scholarly journals Analyzing mobile phone usage in agricultural modernization and rural development

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-147
Author(s):  
Nawab Khan ◽  
Badar N. Siddiqui ◽  
Nanak Khan ◽  
Farhatullah Khan ◽  
Naqeeb Ullah ◽  
...  

The agricultural sector worldwide is facing many issues relating to crop productivity due to the lack of communication between extension workers and farmers. To reduce this gap, information technology like mobile phones are one of the essential communication devices in numerous fields as well as agriculture. This review aims to analyze mobile phone usage in agricultural modernization and rural development. The advancement of the agricultural sector in rural areas is essential for reducing poverty among growers. As we all know, agricultural activities provide employment opportunities and generate income in rural areas. Poverty can be decreased by advancement in the agriculture sector for better production. Agriculture production, socioeconomic conditions, and food security can be improved by increasing the usage of mobile phones for easy and accurate agricultural knowledge sharing to the farming community.

1970 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-96
Author(s):  
E.S. Salau ◽  
S. L. Kachiro ◽  
Y.M. Darason ◽  
J.E. Cyril

This study investigated the benefits of mobile phone usage among cassava processors in Lafia Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 81 cassava processors across four processing centres as respondents. Data collection was by a structured interview schedule. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and a linear regression model. The results show that the majority (80.2%) of the respondents were females; the respondents’ mean age was 37 years. All (100%) the respondents had one level of education or the other with a greater proportion (49.4%) of them having primary education. Their mean monthly income was N88, 395.06. The majority (72.8%) of them owned mobile phones which they used for business communication with customers. There was high level (M>2.0) of use of mobile phones for business communication by the respondents. The perceived benefits of mobile phone usage were reduced cost of transportation (67.9%); stability of prices of raw materials (66.7%); easy access to market information (61.7%) among others. The regression results show that only membership of social group and ownership of mobile phone had significant effects on level of use of mobile phones for business communication. The major constraints to the use of mobile phones for business communication were poor mobile network services in rural areas (63%), Lack of /unstable power supply to charge phones (48.2%) and high cost of recharge cards (47%). It was recommended that governments at all levels should provide electricity to rural communities to promote agricultural production and processing. Cassava processors in the area need to be mobilized by extension service providers (ADP and private) to form cooperative groups to enhance their businesses.Key words: Mobile Phone, Entrepreneurship Skills, Cassava Processors.


2012 ◽  
pp. 129-133
Author(s):  
Attila Buday-Sántha

In a national economy, the considerable part of its available territory consists of the so called rural area which is mainly used by the agricultural sector. In our days, the rural areas are characterized by the loss of their economic, administrative etc. functions. The agricultural sector is able to utilize the rural areas, though other economic activities play important role as well. To evaluate the agricultural sector in terms of the agribusiness, it is clear that the situation of the agricultural sector is not only decisive for the rural areas, but also for the whole national economy, and therefore, it is part of its balanced development.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yao Jie Xie ◽  
Daphne SK Cheung ◽  
Alice Y Loke ◽  
Bernice L Nogueira ◽  
Karry M Liu ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND No study has comprehensively investigated the association between the usage of typical screen-based electronic media devices and sleep quality in a Chinese population with individuals in a wide range of ages. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to understand the characteristics of television (TV) viewing, computer usage, and mobile phone usage in a representative Chinese population in Macau and to examine their roles in predicting the variations in sleep quality. METHODS This cross-sectional study was an analysis of 1500 Macau residents aged 15 to 90 years based on a community-based health needs assessment study entitled, “Healthy Living, Longer Lives.” Data collection was conducted in 7 districts of Macau from 2017 to 2018 through face-to-face interviews. The durations of daily TV viewing, computer usage, and mobile phone usage were recorded in a self-administered questionnaire. The Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess the sleep quality. RESULTS The prevalence of TV, computer, and mobile phone usage was 78.4% (1176/1500), 51.6% (769/1490), and 85.5% (1276/1492), respectively. The average daily hours of usage were 1.75 (1.62), 1.53 (2.26), and 2.85 (2.47) hours, respectively. Females spent more time watching TV (<i>P</i>=.03) and using mobile phones (<i>P</i>=.02) and less time on the computer (<i>P</i>=.04) as compared to males. Older adults were more likely to watch TV while young people spent more time using the computer and mobile phones (<i>P</i> for all trends&lt;.001). The mean PSQI global score was 4.79 (2.80) among the participants. Females exhibited significantly higher PSQI scores than males (5.04 vs 4.49, respectively; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). No linear association was observed between the PSQI score and the amount of time spent on the 3 electronic devices (<i>P</i>=.58 for PSQI-TV, <i>P</i>=.05 for PSQI-computer, and <i>P</i>=.52 for PSQI-mobile phone). Curve estimation showed significant quadratic curvilinear associations in PSQI-TV (<i>P</i>=.003) and PSQI-computer (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) among all the participants and in PSQI-mobile phone among youths (age, 15-24 years; <i>P</i>=.04). After adjustment of the gender, age, body mass index, demographics, and lifestyle factors, more than 3 hours of TV viewing and 4 hours of computer usage or mobile phone usage was associated with 85% (95% CI 1.04-1.87; <i>P</i>=.008), 72% (95% CI 1.01-2.92; <i>P</i>=.045), and 53% (95% CI 1.06-2.22; <i>P</i>=.03) greater odds of having poor sleep quality (PSQI score&gt;5), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The mobile phone was the most popular screen-based electronic device used in the Macau population, especially among young people. “J” shape associations were observed between sleep quality and the duration of TV viewing, computer usage, and mobile phone usage, indicating that the extreme use of screen-based electronic devices predicted poorer sleep status, whereas moderate use would be acceptable.


