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Influence Of Free Trade Agreements On Business Growth Of Animal Feed Firms In Nairobi City County, Kenya
No full textFree Trade Agreement enables countries to buy and sell goods and services to member states with limited or completely no regulations for example tariffs and quotas. Countries take part in FTAs so as to remove barriers in trade and promote global trade and ties. This research was set out to establish influence of free trade agreement on business growth of Animal Feed firms in Nairobi County, Kenya. The research adopted a descriptive form of research design that gave a picture of a situation exactly the way it took place naturally. This type of design was applied to make judgement and develop theories. The target population of this research included 30 Animal Feed Manufacturing firms that had been licensed to work and operate in Kenya. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics that includes frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The study found that FTAs; preferential trade relations, free movement of goods and people and treaty were used to a large extent. Preferential trade relations scored the highest mean in comparison to free movement of people and goods. More to that, the research showed that most firms are locally owned and have been in operation for more than ten years. Results from Chic-square showed existence of a statistically significant association between FTAs and business growth. This implies that more businesses should take advantage of the treaties in order to experience business growth especially where free movement of goods and services is concerned. Research recommends the need for government to develop policies and frameworks that create a favorable environment for member states to engage in business, partnerships so as to strengthen ties. The underlying limitation for this research was time and resources that limited the scope of this research forcing the researcher to investigate Animal Feeds Manufacturing firms in Nairobi County only however, the findings realized in this research cannot be generalized to provide a true picture of all the Animal Feeds Manufacturing firms in Kenya. In future, researchers should do a replica of this study in a different sector other than manufacturing, and find out whether the findings gotten under this study will hold. This will inform a more meaningful conclusion as to the behaviour of variables and how they relate
Evaluating Teachers’ Adoption Of Digital Learning In Public Primary Schools: A Case Study Of Uasin-Gishu County Schools
No full textIn the recent past, ICT has been integrated into primary school curricula in many developing countries around the globe. Kenya is among the countries that have introduced the use of ICT. Support and funding from the government have led to an increased availability of ICT resources. However, the teachers do not make effective them. Adoption in schools has been slow and problematic. This research evaluated the teachers’ adoption of Digital Learning in Public Primary schools in Uasin Gishu County. The researcher adopted the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to evaluate whether its variables influence teachers' Behavioral Intention and adoption of digital learning. She also evaluated whether computer experience, gender, age, and voluntariness of use moderate the four direct determinants. A blended strategy of qualitative and quantitative questions was used to gather information. The population of interest consisted of 280 teachers. An appropriate sample size of 165 teachers was achieved using Slovin’s formula with a margin error of 5%. Simple random sampling was used to select the schools that participated. The study findings indicate that Positive performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence from significant others and favorable facilitation conditions positively influence the teachers’ behavioral intention. Performance expectancy and Effort expectancy were the only significant determinants. Behavioral intention positively influenced use behavior, but other factors challenges such as insufficient time, lack of power and insufficient digital content largely influenced their use. Teacher’s age, experience, and gender did not significantly affect the correlation between PE, EE, SI, FC, and BI, but Voluntariness of use moderated SI and BI. The researcher concluded that teachers in UG have adopted DL but their use frequency is varie
Assessment of Solid Waste Management at Wakulima Market in Nairobi City, Kenya
No full textThe market place is one of the most important places where trade of goods occurs among the general public. Wakulima market is characterized by heaps of unattended sites of solid waste. Poor waste disposal practices have resulted in an unsightly and unsanitary market. The purpose of this study therefore was to assess solid waste management at Wakulima market in Nairobi City County. The overall objective of this thesis was to analyse the factors hindering effective solid waste management at Wakulima market. The research adopted a descriptive design and data was collected using preliminary field observations, face-to-face interviews and questionnaire survey. Data was collected from the sellers, buyers and other stakeholders in the market. Stratified sampling along products was used to interview 100 respondents from the market. Results of the study indicated that the factors hindering effective waste management at Wakulima market were: lack of enough skips for storage of waste (88%), lack of regular waste collection from the market (85%), poor waste management methods (74%) and lack of enough resources for institutions mandated to collect waste generated from the market (65%). From the findings, 78% of the respondents disposed their waste in undesignated areas such as near the roads, in drainage areas as well as leaving the waste in the market hall. Only 22% of the respondents placed their waste in skips and bins. Results indicated that most of solid waste in the market was organic according to 65% of the respondents which was followed by plastic bags at 27% and sacks at 8%. The study findings indicated that the methods of storage of produce left unsold in the market was a key determinant towards reducing waste at Wakulima market. The research recommendations include: need to supply enough bins and skips in the market, regular waste collection from the market of and incorporation of the Integrated Solid Waste Manageme
Factors Influencing Sustainability of County Government Funded Construction Projects in Laikipia County, Kenya.
