Perception of college of education lecturers about technical education research and evaluation in Nigeria

The study was conducted to ascertain the perception of Federal College of Education Technical lecturers towards technical education research in South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria. In pursuance of this purpose, four research questions were formulated and one hypothesis tested. The population comprised of 70 lecturers of Federal Colleges of Education (Technical) in Asaba, Umunze and Omoku. The entire population was used for the study. No sampling was done because of the fewness of the population. The design used was a survey. The instrument used was the questionnaire. On the whole 57 items were drawn using the likert scale format. The instrument was considered valid by experts with the reliability coefficient of 0.89 using Cronbach alpha. Simple percentage and t-test were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that: Government’s inactive role in supporting and promoting research activities in colleges of education (technical) caused low morale of lecturers towards research; A lot of constraints such as poor attitude to research, falsification of research data, among others are the challenges of technical education research. The study recommends among others that: About 10 percent of the education tax fund should be voted to research; Government should improve its communication network

Editorial : Post covid-19 reopening

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Editorial: Pharmacists’ role in COVID-19 vaccination

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Biotechnology innovation in Kenya: where are the smallholder farmers?

This study sets out to investigate the role of small holder farmers amidst the intervention of other actors in biotechnology innovation in the maize sub-sector, in Kenya. This exploratory research is a result of the challenges in understanding participation and the concept of public-private partnership in biotechnology innovation and its social construction. These challenges emerge as a result of a myriad of actors involved in biotechnology innovation. The study goes a step further to investigate the role of both human (social) and non-human (material) actors in the construction of biotechnology innovation in the maize sub-sector in Kenya. Here, focus is on the manoeuvres- negotiations and distantiations as played out by various actors in the creation of partnerships and the shaping of social interaction and participation for the Gene Revolution in Kenya. This way the study dissects the understanding that biotechnology innovation is about more than just development and use of agricultural technology. The study will focus on two different programmes in Kenya. Not for comparison purposes but is intended to use biotechnology innovation combined with applying notions of actor participation on publicprivate partnership infrastructure to address the food needs of Kenyans. These programmes are; the Special Biotechnology Programme (1993) and the Insect Resistant Maize for Africa Project (1999). In view of this, the main objective is to contribute to understanding how actors conceptualize and actualize their roles, those of others, and the partnerships and interactions in biotechnology innovation programmes in Kenya that focus on small holder farmers. In so doing, the question of how socio-technical interactions between small holder farmers and other actors are constructed in biotechnology innovation process in Kenya would have been addressed. take place, focus is on actor-oriented approach which will expand on contemporary social science debate which intends to rescue actors, heterogeneity, and social change (dynamics from a simplified structuralist analysis). Actor-network theory, issues of power and control, aims (public relations (PR), profits, or public interest), and the debate on participation shall be used. This study will be to a large extent an exploratory study. Fieldwork will proceed by utilizing qualitative research methods of data collection for over a period of 21 months. The methods will generate data that clearly position small holder farmers in their rightful place in biotechnology innovation in Kenya amidst other actors involved in the construction of biotechnology

Adulteration of herbal preparations

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Strategies for Fostering Creativity Among Business Education Graduates in Nigeria

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A Survey of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers in Nairobi: Packaging, Labelling and Regulatory Compliance

Alcohol based hand sanitizers are currently recommended for routine use in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The present survey examined hand sanitizers marketed in Nairobi County with regards to product appearance, packaging, labelling and declared composition. Seventy-six samples were collected from five sites within the Nairobi metropolis - Central Business District, Kibera, Kilimani/Karen, Ngong and Thika. A wide range of non-conformities were observed for the criteria applied. Many samples had incomplete or missing label information, ingredient lists, cautionary warnings, Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) standardization marks and permit numbers. Glycerin, fragrances and carbomers were the most common added ingredients. Poor formulation indicators such as haziness and phase separation were encountered in some products. The median price of the products was KES 250 (USD 2.36) per 100 ml although there was considerable variation in pricing of samples. None of the samples evaluated fully met all the standards for the parameters evaluated. Strict adherence to regulatory standards by producers of hand sanitizers is required to ensure that only compliant products are available on the market. Keywords: Hand sanitizer, alcohol, labelling, coronavirus, product qualit

Analogy of Glass and Straw: Understanding the Structure and Functions of Mombasa Port in East Africa's Transportation Networks’

