Negative attitude of youth towards african traditional values and socio-economic implications for nigeria

The negative attitude of youth towards African traditional values has to a great extent imprisoned the psyche of most Nigerian youth to the extent that a lag is created with concomitant socio-economic implications. We live in a world where the youth pursue fashions and values that are alien to Africa’s normative customs. Some of these youth condemn African traditional values as archaic, demonic, timid and of no relevance in the present dispensation. It is also obvious that many youth pursue values without knowing whether they are right or wrong and sometimes ignorant of their implications. In a bid to appear “civilized” or “modern”, some youth find themselves entrapped in a world of confusion. The paper employed qualitative research, involving published data and it was observed that factors such as western ideology and the dilemma of globalization as well as western educational system, social media and the family have influenced youth’s negative attitude towards African traditional values. Indeed, these factors have greatly influenced the youth to undermine the African traditional values. For example, a greater number of youth perceive African traditional values to be inferior compared to foreign values. It was further observed that the craze for western values also resulted to the adoption of strange criminal behaviors such as scam, hate speeches, kidnappings, terrorism, fraud, corruption, youth restiveness, drug abuse, cultism and conflicts among the youth. It is therefore recommended among others that government should introduce policy measures that will promote African traditional values, norms and culture among youth. This can also be done effectively through social work counseling, sensitizations, behavior change processes and advocacy by Non-Governmental Organizations, faith base organizations and social workers. Word count: 27

The impact of inter-union conflicts on industrial harmony: The case of tertiary health institutions in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the impact of inter-union conflicts on industrial harmony. University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Calabar were the only tertiary health institutions in Nigeria’s Cross River State and the 2575 total staff strength of the two organizations was the study population. A total of 266 subjects was randomly sampled. Pearson Product Moment Correlation test was conducted to test the null hypothesis and it was established that there was significant influence of inter-union conflicts on industrial harmony in the study case. Recommendations to reduce the inter-union conflicts and enhance industrial harmony include, among others, the removal of salary disparity among unions, and the review of law and working conditions

Rural Development Policies in Nigeria: A Critical Appraisal

Abstract The development of rural areas and particularly in developing societies has remained a challenge to policy makers, and developments experts. Policies, programmes and theories aimed at improving the broad socio-economic well being of the rural poor have been initiated and pursued since 1960. Characteristically, these policies and programmes have had varying degree of successes and problems. The paper adopts the desk research and takes a critical appraisal of policy documents, theoretical models and programmes of government at all levels (federal, state and local governments) and their implication for rural development. The findings of the study show that though a number of policies, programmes have been initiated and executed, and theories propounded, they have tended to serve the interest of the political elite and their cronies to the chagrin of those whom the policies and programmes were planned for. To a large extent, these policies and programmes have made the policy makers richer and in most cases the programmes abandoned and or not sustainable. Based on the findings we recommended an alternative approach to rural development that is, the participatory approach that is infused with elements of conscientisation. Keywords: Rural development policies; conscientisation and participatory approach. ISSN: 2201-6333 (Print) ISSN: 2201-6740 (Online) www.ijern.com 308 Introduction The development of rural areas until very recently was not given much attention and prominence in Nigeria. Much of her policies were concerned with changing the urban landscape and the fortunes of urban dwellers. The realization on the part of policy makers and development experts that national development cannot be true development until the vast rural areas of the country are developed and brought into the mainstream of development, then and only then can we talk of true developmen

Adaptation of the Wound Healing Questionnaire universal-reporter outcome measure for use in global surgery trials (TALON-1 study): mixed-methods study and Rasch analysis

BackgroundThe Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire (WHQ) is a universal-reporter outcome measure developed in the UK for remote detection of surgical-site infection after abdominal surgery. This study aimed to explore cross-cultural equivalence, acceptability, and content validity of the WHQ for use across low- and middle-income countries, and to make recommendations for its adaptation.MethodsThis was a mixed-methods study within a trial (SWAT) embedded in an international randomized trial, conducted according to best practice guidelines, and co-produced with community and patient partners (TALON-1). Structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather data regarding cross-cultural, cross-contextual equivalence of the individual items and scale, and conduct a translatability assessment. Translation was completed into five languages in accordance with Mapi recommendations. Next, data from a prospective cohort (SWAT) were interpreted using Rasch analysis to explore scaling and measurement properties of the WHQ. Finally, qualitative and quantitative data were triangulated using a modified, exploratory, instrumental design model.ResultsIn the qualitative phase, 10 structured interviews and six focus groups took place with a total of 47 investigators across six countries. Themes related to comprehension, response mapping, retrieval, and judgement were identified with rich cross-cultural insights. In the quantitative phase, an exploratory Rasch model was fitted to data from 537 patients (369 excluding extremes). Owing to the number of extreme (floor) values, the overall level of power was low. The single WHQ scale satisfied tests of unidimensionality, indicating validity of the ordinal total WHQ score. There was significant overall model misfit of five items (5, 9, 14, 15, 16) and local dependency in 11 item pairs. The person separation index was estimated as 0.48 suggesting weak discrimination between classes, whereas Cronbach's α was high at 0.86. Triangulation of qualitative data with the Rasch analysis supported recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ items 1 (redness), 3 (clear fluid), 7 (deep wound opening), 10 (pain), 11 (fever), 15 (antibiotics), 16 (debridement), 18 (drainage), and 19 (reoperation). Changes to three item response categories (1, not at all; 2, a little; 3, a lot) were adopted for symptom items 1 to 10, and two categories (0, no; 1, yes) for item 11 (fever).ConclusionThis study made recommendations for cross-cultural adaptation of the WHQ for use in global surgical research and practice, using co-produced mixed-methods data from three continents. Translations are now available for implementation into remote wound assessment pathways