Get PDF1.1 Background to the study
Project sustainability is one of the most critical challenges for all grassroots, national and international development projects (Ahmed, Azhar, Castillo & appagantulla, 2012). Globally, billions of shillings have been spent in public funded construction projects as a way of enhancing the living situation of the people. Project sustainability in local governments is a growing concern for governments worldwide. In the recent past, development practitioners have been focusing on efficient project monitoring and implementation that lead to project success and sustainability (ZouP, Zhang and Wang, 2017). The shift from project mode to Sector-Wide Approaches, Structural Adjustment measures to Programmes-based Approaches, Direct Budget Support, Medium-Term Expenditure Frameworks reflect this concern for reducing the fragmentation of development systems and change the way projects are implemented. The reason why many of the projects become unsustainable is not because of technical issues but are related to management, social relationships, community dynamics, monitoring and evaluation procedures, resources, staff capacity and the level of participation of stakeholders in projects (Al-Bahar and Crandall, 2010).
Sustainability can be viewed within time and changing social, economic and political contexts. According to Ayudhya (2011), sustainability is reflected in the capacity of the community to cope with change and adapt to new situations. Hussin & Omran (2012) assert that project sustainability means that new structures are appropriately owned by the stakeholders and supported on ongoing basis with locally available resources. Hence, managing sustainability is a process aimed at maximizing the flow of sustainable benefits, it should be an ongoing process and needs to be reviewed and updated as circumstances change and lessons are learned from experiences (Carignac, 2017). Substantial resources have been allocated to developing and maintaining community-based programs in most developing countries, however, relatively little is known about how these programs are sustained and what factors lead to their failure. Quite often, the typical community-based program has a relatively short life once its original funding base expires. Inadequate information and understanding of what sustains community based projects has led to various researches focusing on how community projects can be sustained past
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their initial funding base and increase their longevity in addressing the needs of the community (Koushki, Al-Rashid & Kartam, 2015).
Carlsson, Josephson & Larson (2011) assert that there are four aspects of sustainability, which are needed to be recognized and analyzed. These include societal influence, which measures the impact a society makes upon the corporation in terms of the social contract and stakeholder influence; environmental impact, which is the effect of the actions of the corporation upon its geophysics environment; organizational culture, which is the relationship between the corporation and its internal stakeholders and finances, an adequate return for the level of risk undertaken in pursuit of sustainable development and financial sustainability Mojahed, 2015). Maintaining benefits from projects flows after major external funding is completed assumes that stakeholders (government, community groups and private sector) will provide an appropriate level of financial, technical and managerial resources. However, AID providers may need to provide some limited follow-on assistance such as intermittent technical support (including sector advisory visits or supplementing financial support to enhance the prospects for sustainability and consolidate achievements (Fapohunda & Stephenson, 2010).
