Faculty and Staff Publications

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://irepository.aua.ac.ke/handle/123456789/464

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Providing quality information services in the Nigerian private university system registry : a competitive intelligence approach
(Journal of Communication and Culture: International Perspective, 2011-12) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.
Quality information delivery is vital to the success of an organization. This becomes most significant in the era where organizations, whether manufacturing or educational are daily engaged in competition to gain and retain a significant pool of customers. One concept that has played key role on assisting organizations to gain advantage over their competitors is the Competitive Intelligence (CI) approach. This study, using the Gaps Model of Service Quality Theory and Keiser (2002) ten steps of competitive intelligence process to argue that Nigerian Private University System Registry (NPUSR), in the midst of competitors and the desire to provide quality information service could make use of the CI approach to determine its weaknesses and potentials and subsequently employ strategies in human and materials resources to significantly improve its information service delivery to all its stakeholders. It thus proposes steps such as effective marketing of Information Services, quality staff-customer relationship, optimum and efficient use of Information Technology in quality information service delivery that could be taken by NPUSR to enhance their services delivery to reposition them in the emerging competitive market of student admission.
Teaching in Extreme Conditions: A Study of Refugee Teachers in Central Africa
(2012-04) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
This paper briefly synthesizes the literature on refugee education around the world and especially in Central Africa. It then focuses on preliminary results of a recent study in a refugee camp in Central Africa. Based on the findings, the presentation introduces some practical recommendations needed to increase sustainable educational access and quality in refugee camps. Recommendations are given for the international community in general and specifically to people who believe in promoting human rights through education for the Central African region. The paper also presents additional research opportunities.
Designing Learning Modules for Online Courses: The 5-WH Approach
(2012-10) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
More and more educators today are joining online teaching with little or no instructional design training. Challenges have been reported in in many regions around the world. In addition, time constraints present another challenge because of the many responsibilities that educators assume as regular faculty members. They need practical guidelines that can help them in designing their online courses, beginning with the module–the meaningful, self-contained, basic building block of the online course. This theoretical paper provides some practical guidelines for this purpose by applying the common 5-WH approach in designing a module for any online course. This approach helps the online educator to address the questions related to who, what, why, where, when, and how, expected from any complete online course module from a Christian perspective.
Instructional Design Foundations of Online Education
(2013-04) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
It is becoming a common practice today for educational leaders to check job applicants’ experience with online teaching as they consider names for a new faculty position. Conversely, less attention is placed on what type of online teaching training these job applicants received. Rarely are job applicants asked to present a demonstration of at least one online course that they have designed or taught. This deficit is probably due to the fact that there are not yet any fundamental principles to define what online education is and the principles that should guide its implementation. This paper introduces fundamental principles for online instruction. It synthesizes some important considerations to take into account in planning and implementing online education programs in Christian institutions.
Lived Experiences of International Male Married Single Students
(2013-10) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
The Republic of the Philippines is attracting more and more international students, especially in tertiary institutions. People have realized that the Philippines has high quality education at an affordable cost. Consequently, the increase in the population of international students is evident in the Philippines. One unnoticeable group of international students that is creating a new phenomenon is the married singles, that is, married international students living in a foreign country without their families. Based on the accounts of two focus groups and eight individual interviews of male married singles, this phenomenological study explored factors that lead to married single life of international students, the impact of such a life on the students’ wellbeing and their academic performance, the effect on their families, and the ways they cope with this life during the course of their studies. The findings demonstrate that the financial challenges are the major cause of the phenomenon of married singles in the Philippines. Both positive and negative consequences were seen on the academic performance of married single students while only negative results were reported on their wellbeing.
English Teachers’ perceptions of the mother tongue-based education policy in the Philippines
(2014) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
The instruction of English in the Philippines causes quite some challenges to scholars due to its rich linguistic diversity. With more than 180 languages currently recorded in the country, linguistic power struggle is unavoidable, although it may be silent. To make the situation even more complex, the Philippine Government recently launched a new educational policy that promotes learning in mother tongues in earlier years of primary education. While this policy is based on sound research, it poses quite some challenges to linguists due to the various linguistic backgrounds found in almost every classroom around the nation. This survey research investigated 467 English teachers’ perceptions about the importance of this policy. Findings were inconclusive on teachers’ perception about the policy’s importance on general learning and the nation’s preparedness. Findings were positive, however, about teachers’ perceptions about the role this policy plays on first language learning, students’ culture, and the Philippines as a nation.
