Hunger and Food Insecurity in Nairobi's Slums: An assessment using IRT models'

Although linked to poverty as conditions reflecting inadequate access to resources to obtain food, issues such as hunger and food insecurity have seldom been recognized as important in urban settings. Overall, little is known about the prevalence and magnitude of hunger and food insecurity in most cities. Yet, in sub-Saharan Africa where the majority of urban dwellers live on less than one dollar a day, it is obvious a large proportion of the urban population must be satisfied with just one meal a day. This paper suggests using the one- and two-parameter item response theory (IRT) models to infer a reliable and valid measure of hunger and food insecurity relevant to low income urban settings, drawing evidence from the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS). The reliability and accuracy of the items are tested using both the Mokken Scale Analysis and the Cronbach test. The validity of the inferred household food insecurity measure is assessed by examining how it is associated with households? economic status. Results show that food insecurity is pervasive amongst slum dwellers in Nairobi. Only one household in five is food secure, and nearly half of all households are categorized as ?food insecure with both adult and child hunger?. Moreover, in line with what is known about household allocation of resources, evidence indicates that parents often forego food in order to prioritize their children. (229 words)Food insecurity; Hunger; Sub-Saharan Africa; Slum; Nairobi

Interpreting Ezekiel’s Ruach in an African Theological Context: African Pneumatology as a Hermeneutical Lens for Understanding Ezekiel’s ‘Spirit’ Motif

Ezekiel has often been called ‘the prophet of the spirit’ due to his surpassing use of the term רוח, whose symbolic range embraces meteorological phenomena, the anthropological principle of life, a theological principle of divine apparitions, or experiences of divine presence. However, hardly any study exists which relates Ezekiel’s רוח motif to contemporary pneumatologies of the African biblical-faith communities which, akin to Ezekiel’s רוח symbolism, portray a worldview of axiomatic divine- human interrelation in existential life. The thesis of the present study is that the Ezekielian רוח motif conveys a polysemous symbolism which, nonetheless, accentuates an overarching leitmotiv; the רוח symbolism signifies a paradigmatic shift, in ancient Israelite understanding of divine- human interrelation, from visible manifestations and experiences of כבוד־יהוה mediated through cultic rituals and confined to cultic shrines to unmediated manifestations and experiences of divine presence, neither confined to cultic shrines nor necessarily limited to particular guilds of the Israelite societal leadership. Moreover, the study posits that the pneumatological worldview of the African communities of biblical faith is an apt hermeneutical lens for understanding Ezekiel’s רוח symbolism and that the experiences of the Ezekielian exilic community prefigure dynamic equivalents in the pneumatological context of the African communities of biblical faith. The present study is therefore an attempt to read Ezekiel’s רוח symbolism utilizing African pneumatology as a hermeneutical lens. A reader- response theory of biblical interpretation, in which textual meaning emerges from the interaction between the text, read in its socio- historical setting, and the reader in his or her socio- cultural world, is employed utilizing biblical inculturation as a strategy which contextualizes the hermeneutical process by bringing the reader’s interpretive interests and life concerns into the task of biblical interpretation. The study begins with an exploratory study of the book of Ezekiel in its historical context in the Hebrew Bible. This entails a critical review of the Ezekielian corpus in contemporary scholarship as well as an exegetical analysis of רוח symbolism in the Hebrew Bible in order to situate the Ezekiel’s רוח in its socio-historical and canonical context. The study then examines critical features of African pneumatological worldview which constitute hermeneutical linkages, or bridgeheads, between Ezekiel’s רוח symbolism and African pneumatology. The study shows that the Ezekielian רוח motif critically informs the African biblical-faith pneumatology while, as a corollary, the African pneumatological worldview illumines and, indeed, serves as an apt hermeneutical lens for understanding the Ezekielian רוח symbolism. The hermeneutical import of the Ezekielian רוח symbolism, as understood in the African pneumatological context, is that divine presence is experientially feasible in existential life without the necessity of any ecclesial or ritual mediation. As the writer of the biblical book, Acts, affirms, “God ... is not far from each one of us; for in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17: 27- 28)

