Toxic Leadership and Organisational Silence: An Appraisal of Selected Faith-Based Organisations in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study examined the effect of toxic leadership on organisational silence in selected faith-based organisations in Ogun State, Nigeria. It debates that securing endurable paths to organisation success requires keen attention to the menace of organisational silence, and this does not leave out organisations that base their business operations on certain fundamental doctrines, corporate practices, or religious believes. Survey research design was adopted.  The population of the study was seven hundred and seventy-five (775) staff drawn from the selected faith-based organisations in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study adopted multi-stage sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was adapted, validated and used for data collection. Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Analysis ranged 0.704 to 0.775. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Findings revealed that Toxic leadership had significant effect on Organisational silence (Adj. R2 = 0.475; F (4, 361) = 83.60, p<0.05). This revealed that organisational silence exists as a result of toxic leadership, and to this end, employers and managers are expected to take every affordable step to weaken the weight of organisational silence by deploying quality leadership that encourages cross fertilization of ideas, creativity, ingenuousness and knowledge extension among employers, managers and employees. Keywords: Toxic leadership, Organisational silence, Corporate practices, Organisational communication, Ogun State, Nigeria. DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/67-05 Publication date:July 31st 202

Evaluation of Blends of Agricultural Solid Biomass Waste for Solid Fuel Production

In this study, the calorific values of solid fuel samples and their blends in different proportions were determined. Waste samples as sawdust, charcoal, palm kernel bagasse, palm kernel shell, corn cob, palm fronds and coconut shell were subjected to combustion in an isothermal bomb calorimeter and their heating temperature profiles and corresponding heating values were estimated. Individual materials and different blending ratios in weight by weight (1:1, 1:1:1, 3:1:1, 1:3:1, and 1:1:3) heating contents were established. Burning time test was evaluated for blended materials with highest caloric values. Charcoal had the highest calorific value amongst all individual samples with a calorific value of 17,062 kJ/kg with palm fronds having the least heating value of 12,997 kJ/kg. In the 1:1 ratio mix, charcoal:palm oil bagasse had the highest heating content of 21,907 kJ/kg. Considering the ratios of three different solid mass in varying weight proportions, the combination of charcoal:coconut shell:palm oil bagasse (1:1:1) in equal weight percent gave the highest heating content of 23,373 kJ/kg. The blend of charcoal:coconut shell:palm kernel bagasse had the highest burning time of 20 minutes and 12 seconds. From the evaluations, charcoal in mixed proportions with other solid biomass are excellent materials to be considered for solid fuels production

The influence of mathematics teachers’ mastery of the subject on the performance of senior secondary school students

The performance of senior secondary school pupils in Akinyele LGA, Ibadan, Oyo State was examined in this study to determine the impact of mathematics instructors' subject knowledge. The study's research design was an analytical descriptive survey. Three hundred (300) pupils from six secondary schools in the Akinyele LGA of Oyo State were selected at random to make up the sample. From each school, fifty (50) pupils were chosen. The researchers' instrument for gathering data was the Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT). The thirty (30) multiple-choice questions in the MAT are used to assess the hypotheses. Using the one-way Analysis of Variance, two primary hypotheses were developed and assessed for significance at the 5% level (ANOVA). The study's findings showed a strong correlation between teachers' qualifications and pupils' academic achievement in mathematics. The results also indicated a strong correlation between math students' academic achievement and teachers' experience. Therefore, the study recommended that teachers be exposed to local and worldwide seminars and workshops in order to improve and expand their mathematical expertise

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

The ‘Pick-Your-Own’ Model of Production and Marketing of Ethnic Crops in Central New Jersey, USA

Specca Farms Pick Your Own (SFPYO) operates a 125-acre (50 ha) farm in Bordentown, Central New Jersey, USA, which attends to customers from many different ethnic regions such as Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Mediterranean region, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. The company produces more than 100 ethnic crops that require unique agronomic and management practices tailored to central New Jersey’s ecosystem and the unique quality of produce demanded by various ethnic nationalities. This paper reviews the ethnic crop classifications at the farm, the agronomic and crop protection practices applied to different crop groups, and the factors that guide produce marketing to meet the unique quality demanded by different ethnic nationalities

Nitrogen status and canopy density detection of vegetation using multispectral data

The use of ground-based multispectral data for the evaluation of plant water stress and nitrogen status in Old Oyo national Park, Nigeria was conducted and classification was performed. The active area of nitrogen concentration in hectares was between 0.0 and 0.4. This active area was expressed in hectares (ha) and percentages (%) respectively. From the assessment, 53.52 ha (69%) and 24.29 ha (31%) were recorded at 0.2-0.4 and 0.0-0.2, respectively. Heat stress takes place when the regular temperature is above 30ºC, which could slow down plant growth and lead to the threat of deficiency. The heat stress reached a maximum of 40ºC in this analysis between February and May. The research concluded that the sustainability of crops and trees requires a certain quantity of 69 percent nitrogen and a certain level of wetness for their growth which is between 400 mm and 800 mm rainfall