CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCALLY MADE PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTS IN NIGERIA

Psychological tests are essential to the study and practice of psychology and are used for recruitment, selection, placement, and classification in commerce, industries, and the military. They are scientifica lly constructed following careful and detailed procedures based on sound theoretical approach. Psychologists in Nigeria have constructed culturally relevant tests to assess personality in various settings. However, the number of psychological tests in Nigeria is grossly in adequate. Most of the tests used by psychologists in Nigeria are foreign and not suitable for African cultural background. The scarcity of local tests in Nigeria may be as a result of the challenges psychologists in Nigeria face in the process of test construction. This paper therefore discusses some of these challenges which include the shortage of manpower in the field of psychometrics; financial and time constraints; work overload; lack of mentoring and training programmes; and the lack of attraction to psychometrics as a career in psychology. It was recommended among others that Universities in Nigeria should offer psychometrics as an area of specialization in psychology at the postgraduate level and also, that Psychometricians in Nigeria should encourage young psychologists in the field through mentoring, coaching, and by forming and financing research clusters towards the development of psychological tests

Transformational Leadership Style as a Catalyst for Change in the Nigerian Academia

Education is the bedrock of every society and a tool for nation building (Adegbesan, 2011). The development of any nation is therefore engendered by the effectiveness of the various institutions that make up its educational sector. The university (also referred to as the academia) is the highest institution in the educational sector in any nation of the world. Oxford advanced learner dictionary (2011) defined the university as the highest level of education where students study for a degree or conduct researches. The successful functioning of the university system is a function of effective administration and leadership style.Various leadership styles have existed in time past, however the five most common leadership styles include charismatic, transformational, visionary, transactional, and servant leadership styles. The Nigerian academia may be considered as structurally bureaucratic and transactional in administration. The objective of this paper is to examine the current state of the Nigerian academia, and to present transformational leadership style as the requisite for change in the Nigerian university system. Specifically, this paper examined current issues in the Nigerian universities, identifying effective leadership as a solution. It also explored modern leadership styles in today’s changing world, and concluded that the adoption of Transformational leadership style will provoke the necessary changes needed in Nigerian universities and ultimately provide a pathway to being enlisted in the global rating of world universities

Effects of Workplace Characteristics on Work-Life Balance of Women in Nigerian Public Sector

The number of women working outside home setting is on the increase in Nigeria. This is due to changes in their roles as helpers and even breadwinners in some instances. But, this has not removed their traditional roles of being the home keepers.Women are in charge of home management and they are expected to use the available resources effectively to cater for the family. However, theses are often clash with working conditions such as heavy workloads, lack of participation in decisionmaking,health and safety hazards, job insecurity, and tight deadlines. This often leads to work-life conflict. Work-life conflict occurs when the cumulative demands of work and non-work life roles are incompatible in some respect so that participation in one role is made more difficult by participation in the other role. This study, therefore, examined the impacts of workplace characteristics on work-life balance of women in the Nigerian Public Sector. A total of 886 women were randomly selected from three states in south west Nigeria-Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states. These participants were selected from three federal and state ministries- education, health and information. The finding of this study reveals that there is a significant difference in work-life balance of women with supportive and unsupportive bosses in the Nigerian public sector at t=21.56, df =884 and <0.05 significant level. A significant difference in work-life balance of women working in departments where overtime is required and those working where it does not required at t=18.24, df =884 and <0.05 significant level was equally found. It was concluded that many women are having work-life conflict which are caused by unsupportive bosses and other hostile working environments. It was recommended the on-going public service reforms in Nigeria should consider the welfare of women and make available work-life policies which include flexible work scheduling, family leave policies allowing periods away from work for employees to take care of family matters, and childcare assistance

Influence of Religiosity and Organizational Commitment on Organizational Citizenship Behaviours:A Critical Review of Literature

