Women Groups in Peace and Security.Mathare Informal Settlement, 2008 Election Violence.

Women groups have been identified as an important tool in peace building in many countries experiencing conflict. In Kenya, women groups have been reported to facilitate peace in many regions including Samburu and Trans Nzoia counties. While Mathare informal settlement is one of the biggest slums in Kenya, and among the most prone to violence, in addition to having been highly affected by the 2008 post election violence, there appears to be very few empirical studies carried out on the same. This study, therefore, aimed at filling in this knowledge gap by carrying out the current study on the role of women groups in peace building in Mathare informal settlement. The study targeted women groups involved in peace building in Mathare informal settlement. The study used descriptive research design case study research design and while data was collected through the use of questionnaires, scheduled questions, documented information from the women groups’ data base and focus group discussions. A total of 30 respondents were targeted. Data was analyzed through the use of SPSS package. Findings indicated that women groups in Mathare used various strategies to initiate peace including peace forums, peace committees, counseling, fundraising, women leadership, open forums and exchange programs. The study also found that women peace groups faced challenges that hampered their effectiveness and the extent of involvement including lack of access to information, gender stereotyping, lack of involvement in decision making and political interference. However, the peace initiatives have managed to build relationships and unite different ethnic groups and also improve lives of those affected by post election violence. The study recommends that government, NGOs and other interested bodies be more involved through training and dissemination of information on women and peace building. The government should also take action against groups which exploit the residents of Mathare in the name of peace building. Key Words: Peacebuilding, conflict, women groups, informal settlements,violence,election

Effectiveness of marketing mix elements on sales volumes for over the counter medicines for multinational pharmaceutical companies in Kenya

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Masters of Business Administration at Strathmore University Business SchoolThe study, sought to assess the effectiveness of marketing mix strategies on sales volumes for OTC drugs by research based MNCs in Kenya. Specific objectives were; to determine the influence of price on sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya, to determine the influence of place on sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya, to determine the influence of promotion on sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya and to determine the influence of product on sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya. Descriptive research design was used. The target population of this study was MNCs that have a representative office or operate through a distributor and additionally deal with OTC drugs in Kenya. The study used a census method, where all the 13 MNCs were selected for the study. Data was collected from primary sources by use of a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed mainly by use of descriptive statistics. Inferential statistics were conducted to establish the relationship between the study variables. The study found that modifying pricing mix element by a single unit would lead to an increase in sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya. Modifying place mix element by a single unit would lead to an increase in sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya. Modifying promotion mix element by a single unit would lead to an increase in sales volume of OTC medicines for MNCs in Kenya. Modifying product mix element by a single unit would lead to an increase in sales volume of OTC medicines for multinational pharmaceutical companies

Ethnoveterinary Knowledge and Practice among the Pastoralists of Baringo District, Kenya.

A study was carried out in Marigat and Nginyang Divisions of Baringo District to document the role of Ethnoveterinary practice amongst the pastoralists. A cross-sectional survey involved administration of a questionnaire to 60 smallholders households. The results indicated that 83% of the respondents regularly practiced ethnoveterinary in treatment of their livestock.  There were 8 basic categories of disease conditions frequently treated.  Coughs/Pneumonias were the most frequently treated (58.3%) followed by diarrhoeas (55%) worms (40%) and skin diseases (28.3%). A total of 32 remedies were recorded, some of them used for a wide range of disease conditions. There were both plant-based and non-plant remedies with the Neem tree appearing as the most frequently used plant remedy, while soda ash was the most frequently used non-plant remedy. Keywords: Ethnoveterinary, pastoralists, plant-based, non-plant based remedies. Pneumonia / coughs, diarrhoeas and skin diseases

Adherence to national guidelines in prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV

Background: Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) contributes to over 90% of the paediatric HIV infections. The national PMTCT guidelines make recommendations for specific interventions to reduce perinatal transmission. Data on adherence to the guidelines by caregivers and quality of PMTCT care is however limited.objective: To evaluate the extent to which PMTCT care offered to HIV positive women admitted for delivery at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Pumwani Maternity Hospital (PMH) adheres to National Guidelines in order to reduce vertical transmission of HIV during labour and delivery.Design: A cross-sectional study.Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital and Pumwani Maternity Hospitalfrom January to April 2009.Subjects: All consenting HIV positive women admitted to the labour wards at the two facilities and planned for delivery.Results: A total of 370 women were enrolled, 266 at Pumwani Maternity Hospital and 104 at Kenyatta National Hospital. Among the enrolled women 357 (96.4%) had been counselled on vertical transmission and 205(55.4%) had HIV disease staging by CD4 cell count. There were no significant differences between the two study sites in the proportion of women counselled on MTCT (p=0.398) and receiving HIV disease staging by CD4 testing (p=0.28). Three hundred and forty nine (94.3%) women were offered varied ARV regimens for PMTCT. 101(27.3%) received HAART, 94(26.9%) were given single dose nevirapine and 130(37%) received AZT+NVP combination prophylaxis. Twenty one women received no ARV prophylaxis. Overall, 268 women (72.5%) had spontaneous vertex delivery. An episiotomy rate of 7% was observed and no vacuum delivery was recorded. A Caesarean section rate of 27.5% was recorded with PMTCT as aan indication in almost half of the cases. Women delivered at KNH were more likely to receive HAART (p<0.001) and to be delivered by elective caesarean (p<0.001).Conclusion: A great majority of HIV positive women admitted for delivery received counseling on vertical transmission and were offered ARVs for PMTCT. Many women did not get CD4 measurement and clinical staging as recommended in the National guidelines

