Globalisation and HR practices in Africa: When culture refuses to make way for so-called universalistic perspectives

The paper demonstrates and exemplifies how cultural paradigms and the political and socio-economic spheres and organisational life are intertwined in an African context. The paper examines how some factors that are embedded in the cultural and institutional framework in Sub-Saharan African organisations interact with global perspectives and the degree of resistance they present to changes in human resource management (HRM) processes. The paper considers aspects of the universalistic perspectives that have resonance for human resource practices in Africa. Furthermore, it evaluates the question of the tensions between the contributions derived from the indigenous and historical factors, and the inputs from external sources, to human resource management in Africa. rnThe research is based on a survey of 100 practicing African human resources professionals. The respondents were drawn from the major institutional actors in Nigeria. rnThe research found that, despite the impact of globalisation and the Westernisaion of training and development in Africa, HRM practices remain largely culture-bound. Many aspects of Sub-Saharan African cultures pervade organisational processes, e.g. collectivism and paternalism, that refuse to make way for change. However, the paper concludes that some of these temerarious cultural aspects that are often described as counter-productive in much of the literature, could actually be utilised for community and employee engagement. rnThe paper makes a significant contribution to the literature on HRM practices in Africa, an area under-researched. It provides an opportunity to African HR managers to be more pragmatic in identifying the contextual issues and for beginning to identify aspects of African culture that could be value-adding in a fast changing management landscape. The paper demonstrates that HRM policies have specific cultural orientations and reflect on both the societal predispositions of the region; this exemplifies how cultural paradigms, the political sphere and organisational life are intertwined in an African context

Resisting global universalistic practices - the endurance of culture and particularism in African HRM

Purpose This article empirically assesses the extent to which factors rooted in the cultural and institutional framework in Sub-Saharan African organisational contexts challenge and resist the penetration of global practices and how these dynamics impact on human resource management (HRM). This article examines universalistic perspectives are significant for African HRM. The article discusses the tensions between the contributions derived from local and historical factors, and that of other environmental agents, to African HRM practice. Design/methodology The study is based on a survey among 100 practising African HRM executives representing significant organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Findings The main findings established that, in spite of Westernisation and globalising trends in learning and development in Africa, human resource practices are still profoundly embedded in the African cultural fabric. Significant elements of cultures in Sub-Saharan Africa pervade organisational processes; such aspects include collectivism and paternalism, which persistently resist change. The article, however, concludes that the resisting parts of Sub-Saharan African cultures which are viewed as counter-productive, can have positive resonance if constructively deployed. Originality This article contributes to African HRM literature, a significantly under-researched field. The paper provides an opportunity for African HR managers to be more pragmatic in identifying the contextual issues as well as aspects of African culture that could be value-adding in a fast-changing managerial field. The findings demonstrate that human resource strategies and policies have specific cultural orientations and reflect the societal predispositions of a particular collectivity; this epitomizes the intertwining of cultural paradigms, political spheres and organisational life in Sub-Saharan Afric

The Employment Situation of Migrant Workers and Their Experience of Work Life Pressures

The chapters in this book cover different aspects of the migrant experience of social life and employment in contemporary societ

Inhibition of glyoxylate conversion to oxalate in cultured human cells by the carbonyl-scavenging drug, aminoguanidine

Calcium oxalate is the most frequent cause of kidney stones, and is responsible for the damage to kidneys and other organs observed in inherited disorders of oxalate metabolism. Most oxalate produced in the body is derived from its metabolic precursor, glyoxylate. Thus, any means of scavenging glyoxylate to a non-toxic product, thereby diverting it away from oxalate synthesis, has considerable therapeutic implications. Here we show that aminoguanidine, a compound with a proven safety record and used for many years to prevent long-term complications of diabetes, binds glyoxylate covalently and reduces its conversion to oxalate by human liver- and lymphocyte-derived cell lines by >90%. We propose that scavenging glyoxylate with aminoguanidine or its congeners may provide a means of reducing oxalate production in vivo, and advocate the tissue culture system described here as a convenient means for testing such agents in vitro. A serendipitous finding to emerge from our study was the abiotic and strongly pH-dependent formation of oxalate from ascorbate, which has implications for the contribution of ascorbate to urine oxalate excretion

Steering Resilience in Nursing Practice: Examining the impact of Digital Innovations and Enhanced Emotional Training on Nurse Competencies

