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Challenges of Translating Somali Ecological Cultural Terms Into English
Get PDFThis study identifies and discusses the primary problems that face Somali–English translators depending on the assumption that translating ecological cultural terms from Somali into English is a problematic issue. Moreover, it aims to evaluate the main strategies used in translating ecological culture bound terms in order to judge their accuracy and faithfulness. The study is based on textual analysis of the corpus that includes 12 texts of fauna, flora and weather in Somalia and England. Two Somali texts are compared with their English translations while one English text is compared with its Somali translation and alternative translations being proposed where necessary and suitable. The findings show that the main challenges of translating culture bound terms are related to fauna, flora, and weather. It also reveals that four strategies are used in translating ecological cultural terms from Somali to English. Meanwhile, the most frequent strategy of source –oriented translation is borrowing (transliteration) and the most frequent strategy of target oriented one is descriptive strategy (explanation). The examination of the strategies proves that each strategy has positive or negative interpretations depending on the context of use. Finally, the research concludes that the careful reading of the source text and the good knowledge of cultural aspects of ecology will serve to address the challenges of translating cultural terms of ecology and to produce accurate target texts free from misleading and weak renditions. Building recommendations on these conclusions, the researcher hopes, will improve the process of translating cultural terms of ecology by opening the doors for advanced research in this field from different dimensions
Oral Health Status And Hygiene Practices Among Visually Impaired Children Attending Thika Primary School For The Blind In Kiambu County, Kenya
Get PDFBackground: Worldwide studies have reported poor oral health among visually impaired individuals. This has been attributed to several factors which include difficulty in attaining good oral hygiene, difficulty in evaluating effective plaque removal and also because demonstration of oral hygiene instructions via visual aids is not appropriate. Lack of parental supervision and the absence of manual-visual coordination have also been implicated. There is inadequate information available on dental health among Kenyan children who are visually impaired.
Study objective: To determine the oral health status and hygiene practices among visually impaired children attending Thika Primary School for the Blind in Kiambu County, Kenya.
Study population: One hundred and fifty-nine children in category I and II educational visual impairment, aged 10-19 years old attending Thika Primary School for the Blind.
Study design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study.
Materials and methods: Participants were selected using proportionate stratified random sampling. Data collection methods constituted completion of a questionnaire and a clinical examination component. The questionnaire was administered in a face-to-face interview by the principal investigator and contained both open and close-ended questions to record the children’s social demographic variables and oral hygiene practices.
Data was keyed into the computer database and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 of Windows. The results have been presented in tables and figures and where appropriate univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis performed and appropriate statistical inferences made.
Results: A total of 159 children participated in the study. There were 85 (53.5%) male participants and 74 (46.5%) female participants and the mean age was 13.91±2.27.
Ninety-four (59.1%) and 105(66%) of the participants perceived having good dental and gingival health status respectively. There was a statistically significant association on comparison (X2) of gingival health perception with age of participants (P=0.05).
All participants used toothbrushes to clean their teeth with older children (p= 0.004) and female children (p= 0.001) more likely to replace their toothbrushes within three months when compared (X2) to younger children and to male participants.
The mean plaque score was 0.95 + 0.45 (p=0.38) depicting good oral hygiene with majority 116 (72.9%) of the children not reporting to experience challenges in practice of oral hygiene.
The overall prevalence of gingivitis was 88.1% (n=140) with a mean gingival score index of 0.28 + 0.25. On comparison (ANOVA) of gingival score index with age, there was a statistically significant association (p=0.02).
Dental caries prevalence was 42.1% (n=67) among in permanent dentition and 8.2% (n=13) in deciduous dentition. Age of participants influenced (ANOVA) dental caries prevalence among participants in deciduous dentition (p=0.04).
The overall DMFT/dmft was 0.99±1.70 and 0.16+0.63 respectively with decay (D,d) forming the highest component. In permanent dentition, mean DMFT was higher 1.13+2.14 among female participants compared (t-test) to male 0.72+1.15 participants. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.05). Visual impairment also had an influence on dental caries experience in deciduous dentition (t=2.27, p=0.02).
There was a statistically significant association when plaque score index was compared (spearman’s correlation) with dmft index (p=0.04) and gingival score index (p=0.001). Null hypothesis was tested using Spearman’s correlation for association between oral hygiene practices and oral health status. Oral hygiene practices did not influence oral hygiene status and dental caries status. However, an association was shown between frequency of toothbrush replacement and gingival index score (p=0.003).
