Exploring Sense-Making in Health Policy: Implementing Health Policy in Nigeria

This study employed the concept of sense-making as an interpretive lens to explore the cognitive dimensions of the actions of policy actors implementing the Nigerian Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) – a major health policy reform launched in 2005.The research follows emergent body of work by cognitive implementation theorists who have demonstrated that the conventional (top-down compliance model) of policy implementation is fundamentally deficient because it pays scant attention to the link between the sense-making of implementing actors and deviations from policy intentions (Spillane et al., 2002; Peck and 6, 2006).Put differently, the sense-making of implementers results in evolution of policy during implementation (Browne and Wildavsky, 1983; Spillane et al, 2002).Using a case study design, the research investigated individual, and collective/distributed sense-making across a spectrum of the actors implementing the NHIS. More specifically, the study investigated the role of formal and informal interactions on actor sense-making , the impact of communities of practice on collective sense-making , and the shaping influences of the political, organisational and bureaucratic context on the sense-making of actors. The conceptual framework for the study assembled theories and concepts covering individual, and collective/distributed sense-making, sense-giving , communities of practice theory, and the role of power and politics in sense-making. A sample of 29 purposively selected policy actors from the ranks of NHIS/Community insurance Scheme officials, HMO executives, medical providers, and three external health policy advisers were interviewed to generate the primary data. Secondary data was obtained from in-depth examinations of various archival and publicly available documents. The research findings confirm the central thesis that sense-making is socially re-constructed, negotiated and organised. Significantly, individual sense-making variations (based on cognition and affect) in the cues that actors extracted from the NHIS policy message resulted in different framings of that message. The limitations of the notion of homogeneity within communities of practice, and the relevance of power as a dynamic in communities of practice, were also revealed. Notably, the findings empirically demonstrate the critical impact of power and politics in sense-making. A significant contribution of the study to the literature is the linkage that it establishes between power distance orientation and sense-making

Work-Life Conflict of Native and Immigrant Entrepreneurs in South Africa

Work life conflict negatively impacts entrepreneurs and the economic performance of their businesses. The study explored the work-life conflict (WLC) of native and immigrant entrepreneurs in South Africa. Also, the study examined the effect of gender and work-related factors (long working hours and work overload) on the WLC of native and immigrant entrepreneurs. The study adopted the survey method (selfadministered questionnaires) for data collection. The participants in the study were identified through convenience and snowballing sampling methods. The methods of data analysis included descriptive statistics, T-test, Pearson correlation and regression analysis. The results showed high levels of WLC for both native and immigrant entrepreneurs. Native entrepreneurs have a higher level of WLC compared to immigrant entrepreneurs, however the difference is not statistically significant. Male entrepreneurs have a lower level of WLC compared to female entrepreneurs. Long working hours and work overload significantly impact on the WLC of native and immigrant entrepreneurs. Recommendations to reduce WLC include goal setting, scheduling and delegation of work by entrepreneurs.&nbsp

Forecasting Nigeria\u27s Electricity Demand and Energy Efficiency Potential Under Climate Uncertainty

The increasing population and socio-economic growth of Nigeria, coupled with the current, unmet electricity demand, requires the need for power supply facilities expansion. Of all Nigeria’s electricity consumption by sector, the residential sector is the largest and growing at a very fast rate. To meet this growing demand, an accurate estimation of the demand into the future that will guide policy makers to adequately plan for the expansion of electricity supply and distribution, and energy efficiency standards and labeling must be made. To achieve this, a residential electricity demand forecast model that can correctly predict future demand and guide the construction of power plants including cost optimization of building these power infrastructures is needed. Modelling electricity demand in developing countries is problematic because of scarcity of data and methodologies that adequately consider detailed disaggregation of household appliances, energy efficiency improvements, and stock uptakes. This dissertation addresses these gaps and presents methodologies that can carry out a detailed disaggregation of household appliances, a more accurate electricity demand projection, peak load reduction, energy savings, economic, and environmental benefits of energy efficiency in the residential sector of Nigeria. This study adopts a bottom-up and top-down approach (hybrid) supplemented with hourly end-use demand profile to model residential electricity consumption. and project efficiency improvement through the introduction of energy efficiency standards and labelling (EE S&L) under two scenarios (Business As Usual and Best Available Technology). A consumer life-cycle cost analysis was also conducted to determine the cost-effectiveness of introducing EE S& L to consumers. The results show significant savings in energy and carbon emissions, increased cooling demand due to climate uncertainty, and negative return on investment and increase lifecycle costs to consumers who purchase more efficient appliances. These results are subject to some level of uncertainties that are mainly caused by the input data. The uncertainties were analyzed based on a Monte Carlo Simulation. The uncertainties that were considered including the type of distributions applied to them were outlined and the result of the outputs were presented

