Effect of Strategic Organisational Culture and Stake Holders Involvement on Strategy Implementation in the Administrative Police Service in Kenya

In order for organizations to achieve their goals and objectives, it is necessary for them to adjust to their environment through strategy. It is therefore imperative for the Police service in Kenya to understand their resources and the forces that shape organizational competition. However it has been known that significant number of strategic initiatives fail during their implementation since it has been recognized as the biggest challenge for organizations.Kenya’s Vision 2030 lays emphasis on security as crucial pillars for economic growth implying the police play a crucial role in creating the conditions in which development can take place. The Administration Police Service in trying to better its service delivery has so far drawn up three strategic plan with 2013-2017 being the current plan under implementation. However, there has been little change in the structure, accountability and attitude of the police service to match these plans. Despite experiencing numerous attacks, 5% of people in Lamu County view the police as a threat to local security and 25% of residents rated the police performance as quite bad while previous reports indicate that the police were slow in responding to attacks in the county.  This study therefore sought to find out the determinants of an effective strategy implementation in Administration police service in Kenya. Specifically the study sought to determine the influence of management style, communication, organizational culture and stakeholder involvement on effective implementation of strategies. The findings of this study will seek to fill the existing information gap on the issues impeding the implementation of the strategies at Administration Police Service as an instrument of modernizing the Administration Police which has been shown to be making slow progress on intended reforms in the service. The study adopted a cross sectional descriptive design involving survey of senior officers and 212 junior police officers. The senior police officers including County/Sub-county Commanders and head of Divisions were purposively sampled to respond to key informant interviews while junior officers stratified into divisions were randomly selected to respond to self-administered questionnaires. Organizational culture in APS in Lamu County was fairly supportive of strategy implementation. There was above average involvement of staff despite low levels of continuous investment in employee skills. In addition, there were consistent actions in the APS although leaders did not ‘practice what they preach’. The APS also was averagely adaptable despite being somehow opaque in its operations. Officers were also not excited about the organizational vision in the APS.The stakeholders’ involvement was moderately high. Other government agencies were highly involved in strategic implementation by the APS while local community members, junior officers and commanders were moderately involved. Other government agencies took highest priority and attention in the APS and these agencies also had the highest power to influence APS. On the other hand junior officers were actively seeking attention for requests they submitted to the APS. Keywords: Police, strategy implementation practices, strategy, strategic leadership, communication

Effect of Strategic Leadership and Communication on Strategy Implementation in the Administration Police Service in Kenya

In order for organizations to achieve their goals and objectives, it is necessary for them to adjust to their environment through strategy. It is therefore imperative for the Police service in Kenya to understand their resources and the forces that shape organizational competition. However it has been known that significant number of strategic initiatives fail during their implementation since it has been recognized as the biggest challenge for organizations.Kenya’s Vision 2030 lays emphasis on security as crucial pillars for economic growth implying the police play a crucial role in creating the conditions in which development can take place. The Administration Police Service in trying to better its service delivery has so far drawn up three strategic plan with 2013-2017 being the current plan under implementation. However, there has been little change in the structure, accountability and attitude of the police service to match these plans. Despite experiencing numerous attacks, 5% of people in Lamu County view the police as a threat to local security and 25% of residents rated the police performance as quite bad while previous reports indicate that the police were slow in responding to attacks in the county.  This study therefore sought to find out the determinants of an effective strategy implementation in Administration police service in Kenya. Specifically the study sought to determine the influence of management style, communication, organizational culture and stakeholder involvement on effective implementation of strategies. The findings of this study will seek to fill the existing information gap on the issues impeding the implementation of the strategies at Administration Police Service as an instrument of modernizing the Administration Police which has been shown to be making slow progress on intended reforms in the service. The study adopted a cross sectional descriptive design involving survey of senior officers and 212 junior police officers. The senior police officers including County/Sub-county Commanders and head of Divisions were purposively sampled to respond to key informant interviews while junior officers stratified into divisions were randomly selected to respond to self-administered questionnaires. Quantitative data from the questionnaires was analyzed using SPSS version 20 which involved description using frequencies and percentages while factor analysis was used to draw up factors accounting for the highest variation in the variable of concern. The factors developed were then subjected to regression analysis. The results of the quantitative data were presented in form of graphs, charts and tables. Keywords:  Police, strategy implementation practices, strategy, strategic leadership, communication

Pengaruh Variasi Dolomit Material Lokal Kabupaten Bangkalan Sebagai Subsitusi Agregat Dalam Pembuatan Batako Terhadap Kuat Tekan Dan Absorbsi

