Sustaining Lecturers’ Academic Integrity through the Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Public Universities in Rivers State (Published)
The study focused on sustaining lecturers’ academic integrity through the adoption of artificial intelligence in public Universities in Rivers State. Four research questions and four corresponding hypotheses were answered and tested in the study. Descriptive survey design was used in the study. The population of the study was 2,874 teaching staff in all the public Universities in Rivers State out of which 351 lecturers were sampled using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Instrument used for gathering data was a 20 item questionnaire titled “Artificial Intelligence for Sustaining Lecturers Academic Integrity Questionnaire” (AISLAIQ). The questionnaire was face and content validated by an Educational Management expert at University of Port Harcourt while the reliability was estimated using Cronbach Alpha and pronounced an index of 0.82. Out of the 352 copies of questionnaire administered, 336 copies representing 95.7% were retrieved. Research questions raised were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study indicated career progression and lack of competence were the main drivers of academic fraud among the lecturers. The usefulness of AI and the opportunities it provides for personalized learning were among the main factors driving the adoption of AI by the lecturers. Challenges to the adoption of AI and the ways of improving the adoption of AI for sustained academic integrity were identified. The study recommended the need for further AI training for lecturers for sustained academic integrity in the Universities.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Lecturers, Universities, academic fraud, academic integrity
Comparative Analysis of Academic Performance of Architecture Students in Building Structures and Architectural Designs in Southwestern Public Universities in Nigeria (Published)
Building structures and Architecture designs are major and compulsory courses in the study of Architecture. The knowledge obtained in Building structures is applied in Architectural designs. However, students’ performances in Building structures courses have been observed to be generally low and what is not known is if there is low performance in Architectural designs also. This study therefore carried out a comparative analysis of academic performance of Architecture students in Building structures and Architectural designs courses in Southwestern Nigerian public Universities in order to improve on students’ performances on these courses. The study was a descriptive survey that involved questionnaire, five public universities approved by the National Universities Commission and Architects Registration Council of Nigeria namely: FUTA, LAUTECH, OAU, UNILAG and OOU were purposively sampled. A total of 702 questionnaires were administered to all the pre-final and final year students in the Department of Architecture of the sampled universities, while only 541 questionnaires were adequately completed and considered fit for analysis. Cross tabulation with chi-square was used to summarize the data. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was employed to show the relationship between Building structure knowledge and Architectural designs performance, while Regression analysis was used to assess the effect of the two courses on students’ performances. The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between the knowledge of Building structure and students’ performance in Architectural designs as the students progressed in their studies (r=0.641; p=0.046). The study concluded that the depth of knowledge in Building Structures is a function of good performance in Architectural designs, when all other factors leading to good Architectural Designs expertise are kept in place.
Keywords: Academic, Architecture, Performance, Universities, structures
Creating Safety Cultures among University Administrators: A Case Study of the University Of Education, Winneba, Ghana (Published)
Safety culture is shared and accepted attitudes, beliefs and practices supported by documented policies and procedures in an organization which influences employees’ perceptions and behaviors within a workplace. Analysis of safety culture is important in institutions in order to identify potential areas of improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate safety culture amongst administrators in UEW. Fifty respondents comprising 10 senior members, 10 senior staff and 30 junior staff participated in this study. Data was collected through self administered questionnaires. The results recorded low perceptions and awareness levels, lack of adequate safety training and non existence of safety reward schemes amongst the administrative group. Based on these results the study recommends an improvement in employees’ safety perception and satisfaction leading to an enhancement of safety culture.
Keywords: Perception, Safety Culture, Safety Measures, Safety Training, Universities
Lecturers’ Workload and Productivity in Universities in Delta State (Published)
This study investigated lecturers’ workload and productivity in Universities in Delta State. Six research questions were answered and six corresponding null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the correlational research design. The population of the study comprised 164 Heads of Department (HODs) in six public and private universities in Delta State. A sample of 115 HODs were drawn through stratified random sampling technique and used for the study. Two instruments titled ‘Lecturers Workload Scale’ (LWS) and ‘Lecturers’ Productivity Scale’ (LPS) were used for data collection. Face and content validities of the instruments were ensured by experts. The reliability coefficients of the instruments (LWS and LPS) were determined using Cronbach Alpha reliability estimate and the reliability coefficient of the LWS was 0.72 while that for LPS was 0.74. Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to answer research questions 1,2,3,4 and 5. The corresponding hypotheses were subjected to 0.05 alpha level of significance. Research question 6 was answered using Multiple Regression while ANOVA associated with multiple regressions were used to test hypothesis 6. It was found that, there is significant high negative relationship between lecturers teaching workload, marking workload, supervision of students’ project workload, research workload and participation in community service workload and productivity in Universities in Delta State independently and jointly taken. It was recommended among others that lecturers should always ensure that their teaching activities are well prioritized so as to give adequate attention to the learning needs of students.
Keywords: Lecturer, Productivity, Universities, Workload
IMPACT OF RECORDS KEEPING ON OFFICE MANAGERS’ EFFICIENCY IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES (Published)
The study examined the impact of records keeping on office managers in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study.The study was carried out in Ebonyi and Enugu States of Nigeria. The entire population comprising of 100 office managers was studied. A four point response item questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. Two experts in the department of business education and one expert in educational measurement and evaluation were given the drafted copies of the questionnaire for face and content validity. Cronbach Alpha was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistics. The findings of the study showed that records’ keeping is very important for effective planning of the office. Despite the importance of records keeping on office management, it has been constrained by lack of funds, insufficient skills, poor storage, and lack of infrastructure etc. Furthermore, the null hypotheses were accepted. Based on these findings, the researcher recommended that government and school authorities should provide adequate funds and sufficient skills for the effective management of office records, there should be adequate training and retraining of office managers, also there should be adequate infrastructure in the school.
Keywords: Efficiency, Office, Records, Universities
CREATING SAFETY CULTURES AMONG UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS; A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, GHANA. (Review Completed - Accepted)
Safety culture is shared and accepted attitudes, beliefs and practices supported by documented policies and procedures in an organization which influences employees’ perceptions and behaviors within a workplace. Analysis of safety culture is important in institutions in order to identify potential areas of improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate safety culture amongst administrators in UEW. Fifty respondents comprising 10 senior members, 10 senior staff and 30 junior staff participated in this study. Data was collected through self administered questionnaires. The results recorded low perceptions and awareness levels, lack of adequate safety training and non existence of safety reward schemes amongst the administrative group. Based on these results the study recommends an improvement in employees’ safety perception and satisfaction leading to an enhancement of safety culture.
Keywords: Perception, Safety Culture, Safety Measures, Safety Training, Universities