Curating Kisumu: Adapting Mobile Humanities Interpretation in East Africa

The Center for Public History + Digital Humanities (CPHDH) at Cleveland State University and Maseno University in Kenya seek NEH Level II Start-Up funding for Curating Kisumu to extend best practices for mobile interpretation to the developing world. CPHDH will explore how to use the Curatescape mobile interpretive framework to facilitate interchange between the humanities and pressing needs in East Africa. Faculty and students on both sides of the Atlantic will conduct collaborative research. Our team will also explore how to modify Curatescape to enable bilingual user inputs on the administrative backend and to allow the richest possible experience for users who use still-prevalent feature phones. Our team will develop an educational exchange to create content; develop, implement, and test an app that we adapt thoughtfully to local needs and technical constraints; and collaboratively identify a set of recommendations for overcoming barriers to mobile curation in Africa

“‘Curating Kisumu’ and ‘Curating East Africa’: Academic Collaboration and Public Engagement in the Digital Age”

This essay examines the origin, permutations, potentials, challenges, and implications of two successive, collaborative public history research, teaching, and learning projects undertaken by the Department of History at Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio, and the Department of History and Archeology at Maseno University, Kisumu, Kenya between 2014 and 2018. The two projects explored how opportunities created by the mobile revolution in Africa could be leveraged to generate new ways of acquiring historical information and knowledge between students and faculty in universities separated by enormous distances and by disparate social, economic, and political experiences. Specifically, the projects examined how the cellphone revolution could reshape the production and dissemination of knowledge about important sites, places, events, and people in modern Africa. The essay examines the conception and permutations of the two projects; identifies and explores their potentials and challenges; and proffers thoughts and suggestions that may guide similar future endeavors

Characterization of Rayleigh Wave Propagation in Concrete Using Laser Ultrasonics

Ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation of non-traditional civil engineering materials such as aluminum are fairly well advanced. However the advancement of ultrasonic methodologies for the nondestructive evaluation of concrete lag behind primarily because of the lack of quantitative understanding of the propagation characteristics of ultrasonic waves in concrete due to the highly attenuating nature of concrete

Effect of Activebag® modified atmosphere packaging on the postharvest characteristics of mango fruits, Mangifera indica L, cultivar Tommy Atkins

Objective: This was to evaluate the efficacy of MAP in maintaining the postharvest quality of mango fruits.Methodology and results: The fruits were harvested from a commercial orchard, (Karurumo Orchards) located in Embu county of Eastern province. The fruits were harvested at advanced maturity during the pre-climacteric rise phase when most of the flesh had turned yellow. They were selected for uniformity in colour, size and shape and randomly separated into three equal batches of 50 fruits each. The first batch was packaged in Activebag®, second batch in ordinary (commercially used) polythene bags while the third batch was left unpackaged as control. Five fruits from each treatment were sampled every three days during the shelf life period and evaluated for various physiological and physicochemical parameters associated with mango ripening and quality including ethylene evolution, respiration rate, cumulative weight loss, firmness, hue angle, total soluble solids, total titratable acid, soluble sugars, ascorbic acid and beta-carotene. MAP whether in Activebag® or ordinary polythene was effective in maintaining the quality of mango fruits compared to the unpackaged controls. Slow ripening changes of Activebag® fruits was accompanied by a delayed respiratory climacteric and generally lower respiration rates compared to ordinary bag and unpackaged fruits. At the end of the observation period, Activebag® fruits were 16% firmer compared to unpackaged fruits. The initial average weight was 635g and modified atmosphere packaging had a remarkable effect on cumulative weight loss with fruits packaged in the ordinary polythene bag and Activebag® fruits losing only 7.4% of the initial weight compared to 12% in the case of unpackaged fruits (control). Higher levels of total soluble solids (°brix) 5.5g/100g and total soluble sugars (6g/100g) observed at the beginning of storage (6 days after packaging) signalled advanced ripening of unpackaged fruits. However as the storage time progressed, the levels of each of the soluble sugars evaluated were higher in Activebag® fruits. Similarly, Activebag® fruits retained higher levels of titratable acidity (0.39%and ascorbic acid compared to ordinary bag fruits (0.36%).Conclusion: Packaging mangoes in Activebag® after harvest at ripe stage was effective in delaying most of the ripening related changes in mango fruits thereby maintaining the quality and extending their shelf life. Although ordinary polythene packaging maintained quality of the fruits better than unpackaged fruits, the positive effects were negated by high incidences of rotting.Key words: Mango, MAP, postharvest, quality, shelf lif

