GENDER SECURITY AND THE CRISIS OF BEING: THE FICTIVE REPRESENTATION OF FEMALE HELPLESSNESS AND EMPOWERMENT IN NIGERIAN AND TAIWANESE PROSE FICTIONS

This study explores the impact of security on the productivity of women in society, most especially the attendant crisis that (in)security brews in their sense of worth and selfhood in general. “Gender security” in this study specifically refers to female security as the focus of the study is on women. Nevertheless, female security also problematizes male security given its affective capacity: men are usually emotionally charged anytime the security of their wives, mothers, daughters and sisters is breached or threatened. However, our specific aim in this study is to examine how security implicates the perceptivity and productivity of women in Nigeria and Taiwan, and the way the prose fictions of the two countries reflect or refract this concept. The “crisis of being” in the title refers to the assaultive impact of gender (in) security on women’s selfhood, perception of self-worth and identity. The phrase also foregrounds how adequate security measures, especially their pursuit and active implementation, serve to buoy female confidence and engender unhindered creativity and full actualisation of women’s potential in all sectors of society. In other words, a woman’s sense of security directly affects her valuation of her identity and self-worth which in turn has implications on her productivity to the society. Thus, a woman without any crisis of identity, self-worth or being is likely to be more productive than her counterpart with a crisis of identity, uncertain of her self-worth in her society. This postulation will be given greater clarification in the ensuing analysi

Patriarchal Structures and Female Empowerment in Nigerian and Taiwanese Novels: A Study of Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Li Ang’s The Butcher’s Wife*

Empowerment has become the buzzword in many discourses about and around women in contemporary times, and patriarchy inevitably becomes the whipping boy on whom the woes of women from Eve to Evelyn are pinned. This archetypal bogeyman has been accused of preventing females from maximising their potentials in many societies of the world today. This paper examines the patriarchal structures in Nigerian and Taiwanese novels which manifestly disempower women, and interrogates the complicity of matriarchy in the debilitation of the female characters in the texts. The thesis of the paper is that the more empowered the female is, the better the society, and this cannot be achieved through the demonization of men but through the collaboration of both sexes

Conflict Resolution in E-HRM Environments

There have been studies on conflict resolutions but many focused on regional inter-tribe and international conflicts between or among nations of the world. Only very few have written about industrial conflict recently, even these few did not touch the mechanism of resolving conflicts in the organization in depth. Therefore, this article will focus on various conflict resolution mechanisms and the three major models of conflict resolutions—namely distributive bargaining, integrated bargaining, and interactive problem solving as given by Cross, Susan, Rosenthal, and Robert (1999). To do this effectively, we will explore the available literature on the antecedents of conflicts in human resource systems. Varieties of views and notions held by individuals and groups in respect of the role and the consequences of conflicts in the functioning of humans in our modern complex organizations will be considered. The consequences of conflicts on interpersonal, inter-group, and inter-organizational processes, when conflict may empower, distress, or lubricate the wheels of human interaction in the context of human resource management will be traced. The views of experts, professionals and academicians on how and why conflicts should be handled to ensure a healthier and conducive environment to work will be traced

Examination of the dynamic interactions among ownership structure, corporate governance, risk management and performance of Nigerian banks

This study examined the dynamic interactions among ownership structure, corporate governance, risk management and performance of Nigerian banks. Secondary data were sourced from 20 out of 22 post-consolidation Deposit Money Banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange for a period of seven years from 2005-2011. The data were on Return on Equity (Bank Performance); Capital Adequacy Ratio (Corporate governance); proportion of the board members’ share capital to total bank capital (Ownership structure) and Bank Risk Behaviour (Risk Management Practices). The data were regressed firstly without interaction with ownership structure and later with ownership structure. The results of the analysis showed that without interacting ownership structure with corporate governance and bank risk behaviour, corporate governance has positive and significant effect on bank performance (p < 0.05), but bank risk behaviour has negative but insignificant effect on bank performance (p > 0.05). Ownership structure has positive and significant effect like corporate governance (p < 0.05). However when the ownership structure was interacted with corporate governance and risk behaviour, the results and significance of the variable changed remarkably. The study concluded that good risk management policies and proper ownership structure enhance improved corporate performance.Keywords: Ownership Structure, Corporate Governance, Risk Management, Performance, Dynamic Relationshi

Organisational Change and Human Resource Management Interventions:an Investigation of the Nigerian Banking Industry

