Community Relations Strategy for Curbing Conflicts between Multi-National Oil Companies and Host Communities in Delta State (Published)
The study examined the Influence of Community Relations Strategy in Curbing Conflicts between Multinational Oil Companies and Host Communities in Delta State. The issues of high expectations by host communities from companies in their environment have often been the cause of conflict between organizations and their host communities. As conflicts emerge, there is a need to develop strategies to curb them in order to maintain societal stability. In line with this, a sample of four hundred (400) respondents was randomly selected from the different geographical blocs in the three Senatorial Districts of Delta State. The method of data analysis involved the use of descriptive statistical tools. Findings show that the residents of the host communities in Delta State have a negative perception of the community relations strategies adopted by multinational oil companies in their operational areas. The study concluded that provision of health facilities, scholarships, and partnering with host communities in stage managed events and activities as part of community relations strategies are not effective in resolving conflicts between multinational oil companies and host communities in Delta State. The study recommended that multinational oil companies should rethink their current community relations strategies in their host communities to focus on consultation with and in the interest of the host communities, rather than imposing their community relations strategies on the people.
Keywords: Influence, community relations strategy, conflicts., multinational oil companies and host communities.
The Influence of the Levels of Education and Knowledge on the Performance of Community Health Workers in Soy Sub-County, Kenya (Published)
Community health workers (CHWs) the world over help to alleviate the shortages of health workers in the health sector. They are involved in the delivery of health services to the community and constitute the first point of contact on health-related issues in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The performance of CHWs is often hampered by various factors. The purpose of the study was to investigate the socio-cultural factors influencing the performance of CHWs in Soy Sub-County. Based on the study, this paper explores the influence of CHWs’ level of education and knowledge on their performance in Soy Sub-County. A correlation research design was used in the study with systematic sampling method being used to identify the respondents. In total, 98 respondents were given questionnaires to fill. Qualitative data was also collected from 7 heads of community health management team (CHMT) using key informant interviews. The collected data was then presented using frequency distribution tables while inferential statistics were computed using regression and correlation to determine the relationship between socio-cultural factors and performance of community health workers. Qualitative data was analysed manually to generate trends, sub-themes and themes from which conclusions were inferred regarding the performance of CHWs. The research findings showed that there was a significant (p= .000; α = 0.05) relationship that exists between education and knowledge and CHWs’ performance. Based on the findings, it was recommended that a strategy should be developed to incorporate all the stakeholders that affect the performance of community health workers in coming up with a training programme for CHWs. Moreover, there should be a policy shift in Kenya to encourage male CHW to scale up delivery of health services at community level. The findings of the study support decision-making on CHWs’ training programmes and also constitute the basis of transformation of implantation of community strategy in Soy Sub-County.
Keywords: Community Health Workers, Education, Influence, Kenya, Knowledge, Level, Performance, Soy Sub-County
Influence of Agricultural Child Labour Experience On Students’ Decision to Study Agriculture in Delta State, Nigeria (Published)
This study investigated the effect of child labour experience in agriculture on the decision of students to study agriculture in tertiary institutions in Delta State, Nigeria. Delta State University and Delta State Polytechnic students of agriculture were purposively selected for the study. Random selection of students was done in each agriculture area of specialization in the tertiary institutions based on 10% of the population to result to a sample size of 151 students. Data for the study were elicited with the use of questionnaire and were analyzed with the application of descriptive statistics and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC). Most (52.98%) of the student were males. The students were mainly (96.02%) in the age bracket of 20-29 years. Most (76.16%) of the student had 6-10years of working experience in their childhood years in either family or others farms as many (64.90%) were residents in rural settlements, where majority (64.24%) of them did not witness extension agents’ visit to their farms. The involvement index of the children in poultry farming was 0.48; in arable crop production, 0.60; in fish farming, 0.20 and in plantation agriculture, 0.12. Some of them experienced hard labour (47.68%); no remuneration (no pay) (51.66%) and injuries (54.97%). Only 6.62% of them originally sought for admission to study agriculture. The reasons given by those who originally applied to read agriculture for doing so ranged from self employment, interest, lucrative nature of agriculture and familiarity with farming activities. Their involvement in agricultural child labour positively influenced their decision to study agriculture. It is therefore recommended that extension agents should interact with farm families in order to encourage the children on agriculture; farmers should be encouraged to simply mechanize their farming activities; farm families should be encouraged to give their children only non-hazardous activities to carry out and the children should only be involved in farming activities during the holidays in order not to compromise their schooling.
Keywords: Agricultural Labour, Child Labour, Farm Families, Influence, Involvement Index