Evaluation of Ensiled Brewer's Grain in the Diet of Piglets by One Way Multiple Analysis of Variance, MANOVA

The basic purpose of feeding trials is to find the optimum level of feed ingredients which give the highest economical returns to the farmers. This can be achieved through estimation and comparison of means of different rations. The example we have is a study of incorporation of different levels of ensiled brewers grains in the diet of 24 hybrids weaned piglets from Landrace x Duroc x Berkshire x Large White. They were randomly divided into four groups with three replicates of two piglets per pen. They were fed 0, 10, 20, 30% incorporation of ensiled brewer's grains on dry matter basis during post-weaning period followed by 0, 30, 40 and 50% during growing period and 0, 50, 60 and 70% during finishing period. We have one explanatory variable: initial weight, and four post treatment outcome variables recorded per piglets: final weight, dry matter consumption, weight gain and index of consumption. Comparing of several multivariate treatment means model design analysis is adapted. We obtain the MANOVA (Multiple Analyse of Variance) table of each phase, where the treatment differences exist by using Wilk's lambda distribution, and we find the treatment effect by using a confidence interval method of MANOVA. This model has the advantage of computing the responses of all variables in the matrix of sum of squares and more precisely in separation of the different means percentage of Ensiled Brewer's grain

Factors Influencing Roles Played by Church Leaders in Community Health Programmes’ Sustainability in Homa Bay District-Kenya

Introduction: Sustainability of community health programs in resource limited countries within sub Saharan Africa like Kenya, pose major challenges to most of the governments and the perceived benefiting communities. Churches around the world are involved in one way or another in various types of community development programs. Their involvement promotes sustainability of these programs. Key health indicators in Kenya have been worsening day by day for over decades. Though there is a reverse in most of the indicators, they still remain poor in regards to World Health Organization’s standards. Worse, sustainability of the on going programs remains one key observable challenge that seeks for synergistic partnership. Direct roles played by Church leaders in community Health programs in Homa-Bay District were not clearly understood. What influenced them to or not to play a role in these programs were also not known, yet there were adequate evidences which showed that sustainability of community health programs remained a challenge for decades. This caused a concern for investigation. The aim of the study was therefore to assess factors influencing the roles church leaders’ play in community health programs sustainability in Homa Bay District. It specifically looked at the roles played by church leaders in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the on going programs together with other partners, their unilateral roles in churches that promote sustainability of ongoing programs and also to determine institutional factors that influence the roles they play in Community Health Programs at the District. Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional exploratory study that employed qualitative approach of data collection. The study population were ordained church ministers, who were either priests or pastors together with their local lay leaders from Catholic, Seventh Day Adventist, Anglican Church of Kenya, Baptist and Full Gospel Churches in Homa Bay District. The findings of the study revealed that, Church leaders play very minimal roles in the programs and they vary from one church to another. What influences their roles were: -        The degree of support from overall church leaders to respective internal committees. -        Adapted policies by partners / church. -        The functionality level of relevant government coordinating structures in the District. In conclusion, church leaders are established to have minimal support to ongoing health programs due to inadequate sensitization and involvement by the government coordinating structures. So there is a need for government to strengthen its commitment towards sensitising church leadership to be involved actively and consistently among other partner

Characterization of postharvest physiology attributes of six commercially grown tomato varieties in Kenya

