Universities In South-South Nigeria Research Articles

Self-Awareness and Business Educators’ Job Performance in Federal Universities, South-South, Nigeria

This study was conducted to examine the influence of self-awareness on business educators’ job performance in federal universities in south-south Nigeria. Self-awareness was decomposed into self-confidence, realistic self-assessment and self-depreciating sense of humor. Survey research design was adopted for the study. Population of the study was made up of 92 Business Educators in the five Federal Universities in South-South, Nigeria. The entire population was used as the sample owing to its small nature. Both primary and secondary sources of data were employed for the study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted while the research instrument was a structure questionnaire. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used in analyzing the study. Findings revealed that self-confidence had a moderated correlation value of R-0.489 with a standardized coefficient β=0.538. Realistic self-assessment showed a standardized coefficient of β=0.737 while self-depreciating sense of humor had a standardized coefficient of β=0.961. From the findings, it was concluded that self-awareness has a positive significant influence on business educators’ in south-south, Nigeria. As recommendations, management of higher institutions should create more awareness about the importance of self-confidence to their business educators. Also, business educators should be encouraged to by managements of higher institutions to always have a realistic self-assessment. Management of universities in south-south Nigeria should endeavor to assess sense of humor when conducting the yearly appraisal via the employees’ appraisal forms.

Digital Learning Technology Usage and Teaching Effectiveness of Business Educators in Nigeria’s South-South Universities

All subjects may be taught well, but a big part of it is how the instructor uses technology to make learning beneficial for the learners. This study investigated the extent to which digital learning technologies’ usage influences the teaching effectiveness of business educators in Nigeria’s South-South universities. Two specific objectives were established and two null hypotheses were tested. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Relevant literature was reviewed. The study adopted a predictive correctional research design. The study participants were 170 business educators from twelve universities in South-South Nigeria. No sample was drawn because the population was manageable. Data was generated using a 24-item Likert scale questionnaire called the "Digital Learning Technologies and Teaching Effectiveness Questionnaire (DLTTEQ). Seven experts from the University of Calabar validated the DLTTEQ. The study’s assumptions were evaluated using simple linear regression. The use of virtual reality simulation and teleconferencing by business educators in Nigeria’s South-South universities was found to significantly predict their teaching effectiveness. Sequel to the research findings, the study recommends that the national government should foster simulation-based education by building a digital learning environment appropriate for Business Education. The insights of this study call for the implementation of international best practices in order to help learners and instructors transition from digital immigrants to electronic natives.

Leadership Styles and Attitude to Work in Formal Organizations: A Study of Universities in South-South Nigeria

The study examined leadership styles and attitude to work in formal organizations: A study of universities in South-South Nigeria. Two specific objectives and hypotheses were formulated for the study. The contingency and situational leadership theory was used to support the argument in the study. The cross sectional design was used for the study. The sample of 400 was derived from the population of 8054. Cronbach alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument with a reliability score of 0.59. The data were analysed through descriptive statistics such as mean and inferential statistics using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) to determine or establish the linear relationship between the independent and dependent variable in the study. The study revealed that autocratic leadership style does not elicit favourable attitude from workers toward work in Nigerian universities. The study also found that bureaucratic leadership style does not improve workers attitude to work in Nigerian universities. The study recommended that autocratic system of leadership should be discouraged from use in modern organisations as it has the capacity to de-motivate workers as established t=from the findings of the study. It also recommended that bureaucratic leadership style should be used in situational context and not as the only method in use to elicit a favourable attitude from workers.

Library Marketing Indicators on Students’ Patronage of Information Services in Federal Universities in South-South Nigeria

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of library marketing indicators on students’ patronage of information services in federal universities in South-South Nigeria. Ex-post facto research design was used for the study. The population of the study was all the 31273 registered undergraduate library users in federal universities library in the 2021/2022 academic session. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select a sample of 790 students for the study. A researcher developed questionnaire named “Library Marketing Indicators and Students’ Patronage of Information Services Questionnaire” was used in collecting data for the study. The instrument was face validated by three experts. Cronbach Alpha was used to determine the reliability of the instrument and a coefficient of .82 was obtained. Mean was used to answer the research questions while independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses of the study. The findings of the study indicated that there is significant influence of library marketing indicators on students’ patronage of information services in federal universities in South-South Nigeria. It was recommended among others that librarians need to acquire marketing skills that will enable them effectively brand their libraries and the information services the library offers as this marketing strategy influences students’ patronage of information services.