Globally, projects implemented by the County Governments in states like Texas for example include: modern community hospitals, mobile hospitals units, residential buildings, feeder roads, interconnecting railway lines, water projects, tourism project construction, waste management, agricultural projects, and housing units (Assaf & Al-Heiji, 2016). However, Jha, & Iyer (2016), on the development of manufacturing companies in America, Austria, Malaysia and India indicated that there is imbalanced development in various states, counties and local states or municipalities in all these most countries. The major reason cited for this different development in states/counties despites the fact that they are operating in the same countries include: differing state/county by laws, rates of imposed taxes, financial resources availability, natural resources availability, corruption, infrastructure, politics, security, cultural factors and educational factors and climatic conditions (Olatunji, 2010). Factors like political opposition, level of technology, human resources development, financial resources allocation from the budgets, availability of minerals and many more has greatly influenced projects implementation in most countries up to the tune of 55% (Omran, Abdalrahman & Pakir, 2012
Hemodialysis Vascular Accesses in Patients on Chronic Hemodialysis at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya
No full textIntroduction: The objective of our study was to document the level of preparedness for renal replacement therapy assessed by incident hemodialysis vascular access and the access at least 3 months after initiation of hemodialysis at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.
Methods: Between June and July 2018, we carried out a cross-sectional descriptive study on the preparedness for hemodialysis by patients who were on chronic hemodialysis in the Kenyatta National Hospital Renal Department. Sociodemographic, medical history, duration of follow-up, and state of preparedness parameters were obtained through interview and entered into the questionnaire. The data were entered in preprogrammed format in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 for analyses.
Results: Eighty-two patients were enrolled. Males were 50% (41). The mean age was 45.39 ± 15.96 years but females were 5 years younger than their male counterparts. About 85.4% of the patients were drawn from the hypertension and diabetes clinics, and the mean, mode, and median of the duration of follow-up were 41, 0, and 0 months, respectively, in these clinics. Almost three in every four patients (74.4%) were initiated on hemodialysis as emergency (p value < 0.001). About 80% were initiated hemodialysis via acute catheters placed in the jugular and subclavian veins (p value < 0.001). At least 3 months later, 40% still had acute catheters on the same veins (p value < 0.001). Acute venous catheters in the femoral veins were in 9.2% at initiation and 6.6% of the patients at least 3 months later. Less than 2% of the patients had arteriovenous fistulae at initiation, which rose to 14.5% in 3 months. Tunneled catheters were placed in 11.8% initially and at least 3 months, were almost in 40% of the patients.
Conclusion: In conclusion, our young hemodialysis population mainly drawn from hypertension and diabetes clinic requires more input in hemodialysis vascular access planning. Focused individualized follow-up and early referrals to nephrologists are required. Uptake of arteriovenous grafts for hemodialysis might reduce the prevalence of hemodialysis catheters. As it is, this population is threatened with iterative vascular accesses complications as well as real danger of exhaustion of their vascular capital. There is real danger of increase in mortality from access complications
Institutional Based Factors Influencing Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in Nyando Sub- County, Kenya
No full textThe study explored the influence of institutional based factors on teachers’ job commitment in primary schools in Nyando Sub-County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine the extent to which provision of monetary incentives, recognition by the head teachers, working conditions, workload and administrative support influence primary school teachers’ job commitment in Ahero, Ahero, Rabuor and Nyang’ande zones in Nyando Sub-County. Descriptive survey research design was used and it focused on 99 head teachers and 707 teachers from the 99 public primary schools in the region as the target population. The sample size was240 respondents, made comprising of 30 head teachers and 210 teachers who were randomly based on 30% rule. Questionnaires were used to collect data analyzed using appropriate descriptive statistics. The research has established that most of the teachers (84%) in the Sub-County disagreed being offered monetary incentives by their head teachers, thus, posing serious challenges relating to job commitment. Further (60%) of the teachers reported that they were not being recognized by their head teachers through promotions in their schools thus, reducing their attachment to activities that show their commitment although (82%) of them agreed that head teachers recognized their work through verbal praises. The findings showed that most teachers (72%) agreed with the condition of their classrooms while (78%) of them agreed handling manageable number of lessons. Further (90%) of the teachers agreed being offered administrative support through recommendation for trainings by their head teachers. The study recommends that both the BoMs and TSC of public primary schools establish monetary policies that enable teachers to work harder and enhance pupils’ performance both in and outside the classroom. They need to improve the terms and working conditions of teachers by considering salary increments annually giving among other things hardship and house allowances, so as to increase their commitment. In addition, school administration should put up measures to motivate teachers for preventing the loss of teachers to its competitor as well as providing
manageable workload and adequate support to teachers, which could enhance job commitment and ultimately lead to better academic performance. The researcher suggested that since the study was limited to one Sub-County in Kenya, further research should be conducted in other counties throughout the country to determine the actual influence of institutional based factors on teachers’ job performance in public primary schools
Manhood to Madness: a Play
No full textRichati and Kemunto have been married for eight years but her womb is still silent. She is facing a lot
pressure to bear children to prove her womanhood. She reminisces over the romantic past and how the
absence of children in her marriage had changed her situation over time.
