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Comparative analysis of phenotypic characterization of Kenya and Pacific Islands tarogen germplasm collections Colocasia esculenta L. (Schott)
Get PDFFifty accessions of taro germplasm collections Colocasia esculenta L.
Received: 15 November, 2014
(Schott) were collected from Kenya and Pacific Islands tarogen germplasm
collections. Twenty five accessions of Kenyan taro germplasm were
Accepted: 17 December, 2014
collected from Western, Nyanza and Rift valley province. The taro
germplasm were planted at Masinde Muliro University of Science and
Published: 20 February, 2015
Technology main campus farm field station at Kakamega county (00O
17.30’ and 34o45’East GPS receiver) in western province of Kenya. The
phenotypic characterization was based on the International Plant Genetic
Citation
Resources Institute's (IPGRI) descriptors for Colocasia esculenta. The data
Akwee PE, Netondo G, Palapala VA. 2015. Comparative
was collected from both qualitative and quantitative traits. The phenotypic
analysis of phenotypic characterization of Kenya and
characteristics were classified into leaf and petiole characteristics. From
Pacific Islands tarogen germplasm collections Colocasia
the research study, the phenotype characters such as plant height, presence
esculenta L. (Schott). Scientia Agriculturae, 9 (2), 113-119.
or absence of stolons, number of sucker holds the highest criteria to be
Retrieved
from
www.pscipub.com
(DOI:
selected towards improving the taro crop. These phenotypic characters are
10.15192/PSCP.SA.2015.9.2.113119)
vital diagnostic features for distinguishing taro genotypes and they may
serve as genetic bench markers that could facilitate selection of suitable
germplasm variety for crop improvement in the country. Comparative
assessment on the phenotypic characterization of the germplasm is a key
guide to search for desirable traits that are important in crop productivity
and breeding. This could lead to an increased understanding of the
adaptation potential of taro in various ecological zones to e
Effects of Traumatized Antenatal Mothers on Their Pre-School Children in Mt. Elgon Region, Kenya
Get PDFFoetus developmental vulnerability in pre-school children of traumatized antenatal mothers in Cheptais and Mount Elgon Sub-Counties, Bungoma County, Kenya. Is a study meant to establish the effects of trauma of the mother on the unborn child who was born and now is in pre-school level of education. Through observation by the mother during neonate, infant and childhood stages of developmental milestones in relation to the same observation of non-traumatized mothers’ children. The conclusion is supported by the observation of the same children by their teachers in pre-schools. The sampling strategy involved non-probability where purposive and snow-ball observation, analysis and probability, sampling where multistage or cluster was the most appropriate for observation and units of analysis to make units of representative sample of Cheptais and Mount Elgon sub-counties.
This study is designed to assist the community and the society in general to understand the need to avoid any stressful situation by expectant Mothers. It is also meant to enlighten the society on the importance of taking care of their expectant Mothers and to desist from encouraging stressful environment. The study enabled the researcher to understand why there were increased number disabled children in the region. Whose conditions were seriously interfering with their academic work? Majority of the children born to traumatized mothers had developmental
problems associated with disabilities as opposed to those mothers who resisted trauma; hence associating trauma with developmental problems of the children who were foetus at the of traumatizing episodes
Knowledge sharing as a catalyst for enhanced performance in micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes) in migori county, kenya
Get PDFIn the last decade the role of knowledge sharing in business organizations has been emphasized by practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs. Ironically, most of these studies have focused on large organizations, yet others have predominantly focused on secondary literature of past studies for their findings. In addition, some studies have focused on particular aspects like tacit knowledge or explicit knowledge without giving a clue on the relationship to performance using both. This study sought to find out the effect of knowledge sharing on organizational performance with particular reference to MSMEs, thereby filling the gap on small organizations. The study was also empirical and addressed both tacit and explicit forms ofknowledge. The study was conducted by cross sectional survey, data being collected using questionnaire and structured interview responses from a sample of 46 owner and 110 employed managers of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises randomly selected from the accessible population using stratified random sampling technique. Findings revealed that knowledge sharing indeed had a significantly positive effect on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Migori County, Kenya. The study recommends that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises be encouraged to facilitate implementation of knowledge sharing so as to realize significant improvements in their performance.
KEYWORDS: Knowledge Sharing, Organizational performance, MSME
Effects of internal corporate social responsibility practices on employee job satisfaction: evidence from commercial banks in Kenya
Get PDFThe importance of Internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become an
important issue for banks to address, however, these issues have been neglected and do not appear
to have the desired impact on all employees as expected by the management. Therefore this study
intended to determine the effects of internal CSR practices on employee job satisfaction among the
commercial Banks in Kenya. The study was to ascertain the effect of workplace health and safety
conditions, work life balance, pay and benefits, and equality and diversity, on employee job
satisfaction. The study was guided by Social exchange theory, the theory of planned behavior and
Stakeholder theory. Explanatory research design was used. The study targeted 283 employees
from 17 Commercial Banks in Uasin-Gishu (Kenya Commercial Bank data base, 2013). Stratified
and random sampling technique was used to obtain sample size of 165 employees. The study used
questionnaires as a tool for data collection. In order to test the reliability of the instrument,
Crobanch alpha test was used. The study adopted both descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics such as Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis to estimate the causal
relationships between internal CSR and employee job satisfaction, and other chosen variables.
