Comprehensive OPNET based Scalability Analysis and Performance Evaluation of MANET Routing Protocols

A Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of communication and computing devices equipped with communication capabilities in which the nodes communicate with each other without any pre-existing infrastructure. Unlike the infrastructure based networks, there are no BTSs and BSCs in MANETs. The nodes involved in the MANETs, therefore, act as both routers and hosts. The nodes involved in the MANETs, therefore, act as both routers and hosts. The network topology varies dynamically and unpredictably due to mobility of the nodes. The conventional IP based routing protocols are not able to handle the unique characteristics of MANETs. Different protocols that can handle the unique characteristics such as dynamic and unpredictably varying topology have therefore been developed. These protocols have different performance and scalability behaviors in different network operation conditions. It is therefore imperative to analyze their scalability and evaluate their performances with respect to the control variables on which MANET networks are mainly optimized and characterized such as the network size, mobility and traffic type and load. In this paper, the scalability and performance behaviors of AODV, DSR and OLSR are analyzed under scalable network size, mobility speed and FTP traffic loads with respect to average end-to-end delay and throughput. OPNET Modeler 14.5 was used as a simulation tool. The results indicated that there is an overall throughput performance increment with increasing network size and FTP traffic load while the delay performance was decreasing. It was also observed that the mobility scaling has not a significant effect on the performance behavior of the protocols. OLSR performs better than the AODV and DSR in terms of delay while AODV performs better than the other two in terms of throughput in all the scenarios considered. Keywords: AODV, Delay, DSR, Throughput, FTP, MANET, OLS

Catastrophic Health Expenditures And Impoverishment In Kenya

Background: Out-of-pocket health expenditures leave households exposed to the risk of financial catastrophe and poverty whenever they entail significant dissaving or the sale of key household assets. Even relatively small expenditures on health can be financially disastrous for poor households and similarly, large health care expenditures can lead to financial catastrophe and bankruptcy for rich households. Objective: There is increasing evidence that out-of-pocket expenditures act as a financial barrier to accessing health care, and are a source of catastrophic expenditures and impoverishment. This paper estimates the burden of out-of-pocket payments in Kenya; the incidence and intensity of catastrophic health care expenditure and impoverishment in Kenya. Methods: Using Kenya Household Health Expenditures and Utilization Survey data of 2007, the study uses both descriptive and econometric analysis to investigate the incidence and intensity of catastrophic health expenditures and impoverishment as well as the determinants of catastrophic health expenditures. To estimate the incidence and intensity of catastrophic expenditures and impoverishment, the study used both Wagstaff and van Doorslaer, (2002) and Xu et al. (2005) and applied various thresholds to demonstrate the sensitivity of catastrophic measures. For determinants of catastrophic health expenditures, a logit model was employed. Findings: Among those who utilized health care, 11.7 percent experienced catastrophic expenditures and 4 percent were impoverished by health care payments. In addition, approximately 2.5 million individuals were pushed into poverty as a result of paying for health care. The poor experienced the highest incidence of catastrophic expenditures. Conclusion: The paper recommends that the government should establish avenues for reducing the burden of out-of-pocket expenditures borne by households. This could be through a legal requirement for everyone to belong to a health insurance and targeting the poor, the elderly and chronically ill through the devolved system of the government and devolved funds

