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Socio- Economic Impact Of Electrification On Micro And Medium-Sized Enterprises In Kibera Slum, Nairobi
No full textIllegal electricity connection is a challenge in urban slums in developing countries. Kenya is facing illegal electricity connections especially in informal settlements. This is associated with risks such as danger to human beings through electrocution, overload of the system leading to tripping and fire breakout among others. To mitigate against such risks, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company came up with GPOBA electricity expansion project to legally connect electricity to all slums in Kenya including Kibera in 2013. This became a component of the ongoing rural electrification program. This study examined the socio-economic impact of slum electrification with focus on GPOBA project in Kibera slum. The study used quarterly time series data for the period 2008 to 2017 obtained from Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), Micro and Small Enterprise Authority (MSEA) and Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Standard growth regression model was utilized to analyze the impact of legal electricity connections on the growth of micro and medium-sized enterprises in Kibera slum. The results indicated that compared to the period prior to the project, GPOBA project has promoted SMEs growth in Kibera. The growth has contributed to increased number of businesses and employment creation to the working force. This calls for intensification of legal electricity connections in the informal settlements
Influence Of Institutional Factors On Independent Electoral And Boundaries Commission Voter Registration Performance In Turkana East Constituency, Kenya
No full textThis study determined the influence of institutional factors on the performance of voter registration of IEBC, Turkana East Constituency, Turkana County Kenya. Specific objectives for the study was to establish the influence use of technology, human resource capacity, availability of transports and funds has on the performance of voter registration in Turkana East Constituency. The study was anchored on the Rational Theory of Voter Turnout and Abraham Maslow‟s of hierarchy needs and reviewed scholarly documents to get related review on literature. The study adopted census as research design which is descriptive in nature, non-bias and it is accurate, convenient for small population and allows capture of qualitative and quantitative data. The study area was Turkana East Constituency, which had 68 registration centres used for registration of voters exercises and 71 polling stations used for polling/counting during election day and a total of 15,620 registered voters. The Target population were temporary and permanent Electoral officials who took and take part in voter registration exercise, which were 148. The Sample size was the same as the target population because all elements of the study were considered. Structured questionnaire and interviews were research instruments used for data collection. A pilot study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of research instruments. Qualitative data was collected using interviews by holding face-to-face interview with CEM, County ICT officer, RO, and DRO. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires by administering them to VRAs and VRCs. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis while quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 and presented in tables for easy interpretation. In the findings, 90.3% stated that the use of technology largely influenced the performance of VR. In this regard, the study recommended that the government should partner with the electoral body to ensure procurement of high-quality ICT equipment, recruit competent, qualified and experience staff who used ICT equipment diligently to ensure enhanced voter registration performance
What drives distress? Rethinking the roles of emotion and diagnosis among people with diabetes in Nairobi, Kenya
No full textType 2 diabetes mellitus is a condition that both results from and produces social and psychological suffering. As ‘diabetes’ increases among low income patients in poorer nations, new challenges arise that drive, co-occur, and result from the condition. In this article, we describe how social suffering produces diabetes by way of addressing the varied social, psychological, and biological factors that drive diabetes and are reflected in diabetes experiences among patients seeking care at a public hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. We recruited a non-probability sample to participate in a cross-sectional study of 100 patients (aged 35–65 years), where half of the participants sought care from a diabetes clinic and half sought care from the primary healthcare clinic. We obtained informed consent in writing, and collected life history narratives, surveys, anthropometrics, and biomarkers. This paper evaluates survey data using frequencies and regression tables. We found that social factors as opposed to disease factors were major drivers of psychological distress among those with and without diabetes. Psychological distress was associated with female gender and feelings of financial and personal insecurity. We also found insulin resistance was common among those undiagnosed with diabetes, suggesting that many seeking primary care for other health conditions did not receive a routine diabetes test (most likely because it is an out-of-pocket cost, or other competing social factors) and therefore delayed their diagnosis and care. Thus, social and economic factors may drive not only emotional distress among people with diabetes but also delayed care seeking, testing, and self-care as a result of cost and other social challenges
Gender Mainstreaming and Monitoring of Crime Prevention Projects by Police Officers in Londiani Sub-county, Kericho,kenya
No full textGender mainstreaming has been a subject of contention in all organizations globally. It
has been met with a lot of difficulties and has been unsuccessful or achieved very little
success in its implementation. As a result of this, the composition of male and female
employees has never been equal in number in the work place. This study looked into
gender mainstreaming and monitoring of crime prevention projects by police officers in
Londiani sub-county. The study adopted the following four objectives; to determine the
extent to which gender equality influences monitoring crime prevention projects in
Londiani sub-county; to determine the extent to which gender responsiveness influence
monitoring of crime prevention projects in Londiani sub-county; to determine how
working environment influence monitoring of crime prevention projects in Londiani subcounty
andto determine the extent to which training influence monitoring of crime
prevention projects in Londiani Sub-County. The research design that was used is
descriptive research design which utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research. Selfadministered
questionnaires were used to collect data from randomly selected
respondents who were a total of 210 police officers and a sample of 136respondents from
three different police stations where 117 questionnaires were returned translating to 86%
response rate. Pilot testing was done for pretesting of instruments on the study among 25
police officers from Kipkelion sub-county where Cronbach's Alpha coefficient achieved
0.936 thus showed the reliability of research instrument. Both descriptive and inferential
statistics was used to analyze data using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS)
version 21. The theories used were transformation model and general deterrence theory.
