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Farm Household Typology Based on Soil Quality and Influenced by Socio-Economic Characteristics and Fertility Management Practices in Eastern Kenya
No full textFarm Household Typology Based on Soil QualityThe smallholder farming systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are highly diverse and heterogeneous in terms of biophysical and socio-economic characteristics. This study was conducted in upper Eastern Kenya (UEK) to categorize farm households and determine the influence of socio-economic characteristics (SeC) and soil fertility management practices (SFMP) on soil fertility across farms. Conditioned Latin hypercube sampling (cLHS) was performed to determine 69 soil sampling sites within Meru and Tharaka Nithi counties. From each household (whose field soil sample was obtained), data relating to resource endowment and soil fertility management were collected through a household questionnaire survey. Standard laboratory procedures were used to analyse soil samples. Data reduction was performed using categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) (for SeC and SFMP) and standard principal component analysis (PCA) (for soil properties). Two-step cluster analysis identified three distinct farm categories or farm types (FT), namely, low fertility farms (FT1), moderately fertile farms (FT2), and fertile farms (FT3). The correlation of clusters against soil properties was significant across pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), cation exchange capacity (CEC), available P, plant available K, and exchangeable bases. FT1 had low SOC, pH, CEC and available P (soil characteristics), low usage of fertilizer and manure (soil fertility management), and smaller household size, lower income, and smaller farm size (socio-economic). FT2 had lower SOC (compared to FT3) and available P. In terms of soil fertility management, FT2 had higher cases of fallowing and composting with moderate fertilizer usage. Households in this category had moderate income, family size, and land size (socio-economic). FT3 had relatively high SOC, pH, CEC, and mineral nutrients. This farm type was characterized by high fertilizer use (soil fertility management) as well as larger household size, higher income, and larger farm size (socio-economic). The results indicate the importance of nutrient management in enhancing soil quality. Delineation and characterization of farms based on the various parameters including resource endowment reveal imbalanced farm resource flows, suggesting a need for locally tailored interventions suited for location-specific conditions to facilitate improved targeting of soil fertility-enhancing technologies and sustainable crop production regimes. While fertilizer is one of the most critical inputs for enhancing agricultural production, it is a major contributor to nitrous oxide emissions from agriculture and can have negative environmental effects on soil biota and water sources. Farmers’ knowledge on the use of fertilizer is thus necessary in developing strategies (such as integrated approach) to promote its efficient use and minimize its detrimental impacts
Characterization of Juvenile Offenders in Rehabilitation Schools in Kenya
No full textCharacterization Juvenile offendersA sample of 457 juvenile offenders aged 11 to 17 years comprising of 50.1% boys and 49.9% girls participated in the study. The adjudicated low-risk juvenile offences included truancy (12.9%), begging, loitering and child prostitution (16.1%), larceny (16.5%), drug and alcohol-related offences (18.0%). The high risk juvenile offences included murder and manslaughter (4.5%), rape (6.9%), robbery (16.8%), assault (20.8%), burglary (19.3%), gang violence (11.4%) and drug and alcohol-related crime (20.3%). There were statistically significant differences among juvenile offenders in rehabilitation schools by age (F = 22.44; df =1; p = 0.04), education (F = 3247.517; df =1; p = 0.000) and exposure to low-risk offences (F = 112.36; df =1; p = 0.000). However, males and females did not differ in their criminogenic disposition (F = 0.0007; df =1; p = 0.98). It was recommended that Juvenile delinquency should be mitigated through effective school-based prevention programmes in Kenya
Influence of Flexible Work Practices on Employee Performance in Institutions of Higher Learning in Kenya: A Case of Selected Universities in Nyeri County
No full textInfluence of Flexible Work Practices on Employee PerformanceWork flexibility offers employees a balance between their professional and personal lives, leading to job satisfaction and high performance and an overall improvement of the organization as a whole. Work flexibility is very important, and with digital advancements and improved technology, employees are able to continue their work anywhere they wish, provided they have an internet connection. The general objective was to examine the influence of flexible work practices on employee performance in institutions of higher learning in Nyeri County, Kenya. The study was anchored on Self-determination theory, Three Stage Model for Talent Management and Spill Over Theory. This study employed a descriptive research design. The target population for the study was 1300 staff of Karatina University and Dedan Kimathi University. The study applied stratified random sampling to sample 260 staff. The study used questionnaires to collect data. A pilot was conducted with 10% of the sample size hence 26 staff. Content validity was tested using factor loadings. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient method was used to check reliability. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean,) and inferential statistics (correlation and regression) with the help of SPSS version 28. Data was tabulated and presented in tables. Ethics were observed before, during, and after data collection. Findings show that; there is a strong significant relationship between flexi time and employee performance (r=0.467, p=0.005), a moderate significant relationship between leave and employee performance (r=0.348, p=0.000), a weak significant relationship between tele working and employee performance (r=0.240, p=0.000), and a strong significant relationship between job sharing and employee performance (r=0.511, p=0.022). The study recommends that; the institutions should embrace flexibility in relation to the work schedules of the staff, the institutions should come up with policies that will guide on how to compensate staff who are recalled to work while on leave, the institutions should organize training for the staff especially on use of technology, the management should also establish a culture that promotes sharing and have proper plans for conducting orientations and inductions to ensure effective onboarding of new personnel
ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTION CONSTRAINTS AND CONTRIBUTION OF AVOCADO TO FOOD SECURITY AND INCOME IN THE MOUNT KENYA REGION, KENYA
No full textAbstractABSTRACT
Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) belongs to the family Lauraceae and it is an important crop to
rural communities and economies in Kenya. Currently, avocado is grown in several agro
ecological zones mainly by small-scale growers (85%) who grow it for subsistence, local
markets and export. About 70% of avocado is grown in Central and Eastern region of Kenya.
