Assessing the Best Practices in Media and Communication Training

This article tries to assess how Media and Com–munication training in Kenya has adapted to the changes in the industry based on a mixed methods study. The article argues that universities are trying to adapt their media and communication curricula to the converged media landscape by adding ‘new media’ units that try to address the changes in the industry. They have maintained specializations (Broadcast, print, film) but none has a general programme that equips students with skills to work across media. There is a divergent view between practice and academy on the extent. This is because their perspectives on MCS education and not what is on the ground. Therefore, there is need to bridge the gap between the two by constantly engaging in team teaching, workshops, internships and co-productions

Exploring the Effect of Mobile Phone on Smallholder Farmers’ Livelihood

This article is based on a sequential exploratory mixed method research which carried in-depth interviews, content analysis, semi-structured participant observation, and administered a survey to 422 smallholder farmers in Machakos County in Kenya. The study was premised on combined concepts of information needs assessment (INAM), Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF), and ICT4D value chain analysis models to explore the effect of mobile phones on smallholder farmers’ livelihoods. The study found out that mobile phones are not used by smallholder farmers’ in the same way and therefore its effect on their livelihood is not uniform. On the one hand, mobile phone has negligible effect on subsistence smallholder farmers on-farm activities, and on the other hand, mobile phone usage has huge impact on market-oriented smallholder farming because it improves the relationships and interactions between the farmer and other rural livelihoods stakeholders

Developing Broadcasting Industry Through Glocalisation and Hybridisation

This article is a qualitative descriptive study that examines South Korean and East Africa Audio-visual production and distribution policies and regulations. Through analysing the results of in-depth interviews with audio-visual (broadcast) policymakers, content producers, and audiovisual business owners, this study found that South Korea reviewed regulations and policies that were protectionist in nature to more open and collaborative policies that were in tune with the digital broadcast environment. It recommended that to create successful broadcast industries, developing countries should review their broadcast policies and regulations to be in tandem with digital and media convergence environment as well as give audio-visual industry prominence by establishing ministries that deals with broadcast-related issues to promote locally, to produce content internationally, and also to source for collaboration between local and international producers

Social-Legal Environment and Women Participation in the Securities Market in Kenya

Securities markets are essential vehicles of raising capital, portfolio diversification and liquidity management among investors. Investors aim to generate extra returns while keeping their risk at manageable levels. Active participation of women in stock markets in Kenya is key in ensuring a level playing field for both men and women in matters development and investment. In Kenya the concentration of women investors in the Securities market has been increasing with the aim of bridging the gender gap among stockholders gradually. As at June 2020, women comprised 34% of the total investors in the Nairobi securities exchange. This reflects an increase in the number of investors to 513,063 from 273,234 in the year 2010. However, despite this increase the number of women investors was lower than male investors; women only held investment worth ksh 2.4 Billion (25%)  as compared to Ksh 7.1 billion (75%) held by men. This clearly indicates that there is a myriad of gender related issues that prevent participation of women in stock market. This study investigated the social- legal factors that affect women participation in the stock market. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy, and a descriptive correlation design. STATA software tool was used to analyze data and the findings were presented in tables, graphs and charts. The study findings were; financial literacy levels among women in Kenya is low, some cultures in Kenya undermine women and condemn them to household chores and  various family responsibilities, traditional beliefs and practices hinder women from participating in the stock market and the matrimonial property and land laws in Kenya are biased against women. The study recommends that learning institutions should incorporate financial literacy programs directed at women to help in bringing change in attitude towards participation in the securities market, younger generation of women in the society should be mentored by those who have carved out a niche for themselves in the securities market, there is need also to establish clear legal and regulatory frameworks and gender-disaggregated data gathering measures to guarantee women’s secure rights to land, including the right to inherit, own, access, control, and participate in land governance. Keywords: Securities market, social legal environment, women participation, financial literacy DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-20-14 Publication date:October 31st 202

Two-Factor Factorial Design Application in Analyzing Differential Performance Between Single-Sex Schools and Mixed Schools in Compulsory Subjects at KCSE:Case study in Homa Bay County, Kenya