Author(s):  
Angelo Levis ◽  
Laura Masiero ◽  
Paolo Orio ◽  
Susan Biggin ◽  
Spiridione Garbisa

Uncertainty about the association between health risks and exposure to radiofrequency radiation emitted by cellular and cordless mobile phones can be addressed by a critical analysis of the methodology used in studies assessing this relationship. Studies funded by cellphone companies give reassuring conclusions but are affected by biases and flaws, whereas public-funded studies are without these errors and show acute and chronic effects, including head tumors, findings supported by biological evidence.


Author(s):  
Sadia Jamil

Through examining use of mobile in Pakistan's Sindh province, the current chapter presents a unique and interesting case of the socio-economic impacts of mobile use on users' lifestyles. Although there exists an obvious divide between urban and rural areas in terms of impacts of mobile use, the case of Pakistan could serve as an alert to scholars that why mobile use remains limited in narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas against a backdrop of mobile being widely believed to be able to play a big role in narrowing the social and economic gap between urban and rural areas. The author of this chapter found that mobile use was also gender-biased in rural areas, resulting in a gap between males and females as far as social and economic impacts of mobile use on their lifestyles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-118
Author(s):  
Kumar Bhatta

Multi functionality of agriculture in the developed countries is employed as a means of rural revitalization and economic circulation. Although farm diversification in the developing countries is much more crucial, in most of the rural areas of the developing countries, it is not performed, and it is delayed. In this regard, the main objective of this study is to explore the possibilities of the multi functionality of agriculture for the sustainable rural development for the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the developing countries. The empirical study was conducted in two of the rural districts of Nepal called Nuwakot and Rasuwa. The author intentionally chose these districts because it is one separate area north of the capital city Kathmandu and bordering to China. Further, even though the location is nearby the capital city, and the rural villages have excessive potentials for tourism activities, the farmers are still focusing on subsistence farming without getting benefits from tourism. Based on the macro data of Nepal government and field visit, the author conducted a case study. This study explored that most of the household heads are working in the agricultural sector, which can be one of the opportunities to launch multi functionality of agriculture. However, due to their weak educational background, they are expecting external supports in terms of knowledge, technology, and more importantly, supportive policy. The federal and central government should give subsidy to the farmers so that they canstart multi functionality in their farms, which lead to sustainable rural development.


Author(s):  
Daniel C. Doolan ◽  
Sabin Tabirca ◽  
Laurence T. Yang

Ever since the discovery of the Mandelbrot set, the use of computers to visualise fractal images have been an essential component. We are looking at the dawn of a new age, the age of ubiquitous computing. With many countries having near 100% mobile phone usage, there is clearly a potentially huge computation resource becoming available. In the past years there have been a few applications developed to generate fractal images on mobile phones. This chapter discusses three possible methodologies whereby such images can be visualised on mobile devices. These methods include: the generation of an image on a phone, the use of a server to generate the image and finally the use of a network of phones to distribute the processing task.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s346-s346
Author(s):  
Evelyn Sanchez ◽  
Lauro Perdigão-Neto ◽  
Sânia Alves dos Santos ◽  
Camila Rizek ◽  
Maria Renata Gomez ◽  
...  

