scholarly journals CONFLICT AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES: A STUDY OF ROGER MAKANJUOLA’S ‘WATER MUST FLOW UPHILL: ADVENTURES IN UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION’

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Bakare

<p>Conflict is a fact of life. The tongue-and-mouth dialectical discourse in Yoruba proverb typifies the inevitability of dissonance and dissension in a complex social system. Socialization, therefore, whether primary, anticipatory, professional or re-socialization, is fraught with conflicts. Ideological contestation over socioeconomic policies forms the basis of conflicts in the university in Nigeria. Conflicts in Nigeria has its antecedents in the colonial era (Bakare, K.A., 2021). A scenario of contest is ever constant, when the leadership is perceived as a comprador capitalist by the followership. At the basis of every trade union in Nigeria is the determination to rebuff exploitative capitalism. The university with its demographics, proxemics and vast municipal requirements is prone to conflict in an expansive proportion. Having noted that conflict is a constant variable, it is important to zero down on its management, its mismanagement and its resolution, situating it within a concrete context. In our attempt to show the nuances of conflict in the university estate, we have opted to study realistic episodes of conflicts as captured by a former Chief Medical Director cum Vice-Chancellor of a foremost university in Nigeria. <br />The book, ‘Water must flow uphill’ is an experiential rendition of the abecedarian precepts of leadership and management in two complex organizations. It is a fluid and transparent expose on ‘how to’ and ‘how not to’ manage conflicts in large organizations. Its turbulence, wisdom, severity and chicaneries exemplify the coarse nature of leadership in Nigerian universities and allied estates, as experienced by a viciously honest personality. Militancy, mismanagement, honesty of purpose, leadership botherations; all form the themes of a book which stands out in its attempt to capture unbiased facts. It is a definitive statement on the need for moral and ethical re-alignment in the Nigerian workspace, and the larger society.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0774/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 2-18

Eric Ashby was a distinguished plant scientist who moved at the early age of 46 from research and teaching in Britain and Australia into university administration, first as Vice- Chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast, then as Master of Clare College, Cambridge. He later explained the rationale for the move in these words: ‘I decided ... that I was more interested in people than in ideas; in teaching and educational issues than in pure science, and in solving problems about people rather than problems about plants.’ During the second phase of his career he engaged himself in many activities outside of the university sphere, notably with education in Africa, environmental pollution and public policy in matters such as genetic manipulation. In this memoir his research contributions are placed in a separate Appendix to give them coherence while preserving the continuity of the chronological narrative.


Politeia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Johnson

As members of the secret Afrikaner organisation, the Broederbond, two of the apartheid-era rectors at the University of Fort Hare were responsible for leading an institution that was supposed to spearhead the modernisation of ethnically defined homelands and their transition to independent states, whilst disseminating apartheid values among the black students. Based on unsorted and unarchived documents located in the personal files of the apartheid-era rectors, which included secret correspondence and memoranda of clandestine meetings, this paper illustrates the attempted exercise of hegemony by the apartheid state through its linked network with the university administration during the period 1960 to 1990. This is achieved by demonstrating the interaction between the state, Broederbond rectors and the black students at Fort Hare, who were subjected to persuasion and coercion as dictated by the state’s apartheid vision of a racially defined and separated society.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Jared McDonald

Dr Jared McDonald, of the Department of History at the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa, reviews As by fire: the end of the South African university, written by former UFS vice-chancellor Jonathan Jansen.    How to cite this book review: MCDONALD, Jared. Book review: Jansen, J. 2017. As by Fire: The End of the South African University. Cape Town: Tafelberg.. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in the South, [S.l.], v. 1, n. 1, p. 117-119, Sep. 2017. Available at: <http://sotl-south-journal.net/?journal=sotls&page=article&op=view&path%5B%5D=18>. Date accessed: 12 Sep. 2017.   This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/


Author(s):  
William Gibson

This chapter looks at Strenæ Natalitiæ, a volume of poems produced by the University of Oxford to celebrate the events of the birth of the Prince of Wales in 1688. The University of Oxford's Strenæ Natalitiæ was a volume of over a hundred poems, with an obligatory introductory poem contributed by vice-chancellor Gilbert Ironside. The contibutors to Strenæ Natalitiæ were not simply a cross-section of the university's membership and poetic talent, but also of its politics. In some respects, youthful naivety might have been a cause of some of the authors' willingness to embrace the birth of James Edward, despite the anxiety felt by some of their fellow authors. Some of the verse was simple, and naïve in tone. Other verses were marked by a more mystical and prophetic tone. Ultimately, the verses in Strenæ Natalitiæ were predictable in their expressions of congratulation and celebration, though some also contained carefully muted expressions of equivocation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
Evan W Colmenares ◽  
Jacqueline E McLaughlin ◽  
Kathryn A Morbitzer ◽  
Stephen F Eckel

Abstract Purpose To describe the development, format, and alumni and employer perceptions of a program combining a master of science (MS) degree with a residency in health-system pharmacy administration and leadership (HSPAL). Summary A multisite combined MS and HSPAL residency program was developed within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy to increase leadership and management education. The program balances clinical and administrative experiences with didactic courses over 2 years. The program format and perceived value of MS degree training for HSPAL residents had not been previously described in the literature. In an online survey, alumni of the program, as well as their first supervisors after completion of HSPAL training, indicated perceived attainment of the program core competencies and outcomes. Supervisors also indicated that they were more likely to hire MS degree–trained pharmacists for administrative positions. Conclusion Didactic training in the form of an MS degree as a part of comprehensive HSPAL residency training is perceived as beneficial by alumni and employers for promoting the development of core leadership and management skills and knowledge.