Conclusion: Majority of the children attending Thika Primary School for the Blind have adequate oral hygiene practices. All used conventional toothbrushes with majority using toothpaste and brushing 2-3 times daily.
All participants were found to have good oral hygiene (plaque score= 0.95+0.45) and mild gingivitis (gingival score = 0.28 + 0.25) with low dental caries experience (dmft= 0.16+0.63; DMFT=0.99±1.70. Only 27.1% of the participants reported experiencing challenges in practice of oral hygiene measures.
Category of visual impairment had an influence on dental caries experience among participants in deciduous dentition, being more among Category I visually impaired participants. Plaque score index increased with age of participants and influenced both the gingival score index and dmft score index. Gingival score index increased with age of participants but had no influence on dmft/DMFT score index. Dental caries experience in permanent dentition was influenced by gender and was more among female participants. Overly, oral hygiene practices did not influence oral hygiene and dental caries status. However, there was an association between frequency of toothbrush replacement and gingival score index.
Recommendations: There is need to reinforce oral hygiene practices among visually impaired children with emphasis towards frequency of toothbrush replacement within 3 months so as to achieve maximum benefits in maintenance of oral hygiene. There is need to introduce modalities for preventive measures and early diagnosis of dental caries, more so among children in deciduous dentition with Category I visual impairment. Further studies with more dose components of oral hygiene practices such as duration of brushing in each session and number of strokes used during tooth brushing are recommended to better assess the relationship between oral hygiene practices and oral hygiene status.a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Keny
An Assessment of Inooro Fm’s Mugambo Wa Murimi Programme on the Uptake of Information on Soil Fertility Management Technologies Among Smallholder Farmers in Kandara Sub-county, Murang’a County
Get PDFDeclining soil fertility in many parts of the Central Highlands of Kenya undermines food production and rural livelihoods. The challenge is compounded by reducing extension coverage and access to information among smallholder farmers. Moreover, current knowledge on improved agricultural practices obtainable in research findings does not reach farmers on time. Since sustainable agricultural development such as uptake of soil fertility management technologies to a large extent depends on knowledge and information sharing through appropriate communication channels, improving positive effects of the existing channels, more so the widely available channels, such as radio is critical. This study sought to assess the effects of radio on the uptake of information on soil fertility management technologies in Kandara Subcounty, Murang’a County. The study focused on the Mugambo wa Murimi radio programme aired on Inooro FM. The specific objectives were: to determine sources of information on soil fertility management for smallholder farmers, assess the relevance of information on soil fertility management technologies to smallholder farmers, examine smallholder farmers’ perception of Mugambo wa Murimi radio programme on information on soil fertility management technologies and assess the perceived effects of Mugambo wa Murimi radio programme on uptake of information on soil fertility management technologies. The study was guided by diffusion of innovation theory. Mixed method approach consisting of household survey, key informant and focus group discussion was employed. The study used cross sectional survey design to collect data from 139 farmer households. The findings suggest that farmers receive information on soil fertility improvement technologies from a myriad of sources, with the radio being the most ubiquitous source of information on soil fertility management in the study area. Listenership and relevance of Mugambo wa Murimi programme on soil fertility management tend to be linked with social economic characteristics such as age, education and gender. Findings show that farmers were able to practice organic pepino melon farming from listening to Mugambo wa Murimi. The robustness of the programme is related to its broadcast in vernacular, ease of availability and access over other electronic devices such as mobile phones. The effect of information received from the programme is however less than optimal due to linearity of the communication approaches adopted, limited time it is allocated and lack of expertise to handle topics on soil fertility. Participatory programming, covering topics on soil fertility management, engaging soil experts, and allocation of more time is thus recommended to improve Mugambo wa Murimi programme as source of information on soil fertility management
The Effect of Systemic Risk and Financial Contagion in the Kenyan Banking Sector
Get PDFThe intent of study was to understand the effect of systemic risk and financial contagion
in the Kenyan banking sector since the year 1988 to 2018. Further, the study sought to
make recommendations to mitigate contagion and increase preparedness to systemic risk
in the Kenyan banking sector. The study analysed secondary data from Central Bank
supervision reports for all commercial banks in Kenya for a period of 30 years starting
from 1988 stretching to 2018 with a 5 year short term segmentation period. Through
financial ratio analysis banks failures were analysed into short term time periods with
correlation analysis used to see if past risk of bank failures led to present time failures.
