Work design and content is changing. Accompanying this change has been an increasing demand by workers for policy makers to factor the issue of managing workers’ work and life. Work–life balance as a concept has attracted attention for several years as a result of individuals attempting to juggle multiple demands from both work and outside the workplace. The number of multiple demands on individuals usually vary from one person to the other and can increase or decrease at different stages of the person’s life. Essentially, this study reviewed work–life balance literature as espoused from the UK and US schools of thought. The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which work–life balance policies and practices are a reality for employees and managers in the Nigerian banking sector; to investigate the adoption and use of policies/practices in Nigerian banks and finally to examine the barriers to and reasons for their muted adoption and utilisation of work–life balance policies and practices in Nigerian banks. This research is exploratory in nature and it adopted a mixed-method research technique which allowed for in-depth information from the respondents. The methodological approach used in this study is a qualitative dominant mixed method. A mixed-method approach was used in this study following the traditions of McCarthy, Darcy and Grady (2010); Kalliath and Brough (2008); Halford, (2006) and Beauregard and Henry (2009) to ensure the validity and reliability of the study and also to offer different insights in order to make the final result of the research more robust. A questionnaire and semi structured interview technique was utilised. The study was based on 20 of the 24 banks in the Nigerian banking sector. The total sample size was three hundred and sixty nine (369), of which two hundred and fifteen (215) questionnaires were completed and one hundred and thirty four (134) semi-structured interviews conducted for the bankers while (20) semi structured interviews were conducted for the trade union officials. In order to ensure that the cross-section of relevant respondents was as representative as possible, interviewees were divided into three categories: employees, managers and trade union officials. SPSS was used to analysis the quantitative data, while qualitative data was analysed using NVivo software through the coding of the large quantity of data collected. The themes that emerged from the analysis were used to discuss the research issues in the light of prior research findings from various empirical researches. The quantitative contribution of the study revealed that age was not significant to the bankers as regards issues relating to work life balance. The qualitative findings on the other hand revealed that there is diversity in terms of how both managerial and non-managerial employees understood and experienced WLB initiatives in the Nigerian banking sector. In addition, the study showed that cultural sensitivity affects how WLB is appreciated and utilised. The research also contributes to the spill-over theory by adding age, gender, implementation and benefits of work–life balance. This research has contributed to the body of knowledge on work–life balance issues in the Nigerian banking industry. This study also contributes to the existing literature on connotations of work–life balance by utilising a mixed method approach to explore and explain the different notions of work–life balance and usage of work–life balance initiatives.

Zeolites and zeolite membranes are two important advanced chemical materials which are widely used in chemical processes. The manufacture of these materials usually involves the use of expensive chemicals. This study involves the use of Ahoko Nigerian kaolin (ANK) as precursor material for the development of zeolites and zeolite membranes. The synthesis of zeolite A, Y and ZSM-5 was successfully obtained following a sequence, collection of the raw clay from Nigeria, metakaolinization, dealumination and actual hydrothermal synthesis of the zeolites. Raw ANK was refined using sedimentation technique and about 97% kaolin was recovered from the raw sample. A novel metakaolinization technique was developed to convert kaolin into a reactive metastable phase. Amorphous metakaolin was obtained at a temperature of 600°C and exposure time of 10 min. This is a significant result because previous studies use higher temperatures and longer exposure times for the metakaolinization step. The metakaolin was used to prepare a number of different zeolites under various conditions. Highly crystalline zeolite A was obtained at an ageing time of 12 h, crystallization time of 6 h and crystallization temperature of 100oC. Zeolite Y was obtained at an ageing time of 3 h, crystallization time of 9 h and crystallization temperature of 100oC. Zeolite Y was also synthesised by using a dealuminated kaolin and highly crystallized zeolite Y with Si/Al ratio of 1.56 and BET surface area was obtained of 630 m2/g. ZSM-5 was synthesised using an ageing period of 36 h, crystallization time of 48 h and temperature of 140oC. The results obtained from zeolite powder synthesis from ANK were then used as guide to prepare supported zeolite films and membranes by a hydrothermal method. The effect of the support surface (stainless steel) was investigated using two synthesis methods namely modified in-situ and secondary (seeded) growth. Zeolite A, Y and ZSM-5 films were successfully prepared from ANK for the first time and on two modified supports, etched and oxidised. The zeolite films and membranes developed showed complete coverage on the two supports with the oxidised showing better adhesion and intergrowth. The separation performance of the three developed zeolite membrane was tested by pervaporation of water/ethanol mixture. The results of pervaporation of ethanol/water mixture showed that zeolite A membrane is highly selective towards water mainly because of hydrophilic properties occasioned by the high aluminium content. Zeolite Y membrane show a similar response when their separation performance was evaluated but with less selectivity because of reduced aluminium content. ZSM-5 showed selectivity towards ethanol because of it hydrophobicity allowing only ethanol to permeate. In all the zeolite membranes, the flux is lower in comparison to commercial zeolite membranes due mainly to the thickness of the zeolite layer. Oxidised support membranes showed better performance because of their better interaction between the oxide surface and the aluminosilicate gel. The results show that ANK can successfully be used to prepare zeolites and zeolite membrane.

