African Journal of Inter/Multidisciplinary Studies
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Urbanisation and Urban Governance in Ghana: Identifying Key Actors and their Roles
Get PDFThe rapid increase in the urban population in Africa has created many urban challenges, including informalities, waste management problems, increased health risks, and growing urban poverty. With the unplanned spatial patterns and informalities that exist with the current urban population, this raises the question of whether African cities are ready to host more than 1.3 billion people by 2050 and still achieve urban sustainability. Using Ghana as a case study, this research undertook a critical review of urban population trends and their relation with economic growth. It identified the actors of urban governance in Ghana, as well as their roles, contributions and level of participation in urban governance processes. Findings indicate that most urban management decisions in Ghana are made by the government and exclude the non-governmental actors and citizens who bear the outcome of such decisions. This has resulted in deficiencies in actualising local needs, thus hindering the provision of urban services. The study proposes an inclusive and participatory form of urban governance with active participation of non-governmental actors and a paradigm shift from the existing urban management approaches to a more sustainable one that delivers socioeconomic benefits for more inclusive and sustainable cities in Africa in the future
Staff Relationship Strategies and School Effectiveness in Public Secondary Schools: Depicting Kwara State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis study examines the influence of staff relationship strategies adopted by school principals and their effectiveness in Kwara State Public Secondary Schools (KSPSS). The study population comprises principals and teachers from the 64 public secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis, where 20 were selected randomly. From each of the 20 schools, ten teachers were selected randomly using a convenience sampling method while the school principal and a vice principal in each sampled school were purposively selected. Questionnaires were used to obtain data from 240 respondents. The descriptive statistics technique was used to answer the research question while the hypotheses which were formulated were tested using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation. The result shows a high level of school effectiveness in Ilorin metropolis’ public secondary schools. Furthermore, the four hypotheses tested showed strong positive relationships between: communication and quality leadership, shared goals and school discipline, motivation and staff satisfaction, and career development or work balance and student academic performance. It was concluded that public secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis are effective and that a strong relationship exists between staff relationship strategies and school effectiveness. The study recommends that schools should improve on their organised environment to increase its contributions to school effectiveness. 
Effect of Computer Assisted Instruction on Teaching of Self Reliance Skills for Sustainable Entrepreneurship Development among Undergraduate Social Studies Students in Kaduna State
Get PDFThis study explored the effect of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on the teaching of selfreliance skills for sustainable entrepreneurship development amongst undergraduate Social Studies students in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Three (3) research objectives, questions and null hypotheses guided the study. A quasi-experimental research design was employed. The Self Reliance Skills Performance Test (SERSIT) was used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation, t-test and two-way ANOVA statistics were used. The findings revealed that a significant difference exists between the mean academic performance and retention scores of undergraduate students taught self-reliance skills using CAI and those taught using conventional methods. No significant difference was found between the mean academic performance scores of undergraduate students taught self-reliance skills using CAI in relation to gender and ownership. Based on the findings, it was recommended, amongst others thing, that subsequent curriculum review in Social Studies should accommodate the dynamism of CAI atall levels. This will promote a student-centred instructional approach, autonomy in knowledge acquisition and self-discovery learning to ensure sustainable entrepreneurship development in Kaduna state
Adoption of Water Conservation Technologies among Small Scale Farmers in Lwengo District – Uganda
Get PDFThis study identified and characterised the dominant water conservation technologies (WCT) employed by small scale farmers in Malongo and Kyazanga sub-counties in Lwengo district. It employed a cross sectional household survey design, using systematic sampling to obtain 380 household samples. A quantitative analysis, Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) and Logit regression model were used to analyse these data to identify and characterise the dominant WCT and establish the most significant factor affecting the adoption of the technologies. Results indicated that mulching was the most dominant WCT employed, followed by Valley dams/reservoirs, terracing, tied ridges, deep tillage and infiltration pits. The Logit model indicated that out of seven factors, five had a significant positive influence namely: access to credit (1.3); farm slope location (0.7); farm size (0.4); access to agricultural inputs and investment subsidies (0.4); and level of income (0.2). One factor had a significant negative influence (engagement in other economic activities/off-farm employment activities) and only one was found to be insignificant (access to market). It is recommended that the significant water conservation techniques be upscaled, and that emphasis also be placed on the most significant factors in order to strengthen the adoption of water conservation in the area
Theoretically Speaking – An Autoethnographic Journey in Crossing Disciplines to Being-Becoming a Practical Scholar
Get PDFBecoming a PhD scholar requires a change in identity and new ways of thinking. This is difficult for those from practical backgrounds who struggle to merge the theoretical/scholarly with the creative/practical. Moving towards the scholarly calls for the unlearning of previously held truths. Starting autoethnographically, metaphorical drawings opened up space for critical reflection – crucial to researching oneself. Three metaphorical drawings were made for seminal points in my journey from a fashion design lecturer to a PhD scholar. Each drawing is accompanied by a short narrative and further analysed through conversations with my PhD supervisor. In writing the narratives and dialogue, deeper insights were gained in understanding the role of theory, allowing me to see how my identity was shifting into that of being a scholar. Simultaneously, using visuals as tangible objects allowed me to challenge the familiar while drawing on the resources of my practical background. The result was the inherent alignment of theory and practice, a deeper understanding of the changes within my identities and the alignment of my disparate selves. The use of visual methods has value for others wishing to find a way to bring the strengths of their current disciplines into a more scholarly realm