The study also adopted financial ratio analysis and panel data techniques to process and
analyse the data. The study concludes that systemic risk and financial contagion has been
the cause of 70% of the total 28 banking failures in the country for the last 30 years. The
only problem with this type of risk unlike other major risk like Liquidity risk, Credit risk
and Market risk; there exist no appropriate methodology that can be used to mitigate such
risk and when it occurs, it’s usually after a build-up of so many factors in the past. The
study therefore recommends that the 25% minimum cap that was placed to limit how
much banks should lend to a single individual should be further lowered to around 15%.
Further there should be a cap limit to how much banks in different Tiers can lend, this
will rein in to the behaviour of small banks over exposing their lending portfolios
An Audit And Review Of Histopathological Reporting Of Prostate Cancer On Prostatic Tissue Specimens In Kenyatta National Hospital
No full textBackground
Cancer of the prostate is the second most frequent cancer in males globally and commonest in
Kenya. The gold standard of diagnosis is histopathology. A complete report is required for
patient management. Auditing of histopathology reporting is a key element of the quality
assurance programme to ensure the generation of a reliable report. Studies have established
that there have been significant changes in patient grading using the new modification of
Gleason system and that there is observer variability in grading using this system. This study
evaluated the completeness of prostate cancer reporting using the College of American
Pathologists prostate cancer reporting protocol, to identify changes in grading with the 2014
modifications and to assess the level of inter-observer variability in grading.
Objective: The main objective was to audit and review histopathological reporting of prostate
cancer on prostatic tissue specimens in Kenyatta National Hospital.
Study Design: A retrospective descriptive study.
Study Area: KNH/University of Nairobi (UoN) histopathology laboratory.
Study Population: A total of 137 prostatic tissue specimens previously reported as prostatic
adenocarcinoma were audited.
Method: All consecutive request forms, reports and blocks for cases previously reported as
prostate cancer were retrieved. Information from the request form and reports was then entered
into the data collection tool which incorporated the CAP reporting protocol. Histological
sections were prepared and stained using Hematoxylin and Eosin. The diagnosis and grading
were reviewed using the International Society of Urological Pathologists 2014 Gleason system
by the principal investigator and two consultant pathologists. The initial Gleason grades and
grade groups were compared with the review findings.
Results: Age was indicated in 84.7% of all cases. The patient name and hospital number were
xii
the only parameters provide in all cases. Other request form details including date of procedure,
type of procedure, date specimen received in the laboratory, PSA level, clinician’s details,
clinical history and diagnosis were inconsistently indicated. Few macroscopic features were
also inconsistently mentioned. The histological type in all cases was prostate adenocarcinoma
not otherwise specified. In the initial report, 97.1% of cases were completely graded. Tumour
volume was provided in 48.2% of cases. The other microscopic features were inconsistently
reported. In the review, 94.2% of cases were graded. The predominant Gleason score sum was
9 while the grade group was 5. Gleason scores were upgraded in 51.8% of cases in the review
whereas grade groups were upgraded in 43.1% of cases. The level of agreement was fair for
the primary pattern (k 0.25), poor for the secondary pattern (k -0.31) and slight for the Gleason
score sum (k 0.20).
Conclusions: Histopathologic request forms for histopathology of prostatic tissue specimens
are not adequately filled. Completeness of reporting of tumour characteristics compares well
with other studies done elsewhere. The presence and use of a standard reporting protocol that
is inclusive of all required features ensures complete capture of all these essential parameters.
There was an upward shift in Gleason grades and grade groups with the use of the ISUP 2014
modified Gleason system. The strength of agreement between the initial and review Gleason
grades and scores ranged from poor to fair.
