Institutional Variables as Antecedents of Academic Staff Teaching, Research Productivity and Community Service in Universities

This study was conducted to investigate the degree to which institutional variables such as: institutional location, ownership and leadership influence the job performance of academic staff across three dimensions: teaching, research productivity and community service. This ex-post facto study by design, tested three hypotheses. A total of 449 academic, randomly drawn from three (one private and two public) universities in Cross River State, Nigeria, participated in the study. Three sets of questionnaires were used for data collection after due validity and reliability tests. They included the “Institutional Variables Questionnaire (IVQ)”, the “Research Productivity and Community Service Questionnaire (RPCSQ)”, and the “Staff Instructional Delivery Questionnaire (SIDQ).” Collected data were analysed using the independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and simple linear analysis. Findings indicated that institutional location significantly impacts university academic staff across multiple dimensions—teaching, research, and community service— with urban institutions consistently demonstrating higher scores than their rural counterparts. There was a significant influence of institutional ownership on research productivity unlike teaching and community service. Federal institutions exhibited higher research productivity than both state and private universities. Institutional leadership significantly influenced research productivity and community service engagement, but not in the dimension of teaching among the academic staff. This study underscores the need for a holistic approach to enhancing academic staff performance. It emphasizes the importance of strategic resource allocation, collaborative endeavours, and strong leadership to create an environment where teaching, research, and community service thrive

Stress and frustration tolerance on officiating performance among elite football referees in Nigeria

Introduction: Football referees play an essential yet demanding role in officiating and enforcing the laws of the game (soccer). Despite this role, referees are often faced with challenging situations that tend to interfere with their officiating performance. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of stress and frustration tolerance on the performance of elite football referees in Nigeria. Methodology: Three null hypotheses guided the study. A survey research design was adopted for the study. A total of 123 elite football referees participated in the study. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS) and Referee Performance Questionnaire (RPQ) served as the data collection tools. The first two instruments were adopted, and their validity and reliability have since been established. The RPQ was validated using experts’ opinions and subjected to a reliability test of internal consistency. The coefficient obtained was 0.711, which showed high reliability of the research instrument.  Data were collected by physically administering copies of the instruments to the elite football referees. Simple and multiple regression analysis was applied to quantify the predictive relationships between perceived stress and frustration tolerance with self-perceived performance. Results: Findings revealed a negative relationship between perceived stress and referee performance. However, a significant positive relationship was found between frustration tolerance and referee performance. Recommendation: Based on the results, it was recommended among others that, football organizations should integrate stress management training into referee development programmes

Interactive analysis of demographic variables and occupational stress on university lecturers’ job performance

This research studied the interaction influence of demographic characteristics (marital status, job rank, gender and age) and occupational stress level, on the work performance of faculty members in Calabar Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was utilized for this investigation. A sample of 150 respondents was identified using the systematic random sampling procedure from a population of 400 Faculty of Education lecturers from two public universities in Calabar Metropolis. A four-point scale validity and reliability certified questionnaire was used for data collection. Data generated was analyzed using the two-way analysis of variance. Hypotheses were all tested at the 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed a significant interactive effect of demographic variables (age, gender, job rank and marital status) and stress levels on lecturers' jobs. Results also indicated that the stress level of lecturers affects the degree or quality of job performance, with those having average stress levels reporting better job performance in the universities studied. Recommendations were made that all lecturers, irrespective of age, gender, marital status or rank, should develop or adopt good stress management skills and disengage/reduce extra jobs and other unnecessary stress-inducing activities.