Study findings indicate that workplace health and safety, pay and benefit, equality and diversity,
and work-life balance has a positive and significant effect on employee job satisfaction. Thus, the
study concluded that pay and benefits are motivating factor to employees’ job satisfaction, fair
treatment of workers in accordance with their individual needs and circumstances in the
workplace contributes to employee job satisfaction. Therefore the study recommends that
organizations should include the development of health management policies to implement health
practices as a way of improving employee health. There should be diversity training programs
with compulsory participation for all employees and offer equal opportunities for employees in
terms of promotion and also education scholarships. There is also need for the organization to
provide allowances for employees on participation of social responsibility.
KEYWORDS: Employee job satisfaction, Workplace health and safety, Work life balance, pay and
benefit, and Equality and diversi
Response of Maize to Organic and Inorganic Sources of Nutrients in Acid Soils of Kenya
Get PDFaize yield in Kericho County, Kenya is limited by infertile acidic soils. The effect of
inorganic sources of nutrients and amendments; triple superphosphate (TSP), calcium
ammonium nitrate (CAN) and lime, were compared to a range of organic nutrient sources;
Farmyard manure (FYM) of low and high quality, dried cow dung, goat manure, tithonia
applied as green manure or dried, in a greenhouse and field experiment. Two soils
collected from two farmers’ fields in Sigowet and Litein locations (Hereafter referred to as
Sigowet and Litein) were used in the greenhouse where maize was grown for six weeks
and its biomass yield determined. The treatments that showed promise were used in a
subsequent field experiment where maize was grown to maturity and grain yield
determined. In the greenhouse, maize responded to application of all the sources of
nutrients and amendments, except lime when applied without TSP, on Sigowet’s soil. On
Litein’s soil, maize did not respond to application of lime alone or with TSP, TSP and dried
tithonia. High quality FYM gave the highest increase (136%) in dry matter yields on
Litein’s soil. In the field experiment, goat manure gave the highest grain yield. Maize failed
to significantly respond to either CAN or TSP when applied alone but the application of the
two in combination (TSP + CAN) effected a significant response indicating that both N and
P were deficient in this soil. All the manures, except low quality FYM, gave yields that
were higher or comparable to the standard recommended fertilizer practice (TSP + CAN)
and could be economically attractive substitutes as they are locally available. There was a
poor correlation between dry matter biomass yield in the greenhouse and grain yield in the
field. Extrapolation of greenhouse findings to different fields should therefore be treated
with caution
Gender Influence on Farmer’s Level of Involvement in Utilization and Conservation of Bambara Groundnut
Get PDFAims: To understand the role of gender on Bambara groundnut cultivation with respect to
levels of farmers’ involvement in utilization and conservation in Western Kenya.
Study Design: A questionnaire was administered to 120 farmers in two districts. The
districts neighbor each other and do share common ecological attributes and therefore,
provided sufficient population for the study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in 2009 in Mumias and Butere
Districts of Western Kenya.
Methodology: Level of involvement in Bambara groundnut utilization and conservation
activities was measured by farmers’ level of participation using Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) and multiple regression equation. Aspects of utilization examined included food
preparation, selling and social capital. Crop conservation variables analyzed included;
seed selection, seed preservation and seed storage. Crop utilization (CUI) and Crop
onservation (CCI) indices were computed to determine the relationship between gender
and level of involvement.
Results: There was significant influence of gender on farmer’s level of involvement in the
districts. Involvement level of female farmers was higher than the male farmers in
production and conservation activities. Overall, there was significant difference in the
means of the computed CUI and CCI Indices between males and females. CCI indicated
that women participation in conservation activities was higher (2.71+0.477 and 2.54+0.8)
than the males (1.8+0.500 and 2.04+0.82) in both Mumias and Butere districts. This
confirmed that the females have a higher level involvement in conservation activities than
males. Computed CUI indicated considerable difference in means with women having a
high index (2.86+0.315 and 2.6+0.713) than males (1.51+0.448 and 1.70+0.587). For
both districts, ANOVA for Gender and CUI were significant (F=30.799, p=0.00;
F=174.332, p=0.000) as was for CCI (F=46.913, p=0.000; F=6.304, p=0.015).
Conclusion: The high level of involvement of female farmers in the utilization and
conservation necessitate consideration of gender role in the transfer of farm technology.