Recommendations: Sensitization of the clinicians on the importance of providing adequate
information on the request forms. This can be done through continuous medical education
sessions and clinico-pathological conferences. Use of the CAP cancer reporting protocol to
enable the generation of a concise report with all the necessary features. There is need for
institution of measures aimed at reducing observer variability in grading using the Gleason
system. These include consensus grading of difficult cases, use of reference images and
continuous training on any new changes in the system.a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Keny
Analysis of the Linkage Between Punishment and Recidivism Among Prisoners in Nairobi County, Kenya
No full textRecidivism is a global problem which directly influences crime levels in several countries with the attendant negative effects. Plenty of studies have been conducted on various aspects of this phenomenon particularly on its causes and effects, however, not many such studies, particularly in Kenya, have focused on the possible influence of the first punishment recidivists receive during the initial conviction. This study was therefore designed to establish if there is a connection between the initial punishment and recidivism from the viewpoint of the concerned convicts and professionals. Its specific objectives were to ascertain the profiles of recidivists, investigate the typology and severity of recidivists’ crimes with reconviction, and prescribe the treatment which would suit first time convicts and the recidivists as a control strategy for the vice. The study reviewed literature based on fundamental themes on recidivism, and punishment; among the many areas covered are evolution of penology from punishment to corrections, rehabilitation requirements for various types of offenders, challenges facing rehabilitation of convicts, personal traits of recidivists, and ethical considerations in treatment and punishment of convicts. The theoretical framework is anchored on the deterrence theory of punishment, as well as strain and labeling theories of crime.
The study respondents were drawn from Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and Langata Women Prison. It utilized purposive sampling of 167 respondents, 17 of whom participated in focus group discussions (FGDs), and 27 key informants who comprised of 19 prison officers, 4 probation officers and another 4 police officers. Quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques and analysis were utilized in the study. The primary sources of data were questionnaires, FGDs, and key informant interviews. Secondary data was also collected from the recidivists’ records at the prison institutions and the courts.
The study found out that the extent of recidivism in Kenya cannot be easily ascertained due to the presence of non-documented recidivists in prison institutions. The study also established that there is no significant link between the initial punishment and recidivism since other factors such as poverty and peer pressure are responsible for the vice. It also established that recidivists are members of the lower social class, young adults and individuals under 40 years, illiterate or semi-illiterate, and mostly in non-marital relationships. In addition to these characteristics, the
study established that convicts who abuse alcohol and drugs have a higher propensity to reoffend. It was also established that criminal severity increases with reconviction among male recidivists who graduate from petty crimes to felonies unlike their female counterparts who generally commit the same petty offences with reconvictions.
The study, therefore, recommends that the best strategy of controlling recidivism is by ensuring that petty first-time offenders are awarded community based punishments instead of imprisonment to curtail contamination and institutionalization. For reformation and rehabilitation of known recidivists, it is essential to put in place individual based strategies to take care of their unique needs before the beginning of any intervention. Further to this, for their effective resettlement after incarceration, a pre-discharge investigation should be conducted on the needs of each recidivist before the actual release into the community. Community acceptance of ex-convicts is also vital to diminish the possibility of recidivism. Finally, the study suggests that researches be conducted on the factors responsible for the presence of non-documented recidivists in Kenya, and the impact of non-documented recidivism on trial and rehabilitation of offenders
Trend Detection in Precipitation and River Discharge to Assess Climate Change in the Upper Tana Basin
No full textWith Climate Change being a point of focus in modern times, this research study was done to detect
the existence of a statistically significant trend in the hydro-meteorological characteristics of the
upper Tana catchment to deduce whether Climate Change had occurred. The methodology
involved subjecting mean monthly and mean annual precipitation and river discharge data to the
Mann-Kendall trend detection tool from the XLSTAT software. Further, the one-tail trend tests
(upper-bound test and lower-bound test) were done to confirm whether the trend detected was
increasing or decreasing. In order for Climate Change to be reasonably implied, at least 50% of the
mean monthly data needed to exhibit a statistically significant trend and secondly, have mean
annual data return a statistically significant trend as well. The results suggested that for mean
monthly rainfall, there was a statistically significant decreasing (negative) trend detected in the
months of August and September (16.67%). With regard to river discharge, a statistically
significant positive trend was observed in the months of January, February, March and November
(33.33%). However, for mean annual discharge, there was an overall positive statistically
significant trend for the years spanning 1966-2006. These results for mean annual discharge were
inclusive of data that had perceived outliers (2001-2003). When the same Mann-Kendall trend test
