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Yam flour (YMF) is an important staple food in the tropics but its utilization is limited by low nutrient and consumer acceptability. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of substituting yam flour with grain amaranth on chemical and sensory properties.

YMF and grain amaranth flour (GAF) were prepared on a dry matter basis; GAF was mixed with YMF at ratio 1:3. All flour samples were subjected to chemical (moisture, protein, fat, ash, crude fibre, carbohydrate and minerals) evaluation and sensory evaluation of the stiff gel was conducted by a ten‐member panel consisting of five adult males and five females.

GAF increased the protein content of YMF significantly at p < 0.05 from 1.8 to 9.63 per cent. There was a decrease in carbohydrate content of YAF when substituted with GAF. There was a significant increase (at p < 0.05) in phosphorus and sodium elements when YMF was substituted with GAF. There was no significant difference in acceptability of gel from grain amaranth and yam flour (GAF–YMF) compared with whole YMF gel on colour, texture, flavour and overall acceptability.

It was apparent that substitution of YMF with GAF improved nutrient composition without affecting the acceptability. This will further improve the nutritional status of people in YMF‐consuming areas.

This paper investigates the effect of abnormal increase in credit supply on economic growth in Nigeria after controlling for the quality of the legal system, size of central bank asset, banking sector cost efficiency and bank insolvency risk.

The authors employ the generalised method of moments (GMM) regression methodology to estimate the effect of abnormal increase in credit supply on two measures of economic growth in Nigeria.

The abnormal increase in credit supply has a significant effect on economic growth. Abnormal increase in credit supply increases real gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The abnormal increase in credit supply decreases real GDP per capita during the global financial crisis. The abnormal increase in domestic credit to the private sector has a significant positive effect on GDP per capita when there is strong legal system quality in Nigeria. In contrast, the abnormal increase in domestic credit to the private sector has a significant negative effect on real GDP growth when there is strong legal system quality in Nigeria.

The abnormal increase in credit supply is ineffective in increasing GDP per capita during crisis years. Policymakers should be cautious in pressuring financial institutions to release an abnormally large amount of credit into the economy particularly during financial crises. Rather, policymakers should encourage financial institutions to supply credit in a sustained manner – not in an abnormal manner –and in a way that supports growth.

The present study contributes to the literature by analysing the effect of abnormal increase in credit supply on economic growth in a developing country context.

Incidents of violence perpetrated through digital technology platforms or facilitated by these means have been reported, often in high-income countries. Very little scholarly attention has been given to the nature of technology-facilitated violence and abuse (TFVA) across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) despite an explosion in the use of various technologies. We conducted a literature review to identify and harmonize available data relating to the types of TFVA taking place in SSA. This was followed by an online survey of young adults through the SHYad.NET forum to understand the nature of TFVA among young adults in SSA. Our literature review revealed various types of TFVA to be happening across SSA, including cyberbullying, cyberstalking, trolling, dating abuse, image-based sexual violence, sextortion, and revenge porn. The results of our online survey revealed that both young men and women experience TFVA, with the most commonly reported TFVA being receiving unwanted sexually explicit images, comments, emails, or text messages. Female respondents more often reported repeated and/or unwanted sexual requests online via email or text message while male respondents more often reported experiencing violent threats. Respondents used various means to cope with TFVA including blocking the abuser or deleting the abused profile on social media.

The paper explored students-staff classroom co-creation and students' involvement in out-of-class engagements as means of fostering employability skills in higher education institutions (HEIs). The paper aimed to present an alternative but equally effective means that HEIs can leverage to foster relevant 21st Century employability skills among undergraduates using day-to-day in-class and out-of-class activities and other non-formal campus activities.

The study adopted descriptive survey design. A total of 350 undergraduates who participate in out-of-class activities were purposively selected from seven (7) faculties. An instrument designed by the author was used to gather data for the study. The instrument was subjected to Cronbach Alpha analysis for item-by-item consistency and it yielded the reliability co-efficient of 0.88. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency count, mean and standard deviation.

