3673 research outputs found
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Challenges facing the effective implementation of Artisan and Craft courses in Catholic sponsored community colleges in Nairobi, Kenya
No full textA Journal Article by Dr. Peter Kigwilu, a Staff Member in the Quality Assurance Department of USIU-AThe study investigated the challenges to effective implementation of Artisan and Craft courses in Catholic sponsored community colleges in Nairobi region. Adopting mixed methods research design, 172 students, 18 teachers and four directors were sampled for the study. The study triangulated questionnaires and interview guides. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data summarized in form of narratives and excerpts. The findings revealed that the inadequacy of resources, students’ negative attitude, students’ inability to pay school fees, students’ low entry behavior and participation in co-curricular activities posed a challenge in implementation of Artisan and Craft curriculum. Moreover, teachers’ inappropriate instructional skills, lack of government support and poor management hindered the effective implementation of Artisan and Craft curriculum. The study recommends that constant monitoring, provision of playgrounds for co-curricular activities, employment of more qualified teachers, enhancing strong stakeholder networks and collaborations and enhancing funding sources for community colleges. In addition, college management should foster good relationships between teachers and students; enrich guidance and counseling programs and motivational talks. Finally, further research should be conducted on perceptions of students on management of community colleges and replicate this study on a wider geographic scope to generate findings with a wider implication
An Investigation into the Factors Influencing Music Piracy in Kenya
No full textA Project Report Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)The purpose of this study was to determine the major factors that influence music piracy in Kenya. The study was guided by the following research questions: (i) what advancements in technology have led to an increase in music piracy in Kenya? (ii) What is the influence of ICT policies on music piracy in Kenya? And (iii) what ethical and other factors have influenced music piracy in Kenya?
The research methodology used was descriptive and focused on a sample from a population of people who are most likely to be involved in piracy of music and also those who listen to music most often. The target population was aged between 18 and 30 and were largely university students. The main method used when collecting data was questionnaires containing questions developed by the researcher. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in analysis of data so as to establish the relationship among the various variables. The data was analyzed in order to establish the correlation and covariance of various variables. A regression analysis was carried out so that the relationship among various variables can be established.
The study established that increased storage capacity in devices such as computers as well as portable devices has led to an increase in the levels of music piracy. Availability of multiple music formats has also made it easier to download and store pirated music. The study also established that online file sharing applications are the main source of pirated music followed by file sharing among friends through flash disks. The availability of fast, cheap and easily available internet has also fueled the rise and spread of music piracy.
The study revealed that the best way to handle music piracy is by enforcing strict legal measures to deal with offenders who use corruption to buy their way out of trouble. Reducing corruption in the police force and judiciary would also help to reduce music piracy. Failure to enforce copyright laws and lack of coordination when it comes to enforcement also reduces the effectiveness of the legal systems. Similarly, slow processes in the justice system have also hindered effective enforcement of copyright laws. Enforcement of steeper penalties would be the most effective way of reducing music piracy in the country.
The study also established that majority of those who pirate music do so because legal music is too expensive hence they cannot afford to buy all the music they would like to listen to. The main reason as to why music is download illegally is because it is free when pirated. However, majority of respondents stated that they would be willing to legally purchase music if it was made affordable. Another finding of the study was that majority of the respondents agreed that music piracy is wrong and that their ethical beliefs affect downloading intentions. Influence from friends was established as one of the primary causes of people engaging in music piracy.
The study recommends that there is need for development of new technology in all aspects of ICT in order to ensure that there are enough measures in place to help curb piracy. Implementation of technological applications that can help in dealing with the menace of music piracy in Kenya as well as active involvement by ISPs can greatly reduce the level of music piracy in Kenya. The study also recommends the need for the government to ensure that it is actively involved in the fight against piracy by providing proper legislation so as to ensure that the legal system is able to effectively deal with music piracy. Additionally there is need for additional enforcement so as to enhance monitoring of music piracy in Kenya. This enforcement should be provided in terms of funding antipiracy organizations and providing the necessary equipment and manpower needed. The study recommends the need for society to change the way they perceive music piracy. In this regard, it is important for the regulatory authorities to carry out massive campaigns to ensure that they educate the public on the importance of avoiding music piracy and the negative effects it has on the various stakeholders
Living Lab Model on Fish & Poultry Entrepreneurs
No full textA Presentation by Bonn Jonyo, a Staff member at USIU AfricaThe M&E Plan for Cultivate Africa’s Future (CultiAF)project has been designed to:
Produce a scalable Living lab model for up-scaling insect feeds and training and capacity building for fish & poultry entrepreneurs in Kenya
Equip the youth and women with skills to enable them produce insect feeds for sustainable rearing of fish and chicken
Enhance productivity and management capabilities of small holder Agri-food entrepreneurs thereby increasing consumer access to poultry and fish products nationally and regionally
Track progress of the project from implementation to completion and challenges arising thereof
Assess the impact of the programs on its beneficiaries
Test the applicability of the living lab model/design for future projec
Regional intergration ; a comparative analysis between the European Union and East African comunity
No full textFactors affecting the adoption and diffusion of internet in higher education institution in Kenya
No full textSeveral studies have shown that the importance of the Internet in higher education
has continued to rise over the past decade. However, researchers and practitioners
have shown that resistance to end-user systems by users such as students is a widespread
problem. This phenomenon has created the need to better predict, explain
and increase user acceptance of technology in higher education. To fulfill this need,
the understanding of the factors that encourage or hinder Internet use in learning,
teaching, research and university management function has become critical in modern
times. As university administrators continue investing in Information &
communication Technologies (ICTs) such as the Internet, Learning management
systems(LMS) such WebCT, and plagiarism and originality tools like Turnitin to
improve quality and to support learning, as well as help in dealing with educational
budget cuts and increased enrollment, instructors are increasingly making their
teaching materials available on the Internet. However several studies have shown
that the question of whether students are making full use of the Internet to justify
these investments and learning materials efforts by faculty has not been fully
answered. Consequently, while administrators and instructors would like to make
the Internet an effective educational tool, they need to understand what their students’
attitudes towards using it are.
