Soft Power Strategies in US Foreign Policy: Assessing the Impact of Citizen Diplomacy on Foreign States\u27 Behavior

This dissertation empirically demonstrates that the isolated effects of citizen diplomacy correlate positively with foreign policy behavior as a non-military, foreign policy strategic option. The dissertation also finds that soft power, of which citizen diplomacy is a key component, is a viable foreign policy strategy. The findings are important to the academy and to the foreign policy-making process for states in search of effective, non-military strategies that leverage foreign state needs and attributes to achieve their foreign policy goals. Using a mixed methods approach, the dissertation investigates the correlation between Peace Corps Volunteers (citizen diplomat) placement and congruent voting with the US at the UN General Assembly. The question of interest is, do citizen diplomat recipient countries vote more with the US at the UN General Assembly? Is there a difference in countries\u27 voting patterns on key votes than on all votes, and what are the implications of congruent voting behavior for US foreign policy? I develop several hypotheses and test for the effects of citizen diplomacy through four models: the omnibus, factors of bilateral attraction, host country variables and temporal and regional effects models. Using data from two sources, first, Voeten and Strehnev and second, Dreher, Strum and Vreeland, I find that in twelve of the sixteen models, citizen diplomacy is positively correlated with congruent voting with the US at the UN General Assembly. Countries vote more with the US at the UN on key votes than they do on all UN General Assembly votes (observed in seven of eight models). The level of democracy is positively correlated with congruent voting in four of eight models and also positively signed. The level of globalization, GDP per capita and region are important explanans for voting in congruence with the US at the UN General Assembly. As expected, failed states vote less in congruence with the US at the UN. These findings are augmented by case studies based on three qualitative models. The issue linkages model finds that the US links citizen diplomacy to its national security interests. The interpersonal model finds that citizen diplomats affect foreign policy through individuals and elites. The foreign policy approach finds that citizen diplomats have contributed to building and changing national infrastructure and development and thereby countries\u27 foreign policy trajectory. The dissertation concludes that citizen diplomacy matters: there is a positive and strong correlation between citizen diplomacy and foreign policy behavior of recipient states towards the US. As a soft-power strategy, citizen diplomacy is a viable foreign policy option

The role of liquidity risk in augmenting firm value: lessons from savings and credit cooperatives in Kenya

Purpose: The study aimed to examine the interaction between liquidity risk and the firm's value among Kenyan SACCOs. Research methodology: This study adopted the positivism research philosophy and utilised both descriptive and causal research designs. The study targeted all the 164 licenced SACCOs in Kenya. A sample made up of 115 respondents was selected using a stratified random sampling method. The study utilized secondary data obtained from organization’s published financial statements. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. Results: The study results illustrated that value of the firm was positively correlated with liquidity risk which significantly and favourably impacted the firm value; (β=0.014577, P=0.001). Limitations: The analysis and conclusions reached in this study were limited to data gathered for the five-year duration between 2012 and 2016. Contribution: This study is useful to the management of SACCOs and the Kenyan government to understand better how financial risk management can improve their firms' value. The study adds to the existing knowledge of financial risk management and firm value. Keywords: Savings and credit cooperatives, Liquidity risk, Firm valu

The role of liquidity risk in augmenting firm value: lessons from savings and credit cooperatives in Kenya

Purpose: The study aimed to examine the interaction between liquidity risk and the firm's value among Kenyan SACCOs. Research methodology: This study adopted the positivism research philosophy and utilised both descriptive and causal research designs. The study targeted all the 164 licenced SACCOs in Kenya. A sample made up of 115 respondents was selected using a stratified random sampling method. The study utilized secondary data obtained from organization’s published financial statements. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. Results: The study results illustrated that value of the firm was positively correlated with liquidity risk which significantly and favourably impacted the firm value; (β=0.014577, P=0.001). Limitations: The analysis and conclusions reached in this study were limited to data gathered for the five-year duration between 2012 and 2016. Contribution: This study is useful to the management of SACCOs and the Kenyan government to understand better how financial risk management can improve their firms' value. The study adds to the existing knowledge of financial risk management and firm value. Keywords: Savings and credit cooperatives, Liquidity risk, Firm valu

Factors Influencing Utilization of Health Services in Kenya: The Case of Homa Bay County