REVIEWING THE KENYAN PHYSICAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM THROUGH A DE-COLONIZATION EFFORT

Physical education is an educational process that uses physical activity as a means to help individuals acquire skills, fitness, knowledge, and attitudes that contribute to their optimal development and well-being. The history of PE in Africa dates back to pre-colonial times. In the pre-colonial period, traditional African physical activities and recreation were characterized by being local and community-based. The recreational and physical activities reflected the lifestyle of the said community paying attention to the specific needs of that particular community. People engaged in traditional games and sports activities such as wrestling, racing exercises, stick fights, hunting with the use of spears and arrows, board games, bullfights, dances, and rustling among others. These activities were mainly driven by the need for survival and prestige. At the advent of colonization, the Europeans introduced western and European education systems in Africa and most of their colonies. Western-oriented physical education was also introduced and this opened the door to European games and competitive and team sports. This was propagated at the expense of local and traditional African physical activities which were perceived as barbaric. Consequently, physical education as a subject attracted a cold reception right from the onset. However, even though viewed negatively, the same aspects of physical education aspects introduced by the colonialists have persisted in post-colonial Africa. Very little has changed in terms of the content as well as the approach to teaching. This has seen the subject relegated to the periphery in favor of what is considered academic subjects. In addition to its being viewed as being too much western-oriented, physical education has also been criticized for having been introduced to achieve other non-educational objectives such as military training, training of lower-rank civil servants, the transmission of middle-class values of conformity and also for deferred gratification, and social control. Consequently, to date despite numerous studies linking physical education participation and cognitive development, it has been difficult to show that link in Africa. The emphasis on competitive team sports that were introduced by the colonialists has also seen the subject being viewed as of no value beyond the school, especially for those with no interest in sports. This paper argues that for physical education to play its rightful role within the education sector, there is a need to decolonize the teaching of the same. Teachers need to contextualize the games and sports so as to make them more relevant to the participants. They also need to emphasize how the skills learned and knowledge gained can be useful beyond school life and this will make the subject more meaningful for the participants.  Article visualizations

Interval Estimation for the Ratio of Percentiles from Two Independent Populations.

Percentiles are used everyday in descriptive statistics and data analysis. In real life, many quantities are normally distributed and normal percentiles are often used to describe those quantities. In life sciences, distributions like exponential, uniform, Weibull and many others are used to model rates, claims, pensions etc. The need to compare two or more independent populations can arise in data analysis. The ratio of percentiles is just one of the many ways of comparing populations. This thesis constructs a large sample confidence interval for the ratio of percentiles whose underlying distributions are known. A simulation study is conducted to evaluate the coverage probability of the proposed interval method. The distributions that are considered in this thesis are the normal, uniform and exponential distributions

QUALITY OF WORK LIFE, PERSONALITY, JOB SATISFACTION, COMPETENCE, AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The success of any organization is highly dependent on how it attracts recruits, motivates, and retains a high performing workforce. Explaining the factors that influence employee performance remains a fundamental question for human resources management practitioners. The expectancy theories of Vroom, Porter, and Lawler, assert that employee performance depends not only on the amount of effort exerted, but also on the intervening influences of factors such as person’s abilities and traits, as well as their role perceptions. Researchers also suggest that a range of organizational and employee factors could impact employee performance. These include Quality of work life, ability, effort, motivation, attitude, personality, competence, and job satisfaction. This study looked at selected employee related factors, namely: employee personality, job satisfaction, and competence. QWL was included because organizations are known to adopt a strategy for improving employees’ Quality of Work Life (QWL) with the aim of satisfying both the organizational objectives and the needs of the employee. On the other hand, successful organizations consider job satisfaction to be important for work performance. However, job satisfaction alone cannot lead to performance. Having the right competences is important for performance. This review therefore seeks to investigate the employee related factors that influence the relationship between quality of work life and employee’s performance