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is the leading vegetable in terms of production in Kenya. The Kenyan local market has a wide variety of tomato cultivars with a wide range of morphological and sensorial characteristics. However, information on the nutritional and postharvest quality of these varieties is lacking. The aim of this research was to investigate and identify tomato varieties of superior postharvest quality and recommend them to small and medium scale farmers. In this study, six tomato varieties were grown in a greenhouse and analyzed at three maturity stages (mature green, turning and red ripe). The tomatoes were analyzed at specific days after harvest and storage at room temperature (25o C). Percentage weight loss, color, respiration and ethylene production rates were analyzed to assess the postharvest quality of the tomatoes. The color was measured using a Minolta Chromameter while the respiration rate and ethylene production rates were determined using the static system approach. Color, weight loss, respiration and ethylene production rates were positively affected by storage time when harvested at the three maturity stages. The percentage weight loss of the tomato fruits was higher in the determinate varieties, and at the turning stage of maturity (3.8 %). Minor color changes were observed after storage of the tomatoes harvested at red stage for six days. Both rates of respiration and ethylene production were low, with the respiration rate ranging between 56-10 ml CO2 Kg-1h-1. The Chonto F1 variety had the highest rate of ethylene production (5.4 μL C2H4 Kg-1h-1) on the 4th day of storage after harvest at the red ripe stage. Overall, the indeterminate tomato varieties displayed better postharvest quality that can prolong the fruits shelf life for marketing. In turn, the turning stage of maturity proved to be a better stage to harvest tomatoes as the color development was more uniform.Keywords: Tomato, varieties, postharvest quality, respiration rate, ethylene, colo

The Drivers of audit report lag by listed companies in Kenya

Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Commerce (MCOM) at Strathmore UniversityDespite the time taken by external auditors to release the audit report (herein referred to as the auditor report lag, ARL) being regarded as a significant qualitative aspect of timely financial reporting, little known about the determinants of ARL in listed companies in developing economies. This study sought to investigate the determinants of ARL in companies listed in Kenya. A descriptive research design was used to study the auditor-related factors, company-specific factors and corporate governance factors affecting ARL. Two-stage panel least squares regressions were performed to establish the drivers of ARL. The study focused on a ten-year period from 2006 to 2015. The findings revealed that auditor type was the most significant auditor related factor that was associated with ARL. In terms of company-specific factors, the return on assets (ROA) was significant and negatively associated with ARL. In terms of industry sector, the study found that listed companies in the banking sector had lower ARLs. Similarly, companies in the manufacturing sector had lower ARLs. The study found that listed companies in the investment sector had longer ARLs. Next, the study found that listed companies with a higher corporate governance score had shorter ARL. The findings revealed that there exists auditor-specific, company-specific and corporate governance influences on ARL. To corroborate findings from secondary data, semi-structured questionnaires were used. The findings from the questionnaires demonstrated that alongside auditor-, company- and corporate governance-related factors, there are also regulatory factors influencing ARL. The findings should be of interest to managers, auditors and policy makers because these results may help the assessment of the influence of such variables on improving the timeliness of audit reports. Despite the study focusing on ARL in a single country-setting, it contributes to the sparse literature of drivers of ARL in developing countries

Effects of Annealing Ambient on the Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of TiO2:Ge Thin Films

