Media coverage of Kenya's 2002 elections:A Case Study of The Daily Nation and The East African Standard

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Journalism and Media Studies A816954 [email protected] in countries around the world, there is an urgent call for governments in Nations to enforcement democracy for its citizens. One of the measures of democracy is in an election where citizens are able to freely elect the leaders who govern them. In such times, the media in general play a vital role in among other things, informing the voters, providing a forum for debate and acting as a watchdog to ensure that election malpractices are not carried out. Further, as purveyors of truth, the media is expected to give balanced accounts of the political parties contending as well as debate the promises of the candidates and parties in question. In Kenya’s 2002 elections, the voters depended on the media to effectively play out its role as a purveyor of information, and also set the agenda for what was deemed important. This research report is an examination, an analysis, which looks into what Kenya’s leading newspapers reported about the elections in 2002. In this report, I will not only be looking at the overall picture the newspapers painted but further, I will examine the themes that played themselves out in the newspapers over the election period. The theories of news production as well as the role of media in democracy and subsequently in election coverage will aid the arguments in this paper. Further, I will also debate the notion of objectivity in media coverage in order to ascertain whether private media can be the standards set for the industry. In doing this, the research will be examining the role of media in democracy and subsequently in an election coverage

Categorizing adpositions in Kîîtharaka

In this paper, I discuss the categorial status of Kîîtharaka adpositions. I demonstrate that there are two main classes of adpositions(to be referred to as Class A and Class B). Class A adpositions are syntactic heads and they belong to the functional lexical category P. Class B adpositions are a phrasal P category with a nominal component. They therefore spell out a complex structure than adpositional heads do. This bipartation of Kîîtharaka Ps is based on (i) optionality of complements (ii) case assignment (iii) modification (iv) recoverability of content (v) movement and (vi) derivational morphology

Women Literacy and Household Food Security in Igambang’ombe Division, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Many counties in Kenya are generally faced with food insecurity. Women play an active role in food production. However, the women’s potential is limited by inadequate levels of literacy which affects the way they access and utilize resources for sustainable agricultural production and household food security. This study examined the impact of women literacy on household food security in Igambang’ombe Division, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya.  The study established that the division is faced with food insecurity in spite of the fact that women play an active role in food production.  Women’s potential in Igambang’ombe Division is limited by inadequate level of literacy.  The study recommended that all agricultural stakeholders should be sensitized on literacy competencies and its relationship with sustained food security. Keywords: Household Food Security, Literacy Competencie

Romance, love and gender in times of crisis: HIV/AIDS in Kenyan popular fiction

PhD - ArtsThe emergence of HIV/AIDS has changed how society perceives and deals with issues of sex, sexuality, and gender. The writers studied in this thesis raise important questions pertaining to HIV/AIDS and gender, love, romance, sex and sexuality in present day Kenya. Their writing demonstrates that HIV/AIDS has changed the ways in which people understand these issues. This thesis sought to explore, through an analysis of fiction, how human social behaviour has been affected by a pandemic disease. The changes in sexual and gender relationships that are reflected in this literature points at “emergent cultures of sexuality”. For instance, the literature clearly shows that both men and women in contemporary Kenya are confronted by an urgent need to change their sexual behaviour whether in monogamous or polygamous relationships, hence a change in the power matrix between men and women. Practices to do with pleasure seeking and the satisfaction of desire, male domination of gender relationships, notions of masculinity among other social and cultural practices and beliefs are affected in extreme ways. In some cases, these practices and beliefs are undermined and subverted whilst in other cases they are reinforced. What these social and sexual dynamics suggest is that human society is being revolutionized by the HIV/AIDS phenomenon. Therefore, this study looks at how popular discourses about sexuality, romance and gender have been (re)appropriated and (re)articulated by popular literature in Kenya within the context of HIV/AIDS. The thesis examines how discourses on romance are employed to re-imagine social and sexual behaviour as a means to control and contain the spread of HIV/AIDS. My analysis demonstrates that popular fiction is capable of representing the hidden realities of sex, sexuality, romance and gender that individuals face daily in a way that other forms of expression and media cannot. The examples of HIV/AIDS fiction examined here give readers a better understanding of the effects of the disease on society through the various stories that different characters in the novels tell. These stories also play an important role in the creation of urgently needed and socially relevant meaning with regard to HIV/AIDS. The popular text, in the context of HIV/AIDS, makes an important contribution to cultural production because it comments on and more importantly, offers possibilities of re-imagining and re-creating new forms and practices of social and sexual behaviour in present-day Kenyan society