A Discourse Interpretation of Digitally Mediated Texts as Transformation Tools among Selected Whatsapp Users
Get PDFThe twenty-first century has witnessed social media discourse becoming part and parcel of our daily communication. Social media can therefore be described as a vibrant linguistic platform where various classes of people converge daily to communicate with one another on all issues bothering themselves personally and the macro societies in which they live. Apart from borderless chatting opportunities, WhatsApp users have the chance of posting their pictures in a photo-profile corner for their easy identity advertisement. In recent times, rather than posting personal pictures in their photo-profile corner, an inscription is displayed to create a relatively permanent message or impression, either confirming a principle or belief of the user or admonishing the individual’s contacts. The concern of this paper is to examine the relevance of selected texts displayed as profile pictures on WhatsApp in the quest for transformation of Africa as a society. Using critical theory framework, our paper shows that WhatsApp users deliberately make use of certain texts on their profile spaces to convey their ideologies. The paper concludes that WhatsApp is indeed a channel for free expression, and an opportunity for the spread of principles and ideologies which are capable of developing individuals as well as our society
From Apprenticeship to Freedom: An Analysis of Art Workshop Trends in Africa
Get PDFThis paper focuses on the dynamic trends in the establishment and operation of art workshops in Africa. Workshop here does not refer to the space in which an artist produces their work; rather, it connotes a collaborative and interactive platform on which artists come together as peers, regardless of age, gender, social status and professional qualification, to share ideas and/or produce art. Thus, several artists have, through such platforms, fostered professional relationships, pushed their creative boundaries, as well as encountered and explored new materials, techniques and contexts. However, fundamental changes have occurred over the years in the operational methodologies of these art workshops, from the colonial era to the contemporary period. Adopting the postcolonial approach, this paper examines the shift in the operational aim and approach of these art workshops. The paper also considers the creative implications of such shifts in trends
Upscaling the South African Health Sector through the Integration of Skilled Migrants
Get PDFConsidering the skills shortages in the South African health sector, this study explores the possibility of integrating foreign medical doctors into the under-staffed South African health sector. In achieving this aim, semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst 37 medical doctors, alongside three business entities who recruit skilled migrants. More so, textual analysis and review of audited documents in alignment with this papers theme are reviewed. The study emphasises that no assertive policies or stratagem have been enacted or devised by the South African government or non-governmental entities in integrating such foreign doctors. In furtherance to this, no comprehensive documentation of migrants’ competence has been considered at the port of entry by the Department of Home Affairs which, on its own, represents a missed opportunity. As an agendum to integrating foreign medical doctors regionally, nationally, or locally, the study advocates a comprehensive compilation of migrants’ skills, competence, and qualifications at the port of entries. Such useful data will not only be used for decisive policies but could also be used to integrate, relocate, or mix-match skilled migrants into the under-staffed South African health sector, or integrate them into regions across the globe where their services are needed
A Necessary Ethics: Bakhtin and Dialogic Identity Construction in Four Morrison Novels
Get PDFReading Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Tar Baby, Paradise and A Mercy through the lens of Bakhtin reveals identity construction as a dialogic endeavour. While this method may be necessary for character development, it serves the further purpose of making an ethical case for the self’s responsibility to others. This paper considers key theoretical instruments, as enabled by Bakhtin, in relation to Morrison’s treatment of naming and other character constructing elements. It is ultimately Morrison’s construction of identity as dialogical which enables the argument that Morrison’s fiction offers an ethics in the interest of the other. Writing about the marginalised, the abused and the voiceless reveals Morrison’s oeuvre is unmistakably an ongoing engagement with the injustice of slavery and its political, economic, social and psychological aftermath. The relevance of this article lies in its analysis of Morrison’s fiction as an antidote which challenges the self’s “self-interest”, which is at the heart of injustice. This study’s primary contribution is in articulating Morrison’s portrayal of the self’s identity construction as an inescapable dialogism that forms the foundation to a philosophy that promotes greater humaneness, given the other is not separate from the self, but in fact, integral to the self
The Influence of Job Satisfaction on Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in Osun State-Owned Tertiary Institutions
Get PDFThis study was undertaken to examine the importance of job satisfaction and its influence on Organisational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) in Osun State-owned tertiary institutions with a view to examining the relationship between OCB and improved organisational performance and also the relationship between job satisfaction and organisational effectiveness. A survey method of a correlative type was employed to achieve the research objectives. The researchers designed a questionnaire which was used to measure job satisfaction and staff commitment in relation to OCB and this was administered to 200 staff members selected from the Osun State Colleges of Education in Ila-Orangun and Ilesa, as well as Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke using a simple random sampling technique. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Research questions were answered using frequency counts and tables, while the hypotheses were tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient at a .05 level of significance. Findings revealed that job satisfaction is very important in determining citizenship behaviours at the selected institutions. It was therefore recommended that participation in OCB could be encouraged by giving priority to all factors influencing employee job satisfaction at the selected institutions