Political Participation and Nigerian Democracy: A Survey of the Electorate in the 2012 Governorship Election in Edo State

This paper explores Nigerians’ political participation in Nigeria’s democracy. It situates the core indices frustrating the emergence of an effective democratic culture within the context of domestic instability and crisis. The paper adopted both primary and secondary sources in collecting data. Whilst, employing both ethnicity and Elite theories to further buttress the focus of this paper, political issues in Nigeria therefore, were discovered to be driven by the “moneyed-class” while the majority of the masses feel alienated. Also discovered is that access to the political space is a function of wealth. Electoral violence was also discovered as a core variable militating against effective political participation. The paper concludes that there is the need to reform the electorate system in Nigeria if Nigeria is to escape from the present atrocious political situation, political parties in addition, must be able to observe internal democracy within their ranks and also there should be periodic public sensitization, while elections must also be credible. The paper recommends among others; that political parties members must have opportunity to make input into the decision making process in this respect, the overwhelming influence of the rich and powerful Godfathers will be reduced to the barest minimum. As a logical follow up to the above, there should be a conscious attempt at reducing illiteracy among majority of Nigerians. This will enable citizens to be aware of their civil rights and responsibilities and finally among others, sustainable effort at economic empowerment of the people must also be guaranteed. This will certainly serve as an antidote to vote buying. It is therefore, also, important that the government meet the basic economic needs of its citizens to forestall the regular occurrence of these perverted tendencies Keywords: Politics, Political Participation, Democracy, Election and Nigeri

Effects of Allanblackia floribunda stem-bark Extracts on Oxidative stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Rats Exposed to Crude Oil

The development of degenerative diseases has been linked to oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that the changes caused by crude oil exposure contribute to the onset of degenerative diseases. There is little or no information on the anti-degeneration properties of Allanblackia floribunda. This study was carried out to investigate brain mitochondrial tissues exposed to crude oil and the effects of A. floribunda as a preventive and therapeutic intervention against oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Twenty-five Wistar rats were divided into five groups: the control group received distilled water, the second group received ethanol extracts of A. floribunda, the third group received crude oil (5 mL/kg), the fourth and fifth groups received crude oil and A. floribunda extract concurrently (200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively). The results showed that crude oil treatment caused a significant increase in brain mitochondrial MDA levels and induced significant alterations in brain mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme activities compared with control. Treatment with the extract alone revealed a significant increase in protein carbonyl, conjugated dienes, and ATPases compared with crude oil-treated rats. This indicates that A. floribunda inhibited crude oil-induced mitochondrial lipid peroxidation and improved ATPase and antioxidant status in the rat brain mitochondria, which further suggests that A. floribunda possesses potential and may efficiently inhibit crude oil-induced oxidative damage and improve mitochondrial functions

A comparative study of different body fat measuring instruments

Summary: There is an increase in the occurrence of obesity worldwide. The purpose of this study was to compare various convenient and affordable body fat measuring instruments in man to percentage body fat calculated using skinfold thickness to ascertain if they can be used as a substitute for more expensive` gold standard instruments used for measuring body fat. Seventy male students (20-30years) of the University of Benin where recruited in this study. Subjects were non-athletes without systemic disease, liposuction and not on routine medication. All measurements were taken between 7am and 10am daily. Subjects came fasting refrained from exercise 12 hours before the study and body weight (kg) was measured with a digital weighing scale. A standiometer, was used to measure height (m). BMI (kg/m2) was calculated from weight and height. The Waist Circumference (WC) (cm) and Hip Circumference (HC) (m) of each subject were measured using a measuring tape. The Waist-Hip-Ratio (WHR) was calculated by dividing the subject’s WC by the HC. Skinfold thickness (mm) of the chest, abdomen and thigh were taken with a calibrated Lange skinfold caliper. Body density (BD) values were calculated using the skinfold equation of Jackson and Pollock for men. Body fat percentage (%BF) was calculated from BD using the formula of Siri, with respect to the age of each individual. Results were presented as means ± S.E.M. Microcal origin 8.0 was used to analyze collected data and correlation studies were used to investigate the relationship between groups. P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. BMI, WC, HC, skinfold thickness (abdomen, thigh and Chest), weight and estimated lean body mass were positively correlated with %BF in our study population while WHR and height were weakly and negatively correlated with %BF respectively. These alternative means of assessing body fat may be useful when more sophisticated methods are unavailable.Keywords: Percentage Body fat percentage, Obesity, Skinfold thickness, Body Mass IndexNiger. J. Physiol. Sci. 33(December 2018) 125-12

