New Atmospheric Turbulence Model for Shuttle Applications

An updated NASA atmospheric turbulence model, from 0 to 200 km altitude, which was developed to be more realistic and less conservative when applied to space shuttle reentry engineering simulation studies involving control system fuel expenditures is presented. The prior model used extreme turbulence (3 sigma) for all altitudes, whereas in reality severe turbulence is patchy within quiescent atmospheric zones. The updated turublence model presented is designed to be more realistic. The prior turbulence statistics (sigma and L) were updated and were modeled accordingly

Analysis of the Influence of Institutional Dynamics on Juvenile Criminality in Nakuru Sub-County, Kenya

The present study was prompted by the observation that there was very high prevalence of juvenile criminality in Kenya. This study focused on analyzing the influence of institutional dynamics on juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county, Kenya. The target population for the study was 144 that included 73 police officers from Bondeni police station, 35 juveniles drawn from children remand home, 35 parents/guardians of the said juveniles, and 1 chief from Bondeni location. The researcher selected a sample size of 102 respondents composed of 62 police officers, 32 juveniles, 7 parents/guardians, and 1 chief. The researcher used a questionnaire and an interview schedule to collect views. The validity of this study was achieved through a thorough consultation with the supervisors and other specialist. Reliability was used to focus on the degree to which empirical indicators are stable and consistent. A Cronbach’s coefficient alpha was used to measure the reliability of the research instruments. An alpha coefficient value of 0.6 suggested the instrument is reliable. The study adopted the mixed research methodology and the concurrent triangulation design. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study found out that there was an important positive association between all the measures of institutional dynamics and juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county. The study concluded that there was an influence of institutional dynamics and juvenile criminality in Nakuru sub-county, Kenya. The study recommends that the government should make efforts in making families functional in order to reduce juvenile criminality. There is therefore need for juvenile department to improve on their policies and expected performance in regard to juvenile criminality. Keywords: Kenya, Nakuru, Biological dynamics, crime, doliincapax, economic dynamics, government dynamics, juvenile, social dynamics, urban. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/97-07 Publication date:May 31st 202

Effect of Availability of Teaching and Learning Resources on the Implementation of Inclusive Education in Pre-School Centers in Nyamira North Sub-County, Nyamira County, Kenya.

Inclusive education is a process of adjusting the home, school and the larger community to accommodate persons with special needs. In respect to pre-school learners, it is a means by which centers accommodate all learners regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic challenges. UNICEF notes that some 150 million children with disabilities lack access to child care services, schools, recreation and other social services, and are likely to remain illiterate and untrained, ultimately unable to join the labor force. Children with special needs are still perceived negatively by society. Most of the learners with special needs do not enroll in pre-school centers in Nyamira North Sub-county and if enrolled, they drop out before the year ends as per the report from Education Office. The study aimed at finding out whether availability of teaching and learning resources influenced implementation of inclusive education in pre-school Centers in Nyamira North sub-county. Efforts have been made to integrate the learners with special needs although the programme has encountered a lot of challenges; policies have been put in place to provide for the achievement of universal education and the realization of vision 2030. However, Inclusive education experiences a pyramid of challenges at pre- school level in the world and Kenya. The study employed descriptive survey research design. The target population was 134 head teachers in 134 pre-school centers, 402 pre-school teachers, 12 Education officers and 938  pre-school parents   in Nyamira North Sub-county. Sample size was 40 pre-school centers and 40 head teachers which were randomly sampled to represent 30% of the centers. Further, 134 pre- school teachers and 270 pre-school parents were sampled through stratified random sampling and 12 Education Officers sampled by census sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and observation checklists. Descriptive statistics of means, percentages and weighted averages was used in analyzing the data. Findings revealed that there were inadequate teaching and learning resources at pre-school centers in Nyamira North sub-county. 78 percent of the respondents revealed that inadequate resources affected the implementation of inclusive education. The study recommends that adequate teaching and learning resources should be provided to ensure effective implementation of inclusive education and more funds to be allocated for procuring teaching and learning materials for Special Needs Education (SNE) learners. Keywords: Inclusive education, teaching and learning resources, pre-school centers, learners with special needs, implementatio

