Stratford Peer Reviewed Journals and Books
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Off farm activities and Welfare of Beneficiaries in CORE Project in Rwanda
No full textUnderstanding the contributions of CORE Project’s off-farm interventions on household welfare is important because these interventions are in response to effects of risky income and jobless on household welfare in Rusizi District. This includes inability to obtain household basic needs like food, shelter, clothes and minimal investment., The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the relationship between off-farm economic activities and the welfare of the beneficiaries of CORE project in Rusizi district of Rwanda. This paper employed correlation research design. The target population of this study was 33,835 direct project beneficiaries from Rusizi District corresponding to the sample size of 166 respondents obtained by using Kothari‘s (2004) formula. Questionnaire and guided interview were used as data collection instruments. The findings revealed that people who are engaged in off-farm activities are likely to earn more as presented by 77(50.9%) of respondents. This study also presented that one of the off-farm activities preferred most is tailoring as mentioned by 32(21.1%) of respondents. The findings also revealed that food security was mentioned highly by 33(21.7%) in terms of welfare indicators achieved as a result of off-farm activities. Nevertheless, this paper shows that there is a statistical significance positive relationship between off-farm economic activities and welfare of beneficiaries in CORE Project (r =0.293, P=.000<0.01). This paper also recommends that financial institutions working in Rusizi district should give loan facilities to the local citizens so as to enable them to start their own investment particularly in small off-farm income generating activities.
Key words: Off-Farm Activities, Welfare Beneficiaries and Core Project & Rwand
Influence of Youth Enterprise Development Fund Sponsored Entrepreneurship Skills Training on the Growth of Entrepreneurial Youth Group Based Enterprises in Nairobi County, Kenya
No full textThe Government of Kenya initiated a youth enterprise fund named Youth Enterprise Development Fund in the year 2006 with one of the objectives as training the youth in entrepreneurship skills. The youths were required to form youth groups and operate youth group based enterprises. In fulfillment of its mandate, the YEDF has trained over 180,000 in business development and management skills, 62,000 were trained on business development and entrepreneurship skills. The training focuses on self-belief, self -motivation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. 2,500 youth have been trained on public procurement in Kenya. In spite of massive investment by the government on training youth enterprises the influence of YEDF, sponsored entrepreneurship skills training on the growth of entrepreneurial youth group based enterprises (YGBE) and the moderating role played by group dynamics in the relationship between YEDF- sponsored training and growth of Youth Group Based Enterprises is unknown. This study therefore aimed at investigating the influence of Entrepreneurship skills training on the growth, and the moderating role of groups’ dynamics, on the relationship between the entrepreneurship skills training and growth of entrepreneurial youth based enterprises. A cross sectional survey design was adopted on a sample of 156 from a population of 255 entrepreneurial youth group based enterprises that have benefited from YEDF training in Nairobi County, Kenya. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data from group leaders. Cronbach Alpha coefficients of 0.7 for all variables was attained from the pilot study. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used to analyze data. Correlation and regression techniques, analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to test the study hypotheses. A multiple linear regression model was also used to derive inferential statistical indicators like the correlation, coefficient of determination, F-statistics, t-test statistic and the p-value. The key finding based on the tests conducted in the study was that entrepreneurship skills training had a significant effect on the response variable. The study also found group dynamics to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between training and growth of entrepreneurial youth group based enterprises in Nairobi County. The study also established that group dynamics had predicative effect on the growth of entrepreneurial youth group based enterprises. The study recommended conducting of Training Need Analysis and establishment of group formation criteria guidelines.
Key terms: Entrepreneurship skills training, growth, entrepreneurial youth group based enterprises  
The Role of Corporate Leadership on Firms Innovativeness in Birmingham Firms
No full textInnovation is needed for companies who want to stay a long time in business, where established companies most often have the economic resources required to conduct innovation work. The development of commercially viable new products requires technological and market possibilities are linked effectively in the product's design. Innovators in large firms have persistent problems with such linking, however. This research examines these problems by focusing on the shared interpretive schemes people use to make sense of product innovation. Birmingham firms has long been perceived as a gritty, hard-working city. However, for some reason, when it comes to business innovation and growth, the city does not always get the praise it deserves. The paper describes in some depth differences among the thought worlds which keep innovators from synthesizing their expertise in Birmingham. The paper also details how organizational routines exacerbate problems with knowledgeability, capability, innovation implementation and diffusion of innovation barriers. The main implication of the study is that to improve innovation in large firms it is necessary to deal explicitly with the interpretive barriers described here. Suggestions for practice and research are offered.