Social enterprise resilience in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines resilience in development-oriented social enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa drawing upon in-depth case study research. It explores the nature of the strategic challenges faced by social enterprises in sub-Saharan African contexts and which necessitate organisational resilience. Key resources and capabilities possessed by resilient social enterprises are identified. Finally, strategies adopted by resilient social enterprises are explored. This research not only contributes to literature on resilience in social enterprises but also works on wider organisational resilience, particularly in complex and unpredictable environments. Furthermore, it contributes to hitherto limited work on social enterprises in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, this paper has implications for practicing managers in social enterprises who are looking to build organisational resilience

Being Passionate to Perform: The Joint Effect of Leader Humility and Follower Humility

Although humility is an outstanding characteristic of many beloved and respected leaders, little is understood regarding the effect of leader humility on follower job performance. The current study examines how leader humility affects follower performance. Drawing on the self-determination theory, we suggest that leader humility, via follower harmonious passion, contributes to follower performance. With multiphase leader-follower paired data, we find that leader humility is positively related to follower performance, this positive relationship is partially mediated by follower harmonious passion, and the indirect effect of leader humility on follower performance via follower harmonious passion is stronger with a high level of follower humility

Business in the digital age : digital innovation outcome, exit and the founder’s start-up experience role

Digital technology has shaped the way entrepreneurial process is driven, how ideas are generated, and how innovation is developed, exploited and marketed. To better understand the research on digital entrepreneurship process, research calls for interdisciplinary studies between innovation and entrepreneurship. The current study addresses this call by examining the role of founder’s start-up experience and the acquisition price of the venture, on their importance in digital innovation outcome and entrepreneurial exit. A total of 742 ventures were analyzed by answering two questions. Results show that the entrepreneur’s start-up experience and how much the acquirer is willing to buy them out can influence whether an entrepreneur will exit their ventures or not. The findings have important implications for entrepreneurs and larger organizations seeking to acquire innovative SMEs, by indicating which firms and entrepreneurs to watch out for when they intend to acquire new but fastgrowing small ventures

Affective motivation : Studies of its importance for entrepreneurial activities

Motivation is a significant concept within the entrepreneurial process, referring to everything from identifying opportunities and generating or articulating ideas to evaluating opportunities and planning steps to form or launch an enterprise and then grow and develop that enterprise. Motivational drivers can be classified as non-affective (i.e., rational and calculative) and affective (i.e., emotionally laden). The present doctoral thesis focuses on affective motivation among entrepreneurs and is comprised of four papers. Collectively, these papers focus on two research inquiries: (1) the role of social and cognitive factors for the development of affective entrepreneurial motivation and (2) how and why affective entrepreneurial motivations are related to entrepreneurial activities. Specifically, the thesis papers examine the following topics:Paper I. Entrepreneurship Psychology: A Review. This paper addresses the status of extant research in key areas of entrepreneurship psychology (personality, cognition, emotion, attitude, and self within entrepreneurs’ psychology) and what can be anticipated from future research in this domain. It draws upon a literature review and expert panel survey.Paper II. Exploration of Motivational Drivers towards Social Entrepreneurship. This work explores what drives individual motivation for engagement and persistence in social entrepreneurial activities. It builds on a qualitative, multiple case study. Paper III. Committed to a Cause: Passionate Leader Behavior in Social Enterprising. This qualitative, multiple case study explores the question of how passionate leader behavior benefits social enterprising.Paper IV. Obsessive Passion, Competence, and Performance in a Project Management Context. This study tests the links among competence, passion and how entrepreneurial projects are led. It builds upon quantitative survey dataGodkänd; 2014; 20141107 (adeomo); Nedanstående person kommer att disputera för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen. Namn: Adesuwa Omorede Ämne: Entreprenörskap & Innovation/Entrepreneurship and Innovation Avhandling: Affective Motivation: Studies of its Importance for Entrepreneurial Activities Opponent: Professor Jukka Vesalainen, Vasa Universitet, Finland Ordförande: Biträdande Professor Sara Thorgren, Institutionen för ekonomi, teknik och samhälle, Luleå tekniska universitet Tid: Måndag den 15 december 2014, kl 13.00 Plats: A109, Luleå tekniska universitet Adesuwa OmoredeCiiR-Centre for Inter-Organizational Innovation Researc

