1,720,954 research outputs found
Corporate Governance Practices and Performance of Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies in Nairobi City County, Kenya
No full textSavings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) in Kenya has not been able to realize their full potential in terms of performance over the past several years. Both the capital adequacy of the company, which fell from 74.60% in 2021 to 72.26% in 2022, and the quality of assets, which declined from 109.48% in 2020 to 74.07% in 2022, indicated this sub-optimal performance. Savings and credit cooperative societies in Kenya have recently adopted corporate governance principles to address performance challenges. This study examined the impact of governance practices on SACCOs in Nairobi County, focusing on the relationship between governance and performance to improve efficiency and profitability. The research analyzed SACCO performance through board diversity, independence, meetings, and transparency. It incorporated theoretical frameworks, including the balanced scorecard, resource dependency, stakeholder, and agency theories, ensuring a comprehensive analysis. Using a descriptive research design, questionnaires collected primary data from 525 SACCO members. A sample size of 228, determined via Yamane Taro’s 1967 formula, included directors, financial managers, and HR managers. Pilot tests assessed validity and reliability, using Cronbach’s Alpha for reliability and concept, face, and content validity. Quantitative analysis applied descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson’s correlation and regression models, with findings presented via SPSS version 28, tables, graphs, and distribution plots. The study confirmed that board diversity, independence, meeting frequency, and transparency significantly enhance SACCO performance. Strong governance frameworks drive better financial outcomes, emphasizing that board autonomy in decision-making is key to organizational effectiveness. The study concluded that regular meetings facilitate effective communication and coordination between management and the board, enabling timely decision-making and fostering a collaborative environment. The study also concluded that regular updates on financial performance and accessible financial statements enhance stakeholder trust and engagement. The study recommends regular assessments of board composition in order to identify areas for improvement and to foster a more collaborative environment. SACCOs should also implement regular independent audits and ensure that the findings are transparently communicated to all stakeholders, thereby fostering a culture of accountability and improvement.
Keywords: Corporate Governance, Performance, SACCOs, Nairobi City County, Keny
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Strategy Implementation and Performance of Tana River County Government, Kenya
No full textThe environments in which organizations operate have become increasingly uncertain posing a lot of challenges. County governments like any other organizations are also faced with similar challenges in strategy implementation since devolution is still a new concept of governance in Kenya. The implementation of the County Integrated Development Plan of 2013 has not been fully implemented in most counties because of inherited managerial and resource problems from former municipalities, town councils and county councils which form part of the county governments today. In this regard, this study aimed at determining the influence of strategy implementation practices and performance of county government in Kenya: A case of Tana River County, Kenya. The study's specific objectives were to examine the influence of organizational structure, organizational culture, resource allocation and communication on the performance of Tana river County, Kenya. The study was anchored by resource based theory, systems theory and stakeholder theory. Descriptive survey research design was used for this study. The target population of this study was management employees of Tana River County Government. The total population was 166 respondents comprising of County Executive, County Chief Officers, Directors, Administrators and County Officers. The study used proportionate stratified sampling method. Simple random sampling was used to select the sampled respondents. The sample size was 66 respondents. The instrument that was used to collect data was questionnaires for all the respondents. Qualitative data from the open ended questions was analyzed thematically in line with study objectives and presented in narrative form. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Regression analysis was used to test association between dependent variable and against dependent variables. The study established that a positive and significant influence was established between organizational structure, organizational culture, resource allocation, communication and organizational performance. The study concluded that organizational structure allows for the chain of command. Department leaders are in charge of delegating tasks and projects to subordinates so the department can meet project deadlines. Flexible, strong and unified cultures will approach strategy implementation and affect implementation in a positive manner by aligning goals. Resource allocation is a central management activity that allows for strategy execution. The real value of any resource-allocation program lies in the resulting accomplishment of an organization's objectives. Communications is a major component, which should be recognized, embraced and its activities adequately funded. Communications function was found to be important to communication of the vision and mission. The study recommended the improvement of the organization structures through enhancing communication, involvement of employees in decision making, relevant training of employees and flexibility of policies and regulations related to strategy implementation. Leadership of the County need to invest in creating a defined culture and effective strategy implementation techniques. There is also need for the County to employ latest technological resources in their mandate to effectively fight crime in the 21st century. The County need to document internal communications channels and procedures, as part of the communications strategy. This applies not just to internal communication, but how staff communicate to external parties and possible feedback channels.
Keywords: Organizational Structure, Organizational Culture, Resource Allocation, Communication Performance of Tana River County Governmen
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
- …
