Reconstructionist Analysis on the Relevance of Secondary School Learning Opportunities in Promoting National Cohesion Among Students in Machakos Town Sub-County, Kenya

The study investigated the relevance of secondary school learning opportunities in promoting national cohesion. The study was based on the ideals and principles of a school curriculum as advocated by Brameld Theodore on reconstructionism philosophy. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample size of four hundred and nine (409) respondents comprising of three hundred and sixty (360) student leaders, Forty eight (48) teachers and Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (QASO) was used for the study. Purposive sampling was adopted to select the respondents. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used for data collection. The study established that the secondary school learning opportunities do not to adequately capture learner related peculiarities such as aptitude, interests and regional diversities. It thus recommended a review on secondary school learning opportunities to reflect the emerging issues on national cohesion and integration. The findings of the study will provide information to educational stakeholders on the vital role that the secondary school learning opportunities plays in promoting national cohesion. Keywords: Reconstructionist analysis, Secondary school curriculum, Learning opportunities, National cohesion

Pyrethrins In Soil and Water From Selected Pyrethrum Growing Areas In Nakuru County, Kenya

Introduction: Pyrethrum also known as Chrysanthemum is a plant from which compounds known as pyrethrins are derived. The pyrethrins have  been used for many years as insecticides. Incidentally due to their high instability they have slowly been replaced by synthetic pyrethroids.  Pyrethrins are generally regarded as safe compared to the pyrethroids. However, the amounts released into the environment have not been well documented especially in pyrethrum growing regions.Objective:  The aim of the study was to determine the concentration of pyrethrins that come from pyrethrum plants and released into the  environment through their use as insecticides, thus, into drinking water and soil, in pyrethrum growing regions in Kenya.Methodology: Quantification to amounts of pyrethrins from pyrethrum plants, in soil and water bodies in and around pyrethrum farms in Kiambogo and Naivasha (Nakuru County). The study was carried out using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Water samples (0.5L) were collected from the following water bodies: rivers, streams, dams, wells and boreholes near or within pyrethrum farms.Conclusion: It was established that, the quantity of pyrethrins present in water and soil samples werebelow detectable levels within the WHO recommended range. Hence safe for the environment,more so for the farmers and the people living around pyrethrum farms. Key words: Pyrethrum, pyrethrins, chromatography, water, soil

Talent Management and Employee Performance: Growing Young Colleges to Well Established Organization

With the increasing competition for highly skilled talent, creating an open and innovative culture, aligned with what matters most to employees, will provide the organisation with the competitive edge to retain and attract the talent necessary to achieve organizational goals. The best practices critical to retaining talent include providing career development opportunities, leadership who can articulate core messages and live them every day, trust-based relationships with managers founded on open communication and feedback, and giving employees a voice in the business along. For organizations to succeed in today’s rapidly changing and increasingly competitive marketplace, intense focus must be applied to aligning human capital with corporate strategy and objectives. The study adopted a comparative research design to enable the researcher describe certain features that he is likely to be interested in. The main focus was on growing young Colleges to well established organization with the aim of investigating the relationship that exists between talent management and employee performance. The objective of the study was to explore whether their exist a correlation between talent management and employees performance in the organization. This study will be useful to the various stakeholders in the human resource department in establishing a clear criterion in dealing with workforce in the organization. The research will be conducted using a survey design approach due to the benefits occurred from it, like easy of evaluation, it saves time and resources which makes it cheap to adopt. The research will also adopt a probability sampling method where simple random sampling technique will be instituted .The data collection methods will include use of interviews and questionnaires. The data collected will be analyzed and presented in a way of table and pie charts. Highly demanding business environment makes it imperative for the organizations to build competence in the form of superior intellectual capital.The talent has to be spotted, carefully nurtured and most importantly preserved. KEYWORDS: Competition, Talent Management and Employee performanc

Influence of Home and School Environment on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Performance in Siakago Division Kenya