Critical evaluation of assessor difference correction approaches in sensory analysis

In sensory data analysis, assessor-dependent scaling effects may hinder the analysis of product differences. Romano et al. (2008) compared several approaches to reduce scaling differences between assessors by their ability to maximise the product effect F-values in a mixed ANOVA analysis. Their study on a sensory dataset of 14 cheese samples assessed by twelve assessors on a continuous scale showed that some of these approaches apparently improved the F-value of the product effect. However, this direct comparison is only legitimate if these F-values originate from the same null distribution. To obtain the null distributions of the different correction methods, we employed a permutation approach on the same cheese dataset also used by Romano et al. (2008) and a random noise simulation approach. Based on the empirically obtained null distributions, we calculated the corrected product effect significance to directly compare the performance of the preprocessing methods. Our results show that the null distributions of some preprocessing methods do not correspond to the expected F-distribution. In particular for the ten Berge method, the null distribution is shifted towards higher F-values. Therefore, an observed increase of the product effect F-value, as compared to the F-value on raw data, does not necessarily lead to increased product effect significance. If p-values are calculated based on such inflated F-values, significance may thus be overestimated. In contrast, calculation of p-values directly from the empirical null distributions obtained by permutation provides a common ground to properly compare method performance. Moreover, we show that differences in reproducibility between assessors, as they exist in real-world sensory datasets, may lead to overestimation of product effect significance by the mixed assessor model (MAM).publishedVersio

Occupational Safety and Health Accidents among Biomedical Waste Handlers in Nairobi County

This study was conducted to investigate the reasons for prevalent increase in the number of occupational accidents among biomedical waste handlers despite the Waste Management Authority’s regulatory framework defining the laws and procedures that govern the collection, storage, processing, and disposal of biomedical waste in Nairobi County and recommend appropriate actions to counter the situation . The two areas of investigation consisted of determining the causes of occupational accidents and evaluating the attitude and knowledge of biomedical waste handlers in Nairobi County. Both, the qualitative and quantitative research paradigms were used in the study. A sample size of 168 participants from the target population of 1000 biomedical waste handlers was chosen with 160 questionnaires returned for statistical analysis. The study used a descriptive statistics approach to generate tables with the mean, standard error of the mean, t-distributions, percentages, and significance tests among other statistical measures to address the research objectives on the basis of the Petersen’s Accident/Incident and the human factors theories. On the causes of accidents, the results showed strong positive Skewness indicating problems with waste management practices, inadequate knowledge on waste classification at source, inadequate attention to rules and regulations governing the collection and handling of biomedical waste, inadequate training and awareness, poor enforcement of waste handling standards and policies, and inadequate knowledge on the classification and handling of biomedical waste. This revealed the nature of accidents to include pricks, contaminations, muscle tearing, scratches, being struck by falling objects and sustaining injuries due to falls. On knowledge and attitude of biomedical waste handlers, significant challenges were revealed showing that inadequate knowledge on safe waste handling methods with a significant number showing that their educational attainments barred them from comprehending the regulations and procedures for handling biomedical waste. A significance test at Kendall's tau coefficient statistic showed strong positive correlation between educational levels and managing biomedical waste. It was recommended that the Waste Management Authority designs a customized training program to address the problems facing biomedical waste handlers in Nairobi County. Keywords: Biomdedical waste, hazards, Accidents, Waste Management, injuries, pricks, Nairobi Count

Influence of Market Orientation on the Relationship Between Customer Relationship Management Practices and Performance of Large-Scale Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

