Assessing the Dimensional Validity and Reliability of the Critical Thinking Inventory (CTI) in the Kenyan Higher Education System: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The global importance of critical thinking in enhancing academic success, employability, civic engagement, and mental health is universally acknowledged. Yet, its cultivation in educational systems, particularly in Kenya, requires further attention. This gap is pronounced in Kenya\u27s higher education, where more research is needed to develop and validate effective critical thinking assessment tools given the paradigm shift in its educational curricular. This study contributes to this need by evaluating the applicability of the Critical Thinking Inventory (CTI) model in Kenyan higher education. Using a convenience sample of 387 undergraduates from Egerton University, the study assessed the alignment between the CTI model, which measures information engagement and seeking, and observed variables in this context. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) results indicated a less-than-ideal fit (χ2(169) = 503.204, p \u3c .000; CFI = .835; TLI = .795; RMSEA = .072), suggesting the need for further validation of the CTI model in this setting. Future research should extend to a more diverse and larger sample across various universities to improve the generalizability of these findings beyond a single institution. This study adds valuable insights into the critical thinking literature in higher education and highlights the need for ongoing research in Kenya. There is an evident necessity for future studies to focus on developing and validating contextually appropriate critical thinking assessment tools, following recommended validation procedures. Such efforts are crucial for a meaningful evaluation of critical thinking skills in the Kenyan competency-based educational system

Combating HIV/AIDS: biomedical approaches towards prevention

For over three decades, HIV/AIDS has had a deleterious impact on public health the world over. There is still no cure for the disease although preventive strategies have evolved over the years to reduce its impact. In addition to behavioural change approaches, biomedical interventions have played a major part in reduction of HIV transmission and subsequently the burden associated with the HIV/AIDS disease. Early biomedical approaches include physical barriers such as condoms, use of clean injection equipment for intravenous drug users, blood and blood product screening. More recently, medical male circumcision and use of anti-retroviral drugs for prevention have been introduced. While these interventions have had a fundamental impact in reducing HIV incidence, the burden in many populations remains. Therefore, there is need to develop new biomedical methods to augment existing efforts. Future biomedical approaches may for instance include use of compounds that modulate the body’s immune system, such as acetylsalicylic acid, to cause resistance to HIV infection. Such approaches could be added to the HIV prevention toolkit.Keywords: HIV/AIDS, biomedical, prevention, immune quiescenceAfr. J. Biomed. Res. Vol. 22 (May, 2019); 105- 11

Directly observed road safety compliance by Motor Cycle Riders after a 5- Year Road Safety Campaign in Naivasha, Kenya

Objective: To assess the extent of compliance with road safety regulations by  motorcycle riders following a five year road safety campaign in Naivasha town, Kenya.Design: A cross sectional study.Setting: Naivasha town, Nakuru county, Kenya.Results: A total of 9,280 MCs ferrying 13,733 people were observed. Less than 1% complied with all the four road safety  requirements. The overall helmet wearing compliance was 31%. MC driver helmet compliance was 42% which was five timeshigher than passenger helmet compliance. Female passengers were twice less likely to wear helmet than males.Conclusion: Despite the five-year road safety campaign, compliance among MC users remains low particularly among the passengers and more so female passengers. Does Kenya need to rethink the motor cycle road safety policy

Influence of Gender on Farmers’ level of Involvement in Bambara Production Activities in Western Kenya

Aims: The study was conducted to determine the relationship of gender and farmer’s involvement in the production activities of Bambara groundnut, the local crop which is intended for productionfor-use. Study Design: Interview and a questionnaire were administered to 120 farmers in two districts. The districts neighbor each other and do share common ecological attributes and therefore, provided sufficient population for the study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in 2009 in Mumias and Butere Districts of Original Research Article Oyugi et al.; AJAEES, 4(3): 231-246, 2015; Article no.AJAEES.2015.024232 Western Kenya. Methodology: Level of involvement of farmers’ in bambara production activities was measured by farmers’ participation in land preparation, planting, weeding, pest control, harvesting, drying, threshing and winnowing. A production activities index (P.A.I) was computed. Results: The findings indicate that the significant relationship between gender and participation of farmers in production activities of Bambara groundnut. The study revealed that a majority of the respondents in Mumias were females while those in Butere were males. However, in general, there were more female than male farmers involved in the production of Bambara groundnut in Mumias and Butere Districts. The overall mean age for the farmers was 43.9 years which is similar for the age representation of rural farmers according to most studies. The farmers in the study area practiced agriculture on an average of ¼ an acre. The highest acreage was found to be approximately 16 and 18 acres for Butere and Mumias respectively. On education level, farmers were found to be literate with 51.7% of the farmers having reached primary level, 39.2% secondary level and 4.2% tertiary level which are in contrast with other studies that have established high illiteracy level of among rural farmers. Results of data analysis revealed that involvement level of female farmers was higher than the male farmers in production activities in the two. For Production Activities Index; female farmers’ PAI = 2.7 while male farmers’ PAI = 1.9. Conclusion: Results of data analysis revealed that involvement level of female farmers was higher than the male farmers in production activities in the two Districts with female farmers exhibiting a higher level of involvement. Extension agents should make female farmers their priority in trying to revive production of the crop. Keywords: Bambara; farmers; gender; production activities index