Assessment of Entrepreneurship Education as a Strategy for Poverty Alleviation among Business Education Graduates of Universities in South-South Nigeria

This study assessed entrepreneurship education as a strategy for poverty alleviation among business education graduates from universities in South-South Nigeria. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study comprised of 200 business education graduates in Federal/State Universities in South-South Nigeria. The entire population was used for the study, since the population is manageable. Hence there was no sampling. The instrument that was used to collect data in this study was a questionnaire. The face and content validities of the questionnaire were determined by the researcher’s supervisor and two other experts in Business Education Department. Cronbach alpha reliability index was used to determine the internal consistency of the items in the instrument. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Mean and standard deviation were utilized to answer the research questions while independent samples t-tests were employed to test the hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. The findings of the study revealed that on average, undergraduate students possess high ability in the utilization of ICT skills; that on average, business education graduates possess high ability in the utilization of management skills; that on the average, business education graduates possess high ability in the utilization of marketing skills. The study also revealed that there is no significant difference between male and female business education graduates in the mean ratings of their possessed competencies in marketing. The study recommended that educational institutions should provide additional education and training for undergraduate in ICT so that they can possess high ability on how to create website, identify and open spreadsheet in another location, send and receive fast messages.

Determinants of Workplace Deviant Behaviours among Non-academic Staff in Universities in South-South Nigeria

This paper studied the determinants of workplace deviant behaviours (WDB) among non-academic staff in universities in South-South Nigeria. Three hundred (300) non-academic staff were drawn equally from the six universities in the six states that make up the South-South region of Nigeria. Data were generated from two hundred and nineteen (219) questionnaires received from the respondents without errors and analyzed using Pearson's Product Moment Correlation. The results found that vandalism, manipulation of records, abuse of office, wastage of office resources, leaving early from work, favouritism, gossiping, and aggression towards colleagues were prominently workplace deviant behaviour. In addition, the study established that the individual-related factors that cause these deviant behaviours are job stress, personality traits, emotional intelligence and moral deviation, while interpersonal factors are group norms and group behaviours. In the same vein, the organizational factors include workplace religiousity, workplace support, job security, career management, and HR practices. The study concludes that a statistically significant relationship exists between the two major categories of workplace deviant behaviours, interpersonal and organizational factors responsible for deviant behaviours practiced among non-academic staff in universities in South-South Nigeria. The study recommends that university management should set up a committee to strictly address and combat the identified deviant behaviours that are commonly practiced among her non-academic staff in the institution.

English

This study investigated lecturers’ perception of contributory pension scheme implementation and job commitment in South-South Nigerian universities. To guide the study, two research questions and one hypothesis were raised. A descriptive survey research that adopted correlational design. The population of the study was all the lecturers in the six federal universities in South-South Nigeria. The sample consisted of 579 lecturers in four selected universities established before the introduction of Contributory Pension Scheme. A multistage stratified random sampling was used in selecting the sample size of the study. Two research questionnaires were used for data collection, “Contributory pension scheme implementation Questionnaire (CPSIQ)’’ and “University Lecturers’ Job Commitment Questionnaire (ULJCQ)”. The reliability of the questionnaires were determined using Cronbach alpha statistics with values of 0.96 for CPSIQ and 0.83 for ULJCQ respectively. The data collected were collated and analyzed with Mean (x?) and standard deviation to answer the research questions while the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Statistic was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that the level of contributory pension scheme implementation as perceived by lecturers in South-South Nigerian Universities was low. It also revealed that the level of Job Commitment of University Lecturers in South-South Nigerian Universities was low; and that there was a significant relationship between Contributory Pension Implementation and Lecturers’ Job Commitment in South-South Nigerian Universities. The study therefore, recommended among others that government and university management should address the concerns of lecturers about the implementation of Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigerian Universities by ensuring prompt and regular remittance of deductions to lecturers’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) so as to create confidence.   Key words: Contributory Pension Scheme, implementation, job commitment.