Batako dalam penelitian ini dibuat dari campuran semen, tepung dolomit, pasir dan air. Tujuan penelitian adalah mencari bahan alternatif pengganti pasir dalam pembuatan batako. Komposisi sampel digunakan perbandingan semen : pasir = 1 : 8 (dalam % volume). Substitusi pasir terdiri divariasi dari 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, dan 100%. Sampel uji dibentuk batako hollow dengan ukuran 40 cm x 19 cm x 10 cm. Setelah pengeringan secara alami 28 hari ditemukan rata-rata kuat tekan maksimum 27,68 kg/cm2 yaitu pada komposisi dengan penggunaan 75% dolomit dan minimum 14,15 kg/cm2 pada penggunaan 0% dolomit, penyerapan air maksimum 18,34% pada komposisi dengan penggunaan 100% dolomit dan minimum 12,04 % pada komposisi penggantian 25% dolomit; Batako yang dihasilkan tergolong type IV; Komposisi dengan penggunaan 75 % dolomit tehadap substitusi pasir menghasilkan kuat tekan lebih baik daripada komposisi dengan penggunaan 0% dolomit terhadap subsitusi pasir, jadi dapat disimpulkan bahwa tepung dolomit dapat dijadikan sebagai subsitusi pasir pada pembuatan batako

Analisis Faktor-Faktor Yang Mempengaruhi Produksi Padi Di Provinsi Jawa Timur Menggunakan Regresi Semiparametrik Spline

Padi merupakan salah satu makanan pokok masyarakat Indonesia. Produksi padi pada tahun 2014 sebesar 70,85 ton Gabah Kering Giling (GKG) mengalami penurunan sebesar 433,24 ribu ton (0,61 persen) dibandingkan tahun 2013. Provinsi Jawa Timur merupakan provinsi penyumbang produksi padi terbesar di Indonesia. Hal ini yang menuntut Provinsi Jawa Timur untuk terus meningkatkan produksi padi demi ketercapaian swasembada pangan khususnya untuk masyarakat Jawa Timur dan umumnya untuk Indonesia. Penelitian ini akan membahas tentang faktor-faktor apa saja yang diduga mempengaruhi produksi padi Jawa Timur tahun 2014 menggunakan regresi semiparametrik spline. Hasil dari regresi semiparametrik spline menunjukkan factor-faktor yang berpengaruh signifikan terhadap produksi padi yaitu luas panen padi dan curah hujan, sedangkan faktor-faktor yang tidak berpengaruh signifikan adalah luas puso padi, realisasi pupuk bersubsidi, dan ketinggian rata-rata dari permukaan laut dengan nilai koefisien determinasi yang didapatkan adalah sebesar 99,17 persen

Dietary Restriction Ameliorates Age-Related Increase in DNA Damage, Senescence and Inflammation in Mouse Adipose Tissuey.

Ageing is associated with redistribution of fat around the body and saturation of visceral adipose depots. Likewise, the presence of excess fat in obesity or during ageing places extra stress on visceral depots, resulting in chronic inflammation and increased senescence. This process can contribute to the establishment of the metabolic syndrome and accelerated ageing. Dietary restriction (DR) is known to alleviate physiological signs of inflammation, ageing and senescence in various tissues including adipose tissue. OBJECTIVES:Our pilot study aimed to analyse senescence and inflammation parameters in mouse visceral fat tissue during ageing and by short term, late-onset dietary restriction as a nutritional intervention. Design, measurements: In this study we used visceral adipose tissue from mice between 5 and 30 months of age and analysed markers of senescence (adipocyte size, γH2A.X, p16, p21) and inflammation (e.g. IL-6, TNFα, IL-1β, macrophage infiltration) using immuno-staining, as well as qPCR for gene expression analysis. Fat tissues from 3 mice per group were analysed. RESULTS:We found that the amount of γH2A.X foci as well as the expression of senescence and inflammation markers increased during ageing but decreased with short term DR. In contrast, the increase in amounts of single or aggregated macrophages in fat depots occurred only at higher ages. Surprisingly, we also found that adipocyte size as well as some senescence parameters decreased at very high age (30 months). CONCLUSIONS:Our results demonstrate increased senescence and inflammation during ageing in mouse visceral fat while DR was able to ameliorate several of these parameters as well as increased adipocyte size at 17.5 months of age. This highlights the health benefits of a decreased nutritional intake over a relatively short period of time at middle age

Menentukan Koefisien Ekspansi Linier Batang Kuningan Dengan Teknik Espi (Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry)

