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Experimental Study of Self-Compacting Mortar Incorporating Recycled Glass Aggregate
Get PDFThis experimental research is focused on the development of self-compacting mortar
incorporating recycled glass aggregate (SCM-RGA) as partial substitution of fine aggregate (wt 0%,
10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%). The fresh and hardened mechanical properties as well as durability of
SCM-RGA mixes were investigated. Limestone powder (LP) was used as filler that constitutes 20% of
the powder volume to reduce the amount of cement. The SCM-RGA mixtures were designed based on
Japanese mix design method. The experimental test results showed that the slump flow of SCM-RGA
mixes decreased and V-funnel flow time increased when the content of recycled glass aggregate
(RGA) increased. The bulk density, compressive strength, flexural strength, water absorption and
sorptivity of SCM-RGA mixes were decreased as RGA content increased. Moreover, the accelerated
mortar bar test results showed that the expansion due to alkali–silica reaction (ASR) of SCM-RGA
mixes increased as the content of RGA increased although the expansion of all mixes were within
acceptable limit and potentially innocuous. In conclusion, up to 30% of RGA can be successfully
integrated in SCM mixes that offers comparable strength performance, sorptivity enhancement and
without long term detrimental ASR effect, and thus, contributes towards sustainable solid waste
management, conservation of natural resources and environmental protection
Parental involvement in teenage pregnancy prevention in Kenya: a study of Nyatike sub-county, Migori county
Get PDFTeenage pregnancy is associated with social, economic and health risks. It is rampant among school going girls who depend fully upon their parents. Parental involvement is considered necessary in preventing such pregnancies. This study therefore sought to investigate parental involvement in teenage pregnancy prevention in Nyatike Sub-county, Migori County, Kenya. It specifically aimed at; establishing the influence of sexual health education on teenage pregnancy prevention; examining how monitoring and supervision of teen girls prevent teenage pregnancy; and determining the extent to which parent-teen communication can prevent teenage pregnancy. Literature was reviewed based on the specific objectives of this study. The study utilized two theories; Structural Functionalism Theory and Social Cognitive Theory. Descriptive Cross-Sectional Survey Design was employed. Target population of the study was 30, 422 households in Nyatike Sub-county, and the unit of analysis was a household with teenage girl(s) while observational unit was one parent of teenage girls in every sampled household. Krejcie and Morgan sampling formula was used to get a sample size of 138 households from the target population 10 % statistical recommendation was used to obtain a sample size of 18 key informants. Cluster sampling, purposive, random and Snowball sampling techniques were used to get the main respondents. Data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire and Key Informant Interview guide. The data collected through questionnaire was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and transcripts from interviews were analyzed by identifying and discussing common themes which emerged from the data. The key findings of the study were that majority of parents 85% teach their teenage girls sexuality related issues. However, a greater percentage, 67% were not comfortable when discussing sexuality issues with their girls. This translated to only 11% of the parents frequently discussing sex related issues with their children. The study also revealed that majority of parents 55% either knew a few or none of their daughters‘ friends. Findings also revealed that most of the parents 49% were not very close with their daughters, and 62% of teenage girls were not open in sexuality discussions with parents. The study also found out that there was no association between parent-teen relational closeness, and discussion of sexuality issues (x2=0.344 at 2 df and P0.05 and Cramer‘s V of 0.289). Similarly, teenage girls‘ openness was also associated with sexuality discussions at (x2=8.9222 at 1df and P>0.05 and Cramer‘s V of 0.254). This study concludes that parental involvement in teenage pregnancy prevention is limited in the study area hence the high numbers of teenage pregnancies. Therefore, the National and County governments should train parents on age appropriate comprehensive sex education and provide them with educational materials and guidelines, develop a multisectoral approach to promote parental monitoring and supervision and finally, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection through Childrens‘ Department should organize for parent-teen communication workshops in Nyatike Sub-county, Migori County, Kenya
Communication function of student governing council in the administration of public secondary schools: a case of Awendo sub-county - Kenya
