Climatic conditions and the resilience of buildings along Lagos coastline

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olajide Julius Faremi ◽  
Oluranti Olupolola Ajayi ◽  
Kudirat Ibilola Zakariyyah ◽  
Olumide Afolarin Adenuga

PurposeThe study investigates the extent to which defects in coastline buildings are influenced by the climatic conditions within the coastal zones.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted both desk study and field survey. The primary data for the study were collected through a cross-sectional survey of facilities and maintenance managers of randomly selected coastline buildings. Of the 120 self-administered structured questionnaires, 102 were successfully retrieved representing an 85% response rate. Data collected were analysed using charts, relative prevalence index and Spearman's rho correlation visualization technique.FindingsSaltwater intrusion, ocean overflow, extreme rainfall, debris flow, floods and droughts are the prevalent climatic conditions along the coastline. Steel corrosion, foundation settlement, spalling of concrete and fading of finishes are prevalent defects in coastline buildings. The result shows a positive significant correlation between climatic conditions and defects in coastline buildings.Research limitations/implicationsThe study compliments literature on buildings resilience and maintenance management, and also provides a basis for streamlining future research on coastline buildings.Practical implicationsThe results provide information on climatic conditions and prevalent defects that should be considered during the design and construction of coastline buildings. The information provided could assist construction stakeholders in improving the resilience of coastline buildings.Originality/valueThe study established that coastline buildings are vulnerable to a rapid rate of defect and deterioration which threatens the sustainability of coastline cities. It suggests measures that could improve the resilience of the elements and components of coastline buildings and consequently enhance the safety of life and property, and improve the physical and economic performance of coastline buildings.

Author(s):  
Ramo Palalić ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Arnela Ðilović ◽  
Alina Dizdarević ◽  
Vanessa Ratten

Purpose This study aims to examine the entrepreneurial intentions of university students at the International University of Sarajevo. For this purpose, the entrepreneurial desires and entrepreneurial orientations of the students across several demographic variables were measured. These variables included prior entrepreneurial experience, student’s gender, faculty, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the research also examined how business environment influences the entrepreneurial intentions of students by considering the same set of variables. Design/methodology/approach The objectives of this paper have been achieved by using a quantitative research instrument, where the cross-sectional survey method for collecting primary data is used. In total, 173 usable responses have been collected from the beginning of April to the end of May in the academic year 2015/2016. Findings The results indicate that the greater the demotivation with the current business surrounding, the smaller the entrepreneurial intentions of the students are when the prior entrepreneurial experience, gender, year of study and attitude towards more courses on entrepreneurship are considered. The study suggests that improving the overall business surrounding and entrepreneurial education might increase the entrepreneurial intentions of the students. Originality/value This is the first paper that treats entrepreneurial intentions of University students in Bosnia and Herzegovina.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Kris Hilton ◽  
Helen Arkorful

Purpose The barrage of corporate scandals has become pervasive such that it collapsed high-profile organizations worldwide. Prior studies show that reporters of corporate scandals encounter a number of challenges which discourages them from disclosing wrongful acts to appropriate authorities to effect action. Thus, this study aims to examine the remediation of the challenges of reporting corporate scandals in governance. Design/methodology/approach The study used cross-sectional survey design. Primary data was obtained from 400 employees of selected organizations and analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation and regression techniques in Statistical Package of Social Science. Findings The results confirm that reporters of corporate scandals are confronted with challenges such as victimization, fear, suspension/dismissal, sideline and high power distance. However, these challenges can be remediated through award, code of conduct, free expression, participation/consultation and safeguard regulations to encourage and protect reporters of corporate scandals. Practical implications The findings imply that there should be an award scheme for reporters, and this must be made known to all employees. Furthermore, code of conduct for employees should include reporting of scandals together with its associated benefits and sanctions. Also, organizations would have to practice consultative/participatory governance system to minimize the effect of high power distance. Finally, regulations should be enacted and enforced to safeguard reporters of corporate scandals. Originality/value This research consolidated the challenges associated with reporting corporate scandals and provides remedies to curtail such challenges so as to encourage employees to report corporate scandals.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Ouma Ochieng'a ◽  
Maurice Ogada

