Academic success predictors for architecture students at Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State, Nigeria

Academic success, linked to socioeconomic advancement and key positive indicators inlife has largely been investigated along STEM courses especially in Nigeria. In this study, academic success was predicted at two levels: second class lower (2.2) and second class upper (2.1) degreesusing 244 questionnaires from architecture undergraduates at Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST) Wudilto test the hypothesis that other factors apart from motivation predict high academic success. Results from Binary Logistic Regression models indicate that achieving a 2.1 degree largely depends on personal attributes, notably how efficiently a student manages time/schedules, some degree of independence as well as conducive learning environments (classrooms, accommodation, external lighting, power supply, worship places and general cleanliness)and not necessarily motivation. This lends credence to Walberg’s Theory of Educational Productivity. Overall, mode of entry was the only significant predictor for academic success for both 2.2 (p=0.007, Exp(β)=1.990) and 2.1 (p=0.016, Exp(β)=1.361) class of degree models. This implies that candidates admitted through avenues other than UTME/ JAMB such as Direct Entry have higher chances of graduating with a 2.1 class of degree. Prospective candidates are encouraged to pursue advanced level qualifications prior to admission into architecture as this substantially increases the probability of graduating with a high class of degree.

Internationalisation of a Global Sporting Product: The Case of Rugby 7s

<p>Sports are continuing to grow in prominence and possess similar attributes to multinational corporations. However, there is currently a lack of knowledge around the internationalisation of sports in business literature. Research is heavily centred on the sport of soccer, with a focus on historical accounts of how sport has shaped national identities of nations and the cross-national diffusion of sports across national borders. This research has been driven due to the focus on the topic by the fields of sociology and political science which both contribute heavily to the literature. This thesis aims to create a focus on emerging sports such as rugby, using real-time and current accounts of how internationalisation is currently being impacted and shifting the literature into the international business field. In order to do this, two research questions are asked: How is Rugby 7s internationalising? And How does Rugby 7s manage the key decision points in internationalisation? The use of decision points looks at going beyond applying theoretical frameworks to the research and directly seeks to find the key decisions that sports managers face when internationalising. This study is designed in an exploratory way with semi-structured interviews used to explore and better understand the phenomena of sports internationalisation. To ensure all perspectives from stakeholders were covered a single case study with embedded units was applied to the study. With the results of the interviews then triangulated with a secondary data set. The analysis of the findings shows the executives faced difficult decisions within the areas of market selection, mode of entry, adaptation and standardisation and long term commitment. The results show that Rugby 7s as a product has been heavily shaped by numerous forces such as culture and knowledge of the markets. With the events individually being unique, however, as a collective product Rugby 7s can be identified as one product as a ‘glocal’ approach has been implemented by executives. Further research should continue looking at other emerging sports to gain a wider understanding of sports internationalisation. By doing this it increases the knowledge and understanding of the phenomena and can be used to establish frameworks for future research.</p>

Internationalisation of a Global Sporting Product: The Case of Rugby 7s

<p>Sports are continuing to grow in prominence and possess similar attributes to multinational corporations. However, there is currently a lack of knowledge around the internationalisation of sports in business literature. Research is heavily centred on the sport of soccer, with a focus on historical accounts of how sport has shaped national identities of nations and the cross-national diffusion of sports across national borders. This research has been driven due to the focus on the topic by the fields of sociology and political science which both contribute heavily to the literature. This thesis aims to create a focus on emerging sports such as rugby, using real-time and current accounts of how internationalisation is currently being impacted and shifting the literature into the international business field. In order to do this, two research questions are asked: How is Rugby 7s internationalising? And How does Rugby 7s manage the key decision points in internationalisation? The use of decision points looks at going beyond applying theoretical frameworks to the research and directly seeks to find the key decisions that sports managers face when internationalising. This study is designed in an exploratory way with semi-structured interviews used to explore and better understand the phenomena of sports internationalisation. To ensure all perspectives from stakeholders were covered a single case study with embedded units was applied to the study. With the results of the interviews then triangulated with a secondary data set. The analysis of the findings shows the executives faced difficult decisions within the areas of market selection, mode of entry, adaptation and standardisation and long term commitment. The results show that Rugby 7s as a product has been heavily shaped by numerous forces such as culture and knowledge of the markets. With the events individually being unique, however, as a collective product Rugby 7s can be identified as one product as a ‘glocal’ approach has been implemented by executives. Further research should continue looking at other emerging sports to gain a wider understanding of sports internationalisation. By doing this it increases the knowledge and understanding of the phenomena and can be used to establish frameworks for future research.</p>