Central region produces 40%, Eastern 28%, Western 13%, Rift Valley 10%, Nyanza 6%, Coast
2% and Nairobi County 1%. The main production areas are Muranga, Kiambu, Thika, Embu,
Meru, Taita Hills and Kitale. The aim of this study was to assess the production constraints and
contribution of avocado to food security and income in Mount Kenya region. The study
population comprised of smallholder avocado farmers. Purposive sampling was done in selecting
highest producing sub-counties of avocado in Nyeri, Muranga and Embu counties. Simple
random sampling was used to select 40 smallholder farmers from each of the selected sub
counties who participated in the survey. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and
analysed using SPSS computer package. Results indicated several constraints in the production
of avocado including pests and diseases, lack of quality planting material, poor soils, lack of
technical knowledge by avocado farmers and lack of well-structured marketing system. The
study identified a gap in value addition of avocado in Kenya. It was also demonstrated that
avocado contributes highly to household income and food security. The crop should therefore be
accorded priority by policy makers and more research needs to be encouraged especially in the
management of pests and diseases. Capacity building to avocado growers should be routinely
carried out so as to avoid the many challenges that emanate from lack of technical knowledge.
Intervention in value addition of avocado is an aspect that Kenyan county governments need to
engage in by investing in cottage industries on avocado processing.Karatina Universit
Leveraging Mobile Phones in Crop Pests and Disease Surveillance-Perspectives of Farmers in Kenya.
No full textLeveraging Mobile Phones in Crop Pests and Disease SurveillanceAgriculture plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and employment in Kenya. However, farmers in the country
have been struggling with low crop yields due to pests and diseases. To address this issue, mobile-based digital surveillance
technologies have been recommended as potential solution. However, these technologies have not been widely adopted by
farmers, prompting this study to investigate the reasons behind this and propose strategies to improve their uptake. This
paper reports on the farmers perspectives in Homa Bay County, Kenya on the adoption of mobile phone based digital tools in
crop pest and disease surveillance. The study employed quantitative approach, involving surveys with 326 selected farmers.
The study identified several factors contributing to the low adoption, including lack of training and capacity building, limited
technical support to the farmers, limited access to necessary infrastructure, and neglect of co-creation of these solutions
with the farmers. Given these findings, it follows that these solutions are intentionally designed to be farmer-centric, and
handholding provided to the farmers on use of these technologies including providing farmer training and capacity building
MEDIATING ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL LEADERSHIP ON SENIOR TEAM ATTRIBUTES AND ORGANIZATIONAL AMBIDEXTERITY OF COFFEE MARKETING COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES IN KENYA.
Get PDFA THESIS SUBMITTED TO SCHOOL OF BUSINESS IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ONFEREMENT OF DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP OF KARATINA UNIVERSITYEntrepreneurial leadership is crucial for cooperative organizations as it involves
taking risks, driving growth as it encourages creativity and innovation.