Widows in Nigeria endure adverse and traumatic practices that affect their health, well-being, and rights as women. After decades of struggle and resistance against persistent widowhood practices, this study sought to portray in Nigerian widows, hidden strengths, resilience, and agency rather than their vulnerability and powerlessness. Analysis of secondary scholarship, interviews, and survey questionnaires reveal that some Nigerian widows are able to cope even as they navigate through the challenges and trauma of demeaning and stressful practices. The results also demonstrate that the ability to cope and thrive under stress and adversity links not only to an individual’s personal growth and well-being, but also to their ability to develop agency and empower themselves. This study has implications for female empowerment and sociocultural change. Additionally, the results suggest a need for future research and interventions that further develop the concept of resilience in Nigerian widows.

Of all human identity categories such as race, religion, culture, class and gender that a person might belong to, race and gender are arguably two of the most contentious in the world. This study takes gender as its main focus, exploring how gender, gender oppression, patriarchy and resistance are negotiated in selected dramatic literary works emanating from Africa’s two literary giants, Nigeria and South Africa. It thus aims to bring two distinct literary traditions into dialogue with one another in order to clarify our understanding of how gender is articulated and inscribed across different contexts. Selected works from Nigeria include Aetu (2006), Little Drops (2011), Abobaku (2015) all by a single playwright, Ahmed Yerima, who has been described as one of the most outspoken feminist playwrights in the country. Other plays from South African context include So What’s New? (1993) by Fatima Dike, Weemen (1996) by Mthali Thulani, Flight from the Mahabarath (1998) by Muthal Naidoo and At Her Feet by Nadia Davids (2006). Of particular interest in this study is the question of how these plays explore the specific forms of gender discrimination which arise in the context of religious, traditional and cultural practices such as domestic violence against women, child marriage, wife inheritance, polygamy and property-sharing after the death of a husband or father. These texts, all written from a feminist perspective, foreground different understandings of what a woman and a mother is in the African context. They also offer differing articulations of gender-based resistance. The study employs an eclectic blend of western and African feminist/womanist frameworks in order to decipher how these plays comment, and reflect, on the issue of gender inequality. In so doing, the aim is to bring these distinct theoretical and ideological traditions into dialogue with one another. A further aim is to assess to what extent these plays draw on, or are aligned with, various strands of western and African feminist theorizing whilst also offering an understanding of literary texts as sites of theory-making in their own right. The study further explores the echoes, conjunctions, entanglements and disparities that are revealed by bringing these texts from different contexts into dialogue with one another. In this process, the chapter also explores the extent to which these plays can be aligned with the often polarized discourses of western and African feminist theories, thus contributing to a broader understanding of gender, gendered societies and gender-based oppression in African contexts. Finally, this study seeks to arrive at a new theoretical feminist framework for reading these texts: what I have called ‘Consequentialist feminism’ is an approach which seeks to transcend the binaries between western and African feminist theorizing by focusing on the consequences of women’s choices in particular contexts of engagement and response. / Thesis (DLitt (English))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / English / DLitt (English) / Unrestricted

The following study seek to examine how professionals within different organizations in Sweden work to deal with cases where Nigerian women have been forced into human trafficking through juju-rituals. The aim of the study is to examine how professionals relate to women’s beliefs, what opportunities women have for overcoming this spiritual control, and what strategies professionals use to try to undermine the spiritual control. The following study seeks to answer these questions through qualitative data based on five semi-structured interviews with professionals working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), asylum agencies or as regional-coordinators. The result of the study indicate that the professionals constantly balance between efficiency and humanity in terms of trying to challenge Nigerian women’s perceived spiritual control. The professionals often perceive that there is a limit to how much the women’s beliefs can be called into dispute. Forcing Nigerian women to renounce their juju-faith is considered as a violation of women’s religious freedom.   Furthermore, the result of the study indicates that how professionals relate to Nigerian women’s fear of juju may differ depending on occupational category. The result indicates that law enforcement authorities are more likely to explain the link between human trafficking and the use of juju as brainwash, while other NGOs strive to develop a deeper understanding of Nigerian women’s fear of juju’s subsequent effects. In conclusion, the study's findings show that the professionals claim that Nigerian women have different capabilities for dealing with the situation they are in. That the professionals want the women themselves to be agents in their religious lives indicate a respect for women's right to practice their religion, even if their choices are not an effective solution to their problems.