Get PDFThe role of communication function of Student Governing Councils (SGCs) in the administration of Public Secondary Schools is increasingly becoming important. Currently, the government in partnership with other stakeholders has made it mandatory for schools in Kenya to have active SGCs who should play active roles including communication between the students and the school administration. However, it is not empirically established what exact communication functions these SGCs exercise in Awendo Sub- County. It was in light with this that the researcher sought to investigation the communication functions of SGCs in the administration of public secondary school in Awendo Sub-County, Migori County, Kenya. This study examined the understanding, implementation and the success of the communication functions of SGCs in the administration of public secondary school in Awendo Sub County. The study employed qualitative research design. The target population for the study was 24 principals, 24 deputy principals and 118 student leaders making a total population of 166. The students leaders was selected from 3 schools out of the 24 public secondary schools based on the category of the school i.e. girls, boys or boarding. Simple random procedure was used to randomly choose the student leaders from the 3 public secondary schools. The research instruments were a structured questionnaire distributed to each participant. The study revealed that the students as well as the school administrators understand the communication functions of SGCs. Majority of the schools have fully implemented the communication functions and have acknowledge its success in the administration of public secondary schools. The student councils have acted as a channel of communication between the students and the school; a role that this research have discovered to be significant for school administrative purposes. However, when undertaking this communication function, the SGCs have faced various challenges such as being termed as a sell out by other students, lack of motivation as well as the inability to handle issues such as drug abuse, homosexuality and indiscipline cases in schools. The study concludes that the communication function of SGCs is not yet exhausted in various school and further investigations should be done to ascertain how it can be strengthened. The study recommends that the student councils should be trained in order to acquire skills that will enable them overcome the challenges. In addition, benchmarking programs should be encouraged for the student councils to learn how their colleagues do it elsewhere
Social media and tourism awareness: a case of Homabay county, kenya
Get PDFKenya’s Vision 2030 Economic Pillar, identifies tourism as one of the key six sectors in contributing to the 10% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate per annum as from 2012. It is a major source of foreign exchange for the Country and plays a major role in employment in the private sector. This research aimed at exploring ways through which social media can enhance the visibility of Homabay County as a tourist destination. This is as a result of curiosity of existing information flow to potential tourists in Homabay County. Regardless of Kenya’s unique existence of tourist attractions spread throughout the Country, tourism activities in the Country have always been almost exclusively centered on two geographical regions: the coastal beaches and a handful of game reserves and national parks. This research therefore anticipated to enhance the visibility of Homabay County as a tourist destination through the use of social media which has a worldwide audience. The study was, guided by the following research objectives: To identify the social media platforms used in creating tourism awareness for Homabay County. To investigate how tourism destinations can exploit social media strategies in creating tourism awareness and to examine the salience of user generated content in influencing tourists’ decision-making behavior. The research employed mixed research design to establish how social media can be used to enhance the visibility of tourism in the County. Theoretical conceptualization was based on psychological ownership theory and perceived control which elaborated concepts for understanding travelers’ behavior and the use of user generated content by travelers. The study targeted tourism stakeholders in Homabay County and used questionnaires and interview schedules as data collection instruments. Thematic analysis was used by the researcher to analyse data from emerging themes and subthemes guided by the research questions.Analysis of data showed that tourism and hospitality service providers in Homabay County have not fully embraced the use of social media hence missing on opportunities presented by social media to enhance their visibility. The researcher therefore reccomended ways in which social media potential could be realised, adoption of social media strategies and development of policies by the County goverment to ensure a conducive operating enviroment for tourism
Contribution of teacher preparedness in the provision of student safety in emergency incidents in public secondary schools in kisumu county, kenya
Get PDFParents expect a safe learning environment for their children while in teachers’ custody, yet threats to student safety are increasing globally, and Kenya is no exception. In Kisumu County, media and official reports on incidents from floods, criminal activity, community conflicts, fires and strikes continue to be noted. Due to legal responsibility, preparation and their position as first responders in school emergency, teachers have a crucial role in ensuring student safety, yet little has been done to explore teacher preparedness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine contribution of teacher preparedness in the provision of student safety in emergency incidents in public secondary schools in Kisumu County. Objectives of the study were to; examine contribution of teacher knowledge; establish the contribution of teacher attitude; determine contribution of teacher practices; and establish the contribution of teacher demographic factors on teacher preparedness in the provision of student safety in emergency incidents in public secondary schools in Kisumu County. The