Principles of Management Application in Building Construction Projects: Perspectives of Project Managers’

One of the most crucial factors to consider when setting up and managing organizational activities is the application of management principles. Most of the time, organizational failure is attributed to either as a violation of management principles or an organization's inability to establish this precedent in the running of its day-to-day activities. This paper, therefore, focused on the application of the management principles of Henri Fayol in the management of human resources for construction projects. The study utilized a descriptive design using a survey study and explorative design through a literature search. Relevant literature was reviewed to identify management principles for the design of the questionnaire. The population is the core building professionals working as project managers in a construction site of three tertiary institutions in Bauchi. Forty-five (45) questionnaires were distributed and successfully filled and retrieved. SPSS software was used for the analysis. The study used descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test for the analysis. The results show that the majority of the respondents (80 %) acknowledged the importance of these principles to the construction industry in the management of human resources in the construction site. Also, the findings revealed that project managers always used most of these principles in the management of human resources in the construction site. Although, lack of planning and motivation, non-adherence to principles and standards, clashes of interest and corruption revealed as top challenges of its implementation on construction site. The finding concludes that the more the respondent works longer on construction sites, the higher the application of these principles in managing human resources on sites

Impact of waste batteries dumpsites on the water quality of parts of Ibadan northeast (sheet 261), southwestern Nigeria

Industrial waste disposal commands a relatively large share of attention, because many industrial wastes are toxic and hazardous. Open dump methods used by Exide Batteries Manufacturing Company are unsatisfactory means of solid waste disposal because certain elements such as Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) used in the Production of these batteries are toxic and require special handling in disposal. The disposal of waste batteries and accumulators at Olodo, Arubiewe and Ikumapayi villages led to the need for the determination of the Heavy Metals, Cations and Anions concentrations of surface and ground waters of these areas. A study of twenty-one water samples which were randomly collected from streams, hand-dug wells and borehole at Olodo, Arubiewe, Ikumapayi was carried out, samples from the Polytechnic Ibadan North Campus which served as a control point. Field parameters such as geographical co-ordinates, elevation, water level, colour, odour, taste and pH were determined. The following hydrochemical parameters were determined Anions (Cl, -SO4 2- NO3- and HCO3-), Cations (Mg2+, Na+ K+ and total Fe) and Heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, and Cd). These were determined using the Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer bulk200 models. Results of the geochemical analyses for both surface and ground water samples were assessed and compared to World Health Organization (WHO) standard and also to the control sample (Polytechnic Ibadan). The concentrations of Anions (Cl, SO42-, HCO3- NO32-) were found to be adequate and below the acceptable permissive level so alsowere the concentrations of the Cations (Mg, Na and K). However, the concentrations of Pb, Cu and Cd exceeded the maximum permissible level at Olodo, Ikumapayi and Arubiewe, while that of Zn was below the minimum permissible level. The Leachate from the waste batteries and accumulators’ dumpsites that came in contact with surface and shallowgroundwater was considered to be responsible for the high values of Pb, Cu and Cd. This is further corroborated by the values of these trace elements at the control points. The continual usage of these waters constitutes a great health hazard to plants, animals and man

Contemporary Issues in Trade and Trade Policy in Nigeria

This study examines the trade-growth nexus in Nigeria during the period 1970 – 2015. In the empirical investigation, real gross domestic product is employed as the dependent variable while real imports, real exports, real gross capital formation, and oil rent as a percentage of GDP are explanatory variables. Two different models were employed in this study – a single equation error correction model (ECM) and a log-log Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression model. In the OLS results, all of the explanatory variables returned a positive sign, with the exception of oil rent as a percentage of GDP but this is consistent with existing literature. Despite the widely cited benefits that international trade has on economic growth, there continues to be a divide on its contributions. Contributing to this debate is a bedrock of this study. The evidence here adds to existing literature to state that trade contributes to economic growth. This study recommends that policymakers should develop the right mix of policy to boost human capital development, capital formation, export promotion, and to develop a diversified economy that is less dependent on oil rent

Petroleum potential of campano-maastrichtian shales of Anambra Basin, south astern Nigeria

Over 6,000 meters thick terrigeneous sediment (mainly shale/ siltstones/lithologies) of campano – Maastrichtian age has been recorded in the Anambra basin. These shale/siltstones lithologies have been reported to be rich in organic matter and had fulfilled other relevant condition for hydrocarbon source rock potential. However, only few patches of hydrocarbon shows have been documented elsewhere in the basin. This work attempts to critically evaluate the hydrocarbon source potential of the organic rich shale sediments in the basin. A sample set of 40 ditch cuttings of manly shale lithologies retrieved at different depths intervals from 2 well were subjected to standard geo-chemical and organic petrography investigations. The samples were analyzed for the total carbon content (TOC), extract yield, organic matter types and organic maturity level. As screening criteria, all the sample set were subjected to TOC measurement (LECO). The TOC values range from 0.81-1.40% (AKU2) and from 0.82-1.81% (AMA.1) most of the samples meet up with minimum required TOC value ().5%) for a siliciclastic sediments to be hydrocarbon prone. Extract yield range from 30.0 to 180.5 ppm (AKU2) and 30.0 to 128ppm (AMA 1). The Rock-Eval Pyrolysis data HI vs OI revealed that the samples fall within types II & III kerogen. This corroborates with the results of the maceral analysis. The maceral composition is mainly vitrinitic and liptinitic of terrestrial origin, which are over 65 volume percent. The shales are moderately rich in organic matter. Extract yields and the bitumen ratio (mg HC/g TOC) revealed that these samples are at immature stage of Hydrocarbon generation. This is also supported by Tmax values of between 430-4900C.KEY WORDS:- Terrigeneous, Campano – Maastrichtian, Vitrinit, Liptinite, Rock-Eval