QUALITY OF WORK LIFE, PERSONALITY, JOB SATISFACTION, COMPETENCE, AND JOB PERFORMANCE: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The success of any organization is highly dependent on how it attracts recruits, motivates, and retains a high performing workforce. Explaining the factors that influence employee performance remains a fundamental question for human resources management practitioners. The expectancy theories of Vroom, Porter, and Lawler, assert that employee performance depends not only on the amount of effort exerted, but also on the intervening influences of factors such as person’s abilities and traits, as well as their role perceptions. Researchers also suggest that a range of organizational and employee factors could impact employee performance. These include Quality of work life, ability, effort, motivation, attitude, personality, competence, and job satisfaction. This study looked at selected employee related factors, namely: employee personality, job satisfaction, and competence. QWL was included because organizations are known to adopt a strategy for improving employees’ Quality of Work Life (QWL) with the aim of satisfying both the organizational objectives and the needs of the employee. On the other hand, successful organizations consider job satisfaction to be important for work performance. However, job satisfaction alone cannot lead to performance. Having the right competences is important for performance. This review therefore seeks to investigate the employee related factors that influence the relationship between quality of work life and employee’s performance

THE EFFICACY OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS CURRICULA AND INSTRUCTION ON ACQUISITION OF SOFT SKILLS FOR STUDENTS IN KENYAN UNIVERSITIES: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Soft skills are some of the 21st century's most important life skills that should equip university students. Communication skills is one of the courses offered in Kenyan Universities to enhance the soft skills competencies of all undergraduates in their first-year semester. However, employers raised a concern that the newly hired graduates lack essential employability skills to perform office tasks effectively. Communication skills instruction and curricula do not contribute to the required soft skills competencies. The purpose of this study is to conduct a critical analysis of the efficacy of communication skills curricula and instruction on the acquisition of soft skills competencies required in the 21st-century workforce. The study had two objectives: to carry out a critical analysis of listening skills curricula and instruction on the acquisition of soft skills competencies and to examine critically speaking skills curricula and teaching on the acquisition of soft skills competencies. Speber and Wilson (1995) relevance theory of communication anchored the study. The study employed a qualitative approach to research methodology and content analysis to analyse the data. The findings revealed that communication skills instructors taught listening and speaking skills theoretically. There is a need for communication skills curricula to be aligned with industry-specific skills and communication skills instructors to utilise differentiated instruction, engaging pedagogies, and integrate information technology in their classrooms. The learner-centered approach will enhance the acquisition of soft skills competencies among the graduates. The research recommends that universities in Kenya review the communication skills course and align it with the Competency-Based Curriculum.  Article visualizations

QUALITY CBC EDUCATION IN KENYA BY 2030: PROJECTING ENROLMENT IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SIAYA COUNTY

There has been a near complete transition from primary to secondary level of education in Kenya especially given the Free Primary Education and subsidized secondary education. The Free Primary Education, Free Day Secondary Education and the 100% transition policies have led to very high enrolment of students at primary and secondary school levels against the background of scarcity of educational resources that are key in provision of quality education. This paper aims at projecting enrolment in primary and secondary schools in Siaya County by 2030 on the basis of the new Competency Based Curriculum (CBC) under the 2.6.3.3 system of education. The author adopts trend analysis and descriptive survey designs to conduct the study using all school age population (6-17 years) who were 272,226 in 2009 and 339,251 in 2019. Saturated sampling technique was used to obtain the sample size. Purposive sampling was used to select County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer, MOE sub-county directors and an officer from KNBS. Data Analysis Proformas and Key Informant Interview (KII) Guides were used in data collection. Enrolment Ratio Methods were used to project enrolment for primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools in Siaya County by 2030. Findings of the study indicate that primary school enrolment will increase by 9.81% between 2024 and 2030. Junior secondary school enrolment will increase by 33.44% between 2021 and 2030 while senior secondary school enrolment will increase by 29.63% between 2026 and 2030. These findings inform Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Ministry of Education, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and other stakeholders on the possible upsurge in school enrolments as they implement the 2.6.3.3 system of education and thus to ensure quality, appropriate measures have to be taken in acquiring resources for the same.  Article visualizations