The Effects of Bureaucracy and its Implications for Adhocracy in the Workplace: A Study of Lagos State University

Bureaucracy is a formal organization established in a deliberate manner for the realization of specific social goals. It is the dominant institution in modern industrial society. Unfortunately, bureaucracy has developed into objects leading to inflexibility and turning of means into ends. Adhocracy is the opposite of bureaucracy meant to reduce red tapism and rigidity in the latter. Data was collected from administrative staff of the Lagos State University in grade levels 7-14. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to collect data from 180 respondents. In terms of data analysis, frequency distribution and simple percentile were used. The study found that about one-quarter of the respondents mentioned red-tapism as the major negative effect of bureaucracy. The workers complained of lack of discretionary power in decision-making as work was too centralized. In fact, others complained that it could lead to loss of interest in the job. Therefore, the overcentralised nature of decision-making process in the institution would retard the pace of work, thus the need for Adhocracy. The study therefore recommends the use of Adhocracy in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the work place. Key words: Bureaucracy, Adhocracy, workplace and Over centralizatio

Intracardiac tumor: A risk factor for stroke in the young –A case report

Stroke occurs commonly in individuals above 65years, especially in the background of atherosclerosis and other risk factors. In young persons below 45 years it is a rare disorder with devastating sequelae on the affected individual. Presently there are few reports on the aetiology/risk factors for stroke in young adults in Nigeria. This is due to limited facility for thorough investigation; therefore management of such cases poses a diagnostic challenge. In this report we present a case of embolic stroke in a male undergraduate that began with two brief episodes of transient left sided weakness before a completed stroke four hours later. 2-D echocardiography showed that the likely source of emboli to be a non-pedunculated left atria tumour attached to the root of posteriormitral valve leaflet. Intracardiac mass should be considered a possible risk factor for ischemic stroke in young adult, especially in the absence of other risk factors such as connective tissue disorders, HIV/AIDS, hemoglobinopathy or use of recreational drugs. High index of suspicion is required in order not to overlook such source of emboli. Early diagnosis offers the best panacea for a definitive therapy and prevention of stroke recurrence with its devastating sequelae.Intracardic tumour, risk factor, stroke . Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice Vol. 11 (1) 2008: pp. 82-8

Psychiatric morbidity in a Nigerian neurology clinic

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and nature of psychiatric morbidity among patients attending a neurology outpatient clinic.Design: A two-stage screening procedure with General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) was used to assess psychological disorders over a one year period. Psychiatric diagnosis was based on ICD-10 criteria.Setting: University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Ilorin- NigeriaSubjects: Two hundred and thirty-five (235) patients aged 18 years and above attending the neurology outpatient clinic.Results: Overall prevalence of psychiatric morbidity was 26.0% (61/235). The most frequent diagnoses were depression (14.9%), generalised anxiety disorder (5.5%), dementia (2.6%) and substance use disorder (1.3%). Significantly more patients with stroke had psychiatric morbidity.Conclusion: The study supports previous reports that psychiatric disorders are quite common among patients with neurological disorders. Efforts should, therefore, be directed at identifying and treating neurological patients with psychiatric morbidity since this will ensure improved outcome. In this regard, mental health professionals would need to provide liaison services for the neurologists and train them in the use of simple screening instruments for detecting associated psychiatric disorders with appropriate referral where necessary

Benthic community structure and ecosystem functions in above- and below-waterfall pools in Borneo

Waterfalls are geomorphic features that often partition streams into discrete zones. Our study examined aquatic communities, litter decomposition and periphyton growth rates for above- and below-waterfall pools in Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei. We observed higher fish densities in below-waterfall pools (0.24 fish m−2 vs. 0.02 fish m−2 in above-waterfall pools) and higher shrimp abundance in above-waterfall pools (eight shrimp/pool vs. less than one shrimp/pool in below-waterfall pools). However, macroinvertebrate densities (excluding shrimp) were similar among both pool types. Ambient periphyton was higher in below-waterfall pools in 2013 (4.3 vs. 2.8 g m−2 in above-waterfall pools) and 2014 (4.8 vs. 3.4 g m−2 in above-waterfall pools), while periphyton growth rates varied from 0.05 to 0.26 g m−2 days−1 and were significantly higher in below-waterfall pools in 2014. Leaf litter decomposition rates (0.001 to 0.024 days−1) did not differ between pool types, suggesting that neither shrimp nor fish densities had consistent impacts on this ecosystem function. Regardless, this research demonstrates the varied effects of biotic and abiotic factors on community structure and ecosystem function. Our results have highlighted the importance of discontinuities, such as waterfalls, in tropical streams.</p