Nigeria is a patriarchal society, which puts women in subordinate positions that may prompt gender-based discrimination. While evidence of this phenomenon has been investigated in Nigeria and other African countries, no such investigation has been conducted with immigrant and first-generation Nigerian women in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of a Nigerian woman's perceived empowerment and status on her willingness to access reproductive health services. The research questions examined views of Nigerian traditional beliefs' influence on status and how attitudes around traditional beliefs relate to access to reproductive health services and/or knowledge. Data were gathered through semi structured interviews with 9 Nigerian women in the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia area. The women were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using the ecological systems theory as a framework, which theorizes that a woman's status is related to her ability to access services or information; empowerment increases that access of services/information, and that traditional Nigerian beliefs have mostly positive effects on their status. However, the findings revealed that, among these 9 women, traditional beliefs did not have an overwhelming direct effect to access to services or information. Empowering women is vital for social growth, no matter what the place of origin. This study contributes to positive social change by providing a resource that demonstrates the importance of these women's contributions to society, thus helping to move society forward.

This study is an attempt to discover the intercultural communication problems and the methods of coping used by the Nigerian students in the Portland metropolitan extent to which these discovered problems and tried solutions compare with those of other international students that are commonly reported in the literature.

This thesis examines the migration saga of Nigerians who follow the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe and ended up in Sweden. With the use of Everret Lee’s Push and Pull theory as framework, this thesis provides a qualitative analysis of the reasons why Nigerian migrants choose to follow the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe, how they ended up in Sweden, and why they choose to seek asylum in Sweden but not other countries in Europe. The study also discusses the Swedish migration and asylum policy in relation to Nigerian migrants. Through the use of interviews, first-hand information was obtained from four Nigerian migrants who had plied the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe and agreed to participate in this study. The results of this study show that political instability, economic crisis, terrorism, insecurity, and stringent laws against homosexuality are all factors that could make some Nigerians migrate to Europe for a better life via the Libya-Mediterranean route.

This bachelor's thesis is a qualitative exploratory study. The goal of this research is to learn more about the social integration of Nigerian immigrants in Malmo, Sweden. The study focuses on language because many prior studies have found it to be an important factor in social integration. Although there is a considerable body of studies on how language influences immigrant integration, most studies focus on the host society's perspective. There is less research on how immigrants themselves evaluate the function of language in their social integration. The four dimensions of the social integration theoretical framework proposed by Bosswick and Heckmann (2006) were used to explore how Nigerian immigrants in Malmo, Sweden, perceive language as shaping their social integration in their host country. Their perceptions of these social integration dimensions will aid in understanding how language affects their integration into Swedish society in Malmo. The information was gathered from fifteen Nigerian immigrants in semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that participants value language in varying ways across the many theoretical dimensions of social integration.

This study examined the relationship between military professionalism and civil-military relations in Nigeria. Focusing on the period between 1960 and 2007, it explored the connection between understandings of professionalism amongst members of the armed forces and the way they relate to the rest of Nigerian society. Prolonged military rule (1966-1999) and the military’s heavy involvement in domestic security, resulted in increased militarization of Nigerian society and placed considerable strain on civil-military relations. The conduct of Nigerian military personnel in their dealings with civilians and their representatives faced criticism by members of the Nigerian civil society and the international community for being exploitative, heavy-handed and inconsistent with expected standards of military professionalism. Yet, during this period the military also increased its international profile, and came to be regarded, especially in the area of international peacekeeping, as a significant force within its region and beyond. Greater accountability and stricter adherence to professional standards were part of the democracy dividends expected by Nigerians when successful elections were held in 1999. Yet, two decades later, the relationship between the military sphere and the civilian sphere has been fractious and conflictual. This thesis considers that efforts to promote military professionalism need to engage with apparent and evidential understandings of military professionalism held amongst military personnel themselves. On this basis, the study has sought to introduce military voices into the discourse on military professionalism. The study adopted a mixed methods approach incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods in gathering perspectives held by members of the Nigerian military and the civil population about military professionalism. It found that the military’s self-image, in terms of its professionalism and values, is markedly at odds with the way it is perceived by the civilian population many of whom see it as a highly politicised, unethical and coercive institution. Further, that the military identity is deeply complicated by pluralism, religious and ethnic diversity in Nigeria with specific consequences for its professionalism.