32 research outputs found
The assessment of a method for measurements and lead quantification in air particulate matter using total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometers
No full textThis paper presents the assessment of a direct method to measure and analyse Pb in air particulate matter (PM) collected on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filtering membranes prepared by the SMART STORE® procedure. The suitability of grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence technique is verified on a set of continuous and conformal thin film samples created by atomic layer deposition. Different scans changing the angles of incidence are performed and the fluorescence intensity of thin films on PTFE substrate compared with that obtained by similar thin films deposited on Si wafer substrates. The effects of sample preparation, constraints, and limitations of the experimental setup are discussed. The results obtained by three commercial total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometers, equipped with Mo or Rh X-ray tubes, are compared. Reference samples with different Pb content are used to define the best measurement conditions, corresponding to the maximum fluorescence intensity. The precision is evaluated in terms of relative standard deviation of the net intensity, taking into account the homogeneity of the PM samples and hardware contributions to the errors. The calibration curves are built on the basis of mono- and multi-elemental Pb loaded PTFE reference samples. The analytical parameters, namely linear calibration and determination range, limits of detection, and quantification, are determined
Use of Humour in Covid-19 Communication in Kenya: A Case of Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe’s Covid-19 Speeches.
No full textMASTER OF ARTS in CommunicationThis study examines Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe's strategic use of humour in Kenya’s COVID-19 communications. Despite the effectiveness of humour in public messaging, its use in serious health crises like COVID-19 raises concerns about potential risks, such as trivialising the severity of the pandemic. The research aimed to investigate how humour was employed in COVID-19 Communications, evaluate its effectiveness, and assess public perception using the Play Theory of Mass Communication and the Relief Theory. A qualitative approach incorporating an indepth interview with CS Kagwe, an analysis of 30 purposively sampled televised briefings, and semi-structured interviews with 26 youth from the Starehe constituency, were selected using convenience sampling. Data were analysed using textual analysis for the videos and thematic analysis for the interviews, using NVivo software, Excel, and manual coding techniques. The study found that humour was used deliberately to alleviate public anxiety and enhance message retention. It resonated well across various demographic groups, contributing to increased public engagement and compliance with health protocols. However, some dissenting voices expressed concerns that humour might have downplayed the pandemic’s seriousness or alienated those directly affected by the virus. Humour, when used strategically and in alignment with cultural sensitivities, can be an effective tool in public health communication, especially during crises. The absence of significant backlash suggests that the humour employed was appropriate for the Kenyan context. The findings indicate that humour when used strategically and aligned with cultural sensitivities, can be an effective tool in public health communication during crises. The study recommends that future public health strategies consider integrating humour to improve message retention and public cooperation. However, care must be taken to avoid trivialising serious issues. Further research should explore the long-term effects of humour in public health messaging and its effectiveness across different cultural contexts
Policing and Citizen Trust in Kenya : How Community Policing Shapes Local Trust-Building and Collaboration
No full textIn contexts of high insecurity and mistrust in the police, how and why do local residents still choose to collaborate with the police, and what is the role of community policing in such considerations? Research on policing in Africa has emphasized the structural and macropolitical barriers to effective police reform, including institutionalized cultures of impunity and corruption. Less attention, however, has been paid to the contextual and relational dynamics that shape police-community collaboration. We argue that a relational perspective, which centres local residents’ interactions with police and community policing structures, provides novel insights into the challenges of policing reforms. This perspective also demonstrates how contingent and incremental trust can be built in very challenging circumstances. We study these dynamics in Karagita and Kaptembwo, two low-income urban settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya, that have experienced violent crime and repeated electoral violence. Despite considerable challenges of crime, police misconduct, and political interference in these settlements, our findings point to how positive everyday interaction and community policing structures can contribute to incremental improvements in police-community relationships. In contrast to existing work on African policing that primarily highlights the challenges of police reform, this study offers insights into when reform has the potential to be effective
Assessment of integrated aerosol sampling techniques in indoor, confined and outdoor environments characterized by specific emission sources
No full textThis paper highlights advantages and drawbacks due to the use of portable and low-cost devices for aerosol sampling, showing their performances during an aerosol monitoring campaign with the parallel use of the gravimetric sampling reference method and a cascade impactor. A specific monitoring campaign was held running all instruments in parallel in indoor, confined, and outdoor environments characterized by local emission sources or particulate matter background concentra-tions. PM2.5 concentrations were used to compare data emerging from the different instruments adopted. Significant underestimation of PM2.5 emerged when comparing data coming from optical sensors with those estimated by the cascade impactor, whose data resulted in being coherent with gravimetric determination, integrated over the same sampling time. A cause–effect relationship between PM2.5 concentrations and specific emission sources was found when observing the daily patterns of all the real-time sampling devices. It emerged that optical devices are useful for detecting concentration trends, the presence of peak values, or changes in the background value, even if with limited accuracy and precision. The comparison with particle size distributions obtained by the cascade impactor data allowed us to define which particle sizes are not detected by different optical devices, evidencing a low representativeness of optical low-cost sensors for health exposure measurements. The correlations among the specific particle size fractions detected by the cascade im-pactor and their specific emission sources were particularly high for car emissions in a semi-confined garage area
Corporate social innovation in East African Breweries Ltd.