When Bochaberi (her mother-in-law) visits, she makes her mission clear by declaring, “Oyo
otarikobereka tari mokungu.” This means that one is only a woman if her womb is fertile. The demands
from Bochaberi make her quarrel with her daughter-in-law and generally strain their relationship. As
Richati moves out to buy some beef for her mother‟s meals, Bochaberi complains that he is henpecked.
However, Kemunto asserts herself to the disbelief of the mother-in-law who gets gripped by fear and runs
away. On the way, she meets Kennedy and Jefferson who are intended adoptive children. When they
introduce themselves as Richati‟s children, she chases them away while asking them to go to their real
parents.
Out of a relationship between Nyanguru and Stellah who are house help and houseboy respectively,
Stellah conceives and she discloses this to Nyanguru. Soon after the disclosure, she also gets into a love
affair with Richati. On learning that Richati is desperate for a child, she decides to feign that he is the one
who had impregnated her. This of course is something that Richati gladly receives, promising her a one
week holiday in the Seychelles.
When Richati informs Kemunto that he would be going to the Seychelles for one week on work-related
business, she registers her interest in accompanying him to the Seychelles but he turns her request down.
She quarrels with him accusing him of promiscuity because she had gotten wind of the impending travel
from Nyanguru. Later on, Stellah comes asking for permission to visit her parents. Kemunto plays a trick
on her and she confirms that indeed they would be travelling and that she is expectant.
The Seychelles journey eventually takes place. Richati and Kemunto swim and snorkel, affirm their love
and commitment and run on the beach and splash water on one another. Richati promises not to spare
anything in providing for his baby.
Meanwhile, at home Nyanguru has decided to nurse his feelings of rejection by drawing. When he is
doing the last parts of the drawing, Kemunto happens to be coming to his room. She exclaims on seeing
the perfect piece of drawing to the chagrin of Nyanguru who was just doing this out of his love for
drawing. He profusely apologizes but Kemunto assures him that he had done nothing wrong.
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As time goes by, Kemunto and Richati‟s love fades and they quarrel most of the time. Richati eventually
moves to the Kitchen where Stellah used to sleep. Finally, Prince Williams Richati is born but the two
parents‟ celebration is cut short as Stellah bleeds excessively due to amasangi. Kemunto is thus violently
attacked and she is supposed to be burnt for not only being barren but also being a witch. A grass thatched
granary roof is lowered on her but before she is set on fire, policemen appear and the people run away.
Richati‟s family members come for Ekerero. This celebration comes with as much ecstasy as mockery as
the in-laws openly rebuke Kemunto even calling her a rock. They accuse her of having wasted their
brother‟s eight years.
Out of those lonely and cold nights, a bond of love is established between Nyanguru and Kemunto.
Rattled by red ants one early morning, Richati moves to the main family house to change clothes. He
finds Nyanguru‟s pair of shoes under the bed and his pair of long trousers and belt. This makes him
believe that Nyanguru must have been spending his nights there. However, Kemunto denies this.
