BUSINESS PROCESS RE-ENGINEERING: WORTHWHILE LESSONS FROM QUALITY OF WORKLIFE AND EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT

Business process reengineering is changing the way employees work, both collectively and individually. Reengineering is reunfying the tasks into coherent business processes with changes such as adding new tasks to each job, reducing functional specialization of jobs, moving decision making down to the lowest levels of the organization, installing multiple process paths, and organizing workers into teams. Reengineering means that jobs will be more fluid, more complex, and less predictable. Jobs change, roles change, job preparation changes, values change, and compensation and performance measures change (Hammer & Champy, 1993). This blurs the functional structures and concentrates on process driven organization in the hope of aiding effectiveness for breakthrough gains and dramatic performance. Yet many reengineering projects either fail or do not produce the desired results as the people issues are not addressed satisfactorily. This paper proposes a Bottom Line = Quality Of Worklife / Employee Involvement Model which argues that reengineering can learn from the Quality of Worklife and Employee Involvement paradigm in handling the emerging dissonances from the change initiative. Spea7ically, the paper assesses the Implied shift in mode of performance appraisal, the emerging roles of human resource development and the subsequent implications on training, compensation, and general employee satisfaction for the success of BPR

Assessing water availability under pastoral livestock systems in drought-prone Isiolo District, Kenya

Water availability / Water demand / Surface water / Groundwater / Wells / Salinity / Livestock / Grazing / Land use / Water supply / Drainage / GIS / Databases / Cost recovery

FACTORIAL STRUCTURE OF ROSENBERG’S SELF-ESTEEM SCALE AMONG INJURED MALE RUGBY PLAYERS IN THE KENYA CUP COMPETITION

Four different confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models, including CFAs with correlated traits, uniqueness’s, and methods, were employed to test the factorial structure of Rosenberg’s (1965) self-esteem scale in a sample of injured male rugby players in the Kenya cup competition. The outcome of the factorial analysis to some extent concurs with studies conducted earlier. These finding depict that (a) there exists a single global self-esteem factor underlying responses to Rosenberg scale; (b) method effects associated with item wording exist; and (c) the method effects were associated primarily with positively, rather than negatively, worded items. The sample consisted of 105 injured male rugby players the average age was 21.7±5.3 years, and the majority 23.8% were 20 years old. Majority 67.6% (n=71) of the respondents were forwards, while 32.4% (n=34) were backs. 82.9% were not capped with the national team while 11.4% (n=12) weighed 70kgs. The research hypothesized a four-factor structure of the RSES utilizing CFA with the SPSS-AMOS 16. The first model outcome was, (X2=132.2 df=35 CFI=0.561 NFI=0.463 RMSEA=0.163 SRMR=0.1373 AIC=192.2. The second model (X2=77.609 df=27 CFI=0.748 NFI=0.685 RMSEA=0.134 SRMR=0.1197 AIC=153.609). The third model was a Uni-dimensional positive wording X2=58.378 df=25 CFI=0.834 NFI=0.763 RMSEA=0.113 SRMR=0.0888 AIC=138.378. Finally, a model was run on Positive and Negative wording correlated, the outcomes (X2=79.68 df=34 CFI=0.748 NFI=0.685 RMSEA=0.114 SRMR=0.1151 AIC=121.68). Every model, including the single-factor model (Model 1), fits data adequately. However, the function of a single theoretical dimension (GSE) was contaminated by method effects. Our results show that method effects need to be taken into account to obtain a close model fit (i.e., RMSEA < 0.05). Article visualizations

ASSESSMENT OF PRE-SEASON ANTHROPOMETRIC TESTS OF RUGBY PLAYERS IN A CHAMPIONSHIP CLUB, KENYAN RUGBY UNION

Objective: The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the anthropometric factors of rugby players on preseason before the onset of the training in a championship club (Kisumu Rugby Rfc Setting: The study was carried out in a Kenya at a Kenya rugby union (Kisumu Rfc) championship club. Sample: Sampling frame consisting of 52 players who were registered in the club at the time of the study. (n =52) Analysis: Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics, linear and multiple regression analyses. Main measures: Maximal Aerobic power, demographics and strength tests of back squat and Bench press. Results: The estimation of this hypothesized factors that affect maximal aerobic power were age, Primary position, weight, injury F (7,44) =.622, P&lt;.735, R2=. There was correlation between several factors that affect maximal aerobic factors with the linear regression formula generated being Maximal Aerobic Power (VO2Max) = 12.12 + (0.49xAge) - (017xWeight) – (0.657xPosition) + (257X FMSTM (z-score) – (0.52x100m) + (.170xPlanks) + (0.37xPush-ups) Conclusion: aerobic power (VO2Max) is influenced by several factors including age of the rugby players, weight of the players and the playing positions of the players. Recommendation: Future research should further clarify how preseason testing and anthropometric tests of rugby players would influence the outcome on fitness before the start of the season which the ultimate goal of most rugby players and coaches.  Article visualizations