Stratified random sampling procedure was used to draw samples from the total
population for the study. Gender mainstreaming had significance on monitoring of crime
and prevention of crime in Londiani Sub-County as shown by R value of 0.948. The R
squared value of 0.898 shows that the independent variables accounted for 89.8% of the
variance on monitoring of crimes prevention projects while 10.2% are explained by other
variables not in the study. There was a positive significant relationship between
monitoring crime prevention and gender equality r (177) = 0.756, p< 0.01, monitoring
crime prevention and gender responsiveness r (177) = 0.854 p< 0.01, monitoring crime
prevention and working environment r (177) = 0.784, p< 0.01 and monitoring crime
prevention and training r (177) = 0.916 p< 0.01. There is need to harmonize the number
of women police officers to those of men officers at different levels in senior positions
and in various department. Lucrative assignments should be equally assigned to both
gender and where necessary female officer be paired with male officers
The Role of Translation in the Teaching and Learning of French as a Foreign Language: a Case Study of Selected High Schools in Kenya
No full textThe use of L1 in L2 acquisition is highly discouraged by teacher trainers in institutions of higher learning such as universities and tertiary colleges. In most education systems, the syllabus for foreign languages highlights competence indicators to be the following skills of language: Listening skills, reading skills, speaking skills and writing skills. However, never has ‘translating’ been seen as a technique that can be used to enhance the four skills. This study therefore sought to investigate if the use of code-switching/mixing in teaching of French improves learners’ class participation as well as their performance in a language task. The study also evaluates translation exercises that can be useful in the teaching of French. To conduct the study, a mixed methods research design approach was employed. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data which was analyzed using both SPSS and thematic analysis. Key ethical considerations were followed in order to enhance the privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of the study participants. The findings of the study established that code-switching/mixing is important in improving learner participation within the classroom context. Secondly, the findings established that translation exercises had a major impact on learners’ performance in a language task. Lastly, the findings also recommended different translation approaches that were found to be useful in the classroom set up. These included: the use of movies, reading passages, simulation or role playing and a learner centered approach where the learners engaged in the translation activities by themselves. Some recommendations and limitations were suggested at the end in order to enhance the teaching and learning of French
Investigate The Software Development Methodologies In Practice: A Case Of Software Producing Firms In Nairobi
No full textThe role of software development methodology firms and products is increasingly becoming more important in developing countries. This informs the need for software development firms operating (or intending to) in such context to adopt software development methodology/practices that fits well with the context of developing countries in order to stay competitive and ensure their long-term sustainability. The very nature of software developing firms being small in size, and operating in markets such as developing countries puts pressure on them to determine the software development methodologies that they can effectively use in such context, determine the benefits that they can derive from using the given software development methodologies, and also determining the factors influencing software development methodologies in such contexts. This research aimed at investigating the software development methodologies in practice in Kenya.
The research revealed that software development firms in Kenya largely use the agile methodology, this is mainly focused on perception that it can derive the benefits related to having enhanced controlled and offer helpful guidance. Additionally, the study also established that there is a mix of target market for software developing firms in Kenya mainly led by Banking financial institutions and governments (or public enterprises); Java programming language is the most commonly used language; the software firms largely engaging in new software development, closely followed by system integration.