An Econometric Analysis Of Health Care Utilization In Kenya

Background: Increasing access to health care has been a policy concern for many governments, Kenya included. The Kenyan government introduced and implemented a number of initiatives in a bid to address the healthcare utilization challenge. These initiatives include 10/20 policy, exemptions for user fees for some specific health services (treatment of children less than five years, maternity services in dispensaries and health centers, Tuberculosis treatment in public health facilities), and increase in the number of health facilities and health workforce. These initiatives notwithstanding, healthcare utilization in Kenya remains a challenge. The Kenya Household Health Expenditure and Utilization Survey of 2007 found that 17 percent of those who needed health care services could not access the services from both government and private health facilities largely due to financial constraints. This paper employed econometric analysis to examine what could be constraining health care utilization in Kenya despite all the efforts employed. Methods: Using the 2007 Kenya Household Health Expenditures and Utilization Survey (KHHEUS) data (n = 8414), this paper investigates the factors that affect health care utilization in Kenya by estimating a count data negative binomial model. The model was also applied to public and private health facilities to better understand the specificities of poverty in these two facility types. Common estimation problems of endogeneity, heterogeneity, multicollinearity and heteroskedasticity are addressed. Findings: The econometric analysis reveals that out-of-pocket expenditures, waiting time, distance, household size, income, chronic illness area of residence and working status of the household head are significant factors affecting health care utilization in Kenya. While income and distance are significant factors affecting public health care utilization they are not significant in explaining healthcare utilization in private facilities. In addition, working status of the household head, insurance cover and education are significant in explaining private and not public health care utilization. A striking finding is the positive relationship between distance and health care utilization implying that people will travel long distances to obtain treatment. This is perhaps associated with expectations of higher quality of care at far away higher level facilities, especially in rural areas. Conclusion: The paper confirms the existing evidence of the negative effects of Out-of-Pocket (OOP) expenditures and other determinants of health care utilization. With a better understanding of why people use or do not use health services, health care organizations can seek to improve the quality of human life. The bypassing of health facilities for higher level far away facilities implies that it is not so much about availing health facilities, but the quality of the services offered in those facilities. The government should therefore assure quality to increase utilization of the lower level facilities, especially in the rural areas

Effect of Legal and Technological Arrangements on Performance of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kenya

The purpose of technology is to improve productivity of enterprises and enhance the quality of goods produced by the firms to help them withstand local and international competition. When applied to micro and small enterprises, technology has proved to be the engine of economic growth amongst “Asian Tigers”. This paper aimed at investigating how legal and technological arrangements that micro and small enterprises (MSEs) have entered into enforce quality practices in their industry to improve performance of their businesses. It used training, purchase of equipment, franchising and sub-contracting as its independent variables while enterprise performance was its dependent variable. Both qualitative and quantitative research designs were used which was descriptive in nature. The target population for the study was MSEs in Embu district who received any form of technology between the years 2008 and 2010. The findings of the study revealed that dependent variables were a function of investment in technology. Consequently, these variables affect performance of MSEs which in turn influences the type of legal and technological arrangements that the MSEs adopt. At start-ups and early stages of business growth, there is very minimal investment in technology which results to adoption of lower levels of legal and technological arrangements and consequently to ineffective MSE performance. This is the situation in Kenya today and unless interventions are made to break this status quo, the study concluded that the MSEs are off the road to achievement of Kenya’s vision 2030. Key words; Micro and Small Enterprise Performance, Quality, Technology

Experiences in effective communication on transgenic technology in Africa – the case of the insect resistant maize for Africa (IRMA) project

The Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA) Project, aimed to improve food security through developing and deploying locally adapted stem borer resistant maize varieties using both conventional and biotechnology mediated methods, especially Bt technology. This technology uses a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to create transgenic maize varieties. Transgenic technologies have been a controversial and emotive topic in recent years, and the IRMA project was launched against this backdrop. To ensure widespread acceptance of the IRMA project and its Bt technology, the project carefully planned and implemented its communication and public awareness strategy. Following its public launch in March 2000, the project promoted an open communication environment and continuously engaged with stakeholders to update them on progress. The project achieved this through targeted and diverse communications products such as media articles and broadcast news pieces, newsletters, websites, videos and reports. To complement these, the project conducted annual stakeholders’ meetings, and specialized training for frontline project staff and collaborators, especially extension agents. This paper reviews the IRMA Project’s public awareness and communication strategy and analyzes its effectiveness.Key words: Transgenic technology, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize technology, communication, public awareness, insect resistant maize for Africa (IRMA) project

Anglo-American governance adoption in non-Anglo-American settings: Assessing practitioner perceptions of corporate governance across three emerging economies