Globalization, Minerals, War, and Education: the case of Congo
(2014) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
Seen as a bittersweet gift to the world today, especially in developing countries, globalization has had both positive and negative impacts on Africans, and especially on the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The resources of Congo have played an important role in globalization around the world; more so in the world outside Congo. Through the death of millions of people, socioeconomic and psychological challenges, the Congolese people have had to pay a very high price simply because of these resources that are so highly needed to sustain globalization. While expected to help address these challenges, higher education in the Congo has struggled to face the challenges of repeated wars. This case study presents the results of interviews, archival data, and participant observation done with educational leaders and administrators, teachers, and students in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country that has been on war for almost two decades. The study explores how war affects the quality of higher education when a country is constantly under the challenges of war, and what is being done about it.
Christian ethics challenges: the case of the Great Lakes Region of Africa
(2014) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
In some academic and professional circles, ethics is a topic that is often discussed as a brainteaser. In the Great Lakes Region of Africa, war has challenged Christian members’, pastors, and church leaders’ ethics. War has claimed about 10 million lives in that region in the past couple of decades. It has been sustained directly or indirectly around the world because of the benefit it brings to the world population at large. This paper presents findings of a phenomenological case study based on accounts from lived experiences of Christian, pastors, and church leaders of the Great Lakes Region. It presents challenges that these Christians have had to face, how they have dealt with them ethically, and better paths that can be taken to deal with the impact of war on Christians in this and other similar contexts.
A Brief Ethnography on Philippine English
(2014-04) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary; Blath, Claudia; Lloren, Janice; Duan, Wenwan
The Philippines is a nation with a rich culture and heritage that reflects the indigenous diversity of the islands. Its present identity and unique features are not whimsical. They are mainly the result of a combination of events throughout its history. Its linguistic diversity and cultural uniqueness— e.g., being the only Asian Christian country—are clear evidence of several colonial influences (Hechanova, 2012; Miller, 2014). Using an ethnographic approach, this paper examines English, Taglish, and pragmatic aspects in a suburb and a metropolitan area of the Philippines. This study reveals that socioeconomic status, educational attainment and background go hand in hand with the level of exposure and usage of the English language. It also shows that the interactional and speech acts that nine participants demonstrated during the interviews, together with the artifacts found on the research sites, are reflections of their culture. The study also led to the conclusion that code-switching or Taglish is common among English-speaking Filipinos. Finally, more English proficiency was evidenced with people who had attended private schools more than those who attended public education.
Effects of Job satisfaction on the effectiveness of students' records management in South-South Nigerian Universities
(International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2014-12) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.
This study provides empirical evidence regarding the effects of job satisfaction on the effectiveness of students’ records management in South-South Nigerian universities. A survey research design was employed for the study. Based on equal representation, three each of the three types of universities were randomly selected as the sample population. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 564 from 1,123 officers managing students’ records. . Data was collected with a self-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that at 0.05 level of significance, p-value of (0.0000, 0.1219 and 0.2639) job satisfaction significantly influenced students’ records management effectiveness in federal universities but not in state and private universities. Findings of this research provides university administrators and records managers with better understanding on how job satisfaction influences the effectiveness of students’ records management in the different types of university in South-South, Nigeria.
Influence of Job Suitability on the Effectiveness of Students’ Records Management in South-South Nigerian Universities
(Online International Journal of Arts and Humanities, 2014-12) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.; Prof. Okoro, Clara C.
