1,720,958 research outputs found
Increasing Maasai Girls’ Primary School Completion Rate and Transition Rate to Secondary School through a Community Based Learning Support System
No full textPCF10 Sub-theme: Promoting Equity and Inclusion // This is project is designed using Commonwealth of Learning small grant. The project is to be implemented among indigenous Maasai ethnic groups of Kenya. Girl’s participation in education is a major concern among the Maasai Community of Kenya. Kenya government has given adequate attention on school enrollment and 100% transition to secondary school. However, out of all the girls that enroll in primary schools annually only 15% proceeds to secondary school. The goal of the project is to develop an out-of-school community based learning support system that ensures out-of-school primary school girls continue learning and those who dropout are reintegrated back to primary school at their rightful progression grade level. The learning support system utilizes gender responsive pedagogies in teaching and learning processes. The expected results is Community Based Learning Support System for out-of-school Maasai girls that pays attention to the specific learning needs of girls and boys. // Paper ID 883
Adoption of Technology Enabled Agricultural Extension Services by Kenya's Youthful Farmers
No full textAgricultural extension services are vital for ending hunger, achieving food security, and improving nutrition. The adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) enhances the reach and effectiveness of these services. This study examined the factors influencing the adoption of technology-enabled agricultural extension services (TEAES) among youthful farmers in Kenya, using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as a guiding framework. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, collecting data from 325 young women and 243 young men through structured questionnaires. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. The findings revealed that gender, education level, access to digital devices, and internet connectivity were all significantly associated with the adoption of TEAES, with education level being the most influential factor. Youth farmers showed a strong preference for blended (face-to-face and online) delivery models, indicating openness to digital platforms when infrastructural and sociodemographic conditions are favorable. The study concludes that adoption of TEAES is shaped not just by technological availability but also by digital literacy, access barriers, and inclusive design. It recommends targeted digital literacy programs, improved digital infrastructure, provision of affordable devices, and the development of inclusive, mobile-friendly content, particularly tailored to the needs of young women and underserved rural communities.
PCF11 Sub-Theme: Skills Development Through Lifelong Open Education
Paper ID: 914
Influence of Communication on Strategy Implementation among Pharmaceutical Companies in Nairobi Kenya
No full textA Research Project Submitted to the Chandaria School of Business in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA)Strategy implementation in organizations is faced with numerous challenges as it involves all employees in the organization as opposed to formulation which in most cases involve senior management. The purpose of the study was to establish the effects of strategy implementation communication on employee commitment among pharmaceutical companies in Nairobi Kenya. The research questions include: to what extent do communication media influence strategy implementation among pharmaceutical companies in Nairobi Kenya?; To what extent do communication channels affect strategy implementation among pharmaceutical companies in Nairobi Kenya?; To what extent does communication flow and employee productivity influence strategy implementation among pharmaceutical companies in Nairobi Kenya?
This study focused on 64 pharmaceutical managers of different pharmaceutical companies based in Nairobi, Kenya. This study applied a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of all the pharmaceutical companies in Nairobi Kenya. This study used primary data collected using questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. To ensure that the data collected from the field make meaning, the researcher analyzed the data using mean and standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Multiple regression was used for interpreting the results of the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable.
From the findings, 75.4% of changes in the strategy implementation were attributed to the three independent variables in the study. The findings also showed that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit increase in communication media would lead to a 1.456 increase in the strategy implementation. A unit increase in type of communication would lead to a 1.563 increase in the strategy implementation. A unit increase in communication flow and employee productivity would lead to a 1.421 increase in the strategy implementation. All the variables were significant as the P-values were less than 0.05. The study further found out that companies use short message service, internal memos, emails, stakeholder meeting, oral presentations and periodic reports in communicating strategy implementation within and outside their organization. The companies used horizontal communication structure, down-up communication structure and upward-down communication structure.
The study concludes that communication media influences the strategy implementation greatly in that short message service, internal memos, emails, stakeholder meeting, oral presentations and periodic reports are used widely and good communication within an organization is a prerequisite to business growth and is pivotal to ensuring smooth and effective process flow leading to greater productivity and profitability. The study recommends that communication pharmaceutical companies could adopt communication media which plays an important role in training, knowledge dissemination and learning during the process of strategy implementation and employee and employer relationships should be develop harmoniously in an effective operating organization and interpersonal relationships
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
Primary Teacher Trainees Preparedness to Teach Science: A Gender Perspective
Full text linkThe purpose of this study was to determine Primary Teacher Education (PTE) Trainees’ perceptions regarding their preparedness to teach science in primary schools. A descriptive survey research design was used and stratified proportionate random sampling techniques used to select 177 males and 172 females. The study found out that more male trainee than female trainees had studied the three science subjects in secondary schools. Overall more male trainees than female trainees expressed high level of conceptual understanding of science subject content and SPS. More male trainee than female trainees further indicated they were ready to teach science during teaching practice and after training. The study recommends that science tutors to use SPS approach in teaching of PTE science, PTE to ensure trainees have high mastery of science subject content and SPS and to provide a gender-appropriate training to demystify gender differences in performance in science and promote gender equity in science education. The study further recommends that affirmative action be used in subject specialization selection to ensure gender parity in science education. Finally Kenya National Examination Council to include practical science examination measuring competency to teach science. Key words: Science Process Skills and Science Content, Inquiry Based science Educatio
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
TESSA Open Education Resources: A Springboard for Kenya’s Competency Based Curriculum
No full textLow availability and access to quality educational materials are some of the likely impediments to implementation of a curriculum. This study explored Open Education Practices (OEP) and in particular the use of TESSA Open Educational Resources (OER) for modeling pedagogies for Kenya’s learner centered Competency Based Curriculum. Eighty-six educators participated in the study. A literature review revealed that both CBC and TESSA OERs focus on the learner. The study revealed that some teachers had access to digital devices and Internet thus could easily access TESSA OERs. The majority (74.0%-100%) agreed that: TESSA OERs content was relevant, a core part of the curriculum, understandable and usable in teaching and modeling learner-centered pedagogy. Teachers also agreed that TESSA OERs promote students’ engagement in learning, enabled teachers’ account for learners’ prior knowledge and appropriate for effecting changes proposed in CBC. Teachers finally indicated they were willing to advocate use of TESSA OERs among their peers. The study recommends policy changes by Kenya’s Ministry of Education, Teacher Service Commission and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to open uptake of OEPs in the implementation of CBC and retraining of teacher educators to make meaningful change in teachers’ instructional methodology.// Paper ID 12
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