Predicting Graduate Students’ Self-Efficacy for Thesis/Dissertation Completion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Despite the global surge in enrollment for master\u27s and Ph.D. programs worldwide and, to some extent, in Sub-Saharan Africa, a considerable lag in completing theses and dissertations (TD) persists. Personal, situational, and contextual factors, such as supervision arrangements and research abilities, have been correlated with the time taken for TD completion. However, beyond these variables, there remains a significant gap in our understanding of what precisely predicts TD completion. To contribute to this knowledge deficit, we conducted a study to determine the predictive nature of specific information sources on students\u27 self-efficacy regarding TD completion. These sources encompass gender, graduate program level, coursework completion, prior statistical skills, and research knowledge. A survey built in Qualtrics was distributed to 65 masters and doctoral students in the Agricultural Education and Extension departments at four universities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings indicated that most respondents possessed prior experience with statistics or research and had completed their coursework. Nevertheless, self-reported research knowledge and self-efficacy for TD completion were rated average, signaling a clear need for proficient research skills to ensure punctual TD completion. Furthermore, hierarchical regression revealed that additional predictors, beyond research knowledge alone, led to a 42% increase in TD self-efficacy for completion. These findings suggest that graduate programs should prioritize providing students with more research-related mastery experiences. This could be accomplished by offering a broader range of statistical courses, hands-on research opportunities, and avenues for professional development. Additionally, institutions should evaluate to address the specific TD research requirements of graduate students through a gendered lens

Competitiveness a Masculinity-Femininity Cultural Dimension and Multinational Corporations’ Performance in Uganda

This study conducted under strategy management sought to examine the influence of competitiveness within masculinity-femininity cultural dimension on performance of multinational corporations (MNCs) in Uganda. Specifically, it focused on aspects of competitiveness within the masculinity-femininity cultural dimension that included aggressiveness and materialism. The interest in this study was aroused because of MNCs performance challenges such as struggling to maintain businesses acumen, market share, growth and closure of businesses. This study adopted a cross-sectional research design using a quantitative approach and it involved 50 participants who responded to statements in a questionnaire. A simple regression analysis and a multiple-regression analysis were conducted to assess the influence investigated in this study. Results revealed that competitiveness within masculinity-femininity cultural dimension that included both aggressiveness and materialism had a significant positive influence on performance of MNCs in Uganda. In particular, low levels work aggressiveness and work materialism among MNCs’ employees contributed to the low levels of performance of MNCs in Uganda. The study recommends MNCs to align their strategic vision and mission towards competitiveness to instilling employee work aggressiveness and materialism toward achieving the objectives of the MNCs. Keywords: Masculinity-femininity, competitiveness, aggressiveness, materialism and performance DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-12-03 Publication date:June 30th 202

Distance learning approach to train health sciences students at the University of Nairobi

Background: The University of Nairobi (UoN) College of Health Sciences (CHS) established Partnership for Innovative Medical Education in Kenya (PRIME-K) programmeme to enhance health outcomes in Kenya through extending the reach ofmedical training outside Nairobi to help health sciences students enhance their handson skills. The institution partnered with 18 hospitals in rural and urban centers as the UoN teaching hospitals referred to as decentralised training sites and appointed medical staff from these sites as adjunct faculty of the University of Nairobi to train health sciences students on hands-on skills. Webcasts  presentations were conducted by undergraduate students from all the schools at the College of Health Sciences during their elective term and clinical rotations at the decentralised training sites to present on the ground health issues.Objective: To describe how the University of Nairobi (UoN) used the distance  learning platform from the Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) grant to outspread medical education to the underserved communities located in rural and urban surroundings across the country.Design: A cross-sectional studySetting: The University of Nairobi College of Health SciencesSubjects: Health Sciences students of the College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi and Hospital staff in 18 hospitals in rural and urban centersResults: A total of 670 health sciences students participated in the decentralised learning, a total of 549 health sciences  students participated in webcast presentations over a period of four years from 2012 to 2015, and a total of 48 medical  consultants and specialists from the decentralised training sites were appointed as Adjunct Faculty of the College of Health Sciences – University of Nairobi.Conclusion: Webcast presentations provided information on priority health conditions afflicting the communities at the  decentralised sites which would not be the case in the institution’s teaching hospital. Adjunct faculty at the decentralised training sites provided a platform enabling students to enhance their practical skills in line of  health profession and offered mentorship on coping in rural settings where there is scarcity of medical equipment and disposable materials in the health facilities and lack of constant electric power supply and clean water among other

Adherence to self-administered tuberculosis treatment in a high HIV-prevalence setting: a cross-sectional survey in Homa Bay, Kenya.

Good adherence to treatment is crucial to control tuberculosis (TB). Efficiency and feasibility of directly observed therapy (DOT) under routine program conditions have been questioned. As an alternative, Médecins sans Frontières introduced self-administered therapy (SAT) in several TB programs. We aimed to measure adherence to TB treatment among patients receiving TB chemotherapy with fixed dose combination (FDC) under SAT at the Homa Bay district hospital (Kenya). A second objective was to compare the adherence agreement between different assessment tools

A Retrospective Survey of HIV Drug Resistance Among Patients 1 Year After Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy at 4 Clinics in Malawi

In 2004, Malawi began scaling up its national antiretroviral therapy (ART) program. Because of limited treatment options, population-level surveillance of acquired human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance (HIVDR) is critical to ensuring long-term treatment success. The World Health Organization target for clinic-level HIVDR prevention at 12 months after ART initiation is ≥ 70%. In 2007, viral load and HIVDR genotyping was performed in a retrospective cohort of 596 patients at 4 ART clinics. Overall, HIVDR prevention (using viral load ≤ 400 copies/mL) was 72% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67%-77%; range by site, 60%-83%) and detected HIVDR was 3.4% (95% CI, 1.8%-5.8%; range by site, 2.5%-4.7%). Results demonstrate virological suppression and HIVDR consistent with previous reports from sub-Saharan Africa. High rates of attrition because of loss to follow-up were noted and merit attention