Search

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the determinants of farmers' participation in agricultural information-sharing digital groups and their impacts on farm performance. Design/methodology/approach: Primary data of the 2015/2016 crop year collected from 175 cattle farmers were analyzed using descriptive statistics and econometric models. Farmers who had smartphones and participated in social groups/applications, especially those created to exchange agricultural information, were considered adopters of the technology. Findings: A Poisson hurdle model showed that farmers' decision to participate in agricultural information-sharing digital groups is determined by schooling, age (negative effect) and use of tools for planning production. The intensity of participation is affected by risk propensity, interaction with specialist advisors, use of tools for planning production and participation in cooperatives. The authors also found empirical evidence that farmers' participation in agricultural information-sharing digital groups positively affects farm income per hectare. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study are important for accelerating the diffusion of low-cost digital technologies, which are powerful tools for improving farmers' sharing and access to valuable information in real time and in locations far from urban areas. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical analysis of the adoption and impacts of agricultural information-sharing digital groups/applications by Brazilian cattle farmers. The diffusion of simple digital technologies is important for reducing heterogeneity and increasing the efficiency of cattle production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy & Internet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Disinformation, Messaging Applications, Misinformation, Social Media Keywords: Misinformation; Disinformation; Messaging Applications; Social Media EN Misinformation Disinformation Messaging Applications Social Media 361 366 6 06/08/23 20230501 NES 230501 Concerns about problematic information circulating on digital media platforms have dominated discussions among the public, politicians, and academics alike. Hence, to understand the role of messaging applications, research needs to move away from the (big data) methodologies that have dominated social media research. Studying Misinformation in Mobile Messaging Applications. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract Background Fear of missing out (FoMO) can increase loneliness and smartphone addiction and decrease academic performance in university students. Most studies investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction in developed countries, and no studies were found to examine this association in Iran. The mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction and the mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in this relationship in Iranian university students. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 447 students from Urmia University of Medical Sciences were investigated. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, Przybylski's FoMO scale, Pham and Taylor's academic performance questionnaire, Russell's loneliness scale, and Kwon's smartphone addiction scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 23 and SmartPLS ver. 2. Results FoMO had a positive and direct association with smartphone addiction (β = 0.315, t-value = 5.152, p 0.05). FoMO also indirectly correlated with academic performance through students' loneliness (β =—0.368, t-value = 6.377, p

In a survey study of WhatsApp users across 3 different countries (N = 3,664), we tested how misinformation processes on messaging apps are driven by the levels of information shared versus social dynamics within messaging groups. Integrating recent perspectives, we offer a conceptual model that distinguishes (1) the informational activity of users and (2) trust among group members as predictors of misinformation outcomes within WhatsApp groups. Specifically, we focus on how content-sharing practices of users and characteristics of messaging groups (size, type, homogeneity) explain information exposure and group trust, which then predict misinformation risk perceptions and corrections. Structural equation models revealed that contributing content (vs. checking content) positively predicted (mis)information exposure, which then positively predicted risk perceptions and social corrections. Additionally, smaller, closer, and homogeneous groups were associated with greater group trust, which then predicted lower risk perceptions and, concurrently, more social corrections. Overall, the study shows the value of testing informational and social pathways in parallel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fear of missing out (FoMO) can increase loneliness and smartphone addiction and decrease academic performance in university students. Most studies investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction in developed countries, and no studies were found to examine this association in Iran. The mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between FoMO and smartphone addiction and the mediating role of loneliness and academic performance in this relationship in Iranian university students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 447 students from Urmia University of Medical Sciences were investigated. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, Przybylski's FoMO scale, Pham and Taylor's academic performance questionnaire, Russell's loneliness scale, and Kwon's smartphone addiction scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 23 and SmartPLS ver. 2. Results: FoMO had a positive and direct association with smartphone addiction (β = 0.315, t-value = 5.152, p < 0.01). FoMO also had a positive and direct association with students' loneliness (β = 0.432, t-value = 9.059, p < 0.01) and a negative and direct association with students' academic performance (β = -0.2602, t-value = 4.201, p < 0.01). FoMO indirectly associated with smartphone addiction through students' loneliness (β = 0.311, t-value = 5.075, p < 0.01), but academic performance was not mediator of smartphone addiction (β = 0.110, t-value = 1.807, p > 0.05). FoMO also indirectly correlated with academic performance through students' loneliness (β =—0.368, t-value = 6.377, p < 0.01). Conclusions: FoMO can be positively associated with students' smartphone addiction, and loneliness is an important mediator of this association. Since smartphone addiction could harm students' academic performance, thus, healthcare administrators should reduce students' loneliness and improve their academic performance by adopting practical strategies to help students to manage their time and control their smartphone use. Holding self-management skills classes, keeping students on schedule, turning off smartphone notifications, encouraging students to engage in sports, and participating in group and family activities will help manage FoMO and loneliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on empirical data, this article examines the ways in which young people negotiated messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp in their everyday lives, focusing in particular on the read-receipt feature embedded in the applications. While it is important to continue exposing and critically examining the power structures and socio-technological relations in which young people's everyday engagement with social media platforms and messaging applications are entangled, the article argues that it is also crucial not to overlook the possibilities and forms of agency that can exist in this complex environment. Combining insights from Foucault and de Certeau, the article seeks to shed new light on the ways in which tactical agency can be enacted and cultivated by young people. This article contributes to current debates about agency, resistance and power in contemporary digital society as well as makes recommendations to foster more responsive digital literacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) are a type of assistive technology that uses the brain signals of users to establish a communication and control channel between them and an external device. BCI systems may be a suitable tool to restore communication skills in severely motor-disabled patients, as BCI do not rely on muscular control. The loss of communication is one of the most negative consequences reported by such patients. This paper presents a BCI system focused on the control of four mainstream messaging applications running in a smartphone: WhatsApp, Telegram, e-mail and short message service (SMS). The control of the BCI is achieved through the well-known visual P300 row-column paradigm (RCP), allowing the user to select control commands as well as spelling characters. For the control of the smartphone, the system sends synthesized voice commands that are interpreted by a virtual assistant running in the smartphone. Four tasks related to the four mentioned messaging services were tested with 15 healthy volunteers, most of whom were able to accomplish the tasks, which included sending free text e-mails to an address proposed by the subjects themselves. The online performance results obtained, as well as the results of subjective questionnaires, support the viability of the proposed system.

Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) are a type of assistive technology that uses the brain signals of users to establish a communication and control channel between them and an external device. BCI systems may be a suitable tool to restore communication skills in severely motor-disabled patients, as BCI do not rely on muscular control. The loss of communication is one of the most negative consequences reported by such patients. This paper presents a BCI system focused on the control of four mainstream messaging applications running in a smartphone: WhatsApp, Telegram, e-mail and short message service (SMS). The control of the BCI is achieved through the well-known visual P300 row-column paradigm (RCP), allowing the user to select control commands as well as spelling characters. For the control of the smartphone, the system sends synthesized voice commands that are interpreted by a virtual assistant running in the smartphone. Four tasks related to the four mentioned messaging services were tested with 15 healthy volunteers, most of whom were able to accomplish the tasks, which included sending free text e-mails to an address proposed by the subjects themselves. The online performance results obtained, as well as the results of subjective questionnaires, support the viability of the proposed system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]