Stratford Peer Reviewed Journals and Books
Not a member yet
2323 research outputs found
Sort by
Education Policy and Planning Initiatives in Kenya: A Review of Literature
No full textThe history of formal education in Kenya reveals a range of educational policies each of which has had a bearing on, or been impacted by educational planning initiatives and outcomes. These policies depict the evolving national aspirations of the nation. A brief walk through the history of formal education in the country; right from early missionary education, through to colonial and post-colonial education, and right into education in the 21st century; provides a rich insight.
Keywords: Education, policy, planning, reform initiative
School Feeding Program and Students’ School Attendance in 12 Years Basic Education in Rwanda
No full textFeeding students especially at school increase the students’ school productivity due to the fact that students get opportunity to take lunch at school and continue their studies. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between the program of offering lunch to students and students’ attendance in Rusizi District. The target population was 360 respondents. From this population, a simple random sampling and convenient sampling techniques were used to get 189 respondents. Questionnaire, document analysis review and observation were used as data collection instruments. IBM SPSS version 23 was used in the study for the management of quantitative data. Besides, thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative findings. The findings revealed the implementation of lunch meal program is effective in terms of involvement of stakeholders with the mean of 3.51 and meal quality and quantity with the mean of 3.44 which is interpreted as high and assets and materials were rated as moderate. It was also found that the level of dropout has diminished considering the mean of 3.95, the level of absenteeism has diminished considering the mean of 3.42, the students can spend the whole day at school without any interruption considering the mean of 3.96, and it was revealed that students can endure long hours of teaching without showing fatigues considering the mean of 3.82. The study revealed that there is a statistical significant positive correlation between meal lunch program and school attendance where r= 0.771 and P= 0.016< 0.015. It is recommended that all involved stakeholders should work hand in hand to improve the program lunch mean at schools since it may help in producing students who are competent.
Keywords: School, school attendance, school feeding program and 12 Years basic educatio
The Role of School Executive Committee Activities on the School Management in Public Secondary School in Rwanda
No full textThe executive committee in the school setting enhances management and improves the school's activity. The purpose of this paper, therefore, was to find out the contribution of school executive committee activities on school management in public secondary schools of Nyarugenge District. The study was explanatory using quantitative and qualitative approaches where data was obtained by the use of questionnaires, interviews and documentation to gain the required information. The sample size was 104 respondents. The findings revealed that there is still the issue of students dropping out. The school attendance is very neglected by the manager and supervisor, resulting in poor time management. The repetition rate is seen in public secondary schools of Nyarugenge District as it was agreed by the majority of respondents 54(51.9%). The analysis revealed that the calculated x^2at 0.05 is 57.641 which is greater than the table value and the p-value (0.003) is less than the significant level of 0.05. This shows the correlation between the school executive committee and school management. The study recommends that the government and school principals should involve the school executive committee in the contribution of school management. MINEDUC and District should regularly supervise and make follow-ups on school management. They should also take clear measures for better school management.
Keywords: School management, School Committee, School’s Executive Committee, Public Secondary School, Rwand
Public Participation and Performance of Government Projects in Thailand
No full textPublic participation is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. The performance of government projects in Thailand has been slow. Some of the projects have taken a longer time than anticipated to be completed. In addition, some projects are not the priority of the citizens and they end up being of no value to the citizens. Thus, the study sought to examine the effect of public participation on the performance of government projects in Thailand. The study used a descriptive research design. The collection of the data was done using questionnaires. The study sampled randomly 1378 people in Bangkok. The analysis of the data was done using SPSS. The study findings showed public participation has a positive and significant effect on the performance of development projects in Thailand. Public participation is a basic condition in local democracy because it allows the citizen to take part and contribute to bringing more solutions to any type of problem. Most governments are called to change and give their citizens room in the decision-making processes, from the low levels of governance to the highest. The study concluded that public participation has led to the effective planning, execution, operation, and monitoring of projects. It is recommended that the project officers should encourage the participation of the community by motivating participants to offer their views on various projects. The project officers need to include locals in all relevant activities involving work sequencing, work organizing, financing and staffing. Public participation makes it possible to consider community issues. Public participation should be organized in a particular way to make sure that they contribute to the environmental, financial, and social sustainability concerns of the project.