study adopted survey research design. The study population was 42 principals, 324 teachers, and 6 Sub County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (SCQASOs). Purposive sampling was used to select principals, while SCQASOs teachers were selected by saturated sampling. Study sample consisted of 37 principals, 299 teachers and 4 SCQASOs. Questionnaire for teachers and principals, and interview schedule for SCQASOs, were used to collect data. Piloting was done to establish reliability of instruments; where 5 principals, 25 teachers and 2 SCQASOs were included in piloting. Test-retest was used to determine reliability of the questionnaires. Reliability coefficient of 0.86 and 0.81 were attained for teachers’ and principals’ questionnaires, respectively. Validity was determined by experts in Educational Administration and Policy studies. Quantitative data was analyzed using mean, t-test, correlation and multiple regression while qualitative data was coded, transcribed and organized thematically. Ethics was observed during both data collection and reporting of findings. It was established that; teacher knowledge and practices moderately contributed to student safety with overall mean ratings of 3.21 and 2.93 respectively, while teacher attitude highly contributed with overall mean rating of 3.54. Teacher demographic factors moderately contributed to teacher preparedness with overall mean rating of 3.35, and all aspects considered. In all, teacher demographic factors moderately influenced teacher preparedness, and had a positive and significant relationship (r=0.438, p<.05). Findings of this study are important to educational administrators, policy makers and planners in understanding how teacher preparedness contributes to, and how demographic factors contribute to teacher preparedness as well as contribute to the body of knowledge on teacher preparedness in the provision of student safety in emergency in schools, and to researchers interested in pursuing student safety in future
Rethinking the link between environment, nutrition, human immunity, aids and cancer– A possible game changing perspective from kenya and beyond
Get PDFInfluence of parent youth interpersonal communication barriers on hiv aids prevention study of north kamagambo location migori county Kenya
Get PDFThis study examined the influence of parent and youth interpersonal communication barriers on HIV prevention in North Kamagambo Location, Migori County. The objectives of the study were: to investigate the existing nature of interpersonal communication between parent and youth on HIV prevention, to establish barriers to effective interpersonal communication between parent and youth on HIV prevention and to find out the measures that can be taken to overcome the barriers. The research questions that the study sought to answer were: what were the existing nature of
interpersonal communication between parent and youth on HIV prevention? What were
the barriers to effective interpersonal communication between parent and youth on HIV
prevention? What measures should be taken to overcome those barriers? The study
covered a population of 18,775 according to the 2009 National Census Report. The study
was informed by literature that supported the presumption that, the youth rarely
communicate with their parents on matters of HIV and this is a reality that increases their
vulnerability. The study used Social Learning Theory and Health Belief Model to
demonstrate how the youth can learn from their parents through modelling. However
based on other social psychological and cultural factors, it is not always a process of a
guaranteed learning and therefore Health Belief Model was also used to show how
individuals adopt new health behaviours based on their personal beliefs of the benefits of
such behaviours. Qualitative method was used to answer questions related to perception,
attitude, emotion and opinion while quantitative method was to analyse the frequency of
occurrence of thematic elements. Simple random sampling was used to select participants
who consisted of fathers, mothers, sons and daughters with a target population of240,
while stratified sampling was used to maintain the sample proportionality on the stratification. Focus group discussion and in-depth Interview revealed that, there was a problematic interpersonal communication relationship about HIV prevention between parents and their youth especially among well-educated parents. It was also established that, respondents depends on their cultural beliefs which hinders them from discussing sexual matters
A Comparative Assessment Of Taro{Colocasia Esculenta L. (Schott)} Phenotypic Corms/Cormels Characteristics Among Kenya And Tarogen Core Taro Collections For Taro Crop Improvement And Breeding
Get PDFDetermination of qualitative phenotypic taro cormels characters were scored based on the key International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptors for taro (IPGRI, 1999). Twenty five taro germplasm each from Kenya and Tarogen core taro collections from Pacific Island Communities were used for this research study. These characteristics were as follows: Corm shape, Corm cortex color; Corm flesh color; Number of sprouting suckers; Corm sucker length; Corm weight; Corm length; Corm diameter; Number of cormels; Corm branching and cormel root colour. Shannon’s Diversity Index was used to calculate the diversity for the qualitative characters that showed polymorphism in various traits. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze cormels genotypic agronomic performance among Kenyan and the Pacific Islands tarogen collections. The analyses of variance were tested at 0.05 level of significance. In Kenya, the corm characters with highest diversity value were corm shape (1.399), corm cortex color (1.204) and corm flesh color (0.973) while Tarogen core taro collections from Pacific Islands community showed similar variations with the corm shape leading with diversity value of 1.357. The application of analysis of variance test at (p>0.00) revealed a significant difference between corms/cormels and yields of taro accessions with reference to taro genotype performance characters and yields. These findings have shown that there exists a high significant difference