The phenomenal development of healthcare practice in the past few decades has reinforced the view that technology could potentially be the third healing triad element. This study, using data from Australia and the United Kingdom, explores resilience in nursing education through the lens of emerging digital technologies and enhanced emotional training. The study employed a mixed-method approach. A pretest-posttest was used to collect data from 54 nursing students during the lectures and tutorials, whilst the qualitative consisted of interviews with 20 health professionals, including nurse teachers and doctors. We found that students’ confidence in mental health nursing practice improved substantially after mental health placement. Besides, the effectiveness of the training offered was not compromised by variances in the demographic groups (e.g. age and gender) amongst the participants. The interview findings revealed that nurses could develop more outstanding modern capabilities with exposure to increasingly used technologies in the healthcare sector; thus, AI and digital technology and health-related engineering equipment can help reduce stress in the profession as machines become critical aid. Technology is, thus, not a threat but a necessary complement that can upskill nurses for contemporary practice

In situ x-ray computed tomography of zinc–air primary cells during discharge: correlating discharge rate to anode morphology

Zinc–air batteries have gained significant attention as safe battery alternatives, with high theoretical energy densities and a high abundance of their constituent materials. However, barriers to their widespread adoption include the need to improve their cycling lifetime, as well as stability and avoiding degradation mechanisms such as zinc dendrite growth and hydrogen-producing side reactions. X-ray computed tomography (CT) is a widely used technique for the study of batteries. In situ / operando x-ray CT has been increasingly used to study the zinc anode of zinc–air batteries to evaluate the interesting morphological changes occurring during the reaction from zinc (Zn) to zinc oxide (ZnO) during discharge (vice versa during charge). However, several studies have been carried out using synchrotron x-ray sources, which have limited availability for users. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of the discharge of commercial, primary zinc–air batteries using a laboratory-based x-ray source for in situ x-ray CT measurements. Four different discharge rates are investigated (C/30, C/60, C/90 and C/150), with tomograms collected at various stages throughout each discharge. Results confirm that with decreasing C-rate (i.e. decreasing discharge current) a greater volume of zinc is reacted, with average mass utilisations of 17%, 76%, 81% and 87% for C/30, C/60, C/90 and C/150, respectively. Furthermore, quantification using x-ray CT datasets showed that there is a direct correlation between the volume of zinc remaining in the cell and the state-of-charge of the cell, which deviated from linearity for the longer C-rates. Finally, a potential new mechanism for shape change is discussed, where a Zn particle is replaced with a pore of a similar volume. As well as improvements in statistical relevance gained from multiple repeats for each C-rate, the results presented here could be used in both modelling of battery performance, as well as consideration for future anode design concepts

Pandemic pains to Instagram gains! COVID-19 perceptions effects on behaviours towards fashion brands on Instagram in Sub-Saharan Africa: Tech-native vs non-native generations

This study represents a novel attempt to investigate the cascading effects of COVID-19 perceptions onto behavioural patterns towards fashion brands on Instagram and across two generations tech-native vs tech non-native) in a Sub-Saharan African context. We drew our study on a sample of 338 Instagram users that experienced fashion brands on Instagram in two Sub-Saharan African countries: Uganda and Nigeria. We used partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the hypothetical model. We found that COVID-19 perception positively predicted enjoyment and usefulness, leading to more satisfaction with fashion brand accounts on Instagram and hence greater intention to follow and recommend those accounts. Finally, running a multigroup analysis (MGA), we found the effects of COVID-19 perceptions pronounced into both intentions to follow and intention to recommend via the sequence of mediators: enjoyment and satisfaction were only valid amongst the tech-native generational cohort. Our research suggested a new generational categorisation based on technology nativity – offering a new direction of generational studies in digital marketing communications

An Analytical and Numerical Study of Optimal Channel Networks

We analyze the Optimal Channel Network model for river networks using both analytical and numerical approaches. This is a lattice model in which a functional describing the dissipated energy is introduced and minimized in order to find the optimal configurations. The fractal character of river networks is reflected in the power law behaviour of various quantities characterising the morphology of the basin. In the context of a finite size scaling Ansatz, the exponents describing the power law behaviour are calculated exactly and show mean field behaviour, except for two limiting values of a parameter characterizing the dissipated energy, for which the system belongs to different universality classes. Two modified versions of the model, incorporating quenched disorder are considered: the first simulates heterogeneities in the local properties of the soil, the second considers the effects of a non-uniform rainfall. In the region of mean field behaviour, the model is shown to be robust to both kinds of perturbations. In the two limiting cases the random rainfall is still irrelevant, whereas the heterogeneity in the soil properties leads to new universality classes. Results of a numerical analysis of the model are reported that confirm and complement the theoretical analysis of the global minimum. The statistics of the local minima are found to more strongly resemble observational data on real rivers.Comment: 27 pages, ps-file, 11 Postscript figure