Arbete på distans hemifrån våren 2022 : Sammanfattande resultatredovisning

Syftet med denna rapport är att beskriva erfarenheterna hos individer som behöver arbeta hemifrån till följd av covid19 9. Rapporten är en del av ett AFA-finansierad forskningsprojekt som pågår till och med juni 2023. En enkätstudie genomfördes i fem olika verksamheter våren 2021 och 2022. Denna rapport jämför 2022s resultat med referensvärden från innan pandemin samt där det finns skillnader mellan 2021 och 2022. 2022 svarade 432 respondenter. 64 var chefer och 13 var skyddsombud. Distansarbete minskade från 36–40 timmar i veckan 2021 till 16–20 timmar i veckan i april-maj 2022. Före pandemin var snittet 1–5 timmar i veckan. • Psykosocialt säkerhetsklimat o De som arbetar hemifrån upplever att ledningen prioriterar deras psykisk hälsa och rapporterar ett gott psykosocialt säkerhetsklimat. • Krav i arbetet o Deltagarna rapporterar bättre arbetstempo, likvärdig kvantitative krav och sämre känslomässiga krav än innan pandemin. o Känslomässiga krav är sämre 2022 än 2021. • Arbetsorganisering och innehåll o Inflytande är bättre och utvecklingsmöjligheter och mening i arbetet är likvärdiga referensvärden innan pandemin. o Ingen förändring mellan 2021 och 2022. • Relationer och ledarskap o Ledarskapskvalitet är bättre än referensvärden innan pandemin. Rollkonflikt, socialt stöd från kollegor, förutsägbarhet och social gemenskap i arbetet är likvärdiga. Rolltydlighet och erkännande är sämre än referensvärden innan pandemin.o Socialt stöd från överordnad är sämre 2022. • Samspel mellan arbete och individ o Arbetsengagemang, oro för arbetslöshet och oro för förändrade förhållanden och kvalitet i arbetet är likvärdiga. Konflikt mellan privatliv och arbete har inget referensvärde men resultaten visar arbete påverkar privatliv mer än det omvända. o Tillfredsställelse med arbete är sämre 2022 i jämförelse med förra året. • Socialt kapital o Organisatorisk rättvisa är på likvärdig nivå som innan pandemin och vertikal tillit är sämre. o Vertikal tillit är sämre 2022. • Psykisk hälsao Inom psykisk hälsa finns det referensvärden för utmattning. Nivån på utmattning är lägre än referensvärden innan pandemin. o Det finns inga värden för isolation innan pandemin men det vi ser är att isolation har minskat från 352021, till 20 vid den andra mätningen våren 2022 (0=inte alls och 100=hela tiden). Detta är en förändring från 2021 till 2022 i isolation. • Fysisk hälsa o På en skala av 0 till 100 (0=inte alls och 100=hela tiden) är snittnivån för samtliga deltagarna 24 för ryggvärk, 34 för muskelvärk i axlar, nacke, händer och armbågar och 32 för huvudvärk och ögonbesvär. Det finns inga referensvärden från innan pandemin. o Värk i axlar och nacken är marginellt högre 2022 och huvudvärk och ryggvärk är marginellt lägre. 3 Stillasittande och självskattad hälsa o Stillasittande: Folkhälsomyndigheten rekommenderar att man rör på sig några minuter varje halvtimme. Av de tillfrågade sitter 4% mindre än 1 timme i sträck under en vanlig arbetsdag. Resten sitter längre. 33% sitter 4h eller mer i sträck och 42% 2-4h i sträck. Här finns det inga referensvärden men en jämförelse med 2021 visar att stillasittande generellt sett ökar. Andelen som sitter mindre än 1h i sträck ha minskat från 6% till 4%.o Självskattad hälsa är sämre 2022. 2021 var självskattad hälsa 62 på en skala av 0 (mycket dåligt) till 100 (utmärkt). 2022, rapporterade deltagarna en nivå på 52. Arbetsprestationo Arbetsprestation saknar referensvärden från innan pandemin. o Deltagarna rapporterade att sin arbetsmiljö och hälsa påverkade sin arbetsprestation i en ”mycket liten grad”. Resultaten är väldigt likt resultaten från 2021. o De flesta rapporterade att sin hälsa och arbetsmiljö vid distansarbete påverkade sin arbetsprestation ”i en liten grad” eller ”delvis” (0=inte alls och 5=I mycket hög grad). Resultaten är väldigt likt resultaten från 2021.o Ingen förändring i arbetsprestation skedde när tiden av arbete som utförts hemifrån minskade från 36–40 timmar i veckan våren 2021, till 16–20 timmar i veckan våren 2022. Sjuknärvaroo Sjuknärvaro saknar referensvärden från innan pandemin. o 51% rapporterade att de var borta pga. sjukdom mellan 1–15 dagar och 7% rapporterade mer än 15 dagars sjukfrånvaro. o Virtuell sjuknärvaro ökade från 51% 2021 till 69% 2022. o De vanligaste anledningarna till att respondenterna arbetar trots sjukdom är att ingen annan kan göra jobbet och för att inte belasta kollegornaFinansierad av AFA försäkring</p