Decolonizing the Notion of Mental illness and Healing in Nigeria, West Africa

Mental illness or socially incongruent behaviours and normalcy are conceptualized in radically different ways by culturally diverse groups. These perspectives are informed by paradigms and cosmologies that situate the human person in storied relation to the self, the constructed world and others. However, an epistemological imbalance privileges Western-inspired conceptions of mental health over non-Western or indigenous perspectives. This hegemonic situation serves to propagate a single story about mental health and distress, thereby casting alternative traditions in inferior light. Bolstered by critical psychology’s critique of mainstream psychology and its decidedly postcolonial and social constructivist themes, I address this situation by interrogating the assumptions behind the modernist beliefs of universality and superiority that undergird orthodox clinical praxis. By exploring irreducibly diverse and rich impressions of mental healing, this submission espouses a socioparticipatory and multicultural clinical praxis, challenges positivistic ideas of therapeutic neutrality in Western psychotherapy, presents ‘evidence’ for the effectiveness of indigenous healing traditions and the notional integrity of culturebound ‘illnesses’, and recommends the legitimacy of attendant alleviative practices. Finally, I advocate a re-imagination of the therapeutic landscape – a rethink that addresses the marginalization of indigenous healing systems, and promotes a polyvocality of healing praxis in the Nigerian mental health terrai

The Politics and Postmodern Reinterpretations of Clinical Praxis:Espousing Local Understanding of Distress

In this paper, inspired by a postmodern reconceptualization of truth and the deconstruction of objectivity, I critique the notion of westerninspired psychotherapy as neutral, universal, apolitical, and normative for all cultures and groups. This value-free idea of clinical praxis,I argue, would advantageously give way to understandings that re-vision the therapeutic encounter as a deeply political context – subject to the vulnerabilities of normal social interactions. Consequently, in view of increasingly credible ideas about the embeddedness of human experience, the subjectivity that must attend ‘scientific’ work, and the deconstruction of hegemonies as givens, I frame the crises currently facing orthodox psychotherapeutic praxis, and challenge its assumed superiority over local espousals of mental distress. This is done in the hope that a new space for more pluralistic forms of therapy might evolve unconstraine

Decolonizing Education: Enunciating the Emancipatory Promise of Non-Western Alternatives to Higher Education

Today’s globalizing world inadvertently creates an imbalance in power relations between the so-called ‘western’ and ‘non-western’ contexts, and discourse about educational excellence often circumvents indigenous paradigms, needs, and ideas about the purpose of education. Further still, the hegemony of western-inspired, industrial-styled education often constrains conversation about the challenges of reforming higher education in ways that suggest a thought-linearity and blindness about the promise of alternatives. In light of the intractable difficulties associated with higher education in the so-called developing world, this paper draws from a post-structuralist, social constructivist, ethos and advocates for a decolonization of the educational milieu. By focusing on examples of unorthodox approaches to education drawn from principally non-western contexts, we support a move towards radical differentiation and pluralisation as a solution to today’s higher education problems. We claim that higher education might be better served if it exists in tension with indigenous alternatives – instead of bearing the sole burden of service. Ultimately, we imagine what alternatives to ‘school’ might look like, and reflexively present the emerging contours of a participatory action research and community-driven, culture-sensitive process that breaks through the linearity and modernistic assumptions of mainstream schooling – a process these authors are embarking on tentatively called ‘Koru’

Time-Dependent Analysis of Waiting and Service Time Behaviour in Discrete Time Queue

In our daily life we generally find a long queue at the Automated Teller Machine[ATM]. As a result of this a customer has to spend considerable amount of time in queue. In such a situation if instead of using a single ATM machine if we use double ATM machine than it will decrease the waiting time in queue. Against this background, the queuing process is employed with interarrival time and service time. The data for this study was collected from primary source and is limited to ATM service point of a standard Bank where the data collected incorporate the attributes of queuing on the number of customers for four weeks. Eight ATMs at a steady service rate of 0.18 customers per minute is found to be optimal and the waiting time are found to be relatively higher during the hours of 09:00am to 12:00 noon. The research thus reveals that queue exist although its theory is applicable in finding optimal service levels, waiting time might still be lengthy because of some factors. We then derive the arrival rate, service rate, utilization rate, waiting time in the queue and the average number of customers in the queue based on the data Service unavailability was observed to be a contributory factor to queue formation at the ATM point. The queuing process employed with interarrival time and service time do not follow exponential distribution hence, in reducing queue problem, high routine maintenance regime should be actively implemented, backup-staffs could be engaged during peak periods to handle any additional demand instead of the alternative of installing the rather capital-intensive ATM which might be of less utility for most business hours. Queue management should also be made an active part of the bank’s overall strategic queue management processes. Keywords: Queuing Theory, Waiting Time, Service Rate, Arrival Rate, ATM, Optimal Service Leve

