Construction of an Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) Reactor and Deposition of Polytetrafluoroethylene (Ptfe) Thin Films Using Perfluoro-1-Octanesulfonyl Fluoride as the Initiator

Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) is a surface polymerization technique that is different from other traditional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. iCVD is carried under a vacuum without the use of solvents, therefore eliminating contaminations. An initiator and a monomer are metered into a vacuum reactor chamber. Inside the reaction chamber is an array of resistively heated filaments and a cooled substrate stage. Monomer species adsorb on to the cooled substrate surface underneath the filament array. The thermal energy from the resistively heated filaments breaks the bonds in the initiator molecule, generating free radicals. These generated free radicals chemisorb to the monomer initiating an in situ free radical polymerization reaction which results in the formation of a polymer thin film. The overall objective of this research was to assemble a custom-built iCVD reactor and use it to grow polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin films. Perfluoro-1-octanesulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF) was used as the initiator while hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) was used as the monomer. HPFO is well known for its good thermal decomposition. Nichrome filaments were resistively heated at temperature less than 400 ˚C and substrate surface cooled between 10 ˚C and 35 ˚C. Various characterization techniques such FTIR, XPS, SEM, and EDX were performed on as-deposited iCVD PTFE thin films. FTIR spectra of iCVD PTFE showed that the as-deposited iCVD thin films are spectroscopically identical to bulk PTFE

Effect of Corporate Attributes on International Financial Reporting Standards Disclosure Level. Evidence from Kenya Listed Firms

The increasing amount of focus on and the growing significance of the Nairobi Securities Exchange as an important avenue for trade has attracted foreign investments and increasingly encouraged local residents to invest in shares. Kenyan companies may engage in both mandatory and voluntary disclosure as a means to enhance the value of their stocks. However, little has been done to show various corporate attributes that might determine corporate International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of corporate attributes on International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level by Kenyan firms listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The study specifically analyzed the effect of profitability, leverage, liquidity and company size on corporate International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) disclosure level. The study also examined whether profitability, leverage, liquidity and company size moderated by industry competitiveness effects on the level of International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure requirements. The study adopted explanatory research design in order to asses cause –effect relationship. A sample of 30 companies listed on the NSE was examined for a period of 5 years from 2007 to 2011. Secondary data was used in obtaining information from companies’ annual financial reports in the process of data collection. Descriptive statistics used in the study were means, standard deviations, skewness and kurtosis. Inferential statistics used was Pearson correlation, multiple regression and moderating multiple regression model. The findings showed that profitability, liquidity and company size had positive and significant effects on International Financial Reporting Standards disclosure level. However, leverage has no effect on IFRS disclosure level. Thus, the study concludes that profitability, liquidity and firm size affect IFRS disclosure level. The results provide empirical evidence to support the implementation of adequate mechanisms such as improving the profitability, liquidity and company’s size to ensure increase in IFRS. The study recommends that the accounting regulatory authority, the capital market authority, NSE and the government need to come up with standardized policies. Corporate policies and legal framework should guide and compel all firms to disclose IFRS as required by International Accounting Standards Board. These authorities should further ensure equal playing ground in industry competitiveness to ensure that the level of IFRS disclosure is not affected. Keyword:Accounting Standards, Corporate Attributes Disclosure , International Accounting Standard , Competitiveness Company Siz

Analyzing the Willingness to Pay for Improved Domestic Water Supply in Moiben: Elgeyo/Marakwet County, Kenya

As the demand for water in rural Kenya keep increasing due to high population growth, the quality of its supply for domestic consumption is compromised by agriculture related pollution. River water supply in rural areas is a public good that may not be provided under normal market conditions.  This article attempts to provide alternative market conditions in order to estimate the economic importance of improved domestic water supply to the surrounding community. It employed contingent valuation method in estimating willingness to pay (WTP) and assesses factors influencing the likelihood of WTP responses. A sample of 384 households living along Moiben river in Keiyo/Marakwet County was studied. Results indicated majority (56%) of the residents use the river for domestic consumption. The average amount residents are willing to pay for improved domestic water supply is Ksh 196 per month, showing their desire for better water management. Findings indicate that there were statistically significance between household size (0.021 with t value of 2.220) and WTP at significant level of 0.05. The reason may be that the cultural attachment to the family size could have encouraged the members of the community to the willingness to pay, since that the impact on the water supply is easily felt as a result of the family size and the daily activities which include domestic, agricultural, and industrial and some commercial activities which rely on this resource. Education has a positive correlation to WTP but not significant. It was also discovered that majority (76%) members of the community hold a secondary education and below and those with education from tertiary and above are 25%. The study recommends that both levels of Government should strengthen policies and regulations towards economic activities of the community and providing incentives that will encourage the youths in improving their education since that from the findings majority have basic education of secondary and below. The WTP estimates can be used by policy makers to determine pricing of the commodity for better provision of improved domestic water supply. Keywords: Contingent Valuation Method, willingness to pay, water supply and water qualit