Despite the recent unabated proliferation of mixed schools, no effort has been directed towards finding out whether they are just as good as or even better than single - sex schools. This is in spite of the conventional wisdom which has in the past informed conversion of mixed schools into single - sex schools. (I am yet to come across a case in our country where two oppositely gendered single - sex schools have merged to form a mixed school). This state of affairs begs for attention and it is what motivated the researcher to carry out research in this area. The study applied two-factor factorial design in analyzing differential performance in compulsory subjects between mixed schools and single-sex schools. School type represented one factor while the other factor was represented by subjects. The objectives of the study were to determine whether there is significant effect due to; school type, subject and interaction between school type and subject. School type, subject and interaction between school type and subject were from the analysis of variance, found to have significant effects at ???? = 5%. The significant interaction effect made it necessary to carry out multiple comparisons. Scheff’e’s method revealed statistically significant differences in mean performance in mathematics between single-sex schools and mixed schools. The mean performances in English and Kiswahili for single-sex schools were not, at 5% level of significance, different from those of mixed school using the same (Scheffes) method. The two- factor factorial design model yijk=µ+????i+ßj+ (????ß)ij+?ijk was found to be ideal in describing the observed data concerning the performance in compulsory subjects in KCSE. Keywords: ANOVA, Two-Factorial Desig

Orofacial Infections in Kenya: A Retrospective Study

Background: Orofacial infections are either odontogenic or non-odontogenic in nature. The clinical spectrum of these infections is diverse. This study aimed to describe the presentation and management of patients presenting with orofacial infections at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study based on clinical records of patients treated for orofacial bacterial infections at KNH fromJanuary 2016 to December 2018. Data on the following study variables were obtained and analyzed: demographic data, clinical presentation,  diagnosis, management, and treatment outcome. Results: 214 clinical records were studied. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1 with age range of 3 months to 78 years (mean=27.0 years). Swelling (96.30%, n=206) was the most common symptom, next was pain (58.90%, n=123). The most common source of infection was odontogenic (60.30%,n=129) in nature. Permanent teeth (57.00%, n=122) were more commonly involved than deciduous teeth (2.80%, n=6). In both dentitions, the mandibular posterior teeth were the most commonly involved, Ludwig’s angina (30.84%, n=66) and submandibular abscess (25.23%, n=54) were the most common clinical diagnoses of orofacial bacterial infection. The commonly used treatment modality was a triad of extraction of the associated tooth, incision and drainage, and antibiotic therapy. These management modalities resulted in favorable treatment outcomes (92.50%, n=198) in most cases. Conclusion: Orofacial infections can occur among all sociodemographic groups. These infections are potentially life-threatening if not diagnosed early and managed promptly. Multidisciplinary teams are required to manage the severe morbidity and mortality of advanced orofacial infections. Keywords: Orofacial infections, Odontogenic, Abscess, Ludwig’s angin

Interventions for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases among Adolescents Living with HIV: A Systematic Review

While the uptake of antiretroviral drugs has rapidly expanded among adolescents and adults living with HIV, research evidence suggests that people living with HIV have a higher risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). With more than 35% of the global burden of NCDs stemming from adolescence, there is a need to comprehend the existing evidence on early prevention, detection, and disease management, especially among the at-risk population. In line with the WHO Global Action Plan, 2013–2020 and “Best Buys”, recommendations on practical interventions for NCDs prevention, this systematic review seeks to synthesise evidence on the current interventions for preventing NCDs among adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) and assessing the efectiveness of interventions targeted at preventing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer among ALHIV. A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The bibliographic database search yielded 2588 articles, though only four (4) studies met the inclusion criteria after screening for eligibility. While sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) sufers the brunt of HIV and NCDs, only one study was conducted in SSA, and three in high-income countries (Brazil and the USA). Physical activity and aerobic exercises (lifestyle interventions) indicated potential benefcial health efects in reducing cardiovascular conditions and improving quality of life among ALHIV. Hospital-based training and a home-based exercise program efectively improved ftness strengths and changes in body composition. Despite the disproportionate global burden of the HIV and NCDs comorbidities, limited adolescent-specifc evidence exists on the interventions for the prevention of NCDs among ALHIV. Thus, there is a need for health policy experts and researchers to steer research on interventions focused on the various NCDs among the ALHI

Statistical distributions and modelling of GPS-Telemetry elephant movement data including the effect of covariates.