Interactive classrooms, where students and lecturers co-create to provide solutions to problems enhance students' self-esteem, problem solving, analytical, communication and leadership skills amongst others. It was also found that students who got involved in one or more out-of-class activity on campus acquire specific competencies such as networking, collaboration, communication, leadership, multidisciplinary thinking, etc.

Due to a limited sample size, it might be inappropriate to generalize findings. Researchers are encouraged to test this proposition further.

The paper highlights the need for HEIs to leverage student-staff co-creation and out-of-class engagement in their bid to produce employable graduates.

This paper clearly presents alternative but effective means of fostering employability in HEIs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of changes in credit stock on real and financial indicators in Turkey with a focus on conditional and time-varying dynamics.

In addition to lag-augmented vector autoregression (LA-VAR) based time-varying Granger causality tests, threshold models and a research setting that identifies high/low states of credit growth based on 24-month moving averages are used to explore regime-dependent behavior. For investigating the asymmetric dynamics, the authors use a methodology that identifies good/bad news in credit growth based on 24-month moving averages and standard deviations.

Results strongly suggest that the impact of changes in credit stock induces conditional responses. Moreover, we find evidence for asymmetric responses. In the case of Turkey, efforts to spur growth through credit produce a strong negative byproduct, a depreciation in the exchange rate. The authors also find that changes in credit stock have become more relevant for uncertainties in inflation and exchange rate expectations, particularly in the era after mid-2018 in which credit growth volatility has increased noticeably.

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of time-varying and conditional responses to a change in credit stock in a major emerging economy. Using a moving threshold based only on the available information in the analysis of state-dependency represents a new approach.

Acha (Digitaria exilis staph.) grain was purchased locally from Jos central market in Plateau State of Nigeria. The grain was washed, destoned, oven (cabinet)‐dried, dry milled, sieved and used as acha grain flour to substitute for wheat flour for the production of biscuit. The physical (spread ratio, break strength, weight) and sensory (colour, taste, odour, texture) qualities of the biscuit were determined. The spread ratio increases (5.95 to 7.33), while the bread strength decreases (1.97 to 1.49) with the increase in the acha grain flour percentage. The effects were generally significant at above 30 per cent substitution (p≤0.05).

A growing number of international travellers have influenced how hotels manage their customer satisfaction reviews and ratings. This study examines the influence of knowledge sharing on employee service quality and customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. Another purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating effect of artificial intelligence (AI) system quality on the relationship between knowledge sharing on employee service quality and customer satisfaction.

The research design was developed using the positivism approach and quantitative method. Data were collected via a self-administered survey from Vietnamese hotels that used AI systems in employees' work tasks. Three hundred and fifty pairs of questionnaires for frontline employees and customers were collected and used for the data analysis. Structural equation modelling was accessed to examine the framework model.

This research shows that the increase of knowledge sharing behaviours significantly influenced customer perceptions of employees' service quality. Furthermore, employee service quality positively affected customer satisfaction. An indirect impact of knowledge sharing on customer satisfaction via employee service quality was found. AI system quality moderated the effect of knowledge sharing on employee service quality whereby the higher the AI system quality, the stronger the impact of knowledge sharing on employee service quality. Therefore, a moderated mediation of employee service quality was found in examining the relationship between knowledge sharing and customer satisfaction.

This study's findings direct hotel knowledge management and marketing strategies to attract international customers. The study provides hotel managers with directions to increase customer satisfaction to create a competitive advantage in international marketing strategies.

This study's distinctive contribution lies in examining the phenomenon of employee service quality at the intersection of knowledge sharing and customer satisfaction and the use of AI systems from an emerging market context. Furthermore, the moderation role of AI quality has rarely been explored.

