Data Mining Group

Informatio

The good, the bad and the ugly in the melting pot: the challenges of Nigerianising diversity management

Taking a clue from the aftermaths of colonisation and the need to manage an 'unholy marriage' created by the British colonial masters, the review paper examines the peculiar challenges of managing Nigeria's unique diversity in the public sector through the critical lens of the Federal Character Principle (FCP) with specific focus on how this invented model of diversity management ended up creating more serious problems than it was meant to solve in the Nigerian public administration. The paper is essentially a review, and it relies on previous studies and real-world evidence on the subject. The paper systematically traces the evolution of diversity management in Nigeria’s public administration through the critical lens of the Federal Character Principle (FCP) with specific focus on how problematic it is to management Nigeria's unique diversity with more serious problems being created by the FCP application in the public sector. The paper reveals that the constitutional provisions of the ‘Federal Character Principle’ (FCP) ended up creating more problems than it set out to solve, reflecting in the 'melting pot' allegory. It reveals how problematic it is to manage the country's diversity, and highlights some of the problems created by the FCP. The review makes a case for an urgent need to intensify empirical research on the subject in order to fashion out a better way of managing Nigeria's diversity in the public sector. One major limitation of this paper is rooted lack of empirical research such as survey to further explore the topic. However, some real-life examples and cases were provided were drawn on the phenomenon. Thus, a call for more systematic and empirical research is made. The implication of the finding is that the model for managing workforce diversity especially in the Nigerian public sector (not limited to the public administration) must be ‘Nigerianised’ such that the unique socio-cultural realities of the Nigeria's society as well as benefits accrued to diversity can be fully explored in driving the growth of the country and survival of the 'unity-in-diversity' goal. The paper will benefit the government, relevant stakeholders, and the Nigerian society at large. It offers some useful insights into public administration. It stimulates an interest to conduct further research on diversity management with a view to producing some useful findings that could lead to a better management of diversity in the country

Digital Collections Master Plan: Content, Systems, Access and Comprehensive Management Framework

This Digital Collections Master Plan is intended to guide the work of creating, collecting and managing digital content such as electronic/digital text, images, and audio/video materials produced by and for Macalester College. This plan is not intended to address issues related to materials that are purchased for the use of the college, but rather addresses the materials produced or published by our own faculty, students, and staff or other individuals who are connected to the college for specific events or teaching purposes. It is imperative that the library focus on local digital collections in order to meet the mission of functioning as a gateway and comprehensive information center in support of research and instruction at Macalester College

Report on the Standardization Project ``Formal Methods in Conformance Testing''

This paper presents the latest developments in the “Formal Methods in Conformance Testing” (FMCT) project of ISO and ITU–T. The project has been initiated to study the role of formal description techniques in the conformance testing process. The goal is to develop a standard that defines the meaning of conformance in the context of formal description techniques. We give an account of the current status of FMCT in the standardization process as well as an overview of the technical status of the proposed standard. Moreover, we indicate some of its strong and weak points, and we give some directions for future work on FMCT

Span of Control and IHS Staffing Patterns

The objective of this study was to research the subject of span of control as it applies to the management of work, to assess factors impacting supervisory ratios, to assess Indian Health Service (IHS) staffing data to determine supervisory ratios, to identify relevant industry span of control supervisory ratios, and to make findings and recommendations. The purpose of this study was to assess whether or not the IHS\\u27s span of control is consistent with industry standards.The analysis required research on managerial span of control standards and ratios from variety of sources, including health care organization literature, Office of Personnel Management (OPM) documentary material, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards and manuals, and health care industry staffing data. The analysis also involved obtaining, processing, tabulating, and summarizing IHS agency-wide staffing data by occupational series, location, and function to determine span of control supervisory ratios, and similar data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) on staffing patterns.Corporate responsibilities are organized functionally, but direct health care operations are performed on a team basis. In the field of health care delivery, the literature does not specify recommended span of control. The statutory mandates do not speak to span of control. Rather, they support a mission, which is critical and complex. There was no data found on supervisory ratios for the private sector. The IHS staffing patterns at hospitals and health centers are consistent with the unique IHS mission.The authors recommend conducting a management review/case study to obtain a realistic view of the supervisory ratios for IHS hospitals and health centers. Case studies of the total staffing profile, (including non-IHS employees), the organizational structure, team responsibilities, and span of control at three IHS hospitals would be a useful starting point. Also, a roundtable conference on organization issues for health care delivery facilities may prove beneficial. This study suggests the need for an IHS health facility profile database. The database may include information on locations, organizations, FTEs, budget, program descriptions, workload measures, contracting/compacting data, CHS/fiscal intermediary data, etc., to support IHS Headquarters management and analysis needs