EFFECT OF GENDER AND EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF LIBRARIANS IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

The study was carried out to determine the effect of gender and educational qualification on the administrative effectiveness of librarians in federal universities in South-South Nigeria. The study adopted the non-probability sampling technique together with the ex-post facto research design which implemented the purposive and accidental sampling technique in choosing the population. A total of two hundred and thirty-one (231) respondents were chosen from six federal university libraries which comprised one hundred and seven professional (107) librarians and one hundred and twenty-four (124) Para-professionals. Data were elicited through a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis. The research questions were answered and the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 levels of significance. Results show that there is a positive correlation between educational qualification and administrative effectiveness of librarians in the South-South universities of Nigeria. Secondly, a significant result was obtained for gender as a predictor of administrative effectiveness of librarians. The study, therefore, recommends that employers of librarians should allow them to improve themselves via acquiring postgraduate qualifications such as a master’s degree and PhD as this will go a long way to add value to them and improved their skills.

Students demographic variables as determinants of utilisation of information resources among undergraduates of universities in South-South Nigeria

This study was undertaken to find out the influence of students’ demographic variables on utilization of information resources among undergraduates in universities in South-South Nigeria. The objectives were to determine whether gender, age and academic level of students influence utilization of information resources. To guide the study three hypotheses were formulated. Related literature and empirical studies were also reviewed. Survey research design was also adopted to guide the study. The stratified random sampling technique was adopted in this study to get the universities and accidental sampling technique to get data from the students. A total of one thousand students were used in this study. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the students. One-way analysis of variance and independent t-test were used for data analyses. The result showed that academic level of students influences utilization of information resources, gender and age of students did not significantly influence utilization of library information resources. It was concluded that students should have positive outlook in all their life’s endeavours including their academic pursuits so that they can maximally utilize the quantum of information resources available in the Libraries in Nigerian Universities for improved academic performance and competitive global academic pursuit. Keywords: ICT Innovation, Electronic Resources, User Education, Academic Libraries, Knowledge generation, Demographic Characteristics.

Environmental factors as correlates of research attitude among post-graduate students in Nigeria: A path model approach

The study investigated the relationship among some environmental factors and research attitude of post-graduate students in Nigeria using a path model approach. The researchers were poised at filling the gap in the type of multivariate statistical tools that have hitherto been used in comparing these variables by authors in the research area. One research question was formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study area, which was south-south Nigeria, is one of the geo-political zones in the country with six federal universities. The population of the study was made up of 1,299 post graduate students of education faculties in the six universities. A sample of 520 students (40% of the population) was selected for the study through stratified random sampling method. The study instrument was a questionnaire titled Environmental and Attitude variables Questionnaire (EAVQ) prepared by the researchers. Result of the study showed that 14 out of 15 pathways in the hypothesized model for the relationship between environmental variables and research attitudewere significant and meaningful, withfive direct and nine indirect pathways. Based on the finding, the study recommends an improvement in those environmental factors to bring about corresponding improvement in research attitude. The study suggests that a study of the relationship between other environmental variables not included in this study on graduate students‟ research attitude in federal universities in south-south Nigeria should be carried out by future researchers. Such research can be extended to cover more geo-political zones in the country.

E-learning Delivery Platforms for Improving Teaching/Learning During COVID-19 Lockdown in Private Universities, South-South Nigeria

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which e-learning delivery platforms were utilized to improve teaching/learning during Covid-19 lockdown in Private Universities in South-South Nigeria. To achieve this, three specific objectives and three research questions were asked to guide the study. An expost facto survey design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in South-South Nigeria. The population consisted of 4305 students of five private universities in South-South Nigeria. A sample size of 366 was selected using the Taro Yamane formula and a cluster sampling technique was used for the study. An instrument titled “Utilization of E-learning Platform for teaching/Learning during the Covid-19 Lockdown Questionnaire” (UEPTLDCOVID19LQ) was used for the study. The finding of the study shows that Private Universities utilized e-learning facilities during the Covid-19 lockdown because they had the facilities to do so.

