Workplace stress and female employees' performance.

Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.Stress is placed upon anything that is given special emphasis or significance, especially where this leads to, or involves, psychological, emotional and physical strain or tension. A part of it is therefore subjective, in that different reactions are produced in different individuals by the same set of circumstances. Stress is caused by a combined physical and psychological response to stimuli (stressors) that occur or are encountered during the course of living. The study will look at causes of stress and workplace stress and its impact on female employees' performance. Stressors from a general perspective will be identified. Further, workplace stress will be dealt with in detail using the integrated stress framework. The study will also look at effects on employees of negative feedback on self, as for example when a hierarchical superior in the course of an appraisal interview states that performance is unsatisfactory. The study will orientate towards a few questions such as: to what extent are individual well-being and performance similarly affected by stressors of various kinds, and to what extent to their effects appear to be distinct? What are the social and organizational conditions which give rise to the immediate stressors, and what qualities of personality and interpersonal relations mitigate the effects of stress? Creating workplaces that work for women and why the 'bottom-line' benefits workplaces that attract women are important components of this study. Further, organisations that target female consumers or clients is increasingly important as more women are entering the workforce and their spending power and disposable income continues to grow. To ensure a successful market focus on women, employers will want women employees to be a critical component of their organization. However, the mere presence of women in the workplace will not guarantee positive outcomes. What is required is a variety of best practice changes to ensure a work culture in which diversity is valued and effectively leveraged for better performance. A self-administered questionnaire will then be sent out to respondents to get their views on the effects of stress that they have felt in the past 12 months and how they rate their workplaces. Their views will also be sought on performance management issues and how to improve their performance management systems. A holistic approach which incorporates stress management into company health and i safety policies is viewed as the optimal strategy of this study

Descriptive sensory quality of Kenya’s indigenous chicken meat from different ecotype- clusters reared under an intensive system

Indigenous chicken (IC) in Kenya performs a major food security and socio-economic function for most households, especially of the rural poor. The trend has been to move from rearing IC on free-range systems to more intensive and semi intensive systems. This study was conducted by use of Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) and the Just About Right (JAR) scale scores to quantify the appeal of the IC meat reared under intensive systems. The IC used in the study had been obtained from Taita,  Kakamega and Narok ecotype clusters kept under the intensive system at Indigenous Chicken Improvement Programme (INCIP) unit at Egerton University. During the intensive rearing, the chickens were given the same treatment in terms of feed, disease control at all the stages and water was given ad-libitum. The chickens were slaughtered at the same age and only cocks were used as control for sensorial differences accruing due to sex. Five cocks from each ecotype cluster were slaughtered after a feed  withdrawal period of 8-10 hours and their meat prepared by boiling for sensory evaluation after ageing on ice for 3-6 hours. A trained panel of tasters (13-15) was used to evaluate the descriptive and JAR sensorial quality of indigenous chickens’ meat from the breast and thighs. One commercial broiler (Kenbro) was used as a control. Results showed that there was significant effect at P<0.05 of the ecotype of the IC on its meat aroma, flavour and brown colour intensity. The JAR scale showed that the consumers’ scores for the colour, flavour, juiciness, tenderness of indigenous chicken was ‘just about right’ compared to broiler which was described by colour as too light, flavour too strong, too juicy in terms of expression of juiciness and too tender with regard to texture. The Principal Component Analysis results showed that there were two principal components (colour and texture) that accounted for 55.4 % and 11.6% and 53.9 and 19% for both descriptive scores and JAR scores for IC meat, respectively. This study indicates sensorial differences among the Kenyan Indigenous chicken ecotypes (of different genetic characteristics) under intensive systems and demonstrates significant difference among various attributes from the commercial broiler.Key words: Descriptive, sensory evaluation, Kenyan Indigenous chicken, ecotype cluster, intensive system