In order to improve efficiency in health service delivery in Kenya, the Ministry of Health has developed structures through inter-sectoral collaboration at various levels. Despite efforts by the government and key stakeholders to improve health sector, utilization of health services still remains a major challenge. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors that influence utilization of health services in Homa Bay County, Kenya. The study employed survey design and focused on health beneficiaries, District Health Management Team and other key health stakeholders, and used both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data was collected through household interviews of 384 respondents and qualitative data was generated through Key Informant Interviews of 16 respondents. The study reveals that health financing, service delivery, quality, accessibility and equity influence utilization of health services in Homa Bay County. It is for these reasons that the study recommends that the government should allocate adequate budget towards health services, avail adequate trained health workers, and improve infrastructure in health facilities as well as drugs and other supplies. There is also need for further research on cultural factors influencing utilization of health services

Cost of Capital, Firm Size and Financial Distress

Financial distress (FD) is a global muddle that adversely affects firms and economies. Kenya documents substantive evidence of FD across economic sectors. This indicates a missing link between financial surveillance and business management. Past research concentrates on FD modeling and capital structure effects on performance. This study explored the influence of cost of capital on FD and the moderation effect of firm size. The study was anchored on Modigliani and Miller’s second proposition and Trade-off theory. Retrospective longitudinal research design was adopted targeting all non-financial firms listed in Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). Hierarchical panel regression analysis explored the multi-dimensional financial data collected from audited financial statements, daily stock prices and market indices from year 2006 to 2015. Findings show cost of capital to relate significantly and negatively with FD. Cost of equity (Ke) rises with cost of debt (Kd). Interaction term cost of capital*firm size has no effect on FD. Kd and Ke significantly influence FD positively and negatively respectively. Interaction Kd*firm size has a positive insignificant influence on FD while interaction Ke*firm size has a negative significant effect on FD. The study recommends diligent capital budgeting to ensure firms only invest in feasible ventures surpassing the cost of capital. Keywords: Cost of Capital, Firm Size, Financial Distress. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-18-05 Publication date:September 30th 201

Economic Evaluation of Organic and Inorganic Resources for Recapitalizing Soil Fertility in Smallholder Maize-based Cropping Systems of Central Kenya

Structural adjustments programs (SAPs) in the last two decades have eliminated all farm-support programs leading to low usage of fertilizers by Kenyan smallholders. One way of addressing this problem is use of organic nutrient resources. This paper examines their cost-effectiveness as capital investments in replenishment of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K) and soil organic matter (SOM) in smallholder, Maize-based cropping systems. On-farm trials were established in Maragwa and Kirinyaga Districts in 2003/04. Maize was planted in 3 replicates in randomised complete block design (RCBD) using different levels of organic and inorganic fertilizer resources. A blanket rate of 40kg P/ha was applied in all treatment except the control to increase organic N-utilization efficiency. The test crop was harvested, oven-dried and weighed. Net Present Values (NPV) were computed using Partial Budgeting Analysis Model. Increasing levels of inorganic N increased maize yields significantly (P<0.05). However, higher yields were necessary but not sufficient criteria to determine profitability of different treatments. Manure + 60 kg N/ha gave highest NPV (USD 564), Manure + 40kg N/ha gave second highest NPV (USD 511) in Maragwa District while Manure + 60kg N/ha gave highest NPV (USD 633) and Manure + 40kg N/ha second highest NPV (USD 618) in Kirinyaga District. These results suggested that higher N-levels were not necessarily the most economical. Use of organic resources with modest amounts of mineral fertilizers seemed more profitable and held the key to enhancement of nutrient budgets, food security and rural livelihoods.Natural resource capital, Net present values (NPV), Nutrient budgets, Smallholder farmers, Soil organic matter (SOM), Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use,

