Uncovering the Relationship between Perceptions of Psychological Safety, Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy, and Entrepreneurial Bricolage Behaviors

While a significant amount of research has identified individual founder traits and perceptions that significantly affect startup trajectory, relatively little work has investigated the interactions between these variables. Specifically, while prior research has shown that psychological safety, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial bricolage skills are correlated with firm performance, the linkages between these variables is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between these variables leveraging data from 71 startup founders. Results suggest that team psychological safety and entrepreneurial self-efficacy can individually predict entrepreneurial bricolage, with the combination of the two yielding a stronger predictive relationship. Finally, findings suggest that psychological safety, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, and entrepreneurial bricolage are not correlated with firm performance, contradicting prior findings

Internet of Things (IoT) and quality of higher education in Kenya; A literature review

African governments have declared the twenty-first century 'as a knowledge era'. Kenya in particular, education more so university education is expected to play an increasingly greater role in socio-economic development by training skilled manpower and producing and disseminating the knowledge required for a knowledge-driven economy. As such, this education—technology relationship has been spotlighted as part of education policy and practice. Complaints about falling education standards, unemployable students, redundant curricula and backward institutional organisation, have therefore been punctuated by the debates about the role and place of technologies in the classrooms. Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly growing network of a variety of different 'connected things.' Use of IoT in academics is a new wave of change that has brought new opportunities and possibilities for the improvement of both teaching/learning process and educational institutions' infrastructure. The study recommends that the enterprise architecture in the institutions of higher learning need to reduce latency time because of the demand for content in instructional technologies. There is need to develop new strategies that consider an individual's privacy, choices and expectations, whilst still promote innovation in new technologies and services. Higher education must come up with new ideas to finance an information technology infrastructure and services

Population decrease : through family planning

9TH Annual ethics conference. Theme : Bioethics medical, legal, environmental and cultural aspects in healthcare ethics at STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY, 25-26 OCTOBER 2012.9TH Annual ethics conference. Theme : Bioethics medical, legal, environmental and cultural aspects in healthcare ethics at STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY, 25-26 OCTOBER 2012

FACTORS INFLUENCING PROVISION OF HEALTH CARE IN A DEVOLVED SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT, BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to assess the factors influencing provision of health care in a devolved system of government, with a special focus on Bungoma County. Methodology: The research design was a descriptive survey utilizing both the quantitative and qualitative aspect. The target population will be all the heads of the health facilities in Bungoma County. The sampling technique will be Non Probability Sampling where Purposive Sampling will be used to identify all the heads of government hospitals, Health Centers and dispensaries in the county as they possess the relevant knowledge required for the study. Questionnaires will then be used to obtain primary data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 12) was used to analyze quantitative data and presented using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data will be analyzed using thematic analysis and presented in form of narratives and themes. Results: Based on the findings the study concluded that disbursement and adequacy of finances, supplies and equipment affected health care provision in a devolved system of government. The study also concluded that drugs procurement challenges affected health care provision in a devolved system of government. Findings further concluded that disbursement and adequacy of finances, supplies and equipment has a positive and significant effect on health care provision as supported by (r=0.502, p=0.002).However, procurement challenges has a positively and insignificant association on health care provision as supported (r=0.309, p=0.603) The results revealed that healthcare personnel had a positively and a significantly association to health care provision (r=0.406, p=0.013). Policy recommendation: The findings of this study will be of great significance to the ministries of Health and that of Devolution and Planning plus the County Governments in Kenya on the factors that face devolution of health in order to come up with practical solutions. Keywords: Procurement and distribution, health care personnel challenges, devolved system of governmen

Appointment of Vice-Chancellors in Public Universities in Kenya: The Nexus between Ethnicity and University Employment

UNIVERSITIES by their very nature should embrace diversity in their structures and the selection and appointments of its human resources especially at the top echelons. However, Kenya as a country faces a challenge of ethnicity which is persistently in the media houses year in year out. This article interrogates this critical issue with special reference to appointments of Vice Chancellors in universities in Kenya and assess how these has affected negatively the process of development in universities and Kenya as a country. Using desk and content analysis research approach, a survey of empirical and theoretical studies were studied and research findings obtained. The study reveals that nepotism and tribalism practices are taking a centre stage in employment of staff in public universities contrary to laid down employment guidelines by the Government of Kenya. Further, appointment of Vice-Chancellors in public universities is skewed towards six major tribes in Kenya, contrary to equal employment opportunities legislations enacted by parliament relating to gender affirmative action as well as the marginalized groups and persons living with disability. The study concludes that the marginalized and persons living with disability are groups affected and therefore not benefitted appointments even after the promulgation of new Constitution of 2010. The study recommends review of the criteria and procedure of appointment to curb ethnicity and nepotism in order to ensure that inclusivity of the gender, marginalized and persons living with disability is catered for

Selection of reference genes for quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) analysis of rat tissues under physiological and toxicological conditions