Do clinicians adhere to practice guidelines? A descriptive study at a referral hospital in Kenya

Background: Clinical guidelines when implemented correctly have shown to improve disease outcomes. This study describes utilization of Kenya National guidelines in managing ante partum haemorrhage (APH) in 3rd trimester.Objective: To describe adherence to clinical guideline in management of antepartum haemorrhage at Garissa Provincial General Hospital Design: Crossectional mixed methods studySetting: Garissa Provincial General HospitalSubjects: Medical records of patients managed for APH between 2002 and 2012 and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) of Health workers.Results: 36.1% of the cases assessed were managed with strict adherence to guidelines. 90% of health care workers had high levels of awareness of the existence of guidelines and sited utilization challenges attributed to resource inadequacies.Conclusion: Clinicians are skilled on APH guidelines, but adherence levels are still low. Therefore, continuous appraisal of clinical practices, availing equipment, facilities and supplies to reinforce adherence is recommended

A user evaluation of speech/phrase recognition software in critically ill patients: a DECIDE-AI feasibility study

Objectives: Evaluating effectiveness of speech/phrase recognition software in critically ill patients with speech impairments. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Tertiary hospital critical care unit in the northwest of England. Participants: 14 patients with tracheostomies, 3 female and 11 male. Main outcome measures: Evaluation of dynamic time warping (DTW) and deep neural networks (DNN) methods in a speech/phrase recognition application. Using speech/phrase recognition app for voice impaired (SRAVI), patients attempted mouthing various supported phrases with recordings evaluated by both DNN and DTW processing methods. Then, a trio of potential recognition phrases was displayed on the screen, ranked from first to third in order of likelihood. Results: A total of 616 patient recordings were taken with 516 phrase identifiable recordings. The overall results revealed a total recognition accuracy across all three ranks of 86% using the DNN method. The rank 1 recognition accuracy of the DNN method was 75%. The DTW method had a total recognition accuracy of 74%, with a rank 1 accuracy of 48%. Conclusion: This feasibility evaluation of a novel speech/phrase recognition app using SRAVI demonstrated a good correlation between spoken phrases and app recognition. This suggests that speech/phrase recognition technology could be a therapeutic option to bridge the gap in communication in critically ill patients. What is already known about this topic: Communication can be attempted using visual charts, eye gaze boards, alphabet boards, speech/phrase reading, gestures and speaking valves in critically ill patients with speech impairments. What this study adds: Deep neural networks and dynamic time warping methods can be used to analyse lip movements and identify intended phrases. How this study might affect research, practice and policy: Our study shows that speech/phrase recognition software has a role to play in bridging the communication gap in speech impairment

Analysis of the post earnings announcement drift in the Nairobi Securities Exchange

A research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Business Science Actuarial at Strathmore UniversityThis paper is an event study concerning the market anomaly, Post-earnings-announcement drift (PEAD) in the Nairobi Securities Exchange from 2008 to 2014. The PEAD theorizes that a stock's cumulative abnormal returns tend to drift in the same direction of an earnings surprise for several weeks following an earnings announcement. Its aim was to determine if the PEAD occurred in the Nairobi securities exchange and whether it could be used to monitor stock performance. Stock performance was determined by using the market model to regress the stock returns against the market returns. Evidence from the study suggests that the PEAD anomaly occurred in the NSE and that it could be used to monitor stock performance

Education for all through inclusive education: The role of the principal in transforming the school to reach out to all learners through inclusive education: A case study of a private school

The philosophy of inclusive education has developed from the long history of global educational reforms since 1948 that, seek to reinforce the principles of Education as a Human Right. These legislations over the years culminated into the Salamanca Statement (1994) of inclusion, which was signed by 92 nations of the world, with the number having increased over the last 11 years to 164 nations currently (UNESCO, 2005). The target is that by 2015, these nations should have realized basic Education for All (EFA) through their national goals and work plans for Universal Primary Education (UPE). This is a major challenge, especially for developing countries, where progress has been relatively slow (Eleweke&Rodda, 2000). UNESCO (1998) points out that majority of students with special needs, specifically those with disabilities, remain excluded from schools; therefore, a major challenge for these nations to realize the UPE goals by 2015. The World Bank report (2003) on EFA estimates that 40 million children out of the 115 million children, who are out of schools, are children with special needs. Inclusive Education (IE) is seen as the vehicle, through which the goals of EFA can be achieved. Inclusive Education means accommodating all children in mainstream schools regardless of their physical or individual differences. It is within this context of events that I conducted a case study research of a private inclusive school, focusing on the role of the principal in transforming a school to reach out to all learners through Inclusive Education. It is apparent that schools need to change their perspectives so as to recognize, value, and provide for diversity in curriculum. My study revealed that a principal can transform the school to reach out to all learners by restructuring the school philosophy to reflect positive behaviors and support for diversity; change school policies on admission, assessment and curriculum implementation in order to retain learners with special needs; show support for teachers through relevant professional development programs, provision of adequate time and resources; strong partnership and involvement of parents and community; and modeling and reinforcing inclusive education behaviors through hands-on site-management. The background of the study was based on my life story, that is being a parent of a child with special needs, as evidence of an insider\u27s voice on the challenges of educating children with special needs

Coping with production constraints amongst small-holder pastorialists in Baringo District, Kenya

No Abstract. Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa Vol. 50 (2) 2002: pp. 116-11

Nutrient composition of white thorn(Acacia Seyal) and desert date (Balanites Aegyptiaca)

No Abstract. Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa Vol. 50 (2) 2002: pp. 130-13