Transitioning to Decent Work and Economic Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Implications for the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 8

The phenomenon of indecent workplaces poses serious existential threats to profits plants and people including the attainment of sustainable development goal SDG in Sub-Saharan Africa This chapter discusses the imperative of transition to decent work and economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa a move that is expected to lead to the attainment of SDG 8 Using a mixed research method with preference for secondary data the paper provides richer findings on the subject of inquiry It was found that the per capita GDPs of Sub-Saharan Africa a period of 10 years 2000-2019 are very low when compared with the minimum per capita GDP of 3996 for the Upper-Middle Income countries Also the continent manifested a low tendency towards decent work because of worsening unemployment rates and higher vulnerable employment in the labour force With regards to practical and managerial implications the study validates the United Nations targets on economic growth and decent work which explicates that to sustain per capita economic growth the least developed countries must have at least 7 percent gross domestic product growth per annum including providing decent work for all women and me

Labor Law-Duty to Bargain-Disclosure to Union of Costs of Noncontributory Group Insurance

In the course of bargaining for a new contract with an employer, the union requested information regarding the costs and benefits of a noncontributory group health insurance program which the employer provided for its employees. Petitioner provided a breakdown of the plan\u27s benefits but refused to disclose its cost. Charging that this refusal amounted to a violation of the employer\u27s statutory duty to bargain in good faith about wages,\u27\u27 the union procured the issuance of a complaint by the National Labor Relations Board. The trial examiner concluded that such costs were costs of production rather than wages and consequently did not have to be disclosed. The Board disagreed and entered a cease-and-desist order. On petition to set aside the order, and cross-petition for enforcement, held, order set aside. Only the benefits of a health insurance program are emoluments of value includible under the term wages, and an employer is under no duty to disclose the cost of an insurance plan unless the employees contribute to the financing of the plan or the employer interposes cost as a ground for refusing a demand for increased coverage. Sylvania Elec. Prods., Inc. v. NLRB, 291 F.2d 128 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 368 U.S. 926 (1961)

What are the Motivations for undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practices in the Middle-East? A Critical Literature Review

Corporate social responsibility henceforth CSR as a practice that involves doing well and doing good to the society cuts across countries cultures and corporations The CSR activities embarked upon by were mainly of philanthropic nature that is social actions not aimed at profitability or improved financial performance Literature established that the motivations for undertaking CSR differs across continents and corporations because of the influence history cultural norms and philosophies The purpose of this chapter is to discuss different motivations for undertaking CSR practices in the Middle- East with a view enriching the literature with emerging facts and richer understanding of social actions from non-Western hemisphere The authors adopt a qualitative research method by extracting new understanding on the meanings cultural context of CSR and motivations for CSR in the Middle-East using a critical literature review CLR The chapter found five 5 key motivations for CSR in the Middle-East namely religious economic social environmental and globalisation factor

Declaratory Judgments-Avoidance of Peril-Refusal to Adjudicate Rights of Will Beneficiary Under No-Contest Clause-Testator

Testator, plaintiff\u27s father, acquired property in the joint names of himself and his wife by using money belonging to his wife. At her death testator claimed sole ownership of the property as the survivor. Plaintiff agreed not to probate his mother\u27s will if testator would bequeath the property to his children. Also, testator agreed that if he should remarry he would, by a prenuptial agreement, make it possible to carry out the plan. The agreement was not reduced to writing. Testator remarried and shortly thereafter executed a will in which he disregarded the verbal agreement and left a substantial part of his estate to his second wife. The will also contained a clause providing that any beneficiary under the will who contested any part of its contents should forfeit all rights thereunder. Plaintiff brought suit under the declaratory judgment act, asking whether a suit for specific performance of the oral contract would be a contest within the meaning of the clause. Defendant\u27s motion to dismiss the bill as not stating a proper ground for declaratory relief was granted by the district court. On appeal, held, affirmed. The declaratory judgment device is not available for the protection of interests which will be placed in jeopardy only if the plaintiff brings a suit for specific performance and loses. McLeod v. McLeod, 365 Mich. 25, 112 N.W.2d 227 (1961)