The main objective of the study was to measure the influence of market orientation on the relationship between customer relationship management practices and firm performance of large-scale manufacturing firms in Kenya. The population of the study comprised large-scale manufacturing firms that were members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM). A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used. The target respondents were three top managers in each firm, and aggregated single scores were computed to lessen single source response bias. Data was analyzed through descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The results revealed that market orientation was a strong statistical predictor of firm performance. In addition, the moderating effect of market orientation on the association between CRM practices and performance (F=9.138, P-value<0.05) was found to be statistically significant.  The study supported findings of previous studies on the influence of CRM practices on firm performance. In addition, the study found that both CRM practices and market orientation had a positive and significant influence on performance. Further, the findings of the study support the theoretical link between CRM practices, market orientation and performance. Acknowledgment I thank and appreciate almighty God for this opportunity, his grace and favor. I also extend my sincere gratitude to my University Supervisors; Prof. Justus Munyoki, Dr. Joseph Owino and Dr. James Njihia for their valuable guidance, support and encouragement during the writing and completion of my Ph.D thesis. I also thank all members of the University of Nairobi Business Administration who contributed in one way or the other to make the writing of my thesis a success. I would also like to thank sincerely all top and senior managers in large-scale manufacturing firms in Kenya who participated in this research.  Finally my sincere appreciation goes to my family members for supporting, encouraging and being there for me during the entire journey of pursuing my Ph.D. program. Keywords: customer relationship management, market orientation, performance, large-scale manufacturing firm

Influence of Firm Characteristics on the Relationship between Customer Relationship Management Practices and Performance of Large-Scale Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

The objective of the research was to measure the influence of firm characteristics on the relationship between customer relationship management practices and performance of large-scale manufacturing firms in Kenya. To establish this objective, two objectives focusing on financial and non-financial performance were set and corresponding hypotheses formulated. The population of the study comprised large-scale manufacturing firms that were members of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM). A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used. The data analyzed was obtained through a structured questionnaire. To test the influence of firm characteristics on the relationship between customer relationship management practices and firm performance regression analysis was used. The findings indicated that the moderating influence of firm characteristics on CRM practices and firm performance was only found to be statistically significant on non-financial performance and not statistically significant on the association between CRM practices and financial performance. Further, the interaction of CRM practices and firm characteristics on non-financial performance was statistically significant. One major contribution of this investigation is that CRM practices and firm characteristics account for significant variation in non-financial performance. Further, the findings of the study support the theoretical link between CRM practices, firm characteristics and performance. Acknowledgement I would like to thank God for his providence, his faithfulness and for seeing me through completion of my Ph.D. program. I sincerely thank my University Supervisors; Prof. Justus Munyoki, Dr. Joseph Owino and Dr. James Njihia, their insightful contributions, critique and patience moudlded my academic reading, thinking and writing. Special thanks to my family for their patience encouragement and prayers. Keywords: Customer relationship management, firm characteristics, performance, large-scale manufacturing firm

Influence of Special Needs Education Policy on Access to Secondary School Education By Learners With Hearing Impairments In Nandi County, Kenya

This study sought to examine influence of Special Needs Education Policy on access to secondary school education by learners with hearing impairments in Nandi County, Kenya. The study was informed by the Multiple Intelligences theory and the Dewey theory of Progressivism. The findings showed that majority of the respondents were aware of the Special Needs Education Policy Framework of 2009 and believed that the policy was being implemented. Majority of the respondents felt that the implementation of the policy had positively affected learners’ enrolment in schools but recognized that there were still several challenges that were acting as barriers to school access by learners with hearing impairments in Nandi County. Further, the respondents observed that the implementation of the Special Needs Education Policy had led to a slight improvement on transition of learners with hearing impairments from primary to secondary schools in Nandi County. The influence of the Special Needs Education Policy on retention of learners with hearing impairments was deemed to be marginally small in schools in Nandi County. The results also showed that there were cases of learners dropping out of school because of a number of reasons including financial problems, lack of motivation to be in school and cultural factors, among others. In order to improve access to school education by learners with hearing impairments, respondents gave their opinions on how the challenges could be handled including the need to train more teachers to teach learners with hearing impairments, provision of adequate learning materials and the need to fund the special units/schools for the hearing impaired in the county, among others. The study recommends that the Government should set clear guidelines on how the Special Needs Education Policy can be implemented and coordinated. The study also recommends increase of necessary support for the secondary and primary school/units for the hearing impaired in the county so as to improve access to school education by children with hearing impairments. Keywords: special needs policy, hearing impairment, access to educatio