Telah dilakukan eksperimen untuk menentukan koefisien ekspansi linier batang kuningan dengan teknik ESPI (Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry). Objek uji yang digunakan terbuat dari kuningan dengan diameter 45 mm, panjang 44 mm, dan dikenai beban thermal dari temperatur 30°Csampai dengan 40°C menggunakan heater (pemanas) yang ditempelkan erat dibelakang objek. Data citra spekel selama pemanasan diamati dan setiap selang waktu 1 menit disimpan di memori komputer untuk diproses. Pemrosesannya dilakukan dengan cara mensubtraksikan (mengurangkan) ke dua citraspekel pixel per pixel dan hasilnya ditampilkan di layar monitor dalam bentuk pola frinji. Dari eksperimen diperoleh harga koefisien ekspansi linier kuningan α = (1,96 ± 0,02)10-5/°C dengan standard deviasi terhadap rata-rata sebesar 1,02%.An experiment to determine the linear coefficient of expansion for the brass rod have been done by using the ESPI (Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry) technique. The specimen we used were brass with diameter 45 mm, length 44 mm, and thermal loaded from temperature 30°C up to 40°C use heaters behind object. The image speckle data for each 1 menit during thermal were record by the computers. Its process done by subtraction to image speckle data pixel by pixel, and the result presented on monitor screen in the fringe pattern. From experiment obtained that the average value of the linear coefficient of expansion for the brass is, α = (1,96 ± 0 ,02)10-5/°C with the deviation from average value is 1.02 %

An Insight into the Application of Gradations of Circularity in the Food Packaging Industry: A Systematic Literature Review and a Multiple Case Study

This is the final version. Available on open access from MDPI via the DOI in this recordData Availability Statement: The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to primary data collection and to protect the identities of the participants (interviews were conducted and transcribed).Given its unsustainable growth, the food packaging industry (FPI) has become a priority industry in the circular economy. Given the academic significance attributed to the gradations of circularity in maximising resource efficiency in the food packaging industry, this paper aims to identify the current state of the application of those gradations of circularity in the FPI by finding the least and most commonly used circular strategies in the FPI. Moreover, it aims to identify the drivers of and barriers to the implementation of the gradations of circularity and the levers for overcoming such barriers through SLR using multiple case studies, namely five small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the FPI that each represent one of the five least implemented circular strategies. The research identified that the efforts of the FPI toward adopting circular strategies were not aligned with the gradations of circularity. Based on the research findings, a lever–barrier matrix is proposed as a toolkit for SMEs planning a transition toward the circular economy or are in the transition phase

Determining factors related to poor quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis : results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register (BSRBR-AS)

The BSRBR-AS is funded by the British Society for Rheumatology who have received funding for this from Pfizer, AbbVie and UCB. These companies receive advance copies of manuscripts for comments, but made none in relation to this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Feasibility trial of the newly introduced optical enhancement technology in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease

BACKGROUND: Optical Enhancement technology (OE) combines bandwidth-limited light and image enhancement processing technology to enhance subtle mucosal and vascular details. This is the first study assessing the new technology for the diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with GERD and controls were prospectively included. The distal esophagus was examined in all quadrants with high definition white-light endoscopy (HD-WLE) followed by OE and biopsies for histopathological analysis. Features observed only by OE were compared between controls and patients with GERD. RESULTS: A total of 100 areas were evaluated. About 56% of patients had a diagnosis of GERD. The mean age of patients was 53 years (range 27-89 years), 60% were female. Compared to controls, patients with diagnosis of GERD showed significantly more often tortuosity (p = 0.042), dilation (p = 0.0003), and increased number (p = 0.001) of intrapapillary capillary loops (IPCLs). In addition, increased vascularity and mucosal breaks were significantly more often found in patients with GERD as compared to controls (p < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, increased number and dilation of IPCL were the best predictors of GERD. CONCLUSIONS: The newly introduced OE technology significantly improves the diagnosis of GERD compared to HD-WLE. The results should be confirmed in a multicenter trial

Cross-country catch-up in the manufacturing sector: Impacts of heterogeneity on convergence and technology adoption

Abstract This paper analyses econometrically the relationship between productivity growth in manufacturing and technology transfer from the leading economy. The recent convergence literature identifies two processes required for convergence; nations must both attain comparable levels of factor intensity and similar levels of technology. Homogeneity in technologies has neither theoretical nor empirical support. The paper focuses on the manufacturing sector and its two-digit industries while allowing for heterogeneity in technology and in the rate of catch-up. It compares catch-up rates and productivity estimates across manufacturing sectors and GDP and discusses possible sources for the obtained differences. The empirical part of the paper explores the validity of our econometric model for 16 OECD countries for aggregate and manufacturing labor productivity. Our results indicate that aggregate studies bias downward the estimated convergence rates. The rates of catch-up, as well as levels of productivity and sources of its growth in terms of technology and efficiency growth, also differ across countries. Finally, it finds that institutional factors such as bureaucratic efficiency are important determinants of catch-up rates