Keywords: Innovation, Corporate Leadership & Birmingham Firms
Influence of Legal Framework on Recruitment and Selection in Service State Corporations in Kenya
No full textRetaining quality workers is challenging as a result of recent phenomena such as skills shortages, employee mobility and the expected retirement of baby boomers in the near future. These phenomena negatively affect organizations’ ability to create and maintain their competitive advantage in the labour market. Hiring the right persons requires legislation like employment equity which must be fulfilled and the survival of an organization usually depends on the caliber of its employees. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the influence legal framework has on recruitment and selection in service oriented State Corporation in Kenya. The study employed a descriptive cross sectional type of research design that enabled investigation of the various factors that influence recruitment and selection. The target sample was 154 executives of Service State Corporation in Kenya. A stratified random sampling technique was used to achieve desired representation. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. To analyze the collected data, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Statistical software used was SPSS version 20. Regression analysis between legal framework and recruitment and selection revealed a coefficient of determination (R squared) of 0.733, implying that legal framework accounts for 73.3% of the variation in recruitment and selection of employees in Service State Corporation in Kenya. The findings also revealed a positive and significant relationship between legal framework and recruitment and selection in Service State Corporations in Kenya (B=.872, p=.000<.05). The study concludes that legal framework has significant positive influence on recruitment and selection, then proper measured should be put in place on improving legal framework for proper recruitment and selection process to take place. The study recommends that the Kenyan government should enact policies that promote recruitment and selection which would in turn promote employee retention. The policy makers should enact polices that promote talent management aspects in state corporations in Kenya in order to ensure sustainable employee retention a good leadership and competitive advantage.
Keywords: Legal Framework, Government policy and practice, Rules and regulations, Acts of parliaments, Recruitment and selection
Algorithm and Data Mining Application in Crime prediction Using Machine Learning: Perspective from, the United Kingdom
No full textCrimes are one of the major factors that affect various important decisions of an individual’s life like moving to a new place, roaming at right time, avoiding risky areas, etc.; crimes affect and defame the image of a community. Crimes also affect the economy of a nation by placing the financial burden on government due to the need for additional police forces, courts etc. As crimes are increasing drastically, we are at the alarming stage to reduce them at even faster rate. Crimes are common social problems in UK that affects the quality of life, economic growth and reputation of the country. Police in UK started trialing software designed by Accenture to identify gang members that were likely to commit violent crimes or reoffend. It began an unprecedented study drawing on five years of data that included previous crime rates and social media activity and by using data to fight crime is clearly not entirely novel, but to take this further, it is important to use data mining techniques especially with all the open data about crime that is available. By conducting a literature review study, it was established that crimes are treacherous and common social problem faced worldwide and affect the quality of life, economic growth, and reputation of a nation; there has been an enormous increase in crime rate in the last few years. In order to reduce the crime rate, the law enforcements in UK are taking the preventive measures with the aim of securing the society from crimes, there is a need for advanced systems and new approaches for improving the crime analytics for protecting their communities. Accurate real-time crime predictions help to reduce the crime rate but remains challenging problem for the scientific community as crime occurrences depend on many complex factors. The study also found that with an appropriate machine learning models, security apparatus have the ability to continually predict changes in criminal activities so that they are best able to predict what’s next. As data is constantly added, the machine learning models ensure that the solution is constantly updated. If one uses the most appropriate and constantly changing data sources in the context of machine learning, they have the opportunity to predict the future. While crime may not necessarily increase exponentially with a nation’s population, the total number of crimes can be contemplated to increase as the population increases. Hence, deterring crime becomes an important top priority for realizing a sustainable safe and smart city in any nation.
Keywords: Algorithm, Data Mining, Application, Crime, Prediction, Machine, Learning, United Kingdom.
Covid 19 Effects on Hospitality and Tourism in India: Literature Based Review
No full textThis was a literature based reviewed study. The study explored studies conducted on Covid 19 and its effect on hospitality and tourism in India. Global situation of hotel and hospitality industry was also explored in brief. The study therefore relied on past studies to deduce findings, conclusions and recommendations. The study explored Covid 19 and its effects on Hospitality and Tourism in India. After reviewing available studies on Covid 19 in India, it was found that Covid 19 resulted to an estimated USD 16.76 billion in revenue in the hospitality industry in India as for December 2020. This was attributed to cancel bookings, closure of hotels and leisure destinations and travel bans local and globally. The suspension of international flights further resulted to the country losing foreign exchange. Revenue from hotels and other places of leisure drastically fell across Indian cities. It was also established that Covid resulted to massive job losses in the hospitality and tourism sector across India. In addition, sectors that are interlink with tourism and hospitality like food suppliers and travel agencies reported rising losses. Enterprises in the hospitality and tourism industry have to engage in survival strategies like engaging in food delivery to customers for sustenance. The government also has to introduce guidelines to salvage the hospitality and tourism industry including allowing the hotels to open their premises for certain hours of the day, rearranging eating places to ensure social distancing and compelling hospitality service providers to also observe guidelines issued by Ministry of healthy.
