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Innovative use of technologies to enhance knowledge management
No full textPurpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new model to show how continuous joint learning
of participant organisations improves project performance. Performance heterogeneity between
collaborative infrastructure projects is typically examined by considering procurement systems and
their governance mechanisms at static points in time. The literature neglects to consider the impact of
dynamic learning capability, which is thought to reconfigure governance mechanisms over time in
response to evolving market conditions.
Design/methodology/approach – There are two stages of conceptual development. In the first
stage, the management literature is analysed to explain the standard model of dynamic learning
capability that emphasises three learning phases for organisations. This standard model is extended to
derive a novel circular model of dynamic learning capability that shows a new feedback loop between
performance and learning. In the second stage, the construction management literature is consulted,
adding project lifecycle, stakeholder diversity and three organisational levels to the analysis to arrive at
the collaborative model of dynamic learning capability.
Findings – The collaborative model should enable construction organisations to successfully adapt
and perform under changing market conditions. The complexity of learning cycles result in capabilities
that are imperfectly imitable between organisations, explaining performance heterogeneity on projects.
Originality/value – The collaborative model provides a theoretically substantiated description of
project performance, driven by the evolution of procurement systems and governance mechanisms. The
model’s empirical value will be tested in future researc
A Semantic Analysis of Absent Subjects of Idioms in Gĩkũyũ
Get PDFIdioms have been studied for a considerable time by linguists with a view of explaining their meaning. In Gĩkũyũ, for example, the meaning of most idioms can be derived from constituents that form them. However, in some Gĩkũyũ idioms, the meaning is hindered by the absence of the subject in the idiomatic utterance or sentence. It is against this background that this study sought to conduct a semantic analysis on selected idioms in Gĩkũyũ. Thus, the objective of this study was to establish the absent subject in the selected Gĩkũyũ idioms through etymological elaboration and then conduct a semantic analysis of the idioms. The study was based on the Conventional Figurative Language Theory (Dobrovol and Elisabeth). The study employed the descriptive research design and purposively targeted 20 Gĩkũyũ idioms. Data was collected through focus group discussions involving 10 participants who are native speakers of Gĩkũyũ. The study used the content analysis method, which is within the qualitative research paradigm. The data was presented in form of tables and themes. The Gĩkũyũ idiomatic expressions and the established subjects were listed and their gloss provided. Through etymological elaboration, a semantic analysis of the idiomatic expressions was conducted. The findings of the study are that the absence of the subject in idioms greatly hinders their comprehensibility. Further, etymological elaboration is required in order to establish the absent subject. The findings therefore imply that whenever the comprehensibility of an idiom is compromised by the lack of the subject in the utterance, cognitive linguists should process the meaning by using etymological elaboration The study concludes that interpretation of idiomatic expressions in Gĩkũyũ can be enhanced by establishing the absent subject through etymological elaboration which provides clues that aid interpretation .Secondly, semantic analysis of the idioms enhances comprehensibility. The study recommends further research on absent subjects in Gĩkũyũ idioms that were not part of this study. Secondly, other idiom processing strategies for example contextualization (Copper, 2004) can be used to establish the absent subjects in idiomatic expressions. Thirdly, further research can be conducted to establish other aspects of idioms that hinder comprehensibility of idioms not only in Gĩkũyũ but also in other languages. The study will not only provide valuable linguistic knowledge on the study of idioms in Gĩkũyũ but will also encourage further research on idioms in other languages
The Effect of Participation in Farmer Groups on Household Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Kenyan Drylands
Get PDFDOI: 10.9734/AJAEES/2020/v38i1130454Land degradation is a major cause of declining yields and loss of dryland ecosystems resilience in the Lake Baringo Basin in Kenya. One of the solutions to land degradation in drylands is the application of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technologies. Improving farmers’ capacity to adopt SLM technologies has been an important strategy of the Kenyan government and her development partners to addressing land degradation. State agricultural extension services are charged with the role of building this capacity. Unfortunately, such extension services have had little impact in the Kenyan drylands. To counter this inadequacy in extension services, farmers have formed grass-root organisations to foster networks of support and information sharing. In this paper, we analysed the effect of participation in farmers organisation in promoting adoption of SLM