Trafficking, Client and Police Violence, Sexual Risk and Mental Health Among Women in the Sex Industry at the Thai-Myanmar Border

This study describes sex trafficking and associations with violence and health among female migrants in the sex industry in Mae Sot, Thailand. The mixed-methods study included a qualitative interview phase ( n = 10), followed by a cross-sectional survey phase ( n = 128). Entry via trafficking (force, fraud, or coercion [FFC], or as minors) was prevalent (76.6%), primarily FFC (73.4%). FFC was associated with inconsistent condom use, inability to refuse clients, poor health, and anxiety. Past-year violence was normative including client sexual violence (66.4%), client coercion for condom nonuse (> 95%), and police extortion (56%). Working conditions enabled violence irrespective of mode of entry. Profound unmet needs exist for safety and access to justice irrespective of trafficking history.

An Analysis of Ownership Forms in Offshore Higher Education Markets: A Resource Based Perspective

<p>This PhD research seeks to consider overseas investment in a new and important context: education. Estimated at approximately US$ 65 billion and representing roughly 3% of global services exports (Alderman, 2001), trade in education services is fast becoming a global business (Czinkota, 2006). In Australia, New Zealand and the United States, for example, educational service is estimated to be, respectively, the third, fourth and fifth largest service sector export (Vincent-Lancrin, 2004). The globalisation and internationalisation of higher education manifest themselves in various forms, of which transnational education or 'offshore' programmes - those taught outside of a host academic institution's country of origin - have been experiencing rapid increases over the past decade. Most of this growth, to date, has taken place through contractual arrangements such as licensing (e.g. twinning and articulation arrangements). However, there are also a substantial number of academic institutions that are currently delivering transnational education through equity modes of entry (e.g. branch campus operations). In this context, this PhD research, using universities as the unit of analysis, seeks to understand the dynamics of transnational education - how it is happening and why it is happening - grounded in the strategy and international business literatures. In particular, the research question being addressed in this study is: What resources are associated with entry mode choice for education providers entering overseas markets? Using a multi-method research design consisting of both qualitative and quantitative analysis, seven different types of resources are specifically examined in this study: Geographical experience, Industry experience, Transfer experience, Organisational culture, Financial resources, Reputation and Learning intent. Using the resource-based view (RBV) as its theoretical underpinning, this study hypothesises that the more access to these resources an education service provider might have, the more they will favour a higher level of ownership in offshore education developments. This overall hypothesis builds on the basic assumption of the RBV that organisations in possession of resources which are potential sources of competitive advantage in a target market, would favour a mode of entry that facilitates control over and protection of the resources. This fundamental assumption of the RBV differs to that of the transaction cost approach, which typically views shared-control modes as the default mode of entry. The conceptual model developed in this study further postulates that the resource-entry mode relationship is moderated by institutional distance. The education sector in most countries is a regulated sector, where authorities monitor the quality of education. Therefore, when investing offshore, education service providers are likely to operate around some form of regulated institutional environments that are likely to affect their mode of entry decisions. From the collected 308 instances of foreign market entry of universities in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada (CA), Australia (AU), New Zealand (NZ) and Ireland (IR), analysis is conducted at both an aggregate and geographical grouping level (i.e. UK/IR, AU/NZ and US/CA). To assess the sensitivity of the obtained results, three estimation techniques are also analysed: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Tobit and Negative Binomial regressions. To further assess the sensitivity and robustness of the observed findings for the moderating role of institutional distance, three measures of distance are analysed: World Competitiveness Yearbook, Economic Freedom Index and Hofstede (1980) cultural indices. From the different groupings and estimation techniques, the empirical findings show that support is obtained for Transfer experience, but only when using OLS estimation. Mixed support is obtained for Geographical experience, Industry experience and Financial resources. The hypotheses with respect to the other types of resources are not supported. These findings suggest that, contrary to the basic premise of the RBV, a higher level of ownership might not always be the preferred entry mode in the offshore education context. The observed findings also do not support the moderating hypothesis of institutional distance on the resource-entry mode relationship. This lack of support is consistent across all three measures of distance analysed. Several possible explanations for these observed findings are conjectured in Chapter 7. These explanations are not purely theoretical conjectures but are also enriched on the basis of the interviews conducted as part of the exploratory stage of this study. The greatest takeaway from this study is that the observed findings, which do not fully conform to mainstream international business and strategic management theories, can be attributed to context/industry specific conditions. Traditional international business and strategy research has largely focused on "for-profit" firms. Given that universities are "not-for-profit" organisations, it needs to be recognised that their international operations are different from those of regular multinational firms. These findings provide initial steps in improving our understanding of the internationalisation of the education services sector.</p>