Solid microcrystalline dispersion films as a new strategy to improve the dissolution rate of poorly water soluble drugs: a case study using olanzapine

In this study, we evaluate the dissolution rate enhancement of solid microcrystalline dispersion (SMD) films of olanzapine (OLZ) formulated with four water-soluble polymers namely poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP), poloxamer 188 (P188), poloxamer 407 (P407) and Soluplus(®) (SLP). Prepared formulations were characterised to determine particle size, morphology, hydrogen bonding interactions, thermal characteristics as well as in vitro dissolution studies conducted under sink conditions (pH 6.8). Particle size of OLZ in all formulations ranged between 42 and 58μm. Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Hot-Stage Microscopy (HSM) studies confirmed OLZ was well maintained in its crystalline state during the formulation process. In vitro dissolution studies showed immediate drug release from all formulation when compared to the drug alone. The greatest increase in in vitro dissolution rate was observed in formulations containing P188 most likely due to its enhanced hydrophilic and surfactant properties compared to the other agents used. Overall, this study successfully generated OLZ loaded SMD films with improved in vitro dissolution rates which is highly likely to result in improved oral bioavailability in vivo

National Security Challengesand Sustainable Economic Development: Evidence from Nigeria

Nigeria is one of the relatively secured nations in West African sub-region. In recent times, this endowed nation suddenly metamorphosed into an abode of serial bombing, hostage taking, armed robbery, cold-blooded killings and ethno-religious conflicts traceable to militant groups with conflicting ideological, political and religious agenda. Among these militant groups are Niger-Delta insurgents, Campus cults, Bakassi Boys, Armed robbers, O'odua People's Congress, Boko Haram et cetera. The resultant loss of lives, rising budgetary spending for security and destruction of valuable government facilities portend devastating consequences for sustainable economic development in the country. This paper examines the link between national security and sustainable economic development in Nigeria. The authors adopt quantitative method, which entails extraction of secondary data from the publications of Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics and other reliable reports on the subject. The generated data were carefully analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics on the basis of which far-reaching conclusions were drawn. The research findings indicate that Nigeria's expenditure on national security is rising faster than spending on education, agriculture, health and construction. This unpleasant finding has negative effect on sustainable economic development in Nigeria. The paper proffers tripartite recommendations for governments, the citizens and policy-makers

Redressing the Energy Challenge of Gas Flaring in Nigeria: The MEEs Approach

This paper examines the need to redress gas flaring activity in Nigeria considering the negative social-economic effects of this unethical practice. The paper makes use of secondary data enriched by the narrative-textual case study (NTCS), an emerging social science research method widely used in Management, Entrepreneurship and Economics (MEEs). The authors observe that gas flaring became endemic in Nigeria because the nation's regulatory agency lack the political will to stop gas flaring recklessness of the major multinational oil companies. The authors therefore counsel on the need for policy makers to be more proactive in enforcing extant gas policy and sanctioning erring multinational oil companies. The paper concludes that energy challenge of gas flaring can be redressed through the formulation of national gas flaring policy, enforcement of national policy & international protocols on gas flaring, sanctioning of culpable multinational companies, optimal gas utilisation through energy liberalisation, adoption of Public Private Partnership (PPP) model and genuine political will on the part of government

Entrepreneurship Education and Employment Stimulation in Nigeria

Nigeria is a nation of paradox, blessed with enormous wealth, but larger proportion of the citizens live in abject poverty and face worsening unemployment. In a bid to mitigate the scourge of poverty and unemployment, previous regimes initiated diverse poverty reductions polices (PRPs) with the objectives of boasting industrial production and level of employment thereby checkmating joblessness, hopelessness and crime. Despite the various PRPs, the hydra-monster poverty and unemployment have remained endemic judging by official statistics published by reliable bodies. The failures of previous PRPs precipitated the passionate romance with Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and compulsory inclusion of entrepreneurship education in the curricula of the three levels of higher education in Nigeria. This paper examines entrepreneurship education and employment stimulation in Nigeria. The authors employed systematic collection of quantitative data and subjected them to econometric analysis on the basis of which informed conclusions were drawn. On the strength of the data sourced, analysed and interpreted, it was discovered that entrepreneurship development could be effective tools for poverty reduction, stimulating employment as well as fast-tracking realisation of universal primary education and promoting gender equality. The paper recommended that institutions must imbibe a creativity training. This creativity can help the individual view problems from different perspectives. Institutions must intensify the integration of entrepreneurship in education systems