In* an* attempt* to* cultivate* and* promote* organizational* citizenship* behaviours,*many* scholars*have*sought*to*identify*factors*that*engender*these*highly*coveted*behaviours.* Some*of* the* identified* factors* include*organizational*characteristics* (such*as*working* conditions,* organizational* policies* and* procedures,* leadership* style* and* work* environment),*employee* characteristics* (such* as*personal* attributes,*beliefs,* attitude* and*dispositions)*and*work*characteristics*(such*as*job*content*and*design).*This*paper* reviewed* literature*on* the* influence*of* religiosity*and*organizational* commitment*on* organizational*citizenship*behaviours,*and*further*accentuated* the*connection*among* these* variables.* It*was* observed* that* religiosity* and* organizational* commitment* are* important*variables*that*have*been*linked*with*organizational*citizenship*behaviours.* Religiosity* was* associated* with* enhanced* team* work,* greater* kindness,* fairness,* honesty,*trust,*concern*for*others*and*organizational*citizenship*behaviours.*Also,*most* studies* claimed* that* organizational* commitment* enhances* the* performance* of* organizational* citizenship* behaviours.* However,* organizational* commitment* and* organizational*citizenship*behaviours*are*very*similar*constructs,*with*one*viewed*as*a* behavioural* demonstration* of* the* other.* This* paper* concluded* that* organizational* commitment*and*organizational*citizenship*behaviours*share*similar*antecedents*such* that* any* construct* or* variable* related* to* one* is* ultimately* related* to* the* other.* Therefore,*religiosity*is*related*to*both*organizational*commitment*and*organizational* citizenship*behaviours,*and*does*exert*influence*on*each*of*them.*Finally,*since*most*of* the*reviewed*literatures*were*foreign,*it*was*recommended*that*an*empirical*research* be*conducted*to*further*validate*this*claim*especially*in*the*Nigerian*work*context.

JOB TENURE, PERCEIVED LEADERSHIP STYLE AND ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AS PREDICTORS OF ORGANISATIONAL CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOURS AMONG SERVICE-ORIENTED EMPLOYEES IN LAGOS STATE

The current study investigated the factors that predict organisational citizenship behaviours (OCB) among employees in selected service-oriented organizations. The cross sectional research design was employed in this study. A total of three hundred and fifty-nine (359) employees between the ages of 19 and 59 years old participated in this study. Forty-two percent (42%) of the participants were male; fifty-six percent (56%) were female while the remaining two percent (2%) did not indicate their gender. Teachers accounted for 28% of the total sample, health workers constituted 28%, telecom staff 16% and bankers 28%. Three research questions and five hypotheses were raised and tested using descriptive statistics, stepwise regression analysis, t-test for independent samples and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The result revealed that job tenure, perceived leadership style and perceived organisational justice jointly predicted organisational citizenship behaviours [F (3,333) = 16.156, p.05). Also, intrinsic religiosity and affective commitment were found to partially mediate the relationship between perceived leadership style and OCB; and between perceived organisational justice and OCB. The result further revealed that only marital status [t (353) = -2.728, P.05]. Finally, employees in education, health, banking and telecommunication sectors were found to be significantly different in OCB [F (3,355) =2.791, p<.05]. The result of post hoc analysis revealed that telecommunications had the highest OCB (88.22) while the health sector had the lowest (82.61). This study contributed to knowledge through the development of a standardized measure of OCB in the Nigerian Context. It also established the prevalence of OCB in Nigerian service sector organizations. It concluded that perceived leadership style and organisational justice were significant predictors of OCB, and that this relationship was significantly mediated by intrinsic religiosity and affective commitment; that demographic variables (marital status and educational background) discriminated among service-oriented employees in OCB; and that employees in education, health, banking and telecommunications sector differ significantly in OCB, whereas, employees in public and private sector did not differ significantly in OCB. This study recommended that the government and human resource managers encourage OCB among employees through effective leadership, organisational fairness and workplace spirituality

Cyber Risks and Fraud in the Nigeria’s Business Environment: A Postmortem of Youth Crime

Abstract: This article examines the opportunities and the negative impacts associative of the use of Internet technology in the era of E-Business. Contextually, it zeroed on the activities of youths as they engage in online fraud as a means of survival in Nigeria. It further postured that the Internet medium tremendously promoted e-commerce and simultaneously created a new form of socio-economic insecurity that is highly unprecedented in the world history. The magnitude of vulnerability and concomitantly the monetary loss often attendant of wireless transaction cross culturally engenders fear, skepticism and disillusionments among Internet users in the cyber environment. In order to minimize this trend, the authors were of the view that a special inbuilt security mechanism attachable to the Internet technology hardwires be provided for the censorship of online monetary related interactions. This unique configuration is expected to serve as checks against fraud and other maladaptive uses of the technology by cyber predators