Five Year Growth and Survival of Eucalyptus Hybrid Clones in Coastal Kenya

Twelve eucalyptus hybrid clones (6 grandis-camaldulensis i.e. GC and 3 grandis-urophylla i.e. GU hybrids) and 3 local landraces (E. camaldulensis, E. tereticornis, and E. urophylla) were established in Gede, Sokoke, and Msambweni in the Coast Province of Kenya in 2002, to compare growth, survival, and adaptability in the 3 sites.  By the end of the 1st year, trees in Sokoke were more than 3 times the mean height of those in Gede and Msambweni. However, these growth advantages during the 1st year in Sokoke were not maintained and by year 2 Gede had caught up, although Msambweni still lagged behind. By age 5 there were significant growth differences between clones. Of the tree sites, Msambweni had the lowest tree growth.  GC167, GC14, GC581, and GC584 proved themselves as the better clones, while E. camaldulensis and E. urophylla were the better local land races. Overall, the “local land races” performed poorly in all sites.  Survivals were over 80% in all sites for the best performing clones. However, in Sokoke, 1 clone died (GU7) while another (GU8) had a survival of less than 20%, while EC and ET had survivals less than 35%. GC796 died in Msambweni and had 8% survival at Gede. The poor survivals in Sokoke may have been due to a severe drought in the 3rd year.  The initial outstanding growth performance in Sokoke may have been due to the fact that Sokoke was a ‘virgin’ forest site and presumably more fertile than the other two sites. These results show that recommendations on outstanding clones or new germplasm for planting or sale to farmers are best done at the end of the rotation for a particular intended product or use

Visual analytics: tackling data related challenges in healthcare process mining

2018 Conference paper presented at Strathmore University. Thematic area(Health, Healthcare Management and Research Ethics)Data-science approaches such as Visual analytics tend to be process blind whereas process-science approaches such as process mining tend to be model-driven without considering the “evidence” hidden in the data. Use of either approach separately faces limitations in analysis of healthcare data. Visual analytics allows humans to exploit their perceptual and cognitive capabilities in processing data, while process mining represents the data in terms of activities and resources thereby giving a complete process picture. We use a literature survey of research that has deployed either or both Visual analytics and process mining in the healthcare environments to discover strengths that can help solve open problems and challenges in healthcare data when using process mining. We present a visual analytics (data science) approach in solving data challenges in healthcare process mining (process science). Historical data (event logs) obtained from organizational archives are used to generate accurate and evidence-based activity sequences that are manipulated and analysed to answer questions that could not be tackled by process mining. The approach can help hospital management and clinicians among others, audit their business processes in addition to providing important operational information. Other beneficiaries are those organizations interested in forensic information regarding individuals and groups of patients.1.Institute of Computing and Informatics, Technical University of Mombasa; 2.Faculty of information Technology, Strathmore University 3.School of Computing and Information technology, Muranga University of technology; 4.School of Computing and Informatics, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technolog

Hepatosplenomegaly associated with chronic malaria exposure: evidence for a pro-inflammatory mechanism exacerbated by schistosomiasis

In sub-Saharan Africa, chronic hepatosplenomegaly, with palpable firm/hard organ consistency, is common, particularly among school-aged children. This morbidity can be caused by long-term exposure to malaria, or by Schistosoma mansoni, and it is exacerbated when these two occur together. Although immunological mechanisms probably underlie the pathogenic process, these mechanisms have not been identified, nor is it known whether the two parasites augment the same mechanisms or induce unrelated processes that nonetheless have additive or synergistic effects. Kenyan primary schoolchildren, living in a malaria/schistosomiasis co-transmission area, participated in cross-sectional parasitological and clinical studies in which circulating immune modulator levels were also measured. Plasma IL-12p70, sTNF-RII, IL-10 and IL-13 levels correlated with relative exposure to malaria, and with hepatosplenomegaly. Soluble-TNF-RII and IL-10 were higher in children infected withS. mansoniHepatosplenomegaly caused by chronic exposure to malaria was clearly associated with increased circulating levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, with higher levels of regulatory modulators, and with tissue repair cytokines, perhaps being required to control the inflammatory response. The higher levels of regulatory modulators amongstS. mansoniinfected children, compared to those without detectableS. mansoni and malarial infections, but exposed to malaria, suggest thatS. mansoniinfection may augment the underlying inflammatory reaction