Ambidexterity refers to the ability of an organization to both exploit and explore
implying to deliver efficiency, control, and incremental improvements, while
embracing flexibility, autonomy, and experimentation. Organizational ambidexterity
has the ability of firms to pursue and synchronize exploratory and exploitative
innovation simultaneously it not only helps firms overcome structural inertia that
results from a focus on exploitation, but also refrain firms from accelerating
exploration without deriving benefits from these activities.Coffee has been an
important cash crop in Kenya’s agricultural sector. It is one of the greatest foreign
exchange earners of the country and a main source of employment in rural areas,
providing food security and income for the rural areas. This success has been
achieved through coffee cooperative societies management that process and market
coffee for the farmers. In recent years, there has been a decline in coffee production
in Kenya. The decline of coffee export earnings has been attributed to inefficient and
ineffectiveness of coffee marketing cooperative societies management operations
and therefore the need to refocus their approach. The general objective of this study
was to examine how entrepreneurial leadership mediates the relationship between
senior team attributes and organizational ambidexterity among coffee marketing
cooperative societies in Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were; to
determine how shared vision influence organizational ambidexterity, to establish
whether social integration affect organizational ambidexterity and to find out how
contingency rewards influence organizational ambidexterity of coffee marketing
cooperative societies in Kenya. The study also established the mediating role of
entrepreneurial leadership between senior team attributes and organizational
ambidexterity for coffee cooperative societies in Kenya. This study was anchored on
two major theories which were Collective Entrepreneurship Theory and Path Goal Theory
of Leadership and supported by other theories mentioned in the study. The study used
cross-sectional survey design. The target population was coffee marketing
cooperative societies registered in Kenya as at 31st December 2019. The study target
population was 436 managers from coffee marketing cooperative societies while the
sample size of this study was 242 managers. Primary data was obtained by the use of
as elf-administered semi-structured questionnaire. A pilot study was done to check
the reliability and validity of the research instrument. Data analysis was done using
descriptive and inferential statistics. The formulated hypotheses were tested using
Baron and Kenny’s approach to validate the relationships between the study
variables. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 was used to
assist in analysis and findings were presented using cross-tabulations, charts and
path models. The study found that entrepreneurial leadership partially mediates the
relationship between senior team attributes and organization ambidexterity (R2
change from 11.1% to 16.6%). This study concludes that entrepreneurial leadership
is a critical approach for coffee marketing cooperative societies in Kenya. The
findings of the study will help managers to maximize their efficiency and achieve
their strategic goals during their operations especially when they want to
internationalize. The findings of this study will be of interest to coffee marketing
cooperative society’s board of directors, government officials, academia, financial
institutions and agropreneurs
Importance of Ethics in Safeguarding and Ensuring High Quality Research
Get PDFAbstract on Importance of Ethics in researchThe purpose of this article is to demonstrate the important of ethics in safeguarding and ensuring
high quality research. Ethics are norms or standards of behavior that guide moral choices about
individual behavior and their relationship with others. Ethics has also been defined as norms of
conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Research Ethics is
defined as a code of guidelines on how to conduct scientific research in a morally acceptable
way. The importance of Ethics in Research cannot be under estimated. Researchers world over
face ethical dilemmas due to lack of adherence to ethical guidelines. Ethical lapses in research
can significantly harm human and animal subjects, students, participants, researchers, institutions
and the public. For example, a researcher who fabricates data in a clinical trial may harm or even
kill patients. Responsible conduct of research is therefore important for safety of all involved in
carrying out research. Further, prohibitions against fabricating, falsifying, or misrepresenting
research data can promote the truth and minimize error. There is need for Research integrity in
areas of falsification, fabrication and plagiarism. The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that
no one is harmed or suffers adverse consequences from research activities. Researchers have
carried out studies on importance of ethics in research. This is a desk top research study to
sensitize researchers on the important of upholding high ethical standards when carrying out
research. The study recommends that in order to ensure accuracy of scientific knowledge, ethics
should be followed rigorously. The study recommends the need to sensitize researchers on the
benefits of ethical research and that every researcher should be aware of the ethical
considerations that need to be taken into account while undertaking research
The Influence of Technology Enabled Service Differentiation Strategy on Post-Pandemic Reopening Performance of Star-Rated Hotels in The South Rift Circuit.
No full textThe Influence of Technology Enabled Service on Star-Rated
HotelsOne of the most competitive industries in Kenya and the entire continent of Africa is the hotel
industry, which contributes significantly to the country's economy. As a result, the sector is a
significant source of foreign exchange, employment, and revenue for the nation. However, the
emergence of the Covid-19 global pandemic has had a significant impact on the hotel industry in
the country as elsewhere globally with travel restrictions, social distance requirements, and low
visitor turnout affecting their operations. The researcher sought to examine the influence of
technology enabled service differentiation strategy on reopening performance of the hotel
industry in Kenya in the post-pandemic context. Marketing Mix Theory guided the study. The
study adopted expressive cross sectional survey research design and targeted 47 star rated hotels,
lodges, camps and as well as guest houses in the South Rift Circuit, that is, Nakuru and Narok
counties using a census. Data was collected through questionnaires from the marketing managers
of the hotels. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic and content analysis using Nvivo
while quantitative data was coded and analyzed through SPSS computer software version 24.0
using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The outcome revealed that technology enabled
strategy affecting post-pandemic reopening performance of star-rated hotels in the South Rift
Circuit, Kenya is significant. Therefore, the study recommends that the hotels should make
provision for continuous training of staff on modern technologies. The hotels’ management need
to provide tailored services to individuals and group clients as need arises. The hotels need to
diversify their markets to ensure that they are able to tap into more potential markets locally and
internationally. Finally, the hotels need to emphasize on market growth strategies