Since the use of the Internet in higher education is still in its early stages especially
in developing countries like Kenya, many issues regarding its adoption, diffusion,
infusion and use have not been fully addressed. This study was therefore conducted
to provide a better understanding of how ICTs particularly the Internet are adopted,
diffused, infused and used in institutions of higher learning in Kenya from a student’s
perspective.
This paper focuses on the influence of environmental factors to the adaption and
diffusion of the Internet by a selected sample of university students. The research
framework is based on the Theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). We use
a survey conducted among university students to explore these environmental factor
issues that have been neglected by previous studies. The research establishes that
Competition Pressure, Government Support, ICT Vendors Support, and Perceived
Socio Economic factors influence the adoption and diffusion of the Internet. These
findings provide some useful insights for governments, university administrators,
educators and policy makers.
Keywords: ICTs, Internet, technology acceptance, diffus
A combinational users selection scheme to enhance efficient resources allocation in a Femtocell
No full textA paper Presentation during the EAMARC III Conference held at USIU-Africa from 15th November to 17th November 2016PROBLEM BACKGROUND
Ever growing demand for mobile services
More users need to get connected
Need for higher bandwidth and faster connectivity
Need to improve the quality of service.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Need to improve resource allocation
Need to accommodate as many users as possible
Factors that pose challenges to resource availability include:
SINR (Signal to Interference plus noise ratio)
Mobility
Power Levels
Optimal data rates
Development of a combinational algorithm to dynamically determine the best group of users to allocate resource requests in comparison to available resources in a given femtocell
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
Determination of the effectiveness of combinations as a users’ arrangement technique
Validation of combinational users’ selection scheme as an improvement on resource allocation technique over the existing methods
The role of culture and literacy in knowledge utilization and management of cancer in Kenya
No full textA paper Presentation during the EAMARC III Conference held at USIU-Africa from 15th November to 17th November 2016Cancer IS among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012 (World Cancer report 2014)
It is projected that an estimated 15.5 million people will be diagnosed, and 12 million will die of cancer in the year 2030
This is due to shifting trends in health behaviors (e.g. increases in smoking and sedentary lifestyles)
In Kenya, cancer ranks third on causes of deaths in the country
80% of reported cases of cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages, when very little can be achieved in terms of curative treatment (Kenya Cancer Statistics & National Strategies 2011-2016)
In its strategic plan, the Kenya Ministry of public health and sanitation and ministry of medical services (2011) have emphasized enhanced health promotion, education and advocacy as one of the key strategies to improve public understanding of cancer
Despite the above efforts, cancer continuous to claim many lives in the country
The research aim was to investigate the role that culture ad literacy plays in the screening, prevention, and management of cance
Strengthening monitoring and evaluation of public participation in county governments in Kenya using the Strategic and Progressive Engagement (SPE) model
No full textA paper Presentation during the EAMARC III Conference held at USIU-Africa from 15th November to 17th November 2016Definition:
Public participation is a process where individual citizens are accorded the opportunity to contribute to and influence governance decisions
Benefits:
Provides consensus support
Minimizes conflicts and surprises among the citizens Makes public servants accountable to the people Identifying development problems, Setting priorities and goals for development Evaluation of development programs
Problems with public participation in county governance
Studies have indicated negative perceptions from the public on county governments due to the following:
Initiation of development projects without proper consultations
Incomplete projects
Overpriced projects
Lack of clear mechanisms for public participation in development
Lack of evidence of public opinion in decision making
Lack of adequate information
These could be manifested in lack of timely feedback, lack of ownership of decisions, apathy, protests, perception of bias in benefits, lack of understanding on non-tangible benefit
Perceptions of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against Men and Women: Case of a Private University in Nairobi; a Pilot Study
No full textA paper presentation at the 3rd East African Multidisciplinary Research Conference (EAMARC III) held at the United States International University- Africa, 15th -17th November, 2016.According to Platt et. al., (2009), approximately one in five women are affected by domestic violence worldwide.
In Kenya, every year Nairobi Women’s Hospital handles over 3,000 women who have experienced IPV (Gender Violence Recovery Center (GVRC), (2011-2012).
12% of men suffer physical aggression from their female partner, where 4 % of the men sustain severe physical violence according Hines & Douglas (2009)
TVET teacher further education program: Practice, experiences and reflections of stakeholders in Catholic Sponsored Community Colleges in East Africa.
No full textA Paper presentation by Dr. Peter Kigwilu in a Conference in Namibi