High-Risk Fertility Behaviors: Impact on Child and Risks of Maternal Mortality in Kenya

Rapid population increase in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last several decades and limited healthcare interventions have exacerbated child and maternal mortality. The maternal mortality ratio (deaths per 100,000 live births) in Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for at least 50 percent of maternal deaths globally. In 2020 alone, 5 million children under 5 years died in Kenya. Research also points out that, tragically, many of the mothers and children died of preventable or treatable conditions. Previous research has focused on biological or socioeconomic determinants of child mortality rather than their joint influences. In this study, we investigate the premise that all social and economic determinants of child mortality and risks of maternal mortality operate through a set of biological mechanisms and proximate determinants to influence mortality. Using data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Surveys (KDHS) drawn from women aged 15-49, we find that children born to women with primary education or lower were more likely to die before age five compared to women with secondary education or higher. Younger women (19 years or younger) were also more likely to experience higher child and maternal mortality rates than older women. Women giving birth to babies with higher-order births were more likely to experience higher child mortality and risks of maternal mortality rates than those with lower-order deliveries. Women with no education experienced higher rates of child mortality and risk of maternal mortality than those with primary education or higher. Also, children born to married women were less likely to die than those born to unmarried women. Overall, women from rural areas experienced higher rates of child mortality and maternal mortality risk than those from urban areas. The results support much of the previous literature on high-risk fertility behaviors and child mortality, which showed that younger age at first birth and short preceding birth interval significantly increase the risk of child mortality and reduce the chances of antenatal care visits and hospital deliveries. Women from rural areas are less likely to access prenatal care and hospital delivery services than those in urban areas. Furthermore, mothers and children born in health facilities have a lower relative risk of dying than those born at home. Using the Mosley and Chen 1984 analytical framework for determinants of child and maternal survival, I incorporated socio-economic and biological variables to examine the relationship between high-risk fertility behaviors and child mortality and risks of maternal mortality. We discuss the findings in the context of frameworks intended to advance research and influence health policy and medical interventions to improve child survival.KEYWORDS: High-risk fertility behaviors, child survival, risks of maternal mortality, biological characteristics, social determinant

Phytochemical Screening and Antimicrobial Properties of Allium sativum Against Lactobacillus

The objectives of this study were to extract phytochemical components of Allium sativum and screen the phytochemical composition of allium extracts for bioactivity against Lactobacillus. The methanol extract of Allium sativum was obtained from a dried sample of garlic, was screened for phytochemical composition and tested for antimicrobial properties against probiotic bacteria lactobacillus. Antimicrobial analysis was done using agar well diffusion method where different concentration of garlic extract were tested against lactobacillus. The experiment was arranged in 3 replicates according to 4 treatments of different extract concentrations and in the control experiment the bacterial were grown without extract. The result of the phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, cardiac glycosides, steroids, and flavonoids in garlic, but tannins were absent. The antibacterial activity of the extracts against the test lactobacillus showed inhibitory effect where different concentrations showed different inhibitory activities. This review goes over some relevant research that has already been done in this area where garlic has been tested for antimicrobial activities against numerous human pathogens. It therefore lays a ground for new research in testing allium varieties for antimicrobial activities against human resident microbes like lactobacillus that may be subject to susceptibility on these antimicrobial natural products

Developing a Participatory Pedagogical and Multidisciplinary Approach for Integrating HIV/AIDS into University Curriculum

The current framework for integrating HIV/AIDS into university curriculum is mainly informed by the need to make HIV/AIDS education relevant to specific disciplines, and to equip graduates with necessary skills to respond to HIV/AIDS in their professional capacities. This strategy mainly emphasizes content and knowledge and largely ignores the current context in which students live and make sexual decisions. This paper explores the opportunities for utilizing multidisciplinary, and participatory integrated HIV/AIDS education programmes to address sexual risk-taking and students’ vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS within their university campuses. It examines students’ preferences regarding development and implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes based on the findings of a PhD study conducted at three universities in KwaZulu-Natal province. Data was obtained through a questionnaire survey involving 1400 students, and in-depth interviews with 24 students and three HIV/AIDS coordinators drawn from across the three universities. Non-participant observations were also conducted at each of the three universities. Study findings indicate that participatory programmes and those that have an entertainment component demonstrate currency within student communities. Students rejected the didactic approach undertaken by some communication programmes with some participants arguing that “young people don’t want be told what to do”. A comparative semiotic analysis of HIV/AIDS posters within university campuses revealed a huge disparity between posters designed by students and those obtained from national communication campaigns. The choice of imagery and semantic codes differed significantly. The paper suggests the adoption of a Freirian pedagogical methodology in implementing an integrated and multidisciplinary HIV/AIDS education programmes so as to generate conditions in which students are able to reflect on their own realities and personalize the risk of HIV infection

Two New Pentacyclic Triterpenoids, an Alkaloid and a Long-chain Fatty Acid from Albizia Coriaria (Welw ex. Oliver)

