W. Marcus Lambert, Nanda Nana, Suwaiba Afonja, Ahsan Saeed, Avelino C. Amado and Linnie M. Golightly
Structural mentoring barriers are policies, practices and cultural norms that collectively disadvantage marginalized groups and perpetuate disparities in mentoring. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Structural mentoring barriers are policies, practices and cultural norms that collectively disadvantage marginalized groups and perpetuate disparities in mentoring. This study aims to better understand structural mentoring barriers at the postdoctoral training stage, which has a direct impact on faculty diversity and national efforts to retain underrepresented groups in research careers.
Design/methodology/approach
A diverse sample of postdoctoral scholars (“postdocs”) from across the USA were asked to participate in focus groups to discuss their training experiences. The authors conducted five 90-min focus groups with 32 biomedical postdocs, including 20 (63%) women and 15 (47%) individuals from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups (URG).
Findings
A social-ecological framework was used to categorize both the upstream and downstream manifestations of structural mentoring barriers, as well as mentoring barriers, overall. Notable structural barriers included: academic politics and scientific hierarchy; inequalities resulting from mentor prestige; the (over) reliance on one mentor; the lack of formal training for academic and non-academic careers; and the lack of institutional diversity and institutional mentor training. To overcome these barriers, postdocs strongly encouraged developing a network or team of mentors and recommended institutional interventions that create more comprehensive professional development, mentorship and belonging.
Originality/value
For postdoctoral scientists, structural mentoring barriers can permeate down to institutional, interpersonal and individual levels, impeding a successful transition to an independent research career. This work provides strong evidence for promoting mentorship networks and cultivating a “mentoring milieu” that fosters a supportive community and a strong culture of mentorship at all levels.
Details
Keywords
Nigeria's national development may be assisted by utilising indigenous conceptions of work in three different ways. The development of a Nigerian work ethic, based on the positive…
Abstract
Nigeria's national development may be assisted by utilising indigenous conceptions of work in three different ways. The development of a Nigerian work ethic, based on the positive values to be found in the conceptions of work held by different language groups in the country, is one such method, which, by emphasising the similarities in work conceptions held by differing groups, could also aid national integration. Knowledge of work conceptions can be used by management to elicit a generally favourable attitude to work. Basically, this means making the best use of what Nigeria has, i.e. a policy of self‐reliance.
Details
Keywords
Olusegun E. Olorunniwo, Benjamin I. Imasogie and Adeniyi A. Afonja
This paper seeks to describe the adoption and implementation of a cost‐effective gas pipeline corrosion monitoring and control procedure for use in natural gas infrastructural…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to describe the adoption and implementation of a cost‐effective gas pipeline corrosion monitoring and control procedure for use in natural gas infrastructural facilities in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The incidence and severity of pipeline corrosion in a major gas production facility were monitored using a combination of instrumented field survey (potential measurements, line currents and soil resistivity measurements) and microscopic evaluation (OM and SEM) techniques. Portable field survey equipment with appropriate circuitry, contactors and sensors for potential, line current and soil resistivity measurements were used to make the field measurements. The equipment was standardized and calibrated for use in the service environment. The field survey data were superimposed on common plots in order to obtain clearer and complementary information on possible corrosion hotspots and damage locations along the submerged pipelines. Metallographic examination of the samples collected from the field was carried out to establish the type of corrosion attacks and mode of failure of the pipeline material.
Findings
It was established that a combination of corrosion‐related damage occurred as a result of localized attack over time. The investigation procedure was cost‐effective and can be used to determine which pipeline structures are protected and to gauge with a high degree of precision the integrity of the submerged pipeline.
Research limitations/implications
In the future, the procedure could be fully automated for routine on‐line/on‐site monitoring of gas pipelines in a sour‐gas environment.
Practical implications
The paper presents a useful database for the selection and/or design of corrosion‐resistant materials for use in sour‐gas environments and data for a comprehensive corrosion monitoring and control program in the peculiar service environment of sub‐Saharan Africa, for improved performance, productivity, personnel safety and reduced operating costs.
Originality/value
The information is useful to on‐site engineers and operators of gas‐production facilities, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa, for designing and implementing cost‐effective corrosion monitoring and control programs.
Details
Keywords
M. Alagbe, L.E. Umoru, A.A. Afonja and O.E. Olorunniwo
This paper aims to present the report of an investigation on the effect of some amino acid based inhibitors on the corrosion characteristics of NST‐44 carbon steel in cassava…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the report of an investigation on the effect of some amino acid based inhibitors on the corrosion characteristics of NST‐44 carbon steel in cassava fluid.