An enhanced Least Significant Bit Steganographic Method for Information Hiding

The least significant bit (LSB) insertion method is a simple steganographic algorithm that takes the least significant bit in some bytes of the cover medium and swaps them with a sequence of bytes containing the secret data in order to conceal the information in the cover medium. However its imperceptibility and hiding capacity are relatively low. This is as revealed by the statistical characteristics of its resultant stego images compared to the original cover images. To increase the level of imperceptibility and the hiding capacity in the LSB insertion method, this research proposes an enhanced LSB method that employs a selective and randomized approach in picking specific number of target image bits to swap with the secret data bits during the embedding process. To facilitate the selective picking of the target image bits, the standard minimal linear congruential number generator (LCG) is used. The message digest (digital signature) of a user supplied password is used to seed the LCG and to extract the message from the cover medium. In measuring the effectiveness of the proposed method, the study adopted an experimental research design where the statistical characteristics of the proposed method stego images were compared with those of the traditional LSB method in a comparative experiment designed to establish the levels of image distortion (noise) introduced in the original cover image when either of the methods is used under the same payload and image. The experiment results indicated improved levels of imperceptibility and hiding capacity in the proposed method. Key Words: Steganography, Steganalysis, Stego image, payload, imperceptibilit

Assessment of relationship between management policies and transfer of skills: A case of public secondary school heads in Nyeri County, Kenya

Despite heavy investments in training and development, low-quality education standards and challenges in management practices have been a sticky problem in the Kenyan education sector. Organization Theory guided the main aim of this study in establishing the relationship between management policies and transfer of skills for public secondary school headteachers in schools management. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Questionnaires were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. The study population comprised 226 headteachers.  A mixture of stratified random sampling and census study was adopted in sampling 69 respondents. The results established that management policies explained a 23.4% variation in the transfer of skills for school heads. ?1 = 0.536 and p-value = 0.000 (p&lt;0.05) indicated that management policies had positive and significant effects on transfer of skills. The study established that unsupportive policies like the Students Council, two centers of power, strict policies, and lack of inclusivity in policy formulation adversely affected school heads in implementing learned skills. The study recommends fair representation of all categories of education stakeholders in policies review and formulation to alleviate challenges associated with management policies to enhance the transfer of skills. The Government should address the issue of two centers of power in the public basic education sector. The paper sought to call the attention of the professional development trainers to exercise follow-ups to assess post-training behavioral outcomes in the context of organizational climate

Knowledge, attitude and practice(KAP) of tuberculosis patients enrolled on treatment in Juba City, South Sudan 2010: a pilot study

Study setting: Juba Teaching Hospital, Juba city, Republic of South Sudan, 2010.Objective: To examine, knowledge, attitude and practices of tuberculosis (TB) patients enrolled on tuberculosis treatment, Juba, South Sudan.Design: Descriptive studyResults: Knowledge in TB: Of the 102 patients interviewed; up to 80.4% were not knowledgeable on cause of TB, 52% did not know correct signs and symptoms of TB, 39.2% did not know overall treatment duration, 54.9% did not know the importance of strict adherence to treatment. Knowledge on correct diagnosis was 87.3% and on correct means of TB transmission was 79.4%.Practices and Attitudes: On practices; 94.1% respondents were able to perform at least one task to stop spread of disease, access to free TB test occurred in 100% of cases and for free drugs in 99% cases. Health care workers correctly suspected TB on first contact in 95.1% of cases. Patients were offered health education on drug side effects in 93.1% of cases, on HIV testing and counselling in 74.5% of cases. Disclosure of TB diagnosis by patient to family or community did not occur in 91.2% cases. Family, community and employers offered support to patients in 92.2%, 95.1% and 98% of cases respectively.Conclusion: We found key knowledge gaps among Juba TB patients enrolled on treatment. These knowledge gaps are probably responsible for the high treatment defaulter rates reported in Juba, South Sudan. Tuberculosis patients are still not interested to freely reveal disease diagnosis to members of the family and community at large

Ocular rhinosporidiosis mimicking conjunctival squamous papilloma in Kenya - a case report.

BACKGROUND: Ocular rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous infection caused by a newly classified organism that is neither a fungus nor bacterium. It often presents as a benign conjunctival tumour but may mimic other ocular conditions. It is most often described in India. In Africa cases have been reported from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Congo and Ivory Coast. CASE PRESENTATION: A 54 year old man was seen in Kenya with a lesion that resembled a conjunctival papilloma. We report resemblance to conjunctival papilloma and the result of vital staining with 0.05% Toluidine Blue. CONCLUSION: Ocular rhinosporidiosis occurs in East Africa. It may resemble conjunctival squamous papilloma. Vital staining with 0.05% Toluidine blue dye did not distinguish the two lesions well