Ports significantly influence the socio-economic development of any nation or region that depends on them. However, this is usually affected by many factors that render inefficiencies at the ports and along the corridors to the hinterland. This paper is an improved extract from a policy influencing assessment report on the socio-economic impact of operationalizing the standard gauge railway in the Port City of Mombasa to appreciate the ports’ role. The study presents a concise analysis and a sneak preview of what may be considered a rare analysis of this topical issue. The study relied on secondary reports and information on the efficient and effective transport corridors in Eastern Africa. The East Africa region transport corridors consist of two major international corridors, the Northern Corridor and the Central Corridor, which traverse the sub-region, forming a CBTI network, each linking seaports with land-locked countries. A growing enhancement inland connectivity provides land-locked countries with adequate access to ports. The study delves into the ownership structure and development of the Port of Mombasa to address the objective. The study found that the degree of ownership naturally depends on national ideology. Thus, the management by Kenya Ports Authority depicts a public ownership structure. Evidenced also was the role of the Port of Mombasa in cargo movement within the corridors to rail and road networks for inter-land transportation. Mombasa Port Community Charter (the “Charter”) seeks to optimize the full trade potential of the Port of Mombasa, in essence, helping a great deal in making the Port a competitive enabler of the northern transport corridor. Indeed, for a straw to draw well and judge its functionality, the content in the glass must be well prepared for drawing. One cannot blame a water pipe for not piping water efficiently, and the dam must also be functional

A Bimodal Biometric Student Attendance System

A lot of attempts have been made to use biometrics in class attendance systems. Most of the implemented biometric attendance systems are unimodal. Unimodal biometric systems may be spoofed easily, leading to a reduction in recognition accuracy. This paper explores the use of bimodal biometrics to improve the recognition accuracy of automated student attendance systems. The system uses the face and fingerprint to take students’ attendance. The students’ faces were captured using webcam and preprocessed by converting the color images to grey scale images. The grey scale images were then normalized to reduce noise. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) algorithm was used for facial feature extraction while Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used for classification. Fingerprints were captured using a fingerprint reader. A thinning algorithm digitized and extracted the minutiae from the scanned fingerprints. The logical technique (OR) was used to fuse the two biometric data at the decision level. The fingerprint templates and facial images of each user were stored along with their particulars in a database. The implemented system had a minimum recognition accuracy of 87.83%

Determinants of Effective Leadership in Banks: A Case Study of Diamond Trust Bank - Kenya

Leadership is described as "a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow, or as somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal”. However, effective leadership refers to systematic approach to improving results through evidence-based decision making, continuous organizational learning, and focus on accountability for performance. Accordingly, effective leaders are considered to be more successful and efficient in performing their duties towards achievement of organizational goals, building collective vision, mission, and set of values that help people focus on their contributions to bring out their best. Furthermore, effective leaders increase productivity, outcomes and also instill a sense of belonging within the entire workforce. In this connection, there are several determinants that influence effectiveness in leadership including, leadership skills, education levels and delegation culture et cetera. These factors also influence how leaders respond to challenges in mobilizing others to do extraordinary things for their organizations and to achieve company’s objectives. There are variety of leadership challenges facing organizations, ranging from lack of skilled manpower, human resource management, competition from peer Organizations, change resistance, adoption of new technology, deployment of capital, balance sheet structuring, customer demands et cetera. In fact, the hallmark of management is characterized by disruption in all spheres. Leaders are tasked to lead their respective teams towards resolving the above challenges and achievement of the overall company’s objectives within prescribed budgets and given timeframe thereby enhancing efficiency, profitability and productivity. However, often, leaders face challenges in achievement of their objectives due to the disruptive environment and the inherent leadership gaps thereof. As a result, leaders make wrong decisions, which end up costing their organizations dearly. This study sought to explore the factors influencing effective leadership in organizations. A case study of Diamond Trust Bank, Kenya was used. The study was guided by three specific objectives namely: to determine the influence of leadership skills on effective leadership in Diamond Trust Bank, to assess the effects of educational background on effective leadership in DTB and to determine the influence of delegation of duties on effective leadership in DTB. Data was collected using questionnaires and face to face interviews. A target population of 800 staff members of DTB was sampled by way of stratified sampling technique to obtain a representative sample. Data was analyzed using chi-square tests, correlations and descriptive statistics using SPSS version 20. Keywords: leadership skills, educational background, delegation of duties, effective leadership in Banks