In biological research the analysis of gene expression levels in cells and tissues can be a powerful tool to gain insights into biological processes. For this, quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) is a popular method that often involve the use of constitutively expressed endogenous reference (or ‘housekeeping’) gene for normalization of data. Thus, it is essential to use reference genes that have been verified to be stably expressed within the specific experimental setting. Here, we have analysed the expression stability of 12 commonly used reference genes (Actb, B2m, Gapdh, Hprt, Pgk1, Rn18s, Rpl13a, Rps18, Rps29, Sdha, Tbp and Ubc) across several juvenile and adult rat tissues (liver, adrenal, prostate, fat pad, testis and ovaries), both under normal conditions and following exposure to various chemicals during development. Employing NormFinder and BestKeeper softwares, we found Hprt and Sdha to be amongst the most stable genes across normal and manipulated tissues, with several others also being suitable for most tissues. Tbp and B2m displayed highest variability in transcript levels between tissues and developmental stages. It was also observed that the reference genes were most unstable in liver and testis following toxicological exposure. For future studies, we propose the use of more than one verified reference gene and the continuous monitoring of their suitability under various experimental conditions, including toxicological studies, based on changes in threshold (Ct) values from cDNA samples having been reverse-transcribed from a constant input concentration of RNA

Influence of organization structure on diversification strategy and performance of an organization Critical literature review

The contentious debate by management scholars and researchers on whether strategy influences structure or if it is structure that influences strategy has been going on for some time now. We endeavored to conduct an extensive desk review aimed at establishing if indeed there is any interrelationship between organizational structure and diversification strategy or if organization structure does influence diversification strategy and performance of an organization. Different subsections of this paper present theoretical and in some instances empirical findings by other scholars and researchers on theories relating to organization structure, diversification strategy and organizational performance. From the discussed theories and research findings, the paper concludes that there exists an interdependent relationship between organization structure and diversification strategy which ultimately impacts on the performance of an organization

Reverse Logistics Practices and Their Effect on Competitiveness of Food Manufacturing Firms in Kenya

Increased global warming and environmental degradation, has caused concern for governments, societies and business organizations even in Kenya. Kenya’s, manufacturing industry is one of the main contributors to economic growth. Unfortunately, it has also caused environmental deterioration. Consequently business managers have increasingly begun to realize the need to be environmentally accountable for their activities. Reverse logistics is a green supply chain management practice that enables companies to manage wastes and improve their competitiveness as their environmental efficiency is enhanced. This research aims to examine the relationship between reverse logistics and competitiveness of food manufacturing firms in Kenya. To fully understand this issue the research investigates the reverse logistics practices adopted by the various companies and then examines whether these practices have any effect on firm competitiveness of food manufacturers in Kenya. A cross- sectional survey was conducted among 130 food manufacturing firms that are listed in the Kenya Association of Manufacturers directory. The response rate was 73.8%. Primary data was collected through questionnaires. Factor analysis was used examine the construct validity while multivariate liner regression was employed to test criterion validity. The results of this research indicated that, the adoption of reverse logistics practices would enhance the competitiveness of Kenya’s food manufacturing firms. Further this study found that due to lack of awareness on the importance of sustainability, there is a low level of adoption of reverse logistics practices in Kenya. This study recommends that organizational managers should appreciate the environmental issues and adopt reverse logistics practices. This is important as it would curb waste, enhance cost savings thus increasing competitiveness. This study further recommends that the government and all stakeholders in the manufacturing sector should carry out public awareness campaigns on the importance of environmental conservation as it would encourage the locals to become active drivers towards the adoption of reverse logistics practices. Keywords: Green Supply Chain, Reverse Logistics, Firm Competitiveness, Food Manufacturing Firms, Keny

Farmers’ Participatory Plant Selection of Lablab (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) in Tanzania

This research article was published by Frontiers in Plant Science in 2022Farmer-participatory breeding approach is an important component in the crop improvement of lablab (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet). The study was carried out to obtain the knowledge, practices and preferences of lablab through 31 lablab growing farmers from Arusha, Kondoa, Karatu, Same and Babati districts of Tanzania toward initiating a lablab breeding program. Semi-structured questionnaires were administered and focused group discussions were held to collect data on the socio-demographic factors, production practices, constraints and farmer’s preferred traits of lablab. Selection of preferred traits and accessions was also done by the farmers in the field. Results showed that the chief constraints of lablab production are pests and diseases, poor marketability, low seed quality, inadequate rainfall, expensive agrochemicals, low yield, and poor storage facilities. The major pests are pod borer (field) and bruchids (storage). Preferred traits for lablab improvement include the development of insect pests and disease-resistant varieties, early maturing, high yield, black colored seed for market, short cooking time, and dense foliage. Genotypes EK2, D360, HA4, and D96 with preferred traits were identified by farmers, which forms critical decisions in crop improvement. This study describes the current view of lablab production and generates the understanding of farmers’ perceptions and preferences vital for breeding priorities and programs to increase its production, utilization and consumption

Pre-Breeding Prospects of Lablab (Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet) Accessions in Tanzania: Morphological Characterization and Genetic Diversity Analysis

This research article was published by MDPI, 2022Under-exploited crops such as Lablab purpureus are regarded a pathway towards alleviating the food and nutritional security in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at evaluating the morpho-agronomic diversity present in 277 lablab accessions based on 38 morpho-agronomic traits. The experiment was laid out in an Augmented design across two main cropping seasons in Tanzania. Qualitative data was analysed using pivot tables. The Generalized Linear Model (PROC GLM), Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used to analyse variation of 14 quantitative traits. The findings revealed the presence of wide variability of the qualitative traits in the studied accessions. Significant differences were observed among accessions, between seasons, the interaction of blocks and season, and the season and accession effects in most of the traits. Most of the traits had high significant differences in relation to contrast among accessions, among checks and between accessions and checks. The first five principal components cumulatively accounted for 61.89% of the total variability among the accessions studied. Furthermore, cluster analysis grouped the accessions into four major clusters. This results suggest the 14 morpho-agronomic traits can successfully discriminate and show presence of wide diversity vital for selection and hybridization program of lablab species