Keywords: Public Participation, Performance, Government Projects, Thailan
Effects of Air Pollution on the Development of Respiratory Diseases among Residents in New Delhi, India
No full textAir pollution is the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. The industrialization of countries has increased the emission to the atmosphere that has significantly oplurid the air. Exposure to high levels of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes. Hence, the study sought to examine the effects of air pollution on the development of respiratory diseases among residents in New Delhi, India. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The targeted population included the residents of New Delhi. The key respondents included health practitioners. The collection of the data was done using the questionnaires. The rationale for picking the health practitioners to respond to the research instruments is because they were more involved in the treatment and were more informed about the cases that have been reported from the residents due to the air pollution. The study found that air pollution positively influences the development of respiratory diseases. Air pollution can worsen lung function in people with breathing problems and decrease lung function in those with healthy lungs. Exposure to air pollution puts you at risk for lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke and, in extreme cases, premature death. The study concluded that air pollution is a danger to lung health, particularly for children, the elderly, people who work or spend time outdoors and people with heart or lung disease. The study recommended strict measures/initiatives should be taken by the government, industry and the private sector to reduce the burden of air pollution. It is further recommended that individuals should use clean fuels. Likewise, air cleansers that can enhance the air quality are suggested. Industrialization, urbanization, population growth and demand for transportation, mainly in the cities, need to be managed.
Keywords: Air Pollution, Respiratory Health Complications, New Delhi, Indi
Influence of Women Group Activities on Maternal Health Service Utilization in Owich Sub-location, Nyatike Sub-county of Kenya
No full textDespite achievements in Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4, Kenya made insufficient progress by 2015. Women group activities significantly influence access to maternal health service inequalities which continue to record increased mortality rates. Globally, maternal health service utilization remains a major challenge to public health systems. Kenya is considered among top 10 countries comprising 58% of global maternal deaths in 2013 and contributed to 2% of these deaths. In spite of benefits of births assisted by skilled birth attendants, Migori County is still under performing in skilled delivery (47%) with 21.9% and 44% home deliveries and community health services coverage respectively. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of women groups training, economic and social activities on maternal health service utilization in Owich Sub-location, Nyatike Sub-county of Kenya. Descriptive research design was adopted in the study. Data was collected using key informant interview guides and structured questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data. To determine respondents to participate in the study, purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques was used. The formula Nf = n / 1+n/N was used to determine a sample size of 240 respondents out of a total population of 503 women involved in group activities within Owich Sub-location; Key findings indicated that women group economic, training and social activities significantly influence maternal health service utilization to a great extent 89.7%, agreed 84.5% and moderate extent 77.4% respectively. The study recommends adoption of women group activities to influence maternal health service utilization to inform the government policy formulation and development programs. The researcher recommends further studies on intervening variable; leadership and governance particularly in health systems and government policy
Relationship between Menstrual Hygiene Management and Lower Reproductive Tract Infections among Adolescent Girls in Informal Settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya
No full textInfections of the lower reproductive tract are a public-health concern. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the link between menstrual hygiene, water, sanitation and hygiene variables and lower reproductive tract infection has not been appropriately explored. This study sought to determine the menstrual hygiene management practices associated with occurrence of lower reproductive tract infections among adolescent girls in Informal Settlements in Nakuru County. The study used a community-based cross-sectional design targeting adolescent girls in informal settlements in Nakuru County. Multi-stage and simple random sampling methods were used to obtain a sample size of 385 adolescent girls. The findings showed that the proportion of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) among the participants was 59.71% Regarding the menstrual hygiene management practices, adolescents who changed absorbent material more than twice a day were 0.22 times less likely to report experiencing a LRTI compared to those who changed once a day, (p=0.005), those who dried their reusable absorbent material outside the house were 0.26 times less likely to be infected with LRTI compared to those who dried inside the house, (p=0.014), and those who reported bathing > 3times during menstruation were 0.27 less likely to report occurrence of LRTI compared to those who bath once, (p=0.012). The study found significant association between type of absorbent material, frequency of changing absorbent material, frequency of bathing, presence of hand washing equipment and presence of anal cleansing material in toilets and lower reproductive tract infections. A study in this population that incorporate comprehensive microbiological and clinical assessments so as to get a better estimate of the prevalence of LRTI would be recommended, this will also support development of public health interventions.
