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Background: Construction work can negatively affect artisans’ mental health in the form of stress. This research investigated the effect of cognitive behavioral intervention on occupational stress among Nigerian construction trade artisans in the building construction sector. Methods: In this randomized controlled study involving 3 waves of data collection, 140 construction trade artisans who presented with high occupational stress symptoms at the study onset were assigned randomly to either a treatment condition (n = 70) or to a waitlist control condition (n = 70). The study involved pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments and a 3-months follow-up. The artisans’ occupational stress questionnaire and artisans’ dysfunctional thoughts at work scale were the data collection instruments. Results: Results revealed a significant effect of group on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work. Also, significant effects of time on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work were recorded. Finally, group × time interaction effects on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work were significant. Conclusion: Cognitive behavioral intervention effectively reduced occupational stress symptoms and dysfunctional thoughts at work among Nigerian construction trade artisans compared with a waitlist control condition.

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Bullying is a growing problem in the workplace. This study investigated the bullying experience of building and construction industry artisans. We employed a cross-sectional analytic design to study 240 artisans in respect of workplace bullying (WPB) experience using a self-report questionnaire. Percentage, mean and standard deviation were used for data analysis and interpretation. According to the study, a significant percentage (96.1%) of the artisans perceived themselves as victims of WPB within the past 6 months and these experiences also occurred once or more times weekly. WPB is a considerable problem among building and construction industry artisans in Nigeria. Further studies that can influence the construction industry to create valuable programs to minimize bullying among artisans are required.

The major aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Distributed Cognition Learning Theories on Trainers Capacity Building in the use of Autotronic tools for Skill acquisition in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions. In the study which was experimental with pre-test and post-test control groups of 84 (having n=44 as experimental and n=40 as control) participants made up of automobile/autotronic engineering trainers in Nigeria tertiary institutions. Instruments used for data collection was: Autotronic Simulator Interest Inventory (ASII), Autotronic Demonstrator Perception Inventory (ADPI) and Auto Diagnostic Competence Test (ADCT) to determine trainers capacity building needs using Improvement Needed Index (INI). In describing the instruments used for data collection, ASII, ADPI and ADCT were designed to seek information concerning application of Distributed Cognition Learning Theories (DCLT) approaches of physical prototypes, design analysis tools and computer-aided design models. The ASII and ADPI have 24 items while ADCT has 12 items and were analysed appling mean and standard deviation. Also, the score guide sheet was based on a four-point rating scale used by ratters. The Pearson Product Moment Coefficient of the test instrument was used to determine the reliability coefficient of 0.79. The data collected was in line with the research questions and hypotheses which were analysed. In taking decisions for items on interest, perception and competence, any mean of 3.50 and above are regarded as highly important and high performance, 2.50 -3.49 mean are moderately important and moderate performance while mean of less than 1.50 are regarded as not important and very low performance. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to test the null hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance and with the use of MATLAB for the graphical representations of the mean ratings that was used to answer the research questions. DCLT and Autotronic tools showed changes in the interest, perception and competence of Trainers was found in the process. The following recommendations are made: Review of curriculum to incorporate activities that reflect DCLT for imparting autotronic engineering with modern skill; trainers to be periodically encouraged to embark on capacity building training as the government is expected to equip the departments with the latest autotronic technology facilities.