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The Quest for Quality in University Education in the Post COVID-19 Era: Do Anti-plagiarism Tools Still Matter?
No full textAntiplagiarismPlagiarism is a major global challenge to quality assurance in higher education. Various efforts have been made to overcome the menace including the use of anti-plagiarism tools. At the same time, many questions have been raised about the efficacy of the current generation of tools in detecting, preventing plagiarism, and guaranteeing the quality of education. This paper examines the limitations of plagiarism detection tools in enhancing quality in academic outcomes and proposes measures for improvement. The paper argues that while anti plagiarism software has a role in preventing plagiarism in academic writing and academic integrity, they are not the panacea to the plagiarism pandemic, especially in the COVID-19 era. It proposes that there is a need to reform methods of assessment and implement forward looking policies to address the underlying causes of plagiarism, provide students with appropriate information literacy skills training, and above all cultivate a culture of academic integrity in higher education institutions (HEIs)
An Assessment of the Influence of Disability Legislation Awareness on Employability of Persons with Disabilities in Post-Secondary Institutions in Kirinyaga County, Kenya.
No full textMAU MAU IDEOLOGUEGakaara wa Wanjau was referred to as the “Chief Mau Mau Propagandist” by the colonial government because of his revolutionary literary works. This made him to be one of the longest serving Mau Mau detainees from 1952-1959. Despite his activist works that culminated in his long detention, Gakaara wa Wanjau was neither rewarded nor recognised among the most honoured independence heroes by the post-colonial regimes. He was arrested and accused of involvement with Mwakenya (The Union of Patriots for the Liberation of Kenya) activities during president Moi’s era. The purpose of this study was to examine Gakaara wa Wanjau’s literary contribution to the politics of freedom struggle in both colonial and post-colonial Kenya. The objectives of the study were to: (i) trace Gakaara wa Wanjau’s socio-political experiences during the colonial period that influenced his political consciousness; (ii) examine the influence of his political writings to the Mau Mau nationalist movement and, (iii) finally explore Gakaara’s socio-political activities after detention that influenced his relationship with the post-colonial governments. The study was informed by the Relative Deprivation Theory (RDT) which argues that people take action for social change in order to gain their rights. The study adopted historical research design which employs document analysis and validated with oral interviews from respondents. The sample population comprised thirty informants who are reasonably enough in a biographical research. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select respondents drawn from Gakaara wa Wanjau’s acquaintances in the struggle for independence. The study used open-ended questionnaires research instrument to generate qualitative data. The study contributes towards enriching the Kenya’s Mau Mau historiography by demonstrating that there were other forms of effective struggle for independence, like literary activism whereby the barrel of the pen was used, apart from fighting in the forest
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES IN THE SCHOOL OF PURE AND APPLIED SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE OF KARATINA UNIVERSITY
Get PDFOPTIMIZING CONDITIONS FOR PREPARING AVOCADO SEEDSWith Kenya's industrialization comes an increase in the pollution of water bodies by heavy metals. Wastewater treatment techniques currently used are pricy. Membrane filtration, chemical precipitation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, and flotation are a few of them. There are emerging new and less expensive technologies that use activated carbon and locally accessible biomass. In order to remove lead ions from wastewater, this study set out to prepare activated carbon and to determine the optimal temperature, PH, adsorbent mass, and phosphoric acid concentrations for carbonization and activation using avocado (Persea americana) seed wastes. Activated carbon was prepared by made by soaking fifty grams of (Persea americana) seeds powder in 50 % phosphoric acid for 24 hours, which was then oven dried for 48 hours at 105°C. Dried sample was heated using a heating mantle at 300°C. After cooling, the sample was washed with 0.1 HCl to remove ash content, and then washed with 0.1M NaOH to neutralize pH. Optimizing parameters such as temperature, PH, adsorbent mass and phosphoric acid concentration were studied. Adsorption of lead ions increased with increase in concentration up to an optimum 50% concentration. Adsorption of lead ions increased with increase in PH up to an optimum PH of 4. Adsorption of lead ions increased with increase in adsorbent mass up to an optimum adsorbent mass of 1.2g. Adsorption of lead ions increased with increase in temperature up to an optimum temperature of 600℃. Thus, optimizing activation conditions would produce a better activated carbon from avocado seeds that would be used to remove heavy metal ions from water. It also eliminates the problem of agricultural wastes accumulating in our environmen
AT THE PERIPHERY IN MAU MAU DISCOURSE: A CASE OF THE MBEERE OF EMBU COUNTY, KENYA, 1952-2014
Get PDFAt the Periphery in MAU
MAU discourseThe ambiguity of Mau Mau discourse led to multiple narratives about the movement. The elusiveness was evidenced by voices of the past mixing with current views, discovery, access to migrated archives and reparation cases. The reparation case ignited debates on participation in the Mau Mau struggle. In the Mau Mau discourses, the movement was considered Kikuyu, Embu and Ameru affair, disregarding communities’ contribution on the fringes of Mt. Kenya like the Mbeere. To show the contribution of peripheral communities, there was a need to deconstruct the pedagogy of misinformation and represent an accurate picture for collective memory. This study sought to examine the missing narrative of the Mbeere in Mau Mau discourse. The following specific objectives guided the study: to establish the role of the Mbeere chiefs in colonial penetration and administration; to assess the evidence of the contribution of the Mbeere in the Mau Mau struggle; to examine the reasons for exclusion of the Mbeere in Mau Mau discourse and lastly to