This study examined the influence of job suitability on the effectiveness of students’ records management in South-South Nigerian Universities. A descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. The population for the study was fifteen universities that have graduated students out of the twenty-one federal, state and private universities in South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria. Based on equal representation, three each of the three types of universities were randomly selected as the sample population consisting of 1,123 officers managing students’ records and 470 university administrators. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 564 records students’, records management officers and 237 administrators giving a sum of 801. Data were collected with a self-structured questionnaire validated with overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of 0.81. A total of 531 copies of the questionnaire were validly completed and returned making it 66.3% return rate. Descriptive statistics, simple correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The results revealed that at the 0.05 level of significance, job suitability significantly influenced students’ records management effectiveness in the Universities as evidenced by the p-values of (0.0005, 0.0032 and 0.0143). The study concluded that job suitability is important towards achieving the effective management of students’ records in the universities. Consequently, the study recommended that University Administrators should consider recruiting personnel based on merit. Possession of requisite skills and behavioural competencies should be the focus of appointments to avoid employment of unqualified staff based on family ties, ethnicism and tribalism. Records management should be professionalized to enhance job suitability of records managers. Administrators should support adequate training/re-training of existing records officers and the National University Commission (NUC) should come up with a policy that will enable the establishment of a functional records management programme as a benchmark for program accreditation in the universities.
Political factors' influence on student's records management effectiveness in the Nigerian University system
(European Journal of Research and Reflection in Management Sciences, 2015) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.
European Journal of Research and Reflection in Management Sciences Vol. 3 No. 2, 2015 ISSN 2056-5992 Progressive Academic Publishing, UK Page 29 www.idpublications.org POLITICAL FACTORS’ INFLUENCE ON STUDENTS’ RECORDS MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS IN THE NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM ANGELA E. NWAOMAH, PhD University Registrar Adventist University of Africa Private Bag Mbagathi 00503, Nairobi KENYA ABSTRACT Students’ records are critical in achieving university’s goals and objectives. This study therefore examined the political factors that influence students’ records management effectiveness in Nigerian universities. A survey design was employed for the study. The population consisted of 1,123 students’ records officers and 470 university administrators from randomly selected three federal, three state and three private universities in south-south geo-political zone of Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study consisting of 564 records officers and 237 administrators giving a sum of 801. A total of 531 copies of the questionnaire were validly completed and returned making it 66.3% successful. Data was collected with a self-structured questionnaire validated with overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient =0.81. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were employed to analyze data processed from responses of the survey. The results revealed that at the 0.05 level of significance, the p-values of (0.0116, 0.3237 and 0.4038) indicated political factors had significant influence on students’ records management effectiveness in the federal universities, but not in the state and private universities. Findings of this research will provide the university administrators and records officers with better understanding of political factors influencing effective management of students’ records in the Nigerian universities.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage on students records management effectiveness in the Nigerian Universities
(International Journal of Social Relevance & Concern (IJSRC), 2015-06) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.
Effective management of students‟ records underpins decision making, protects rights of students and helps universities conduct business and services in a consistent and equitable manner. Thus, this study investigated the influence of information and communication technology (ICT) on students‟ records management effectiveness in Nigerian universities. A survey design was employed for the study. The population consisted of 1,123 students‟ records officers and 470 university administrators from randomly selected federal, state and private universities in south-south geo-political zone of Nigeria. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the sample for the study consisting of 564 records officers and 237 administrators giving a sum of 801. A total of 531 copies of the questionnaire were validly completed and returned making it 66.3% successful. Data was collected with a self- structured questionnaire validated with overall Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient =0.81. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were employed to analyze data processed from responses of the survey. The results revealed that at the 0.05 level of significance, the p-values of (0.9324, 0.8478 and 0.0004) indicated information and communication technology (ICT) had negative and insignificant influence on students‟ records management effectiveness in the federal and state universities, but had significant and positive influence on in the private universities. Since this study has established that the Nigerian Universities operate both paper and electronic records management system, the researcher recommended that government should come up with a model for the effective combination of electronic and manual records management procedure for students‟ records that will suit the Nigerian environment.
Integrating Faith and Learning in Distance Education in the Ghanaian Context
(2015-10) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary; Appiah, John
Seventh-day Adventist education is unique because it is holistic and redemptive in nature. All components of the curriculum are geared toward students’ redemption by connecting them to Jesus Christ. Scriptures are expected to be an integral part of the academic programs to develop students’ spirituality. Programs such as church services, group meetings, and weeks of prayer are organized to connect resident students to Jesus Christ. Distance learning students, however, do not benefit from these programs. This paper synthesizes the philosophy of Adventist education, defines distance education, and recommends ways to integrate faith and learning among distance education students to provide an opportunity for them to accept Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. The paper can help other faith-based institutions to effectively integrate faith and learning in their curricula for distance learning.