Through the years an attempt has been made to continuously review the Kenyan education system to ensure that it serves and satisfies the aspirations of the youth as well as cater for the interests of national development. The transition from one level of education to the next is characterized by competitive national examinations, which are sat at the end of each cycle of the educational system. The KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations are done at the forth form of secondary school education. (Mwiria, 1991). In the colonial era, examinations were part and parcel of the restrictive machinery used by the colonial authorities to deny Africans formal education. The examination known as the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) was administered at the end of the forth year of primary school and the Kenya African Preliminary Examinations (KAPE), for those who wished to join secondary school. As eliminating devices, these examinations were very successful. Out of classes of thirty and more, it was not unusual to see only one or two students pass and qualify to proceed to the next level. The performance by African candidates in other examinations such as the secondary school examination was also fairly discouraging as many did not pass. (Mwiria,1991) Failure in examinations greatly slowed the growth of African secondary school education. Thus until 1940, there were only two secondary schools for Africans -the Alliance High School and St. John Kabaa, started in 1926 and 1930 respectively (Kivuitu and Chenge, 2004). By 1945 there were only four secondary schools for Africans. While it is difficult to argue against the contention that in the absence of other devices, which may be perceived by the public to be fairer than selection examinations, examinations are by far the most objective mechanism of selecting those who proceed to the next level of schooling or receive given societal rewards. The grading for the KCSE examinations is on the 12-point grade A to E. See Table 1.1 on Grade Point Average. The highest scorer is awarded grade A while the lowest acquires grade E

An Investigation of Factors Affecting Implementation of Strategic Plans on Registered Non-Govermental Organizations Located at Imenti North District

Strategy implementation skills are not easily mastered, unfortunately. In fact, virtually all managers find implementation the most difficult aspect of their jobs- more difficult than strategy formulation. Managers themselves report that less than half the plans resulting from these efforts are ever implemented. The ability to implement strategies is one of the most valuable of all managerial skills (Higgins, 2004). Non Governmental Organizations are not an exception. In fact, implementation of the planned strategies is one of their major challenges towards achieving their objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate on the factors affecting implementation of strategic plans in the registered Non-Government Organization located at Imenti North District. The objectives of the study were (a) To find out if organization structure influences implementation of strategies in the registered NGO’s located at Imenti North District (b)to establish if organization culture influences implementation of the strategies in the registered NGO’s located at Imenti North District, (c)to determine if organizational leadership influences implementation of strategies in the registered NGO’s located at Imenti North District and to establish if training and reward influences implementation of strategies in the registered NGO’s located at Imenti North District. The researcher used a survey research design, with a target population of 94 employees in total. From the target population the researcher stratified each organization as a stratum on itself. Then, the researcher collected a sample of 40% from each stratum by a method of simple random sampling. The selected sample was issued with a questionnaire that had both open-ended questions that allowed more information and views of the respondents and closed ended questions  that ensured the respondents are on track of the relevant information. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics and so frequencies were determined and presented in form of tables and figures. KEYWORDS: Strategic Plans and Non-Governmental Organization

Analysis of Marketing Communication Tools and Sales Performance in Business Organizations in Kenya. A Case of Public Service Bus Companies in Mombasa.

Marketing communication tools are a fundamental part of a company’s marketing efforts and they include all the messages and media used to communicate with the target market with the intention of increasing product sales. This research project focussed on the analysis of marketing communication tools and sales performance in business organizations. It focussed on the case of public service bus companies operating in Mombasa with a fleet of ten (10) or more buses. It was conducted between March 2014 and June 2014. The study aimed to determine the effects of Advertising, to evaluate the effects of sales promotions, to examine the effects of personal selling and to analyse the effects of Public Relations on the Sales performance of Public service bus companies in Mombasa. It relied on primary and secondary sources of data to provide insights that helped to answer the research questions. The study was based on the Diffusion of innovations theory and The Hierarchy of effects model as its theoretical frameworks. The Descriptive research design was used and Data was collected through personally administered questionnaires. The target population was twenty one (21) bus companies operating in Mombasa and respondents were their Marketing and operational managers. A census of the target population was done and data analysis of the data collected by questionnaires was done using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis was used to describe the findings after which presentation was done using tables and pie charts. Findings showed there is a positive relationship between Advertising budgets and ticket sales because an increase in Advertising budgets led to an increase in ticket sales. The respondents strongly agreed that Advertising and Sales promotions affect the sales performance of the bus companies in Mombasa to a very great extent, Personal selling moderately affects the sales performance while Public Relations was found to have the lowest effect on the sales performance. The study concluded that Advertising and Sales Promotion affect sales performance of the bus companies the most, Personal selling affects sales to  a moderate extent while Public Relations has a very low impact on the sales performance of bus companies in Mombasa. The study recommended that the bus companies should develop creative Adverts that emphasise the benefits or unique selling points of the companies’ offers as well as widening the scope of the media used while Sales Promotions should only be used when there is a decline in demand. For personal selling, company employees who deal with customers should be trained in aspects of customer service to affect customer interactions and sales positively. The bus companies should also participate more in Public Relations activities such as Exhibitions and open days to enhance public awareness of the companies and their services or offers. KEYWORDS: Marketing Communication Tools. Sales Performance and Public Bus Servic