Impact of ICT on Performance of Building Construction Companies using Selected Standard Estate in Southwestern Nigeria

Information and communication technologies became a part of management tools in modern companies. Construction industry and its participants deal with a serious requirement for processing the huge amount of information on construction projects including design, construction, time and cost parameters, economic efficiency and sustainability. To fulfil this requirement, companies have to use appropriate ICT tools. This research examine the impact of ICT exploitation on performance of construction companies, the impact of BIM tools, ERP systems and controlling system on cost and profit indicators were  measured on the sample of 85 companies using questionnaire from  building construction industry in Nigeria. Data obtained from these sector were analysed using statistical software package. The study confirmed that ICT has a significant impact on the performance of building construction companies in Nigeria. Keyword: Construction industry, Information  Communication Technology,  Management Tools, Questionaire and Enterprise Resource Planning System DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-19-04 Publication date:October 31st 202

Resource Schedule of Concrete Fish Pond Construction Using Network Analysis

In the construction of building, preparation of bid, maintenance and planning of oil refinery and preparation for agricultural activities, there is a need to know the completion days of the project without delay and the earliest time and the latest time for which each activity will take. It was based on this that we decide to analyze the construction of concrete fish pond using Network Analysis through the use of Critical Path Method (CPM) and Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT). Sixty-four days was arrived at for the completion of the construction using CPM while sixty-eight days with 99% probability was arrived at using PERT method. In deciding which of the method is best suitable for the construction of the fish pond, PERT serve as the best method due to the fact that it considers the Pessimistic Time (longest time possible and can be seen as usual delay) and Optimistic Time (shortest time possible if things go perfectly) as well as the probability [which is 99%] of completing the task within a specific time. The result established some useful facts for researchers in this area as well as managers of industry in carrying out their study from the feasibility stage to the other stages so as to have a good practical target towards the completion of the project as planned. Keyword: Network Analysis, Critical Path Method, Program Evaluation Review Technique, Pessimistic Time, Optimistic Time and Probability DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/57-04 Publication date:June 30th 201

Impact of Building Construction Activities on the Environment: A Case Study of Southwest, Nigeria

The environment is threatened severely by so many problems, some of which are caused by the activities of Construction Projects. The global concern to address environmental degradation caused by various developmental actions (construction projects inclusive) is the basis for calls to evaluate and assess environmental impacts of building construction projects in Nigeria. This paper deals with the effect of environment in construction work in a particular area. Surrounding environment has immense effect in construction plan, site management, costs and implementation. On the contrary, it affects the workmanship’s availability as well as material availability. Moreover, duration of a certain projects also depend on the impact of environment. Effect of climate, rainfall, humidity and temperature are the noticeable fact in the paper. This article represents the environmental effect of a particular place in south western Nigeria. Outcome of the investigation shows that the significant effect can be observed in the various ingredients of environment as well as construction project. Also, all environmental regulatory agencies and sensitization organizations should continuously sensitize the building construction public on requisite environmental management practice and sanction erring agents. Keywords:Environmental Impact, Humidity and Temperature, Construction Projects, Building Construction, Material DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/14-19-02 Publication date:October 31st 202

Building Maintenance Management Effect on Buildings Life-Span

Building Maintenance Management is essential to prolong the building life cycle and reduce the company loss. When buildings are neglected, defects can occur which may result in extensive and unavoidable damage to the building fabric or structure. The attentions and skills of maintenance are required for the construction of buildings in this twenty-first century. Because much architectural education is still focused on the one-of-a-kind assignment, encouraging the notion of personal fulfillment through leaving a mark for off-springs and obtaining a design award by means of concept drawings. Due to the reason that many building designers (architects, engineers, technicians) are not carried along in the subsequent maintenance of the building, they just regard it as other specialists’ responsibilities. In all likelihood, the building user-to-be having no formal role: the building contractors just fulfill their accountabilities to complete the building in compliance with the contract documents, not to care occupier’s needs and wants. This research focused on the effect of building maintenance management on the life-span of buildings. Keywords: building maintenance, life cycle, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenanc

TRANSMUTED HALFNORMAL DISTRIBUTION: PROPERTIES AND APPLICATION

In this research, we generalize the Half normal distribution which is a special case of folded normal and truncated normal distributions. We provide a comprehensive description of the statistical properties of the subject distribution along with its reliability behavior. The usefulness of the transmuted Half normal distribution for modelling reliability data is illustrated. Keywords: Half normal Distribution, Hazard Rate function, Reliability function, Order Statistics and Parameter EstimationDOI: 10.7176/MTM/9-1-0