evaluate the recognition and compensation of the Mbeere Mau Mau veterans by the Kenya government and the British government, respectively. The Post-colonial theory informed this study that critically examines the post-colonial experience of Third World societies. Both primary and secondary data were sourced and used in the study. Archival data was obtained from the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Centre in Nairobi, Nakuru and The National Archives in the United Kingdom. Oral data was collected from informants in Kyeni South, Mbeere North and South in Embu County. This study used focus group discussions and in-depth interviews for data collection, where 59 participants were interviewed. In interviews, purposive sampling was employed where the chiefs pinpointed Mau Mau veterans in their wards. Then snowball sampling strategy was used to identify more respondents knowledgeable about the Mau Mau movement. Respondents for focus group discussions were selected through purposive sampling based on the participation of those above 70 years and who participated in the insurgency. Data were analysed using NVIVO 12 to extract themes that answered the research questions. Selected secondary sources informed the theory, while others complemented data from the primary sources. The proposed study provided a counterpoint to literature that lauded the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru as key participants in the Mau Mau struggle for independence by identifying the Mbeere as (active or passive players) in the war of decolonisation. Additionally, the study findings noted that the Mbeere were left out in the reparation process, but they are hopeful for reparation and memorialisation. The Mau Mau debates will not end soon with the growing attention of the marginalised narratives. The Mbeere involvement in the Mau Mau insurgency as seers was deeper than assumed; they utilised an unmarked villagisation process by scavenging food for the Mau Mau insurgency. They used non-KEM status to evade detection as a tactic of war for insurgency’s sake. These two areas need further research for posterity. Thirdly this study can be replicated in other peripheral communities in Kenya to retell their past. Also, there is a need to rewrite the history of the Mbeere and show nuances of the Mbeere marginalisation in resource allocation and how it intersects with the history of decolonisation. Lastly, review the state of non-Embu (the Kikuyu ahoi and the Kamba) who claimed to have been born into the Embu tribe while the colonial government, the Embu elders and ADC members expressed in 1961 that there was no place for them in the District
GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF RABBITFISH (Siganus sutor) REARED IN BRACKISH WATER EARTHEN PONDS, OFFERED BLACK SOLDIER FLY (BSF) LARVAE (Hermetia illucens)
Get PDFGrowth performance of RabbitfishThe trend in mariculture development in Kenya is rising as the population and the demand for food increases. Rabbitfish (Siganus sutor) is a suitable candidate for mariculture in Kenya since it can be raised in ponds, accepts formulated feeds, and has a better growth performance as compared to other marine finfishes. It is also acceptable to local and international consumers and thus will have no marketing problem. Currently, S. sutor is the most targeted species and heavily fished on the Kenyan coast and Mariculture would increase its availability and sustainability. This study presents a 90 day’s first trial on the growth performance of S.sutor fed on black soldier fly meal in brackish water environment on the north coast in Kenya earthen ponds (hapa nets). The study had a complete block randomized design (CBRD) with four treatments, which were performed in triplicates and assigned randomly among twelve hapa net cages set in three rows (black nylon, sized (#1mm) and 1.5 x 1.0 x 1.2 meters). S.sutor were stocked at 15/fish/hapa and fed twice a day (0900HRS and 01600HRS) at 5% body weight throughout the study period. The cages were allocated treatments randomly as, T1 100% black soldier fly larvae, 0% fish meal, T2 25% fish meal replaced with 75% black soldier fly larvae), T3 50% fish meal was replaced with 50% BSFL and T4 was used as a control (40% commercial feed). Sampling was done monthly for total length (cm) and weight (g). The results showed that 100% BSFL feed had the highest initial mean weight of 36.06±0.99g, 40% commercial feed had the lowest at 33.76±0.68g. The highest final mean weight was observed in T1, (100% BSFL) at 68.36±0.42 and T2, (25% fish meal 75% BSFL) the lowest at 57.28±0.33g. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) in all diets and growth performance among the different treatments had no significant difference (p<0.05) at (F=6.9122, df=3, p<0.05). The water temperatures, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrogen (NH3-N), Nitrites - nitrogen (NO2-N) and total ammonia (NH3-N) values in all treatments were within the optimal limits for S. sutor growth. The study reports useful information on the growth performance and survival of S.sutor fed on black soldier fly larval diet. These findings, from this study revealed that S. sutor is suitable for culturing in brackish waters and the community can easily benefit from the species and act as food security and provide an alternative source of income for rural communities
“The Quest for Quality in University Education in the Post COVID-19 Era: Do Anti-plagiarism Tools Still Matter?”
No full textQuest for Quality in University EducationPlagiarism is a major global challenge to quality assurance in higher education. Various efforts have been made to overcome the menace including the use of anti-plagiarism tools. At the same time, many questions have been raised about the efficacy of the current generation of tools in detecting, preventing plagiarism, and guaranteeing the quality of education. This paper examines the limitations of plagiarism detection tools in enhancing quality in academic outcomes and proposes measures for improvement. The paper argues that while anti-plagiarism software has a role in preventing plagiarism in academic writing and academic integrity, they are not the panacea to the plagiarism pandemic, especially in the COVID-19 era. It proposes that there is a need to reform methods of assessment and implement forward-looking policies to address the underlying causes of plagiarism, provide students with appropriate information literacy skills training, and above all cultivate a culture of academic integrity in higher education institutions (HEIs)