This paper explores the potential that block teaching offers to enhance employability in the context of large-scale classes. It suggests that block teaching, with its condensed structure, necessitates curriculum innovation, fosters participatory learning and peer-to-peer networking, and has been shown to increase student focus and enhance engagement and attainment, especially amongst diverse learners. As these are the same challenges that large-scale teaching faces, it is proposed that intensive modes of delivery could be scaled up in a way that may help to mitigate such problems as cohorts in business schools continue to increase in size.

The paper is based on secondary research and provides an overview of literature that looks at block teaching, followed by that which explores the challenges of large-scale teaching contexts. It compares and contrasts the gaps in both to suggest a way that they could be combined.

The paper provides key insights into changes in the contemporary landscape of teaching within UK business schools, which have seen increasingly large cohorts and draws out the key strengths of intensive modes of delivery, which include helping students to time manage effectively, encouraging curriculum innovation and the creation of participatory learning opportunities as well as providing closer personal relationships between students and staff. Outlining some of the well-documented issues that can arise when teaching larger cohorts, the paper suggests that scaling up blocked delivery may offer a new way help to overcome them.

Because of the chosen research approach, the research results are subject to generalisation. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions in large-scale teaching scenarios.

This paper includes implications for the development of innovative modes of teaching in the context of large cohorts, an experience that is increasingly common amongst British business schools and beyond.

This paper brings together two bodies of literature for the first time – that of intensive modes of teaching and that focuses on large-scale teaching contexts – for the first time to show how the former may help to overcome some of the key issues arising in the latter.

This paper aims to provide a conceptual model that elucidates the role of cognitive absorption in explaining behavioural intentions in virtual health communities.

Data were collected from 361 contributing members of virtual health communities from Gauteng, South Africa, using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling using AMOS software was used to analyse the data.

The findings show that cognitive absorption has a significant direct positive influence on content posters’ intentions to continue participating on virtual health community platforms. Cognitive absorption was also found to have an indirect influence on behavioural intentions through its influence on members’ attitude. It was also found to play a mediating role in the influence of perceived usefulness and behavioural intention.

The study shows the value of linking flow theory and the technology acceptance model to provide a comprehensive understanding of behavioural intentions in virtual health community forums.

Managers of virtual health communities need to pay attention to experiential aspects of their sites. Success in ensuring that community members are cognitively absorbed is key to the development of positive attitude and intentions towards virtual health community forums.

Virtual health communities play a new and growing role in the way health-related information and support is offered and accessed by those in need. Despite their importance, not much research has been done to explain the role of consumer experience in member behavioural intentions on such forums. The study contributes to this understanding by demonstrating the value of cognitive absorption in directly explaining users’ attitude and behavioural intentions. The study also sheds light on the role played by cognitive absorption in explaining the influence of perceived usefulness on behavioural intentions.

The aim of this study is to measure the mediating effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction and firm performance of small business and to identify the critical success constructs and significant path of emotional intelligence in relation to job satisfaction and firm performance.

This study provides an analysis of the relevant literature that has been published on the renowned journal of small business. This study’s theoretical framework and constructs were developed based on prior research of emotional intelligence in small business. Along with, data were gathered from 355 respondents, with a valid response rate of 73.95%. This study used the SEM-PLS to measure the validity of the theoretical framework and test the hypothesis.

This study revealed that infrastructure, leadership and management, salary, working hours, working environment and emotional intelligence are very crucial for job satisfaction and firm performance. Emotional intelligence mediated the relationship between five job satisfaction factors (working hours, organizational infrastructure, leadership and management, working environment, salary and other benefits) and firm performance. Thus, this study can contribute to enhancing firm performance and developing a new dimension of small business.

The result of this study will assist the researchers and service providers in understanding the mediating effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction and firm performance of small businesses. Thereby, policy formulation in the era of training of employees, leadership and technology-based services orientation will assist to in enhancing opportunities for small businesses and upholding sustainable business.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze the link of the mediating effect of emotional intelligence on job satisfaction and firm performance of small business.