© 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Albeit the growing academic research on emerging economies corporate governance (CG) environments within accounting and finance literature, there exists a dearth of cross-country studies using a qualitative approach to understand practitioners’ behaviour vis-a-vis diffusion of international CG practices in emerging economies. This study aims to fill this oversight through a comparative analysis of the divergence and convergence of CG systems operational in three emerging economies (Cameroon, Kenya and Pakistan) while highlighting different institutional and contextual impacts on behaviour of governance actors. The paper uses an interface between critical realism and new institutional economics theory to explore the implementation and execution of CG in Cameroon, Kenya and Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach: The study analysed 24 in-depth semi-structured interviews and conducted with key governance practitioners across the three countries. Findings: The findings show that CG implementation processes in Cameroon, Kenya and Pakistan are nascent and driven by international forces rather than local initiatives. CG lacks institutional identity across the three countries as regulatory coercion acts as a key driver for CG adoption and practitioner accounts are mixed regarding the impact of CG on firm performance. Practical implications: The paper evidences that the lack of governance identify, compliance and slow implementation process of governance regulations and its impact on firm performance in emerging economies is caused by the fact that local institutional characteristics prevalent in these economies may not be suitable for a “copy and paste” of Western form of governance regulations. Furthermore, governance actors do not see the relevance of recommended CG practices except as a regulatory burden. Originality/value: The paper contributes to close the lacuna in the seemingly little qualitative comparative study that has examined practitioner’s perception vis-à-vis the diffusion of international governance practices in emerging economies. Specifically, it uncovers how different institutional and contextual factors impact on the behaviour of governance actors and how their behaviours may constrain adoption, implementation and compliance with recommended governance practices

Factors associated with risky sexual behavior among HIV negative partners in HIV discordant relationships in Nairobi, Kenya

Introduction: Whereas risky sexual behavior influences HIV acquisition, little information is available on risk taking practices among negative partners in HIV discordant relationships in our settings. This study sought to determine the associated factors among this population in Nairobi.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study and 133 HIV negative partners participated in the study.Results: Out of the 133 participants, 66.9% were male and 33.1% were female. Overall, 44.4% of the study participants reported inconsistent condom use, 14.3% reported having another sexual partner and 30% reported ever engaging in sexual activities under the influence of alcohol. Monthly earnings (p- 0.02), alcohol use (p- 0.03) and the index partner being on anti-retroviral medication (p-0.02) were significantly associated with having another sexual partner. Focus group discussion findings showed that male gender, alcohol use and the duration of the relationship influenced the decision to use condoms while male gender influenced having another sexual partner.Conclusion: Risky sexual behavior practices still occur among the HIV negative partners in discordant relationships. More education and sensitization should be made on the risks associated with this behavior so as to reduce the risk of HIV infection from their infected partners.Afr J Health Sci. 2013; 26:324-33

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

Cattle Identification Using Muzzle Images and Deep Learning Techniques

Traditional animal identification methods such as ear-tagging, ear notching, and branding have been effective but pose risks to the animal and have scalability issues. Electrical methods offer better tracking and monitoring but require specialized equipment and are susceptible to attacks. Biometric identification using time-immutable dermatoglyphic features such as muzzle prints and iris patterns is a promising solution. This project explores cattle identification using 4923 muzzle images collected from 268 beef cattle. Two deep learning classification models are implemented - wide ResNet50 and VGG16\_BN and image compression is done to lower the image quality and adapt the models to work for the African context. From the experiments run, a maximum accuracy of 99.5\% is achieved while using the wide ResNet50 model with a compression retaining 25\% of the original image. From the study, it is noted that the time required by the models to train and converge as well as recognition time are dependent on the machine used to run the model.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Integrating men into the reproductive health equation: Acceptability and feasibility in Kenya

This study’s objective was to improve understanding of Kenyan men’s actual and potential roles as supportive partners in various phases of reproductive health (RH), to help in the design of strategies to encourage men’s greater participation in a variety of RH initiatives in Kenya. The results of the study clearly show that, to a larger extent than anticipated, men in Kenya already participate in women-centered RH services. Overall the institutional barriers seemed to be more overwhelming than the cultural barriers, given that one of the reasons frequently given for nonparticipation was fear of non-acceptance by the health providers. Based on the Population Council’s work on social context issues, including partnership, three potential levels for interventions have been developed: providing information on partnership for reproductive choice and health; building comfort and capacity among providers; and creating a space for partners. The results of this study indicate that there are opportunities for interventions at all three levels, although the space for partners may remain limited to consultations and outpatient care for at least the immediate future