No full textThis material belongs to Fundacio ESADE. Distributed by ecch, UK and USAIn December 2003, East African Breweries Ltd(EABL) launched a low-cost beer named Senator targeted at low-income consumers in Kenya. The decision was based on the realization that a significant portion of Kenyan alcohol market was divided between traditional brews and illicit liquors. These brews and liquors were leaving behind a trail of health problems on their consumers. The government of Kenya had requested EABL's help in solving this problem. Diageo, the london-based brewing giant, was EABL's main shareholder. EABL management had convinced Diageo that a low-cost beer was an appropriate response to the decline of EABL's market share while simultaneously being a socially responsible investment. However, a six-month post-lauch survey done in May 2004 had shown that senator was not selling as well had been projected. Further, the survey found that some EABL patrons were trading down from the premium brands like tusker to senator. In June 2004, Gerald Mahinda, EABL group managing director had only one question for Lemmy Mutahi, EABL marketing manager for emerging brands:how to make senator a sustainable social product innovation for EABL and by extension Diageo.In December 2003, East African Breweries Ltd(EABL) launched a low-cost beer named Senator targeted at low-income consumers in Kenya. The decision was based on the realization that a significant portion of Kenyan alcohol market was divided between traditional brews and illicit liquors. These brews and liquors were leaving behind a trail of health problems on their consumers. The government of Kenya had requested EABL's help in solving this problem. Diageo, the london-based brewing giant, was EABL's main shareholder. EABL management had convinced Diageo that a low-cost beer was an appropriate response to the decline of EABL's market share while simultaneously being a socially responsible investment. However, a six-month post-lauch survey done in May 2004 had shown that senator was not selling as well had been projected. Further, the survey found that some EABL patrons were trading down from the premium brands like tusker to senator. In June 2004, Gerald Mahinda, EABL group managing director had only one question for Lemmy Mutahi, EABL marketing manager for emerging brands:how to make senator a sustainable social product innovation for EABL and by extension Diageo
The godfather provides: Enduring corruption and organizational hierarchy in the Kenyan police service
No full textDespite government commitments to mitigate corruption and strengthen mechanisms of accountability in state security sectors, reform efforts frequently fail to curb illegal practices by state agents. Scholars offer explanations that range from deeply embedded societal norms of appropriate behavior to rational accounts emphasizing the individualized benefits corruption can offer. Using a case study of the Service Standing Orders in Kenya's National Police Service however, we build on the work of Persson et al.'s analysis to show how corrupt practices on the part of street-level agents are reinforced within organizational hierarchies, through institutionalized—rather than personalized—incentives and obligations. As a result, policy innovations that do not explicitly identify the countervailing incentives created through internal command structures are likely to miss potentially fruitful avenues for institutional reform
Barriers to the Growth and Implementation of Biogas Technology: The Kenyan Experience
No full textABSTRACT Households in sub‐Saharan Africa predominantly rely on biomass energy for cooking, which has negative impacts on health and the environment. Biogas technology presents a promising alternative for developing nations like Kenya, yet its adoption faces multiple barriers at both individual and systemic levels. The study aims to investigate the obstacles to biogas development and adoption in Kenya. Thirty‐two (32) biogas experts from the renewable energy, biogas, and government & policy sectors were randomly selected for the study. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), to prioritize the main barriers, with reliability ensured through a consistency ratio (CR < 0.1). Findings revealed high participant understanding and involvement, with economic factors being identified as the most significant barrier (weight = 0.4163). Other challenges included technical (0.3541), societal (0.0859), infrastructural (0.0734), and policy‐related issues (0.07040). Lack of awareness about biogas benefits emerged as the top sub‐criterion (0.4960), followed by poor distribution infrastructure (0.4286) and technician availability (0.4278). In conclusion, the study found that enhancing technical support, improving infrastructure, and raising awareness about the benefits of biogas are crucial for its wider adoption. The study recommends public awareness and educational training programs to improve overall understanding, capacity‐building initiatives to improve technical expertise, and further studies focusing on the exploration of affordable technologies, such as cost reduction methods, scalable production techniques, or localized innovations for rural areas
Social change and economic reform in Africa
No full textThe African-based authors of this volume provide a series of objective, detailed, factually up-to-date, and theoretically informed studies of reent developments in agriculture, the informal sector, the social sector and 'civil society' in Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. They analyse the main trends and forces operating in these fields and consider the economic reform programme's impact against this background.Contents: Introduction: Economic Reform and Social Change in Africa / Peter Gibbon -- State-Civil Institutions Relations in Kenya in the 1980s / Mutahi G. Ngunyi and Kamau Gathiaka -- The social-Political Context of the Growth of Non-Governmental Organisations in Kenya / Karuti Kanyinga -- Agricultural Decline, Politics and Structural Adjustment in Kenya / G. K. Ikaira, M. A. Jama and J. O. Amadi -- Urban Women Workers in the Informal Sector and Economic Change in Kenya in the 1980s / Agnes Musyoki and John Aluko Orodho -- Towards a Political Economy of Adjustment in a Labour Reserve Economy: The Case of Lesotho / Michael Neocomos -- Structural Adjustment and Non-Governmental Organisations In Tanzania: A Case Study / Andrew S. Z. Kiondo -- Structural Adjustment Policies and Education in Tanzania / Joe L. P Lugalla -- Forms of Accumulation, Agriculture and Structural Adjustment in Tanzania / C. S. L. Chachage -- Structural Adjustment, State and Organised Labour in Zimbabwe / Lloyd M. Sachikonye -- Women Informal Sector Workers and Structural Adjustment in Zimbabwe / V. Brand, R. Mupedziswa and P. Gumbo -- Health and Structural Adjustment in Zimbabwe / Frances Chinemana and David Sanders</p
Social change and economic reform in Africa
No full textThe African-based authors of this volume provide a series of objective, detailed, factually up-to-date, and theoretically informed studies of reent developments in agriculture, the informal sector, the social sector and 'civil society' in Kenya, Lesotho, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. They analyse the main trends and forces operating in these fields and consider the economic reform programme's impact against this background.Contents: Introduction: Economic Reform and Social Change in Africa / Peter Gibbon -- State-Civil Institutions Relations in Kenya in the 1980s / Mutahi G. Ngunyi and Kamau Gathiaka -- The social-Political Context of the Growth of Non-Governmental Organisations in Kenya / Karuti Kanyinga -- Agricultural Decline, Politics and Structural Adjustment in Kenya / G. K. Ikaira, M. A. Jama and J. O. Amadi -- Urban Women Workers in the Informal Sector and Economic Change in Kenya in the 1980s / Agnes Musyoki and John Aluko Orodho -- Towards a Political Economy of Adjustment in a Labour Reserve Economy: The Case of Lesotho / Michael Neocomos -- Structural Adjustment and Non-Governmental Organisations In Tanzania: A Case Study / Andrew S. Z. Kiondo -- Structural Adjustment Policies and Education in Tanzania / Joe L. P Lugalla -- Forms of Accumulation, Agriculture and Structural Adjustment in Tanzania / C. S. L. Chachage -- Structural Adjustment, State and Organised Labour in Zimbabwe / Lloyd M. Sachikonye -- Women Informal Sector Workers and Structural Adjustment in Zimbabwe / V. Brand, R. Mupedziswa and P. Gumbo -- Health and Structural Adjustment in Zimbabwe / Frances Chinemana and David Sanders</p