An Analysis of Ownership Forms in Offshore Higher Education Markets: A Resource Based Perspective

<p>This PhD research seeks to consider overseas investment in a new and important context: education. Estimated at approximately US$ 65 billion and representing roughly 3% of global services exports (Alderman, 2001), trade in education services is fast becoming a global business (Czinkota, 2006). In Australia, New Zealand and the United States, for example, educational service is estimated to be, respectively, the third, fourth and fifth largest service sector export (Vincent-Lancrin, 2004). The globalisation and internationalisation of higher education manifest themselves in various forms, of which transnational education or 'offshore' programmes - those taught outside of a host academic institution's country of origin - have been experiencing rapid increases over the past decade. Most of this growth, to date, has taken place through contractual arrangements such as licensing (e.g. twinning and articulation arrangements). However, there are also a substantial number of academic institutions that are currently delivering transnational education through equity modes of entry (e.g. branch campus operations). In this context, this PhD research, using universities as the unit of analysis, seeks to understand the dynamics of transnational education - how it is happening and why it is happening - grounded in the strategy and international business literatures. In particular, the research question being addressed in this study is: What resources are associated with entry mode choice for education providers entering overseas markets? Using a multi-method research design consisting of both qualitative and quantitative analysis, seven different types of resources are specifically examined in this study: Geographical experience, Industry experience, Transfer experience, Organisational culture, Financial resources, Reputation and Learning intent. Using the resource-based view (RBV) as its theoretical underpinning, this study hypothesises that the more access to these resources an education service provider might have, the more they will favour a higher level of ownership in offshore education developments. This overall hypothesis builds on the basic assumption of the RBV that organisations in possession of resources which are potential sources of competitive advantage in a target market, would favour a mode of entry that facilitates control over and protection of the resources. This fundamental assumption of the RBV differs to that of the transaction cost approach, which typically views shared-control modes as the default mode of entry. The conceptual model developed in this study further postulates that the resource-entry mode relationship is moderated by institutional distance. The education sector in most countries is a regulated sector, where authorities monitor the quality of education. Therefore, when investing offshore, education service providers are likely to operate around some form of regulated institutional environments that are likely to affect their mode of entry decisions. From the collected 308 instances of foreign market entry of universities in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), Canada (CA), Australia (AU), New Zealand (NZ) and Ireland (IR), analysis is conducted at both an aggregate and geographical grouping level (i.e. UK/IR, AU/NZ and US/CA). To assess the sensitivity of the obtained results, three estimation techniques are also analysed: Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Tobit and Negative Binomial regressions. To further assess the sensitivity and robustness of the observed findings for the moderating role of institutional distance, three measures of distance are analysed: World Competitiveness Yearbook, Economic Freedom Index and Hofstede (1980) cultural indices. From the different groupings and estimation techniques, the empirical findings show that support is obtained for Transfer experience, but only when using OLS estimation. Mixed support is obtained for Geographical experience, Industry experience and Financial resources. The hypotheses with respect to the other types of resources are not supported. These findings suggest that, contrary to the basic premise of the RBV, a higher level of ownership might not always be the preferred entry mode in the offshore education context. The observed findings also do not support the moderating hypothesis of institutional distance on the resource-entry mode relationship. This lack of support is consistent across all three measures of distance analysed. Several possible explanations for these observed findings are conjectured in Chapter 7. These explanations are not purely theoretical conjectures but are also enriched on the basis of the interviews conducted as part of the exploratory stage of this study. The greatest takeaway from this study is that the observed findings, which do not fully conform to mainstream international business and strategic management theories, can be attributed to context/industry specific conditions. Traditional international business and strategy research has largely focused on "for-profit" firms. Given that universities are "not-for-profit" organisations, it needs to be recognised that their international operations are different from those of regular multinational firms. These findings provide initial steps in improving our understanding of the internationalisation of the education services sector.</p>