practices by agropastoralists in the Lake Baringo Basin. Data were collected through in-depth household interviews with 150 farmers, 79 of them group members and 71 non-group members. Level of knowledge, sources of information and challenges of SLM adoption were studied. The study revealed significant and positive association between group participation and adoption of SLM practices at X2 (3, N=150=63.209, P=0.000). Additionally, group partnering with development agencies like Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and government departments was reported to have significant influence on household adoption of SLM practices at X2 (3, N=79=13.147, P=0.004). The results indicated that farmer groups can effectively be used to leverage farmers' adoption of SLM innovations and potentially improve household income and food security in the
Kenyan drylands. We recommended organizational and resource capacity building for farmer groups to promote their effectiveness in provision of resources and services to their members. In addition, government research and extension agencies and academia should consider forming collaborations with farmer groups in generation of SLM technologies that are suited to the farmers location and prevailing context
Influence of Sense of Belonging to a School on Learners’ Loneliness in Single Gender and Co-Educational Institutions in Murang’a County, Kenya
Get PDFThe influence of the sense of belonging to school on learners’ loneliness in single gender and co-educational schools in the world and Kenya in particular is not clearly known and documented. Available literature indicates that the learners’ sense of belonging to school significantly impacts on their loneliness. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the sense of belonging to school on learners’ loneliness in single gender and co-educational schools in Murang’a County in Kenya. The study was guided by the following specific objectives, which were to; Compare the levels of loneliness among learners in single gender and co-educational schools in Murang’a County and assess power of sense of belonging to school in determining the loneliness levels among learners in single gender and co-educational schools in Murang’a County. The study adopted the cross-sectionalsurvey research design. The Krejecie & Morgan Table was used to select a sample of 435 participants from a target population of 12,400 form two learners from single gender and co-educational secondary schools in the County. Data was collected using two standardized measurement instruments; the Perth aloneness-loneliness scale (PALs) while sense of belonging to school was measured using five statements in a five point Likert scale developed for the study. Administration of the questionnaire was done duringnormal school days by trained research assistants. Data was analysed using the descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. The findings of the study indicated that low sense of belonging to school for girls in co-educational institutions was correlated to high levels of loneliness. From the findings of the study, it is concluded thatthere is need to strengthen the psychosocial support systems for learners in co-educational schools through mentorship, guidance, coaching and counselling to facilitate appropriate adjustments of the learners in the schools so as to promote their learningoutcomes
Nutrient Content of On-Farm Formulatednile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus) Feeds: Implications for the Aquaculture Industry in Kenya
No full textDue to the high costs and the unavailabilityof good quality fish feeds in Kenya, farmers have opted to use cheaper, locally available on-farm formulated feeds.Inspite of this, farmers continue to incur lossesprobably due to poor nutritive quality of these on-farm feeds. Furthermore, literature on the proximate composition and appropriateness of on-farm formulated feeds for raising farmed fish in Kenya is scanty. Motivated by these reasons, this study soughtto investigatethe proximate composition of on-farm formulated Nile tilapia feeds andselected commercial fish feeds used in Bomet, Kericho and Nakuru Counties of the Rift Valley Region of Kenya and compared the proximate composition with theofficialnutrient composition of fish feeds. The methodof feed formulation used was also investigatedusing semi-structured questionnaires.The study also estimated the weightof fish harvested at the end of a production cycle.The results revealed a significant difference between the sampled feeds’ moisture, crude protein and mineral contents andthe legislated nutrient levels of thecommercial feeds commonly used in the counties. There was also a significant difference between thecrude protein content of feeds in the threecounties (P < 0.05).More than 50% of respondentfarmers in thethree counties used Pearson Square Method for fish feed formulation, while the rest used thetrial and error method.The mean weight of fish during harvest was 311.5±155.8gwith fish from Kericho County weighing significantly lower than those from Nakuru and Bomet Counties (P < 0.05). Mostofthe on-farm formulated feeds from the three counties do not meet the recommended nutrient requirements for raising Nile Tilapia. This may be contributing to the observed low weights of the fish harvested, the low fish production and theapparent stagnation of the aquaculture sub-sector in Kenya.The studyrecommendstheformulation of good quality fish feeds through the use of proper methods and appropriate ingredients.This could be achieved through monthly farmers’trainings on best aquaculture practices