The research recommends that in order to be successful in the Kenyan software market, firms should use Java application and agile methodology. However, they need to adapt to the dynamic of the market and customers’ needs. Secondly, the research recommends that more needs to be done to establish attitude that influence software methodology usage. Thirdly, the research recommends that more studies needs to carried out to establish depth of usage of software engineering practices
Evaluation of Heavy Metals and Microbial Contamination in Herbal Medicines Used for Chronic Illnesses in Nairobi Metropolis
No full textThe World Health Organization estimates that 70-80% of the world’s population uses herbal medicines for their primary health care needs. Herbal medicines may be contaminated with toxic metals, microbes and pesticide residues among other contaminants. In spite of their popularity and immense contribution to the primary health care, many African countries lack or have insufficient quality control systems to assure the safety of these products. This study sought to evaluate marketed herbal products for two important quality parameters, heavy metals and microbial contamination, in Nairobi metropolis that comprises of Nairobi City County and sections of Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos Counties.
Experimental
Herbal medicine samples used for the management of chronic illnesses namely diabetes, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, peptic ulcer disease, tuberculosis, cancer and hypertension were obtained from pharmacies, open-air markets and supermarkets within Nairobi metropolis. Heavy metals namely lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic were quantitatively determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Microbial analysis was performed according to the British pharmacopeia, 2017 specifications for herbal medicines. Principal component analysis was performed in order to detect potentially harmful herbal medicines using Origin Pro 9.1 software (OriginaLab Corporation, MA, USA) while quantitative risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the potential public health risk posed by consumption of herbal medicines using target quotient and cancer risk methodology as elaborated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Results and Discussion
A total of 89 herbal products were sampled for this study. A large proportion of the samples (42, 47.2%) were collected from Nairobi City County because it is the core distributive centre of the other metropolis regions. The remaining 47 samples (52.8%) were from the other three counties. Among the 89 samples, 55 (61.8%) had no both brand name and list of ingredients while 8 (9.0%) had brand name without list of ingredients. Only 26 (29.2%) samples had both brand name and list of ingredients. All the 89 samples were subjected to elemental analysis, whereby 33 (37.08%), 19 (21.35%), 3 (3.37%) and 2 (2.25%) contained lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium, respectively, above the United States Pharmacopeia, (2018) permissible limits. A two-tailed test of significance showed no correlation between the levels of analysed metals. Analysis of variance using the F-statistic also showed that the content of the metals in the herbal products were significantly different at 0.05 level (p=0.3093). Risk analysis identified arsenic and mercury as being of greatest risk for non-cancerous toxicity with hazard index of greater than 1. Cancer risk (CR) and total cancer risk (TCR) higher than 104 were identified in some samples. Arsenic was found to be the contributor of the CR in some samples.
Eighty six samples were subjected to microbial analysis, where 14 (16.3%) had no visible growth while 72 (83.7%) exhibited growth of microorganisms and were subjected to test for specified microorganisms. Thirty nine (54.17%) of the 72 samples did not comply with the BP 2017 specifications. Twenty nine (33.72%) and 26 (36.1%) failed enumeration and test for specified micro-organisms, respectively.
Conclusion and Recommendation
The study revealed significant contamination with heavy metals and microorganisms in the herbal products. Mercury and arsenic were identified to pose the greatest non-cancer risk to consumers of herbal medicines with a two-fold higher risk in children than adults. The cancer risk was ascribable to arsenic. Judicious use of herbal medicines in children and adults is recommended. Chronic use of these products may lead to bioaccumulation of the contaminants that may inadvertently have serious health implications. This underscores need for proper regulation of herbal products to ensure only those products that comply with standard quality specifications get to the market.a
Department of Psychiatry, University of Nairobi, ; bDepartment of Mental Health, School of Medicine,
Moi University, Eldoret, Keny
Influence of Project-team Selection on Core Banking Solution Implementation Project in Financial Institutions in Kenya- a Case of the State Bank of Mauritius - Kenya.