Keywords: Menstrual Hygiene Management, Lower Reproductive Tract Infections, Adolescent Girl
Demographic Factors Related to Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Uptake Among Children Attending Immunization Services
No full textThe study sought to determine demographic factors related to pneumococcal conjugate vaccine uptake among children attending immunization services. This was a descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based quantitative and qualitative study. The study was conducted in Maternal Child Health (MCH) clinic and pediatric wards. It involved parents/caregivers (n= 104) bringing their children to the hospital. Simple random sampling was used to identify parent’s/guardian respondents. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data from the correspondents. A key informant interview with the nurse in charge was also conducted. Data were analyzed using the software Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18.0 computer package. Research results were presented in frequency distribution tables, graphs pie charts and other forms of descriptive statistics. The study findings revealed that immunization uptake was statistically significantly associated with parity. The occupation of the guardian however didn’t show any significance to vaccine uptake. This study recommends that: For PCV to reach effectively every child parents/guardians would need updated information tailored to the understanding of pneumonia disease burden and prevention. Information on PCV must be provided by well-informed and experience health personnel. Increase awareness in the community through increased sensitization and mass campaigns
Keywords: Demographic factors, Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Parity, Occupation, Immunization services
 
Yield Production for Soybean Varieties under Different Spacing on Maize Intercrop
No full textSoybean is an important crop not only in African countries, but also in the entire world being one of the most protein containing legume from its seeds which is used as food among other uses of the crop such as Nitrogen fixation. However, in Africa, low production levels have been recorded over the years with Africa contributing to 1% of the entire world soybean production. This paper therefore sought to determine the yield production for soybean varieties under different spacing on maize intercrop. The paper adopted experimental research design. From the analysis results on the measure of the total yield production for soybean varieties on different spacings on maize intercrop, the study established that DPSB variety seeds had the highest average weight while Gazelle and Nyala variety had the least average weight of seeds. The researcher recommended DPSB19 variety at 30cm with an average of 14.10335g with only the research boundary factors maintained on the total yield production for soybean varieties on different spacing on maize intercrop.
Keywords: Yield Production, Soybean Varieties, Maize Intercrop, Spacin
CAMEL Approach and Financial Sector Sustainability of Commercial Banks in Rwanda: A Case of Bank of Kigali, Rwanda
No full textThe study analyzed the CAMEL approach and financial sector sustainability of commercial banks in Rwanda, with data collection at the Bank of Kigali (BK). The specific objectives were to find out the effects of capital adequacy on the financial sustainability of Bank of Kigali; to examine the effects of asset quality on the financial sustainability of Bank of Kigali; to evaluate the effects of management efficiency on the financial sustainability of Bank of Kigali; to analyze the effects of Earnings sufficiency on the financial sustainability of Bank of Kigali, and to evaluate the effects of liquidity on the financial sustainability of Bank of Kigali. The qualitative and descriptive approaches were applied in this study with linear regression showing the relationship between two variables using SPSS IBM 22.0 version. The target population of this study was 51 employees from BK headquarters, and 51 respondents are the sample size. Sampling procedures were used is purposive sampling procedure for selecting participants of this study. The questionnaire and interview guide, documentary techniques were used by the researcher to obtain the information for this study. Descriptive statistical methods and linear regression analysis test was used in the analysis of this study. Findings indicated that there is a strong correlation between capital adequacy and financial sector sustainability as Pearson correlation is 0.784** with the p-value of 0.000, which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01. The results show that there is a strong correlation between asset quality and financial sector sustainability as Pearson correlation is .799**. The p-value is 0.000, which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01. The results show that there is a positive and very strong correlation between management efficiency and financial sector sustainability of BK as the Pearson correlation is .891**. The p-value is 0.000, which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01. The results show that there is a strong correlation between earnings sufficiency and financial sector sustainability of BK as the Pearson correlation is .572**. The p-value is 0.000, which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01. Findings show that there is a strong correlation between liquidity and financial sector sustainability of BK as Pearson correlation was 0.616**. The p-value is 0.000, which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01. Findings revealed that the p-value is 0.000 which is less than both standard significance levels of 0.05 and 0.01 as it is an indicator of the existence of a significant relationship between the CAMEL approach and financial sector sustainability of BK since, as Pearson correlation value was 0.854** which is a positive and very strong correlation between two variables (CAMEL approach and financial sector sustainability of BK). Based on the findings obtained above, the study concludes that there is a significant and positive relationship between the CAMEL approach and the financial sector sustainability of BK, Rwanda. As a recommendation, Bank management should improve on the management of bank assets and liabilities, especially on the quality of assets portfolio and deposit liabilities to improve on the achievement of corporate objectives.
Keywords: CAMEL approach, Financial Sector, Sustainability, Commercial Banks, Rwand