Influence of Discipline Procedures on Students’academic Performance in Secondary Schools in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
Get PDFAssessment of drivers of forest changes using multi-temporal analysis and boosted regression trees model: a case study of Nyeri County, Central Region of Kenya
Get PDFThe Central Region of Kenya has undergone significant changes in land cover due to a broad range of drivers. These changes are more pronounced in forestland conversions. Past researches within the study area have identified drivers of land cover change without quantifying the influence of these drivers. Predictor variables include population density, precipitation, elevation, slope, forest fires, soil texture, proximity to roads, rives and towns. Land cover changes were analyzed using multi-temporal land cover maps between year 1990 and 2014. Boosted regression trees model was applied to determine the significant drivers and quantify their relative influence on key forestland transitions. The local and spatial influence of the drivers has further been analyzed by geographical weighted regression using coefficients determined at each sample point. Significant land cover changes continuously occurred over the study period. Forestland reduced from 38.90% in 1990 to 38.14% in 2014. Grassland reduced from 32.59 to 22.57%, cropland increased from 28.05 to 38.83% and wetland changed from 0.07 to 0.04%. Other land which constitutes of bare land and built up increased from 0.38 to 0.42%. The results show population density had the highest contribution to forestland changes throughout the study period, with a minimum contribution of 20.02% to a maximum of 26.04%. Other significant variables over the study period are precipitation, slope, elevation and the proximity variables. The results indicate that the relative influence of the drivers to forestland conversion varies with time, location and type of transition
Effects of Land Use Change on Banana Production: A Case Study of Imenti South Sub-County of Meru County in Kenya
Get PDFDOI: https://doi.org/10.33258/bioex.v2i3.303Most high agricultural potential regions in Kenya such as Imenti South (Meru County) have exceeded their population density and have been associated with sharp decline in farm productivity. There has been a systematic transformation of land use for banana production in the area. This has led to reduction in land acreage under other crops and increase in land acreage under banana farming. This study focused on land use and banana production trends between the years 2000 to 2019 in Imenti South. To achieve the objective, the study used mixed research design that involved qualitative and quantitative approaches. A sample size of 377 respondents was identified using simple random sampling. Banana yields and land acreage data were obtained from Imenti South Agricultural office for the study period. The main research instruments were questionnaires for households and key informants. Majority of the respondents (72%) in the study region admitted to have changed the land use and type of crops they have been farming during the study period whereas 28% changed from other crops to banana farming. Land acreage and banana production have been increasing during the study period in the area. The study revealed there is positive and statistically significant relationship (r = .617; p = .004) between land under banana and production. The study recommends that stakeholders in County governments should establish departments that independently identify, analyses, monitor and educates the famers on the new technologies that improves and increases banana productio
Cash management practice, SACCO size and Kenya’s deposit taking saving and credit co-operatives financial sustainability
Get PDFDeposit taking Savings and Credit Co-operatives (SACCO) are solution to social dilemmas like abject poverty, living standards and unemployment. Nevertheless, 14 percent do not maintain sound cash management practices despite SACCOs oversight
authority in Kenya offering guidelines and supervision to the enterprises that would assist in maintaining their financial sustainability. This necessitated for the evaluation of the moderating effect of SACCO size on cash management practice and financial sustainability. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design with a positivism philosophical paradigm was adopted. Emailed questionnaire and data collection sheet were used in data collection which registered a 95 percent response rate. A binary
logistic regression results established that with presence of a moderator for the predictor sub-variables, the strength of the relationship between variables registered an insignificant change but with introduction of interaction term, the strength of
relationship between variables changed. The study concluded that SACCO size portrayed a statistically significant moderating effect on predictor sub-variables and response variable. The study thus recommends that the management need to consider
increasing their SACCO sizes through merging, acquiring the non-performing SACCOs or even conducting intensive marketing since large size SACCO have low chances of being financially unsustainable