Factors Leading to Limited Faculty Publications in Philippine Higher Education Institutions
(2015-10) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
One of the major expectations of the higher education faculty is to generate knowledge through research and disseminate it through scholarly conferences and journal publications. This expectation has created much pressure on faculty members in higher education, even more so in recent years, as more and more emphasis is placed on presenting and publishing research. Using content analysis as a design, this exploratory study is based on data from higher education faculty members of 3 different universities about the reasons they gave for having no or limited number of publications. Findings reveal that the 7 most challenging factors preventing faculty members from publishing enough or not publishing at all include having limited time, lack of training on publication, fear of rejection, lack of interest, faculty laziness, limited funds, and lack of institutional support. This study helps raise scholars’ awareness on the common issues expressed by the faculty, with the hope of starting some constructive discourse in colleges and universities on how to better support the work of publication. Some recommendations are made to help colleges and universities tackle more effectively the 7 issues found in this study.
Adventists in politico-military strife and violence
(Ministry International Journal for Pastors, 9-12, 2016-02) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
Integration of Faith and Learning in the ESOL Classroom
(2016-04) Blath, Claudia E.; Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
In this world, education is led by different philosophies. Any education institution is based on a chosen philosophy. Christian institutions, for instance, are led by the Christian philosophy of life. In Christian higher education, the integration of faith and learning is of paramount importance, as professors and students approach teaching and learning within a Christian worldview. The classroom where English is learned as a second language (L2) is no exception when it comes to teaching methods to develop adult Christian minds. This paper discusses the implications of the integration of faith and learning in a classroom context where adults are learning English as an L2. It briefly reviews the biblical worldview that genuine Christian teachers should hold and transmit to their students through modeling. It analyzes the connection between the process of first and second L2 acquisition and universal grammar within the framework of God as Creator. It then analyzes key aspects that contribute to an effective integration of faith and learning in the English classes. Finally, it presents some practical suggestions on how to attain this holistic approach of teaching when teaching reading, writing, listening, speaking, and grammar.
Second Language Acquisition: A General Overview
(2016-04) Silvana de, Biaggi; Samojluk, Cinthya; Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
Second language acquisition (SLA) is known as both the process of learning an additional language and the field where issues pertaining to the teaching and learning of a second language (L2) are discussed (Ellis, 2010; Nunan, 2001). The field of SLA has experienced exponential growth over the past 3 decades. As Ellis (2010) states it rightly, SLA is “now an established discipline” (p. 182). This is evident in the growth of SLA research, SLA textbooks, and increase in number of theories, principles, and strategies that are found in the field of SLA. While this tremendous advance has been heavily demonstrated particularly in the United States, growth seems sparing in other countries. In fact, few are higher education institutions that offer Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) programs where SLA courses should normally be offered. Without proper knowledge and understanding of how L2s are taught and learned, it is quite likely that teaching English to nonnative speakers in these non-English speaking countries is negatively affected. This paper synthesizes important topics pertaining to SLA to help TESOL experts with some fundamental understanding.
An assessment of the effectiveness of records management practices in Adventist Health Institution in Ghana
(GE-International Journal of Management Research, 2016-08) Dr. Nwaomah, Angela E.
This paper is a report of a study that evaluated the practice of effective records management in the Seventh-Day Adventist Hospital in Kwadaso-Kumasi, Ghana. The study revealed that only 46.7 percentage of the records managers have professional qualifications/specialized training in records management. The findings also revealed that there is a positive level (51.1%) of effective records management practices in the hospital. However, those with the job title records manager faced some specific constrains that hinders the maximum achievement of records management effectiveness. The conclusion drawn is that, certain factors are responsible for the challenges. The paper then offers some recommendations that will help the hospital management and Ghana government deal with those challenges.
Introduction to the Asian Qualitative Research Association Special Issue
(2017) Dr. Wa-Mbaleka, Safary
Founded in 2015, the Asian Qualitative Research Association (AQRA) has become a leader in fostering qualitative research practice and education in the Philippines and beyond. Stating in 2016, AQRA has sponsored an annual conference featuring original qualitative research and scholarship. Past conference presenters were invited to submit their papers to The Qualitative Report (TQR) for peer review. As a result of this rigorous process, TQR is delighted to present this special issue in conjunction with AQRA.

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