Implementing patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) in palliative care - users' cry for help

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) plays an increasingly important role in palliative care. A variety of measures exists and is used in clinical care, audit and research. However, little is known about professionals' views using these measures. The aim of this study is to describe the use and experiences of palliative care professionals with outcome measures.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A web-based online survey was conducted in Europe and Africa. Professionals working in clinical care, audit and research in palliative care were invited to the survey via national palliative care associations and various databases. Invitation e-mails were sent with a link to the questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall participation rate 42% (663/1592), overall completion rate 59% (392/663). The majority of respondents were female (63.4%), mean age 46 years (SD 9). 68.1% respondents from Europe and 73.3% from Africa had experiences with outcome measures in palliative care. Non-users reported time constraints, burden, lack of training and guidance as main reasons. In clinical care/audit, assessment of patients' situation, monitoring changes and evaluation of services were main reasons for use. Choice of OMs for research was influenced by validity of the instrument in palliative care and comparability with international literature. Main problems were related to patient characteristics, staff, and outcome measures. Participants expressed the need for more guidance and training in the use of PROMs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Professionals need more support for the use and implementation of PROMs in clinical practice and research through training and guidance in order to improve patient care.</p

Role of Sirtuins in Modulating Neurodegeneration of the Enteric Nervous System and Central Nervous System.

Neurodegeneration of the central and enteric nervous systems is a common feature of aging and aging-related diseases, and is accelerated in individuals with metabolic dysfunction including obesity and diabetes. The molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in both the CNS and ENS are overlapping. Sirtuins are an important family of histone deacetylases that are important for genome stability, cellular response to stress, and nutrient and hormone sensing. They are activated by calorie restriction (CR) and by the coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). Sirtuins, specifically the nuclear SIRT1 and mitochondrial SIRT3, have been shown to have predominantly neuroprotective roles in the CNS while the cytoplasmic sirtuin, SIRT2 is largely associated with neurodegeneration. A systematic study of sirtuins in the ENS and their effect on enteric neuronal growth and survival has not been conducted. Recent studies, however, also link sirtuins with important hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, melatonin, and serotonin which influence many important processes including satiety, mood, circadian rhythm, and gut homeostasis. In this review, we address emerging roles of sirtuins in modulating the metabolic challenges from aging, obesity, and diabetes that lead to neurodegeneration in the ENS and CNS. We also highlight a novel role for sirtuins along the microbiota-gut-brain axis in modulating neurodegeneration

Heritability of Malaria in Africa

BACKGROUND: While many individual genes have been identified that confer protection against malaria, the overall impact of host genetics on malarial risk remains unknown. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We have used pedigree-based genetic variance component analysis to determine the relative contributions of genetic and other factors to the variability in incidence of malaria and other infectious diseases in two cohorts of children living on the coast of Kenya. In the first, we monitored the incidence of mild clinical malaria and other febrile diseases through active surveillance of 640 children 10 y old or younger, living in 77 different households for an average of 2.7 y. In the second, we recorded hospital admissions with malaria and other infectious diseases in a birth cohort of 2,914 children for an average of 4.1 y. Mean annual incidence rates for mild and hospital-admitted malaria were 1.6 and 0.054 episodes per person per year, respectively. Twenty-four percent and 25% of the total variation in these outcomes was explained by additively acting host genes, and household explained a further 29% and 14%, respectively. The haemoglobin S gene explained only 2% of the total variation. For nonmalarial infections, additive genetics explained 39% and 13% of the variability in fevers and hospital-admitted infections, while household explained a further 9% and 30%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Genetic and unidentified household factors each accounted for around one quarter of the total variability in malaria incidence in our study population. The genetic effect was well beyond that explained by the anticipated effects of the haemoglobinopathies alone, suggesting the existence of many protective genes, each individually resulting in small population effects. While studying these genes may well provide insights into pathogenesis and resistance in human malaria, identifying and tackling the household effects must be the more efficient route to reducing the burden of disease in malaria-endemic areas