Design of a HACCP plan for indigenous chicken slaughter house in Kenya

Indigenous chicken rearing is seen as a poverty alleviation and food security strategy especially in rural households in Africa. Chicken meat is a delicacy in almost every household in Kenya. It is a common food in restaurants and hotels that serve fast foods in urban areas. Demand for and consumption of indigenous chicken meat in Kenya has been on the rise. Many slaughterhouses have been set up in strategic locations close to towns or in towns to allow for quick supply of the dressed chicken carcass to consumers. Poultry meat is a low acid food and has been associated with the presence of foodborne pathogens such as Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, and Staphylococcus aureus, especially when processing conditions are not hygienic. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is based on a scientific verifiable process to identify, control, reduce or eliminate any potential hazards to guarantee food safety. The current study was conducted based on the actual production conditions of the slaughter house. It was initiated through a survey that looked into the operations of the slaughter house on the basis of good manufacturing practices, as well as standard operation and sanitation procedures. From the results of the study and the gap audit analysis based on a checklist, the HACCP study was commissioned. The study aimed at developing a HACCP system; based on the seven HACCP principles and a critical scrutiny of several existing models. Four Critical Control Points (CCPs) were identified and a HACCP plan, complete with perquisite programs was presented to deal with the identified hazards and, therefore, present the consumers with high quality and safe products. Design of a model for the application and operationalization of HACCP system was undertaken as an important step in ensuring consumers enjoy safe products from the indigenous chicken meat prepared from the slaughter house.Key words: Indigenous chicken, slaughter house, HACCP, Critical control points (CCPs

Quantity and Functionality of Protein Fractions Isolated from 3 Ecotypes of Indigenous Chicken in Kenya

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the cluster ecotype and the part of chicken on nutritional composition, and functionality of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins that are most relevant to the technological features of chicken meat. Over 50 chickens from each ecotype cluster purchased, slaughtered and the meat stored under refrigeration at -20oC and later on transferred in cooler box on ice and flown to South Africa, at the Durban University of Technology. Protein fractions were extracted with a cocktail of Sodium Chloride buffer (50mM NaCl, 50mM Tris HCl; 75mM DTT and 1mM EDTA at pH 7) and quantified by Bradford method. One dimensional Sodium Dodecyl Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS PAGE) was applied to separate protein fractions. Emulsifying capacity, emulsifying stability, solubility, and in vitro digestibility were determined on the total protein isolates. Significant differences in band expressions were recorded for the myofibrillar and the sarcoplasmic proteins. The three ecotypes had high quality proteins with all the limiting and essential amino acids at concentrations higher than FAO/WHO recommended daily allowance for adults and children. Distinct protein bands at larger molecular weight proteins >100 kDa, corresponding to Myosin Heavy Chain, medium fractions 75 kDa and 45 kDa and even lower molecular weight fraction <25 kDa were present in the chicken breast and the thighs. It concludes that Indigenous chicken protein isolates’ nutritional and functional properties are affected by part of chicken and ecotype clusters

Effect of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources on maize yields in an acid soil in western Kenya

Maize production in western Kenya is commonly limited by P deficiencies and aluminum phytotoxicity. Due to high costs of imported fertilizers and lime, focus is now shifting to solutions that utilize local resources. We tested the effect of three inorganic P sources i.e., triple superphosphate (TSP), Minjingu phosphate rock (MPR) and Busumbu phosphate rock (BPR), each applied in combination with two organic materials (OMs) i.e., farmyard manure (FYM) and Tithonia diversifolia green manure (tithonia), or with urea on soil chemical properties related to soil acidity, P availability and maize yields for three consecutive seasons in western Kenya. The OMs and inorganic P sources were applied to provide 20 and 40 kg P ha-1 respectively in their combination. Where urea was used, the inorganic P sources were applied at 60 kg P ha-1. Maize did not respond to application of TSP, MPR or BPR with urea in the first two seasons. However, after three seasons, maize significantly responded to application of MPR with urea. FYM was more effective than tithonia in increasing the labile inorganic P pools but it gave lower maize yields than tithonia which was more effective in reducing the exchangeable Al. It appears that the ability of an OM to lower the exchangeable Al is more important inincreasing maize yields than its ability to increase P availability. The effectiveness of the inorganic P sources in increasing maize yields followed the order of their effectiveness in increasing available P, i.e., TSP[MPR [BPR, once Al phytotoxicity was reduced by application of tithonia but the difference between TSP and MPR was not significant. The extra maize yield obtained by the additional 40 kg P ha-1 from the inorganic P sources was, however, in most cases not substantial enough to justify their use. Economic considerations may therefore favour the use of tithonia or FYM when applied alone at 20 kg P ha-1 than when combined with any of the inorganic P sources used in this study at a total P rate of 60 kg ha-1