HIV clinical stage progression of patients at 241 outpatient clinics in Democratic Republic of Congo: Disparities by gender, TB status and rurality

Background: HIV clinical care programs are increasingly cognizant of the importance of customizing services according to patients’ clinical stage progression (WHO\u27s four-tiered staging) and other risk assessments. Understanding factors associated with Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) patients’ progression through the treatment cascade and clinical stages is essential for programs to provide patient-centered, evidence-based services. Methods and materials: To analyze patient characteristics associated with disease progression stages for PLHIV on antiretroviral therapy (ART), this quantitative study used data, from January 2014–June 2019, from 49,460 PLHIV on ART from 241 HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in 23 health zones in Haut-Katanga and Kinshasa provinces, Democratic Republic of Congo. To assess bivariate and multivariate associations, we performed Chi-square and multinomial logistic regression. Results: Among PLHIV receiving ART, 4.4% were at stage 4, and 30.7% at stage 3. Those at the less severe stages 2 and 1 constituted 22.9% and 41.9%. After controlling for covariates, patients with no TB were significantly more likely than those with TB (p\u3c = .05) to be at stage 1, rather than 3 or 4 (adjusted odds ratio or AOR, 5.73; confidence interval or CI, 4.98–6.59). Other characteristics significantly associated with higher odds of being at stage 1 included being female (AOR, 1.35; CI, 1.29–1.42), and shorter duration on ART (vs. \u3e 40.37 months); for ART duration less than 3.23 months the AOR was 2.47, for 3.23–14.52 months duration the AOR was 2.60, and for 14.53–40.37 months duration the AOR was 1.77 (quartile cut points used). Compared to patients in urban health zones, those in rural (AOR, 0.32) and semi-rural health zones (AOR, 0.79) were less likely to be at stage 1. Conclusion: Significant and substantial variation in HIV clinical progression stage by geographic location and demographic characteristics existed, indicative of the need for targeted efforts to improve the effectiveness of HIV care. Patients with TB coinfection compared to those without coinfection had a much greater risk of being at stage 3 or 4, implying a need for customized approaches and clinical regimens for this high-risk population

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by traditional healers for the treatment of cancer in Hammanskraal and Winterveld, Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa

Background: Knowledge of medicinal plants used by the traditional healers are mostly confined among the locals and the adherents, hence, proper enquiry and documentation can help the ever dynamic scientific world to find permanent cure to the menace of such deadly diseases such as cancer. This study aimed at (1) specifically recording medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of cancer in Hammanskraal and Winterveld, South Africa, and (2) documenting the different methods of preparation and administration of those medicinal plants as recorded during the study. Method: An open-ended semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 90 willing traditional healers in Hammanskraal and Winterveld area, Tshwane Municipality, South Africa to document plants used for cancer treatments. The study was conducted over a period of six months (July – December, 2018). Descriptive statistics was used to present the obtained data. Results: The study recorded twenty-eight plant species belonging to 18 families for the treatment of different types of cancer. Plant species in the Fabaceae family particularly Lessertia frutescens (L.) Goldblatt and J.C. Manning, Senna italica Mill and Trifolium pratense L. were the most prominently mentioned (highest citation frequency) by the traditional healers for lung, and skin cancer treatment. Based on the citation frequency, the most treated cancer by the traditional healers is in the order: skin cancer > lung cancer > breast cancer > prostate cancer > cervical cancer. The method of preparation included decoction(32.3%), infusion (29%), paste (16.1%) and maceration (22.6%). Conclusion: In addition to the documentation of indigenous knowledge related to the use of medicinal plants in the traditional management of cancer in South Africa, this study opens a vista for investigations into the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the documented plants. Keywords: Cancer; Indigenous plants; Medicinal plants; South Africa; Traditional practitioners