Determined to assert his authority in the home, he decides to lay off Nyanguru and send him away from
his home. He offers Nyanguru a trunk in which to pack his belonging.
The rude way in which Richati throws the trunk to Nyanguru prompts him to also rudely respond, “Will
you also offer me your new Mercedes to transport my children?” He further reveals that Prince Williams
was his son and that Kemunto was carrying his pregnancy. It therefore dawns on Richati that Nyanguru
had not only occupied the pillow next to Kemunto‟s but also lifted her veil of “barrenness.”
On hearing this, Bochaberi who had paid them a visit requests for calm as they settled the issue. She
requests for a family meeting to stabilize Richati‟s family and conceal his incapacity to sire but the
revelation weighs on him so much that his “manhood” fizzles out leaving a madman
The role of unregulated chicken marketing practices on the frequency of Newcastle disease outbreaks in Kenya.
No full textIn developing countries, chicken trade is characterized by complex chains comprising of many actors with limited biosecurity. This increases the spread of chicken diseases like Newcastle disease (ND). In Kenya, there is lack of uniformity in practices used in live bird markets, leading to increased disease outbreaks. This study aimed at assessing the effects of the chicken marketing practices on the frequency of ND outbreaks. A Poisson regression (PRM) was used on data collected from 336 traders selected using multi-stage sampling in Kakamega, Machakos, and Nairobi. Results highlight the low access of trainings and credit by traders. From the PRM results, breed composition, market channel, transportation, origin of birds, mixing of birds, slaughter of birds, disposal of waste, and housing as well as trader attributes like ND awareness, licensing, gender, and age had significant effects on the frequency of ND outbreaks. The study recommends that County governments collaborate with development partners to develop innovative ways of disseminating information on ND. The County governments should invest in market infrastructure such as slaughter facilities, special shelters and waste disposal equipment. There is also need for enforcement of biosecurity and hygiene measures through regular market inspections
Determination Of The Optimum Hybrid Renewable Energy System For Powering The School Of Engineering, University Of Nairobi
No full textOff-the-grid and on-the-grid hybrid renewable energy systems have become effective solutions to providing reliable, affordable and environmentally protected electricity for the rural communities where extension of the conventional grid is not feasible and institutions where the cost of electricity is relatively high.
The goal of this research project was to determine the optimum hybrid renewable energy system that can supply reliable and affordable power to the School of Engineering, University of Nairobi. The load profile of the site was determined using Power and Energy Logger (PEL) and data analysis was done using DataView software. The total power demand and consumption of the establishment were found to be 84.59kW and 1172kWh/day respectively while scaled average of 144.62kW and 1200kWh/day were simulated and optimized. In addition, the wind speed scaled average measured at 50m height, the mean global horizontal solar scaled average radiation and the temperature scaled average were found for this site as 4.76m/s and 5.93kWh/m2/day and 19.90C respectively. Grid/wind turbine/photovoltaic/diesel generator/battery bank/converter was simulated and optimized in HOMER Pro Microgrid Analysis Tool with the total net present cost calculated for 25 years in order to find the lowest cost of energy for the optimal system.
The optimum hybrid system has been found to be Grid/Photovoltaic/Diesel generator system. This system gives COE of Ksh 7.89, NPC of ksh 69,512,100.00, Initial capital cost of ksh 30,264,100.00, renewable fraction of 71.6%, simple payback period of 6.15years, discounted payback period of 7.76years, present worth of Ksh 12,819,300.00, annual worth of ksh 965,700.00, excess electricity generation of 2.48% etc. The system proves to have reduced the power being purchased from the grid from 100% to 23% approximately (90kW to 20kW). 9 sensitivity cases were used for sensitivity analysis and the result gave the same configuration except in cases where the sizes and prices of some components were changed.
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The study had put into perspective the Feed-in-Tariff policy in Kenya which would allow excess electricity generated by the system to be sold back to the national grid through the PPA policy