Author(s):  
Marilia Riul ◽  
Ingrid Moura Wanderley ◽  
Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos

Stuart Walker is Professor of Design for Sustainability and Co-Director of the Imagination Lancaster design research Centre at Lancaster University. Focused on design for sustainability; product aesthetics and meaning; practice-based design research and product design that explores and expresses both human values and notions of spirituality. He was interviewed in his second visit to Brazil to attend the Conference and Workshop "Design and the national policy of solid waste: dialogues on sustainability," held in the Sustainability Laboratory (Lassu) at the University of São Paulo (USP) in 2013, an activity of the research project sponsored by CNPq: Product design, sustainability and national policy on solid waste, coordinated by Professor Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos. Through the suggested questions, Professor Stuart Walker built a severe critique of our social system of mass production and reminded us that values really matter to our journey.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Hongying Wen ◽  
Kairong Liang ◽  
Yiquan Li

Internet public opinion events at universities in China occurred frequently, creating painful repercussions for reputation and stability of colleges and universities. To better cope with the problem, this paper explores an evolutionary mechanism of the university Internet public opinion events. Firstly, we discuss the interactions and behavior of three key participants: an Internet medium, university students as a whole, and administration. Secondly, we construct a tripartite evolutionary game model consisting of an Internet medium, student group, and university administration and then analyze and obtain the differential dynamic equations and equilibrium points. Subsequently, the evolutionary stable equilibrium is further analyzed. Finally, we employ numerical studies to examine how the tripartite behavior choices affect evolutionary paths and evolutionary equilibrium strategies. Results are derived as follows: under certain conditions, there exists an asymptotically stable equilibrium point for the tripartite evolutionary game. On the one hand, appropriate penalties and rewards should be provided to foster objectives and fair behaviors of the network medium. On the other hand, university students should be educated and guided to deal rationally with negative effects of Internet public opinion events. Moreover, online real-name authentication is an important and necessary measure. Finally, the university administration should release truthful, timely, and comprehensive information of Internet public opinion events to mitigate potential negative impacts.


2021 ◽  

The MIMI project was initiated by the DSI in partnership with the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), the HSRC and UKZN. The purpose of this initiative was to develop an innovative tool capable of assessing and measuring the innovation landscape in municipalities, thus enabling municipalities to adopt innovative practices to improve service delivery. The outcome of the implementation testing, based on the participation of 22 municipalities, demonstrated the value and the capacity of MIMI to produce innovation maturity scores for municipalities. The digital assessment tool looked at how a municipality, as an organisation, responds to science, technology and innovation (STI) linked to service delivery, and the innovation capabilities and readiness of the municipality and the officials themselves. The tool is also designed to recommend areas of improvements in adopting innovative practices and nurturing an innovation mindset for impactful municipal service delivery. The plan going forward is to conduct learning forums to train municipal officials on how to use the MIMI digital platform, inform them about the nationwide implementation rollout plan and support municipal officials to engage in interactive and shared learnings to allow them to move to higher innovation maturity levels. The virtual launch featured a keynote address by the DSI Director-General, Dr Phil Mjwara; Prof Mehmet Akif Demircioglu from the National University of Singapore gave an international perspective on innovation measurements in the public sector; and messages of support were received from MIMI partners, delivered by Prof Mosa Moshabela, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) of Research at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Prof Leickness Simbayi, Acting CEO of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). It attracted over 200 attendees from municipalities, government, business and private sector stakeholders, academics, policymakers and the international audience. @ASSAf_Official; @dsigovza; #MIMI_Launch; #IID


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Richards ◽  
Vaughan Ellis

PurposeA retrospective action-research case study of one branch of the University and College Union (UCU) is used to show how threshold requirements of the Act can be systematically beaten.Design/methodology/approachThe paper responds to calls for “best practice” on how trade unions may react to member voting threshold requirements of the Trade Union Act 2016 (the Act). A broader aim is to make a theoretical contribution related to trade union organising and tactics in “get the vote out” (GTVO) industrial action organising campaigns.FindingsFindings are presented as a lead organiser's first-hand account of a successful GTVO campaign contextualised in relation to theories of organising. The findings offer “best practice” for union organisers required to beat the Act's voting thresholds and also contribute to theories surrounding trade union organising tactics.Research limitations/implicationsFurther development and adaptation of the proposed model may be required when applied to larger bargaining units and different organising contexts.Practical implicationsThe findings can inform the organising practices/tactics of trade unions in relation to statutory ballots. The findings also allow Human Resource (HR) practitioners to reflect on their approach to dealing with unions capable of mounting successful GTVO campaigns.Social implicationsThe findings have the potential to collectively empower workers, via their trade unions, to defend and further their interests in a post-financial crisis context and in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis is the first known empirical account of organising to exceed voting thresholds of the Act, providing practical steps for union organisers in planning for statutory ballots. Further value lies in the paper's use of a novel first-hand account of a GTVO campaign, offering a new and first, theoretical model of organising tactics to beat the Act.


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