Purpose Good health is important for the happiness and productivity of employees of any organization and a nation. With the declining government funding for public Universities in Kenya, providing health cover for employees is a real challenge. Thus, the universities have to explore widely acceptable and sustainable options. This study aims to explore the correlations of employee preferences for health care schemes and evaluated the cost implications of each of the available Schemes.Design/methodology/approach The study applied a multinomial probit analysis on cross-sectional data from Taita Taveta University (TTU) in Kenya's coastal region. Cost-benefit analysis was used to rank alternative healthcare schemes. For triangulation of information, individual interviews were supplemented with key informant interviews.Findings Two sets of factors, personal attributes of employees and the attributes of the health care provider, were found to drive employee preferences for health care schemes. Thus, the universities need to consider these attributes in their choice sets of health care schemes to gain employee support.Research limitations/implications The study was based on a cross-sectional survey that may not capture the dynamic elements in institutional management. Thus, future research may build panel data on the current one for further analysis.Practical implications The study found that household characteristics and the perceived attributes of the healthcare providers are key drivers of the preferences. Thus, it is important to consider the characteristics of the employees (for example, age, family sizes, etc.) and attributes of healthcare providers before selecting a healthcare scheme for the workersOriginality/value This is a pioneer study on the choice of healthcare scheme for institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Universities are made aware of what informs employee's preferences for health schemes. This is important for tailoring health care schemes to match employee preferences for greater satisfaction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 337-351
Author(s):  
Ki Ho Kim ◽  
Eugene Y. Roh ◽  
Young Joong Kim ◽  
Samuel A. Spralls

PurposeThe primary purpose of this article is to develop and test a model of the antecedents and consequences (Cho et al., 2016) of bullying in Korean hotel kitchens.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional survey data were collected from 288 kitchen workers at 12 upscale Korean hotels. Proposed path models were tested using Hayes' (2013) PROCESS syntax in SPSS for mediation and moderated mediation analyses.FindingsThe empirical results indicated that an employee's acquiescent silence behavior increases the likelihood of being bullied. As a result, bullied employees are more likely to respond by engaging in a person-related counterproductive work behavior (CWB-P) or in defensive silence out of fear with temporary employees reacting less aggressively compared to regular employees.Research limitations/implicationsCross-sectional design and self-report data risk common method variance and attributions of causality. Future research should use longitudinal designs to avoid common method bias and make causal inferences. Theoretical and practical implications for kitchen productivity are presented. The study should offer valuable insights for prospective employers to develop on-going training and create a positive working environment within the organization.Originality/valueWhile bullying is a widespread and even an epidemic problem for the commercial kitchen environment, research into abusive behavior among chefs has been limited. By utilizing a specific segment of the hospitality industry, this research identified different behavioral aspects of bulling between temporary and regular employees in the commercial kitchen environment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Iddrisu ◽  
Isaac Gershon Kodwo Ansah ◽  
Paul Kwame Nkegbe

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of input credit on smallholder farmers’ output and income using Masara N’Arziki support project in Northern Ghana. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional primary data set was used to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income using propensity score matching (PSM) methods. Findings The findings are that project participation is skewed towards experienced farmers with big-sized households and farms. The effect of project on outcomes is somewhat unsatisfactory in the sense that participation only raises output and yield, but not income. Research limitations/implications The paper only examined the project effect on farm outcomes among smallholder farmers participating in the programme in just one operational area in the Northern region. Future research should consider all the operational areas for an informed generalisation of findings. Practical implications Greater benefits to farmers from programme participation would require project management to review the contractual arrangement so that the high cost of input credit is significantly reduced. Originality/value The paper applied the PSM to estimate the effect of project participation on farm output, yield and income among smallholder farmers which is non-existent in the literature on the study area, at least as far as we know. This paper can inform future policy on the direction and nature of support for smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arbaiah Abdul Razak ◽  
Peter A. Murray

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies performed by innovation actors to ensure commercialisation success, and to determine which of these strategies significantly predict a successful commercialisation within a public university context. Design/methodology/approach The strategies conceptualised for this study included open innovation, strategic leadership and collaborative advantage. A total of 222 public university academics participated in an anonymous survey and were asked to provide responses on their innovation strategies. These responses were then explored to assess the construct validity of the survey instrument and further analysed using a hierarchical multiple regression technique to test the hypotheses and to compare several regression models. Findings The results suggested that strategic leadership and open innovation strategies are significant predictors for successful commercialisation with coefficient of multiple determination (R2) of 21 per cent. This study, however, found that collaborative advantage does not significantly determine commercialisation success. Research limitations/implications The study was limited by the empirical evidence that was based on cross-sectional survey data of public university academics. A qualitative study with other groups of participants such as from the industries would further confirm the relationship between innovation strategies and commercialisation success. Future research should replicate this study in other settings to improve the generalisation of the findings. Originality/value This study discovered strategic leadership as the most dominant predictor for commercialisation success in a public university context followed by open innovation strategy. It confirms the strategic roles of leaders in innovation attempts and provides further understanding about the openness strategy in innovation.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12541
Author(s):  
Jeongmin Ha ◽  
Dahye Park