Evaluating the Limitations to Academic Publishing in The 21st Century: Perception of Communication Academics of Public Universities in South-South Nigeria

Evaluating the Limitations to Academic Publishing in The 21st Century: Perception of Communication Academics of Public Universities in South-South Nigeria

Evaluating the Limitations to Academic Publishing in the 21st Century: Perception of Communication Academics of Public Universities in South-South Nigeria

Evaluating the Limitations to Academic Publishing in the 21st Century: Perception of Communication Academics of Public Universities in South-South Nigeria

Management of Data in Higher Education and the Quality of Academic Research of University Lecturers: A Case Study in South-South Nigeria

The existing body of knowledge has witnessed gaps arising from the paucity of research literature on the quality of educational research output in higher education. This study shows how the management of data in higher education affects the quality of academic research conducted by university lecturers in South-South Nigeria. The study adopted a factorial research design. The population of this study includes all the Faculty of Education academic staff in both public and private universities situated in South-South Nigeria. Using results of a survey administered to a sample of 602 accessible lecturers during data collection, one research question and one null hypothesis were resolved in the study. Multiple regression was employed in the analysis of data. Findings revealed amongst others that; data storage, data security, data retrieval, data sharing, and data re-use jointly contributed to the total variance in educational research effectiveness in terms of proper citations by 56.25%, problem-solving by 22.14%, knowledge creation by 34.50%, and generation of testable data by 36.88%; and their composite influence on educational research effectiveness in terms of proper citations, problem-solving, knowledge creation, and generation of testable data, is statistically significant. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that data management practices play an important role in higher education that significantly influences the quality of research output in universities in South-South Nigeria. It was recommended among others that, there should be an up-to-date database or data warehouse in Ministries of Education where researchers can easily access data in order to increase the quality of researches by eliminating the problems of data fabrication and falsification.

Management of Data in Higher Education and the Quality of Academic Research of University Lecturers: A Case Study in South-South Nigeria

The existing body of knowledge has witnessed gaps arising from the paucity of research literature on the quality of educational research output in higher education. This study shows how the management of data in higher education affects the quality of academic research conducted by university lecturers in South-South Nigeria. The study adopted a factorial research design. The population of this study includes all the Faculty of Education academic staff in both public and private universities situated in South-South Nigeria. Using results of a survey administered to a sample of 602 accessible lecturers during data collection, one research question and one null hypothesis were resolved in the study. Multiple regression was employed in the analysis of data. Findings revealed amongst others that; data storage, data security, data retrieval, data sharing, and data re-use jointly contributed to the total variance in educational research effectiveness in terms of proper citations by 56.25%, problem-solving by 22.14%, knowledge creation by 34.50%, and generation of testable data by 36.88%; and their composite influence on educational research effectiveness in terms of proper citations, problem-solving, knowledge creation, and generation of testable data, is statistically significant. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that data management practices play an important role in higher education that significantly influences the quality of research output in universities in South-South Nigeria. It was recommended among others that, there should be an up-to-date database or data warehouse in Ministries of Education where researchers can easily access data in order to increase the quality of researches by eliminating the problems of data fabrication and falsification.

Perception of TPET Lecturers’ on the Effect of Global Partnerships in Developing Students’ Career Human Capital

This study plans to look at the perception of TPET (technical and professional education and training) lecturers on the effect of global partnerships in developing students’ expertise and abilities to engage in entrepreneurial career and lifelong learning tasks. A structured questionnaire approved by four lecturers was administered to a sample of 158 TPET lecturers, which was randomly selected across universities in South-South Nigeria. The reliability coefficient utilizing the Cronbach alpha was α=.89. A quantitative approach was used in the study by using standard deviation to assess the degree to which participants’ responses were clustered around the mean. A one-sample t-test was also used to find the difference in scores between global partnerships and its effects in developing students’ expertise and abilities to engage in entrepreneurial career and lifelong learning tasks. The results indicated that global partnerships could influence the development of students’ expertise and abilities to engage in entrepreneurial career and lifelong learning tasks based on TPET lecturers’ perception. The analysis of hypotheses 1 and 2 demonstrated that global partnerships do not have a significant effect on the development of students’ expertise and abilities to engage in entrepreneurial career and lifelong learning tasks. These findings have some practical implications for all major stakeholders of TPET such as the government, families, international donor agencies, and employers. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.5.7

The Pursuit of Quality Assurance in Nigerian Universities: Issues and Challenges

The contemporary trend of global competitiveness has brought great concern for provision of quality education. Hence universities are called upon to respond through efforts in ensuring quality assurance in its programmes offerings. This study on the pursuit of quality assurance in Nigerian Universities: Issues and challenges was carried out to sample the perspective of 640 academic staff from four Federal Universities in South-South Nigeria. Survey research design was used for the study. Four research questions guided the study. A 40-item researchers’ developed instrument called “Quality Assurance Practices Questionnaire (QAPQ)” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated and reliability estimate established through Cronbach Alpha with an index of 0.86. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Findings indicated that various strategies exist to ensure quality assurance. Also the extent of quality assurance implementation is moderate. Findings also showed that many challenges impede the implementation of quality assurance in universities. Suggested remedies by the respondents to improve the implementation of quality assurance include; total commitment of university management to quality assurance, admission of students based on merit, adequate funding and sufficient infrastructural facilities among others.

