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An Assessment of Social Media Platforms on Guests’ Choice of Fine Dining Restaurants in Selected Cities in Kenya
No full textDoctor of Philosophy in Hospitality and Tourism Management, 2022Despite the popularity of Social Media Platforms, limited data and studies have assessed the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. Fine dining restaurants are defined as exceptional restaurants from regular restaurants in terms of food, pricing, staff training, and level of service. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu Cities. Four specific objectives of the study were formulated. The first objective was to assess the influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. The second objective was to assess the moderating influence of socio-demographic factors on Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The third objective was to investigate the moderating influence of individual factors on Social Media Platforms on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The fourth objective was to determine the joint influence of Social Media Platforms, socio-demographic factors, and individual factors on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. The Pragmatism philosophical stance influenced doing a mixed-method (concurrent nested/embedded) survey. The study was carried out in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu Cities. These locations have the highest number of fine dining restaurants besides being a metropolitan tourist destination. Both Mombasa and Kisumu cities had four fine dining restaurants each and were included in the study. Nairobi city had 36 fine dining restaurants and a simple random sampling technique was used to select four study units. Data were collected using questionnaires from 307 guests and 36 managers. All the respondents were purposively sampled. A combination of scheduled online and physical interviews were conducted with the 36 managers. Four null hypotheses were formulated and either accepted or rejected at 0.05p-value with corresponding t-statistics at n-1 degree of freedom. To enhance the reliability and validity of the research instruments, piloting was done in similar study units but not included in the actual study. Ethical considerations were observed to protect the rights and confidentiality of the respondents. Qualitative data were organized into categories, themes, sub-themes, and concepts for interpretation. The qualitative results revealed the most popular Social Media Platforms. Further verified was the presence of influence of Social Media Platforms on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants with about two-thirds of the guests, as middle-aged married men. The Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 to generate descriptive statistics, inferential, statistics, and regression analysis. Revealed were significant positive effects of Social Media Platforms on explained variations of about 32% on guests' choice of fine dining restaurants. Also revealed were insignificant effects of social demographic factors on guests' use of Social Media Platforms to choose fine dining restaurants but significant positive effects of individual factors on guests’ use of Social Media Platforms in the choice of fine dining restaurants. The study concluded that Social Media Platforms significantly influence guests' choice of fine-dining restaurants. Potential guests are likely to trust reviews and comments posted by previous customers to make decisions Managers and owners of fine dining restaurants should install infrastructure that enables guests to use Social Media Platforms. This study contributes to the understanding of theories of consumer behavior from the perspective of fine dining restaurants. Also provided is knowledge for sharing with stakeholders and for policy developments.Murang'a University of Technolog
Maladaptation
No full textClimate change remains one for the greatest challenge facing humanity in the 21st century and beyond. Whereas the impact of climate change cuts across all sectors of the economy climate sensitive industries like tourism are the most affected sectors. In order to limit vulnerability and to enhance resilience adaptation and mitigation strategies have been proposed. Whereas both interventions are necessary, adaptation is urgent. It is noted that tourism destination managers are already coming up with interventions in order to maintain the attractiveness of their destinations. However it has emerged the not all adaptation strategies are good on because an adaptation at one level can lead to maladaptation at another level. Using examples this entry intends to provide a clear definition of the term maladaptation.
Maladaptation is a term that has found its way in climate change literature. It emanates from practical lessons reported in literature in the last decade. Maladaptation is defined as ‘action taken ostensibly to avoid or reduce vulnerability to climate change that impacts adversely on, or increases the vulnerability of other systems, sectors or social groups’ (Barnett and O’Neill, 2010, p.211). It is an intentional result of adaptation strategies
Effect of carbonization on the surface and influence on heavy metal removal by water hyacinth stem-based carbon
No full textPurpose – The aim of this study is to examine the effect of carbonization on the surface and its influence on
heavy metal removal by water hyacinth based carbon.
Design/methodology/approach – Dried water hyacinth stem was used as precursor to prepare carbon
based adsorbent by pyrolysis method. The adsorbent proximate (ash, volatile matter and fixed carbon) and
elemental (carbon hydrogen nitrogen sulfur) composition, surface area, pore size distribution, surface
chemistry was examined and compared.
Findings – The results demonstrated that through carbonization in comparison to dried water hyacinth stem,
it increased the surface area (from 58.46 to 328.9 m2
/g), pore volume (from 0.01 to 0.07 cc/g), pore size (from 1.44
to 7.557 A) thus enhancing heavy metal adsorption. The metal adsorption capacity of Cd, Pb and Zn was
measured and analyzed through induced coupled plasma-mass spectrometer. At metal concentration of 0.1 mg/
l adsorption rate for Cd, Pb and Zn was 99% due to increased large surface area, coupled with large pore size
and volume. Furthermore, the adsorbent surface hydroxyl group (OH ) enhanced adsorption of positively
charged metal ions through electrostatic forces.
Practical implications – It is presumed that not only adsorption with synthetic wastewater but real
wastewater samples should be examined to ascertain the viability of adsorbent for commercial application.
Originality/value – There are little or scanty data on the effects of carbonization on water hyacinth stem
based carbon and subsequent effects on heavy metal removal in effluents
Nestng success of Sharpe’s Longclaw (Macronyx sharpei Jackson, 1904) around the grasslands of lake Ol’bolossat Nyandarua, Kenya
No full textSharpe’s Longclaw Macronyx sharpei is an endangered Kenyan endemic bird restricted to high-alttude grasslands with long
tussocks. The species occurs on the grasslands surrounding Lake Ol’Bolossat in Nyandarua, Kenya, an area that is globally recognized
as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. The grasslands receive litle conservaton measures, which have led to the decline in the
populaton density of Sharpe’s Longclaw. Nestng success in birds is crucial for their populaton growth. The daily survival rate for natural
nests of Sharpe’s Longclaw in the grasslands of Lake Ol’Bolossat had not been systematcally assessed prior to this study. Natural nests
were actvely searched during the breeding seasons of March–May 2016, while artfcial nests were constructed using dry grass containing
artfcial eggs made of cream modeling clay. Natural nests had a higher daily nest survival percentage than artfcial nests. The highest
daily nest survival rate was 40% and the lowest 0.01%. Predators, livestock grazing and fres greatly reduced the survival of nestlings. We
recommend intensive ecological management of the high-alttude grasslands of Lake Ol’Bolossat
Harnessing our ICT Skill Set and Research Efforts for Sustainable Development
No full textFor some time now, ICTs have become ubiquitous, making them a common place phenomenon in modern society. Almost all electronics are ICT enabled to date, with most people who can read and write having interacted with ICTs one way or the other. For example, mobile phones which have changed the way we think, socialize and do business, are ICT-enabled. According to Statista, a German Company specializing in market and consumer data, The number of mobile subscriptions in Kenya rose from 0.13 million in the year 2000 to 61.41 million in 2020. This makes sense when you consider that many Kenyans walk with two or more mobile devices wherever they go.
Countries that have had the highest infusion of ICT in their sectors have reaped the most benefits. These benefits can generally be seen alongside the developed vs developing countries divide. ICTs are seen as a powerful solution to the problems affecting developing countries. Indeed, ICTs have the potential of making developing countries to catch up and even overtake developed countries much faster than originally thought.
This paper challenges us to harness ICT skill set through: 1. enhancement of our computing curricula by thinking through how they are designed and implemented. 2. Enhancement of research efforts by addressing four key problems that characterize research in this sector so as to come up with novel and sustainable solutions to challenges that affect our developing economies