Love beyond colour : the formation of interracial gay men's intimate relationships in post-apartheid South Africa

South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalise same-sex marriages in its post-apartheid constitution. The formally instituted racial and sexual discriminations that dominated during the apartheid period were revised and equality of all citizens, irrespective of their race and sexual orientations, represents one of the key achievements of democratic South Africa. The current constitution gives room for people to express their sexualities freely without being discriminated against. This recognition is bridging the gap of racial and sexual exclusion and inclusion that were created during and before the apartheid era. Despite the everyday negative experiences of gay men based on their sexual orientation in post-apartheid Sou! th Africa, gay partners persist in their intimate relationships and continue to negotiate their social and constitutional rights. What is interesting at the moment is the increasing visibility of interracial gay partners in this country as a whole. This paper explores how a small group of men of different racial backgrounds assert their constitutional rights through the formation of interracial same-sex intimate relationships that used to be a criminal offence

The impact of gender and residential background on racial integration: evidence from a South African university

South Africa is one of those countries that openly rejected racism and this is entrenched in its Bill of rights. Despite the acceptance and incorporation of racial integration into the South Africa Constitution, the implementation within some sectors, most especially the educational sector, seems difficult. Recent occurrences of racism in some higher institutions of learning in South Africa are indications that racial integration/racial transformation is still farfetched in the country’s higher educational sector. It is against this background that this study was conducted to understand how gender and residential background influence racial integration in a South African university which was predominantly a white Afrikaner institution.Using a quantitative method to test the attitude of different categories of undergraduate students at theuniversity, this study found that the factors- residential background and gender- used in measuring student’s attitude do not necessarily have a significant relationship towards racial integration. However, this study concludes with a call for more research with a range of other factors in order to better understand how racial integration can be promoted in South African institutions of higher learning.Keywords: Racial integration, Gender, Residential background, Transformatio

Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in practice.

In my practice experience and exploration of literature, I discovered that there are limited examples and research about organisations that aim to change from a charity to a social enterprise. In addition to this, there are limited knowledge and understanding about what social enterprise and social entrepreneurship are and a lack of frameworks that will enable one to know a social enterprise and social entrepreneur when you see one. This research, therefore, is an exploration of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in practice, arriving at working definitions and frameworks. It examines the process, experiences and challenges that come with an organisation - Age Concern Bexley - changing from a charity to a social enterprise. The research then shares the experiences and the challenges that come with such organisational change The research also examines and exposes my role and experiences - as the Chief Executive, social entrepreneur, leader and change agent, during this period. The research then provides an insight into the self-discovery, self evaluation and reflections of a social entrepreneur in practice, especially from the insider practitioners' perspective, thereby enabling seeing social enterprise and social entrepreneurship from the lens of a social entrepreneur. This research does not look into the issues surrounding governance during this change; as recent researches concluded that governance have little impact in this context( Young,2006). My view is that governance is importany and relevant; although the experience during this research does highlight that it was not a major issue. However,I would recommend it as an area of and for future research. The research combines empiricism and rationalism with iterations. In the research, I applied methodical pluralism as overarching research methodology by applying a portfolio of methodologies, using different methods to gather necessary data from different sources. The research contributest o practice with the establishment of a social enterprise service at Age Concern Bexley whilst also developing a set of high-level challenges that organisations that aim to explore social enterprise need to be aware of and how to manage them. The research contributes to theory by arriving at a working definition and framework of social enterprise. It also provides a better understanding of social entrepreneurship in practice and the role of a social entrepreneur as a leader and change agent. Other contributions to theory are the employment of metaphors to explain organisational change,the application of socio-psychological theory of labelling to explain the deviancy of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship and argument for sector differentiation, that is, social enterprise as a distinct sector. Some other contributions to practice are the showcasing of social enterprise in practice, the establishment of Bexley Social Enterprise Consortium, the establishment of an international development social enterprise organisation - Hephzibah - and the aim of establishing a social enterprise academy in Nigeria. These are to enable me put into further practice, what I have learnt through this research. The research concludes that the practice of social enterprise is here to stay, that social entrepreneurial organisations need social entrepreneurs in leadership and that it will be challenging for existing charities to convert in totality to social enterprises. 1