The objective of this paper was to study the relationship between human resource management interventionist strategies and organizational change; and flexibility that can make employees more adaptive and receptive to changes. Out of one hundred and sixty copies of questionnaire administered, one hundred and twenty three (123) were collected and analyzed. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), a hypothesized relationship was tested using Amos 18 that allows test of complex relationships between variables. Our model shows that relationship exists among human resource management interventionist strategies and was consistent with organizational change in the studied industry. However, the study can be extended to other industries, for example manufacturing industry as well as industry within the merger and acquisition of companie

Impact of Job Environment on Job Satisfaction & Commitment among Nigerian Nurses

The incessant strike, picketing among health workers in developing nations is becoming a worrisome phenomenon in developing economy. This paper’s main objective is to examine the impact of job environment (work-family interface, climate, work roles, and job security) on job satisfaction and commitment among Nigerian nurses. A model was developed and tested using two hundred and twenty eight..

Analytical Methods for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and their Global Trend of Distribution in Water and Sediment: A Review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major organic pollutants in the environment, which are toxic to humans and biota, given their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic nature. In this chapter, we carried out an overview of the sources and toxicity of PAHs, their common analytical methods of determination in the water and sediment samples, and also their global trend of distribution, with a view to provide baseline guidance for relevant control authorities. The choice methods for determining these contaminants are high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV/fluorescence detectors and GC/MS. Mass spectrometer coupled with GC is preferred because it offers robust identification of the analyte compounds both by retention time and mass spectrum, with additional structural information. Results collated revealed an extensive distribution of PAHs with total mean concentrations ranging from 0.0003 to 42,350 μg/L in water and 0 to 1.266 × 109 μg/kg (dw) in the sediment. PAHs in the two environmental matrices were much higher in the regions with intense oil exploration, shipping and industrial activities. It is therefore necessary to regularly monitor their levels in the aquatic environment, so as to provide mitigation options that will prevent risk to humans and aquatic animals

Corporate Image: A Strategy for Enhancing Customer Loyalty and Profitability

Organizations are nowadays concerned with managing their corporate image. There is a strong positive correlation between people’s perceptions of a company and pro-corporate supportive behaviour. In this study, past researchers on corporate image were incorporated to create a platform for framework which identifies the variables of relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty cum profitability. The study utilized descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and linear regression to investigate the impact of corporate image on customer loyalty and profitability within the Nigerian service industry (banking). The study adopted the research instrument of self-structured questionnaire which was in line with the reviewed literature and focused on the main variables in the study. It was found in the model parameters that physical environment, service offering and customer loyalty have significant impact on the level of profitability. Thus, we can rightly conclude that the level of satisfaction among customers tends to affect the service offerings and customer loyalty which has a direct link with corporate profitability

Monitoring of seepages around dams using geophysical methods: a brief review

The slow escape of a liquid or gas through a porous material or small openings is called seepage. It is a process of seeping in soil engineering whereby water in soils move. Seepages often pose a grave problem in building foundations and also a common problem in earth dams (Dams are structures built to retain water/fluild) due to abnormal or excessive leakage. Seepage through or around dams have been responsible for most dam failures. Dam failures are usually catastrophic with many fatalities and causing the destruction of infrastructure and properties. Therefore, monitoring of seepage through and around dams becomes a necessity in other to maintain dam’s stability. The main field of application of this investigation is subjected to site characterization and foundation quality assurance. This paper reviews the geophysical techniques which have been considered for the monitoring and control of seepages around dam

Corporate Image: A Strategy for Enhancing Customer Loyalty and Profitability

Organizations are nowadays concerned with managing their corporate image. There is a strong positive correlation between people’s perceptions of a company and pro-corporate supportive behaviour. In this study, past researchers on corporate image were incorporated to create a platform for framework which identifies the variables of relationship between corporate image and customer loyalty cum profitability. The study utilized descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and linear regression to investigate the impact of corporate image on customer loyalty and profitability within the Nigerian service industry (banking). The study adopted the research instrument of self-structured questionnaire which was in line with the reviewed literature and focused on the main variables in the study. It was found in the model parameters that physical environment, service offering and customer loyalty have significant impact on the level of profitability. Thus, we can rightly conclude that the level of satisfaction among customers tends to affect the service offerings and customer loyalty which has a direct link with corporate profitabilit