Design/methodology/approach
The corrosion rates of the exposed steel were obtained using the weight loss immersion method. The amino‐acid inhibitors investigated included leucine, alanine, methionine and glutamic acid. The corroded surfaces of the specimens were characterized using the optical microscopic techniques.
Findings
It was observed that alanine showed the highest inhibitive potential on the NST‐44 carbon steel in the cassava fluid with an average efficiency of about 50 per cent while glutamic acid had the lowest with less than 30 per cent. Leucine and methionine, however, showed considerable benefit, with inhibition efficiencies of about 46 and 45 per cent, respectively.
Originality/value
The results of this work are expected to improve the corrosion resistance of steel that is often used as construction material for the cassava processing industry in Nigeria.
Details
Keywords
Of all the challenges facing scholars in the 3rd world today none is as serious as the need to harness their knowledge and skills for the task of nation‐building. There is a…
Abstract
Of all the challenges facing scholars in the 3rd world today none is as serious as the need to harness their knowledge and skills for the task of nation‐building. There is a demand on the scholars to make their teaching and research activities relevant to the problems of their societies. For the social scientists the pressure is even greater since they claim as their domain the study of man in society. In meeting this challenge, many of these scholars have come up against formidable odds created by the historical background of their discipline; the dominant intellectual orientation that informed their training; and academic colonisalism that urges them to conform to walls of the “ivory towers”. Ironically, this situation is not helped by an awareness among an increasing number that knowledge is socially determined and that in every human community men strive to make sense of their social reality. This awareness only created different camps divided on what form the contribution of the sociologists should take in the development of theories needed in understanding their society. This article attempts to discuss these issues in the context of the debate on universalism and indigenisation in social theory. The debate is on the extent to which theories developed within a particular social context might be expected to hold in all others. This debate is fundamental as it not only touches on the popular identity of sociology as a science it also bears on the role of the non‐Western sociologist in studying his own society. To give focus to the theoretical and methodological issues involved in the debate‐which is discussed in the first part of this article, the second part highlights the developments one major area of sociological interest and shows in concrete terms (1) how the dominant trend has hindered our understanding of social issues and (2) how the sociological enterprise can benefit from an approach which is flexible enough to integrate a people's thought system into an explanation of their social reality.
Esther Oluwatayo, Evans Osabuohien, Victoria Okafor and Romanus Osabohien
Digital technologies have become significant as organisations, including financial institutions, attempt to adopt enhanced and more efficient approach for service provisions to…
Abstract
Digital technologies have become significant as organisations, including financial institutions, attempt to adopt enhanced and more efficient approach for service provisions to customers. Despite the obvious shift to digitalised methods of service delivery, some financial institutions argued that though digitisation may increase financial efficiency and profitability, it also poses new risks and potential threats with significantly unanticipated side effects, especially, with respect to employment. Against this background, this study examined how the following cashless policy instruments: Mobile banking, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) and Point of Sale (POS) Terminal, influence financial transactions in Lagos, Nigeria; using Zenith Bank PLC as a case study. Structured Questionnaire was administered to 100 Zenith bank customers. The study applied the logit regression method and findings showed that 54% respondents use mobile banking daily, 39% respondents use ATM daily, 25% respondents use POS daily. On an overall scale, mobile banking is widely used and mostly preferred. Also, results showed that while POS has a significant relationship with financial transactions, Mobile banking, and ATM both have an insignificant relationship. Results from the study encourage the management of CBN to create more awareness of these instruments, and likely increase the number of these instruments.
Details
Keywords
The aim of this paper is to study the effect of heat treatment temperature and time on the corrosion behavior of ductile iron in 0.5 M NaCl and 0.5 M H2SO4.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to study the effect of heat treatment temperature and time on the corrosion behavior of ductile iron in 0.5 M NaCl and 0.5 M H2SO4.
Design/methodology/approach
Ductile iron samples of known composition were austenized at temperatures 800°C and 850°C, and austempered at 300°C and 350°C for periods of 30, 45 and 60 min to convert them to austempered ductile iron (ADI). The corrosion behavior of these ADI samples in 0.5 M NaCl and H2SO4 was measured using the conventional weight loss method. The metallographic examination of the samples was carried out to study the morphology of their corroded surfaces.
