The Role of personal and premises hygiene in the assuage of food safety in selected hotels within Eldoret town

In the last two to three years there have been reported cases of Cholera and other outbreaks related to food which necessitates the need to find out if personal hygiene may have a role to play in all these cases. Consequently, this study was carried out in order to investigate the food handlers’ practice of food safety management with respect to personal hygiene, temperature control, prevention of cross contamination, purchasing and storage, food safety training and rules, and kitchen physical features. The study adopted both descriptive and explanatory research designs. Twelve conventional hotels were purposively selected and all 106 food handlers in the hotels were recruited into the study. Data was collected by use of structured questionnaires, interviews and observation. Quantitative data was analyzed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and excel. Pearson Chi-square test of independence and Pearson Correlation analysis were performed to test association between the various variables under study. Content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and results presented in narrative form. The results of the study have been discussed as relates to personal hygiene, temperature control, cross contamination, purchase and storage, following of food safety rules and physical appearance of food safety premises. Conclusions and recommendations have been drawn as pertains to this study

Tourism education enrolment among Kenyan public universities: Socioeconomic aspects

The paper innovates on the existing literature and field data by assessing the socio-economic factors influencing the enrolment decisions of students, to tourism programs among 12 selected Kenyan public universities. The study uses a descriptive design. A structured questionnaire and an interview guide were used to gather data from 192 students and 12 departmental heads. The study used a multi-sampling technique; purposive sampling was adopted to select the universities, while simple random sampling was used to determine students pursuing a degree in tourism management. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS. A structural equation model was used for data analysis, following exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factors analysis. The logit regression results reveal the existence of a statistically significant relationship between socioeconomic factors and students’ choice to enroll in tourism programs. The most important reasons influencing the student’s tourism degree choice are tuition fees, employment prospects, and parents/family background. The study recommends that education practitioners, scholars, governments, and private sectors allocate resources and dedicate efforts to improving and tourism awareness among high school students. Future research should investigate the same study variables using longitudinal and in-depth approaches to minimize generalizability concerns related to the study findings

Moderating Influence of Socio-Demographic Factors on the Relationship between Social Media Applications and Guests’ Choice of Fine Dining Restaurants

The main purpose of this research was to determine the moderating influence of social demographic factors on guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. A mixed-method (concurrent nested) was used to do the survey. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the study units while convenient sampling technique was used o pick the respondents. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 to generate descriptive statistics, inferential, statistics, and regression analysis. The study established that social demographic significantly influences guests’ choice of fine dining restaurants. Also revealed, was that the composite of social demographic factors is another independent variable and not a moderating variable. The study findings encourage Managers and owners of fine dining restaurants to include infrastructure that enables guests to use social media applications. This study contributes to the understanding of theories of consumer behavior in the perspective of fine dining restaurants. Also provided is knowledge for sharing with stakeholders and for policy developments