Height estimation from head dimensions in South-South Nigeria

BackgroundHeight estimation is an important stage of forensic investigation to identify an unknown person. The problem of unidentified human remains in the study area, due to local militia activities, kidnapping, and murder, necessitated this study to assess the correlation between the body height and head dimensions and to formulate regression models for estimation of height that are population and gender-specific.Materials and methodsThe study involved 952 subjects (464 males and 488 females), aged 18–30 years, from five ethnic groups and sampled from six universities in South-South Nigeria. Stature, head circumference, head length, and head width were measured using a standard anthropometric method. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 20. Statistical significance was pegged at p < 0.05.ResultsThere was a significantly greater head dimension in males compared to females. There was a significant relationship between height and head dimensions in the majority of data. The relationship of the head circumference with stature was strongest in male data among the Bekwara and combined data among the Esan and Urhobo. Regarding the head length, the strongest relationship was in females and combined data among Bekwara, and males and combined data among the Ogbia had the strongest relationship. The relationship of stature with the head width was strongest in males and combined data among the Bekwara, and female data among the Ogbia.ConclusionThis study showed that head dimensions can be used as tools in the height reconstruction of an individual using simple and multiple regression models, and this has medico-legal implication.

ASSESSING THE MANAGEMENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMMES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIAN STATE UNIVERSITIES

The main aim of this research was to assess the management of Instructional Programmes in State universities in South-South Nigeria. The research employed a descriptive survey research design. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the research. The population consisted of 13,741 academic and senior administrative staff from 6 State Universities in South-South Nigeria. The Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to determine the sample size. In the second stage sampling, Proportionate Stratified Sampling Technique was used with each University serving as a stratum to obtain the number of staff members that is proportionate, which resulted in the sample size of 389 respondents. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire designed by the researcher. Cronbach Alpha statistic was used to determine the internal consistency of the items. The result of the research, among others, showed both academic and administrative staff perceived that State Universities manage their staff personnel to a high extent or relatively well and that there was a significant difference between the mean rating scores of academic and administrative staff on the extent to which staff personnel are managed in State universities of South-South Nigeria. Academic and administrative staff perceived that financial resources were managed in State universities in South-South Nigeria relatively well. This means that the relative difficulties perceived to have been encountered by the products of State Universities in South-South Nigeria are either environmental or a result of other variables or dynamics that require deciphering for further research. The result showed that State governments, university managements, parents, scholarship boards, etcetera may confidently send their wards to State universities of South-South Nigeria also called the Niger Delta, for inculcation of university goals. The Study recommended among others that governments, and managements of State universities should increase grants (capital and recurrent) to universities, as this would help the universities to acquire facilities that would ensure the attainment of the universities mandate and vision. Keywords: academic staff, management of instructional programmes, senior administrative staff, state universities.

Planning a collection development policy for effective e-resources’ acquisition in federal universities in South-South Zone, Nigeria

The study investigated planning as a factor for effective acquisition of electronic resources in the federal universities in South-South Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was used for the study. A sample size of 614 comprising the 69 Professionals and 85 Para-professional Librarians, 10 IT personnel / System analyst and 450 Post graduate students registered 2014/ 2015 session in the three federal universities in South-South Nigeria was used. A questionnaire of 9 items was used for data collection. Out of total number 614 copies of questionnaire distributed, 578 copies were returned and analyzed using frequency, tables, percentages and mean rating. Findings revealed from the study that e-resource are preferred by users to print, acquisition librarians are involved in planning for acquisition and management of e-resources, staff training and retraining is required to update knowledge and information on e-resources. Libraries should not depend on government alone for funds of e-resources. Based on the findings, recommendations were made. Implications for the study were enumerated and suggestions for further research made.Keywords: Planning, Collection development policy, E-resources, University libraries, South-South zone