Childhood Trauma in Early Care and Education: Understanding School Administrators’ Perceptions

This mixed-methods study explores childhood trauma with a primary focus on the beliefs and attitudes of elementary school administrators in their ability to offer trauma-informed leadership and assist their teachers in trauma-informed care (TIC) and education. Participants at various stages of their careers were recruited from elementary schools across 10 U.S. states (N = 240). Employing an explanatory sequential mixed method design, Phase I assessed school administrators’ attitudes using the attitudes related to trauma-informed care scale (ARTIC-45) (see Appendix A). Phase II employed semi-structured interviews to collect qualitative data to explain further and clarify the quantitative results. Findings suggest that elementary school administrators have positive attitudes related to trauma-informed care. Findings also suggest years of administrative experience shows a negative statistically significant relationship while the number of TIC training hours shows a positive statistically significant relationship to attitudes related to trauma-informed care. Analysis also suggests no statistically significant relationship between years of teaching experience and attitudes related to trauma-informed care. A closer examination of the ARTIC – 45 subscales indicate elementary school administrators have negative personal support attitudes toward TIC implementation and negative feelings about the systemwide support they receive from colleagues, supervisors, and administration to implement TIC

Laser Engineering Net Shaping Method in the Area of Development of Functionally Graded Materials (FGMs) for Aero Engine Applications - A Review

Modern aero engine components are subjected to extreme conditions were high wear rate, excessive fatigue cycles, and severe thermal attack are inevitable. These aggressive conditions reduce the service life of components. Its generic effect is magnified in the light of understanding the fact that aero engine parts are highly sensitive to functional and dimensional precision; therefore, repair and replacement are great factors that promote downtime during operation. Hard thermal barrier coatings have been used in recent times due to their optimized properties for maximum load bearing proficiency with high temperature capability to meet performance and durability required. Nevertheless, less emphasis is being given to the coating-substrate interaction. Functionally graded structures have better synergy and flexibility in composition than coatings, giving rise to controlled microstructure and improved properties in withstanding acute state of affairs. Such materials can be fabricated using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™), a laser-based additive manufacturing technique. LENS™ offers a great deal in rapid prototyping, repair, and fabrication of three-dimensional dense structures with superior properties in comparison with traditionally fabricated structures. The manufacture of aero engine components with functionally graded materials, using LENS™, can absolutely mitigate the nuisance of buy-to-fly ratio, lost time in repair and maintenance, and maximize controlled dimension and multi-geometric properties, enhanced wear resistance, and high temperature strength. This review presents an extensive contribution in terms of insightful understanding of processing parameters and their interactions on fabrication of functionally graded stainless steel, which definitely influence the final product quality

Crisis Management Strategy and its Effects on Organizational Performance of Multinational Corporations in Nigeria: Empirical Evidence from Promassidor Ltd.

At one time or the other, organizations would witness crisis whether internal or external in which its impact could induce severe consequences or even disasters if wrong strategic moves are devised. The issue of how organizations can maintain good performance when faced with critical situations has largely remained unexplored. This study therefore examines the effect of crisis management strategy on organizational performance of multinational corporations in Nigeria, empirical insight from Promassidor ltd.  Crisis management forms the bedrock for peaceful co-existence between employers and employees and even the society at large. Crisis is inevitable in any organization because it comes in varied forms and degrees. In carrying out this study a total of 321 staffs were randomly selected from a staff population of 700. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and the data collected were analyzed using partial correlation. The results revealed that management challenges to crisis management strategy is attributed to poor organizational performance and that crisis management strategy does not have any effect on organizational performance. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made that multinational corporations in Nigeria should make funds available for human resource development on a continuous basis, and that management of organizations should be pro-active when it comes to issues of human resource management. Therefore, the extent to which an organization is able to forge ahead in spite of this unavoidable constraint will depend much on the human resource managers on whom rests the arduous task of resolving crisis. Keywords: Cris management strategy, effect, organizations performance and MNCs