Dividend theory and empirical evidence : a theoretical perspective

Objective: The objective of this study is to theoretically review the existing theoretical and empirical literature on dividend policy to understand the status and applicability of the theory in different economies and to discover any potential knowledge gaps for further research. -- Study Design and Methodology: This is a descriptive analysis of existing theoretical literature and its application in different economies. The study used a sample of empirical studies to gather empirical evidence. -- Findings: Dividend policy has a significant role in the firm decision-making process, a uniform dividend policy for all firms may not be feasible because of the differences in firms’ ownership, investor’s preference and firm characteristics, firms maintain a consistent dividend policy to avoid giving wrong signals to investors. The study also confirms inconsistency in the application of existing dividend theory with empirical evidence in different markets. We find that the ownership structure of a firm has greater influence in the firm decision-making process and recommend future studies should explore the extent to which ownership structure influences dividend policy and firm value. -- Significance of the study: This study provides a framework for evaluating dividend policy practices between developed and developing countries, evaluate the relevance and applicability of dividend theory within the context of developing economies and identify the best dividend policy practices. The study will form part of the body of knowledge in the finance literature that will enable scholars to appreciate the critical issues involved in dividend policy decisions and provide a base for identifying knowledge gaps for further research.peer-reviewe

Phrasal movement inside Bantu verbs : deriving affix scope and order in Kîîtharaka

This thesis tries to determine the principles that govern affix ordering in Kîîtharaka, an SVO Bantu language spoken in Kenya. The thesis starts by determining the base hierarchy of affixes by using semantic scope. Thus if an affix A scopes over an affix B, A asymmetrically c-commands B in the phrasal structure configuration. The thesis then tries to investigate how the affixes in the base hierarchy are re-ordered to produce the surface string. It is shown that in order to get the surface string, a constituent containing the verb root undergoes phrasal movement past an affix in a mixture of cyclic and roll-up movement. This movement mechanism, which I refer to as dragging movement, is shown to be strikingly similar to the mechanism that derives the typological variation in the ordering of demonstrative, numeral and adjective in the extended projection of the noun (Cinque 2005). The thesis therefore shows that the ordering of the affixes in the extended projection of the verb phrase in Kîîtharaka and the ordering of modifiers in the extended projection of the noun phrase fall under the same generalization

Strategies Used For Persuasion in Kimuthambi

Persuasion is inherent in everyday communication and is very important in relationships, leadership, peace building and success in virtually every area of livelihood. This study’s main goal is to provide an analysis of persuasion in Kimuthambi. The objective of the study is to identify and discuss strategies used for persuasion in Kimuthambi. The study is guided by the relevance theory by Sperber and Wilson. It utilizes both qualitative and quantitative research designs and is carried out in Muthambi Division, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The population includes all the Kimuthambi communicative events. The researcher purposively sampled ten real life communicative events conducted in Kimuthambi which involved forteen speakers. Data was collected using a digital audio recorder and an observation schedule. The recorder captured conversations in Kimuthambi in the selected communicative events and the observation schedule was used to record the contextual information. The researcher transcribed utterances from the data collected that utilizes stragetegies used for persuasion. The transcribed utterances are one hundred and thirty six. Then guided by the communicative principle of relevance, the researcher identifies and discusses eighty four utterances used for persuasion in Kimuthambi. The study establishes that persuasion in Kimuthambi is mainly through the use of logical appeals, emotional appeals and sensationalism. This study enhances the analysis of Kimuthambi as a language variety and adds to the existing knowledge on strategies of persuasion in various languages of the world. In addition it enriches knowledge on the tenets of the relevance theory.Thus it contributes to crosslinguistic studies from the perspective of a unique cultural orientation. Key words: Persuasion, Kimuthambi, Strategies, Relevanc