Relevance of Prosocial Behaviours to Rural Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria

With the current scourge of unemployment and the poverty condition in Nigeria, rural entrepreneurship has had a cushion effect on the depressing economic condition of the nation. Rural entrepreneurship represents the informal sector of the economy which is characterised by small scale businesses involving petty traders and artisans. Interestingly, most research efforts on business development and effectiveness have focused mainly on businesses within the formal sector with no consideration for those in the informal sector. Although prosocial behaviours have been considered as crucial to the success of any business endeavour, these behaviours were investigated and labelled as Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB) within the formal sector with no reference to rural entrepreneurship. Hence, this paper introduced the concept of Entrepreneurial Prosocial Behaviours (EPB) as those types of behaviours essential for the development of rural entrepreneurship. It examined the nature of rural entrepreneurship in Nigeria, the theoretical explanation of entrepreneurial prosocial behaviours, its dimensions and relevance to the success of rural entrepreneurship in Nigeria. This paper concluded that prosocial behaviours are crucial to the development of small business units and recommended that such be cultivated among rural entrepreneurs. Further, this paper recommended that empirical research be conducted to validate Entrepreneurial Prosocial Behaviours (EPB) as a construc

Boko Haram: a Nigerian Brand of Thwarted Religious Fundamentalism and Terrorism

Historically, religion bequeaths man with the opportunity to relate with his creator for fulfilment and completeness. However, a new brand of acute religiosity which developed with the late modernity is notably characterised by an excessive emotional enslavement of men to strange dogmas devoided of basis in all known transitional societies. Existentially, the spate of fundamentalism explicable under the cloak of 'right to worship' in this era is continually assuming a dangerous dimension in its global context. The core of this deviation lies in the 'flexibility of meanings' often made possible by the chronological ethos 'eternally inherent' in most religious books and mostly found suitable by spiritual leaders to channel the potentials of their adherents to embark on causes that are diametrically opposed to the true intentions embedded in such religious ethos. Consequently, the boundary between such fundamentalism, sectional interest and criminality stands blurred and thus engenders disillusionment on how best to tackle the upsurge in violence often attendant . of fundamentalism. In line with this, this chapter interrogates the environment of religious teachings that promote the activities of the Boko Haram Sect and its resultant lethal conflict in Nigeria. It also seeks explanation to this trend in both interpretive and modernisation theories and finally, charts a pragmatic direction needed to avert in the future the dire consequences of religious fundamentalism in Nigeria

Youth Identity, Peer Influence and Internet Crime Participation in Nigeria: A Reflection

The increasing relevance of youth participation in the e-environment and invariably the use of cyber technology has been remarkably accentuated by many scholars. Lately, the affinity inherent in the triad of youth, cyber technology and e-business banding together to form the driving force of progress in the modern economy have also been considerably recognized. However, the unanticipated consequences of the synergy between each of these components are yet to be explored in details. This paper, having identified this gap therefore, explores an aspect involving the intent of youths in their utilization of cyber technology and locates this in the appropriation of the gains in the e-business environment to generate diverse desired ends. The existence of both standardized and non-standardized behaviours in the use of e-technologies has steadily increased the vulnerability of gamut of users in the cyber community. In cognizance of this development, this paper locates the surge in Nigeria’s youth’s interest in manipulating the Internet for private gains in expressive identity that is both promoting independence and creativity among the studied group. The theoretical anchorage links fraud attraction to the nature of the social psychological composition of the youths. Finally, the paper concluded that though the increase in technological innovations has been of tremendous advantages to the youth population and the society at large, it has also constituted serious challenges in terms of technologically enhanced crime. These crimes include the cyber fraud characteristic of the youth population in many developing nations. This study proffered some pragmatic solutions to the challenges relating to youth-cyber fraud connection