Co-worker Social Support and Organisational Identification: does ethnic self-identification matter?

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. This accepted manuscript is deposited under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial International Licence 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). Any reuse is allowed in accordance with the terms outlined by the licence, here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. To reuse the AAM for commercial purposes, permission should be sought by contacting [email protected] purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of socially supportive relationships between co-workers in fostering organisational identification (OID). Adopting a Social Identity Theory perspective, the study investigates how employees’ ethnic self-identification (ESI) may influence co-worker social support (CWSS)–OID relationship depending on whether they are indigenes or non-indigenes.Design/methodology/approachRegression analysis was used to examine the relationship between CWSS (independent variable) and OID (dependent variable) at different levels of ESI (moderator variable). Data were collected from 1,525 employees from public and private employers in Nigeria.FindingsFindings supported a positive relationship between CWSS and OID that is moderated by an employee’s ESI. Specifically, the study finds that ESI matters in the strength of CWSS–OID relationship such that the relationship is weaker for indigenes compared to non-indigenes.Practical implicationsAs organisations develop policies that increase the representation of various ethnic groups or other forms of social identities at work, there is need to create an environment that fosters socially supportive relationships among co-workers.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by adding a level of boundary conditions to the overall findings that workplace relationships are important for OID. The study also addresses how employees of different ethnic groups are influenced by the ethnicity of the context prevailing where an organisation is located.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Comparison of Outcome of Students’ Performance Using the Standard Setting Method with the Absolute Grading Method in Preclinical Examination

This study compared the outcome of students’ performance using the standard setting method with the equivalent outcome they would have obtained using the absolute grading method. It involved the comparison of fail, pass, honors and distinction grades in Digestive System, Endocrine System, Cardiovascular System and Health and the Environment courses in the MBBS Stage I examination. The performance in Cardiovascular System was significantly better with the standard setting method (χ2 = 27.53; p < 0.01), median score in the honors range compared with the absolute grading method where the median score was in the pass range. On the other hand, the performance in Endocrine System was significantly better using the absolute grading method (χ2 = 27.30; p < 0.01), with median score in the honors range compared with the standard setting method where the median score was in the pass range. There was no difference in the performance in Digestive System (χ2 = 7.45; p = 0.06), median score in the pass range and Health and the Environment (χ2 = 6.34; p = 0.09), median score in the honors range; between the standard setting and absolute grading methods (Wilcoxon’s signed rank). The overall pass, honors, distinction and failure rates were also identical in both methods (Mann Whitney U test). This suggests that overall the outcome of the students’ performance in the standard setting method compared with the absolute grading method were not significantly different.Keywords: standard setting, absolute grading method, students’ performance, preclinical education

Effect of Mastery Learning Approach on Secondary School Students Achievement in Chemistry in Rivers State Nigeria

The study examined the effect of mastery learning on secondary school achievement in chemistry. It adopted  a quasi experimental design. A fifty (50) item multiple choice option of chemistry Achievement test constructed from chemical strometer, mole concept, electrolysis, acid, base and salt) was used for the collection of protest posttest scores. A 2x2x2 factorial design was used. The analysis of covariance ANCOVA was used in testing significance and validity of different variables used in the hypothesis. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSDS) was used for data analysis, to enhance accuracy of the result obtained. The resu1ts show that the mean difference in academic achievement between the two teaching approaches was in favour of the experimental group was very minimal   (F(1.157=83,378, p=0.000), It also indicates that the mean difference in achievement between the male and female between the urban and rural students of the experimental group is very minimal (F(l, 77=1.233, p=2.70). It revered that the mean difference in achievement between the male and the female urban students of the experimental group was very minimal (F(I, 37=.871, p=357). It indicates that the mean difference in academic achievement between the male and the female rural students of the experimental group is very minimal F1, = 1.667, P = .205). The experimental group (mastery learning) performed significantly better than the control group (conventional teaching method); government should motivate teachers by ensuring good conditions of service, considering that mastery learning strategy demand absolute dedication on the part of teachers, the schools should allow more flexibility in the time assigned to teach a unit of subject in order to attain mastery. Key Words: Mastery Learning, Conventional Teaching Method, Academic, Achievement School Location, Gender

Impacts of feeding dried distillers grains with solubles on aerial emissions when fed to swine

In recent years the corn grain ethanol industry has expanded and led to increased availability of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), and feeding DDGS to swine is becoming more common in pork production. With feed being the primary cost in pork production and increasing interest in air emissions from animal feeding operations, it is important to understand the impacts of non-traditional dietary formulations on aerial emissions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impacts of feeding DDGS on ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deep-pit swine wean-to-finish (5.5 - 118 kg) facilities in Iowa, the leading swine producing state in the USA. To attain the study objectives, two commercial, co-located wean-to-finish barns were monitored: one barn received a traditional corn-soybean meal diet (designated as Non-DDGS regimen), while the other received a diet that included 22% DDGS (designated as DDGS regimen). Gaseous concentrations and barn ventilation rate (VR) were monitored or determined semi-continuously, and the corresponding emission rates (ER) were derived from the concentration and VR data. Two turns of production were monitored for this study, covering the period of December 2009 to January 2011. The daily and cumulative emissions are expressed on the basis of per barn, per pig, and per animal unit (AU, 500 kg live body weight). Results from this project indicate that feeding 22% DDGS does not significantly affect aerial emissions of NH3, H2S, CO2, N2O or CH4 when compared to the Non-DDGS regimen in a deep-pit wean-to-finish swine facility (p-value = 0.10 for NH3, 0.13 for H2S, 0.55 for CO2, 0.58 for N2O, and 0.18 for CH4). ER for the Non-DDGS regimen, in g/d-pig, averaged 7.5 NH3, 0.37 H2S, 2127 CO2 and 72 CH4. In comparison, ER for the DDGS regimen, in g/d-pig, averaged 8.1 NH3, 0.4 H2S, 1849 CO2, and 48 CH4. On the basis of kg gas emission per AU marketed, the values were 8.7 NH3, 0.724 H2S, 2350 CO2 and 84 CH4 for the Non-DDGS regimen; and 12 NH3, 0.777 H2S, 2095 CO2, and 60 CH4 for the DDGS regimen. Results of this extended field-scale study help filling the knowledge gap of GHG emissions from modern swine production systems