An Assessment Of Importance Of Children In Old Age Security Provisions Among The Ijebus Of South-West, Nigeria

The welfare of the elderly persons has received increased attention in recent years and the importance of children in old age security provisions is beginning to generate several public policy and academic concerns. In Africa, the care of older persons is falling on fewer children and those with least resources feel the impact. Hence childlessness in old age has been linked to isolation, ill health and poverty.This study set out to examine the importance of children in old age security provisions in Nigeria. Data was collected through individual-based questionnaire, this was used to elicit response to the above general objective and multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select local government areas, enumeration areas and individuals for the study. In all, 810 respondents were interviewed. The respondents were elderly men and women aged 60 years and above. The study had mire female and rural respondents than male and urban respondents. Logistic regression model was used to determine the net effects of the explanatory factors on the welfare of the elderly. The data reveals that old age security depends on the level of supports from children (60%). Also, in terms of religion, while Muslims are 1.8 times more likely to, those who are adherents of African traditional religion are 3.5 times more likely to see children as an important source of old age security than those who are Christians. In the female model, those with primary education are 4.3 times more likely to see children as an important source of old age security provisions than those with secondary education. The study found that while education, religion, and family size are significantly related to the perception of children as an important source of old age security in the male model, in the female model, only religion established similar relationship. The study concludes that the welfare of the elderly requires the strengthening of social security system. Keywords: Welfare, Value of children, Old age security, Extended familAfrican Journal for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Vol. 11 (1&2) 2008: pp. 46-6

Letter to the Editor: A retrospective review of adult tetanus and its outcome at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Nigeria.

No Abstract. Keywords: Tetanus, outcomes, Ilorin, Nigeri

An Open Comparative Antihypertensive Effects of Amlodipine (“Norvasc®”), Lisinopril (“Zestril®”) and Bendrofluazide

No Abstract

Correlation of Admission Blood Pressures with 30-Day Outcome in Acute Ischaemic Stroke in Nigerians.

Background: There is a lot of controversy on the prognostic value of admission blood pressures in acute ischaemic stroke, but in Nigeria, there is no information on this. Objective: The objective of this study was to correlate the effect of blood pressures measured on admission with 30-day mortality and neurological handicap in Nigerians with acute ischaemic stroke. Methods: This was a prospective observational study carried out between February, 2003 and May, 2004 at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, Nigeria. All eligible consecutively consenting ischaemic stroke patients were recruited. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) were measured on admission while pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were derived. Patients were periodically evaluated for progress and/or development of complications. Primary outcome was mortality within 30 days while secondary outcome was level of handicap on the modified Rankin Scale. Results: 100 patients were studied (mean age 58.56±14.12 years); 53% were males. Overall 30-day case fatality rate was 28%. There was no significant correlation between admission blood pressures and 30-day mortality (SBP: r = -0.05, p= 0.62; DBP: r = -0.12, p= 0.23; PP: r = 0.01, p= 0.90; MAP: r = -0.09, p= 0.36) or modified Rankin Score (SBP: r = -0.11, p= 0.29; DBP: r = -0.13, p= 0.21; PP: r= -0.06, p= 0.54; MAP: r = -0.13, p= 0.21). Conclusion: Admission blood pressures do not have significant influence on 30-day mortality and level of handicap in Nigerians with ischaemic stroke. Keywords: correlation, ischaemic stroke, blood pressure, outcome, Nigerians Nigerian Medical Journal Vol. 48 (3) 2007: pp. 58-6

Enhancing Training of Staff of the Agricultural Development Programme for Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria

This paper, identified the areas where staff of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) that carry out grassroots extension service delivery need to be trained and the field problems requiring research intervention. Secondary data from Annual Performance Survey (APS) report of NAERLS and NPAFS between 2010 and 2012 were used. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that the most frequent key areas where trainings needed were long term course, short term refresher trainings, pre-season training, management training for administrative staff, specialized for subject matter specialist and data collection processing/analysis. The study further revealed that the development of livestock feed formula from local materials, heat-tolerant and disease resistant varieties of tomato and wheat were the most pressing problems requiring the researchers’ attention. It is recommended that ADPs should be given periodic training by relevant organizations on the identified areas and researchers should focus their researches more on the identified problems requiring research intervention. Moreover, state governments should adequately sponsor trainings of ADPs in their various states. This will strengthen the ADPs skills and increase their productivities for an effective extension service delivery in Nigeria.Key words: ADPs, capacity building, extension service