Background: The introduction of new technologies into the medical field has the duality of improvement and concerns about correct usage and cleaning. Mobile phones are used by healthcare professionals (HCPs) in the work place, and there is not an official policy about their use in health environment. Methods: We asked 60 intensive care unit (ICU) HCPs from 2 units (the burn unit and the internal medicine unit) to participate in an electronic survey about mobile phone usage and hand hygiene compliance; we also cultured the hands and mobile phones of the participants. Unfortunately, 13 HCPs did not participate. Susceptibility testing of the strains was conducted, as well as molecular testing. Results: Overall, 47 HCPs responded to the inquiry: 19% were nurses (9 of 47), 19% were resident physicians (9 of 47), 17% were nursery technicians (8 of 47), 17% were physiotherapists (8 of 47), 13% were cleaning staff (6 of 47), 11% were consultants (5 of 47), and 4% were technicians (2 of 47). Moreover, 26 of 47 participants (55%) were woman and 21 (45%) were men. From all HCP categories, 39 of 47 respondents (83%) reported that they had optimal hand hygiene compliance. However, 92% of respondents had a colonized hand and 90% had a colonized mobile phone. Also, 44 of 47 HCPs (94%) reported that the took their personal mobile phone into the workplace; 40 (85%) reported that they used it during the work day and 35 (74%) reported that they cleaned it. However, 8 HCPs (26%) reported that they had never cleaned the device. All of the HCPs understood that mobile phones can harbor bacteria, and 27 of 47 HCPs (57.45%) indicated that they use 70% alcohol to clean their mobile phones. In contrast, the first choice for hand hygiene was water and soap in 51% of HCPs (24 of 47). Also, 3 HCPs did not have any colonization in the hand culture but had healthcare-associated infection (HAI) pathogens in the mobile phone culture. Conclusions: A policy regarding mobile phone usage in the healthcare setting should be in place, and cleaning of electronic devices in hospitals should be standardized.Funding: NoneDisclosures: NoneFunding: NoneDisclosures: None


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
Alexandru Sin ◽  
Czesław Nowak ◽  
Ion Burlacu

Rural development is an important part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, as the Second Pillar of CAP, covering a wide range of actions, aimed at achieving a balanced territorial development of rural economies and communities. Previous studies highlighted significant similarities between Romania and Poland, regarding agricultural sector and rural areas. A k-mean cluster analysis was performed on Romanian and Polish NUTS2 regions, in order to identify common problems and examples of good practices. The analysis considered five clusters, built over a dataset of four variables: EAFRD investments in farms per capita, share of agricultural output in GDP, utilized agricultural area, and GDP per capita. Out of the five clusters, only one presented a balanced composition of Romanian and Polish regions, also representing a good example of attracting rural development funds where they're mostly needed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-46
Author(s):  
Deepak Chaudhary

This paper analyzes agricultural development in terms of policy and implementation in Nepal. More than two-thirds populations in Nepal reside in the rural area and most of them depend on agriculture. Subsistence form of agriculture is common in Nepal. Rural Area and agriculture are interrelated; like two parts of the same coin. The contribution of agriculture to national Gross Domestic Product is remarkable; however, it is declining over the decades. In fact, the agricultural sector cannot attract young people; the trend of migration from rural to urban is significantly increasing. The poverty is exceedingly marked in rural Nepal. The Government of Nepal emphasizes agriculture development in for poverty alleviation. Order to alleviate poverty, rural development, and national economic growth through the policy level. However, available data and qualitative analysis reveal that the outcome from the agricultural sector is not satisfactory due to several factors. In such situation, more than half of the population has been facing food insufficiency. Because of weak policy and implementation, the agriculture sector s been suffering poor outcome. In that way, the government of Nepal along with concerned authorities should effectively implement agriculture policies in order to reduce poverty and rural development. The agriculture-rural accommodating policies and successful performance are crucial for poverty alleviation and rural development.


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