No full textThe purpose of this project research study was to determine the influential bearing of project-team selection on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ in Kenya a case of the State Bank of Mauritius - Kenya. Four objectives have guided the research work, namely; to determine the influential bearing of project-team interconnectivity on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’, to examine the influential bearing of project-team complexity on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’; to investigate the influential bearing of project-team structure on Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ and to establish the influential bearing of Government policy as a moderating variable on Core Banking Solution implementation project. The study was anchored on the social identity theory, organization control theory and the ecosystem theory. In this study a descriptive research survey design was adopted. A questionnaire method was used to collect data and the generated quantitative data evaluated through use of descriptive and inferential statistics for ease of interpretation. A pre-test of the adopted questionnaire was done on a trial basis at the Consolidated Bank of Kenya (Project Management Unit) to ascertain the validity and reliability of the data collection instrument. The Cronbach's alpha measure of scale consistency was computed and applied to measure the validity and reliability of the data collection tools. A target population of 50 staff members working in the project management unit at State Bank of Mauritius – Kenya formed basis of the population under study through a census approach. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected and results presented using tables. From the correlation matrix results, it was established that Core Banking Solution implementation project was positively related to all project-team attributes with the project-team complexity having the highest degree of relationship with the Core Banking Solution implementation project of 51.69 percent, followed by Government policy at 50.41 percent, project-team interconnectivity at 47.22 percent and finally project-team structure at 20.11 percent. Further, the review of correlation matrix coefficient indicated that there were no two independent variables that were highly correlated given that all the correlation coefficients are less than 0.7, the overall Cronbach’s alpha was 0.905, thus ruling out the possibility of multicollinearity in the regression model. The study findings established that project-team interconnectivity, project-team structure, project-team complexity and Government policy had significant influence on Core Banking Solution implementation project as applied in financial institutions’ in Kenya. Project-team interconnectivity had the highest positive influence (χ1= 0.8532; p<5), followed by Government policy (χ4=0.4868; p<5), then project-team structure (χ3=0.4806; p<5). On the other hand, project-team complexity exhibited a negative influence of (χ2= -0.5105; p<5). Based on these findings, the study recommends some key findings that policy makers and planners would incorporate to inform policy decisions on team interconnectivity values of teamwork while implementing projects in order to achieve optimal Core Banking Solution implementation project rate within financial institutions’ in Kenya. In addition, the study findings recommend policy makers to consider putting in place mechanisms that ensure the existence of a well-defined project-team structure that eliminates team ambiguities. Further, the study recommends stringent compliance to Government policies through the Central bank of Kenya (CBK); these should be referenced and incorporated in the institutions’ internal project management policies and procedures for prudent governance purposes. These recommendations, as supported by this study, if applied would improve significantly the rate of Core Banking Solution implementation project in financial institutions’ in Kenya
The Influence of Performance Appraisal on Delivery of Public Services: a Case Study of National Youth Service (Nys)
No full textThe study sort to find out the influence of performance appraisal on delivery of public services in NYS Technical and Vocational Training Institutes. The study established how performance targets, monitoring employees performance, and aligning performance appraisal to rewards influence the delivery of public services. The target population was 110 employees from 4 NYS Technical and Vocational Training Institutes. Stratified random sampling was considered appropriate for this study, given the diversity of the target population, which consisted of 56 workers from four different training institutes in NYS, Ruaraka in Nairobi. Data collection was mainly done with the help of questionnaires given to the respective respondents by the researcher and mail survey which involved dropping and picking, for the respondents who were not easily available due to the busy work schedule. The data obtained was subjected to analysis using quantitative techniques. The results were presented in tables, pie charts as well as histograms. It was confirmed that performance appraisal positively influences the delivery of public services. Setting performance appraisal targets positively influenced performance and delivery of public services by employees. It was also found that performance monitoring was crucial in public service delivery by the public servants. The study established the existence of a mutual connection between performance based rewards and public service delivery. The study recommends setting of employees performance appraisal targets that: follow the SMART criteria, employees are involved in formulation and targets that are in line with job descriptions and specifications. Such targets enhance efficiency, integrity and accountability and responsiveness to the needs of the public. The study further recommends that employees performance monitoring need to be on agreed targets, done regularly, immediate feedback on performance and the appropriate action taken to address the variance in performance if any. The study also recommends that rewards given to the employees should be informed by performance appraisal reports. The employees performance report should be the determinant of career developmet