Modelling Rainfall Patterns in Meru and Embu Regions Using ARIMA Models

Rainfall is the natural source of water, it has greater impact on agricultural activities and domestic consumptions. Since Meru and Embu regions are agricultural zones relying heavily on rainfed agriculture, it is important for farmers to know rainfall patterns prevailing in their regions.In this study we model rainfall patterns in Meru and Embu regions of Kenya using Monthly and yearly rainfall data. ARIMA model was developed using Box-Jenkins (BJ) Methodology and fit to monthly and yearly average amount of rainfall. The data were examined to check for the most appropriate class of ARIMA processes. This was done by selecting the order of the consecutive and seasonal differencing. The auto-correlation function (ACF) and the partial autocorrelation function (PACF) are the most important elements of time series analysis. Using the AIC criterion ARIMA (1,1,1)(0,1,1)12 was identified as the best model. This model was used to forecast monthly rainfall patterns for five years and found that future rainfall patterns will change with time as contributed by many factors. It was recommended that, future researchers should consider zoning regions, identify other factors contributing to change in rainfall patterns and apply developed Arima model. Keywords: ARIMA model, Box-Jenkins methodology, forecasting, seasonal differencing

Efficacy of cultural methods in the control of Rhizoctonia solani strains causing tomato damping off in Kenya

Rhizoctonia damping off of tomato caused by Rhizoctonia solani can be a serious problem in most intensive production environments. Recent increase in smallholder vegetable production of 0.5-3.0 ha in Kenya has resulted in build up of the pathogen to above economic threshold levels. There is no effective chemical control or resistant varieties. Use of soil fumigants such as methyl bromide in the control of Rhizoctonia and other soil borne pathogens is not sustainable due to their high costs, and toxicity to man and environment. Cultural methods such as soil amendments, mode of planting and influencing soil moisture levels either alone or in combination with other methods are among the most likely substitutes to use of toxic fumigants for control of soil borne pathogens in agriculture. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of cow manure application, transplanting, planting on raised beds and varying watering interval on Rhizoctonia damping off of tomato as measured by percent seedling survival at 5-30 days after planting (DAP), disease severity at 30 DAP, percent crop stand at 60 DAP and fruit yield at maturity. The study was conducted in a field artificially inoculated with pathogenic strains of Rhizoctonia solani isolated from infected tomato plants and Rhizosphere soil sampled from the major production regions of Kenya. The efficacy of the various cultural strategies both singly and in combination on the Rhizoctonia damping off management was compared with the conventional disease control involving chemical fumigation with metham sodium and two chemical seed dressers (pencycuron, thiram, imidacloprid) and (captafol) as the standard. Cow manure application and shorter watering interval when used singly or in combination with other cultural methods produced lower disease control and yield. Transplanting, planting on raised beds and medium irrigation interval when used singly or in combination with other cultural strategies produced good disease control resulting in higher yield that compared favorably with the conventional disease control involving soil fumigation and seed dressing. The various cultural disease control methods documented in this study can be used alone and in integration with other compatible Rhizoctonia damping off of tomato control strategies. Furthermore the promising non-chemical strategies may form part of the urgently sought for alternative to use of hazardous fumigants in agriculture and since they are not specific, there is low risk of resistant development over time.Key words: Cultural disease control, Rhizoctonia solani, tomat

LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE IN A MULTILINGUAL CONTEXT: A CASE OF KENYAN UNIVERSITIES

The linguistic landscape of a place constitutes a clear representation of its language ideology, culture, users’ identity and language practice. These are depicted in verbal language used in public signs including business names, street signs, advertisements and graffiti. The aim of this paper is to examine the language distribution, purpose and authorship of public signage in the multilingual context in Kenyan universities. The paper also examines the students’ attitudes towards the public signs in the sampled institutions. A sample of 185 photos taken from notices, advertisements, building names and posters are analyzed.  The analysis reveals that English is the most dominant language used in Universities for both top-down and bottom-up signs, with 77% prevalence. This is attributed to the acceptance of English as a global language and presence of international students and lecturers. A high incidence of informative signs is also noted at 42% of all signage linked with the academic nature of the paper context. The findings also reveal that Kiswahili as an African language with Bantu and Arabic roots is barely utilized in public signs despite its official status. This has implications on language policy and its implementation as it indicates a mismatch between policy and practice