Ph. D. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2015.In this thesis, I investigate the application of various statistical methods towards analysing GPS tracking data collected using GPS collars placed on large mammals in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Animal movement tracking is a rapidly advancing area of ecological research and large amount of data is being collected, with short sampling intervals between successive locations. A statistical challenge is to determine appropriate methods that capture most properties of the data is lacking despite the obvious importance of such information to understanding animal movement. The aim of this study was to investigate appropriate alter- native models and compare them with the existing approaches in the literature for analysing GPS tracking data and establish appropriate statistical approaches for interpreting large scale mega-herbivore movements patterns. The focus was on which methods are the most appropriate for the linear metrics (step length and movement speed) and circular metrics (turn angles) for these animals and the comparison of the movement patterns across herds with covariate. A four parameter family of stable distributions was found to better describe the animal movement linear metrics as it captured both skewness and heavy tail properties of the data. The stable model performed favourably better than normal, Student's t and skewed Student's t models in an ARMA-GARCH modelling set-up. The ex- ibility of the stable distribution was further demonstrated in a regression model and compared with the heavy tailed t regression model. We also explore the ap- plication circular linear regression model in analysing animal turn angle data with covariate. A regression model assuming Von Mises distributed turn angles was shown to fit the data well and further areas of model development highlighted. A couple of methods for testing the uniformity hypothesis of turn angles are pre- sented. Finally, we model the linear metrics assuming the error terms are stable distributed and the turn angles assuming the error terms are von Mises distributed are recommended for analysing animal movement data with covariate

Suicide in Kenyan Universities

This study examines the prevalence of suicidal thinking, planning, attempts and self-harm and the associated psychological stressors in two Kenyan universities. The participants are undergraduate university students aged (18 -29) years. A convergent mixed method study design was adopted to collect data. Self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussions were carried out among 431 students and six university counselors participated in a three rounds delphi survey. The study instruments were adopted from the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation & Triage (SAFE-T), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Tool (NSSI-AT) and Emerging Adult Stress Inventory (EASI). A multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was performed. The prevalence rate of suicidal thinking was 17.1%, suicidal planning 5.9%, suicidal attempts 7.8% and self-harm 5.5%. Female students and private university students had high prevalence for all suicidal behaviors. Feeling hopeless and depressed, financial difficult, feeling anxious, family conflicts and academic challenges were psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviors. The prevalence for suicidal behaviors were similar to that found in other studies carried out in other countries. Suicidal behaviors are associated with mental illness symptoms. This should be taken into account by peers, parents and university counselors to prevent and intervene for suicidal behaviors

Suicidal Behaviors Among Emerging Adults in Kenyan Universities

This study examined the prevalence of suicidal thinking, planning, attempts, and self-harm and the associated psychological stressors in two Kenyan universities. The participants were undergraduate university students aged (18 -29) years. A convergent mixed-method study design was adopted to collect data. Self-administered questionnaires and focus group discussions were carried out among 431 students and six university counselors participated in a three-round Delphi survey. The study instruments were adopted from the Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation & Triage (SAFE-T), Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Assessment Tool (NSSI-AT), and Emerging Adult Stress Inventory (EASI). A multivariate analysis (MANOVA) was performed. The prevalence rate of suicidal thinking was 17.1%, suicidal planning 5.9%, suicidal attempts 7.8%, and self-harm 5.5%. Female students and private university students have a high prevalence of all suicidal behaviors. Feeling hopeless and depressed, financial difficulty, feeling anxious, family conflicts, and academic challenges were psychological stressors compelling emerging adults to suicidal behaviors. The prevalence of suicidal behaviors was like that found in other studies carried out in other countries. Suicidal behaviors are associated with mental illness symptoms. This should be considered by peers, parents, and university counselors to prevent and intervene in suicidal behaviors