between taro genotype agronomic cormels characters and yields between Kenya and PITCs taro collections. The application of analysis of variance test at (p>0.00) revealed a significant difference between taro cormels characters with reference to yield performances
Fundamentals of Cattle Marketing in Homa Bay County, Kenya: Analyzing Market Intermediaries, Price Formation and Yield Performance
Get PDFAn understanding of how cattle markets work is a desideratum for sustainable commercialization of cattle production aimed at increasing accessibility to and affordability of cattle meat. This study examined the fundamentals of cattle marketing in Homa bay County, Kenya using primary data collected from 120 respondents selected through multi-stage sampling technique. Data analytical tools included descriptive statistics, budgeting and price formation strategy models. Empirical results showed the market is dominated by males (87.5%), market intermediaries less than 50 years (64.0%) who had formal education (68.0%). The three most important intermediaries were dealers, retailers and brokers. Transportation accounted for 74.3% and 46.2% of Total Variable Cost incurred by dealers and retailers. Cattle marketing was profitable with gross margin per head of cattle sold being Ksh 6548, Ksh 4,655 and Ksh 2,342.50, respectively, for dealers, retailers and brokers while profitability ratio was 1.09, 1.07 and 1.03, respectively. The factors considered important in cattle price discovery included body condition, payment mode and type of buyers while breed, seller category and colour were the least important. Constraints to cattle marketers included insufficient capital, poor roads and insecurity identified by 85.0%, 83.3% and 79.7% of the respondents, respectively. The study concluded that the cattle market is well organized and that cattle marketing are a fairly profitable venture and potential employment source. Strengthening marketing institutions through capacity building for stakeholders, rail system resuscitation
and fixing of bad roads are recommended as steps necessary to enhance the commercialization and performance of cattle marketing
Cost of extension services and its effect on profitability of sugar millers: a case of south nyanza sugar company, Kenya.
Get PDFThe performance of most companies in the sugar industry in Kenya over the years has been an issue of great concern to the management, stakeholders and the Government. The main objective of this case study was to examine the cost of extension services and its effect on profitability of Sonysugar Co. Ltd, and the Kenya sugar sub-sector as a whole. The specific objectives was to investigate how land preparation costs, seed cane supply costs, cane maintenance costs, cane harvesting and transport costs affects the profitability of Sonysugar Co. Ltd. These extension services include land preparation, seed cane supply, cane maintenance, cane harvesting and transport. The study was occasioned by the persistent decline in profitability of most millers and their constrained cash flows despite concerted efforts to reverse the situation. The study area for this research was Sonysugar Co. Ltd, the target population was 491 employees from Finance and Agriculture departments, the population was stratified according to the departments and a purposive sampling technique was used to pick the respondents from each strata, sample size of 150 employees was used for this study. The study used both primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through structured questionnaires and interview schedules while secondary data was collected through document analysis. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics .The study findings revealed that land preparation costs, seed cane supply costs, harvesting and transport costs affects negatively the profitability of Sonysugar Co. Ltd, on the contrary the study also revealed that cane maintenance costs positively affects profitability of the company, the results of this research can be used to give more insights into the perceived cost implications on the profitability of millers. Emphasis should be made to review extension services so that while farmers continue to get the best out of these services, the company is also able to operate profitably. The study recommends that emphasis should be made to review land preparation activities, seed cane supply services, harvesting and transport activities as the study found that they indeed reduces profitability of Sonysugar Co. ltd, this could possibly be achieved through outsourcing, focus of the company should not be much on extension services but rather on the company’s core function of improving the milling capacity, the company’s working capital should not be constrained by subsidiary activities such as extension services, besides, there is need for the company to identify new ways that can be used to claim money owed to it by cane farmers so as to eliminate the issue of bad debts. The financial performance of the millers is likely to improve and thus be more attractive to prospective investors if these recommendations are considered for implementation