Findings
Ductile iron is susceptible to corrosion in both acidic and chloride media, while attack by acid media is mainly at the grain boundaries, that from the chloride is pitting. The corrosion behavior of the material is affected by the compositional structures of the materials as well as the austempering temperature and time it was subjected to.
Practical implications
Ductile iron has the potential to replace costlier materials in many engineering and structural applications.
Originality/value
The results revealed that the corrosion of ADI in both acidic and chloride media were strongly dependent on the structure of the material, which in turn was affected by the austempering temperature and time.
Details
Keywords
Joshua Ayarkwa, Emmanuel Adinyira and Dickson Osei‐Asibey
The industrial training component in a university's curricula adds tremendous value to a degree programme by enhancing the employable skills of graduates. The purpose of this…
Abstract
Purpose
The industrial training component in a university's curricula adds tremendous value to a degree programme by enhancing the employable skills of graduates. The purpose of this paper is to assess the perception of organisations that have trained construction students from the Department of Building Technology of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, as part of its industrial training programme.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a structured questionnaire survey of 120 organisations which have offered industrial training to construction students in the Accra, Kumasi and Cape Coast metropolitan areas of Ghana, the paper assessed industry's views on issues relating to the nature and objectives of industrial training, preparation towards training, performance of students during training, effectiveness of the training and areas of improvement. Data collected through the survey were analysed using largely descriptive statistics and content analysis.
Findings
In the opinion of the training organisations, industrial training exposes students to real work environment and helps them to apply theory to practice. During industrial training, the trainees showed high level of performance achievement in their ability to carry out instructions, ability to function as team players and ability to apply knowledge gained from the university among others. However, they showed a low level of performance achievement in negotiation skills, independence, social and multi‐racial awareness and ability to make decisions. Major areas requiring improvement in the way industrial training is currently organised include: the need for learning institutions to provide guidelines for industrial training for use by host organisations and to monitor trainees during industrial training; training organisations should design training programmes which emphasise all competencies, appoint industrial supervisors and submit industrial feedback to learning institutions.
Practical implications
The findings from the study will not only make industrial training programmes in Ghana and other developing countries more effective and successful towards the improvement of skills of trainees and thereby increase their chances of employment after graduation but also provide a reliable source of highly skilled and educated workers and an expanded pool of qualified future employees.
Originality/value
The paper provides a basis for enhancing and developing effective IT practices as well as providing indicators for evaluating existing IT practices in Ghanaian and other universities in developing countries to positively influence future employees of the construction industry.
Details
Keywords
Edward Badu, De‐Graft Owusu‐Manu, David J. Edwards, Michael Adesi and Scott Lichtenstein
Although a high proportion of the Ghanaian population live and work in under‐developed areas, research on rural infrastructure development is scarce. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Although a high proportion of the Ghanaian population live and work in under‐developed areas, research on rural infrastructure development is scarce. The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges confronting rural infrastructure development and the requisite incentives needed to boost it.
Design/methodology/approach
An inductive methodological approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire to survey the perceptions of rural contractors.
Findings
Incentive systems identified include the provision of mobilization funds for projects; a plant pool for rural contractors; special allowance for rates of project items; and provision of letters of credit to secure loans for projects. Key challenges confronting rural construction were identified as a lack of financial institutions willing to support projects with funds; lack of potable water; lack of good health care systems; and lack of a goods market to supply materials.
Research limitations/implications
Identification of challenges and incentive systems for rural infrastructure development provides an opportunity to reinvigorate rural infrastructural development in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Practical implications
The study will be of value to all project partners throughout the supply chain who contemplate rural infrastructure development.
Originality/value
The paper presents a novel epitome of rural infrastructure delivery in the developing country of Ghana.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of financial literacy and impact on youth entrepreneurship in South Africa.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of financial literacy and impact on youth entrepreneurship in South Africa.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used both desk research and questionnaire complemented by interview to assess the level of financial literacy among youth entrepreneurs in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Findings
The paper reveals that financial literacy among youth entrepreneurs in the Vhembe District appears to be above average and contributes meaningfully to their entrepreneurship skills.
Research limitations/implications
Further research is needed to verify in specific and practical terms, the level and impact of financial literacy on youth entrepreneurs in the Vhembe District.
Practical implications
Education and training at both high school and tertiary levels with emphasis on financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills may have significant implications for small‐, micro‐, and medium‐sized enterprise development and growth for the youth entrepreneur in general in South Africa.
Originality/value
The paper is the first to examine the level of financial literacy among youth entrepreneurs in the Vhembe District. The paper therefore sets an important benchmark for further research in this area.