Dialogic Society Journal

Teamwork and leadership are required whenever people work together to achieve complex engineering projects or operations. Consequently, teamwork and leadership will continue to be current themes for research in the foreseeable future of human civilisation. Here, we propose bio-inspired management approach to study how teamwork and leadership behaviours of animals might be relevant to engineering team configuration and functioning based on the attributes of Japanese bees and Queen ants. An online Questionnaire was designed to get responses of 155 engineers on the teamwork and leadership attributes of the subject animals in the light of theories and models for teamwork and leadership. The study focused on themes such as decentralisation, self-organisation, specialisation, followership and the impact of a leader's contributions, actions or inactions on the effectiveness of engineering teams. Interestingly, 81.9% of re-spondents indicated that adopting a flat organisation could improve productivity of engineering teams. 77.4% of the respondents indicated that one person contributing several vital team tasks can create high risk because it can reduce the resilience, adaptation and business continuity of engineering organisations. The findings from this study offer valuable insights on the strategies for advancing bio-inspired engineering management science as well as enriching teamwork and leadership beyond the field of engineering.

The escalation of global tariffs driven by the US–China trade war has fundamentally reconfigured global trade dynamics, exerting considerable pressure on developing economies, particularly Nigeria. This study interrogates two key issues: the extent to which rising global tariffs have undermined Nigeria’s export competitiveness in manufactured goods within the AfCFTA market, and whether persistent international trade disruptions have stimulated increased local sourcing among Nigerian manufacturing firms. Grounded in Dependency Theory, the study conceptualizes Nigeria’s suscepti-bility to external economic shocks within an asymmetric global economic order where policy shifts in dominant econ-omies disproportionately affect peripheral states. The research adopts a documentary (secondary) methodology, drawing on datasets, AfCFTA Secretariat reports, international trade statistics, and peer-reviewed scholarly literature. Using content analysis and trend synthesis, the study assesses the impact of tariff escalations and supply-chain dis-ruptions between 2018 and 2026 on Nigeria’s trade performance and industrial sourcing behaviour. Findings indicate that heightened tariffs on steel, machinery, chemical inputs, and intermediate goods significantly eroded Nigeria’s manufacturing export competitiveness in AfCFTA markets by increasing production costs, restricting access to critical inputs, and weakening industrial output. Additionally, global trade disruptions accelerated a strategic shift toward local sourcing among major firms such as Dangote Group, Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA, PZ Cussons, and NASCO as a re-sponse to external volatility. However, this transition is constrained by infrastructural deficits, high energy costs, weak industrial linkages, and quality limitations of domestic raw materials. The study concludes that Nigeria’s exposure to tariff shocks reflects structural dependency and underscores the urgency of strengthening domestic industrial capacity through value-chain development, technological upgrading, and AfCFTA-aligned export support policies.

Psychological adjustment remains a critical yet under-integrated determinant of recovery among patients undergoing neurosurgical procedures, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Neurosurgical interventions expose patients to complex psychological stressors, including fear of mortality, uncertainty regarding cognitive functioning, and disruption of identity and social roles. This study develops a culturally grounded counselling framework aimed at enhancing psychological adjustment across preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative phases of care. Anchored in the stress and coping model (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984), cognitive-behavioural theory (Beck, 1976), and the biopsychosocial model (Engel, 1977), the study adopts a mixed-method design involving 120 healthcare professionals. Findings reveal that preoperative anxiety significantly predicts postoperative outcomes (Mitchell, 2016), while psychoeducation, coping skills training, and family involvement enhance resilience and recovery. The study advances a contextually relevant counselling framework for African healthcare systems and underscores the necessity of integrating psychological care into neurosurgical practice.

This reflective practice article proposes circular research and teaching model (CReTeaM) to enhance the enrichment of teaching and learning using research outputs, which in turn generates insights that can be used in new research or for designing new teaching and learning activities in a cyclic, impactful and continuously improving fashion. Case studies on an air engine project, Questelligence theory and domain-based systems thinking were used to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of CReTeaM as a pedagogical approach to enhance research, teaching and learning experiences. Substantially, CReTeaM proved very useful in formulating research and teaching activities as well as generating evidence for advancing knowledge through systematic circularity of research outputs and outcomes of teaching activities. The proposed pedagogical approach could improve the research and teaching effectiveness and efficiency of teachers as well as support their career and professional development whilst improving educational experiences of the students. Although this paper focused on engineering pedagogy, CReTeaM can be considered for research-informed teaching in other professional disciplines.

This study examines awareness, perceptions, and willingness to adopt bio-digester toilet technology in Port Harcourt waterfront communities, showing that extremely low awareness and strong fear-based perceptions are major barriers to adoption.