Key word: Covid 19, Hospitality, Tourism, Indi
Governance, Leadership and Ethics in the Church: Literature Based Review
No full textThe issue of governance, leadership and ethics is at the center of the biggest challenges Africa is facing today. Bad governance, including corruption has become a cancerous growth in many African countries. It has seen proceeds from natural resources and revenue from taxation being diverted to serve a few individuals to the detriment of the many, instead of developing common goods such as education, health services and infrastructure. The World Bank report on sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, characterized the crisis in the region as a “crisis of governance.” Therefore, the question of governance becomes one of African most important needs. Even though Africa is not one country, many countries in the continent have common problems related to governance coupled with a startling lack of accountability among politicians, church leaders, civil servants and other individuals, amounting to widespread moral decay. However, the details, nuances and practical dynamics of the problem can vary from place to place. The Church cannot afford to be quiet on the issues of governance. Both church leaders and the congregations are citizens who are affected directly or indirectly by those responsible with governance. This paper examines the concept of good governance, leadership and ethics in the context of churches and their role in promoting or hindering it. What ought to be the role of African churches in the realm of good governance?
Keywords; Governance, Leadership & Ethic
Juvenile Delinquency in the United States of America
No full textJuvenile delinquency remains a major emerging social problem globally. Statistics shows that crime among persons aged 18 years and below is on the rise. This paper relied much on literature review approach. Past studies were reviewed to uncover the actual situation regarding juvenile delinquency in the United States. The current juvenile justice system is broken and needs to be dismantled. Better programs should be put into place to ensure they have a chance at a positive outcome of their life. The first step in all of this is listening to children, not just hearing what they are saying. By listening to children, their needs could be better-assessed to think of how the youth globally would change. The positive roles of mainly parents, various community leaders, and interested groups whom adolescents look up to for guidance, were alluded to and emphasized as a desirable contribution to the normal socialization of adolescents. Desired policy formulations indicated above should be a product of experts from various government departments such as health, social welfare, justice, and correctional services. The voice of teachers, parents and youth should complete the list of stakeholders.
Key words: Juvenile Delinquency, United States of Americ
The Effect of Product and Service Innovation on the Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya
No full textMicro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play a pivotal role of improving social sectors through stimulating large scale employment, development of indigenous skills and technology, promoting entrepreneurship and innovativeness and building an industrial base at different scales. MSMEs continue to suffer various setbacks of slowed growth and performance catapulted by unfavorable environmental conditions with an estimated 70% folding up by the third year of operation. The SME sector in Kenya is critical and strategic in attaining vision 2030 and is central in national strategies for stimulating economic activity, reducing unemployment and poverty. This study assessed the effect of product and service innovation on the performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya. The study was guided by positivism research philosophy. It utilized a descriptive survey design. The study population included 8,526 licensed MSMEs in Tharaka-Nithi County. Stratified sampling and random sampling techniques were employed to arrive at the study sample size of 368 MSME owners/managers. Data was collected using questionnaires through hand and delivery procedure. Quantitative data was analyzed using both the descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The results of this study ascertained a significant positive effect of product/service innovation on the performance of MSMEs. Specifically, the regression results produced a coefficient of (?= 0.676, p < .05, Sig 000). This means that for every unit increase in product/service innovation, performance increased by 0.676 units other factors held constant. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (r = 0.701, p-value =0.000< 0.05) establishes a positive significant correlation between product/service innovation and performance of MSMEs. Hence, the study supported the alternative hypotheses. Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that product/service innovation significantly enhances performance of the MSMEs in Kenya. Thus, product/service innovation achieved through introduction of new/improved products/services and enhanced service quality presents an opportunity for entrepreneurial firms to gain traction through the temporary gains accruing from an innovation and a necessary continuous activity for long term entrepreneurial success. The study recommends that MSME owners/ managers should be more proactive towards product/service innovations, pay attention to changes happening in the operating environment and adjust their competitive strategies appropriately to stay ahead of competition. The entrepreneurs are urged to proactively introduce new/improved products/services while enhancing service quality.
Keywords: Product and Service Innovation, Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Tharaka-Nithi County
 
Effect of Social Media Marketing Strategies on Competitive Advantage Among the SMEs in China
No full textThe competitive advantage is potent in facilitating the outsmarting of the competitors. Nonetheless, the competitive advantage of SMEs in China has been very poor. It is estimated that more than 41 percent of SMEs fail within four years after commencing operations. This study examined the effect of social media strategies on competitive advantage among SMEs in China. The study adopted the cross-sectional research design. This design was deemed significant since various SMEs in Beijing were used. The study used the purposive sampling technique to get the sample. This sampling design depends on the decision of the researcher. The researcher chose a sample that convenient to him or her for making the representation for analysis. The study found that social media marketing strategies is positively and significantly related to the competitive advantage. The study concluded that the application of social media marketing strategies in the current World is important for building the relationship between sellers and customers. The use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram facilitate the interaction between sellers and consumers. The study further concluded that social media has become the most influential and important virtual space where the platform is not only used for social networking but is also a great way of digitally advertising your brand and your products. The application of social media in the current World is important for building the relationship between sellers and customers. Some of the social media been applied at large include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blogs. The study concluded that the use of social media enables the business to discover what society needs and increases brand awareness of the products and services. The study recommended that SMEs in China should use social media to market their products and services. The use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram facilitate the interaction between sellers and consumers. The study further recommended that businesses should continue using social media platforms to increase the performance of companies and gain a competitive advantage in the long run.
Keyword: Social Media Marketing Strategies, Competitive Advantage, SMEs, China