Enhancing individual animal resilience to environmental disturbances to address low productivity in dairy cattle performing in sub-Saharan Africa

The current review examines potential solutions to enhance the sustainability and productivity of the dairy sector in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an emphasis on breeding for resilience. Additionally, the paper explores various indicators for measuring resilience and provides insights into the data that can be utilized to quantify resilience in SSA’s dairy production systems. Dairy production contributes significantly to food and nutritional security and employment in SSA. However, besides the general lack of enabling policy and institutional environments, production is negatively affected by environmental challenges such as high temperatures and heat stress, diseases and parasites, unreliable rainfall patterns, shortages of feeds and forages and undue preference for taurine cattle breeds regardless of their poor adaptability to prevailing local conditions. Fostering the resilience capacity of dairy animals is imperative to combat climate-related adversities and maintain productivity. This can only be achieved if reliable and practical methods for quantifying and analyzing resilience in SSA are described and undertaken. This study has reviewed variance of deviations, root mean square of deviations, autocorrelation of deviations, skewness of deviations, slope of the reaction norm and its absolute value as possible indicators of resilience in SSA. While previous research has reported genetic variation and favorable correlations of these indicators with health, fitness, and fertility traits, their potential in SSA environments requires further investigation. Besides, labor- and cost-effective phenotypic data collection is essential for characterization of resilience using these indicators. Through this study, we propose frequently collected data on milk production traits, body fat-related traits, and activity patterns as suitable in the sub-Saharan Africa context. The African Asian Dairy Genetic Gains Project by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) offers a valuable opportunity to collate data from diverse dairy systems in SSA for testing the potential of these indicators. Insights from this study are helpful in improving resilience of dairy animals in SSA, which would contribute to poverty alleviation, animal welfare improvement, and better preparedness in lieu of climate change in SSA.</p

Micro-Dosing of Lime, Phosphorus and Nitrogen Fertilizers Effect on Maize Performance on an Acid Soil in Kenya

High cost of inorganic fertilizers and lime has precluded their use by smallholder farmers to remedy the problem of soil acidity and infertility in Kenya. To address the problem, we tested a precision technique referred to as micro-dosing, which involves application of small, affordable quantities of inorganic inputs on an acid soil in Busia County, Kenya. Experimental treatments were N-fertilizer (0 and 37.5 kg N ha-1), P-fertilizer (0 and 13 kg P ha-1) and lime (0, 0.77 and 1.55 tons lime ha-1). 37.5 kg N and 13 kg P ha-1 are 50% of the recommended fertilizer rates for maize production in Kenya while 0.77 and 1.55 tons lime ha-1 are 25 and 50% of the actual requirement. Soil chemical changes, maize grain yield and nutrient recovery were determined. Lime and P-fertilizer significantly affected only the top-soil pH, Ca, Mg and available P, while the effects of N-fertilizer were evident on both top- and sub-soil N likely due to its faster mobility than P and lime. Grain P-fertilizer recovery efficiencies were 14 and 16-27% due to 13 kg P and 13 kg P + 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1, respectively. N-fertilizer recovery efficiencies were 37 and 42-45% due to 37.5 kg N and 37.5 kg N + 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1, respectively. Fertilizers applied to supply 37.5 kg N, 13 kg P and 0.77-1.55 tons lime ha-1 increased grain yield above the control by 134, 39 and 12-22%, respectively, therefore micro-dosing of these inputs can increase maize production on Kenyan acid soils