Herein, we report the occurrence of four new compounds in ethanolic extract of Albizia coriaria Welw ex. Oliver leaves along with other compounds previously reported in this species. The compounds were isolated and characterized using column chromatography, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. FTIR spectrum of the extract showed phenolic OH stretching (3362.30 cm-1), C=O (1660.08 cm-1), CO stretching (1369.46 cm-1 and 1319.00 cm-1) and CN stretch (1072.44 cm-1) which confirmed the presence of alcohols, carboxylic acids and nitrogen-containing compounds. Oleanolic acid (1), oleanolic acid acetate (2), pterin-6-carboxylic acid (3), undecanol (4), betulinic acid (5), betulin (6) and benzyl alcohol (7) were tentatively identified in the extract. Compounds 1-4 are being reported for the first time in Albizia coriaria

Using metadata to implement eforms and their associated databases

Web forms (eForms) and databases are at present widely used for data handling in most web applications. While eForms are used for data gathering and display, databases are used for data storage. To connect and interface an eForm to a database, an eForm processor is used. The eForm processor supports data saving, retrieval, update, and delete. In most web applications, eForms, eForm processors, and databases are designed and implemented separately. This leads to two main challenges: One, complexity in the manipulation of eForms and their associated database; and two, difficulty in the reproduction and reuse of existing eForms. To address the above-identified challenges, this thesis proposes the use of metadata in the creation and implementation of both eForms and their associated databases. Our approach comprises a two-part solution: One, modeling domain’s metadata and two, creating a tool, called Delk eForm Creator. To model domain metadata, Resource Description Framework Schema (RDFS) was used. However, to analyse the tool’s requirement, Putting Usability First (PUF) approach was used. In order to demonstrate the applicability of our solution approach, Delk eForm Creator was used to create a set of Metadata and three specific eForms based on a generic eForm. The created eForms were rendered in different web browsers and used to enter data into the associated databases. It was observed that Delk eForm Creator successfully generated a Generic eForm based on the Domain Metadata. Moreover, three different Specific eForms were successfully generated based on one Generic eForm, thereby leading to a reusable Generic eForm. We conclude that the metadata-based approach of implementing eForms, as proposed in this thesis, is a viable technique to creating eForms and their associated databases. The approach enables users to easily create, maintain, and reuse eForms and databases

China’s Evolving Policy of Intervention in African Conflicts

This article attempts to explore the extent of application of China’s policy of non-interference. It compares the application of this policy on some selected African states and attempts to find out whether or not the adopted long term policy and visible shifts can be good for China or Africa as she experiences increased interactions with specific African states on eco-socio-political fronts. By use of qualitative design, the authors extensively relied on written material in this discourse as a way of arriving at intelligible conclusions as to whether the policy will also enhance African peace. Keywords: Intervention, Non-interference, African Peace, Conflic

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR ADOPTION OF CLOUD COMPUTING IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN KENYA

Cloud computing technology is a distributed computing approach whereby users access shared resources under various service models through the internet. It allows individual access to information technology resources through the internet upon demand. Cloud computing is an essentially growing terminology in the IT world and has become increasingly present in the life of institutions of higher learning. Institutions of higher learning consider cloud computing and construction of digital content platforms as a way of enhancing resource utilization and improvement of service delivery. The sudden and frenzied rush for cloud computing by universities has been aggravated by exponential growth in data traffic and the need for innovative learning such as e-learning and virtual classrooms amid COVID 19 pandemic (Kenya Education Network-KENET, 2021). Perhaps it is from that realization and the need to adhere to COVID 19 protocols that most public universities in Kenya have adopted cloud computing. In this study, we sought to find out the critical success factors for adoption of cloud computing in public universities in Kenya. The study set out three (3) objectives and consequently three (3) null hypotheses to guide it. Quantitative research design was adopted for this study. Similarly, International Business Machines-IBM (2011) model for cloud adoption offered theoretical guidance. At a confidence interval of 95%, an online sample size calculator was used to arrive at three hundred and sixty two (362) respondents out of six thousand two hundred (6200) target population. Proportionate stratified random sampling technique and an online list randomizer were used to select respondents in the selected universities to participate in the study. Multiple regression was used to test the hypotheses in this study based on empirical data obtained by a survey questionnaire of thirty nine (39) questions from the two (2) public universities. Multiple regression results showed significant positive effect of Management Support (β=.257), Technical Support (β=.353), and User Preparedness (β=.475) on adoption of cloud computing at p<.05. Regression results gave a coefficient of determination R2=.908 which means 90.8% of the variation in adoption of cloud computing can be explained by Management Support, Technical Support, and User Preparedness combined. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), the three null hypotheses (H01, H02, & H03) were rejected at p<0.05. Regression analysis showed that Management Support, Technical Support and User Preparedness are critical success factors in cloud adoption in public universities in Kenya. This study provides new and relevant insights to literature on cloud adoption in higher education service in Kenya.  Article visualizations