Ethnic appeal: A self-defense tool for Kenyan politicians

So far, analyses of apologetic rhetoric strategies as used by individuals or organizations to respond to accusations of wrongdoing have been concentrated in the West. An analysis of political apologia in an African setting — in this case Kenya — reveals that while Kenyan politicians have used denial, victimization, mortification, and counterattacking among other self-defense strategies, one particular strategy emerges as the most commonly used by Kenyan politicians — ethnic appeal

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTES IN MERU COUNTY, KENYA

Performance contracting and teacher appraisal were introduced in schools in January 2016 (Daily Nation 2017) a report on teacher’s performance appraisal systems noted that the current teacher Performance Appraisal system requires experienced teachers to be appraised every 3 years. It also noted that teachers received an overall rating of exemplary good, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory. If unsatisfactory rating, the principal and teachers would prepare an improvement plan outlining the steps that the teacher would take to improve his or her performance and the supports that would be needed in order to carry them out and the appraisal system is the mechanism that is used to translate the school`s strategic plan into action. To determine the influence of employee commitment on the performance of Technical Training Institute in Meru County. This study adopted descriptive survey and targeted 74 respondents’ from Management staff of the 4 Technical training institutes in Meru County. The study adopted census sampling design which allowed the use of a sample size of 74 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistic such frequency and percentages. There is a strong positive relationship between employee commitment and performance of technical training institutes. It was also recommended that the technical institutes’ management should conduct seminar and training to the members of staff in order to enhance employees’ commitment and improve their organization performance.  Article visualizations

[The Development of Public Relations in] Kenya

This chapter traces the practice of PR from pre-independence Kenya to the 21st century. It emerges that the practice of PR is closely tied to major national events and to social, cultural, political and economic forces. PR roles as understood by the pre-independence colonial government: keeping the public informed on government development projects, assessing public opinion and advising government, endearing government to Kenyans and building the awareness of Kenya abroad have continued to modern-day Kenya

Corporate Crisis Communication: Examining the Interplay of Reputation and Crisis Response Strategies

This experiment study used a 2 × 3 between-subjects design to assess two factors in crisis communication and reputation management—prior corporate reputation (good and bad) and crisis response strategies (apology, sympathy, and compensation)—on an organization facing high crisis responsibility. Results indicate that stakeholders prefer apology to compensation response strategies. Organizations with a prior good reputation have better postcrisis reviews that those with a prior bad reputation. Crisis managers facing crises that generate high attribution of crisis responsibility and anger are advised to rely on apology rather than compensation strategy. It would also be advantageous for an organization with prior good reputation to highlight its past achievements when responding to a crisis

Public relations in Kenya: An exploration of models and cultural influences

This pioneer study explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public relations in Kenya, and the cultural values that influence this practice. Results show the personal influence model as the most used by practitioners in Kenya, while individualism is the most experienced cultural value. The strong correlation between personal influence model and Hofstede’s cultural value of femininity points to the practitioners’ strong desire for good interpersonal relationships with colleagues, supervisors, clients and key publics

Country reputation management: Developing a scale for measuring the reputation of four African countries in the United States

This study extends the development of country reputation measurement to other cultural contexts, specifically among sub-Saharan African countries that have shown the desire to improve their reputation in the United States and other Western nations. Although effective management of a country’s reputation lies in its ability to measure the perceptions of its target publics, there is currently no established scale that can be relied upon for such measurement of sub-Saharan African countries. In this study, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted using second-order latent variables, and based on the goodness-of-fit indices, it was established that all four models for measuring the reputation of four countries—Angola, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria—met the data fit criteria, thus validating the instrument. Validation of this scale provides empirical evidence that contributes to public diplomacy and country reputation management. Because the CFA process used in this study allows for replication of measurements across independent samples, practitioners interested in measuring the reputation of sub-Saharan African countries can use this scale to evaluate the reputation of these countries across samples of interest

Molecular genetic variation in the African wild rice Oryza longistaminata A. Chev. et Roehr. and its association with environmental variables

Molecular markers, complemented by appropriate Geographical Information System (GIS) software packages are powerful tools in mapping the geographical distribution of genetic variation andassessing its relationship with environmental variables. The objective of the study was therefore to investigate the relationship between genetic diversity and eco-geographic variables using Oryzalongistaminata as a case study. The methodology used was a novel technique that combined hierarchical cluster analysis of both molecular diversity generated using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and climate data available in a GIS software. The study clearly established that there is a close relationship between genetic diversity and eco-geographic variables. The study also revealed that genetic diversity is a function of annual rainfall, and peak diversity occurs in intermediate rainfall areas reflecting the ‘curvilinear theory’ of clinal relationship between the level of genetic diversity and rainfall. The clear association of genetic diversity with rainfall allows the extrapolation ofthe potential impacts of global warming on diversity when empirical data on predicted climate models, particularly rainfall, are available. This knowledge would therefore be useful in the development ofconservation measures to mitigate the effects of genetic erosion through climate change

Postcolonial redaction of socio-economic parables in Luke's gospel and a Kenyan application.

Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.For those who have the courage to doubt, it can be said that the Bible which is highly regarded in Africa is not only an innocent book but also a guilty one because of the many social, political and religious evils that have bedevilled Africa from time to time and which it has condoned and has been used to sanction. Using postcolonial biblical criticism, and as a way of demonstrating that the entire Bible is another text of the empire, this thesis argues that imperial ideology promoted in Luke's socio-economic parables has contributed to another social evil i.e. the gap between the rich and the poor in Kenya

Effect of Sequence of Infection of Maize with Viruses Causing Maize Lethal Necrosis on Disease Development

Maize is the main staple food crop in Kenya. However, its production is constrained by maize lethal necrosis (MLN) disease, a result of dual infection of maize plants with Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and a potyvirus Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV). In the field, infection by the two viruses is independent rather than occurring simultaneously since MCMV and SCMV are transmitted by different vectors. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of sequence of infection of maize by the two viruses causing MLN disease in the greenhouse. Two susceptible maize hybrids (DUMA 43 and H614D) were each infected with either of the two viruses first and later inoculated with the second virus. The plants were assessed for disease development weekly over a period of 2 months. Symptoms were significantly (p=0.05) more severe in maize plants initially infected with MCMV followed by SCMV, resulting in rapid death of plants compared to plants infected with SCMV followed by MCMV. The results indicate that severity of symptoms is influenced by the sequence of infection of maize plants with the causal agents of MLN disease. More remarkable was the synergism observed in maize plants pre-inoculated with SCMV followed by MCMV that had a slow manifestation of MLN disease symptoms. The results suggest that initial infection by SCMV may result in maize plants developing some levels of resistance resulting in initial suppression of MCMV infection. This study contributes to the understanding of resistance mechanisms exhibited by the plants during MLN disease development. Keywords: Maize, MCMV, SCMV, Synergism, Sequence of infection DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/9-8-06 Publication date: April 30th 201