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed our lives in many ways, including school closures and social distancing practices. These abrupt life changes may have led to psychosocial problems in college students. This study aimed to identify the factors associated with psychosocial problems in South Korean nursing and non-nursing students. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 139 nursing and 147 non-nursing students (N = 286) between August 6 and October 30, 2020. We investigated participants’ general characteristics (that is, sociodemographic and health-promoting behaviors), sensitivity to COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 pandemic response indicators, and psychosocial problems. The factors associated with psychosocial problems were determined using multiple regression analysis. Results Among the COVID-19 pandemic response indicators, perceived health status during the COVID-19 pandemic was verified as a factor associated with psychosocial problems in nursing (β =  − 5.831, p < .001) and non-nursing students (β =  − 8.513, p < .001). Perceived stress (β = 1.263, p = .045), trust in policy (β = .892, p < .001), and religion (β =  − 1.424, p = .004) were verified as correlates of psychosocial problems in non-nursing students. Conclusion As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the stakeholders can use our study results to identify students experiencing psychosocial problems and subsequently as a theoretical background for developing intervention programs for those at a high risk of psychosocial problems. Additionally, it can be used as primary data for future research and practice regarding COVID-19 guidelines among students.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 948-964 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linlin Chai ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Thomas Clauss ◽  
Chanchai Tangpong

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents and the conditions of coopetition at the inter-organizational level. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on survey research methodology and analyzes the data from 138 companies regarding the antecedents and the conditions of their coopetition. Findings The results indicate that the interdependence between partners (i.e. the antecedent) positively affects interfirm coopetition, and that this relationship is contingent on the joint occurrence of opportunism (a behavioral condition) and technology uncertainty (a contextual condition). Specifically, highly interdependent firms are more likely to be involved in a coopetitive relationship when both opportunism and technology uncertainty are high. Interestingly, the authors’ data also show that opportunism or technology uncertainty alone may not be adequate in moderating the interdependence–coopetition relationship. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to the current literature in two meaningful ways. First, it empirically examines interdependence as a potential antecedent of interfirm coopetition. Second, it improves our understanding of the behavioral and contextual conditions that facilitate the formation of coopetitive relationships by examining the moderating roles of opportunisms and technology uncertainty in the relationship between interdependence and interfirm coopetition. The limitations of this study lie in its confined method of cross-sectional survey from the focal firm’s perspective. Future research may advance beyond this study through experimental and/or longitudinal research designs. Practical implications This study provides managers with two important practical insights in coopetition management. First, the findings suggest a two-step approach to help a firm assess and manage the level of coopetition in its relationship with a business partner. In addition, the findings provide a counterintuitive suggestion to managers that the joint conditions of high opportunism and high technology uncertainty indeed prime the relationship for the rise of coopetition, provided that managerial efforts are made to somewhat increase the level of interdependence in the relationship. Originality/value Despite the growing number of studies on coopetition, research still lacks knowledge about the antecedents and the conditions of inter-organizational coopetition, and this study aims to fill this gap.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irewolede Aina Ijaola ◽  
Godwin Iroroakpo Idoro ◽  
Michael Gbolagade Oladokun

Purpose The skills and knowledge of site supervisors play an important role in the outcome of construction projects. Evidence gleaned from the literature indicates that poor performance of construction projects remains a central concern for stakeholders in the construction sector. This suggests that the site supervisor’s training is important in the construction project outcomes. Various training programmes are available for site supervisors, yet construction firms are not satisfied with them. The purpose of this study is to determine the key training practice indicators for optimal site supervisor’s usage in construction firms. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a cross-sectional survey research design. In the approach, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to determine the key training practice indicators for site supervisors. Data were collected from 218 construction site supervisors using a questionnaire. Findings Findings show that training practices are a multidimensional concept consisting of training needs assessment, training delivery, training evaluation and transfer. From the 50 training practice variables, this study establishes 12 key training practice indicators for training site supervisors in construction firms. Research limitations/implications Future research should adopt a longitudinal survey for examining training practices in construction firms. Practical implications The identified key training indicators can inform the policies and practices used in the training of site supervisors. Originality/value This study contributes to knowledge by establishing 12 significant training practice indicators for optimal site supervisors’ usage in construction firms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyejoon Rim ◽  
Chuqing Dong

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate cross-cultural perspectives of corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on Carroll’s (1979, 1991) hierarchical CSR model. The present study examines the role of government and business trust in shaping publics’ expectations of business responsibility. Design/methodology/approach The primary data were derived from a cross-sectional survey in the USA, UAE and South Korea (N = 1,121). This paper compares publics’ prioritizations of business responsibilities across countries and examines how public trust in the government and business is related to CSR perceptions. Findings The paper presents evidence that publics’ perception of CSR differs significantly across the countries. Moreover, in a trusting society like the UAE, publics tend to put more emphasis on economic and philanthropic duties for business, whereas in a distrusting society like South Korea, publics consider legal and ethical responsibility to be important. Originality/value This study adds to the current understanding of diverse publics’ perception of CSR across culture and societies by highlighting the role of public trust in government in defining CSR.


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