was done on mean annual discharge data between 1966-2000, no statistically significant trend was
observed. In conclusion, the results obtained from this study could not conclusively imply Climate
Change for two reasons: first, only 16.67% and 33.33% of mean monthly rainfall and mean
monthly discharge respectively detected a statistically significant trend; both results were below
the (50%) threshold set in the objectives. The mean annual rainfall did not detect any statistically
significant trend and although the mean annual discharge data for the period 1966-2006 detected a
statistically significant positive trend, when the Mann Kendall tool was run on the mean annual
discharge omitting the 2001-2003 data, no statistically significant trend was detected. The second
reason why Climate Change could not be reasonably implied is due to the fact that the rainfall data
obtained had a relatively short span (1980-1994) and only six rainfall stations were analyzed in the
vast upper Tana catchment. This sample dataset could be viewed as disproportionate to the size of
the catchment and therefore relatively inadequate to give a proper representation of the catchment
characteristics. It was recommended that a study be done on a comparable catchment with a longer
record of data to check trend; advanced methods to check data accuracy be deployed to validate
rainfall data for years 2001-2003; an independent study of catchment degradation be done to
determine its contribution to increased runoff in the rivers and finally a trend detection study be
carried out on extreme rainfall and river flow values
An Assessment Of Community Participation In Slum Upgrading
No full textKenya‟s development approaches indicate that the country has encompassed development paradigm shifts to echo changes in the global development thinking from technocrat, trickle-down effect strategies of the 1960s and 1970s to more participatory ones in modern times. In spite of these progresses, there is inadequate community participation in the entire process of conception, design implementation and management of public developments. This study sought to assess community participation in slum upgrading, in context of Korogocho slum. The study‟s key objectives included; establishing the existence of a residents‟ committee, its structure and role in slum upgrading, assessing the extent to which Korogocho residents were involved in upgrading their settlement, examining challenges of community participation and proposing strategies that can be adopted to enhance community participation. This was a cross sectional study design that administered 400 questionnaires to households and conduct-ed 2 focus groups with SEC members as well as 4 key informant interviews. The findings revealed that: there exists a settlement executive committee whose main role was to act as an intermediary between donors and beneficiaries, the community participated in the inception, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of the project, the main challenge concerning project awareness by the community stems from the SEC‟s structure and facilitation issues, and there needs to be more awareness campaigns about the project. The study recommends a policy framework outlining the formation, composition and facilitation of settlement execu-tive committees as well as community participation in all phases of a slum upgrading project. The study recommends further research on different levels of community participation and their impact on all phases of a slum upgrading project
The Effects of Recreational Noise Exposure on the Auditory System in Young Adults in Medical School in Nairobi, Kenya.
No full textIntroduction
Exposure to hazardous noise levels can lead to hearing related problems like noise induced hearing threshold shifts (NITS), tinnitus and noise sensitivity. Recreational noise is on the rise and young adults are increasingly exposing themselves to dangerous sound levels from recreational activities. Noise induced hearing loss is permanent. Health-orientated behaviour of young adults might be linked to their attitudes toward noise and hearing loss. We do not have any data in Kenya on recreational noise sources nor their auditory effects.
Objectives
The objective of the study was to examine the effect of recreational noise exposure on the auditory system of young adults (18-35 years) in The University of Nairobi medical school.
Methodology
This was a cross sectional study performed in the ENT department of KNH of young adults in medical school aged 18-35 years. Subjects were recruited via convenient sampling after which they completed a recreational hearing habits questionnaire. Hearing was evaluated using Pure Tone Audiometry and Distortional Product Oto Acoustic Emissions. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 18. During the initial descriptive analysis each variable in the database was analysed, in turn. For continuous data including age, mean and standard deviation was calculated. Frequency distribution was used to summarize the categorical variables
Results
Subjects recruited and evaluated were 163 in number with a mean age of 24.6 years and a M:F sex ratio of 1.04:1.
The highest weekly noise exposure in equivalent SPLs was found for going to night clubs (82.9 dBA). The median weekly equivalent noise exposure for all activities was 67.7 dBA. 15.3% of subjects exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency limit of 75 dBA. After noise exposure, 58.6% experienced self-reported ear complaints.
With regards to the DPOAE, the 5000Hz frequency band recorded referrals of above 30.7%.
The crude prevalence rate of hearing loss was 6.1%. There was no statistical difference in hearing loss between groups with intermediate and high noise exposure.
Conclusions The median weekly noise exposure levels produced self-reported hearing complaints and suggestions of sub-clinical hearing loss. However, there was no statistically significant clinical hearing loss experienced by the cohort. Longitudinal studies are required to follow cohorts to ascertain if sub-clinical hearing loss progresses to clinical hearing loss.a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Keny