Do Stringent Environmental Policies Deter FDI? M&A versus Greenfield

Strict environmental regulation may deter foreign direct investment (FDI). The paper develops the hypothesis that regulation predominantly discourages FDI that is conducted as Greenfield investment rather than mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The hypothesis is tested with German firm-level FDI data. Empirically, stricter regulation reduces new Greenfield projects in polluting industries, but indeed has a much smaller impact on the number of M&As. This significant difference is compatible with the fact that existing operations often benefit from grandfathering rules, which provide softer regulation for pre-exisiting plants, and with the expectation that for M&As part of the regulation is capitalized in the purchase price. The heterogeneous effects help explaining mixed results in previous studies that have neglected the mode of entry.

Effect of guided-discovery technique on Colleges of Education Social Studies students’ learning outcome

This study examined the effect of Guided-Discovery (GD) technique on Colleges of Education Social Studies students’ learning outcome in Nigeria. The study employed 2x2x2 randomized research design. A total of 100 students participated in the study, consisted of 50 GD and 50 Lecture Technique. Social Studies Performance Tests (SSPT) was used to collect data. It was designed using National Commission for Colleges of Education curriculum and validated by four Social Studies experts. The reliability value of 0.82 was obtained for the instrument using Cronbach Alpha. ANOVA and t-test were used for data analyses. This study found that GD technique of teaching Social Studies was next in producing higher significant effect in students’ learning outcome than LT. Gender has no significant interactive effect on students’ learning outcome in Social Studies. The mode of entry had no significant interactive effect in the learning outcome of Colleges of Education Social Studies Students. The study concluded that GD was found to be more effective in enhancing Social Studies Students’ learning outcome in Colleges of Education. It was recommended that GD technique should be used in teaching Social Studies in Colleges of Education.

BANK OWNERSHIP, MODE OF ENTRY, AND CREDIT ALLOCATION TO MSMEs

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have strategic roles in economic structure, especially in developing countries, so, they need supports from the banking industry, including foreign banks, by giving loans they need. This study aims to find the effect of bank ownership and mode of entry on credit allocation to MSMEs. We use 110 samples of conventional commercial banks and 41 samples of foreign-owned banks in Indonesia during 2010-2017, with 686 and 266 observations. The results of multiple regression show that banks with government ownership have higher credit allocation to MSMEs than non-government ownership and banks with foreign ownership have lower credit allocation to MSMEs than domestic ownership. Based on their mode of entry, banks with foreign ownership via greenfield have lower credit allocation to MSMEs than via takeover.