TiO2, a semiconducting material with a wide energy band gap, has been researched intensively due to its interesting properties and many potential applications. The films properties can as well be modified by preparing the films under diverse ambient to suit diverse applications. In this work, the effects of the annealing atmosphere on the structural, optical and electrical properties of pure TiO2 and TiO2:Ge composite thin films deposited by sputtering from commercially available pure TiO2 and TiO2:Ge (85:15) targets respectively were studied. The films were deposited on fluorine doped tin oxide glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique at room temperature 23–25 ℃ and then annealed at 450 ℃ for one hour in three different atmospheres: air, argon and nitrogen. The XRD results revealed that, both pure TiO2 and TiO2:Ge thin films were crystalline and had a mixed phase of anatase and rutile regardless of the annealing ambient. The calculated crystallite sizes ranged between 19–21 nm with the particle sizes for TiO2:Ge films being larger compared to pure TiO2 as calculated from ImageJ software. Electrical measurements showed that the resistivity of as deposited pure TiO2 films (about 13.03 × 10–2 Ω-cm) was greater than the TiO2: Ge composite (5.91 × 10–2 Ω-cm). Furthermore, on annealing, pure TiO2 had a resistivity of 9.47 × 10–2 Ω-cm–10.4 × 10–2 Ω-cm, while the TiO2:Ge composite had a resistivity of 2.24 × 10–2 Ω-cm–3.61 × 10–2 Ω-cm depending on the annealing atmosphere. Variation of annealing atmosphere had minimal influence on the electrical resistivity of the films. The films annealed in nitrogen recorded the least resistivity values averaging about 5.86 × 10–2 Ω-cm, while those annealed in argon and air recorded a resistivity of 6.94 × 10–2 Ω-cm and 6.65 × 10–2 Ω-cm, respectively. The transmittance spectra showed that, all the annealed films were transparent in the visible region (400–700 nm) with a mean bandgap of 3.60 eV for each annealing atmosphere. It is recommended that films annealed in nitrogen atmosphere could be considered for potential applications in photovoltaics. Keywords: Titanium dioxide; Germanium; Ambient; Structural; Optical, Electrica

Aflatoxin and fumonisin mycotoxins contamination along the maize value chain in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Aflatoxin and fumonisin contamination was assessed in different samples along the maize value chain in different territories of South Kivu province. Kabare and Ruzizi Plain were chosen as they represent two different agroecological areas where maize is mostly produced. Twelve districts and one town were selected across the province. The stakeholders were randomly selected, and 215 maize (139 maize grain and 76 maize flour) samples were taken for laboratory analysis. The Q + kit was used to determine the total aflatoxins and fumonisins. Three categories of maize were examined: freshly harvested dry maize, stored maize (maize stored for 3 months ±1.5 month) and market maize. Aflatoxin was found in 100% of the maize samples with the least content of 0.3 μg/kg detected in freshly harvested dry maize with mean 3.2+0.3 and levels ranging from 0.3 to 18.5 μg/kg. The average level of aflatoxin in stored grain samples was 97.9±182 μg/kg within a range of 1.16 to 841.5 μg/kg, and the mean level of aflatoxin in stored flour was 148.9±164.5 μg/kg with levels ranging from 2.05 to 905.1 μg/kg. The mean level of aflatoxin maize collected from the market was 95.1 ±164 μg/kg, with levels ranging from 1 to 823.2 μg/kg. Almost all the maize flour collected from the three areas had a high contamination level that exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 10 μg/kg. Fumonisin was detected in all samples. However, the levels of fumonisin do not follow a specific trend with the duration of storage. The freshly harvested dry maize concentration was 2.4±5.1 μg/g, with levels ranging from 0.03 to 20.9μg/g. About 37% of freshly harvested maize samples contaminated by fumonisin exceeded the maximum tolerable limit of 4 μg/kg. There was a difference between total fumonisin in grain and flour; the average level of fumonisin in stored maize grain was 1.4±0.9 μg/g with levels ranging from 0.18- 4.7 μg/g while in flour, the level was 2.1±1.3 μg/g with levels ranging from 0.3-4.5 μg/g. Almost all the maize samples collected from the three areas had a degree of contamination that did not exceed the maximum tolerable limit of 4 μg/g. These results indicate that the two mycotoxin levels, particularly aflatoxin, were high in the different samples collected at specific nodes. Therefore, preventing mycotoxins accumulation in maize by post-harvest prevention of contamination and growth of toxigenic moulds by promoting proper grain drying and storage should be encouraged among the actors of the maize value chain.&nbsp