Findings provide extension agencies with guidelines for mainstreaming gender roles to
target the right clientele by gender in order to enhance the revival and utilization of
underutilized crops as an alternative food crop. Agricultural extension agents therefore
need to adopt specific models of intervention, approaches and time schedules to enhance
the role played by the farmers in revitalizing utilization and conservation of Bambara
groundnut. Female farmers should be accorded special attention by extension officers
seeking to improve agricultural productivity. Similarly dissemination of innovations to
farmers should be appropriate to each gender
Learning company for sustainable competitiveness: Towards a model and theory development
Get PDFPrevious studies on learning organizations do not provide a strategic framework of adapting organizational
learning for sustainable competitiveness. This paper reviews various contributions on developing learning
companies with an objective of proposing ideal management practices for sustainable competitiveness. Based
on existing literature review, the essence of integrating business strategy with learning which helps the
organization realize sustainable competitiveness. The paper holds that managers need to identify learner’s
needs and provide conducive learning opportunities and nurture knowledge sharing as part of organizational
culture. Further, existing incentives should enhance the desire to learn, as well as developing appropriate
mechanisms, leadership and management approaches. The paper adopts the systems approach to exhibit how
organizational learning may be adapted within organizational settings. Based on existing theories and previous
discussions, the paper seeks to show how organizational learning may be modeled and implemented in
developing countries within large and small firms in the 21st century. In conclusions drawn and
recommendations for further research emphasis is laid on the need to link organizational learning to
performance as a grey area to be explored
Genetic structure and diversity of East African taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott]
Get PDFTaro [Colocasia esculenta (L) Schott] is mainly produced in Africa by small holder farmers and plays an
important role in the livelihood of millions of poor people in less developed countries. The genetic
diversity of East African taro has not been determined. This study utilizes six microsatellite primers to
analyze five populations of taro from three different regions of East Africa. Plant material consisted of
98 taro cultivars obtained from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). Principal component
analysis of microsatellite data indicated variation but did not show any distinct structure. Population
diversity estimate was relatively low with the highest being 0.27, for accessions sourced from Lake
Victoria basin. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed most variation among individuals
within population at 79%. Nei’s genetic distance showed that relatedness is not based on geographical
proximity. Based on these findings, this study proposes establishment of a regional collection that will
be conserved and ensure a broad genetic base for available varieties and enable development of
improved varieties through breeding programmes.
Key words: Genetic diversity, simple sequence repeats (SSRs), taro
Assessment of the Impact of Urban Runoff from Migor i Town on the Concentration Levels of Selected Heavy Metals i n Migori River, Kenya
Get PDFWater pollution and decreasing water quality is a major threat to water resources in urban set ups in the developing world. The key culprits include; agricultural runoff, untreated industrial and domestic wastewater, storm water and urban runoff. Migori is a rapidly growing city in Kenya with various land uses including crop and animal farming, industries, municipal markets, and commercial and residential set ups. The large volumes of urban runoffs generated in the town and its environs wash large pollutant loads into Migori River which is the main source of water in the region. This study investigated the effect of urban runoff from Migori town and its
environs on the water quality of Migori River in terms of selected heavy metals. Water samples were collected from six established sampling stations along the river for six months (in wet and dry seasons). The water quality values were summarized as mean ± SE. Results indicated continued adverse impacts on the water quality of Migori River by urban runoffs. Water quality impairment in the river increased downstream – towards the town. Lead and nickel concentration levels are way above the WHO recommended guidelines for surface waters. Thus the river water poses serious risks to humans, animals and aquatic life. There is need for public awar
eness regarding the pollution problems and the consequences arising thereof in Migori River. There is also need for a study cataloguing the different chemicals used by d
ifferent factories within Migori town. This will hopefully establish the definite sources of the heavy metals and nutrients and control their concentrations before they become too high andharmful to the ecosystem.
Keywords: Urban run-off, Migori, water quality, pollutio
Knowledge sharing as a catalyst for enhanced performance in micro, small and medium enterprises (msmes) in Migori county, Kenya
Get PDFIn the last decade the role of knowledge sharing in business organizations has been
emphasized by practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs. Ironically, most of these studies have
focused on large organizations, yet others have predominantly focused on secondary literature of
past studies for their findings. In addition, some studies have focused on particular aspects like
tacit knowledge or explicit knowledge without giving a clue on the relationship to performance
using both. This study sought to find out the effect of knowledge sharing on organizational
performance with particular reference to MSMEs, thereby filling the gap on small organizations.
The study was also empirical and addressed both tacit and explicit forms of knowledge. The study
was conducted by cross sectional survey, data being collected using questionnaire and structured
interview responses from a sample of 46 owner and 110 employed managers of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises randomly selected from the accessible population using stratified random
sampling technique. Findings revealed that knowledge sharing indeed had a significantly positive
effect on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Migori County, Kenya. The study recommends
that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises be encouraged to facilitate implementation of
knowledge sharing so as to realize significant improvements in their performance