan and launch a policy to foster performance of public agricultural extension system to fulfill the advanced technological needs of farmers to flourish sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Information Sources Consulted by Women in African Countries to Manage Menopausal Symptoms:A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Despite an abundance of information regarding menopausal women in western society, African menopausal women have been overlooked in menopausal research, particularly, where they find information regarding menopause. Since inadequate health-related knowledge on menopause negatively affects the understanding of and coping with menopause and related symptoms, it is important to determine where women in Africa obtain their information about menopause. Aim: To conduct a systematic review to identify and analyse information sources consulted by menopausal women in the African region regarding the management of menopausal symptoms. Method: PubMed, Embase (OVID), Google Scholar, Medline (OVID), Medline in Process (OVID), Scopus, https://www.africabib.org/, African Index Medicus;http://indexmedicus.afro.who. int/,and African Journals Online (AJOL) were searched for publications from January 2000 to April 2017. Fourteen studies met the eligibility criteria. Twelve were quantitative while two were qualitative. Studies were independently appraised by two researchers using checklists from the Centre for Evidence-Based Management. Results: Meta-analysis explored the prevalence of different information sources reported with friends being the highest (44%, 95% CI: [0.35, 0.54]) followed by relatives (35%, 95% CI: [0.22, 0.50]) with medical providers being sources of information for only 30% of participants (95% CI: [0.15, 0.50]). Conclusion: Information regarding menopause among African women emanated primarily from friends and relatives, suggesting that women perceive menopause as a natural process whereby information is the best gleaned from informal sources. However, health care should aim to increase public awareness of menopause education and strengthen efforts to provide accurate, timely and helpful information for women and their friends and families.

Risk Information Sources for Snow Disaster Risk Preparedness in Scotland

Heavy snow disruptions are common and costly occurrences in the UK,including Scotland.Yet,heavy snow remains an underresearched aspect of disaster risks in Scotland.This study critically examined the 2018 heavy snow event in Scotland referred to as the“Beast from the East”(BfE)in order to explore the different sources of information used by the public in preparation for and response to heavy snow emergencies.Our study also examined the effectiveness of BfE risk communication between authorities and the public and sought to determine if there is a relationship between risk information received and the intention to mitigate risk.Data were collected through a semistructured survey from(n=180)residents of the Annandale and Eskdale region of Dumfries and Galloway,Scotland.Our analysis shows that public authority information sources were the most sought-after information sources,followed by online and web sources.We found statistically significant differences between groups(such as age,gender,and mobility/disability)in terms of using risk information sources.Further analysis shows that the relationship between information received and the intention to mitigate risks is not linear but influenced by intervening variables such as work pressures,financial commitment,and stakeholders’expectations.We argue that where full adherence to official risk advice is required,policymakers should carefully consider issues around these three factors.

Effect of Online Social Networking on Emotional Status and Its Interaction with Offline Reality during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic in China

Background:During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China,social interactions shifted to online spaces due to lockdowns and social distancing measures.As a result,the impact of online social networking on users’emotional status has become stronger than ever.This study examines the association between online social networking and Internet users’emotional status and how offline reality affects this relationship.Methods:The study utilizes cross-sectional online survey data(n=3004)and Baidu Migration big data from the first 3 months of the pandemic.Two dimensions of online networking are measured:social support and information sources.Results:First,individuals’online social support(β=0.16,p<0.05)and information sources(β=0.08,p<0.01)are both positively associated to their emotional status during the epidemic.Second,these positive associations are moderated by social status and provincial pandemic control interventions.With regards to the moderation effect of social status,the constructive impact of information sources on emotional well-being is more pronounced among individuals from vulnerable groups compared to those who are not.With regard to the moderation effect of provincial interventions,online social support has the potential to alleviate the adverse repercussions of high rates of confirmed COVID-19 cases and strict lockdown measures while simultaneously augmenting the favorable effects of recovery.Conclusion:The various dimensions of social networking exert distinct effects on emotional status through diverse mechanisms,all of which must be taken into account when designing and adapting pandemic-control interventions.

Study on Information Diffusion Analysis in Social Networks and Its Applications

Due to the prevalence of social network services, more and more attentions are paid to explore how information diffuses and users affect each other in these networks, which has a wide range of applications, such as viral marketing, reposting prediction and social recommendation. Therefore, in this paper, we review the recent advances on information diffusion analysis in social networks and its applications. Specifically, we first shed light on several popular models to describe the information diffusion process in social networks, which enables three practical applications, i.e., influence evaluation, influence maximization and information source detection. Then, we discuss how to evaluate the authority and influence based on network structures. After that, current solutions to influence maximiza- tion and information source detection are discussed in detail, respectively. Finally, some possible research directions of information diffu- sion analysis are listed for further study.

Storytelling and environmental information: connecting schoolchildren and herpetofauna in Morocco

Northwestern Morocco is undergoing a sudden change in the level of infrastructure growth and pressure on the environment from increased tourism.The ongoing changes are raising questions about how the ecosystem will react,and the relevant drivers of these changes.The Oued Laou valley in north-west Morocco hosts high landscape,species and human cultural diversity.The Talassemtane National Park has been established to preserve the envi-ronment in this region;however,what information tools are available to children regarding this environment?The ecosystem is illustrated here using three components:herpetofauna(representing ecosystem components),prob-lems related to water quantity and quality(representing interactions within ecosystem components)and Talassemtane National Park(representing a case of ecosystem management).A children’s book was written on this topic,and when the book was delivered to pupils,a questionnaire was included,aimed at determining their sources of environ-mental information.The results identified major changes in the sources of information utilized by children in this part of Morocco,a clear role of schools in explaining ecosystem components,and an increasing role of TV in environmental information supply.The role of the family was found to be less important than TV or school.Another major source of pupils’environmental knowledge is personal observation and hands-on experience,both for rural and urban children.Children are willing to discover and understand complex systems,and researchers should be encouraged to supply children with correct and up-to-date information on environmental systems,focusing at first on the local environment,as a background for sustainable development.