Georg Forster/AvH Fellowship: A strategic management tool in science & cooperation for real-world problem-solving

Prof. Dr. Bassey E. Antia

Languages & Linguistics, Maiduguri, NigeriaEpidemiology & International Public Health, Bielefeld, Germany

My research

Georg Forster/AvH fellowship in strategic management perspective

A personal, ongoing report card

Conclusion: Other instruments? Georg Forster/AvH

Language & communication in health: Sample questions What can a linguistic analysis of proprietary drug names tell us about the

occurrence of preventable adverse drug events (in prescription, dispensing, using) & weaknesses in drug licensing procedures? E.g. ease of substituting Novadex for Novaldex; Virest for. Virex, etc.

What can an analysis of the structure and contents of educational interventions on diarrhoea probably tell us about diarrhoea-related mortality in children under the age of five? 4 million deaths/yr; 100,000/day; 1 fatality/second; Nigeria=300,000/yr.

How does language used in HIV/AIDS discourses exarcebate the psychological burden of living with the virus, and undermine care and control initiatives in areas like: testing, disclosure, accessing of health services, quality and length of life?

How might inattention to language as part of the skillset of health professionals lead to distributional imbalances (staff underutilization in location A, overutilization B), a theoretical worsening of the physician-population ratio, and unsatisfactory care?

What is the relationship between the narrative rationality of Vet. doctors (i.e. their attentiveness to the stories of the client during consultation) and the public health ramifications of an individual animal‘s sickness (herd health, disease reservoir management)?

Georg-Forster in a Model of Strategic Planning

Vision Strategicanalysis

Strategicplan

Operativeinstruments

Strategy control

Feedback loop

Cf. Ziegele (2007)

World map according to population

World map according to HIV/AIDS-related deaths

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Deutschland ist ein attraktiver Forschungsstandort. Ihm weltweit ein Gesicht zu geben ist eine dringende Aufgabe. Welche Instrumente sind geeignet?

MDGS

Germany's

Interests abroad

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AvH – German Govt & People – German Host Institutions

Home scientific community – Home Govt & People – Home Institutions

Human Resource Development

Germany's contribution to

stock of world knowledge

The advance of science

A personal, ongoing report card on bridging divides

Personal activity Area Beneficiary

1. My research: mainstreaming Language in (Int'l) Pub Health @ Bielefeld, & Pub Health in Language @ Maiduguri

Advance of Science *AvH*International scientific community*German host institution*Later … home institution

2. My AvH stay manuscript Basis for rethinking policy and training in health care

*Home government & society

3. Language topics in Europ. Masters in.PH & in Summer Schools of DAAD-sponsored in tri-nation public health partnership (Germany, India & Turkey)

Human resource development *International scientific community*(Attractiveness) of German host institution*Later… home institution

4. Acquisition of scientific literature, project proposals

*Resource sharing*Human resource development

*Colleagues & graduate research students at home institution

5. My participation in maiden International Deans' Course (DAAD, HRK, AvH, FH Osnabrück, CHE Gütersloh, Addis Ababa & Moi Univs)

*International partnership for enhanced higher education governance*Resource sharing*Networking

Home institution

Conclusion: Fellowship - an instrument serving strategic goals of all stakeholders

High marks for other instruments: Humboldt Colleges, institutional partnerships, re-invitations

George Forster Plus! A multi-focus course on change management & policy advocacy for

fellows while in Germany

GF-supported centres (institutional, national, regional level) for research into high social impact factor themes that reflect the quartet of: population empowerment, interdisciplinarity, human resource development and management/policy-inflection.

For now, though, one big „Thank you“ from my end of the stakeholder spectrum.