Determinants of Social Entrepreneurial Intentions of University Students in South Africa

Entrepreneurial behaviour can be predicted by intentions. The study investigated the determinants of social entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) of university students in South Africa. The study adopted a quantitative research design that involved the use of a survey. The self-administered questionnaire method was used to collect data from the survey participants. The participants in the survey were final year undergraduate students of the Department of Business Management of two South African universities. Reliability was measured using the Cronbach’s alpha. The data analysis methods for the study were descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and regression analysis. The results indicated that empathy, moral obligation, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and perceived social support are predictors of social entrepreneurial intentions. The recommendations to improve the SEI of university students focus on passive and active entrepreneurship teaching methods

Internally Displaced Persons: Ordeals and Analyses of the Possible Regimes of Legal Protection Frameworks

This present global community is complicated because of anxiety and uncertainty. It is thoroughly interconnected yet intricately partitioned. Pivotally, one could argue that the centrality to this global anxiety is identity and belonging. People want to identify with and belong to a political system, territory, and culture. It seems that there is a present world that mirrors the political emergence of the interwar period that had nationalism on the rise. There is hostility to non-citizens globally, whether as refugees, internally displaced peoples (IDPs), or immigrants seeking to join new political communities. This Article explains the difficulties that ensue from being tagged “an internally displaced person” and explains some specific human rights violations that occur during internal displacement. Some of those violations are economic displacement, cultural displacement, a consistent astronomical rise in external displacement (refugeehood), and the effacement of the dignity to “belong” to a society. This Article gives recommendations on the possible legal frameworks of protection that states could adopt to protect their displaced citizens because states bear the first responsibility for internal displacement, not the international community, which arguably has a secondary responsibility to protect IDPs when states are unwilling to protect them. This Article compares the IDP legal regimes in Africa—the Nigerian Draft National Policy on IDPs and The Kenyan IDP statute. It determines whether a statute or policy best answers the dilemma of an appropriate protection mechanism for IDPs. It concludes that choosing an IDP legal regime is not as important as the political will to implement the regime because a legal regime of protection is dead on arrival without implementation

What are the experiences of adolescents during the recovery process from Anorexia Nervosa after receiving inpatient treatment? : an interpretative phenomenological analysis study

Background: Evidence suggests that eating disorders appear to be a significant issue in the United Kingdom. Report also suggests that people with eating disorders have a higher rate of mortality, with Anorexia Nervosa having the highest risk of mortality within eating disorders. Adolescents are most likely to be at risk suggesting closer attention should be given to this population. Despite the move towards outpatient services, inpatient treatment remains important to Anorexia Nervosa treatment for adolescents due to its life threatening features. Studies however indicate that a high number of patients who are discharged from inpatient treatment often relapse. Qualitative studies into the experiences of anorexic sufferers has shown that improvement during the recovery process may lead to new difficulties particularly in regards to managing their negative feelings without restricting their dietary intake. Most studies that have explored the experiences of people with Anorexia Nervosa tend to report more on their experience of treatment interventions. Furthermore, the limited research literature on recovery tends to focus more on adult experiences whilst little attention is given to the experience of adolescents. Aim: This study aims to contribute towards the topic as it explores the experiences of adolescents during the recovery process from Anorexia Nervosa after receiving inpatient treatment. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four adolescents who had been discharged into the community following inpatient treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. Results: From the analysis, the following four super-ordinate themes emerged from the data: self & recovery; relational; the world against me: back in the world; and psychological recovery vs. physical recovery. Conclusions: The findings highlight the impact of inpatient treatment on adolescents as well as the different roles played by parents, friends, and therapists in maintaining the course of recovery for adolescents with AN following their discharge from inpatient treatment. The findings also inform counselling psychologists as to how best to help adolescents manage the challenges they may face in the later stages of their recovery after discharge from inpatient treatment. Evaluation of the current study is followed by recommendations for future research