Motivating Factors to the Engagement of Kenyan Personalities in Communication Development for Societal Benefit

The development of any community is based on the communication that gives its people the ability to conceive of a desired change, imagine how to change it and make a choice to change. This paper is an analysis of the factors that motivated various Kenyan personalities to communicate in a way that could influence others to engage in beneficial and developmental actions for the community. The paper is based on the experiences of these individuals. The study used a qualitative research design to select ten Kenyans to share their life stories. In-depth interviews were used to collect data. Analysis focused on participants’ narratives, and especially those parts of their stories that responded to the question on their motivation to act for the benefit of others. From the findings, the participants were continually critical of their lives and that led them to continuously search for solutions. That left them with a sense of inner security that could have given the freedom to be authentic and ready to learn and share in the on-going social construction of reality that resulted in transformation. It was found out that a sense of self, curiosity, questioning, trusting, caring and seeing new possibilities were positive influencers to community engagement leading to both personal and national development. Communication was key in their participation thus the paper concludes that communicative development is a combination of several factors including; family background, love of God and people, and interpersonal communication skills including speaking more than one language. The study recommends promotion of economic equity, strengthening family ties that incorporate ideals and aspirations which would inculcate in people unique, curious, and continuous learning with deep love for God and people. Keywords: Motivation, Communication, Participate, Community development, Engagement, Kenyan

Adoption of soil organic carbon-enhancing practices: A case of two watershed sites in Ethiopia.

This study aimed at identifying the factors that determine the decision to adopt and the intensity of adoption of soil organic carbon (SOC)-enhancing practices using two watershed sites in Ethiopia: Yiser (Amhara region) and Azugashube (Southern region). The study used survey data collected from 379 sample households drawn from four Kebele/village administrations at each watershed site. Multivariate and ordinary least squares regressions were used to identify the factors that determine the decision to adopt the SOC-enhancing practices and the factors that determine the extent of adoption of these practices, respectively. The study classified these various practices into three classes: soil and water conservation, agronomic, and agroforestry SOC-enhancing practices. We find that the decision to adopt soil and water conservation practices is negatively related to both the decision to adopt agronomic and to adopt agroforestry SOC-enhancing practices. On the contrary, we find that the decision to adopt agronomic and agroforestry practices is complementary. The study also identified diverse agroecological, farming system, institutional, and household characteristics that determine the decision to adopt and the intensity of adoption of the three SOCenhancing practices. Among the different variables, the study found location as a strong determinant of the type and intensity of adoption of the SOC practices

Firm investment behavior in Kenya

To promote growth manufacturing industry in Kenya, the government must address various chal-lenges that include low level of investment. But this first require that the policy makers to have under-standing of firm‟s investment behavior to inform possible policy interventions. This paper uses modest panel data analysis to explain how interest rate, firm size, cash flow, uncertainty and locality of a firm impact on firm‟s investment in Kenya. The study finds that the cash flow has a significant influence on investment and relatively smaller firms invest proporionally more than larger firms. The study thus recommends policy shift towards stimulating investment in small firms, relative to large firms and rolling out financing models to build capacity in emerging firms. Research paper Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ng‟ang‟a, P. (2015). “Firm investment behavior in Kenya”, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 81–104

Early Childhood caries in Moshi, Tanzania

Objective: To determine the prevalence, severity and pattern of early childhood caries (ECC) in Moshi Municipality, Tanzania. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Moshi Municipality, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. Subjects: Three hundred and seventy two randomly selected children aged three to five years (157 males and 215 females) in 2008. Results: Overall caries prevalence was 30.1% with no significant gender difference (p>0.05). The severe form of ECC that attacks primary maxillary incisors occurred in 21.2% of the children. The mean dmft score was 0.95 (SD ± 1.81). The decay component was 0.87 (SD± 1.71), whereas the missing component was 0.08 (SD ±0.41). There was no significant gender difference in the mean dmft scores (p>0.05). Among the posterior teeth, mandibular last molars had the highest caries prevalence (12.4%) and for the anterior teeth, the maxillary central incisors had the highest caries prevalence (21%). Majority of the affected children had three or less teeth affected. The sample mean plaque score was 0.57 (SD ±0.46) with no statistical gender difference (p>0.05). A total of 174 (46.8%) parents/guardians responded to the questionnaire. Caries risk and experience was significantly higher in children with guardians and in children with history of falling asleep with the breast in the mouth respectively (p<0.05). Conclusion: Most of the affected children had ECC in the anterior and posterior segments. In the anterior segments, the maxillary teeth were affected more frequently than the mandibular teeth, while in the posterior segments the mandibular teeth were more frequently involved than the maxillary teeth. Significantly higher caries prevalence was found in children under the care of the guardians, children who had slept with breast in the mouth and those with higher sugar moments as the result of snacking.East African Medical Journal Vol. 87 No. 7 July 201

Effects of Macroeconomic Factors on Foreign Direct Investment in Kenya

This study examined the effects of macroeconomic factors on foreign direct investment in Kenya (FDI). The study used four macroeconomic variables namely foreign exchange rates, tax rates, inflation rates, interest rates and balance of payment for the period 1970 to 2010. The study used a multiple linear regression analysis with the FDI inflows as the dependent variable and the macroeconomic factors as the independent variables. The study found a positive relationship between FDI and interest rates as well as balance of payments while inflation and tax rate had negative relationship with FDI. The study recommended that the government should promote a stable macroeconomic environment in the country to enhance FDI. Keywords: Interest rate, Inflation rate, Exchange rate, Tax rate, Balance of Payments, Foreign Direct Investment. DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-3-0

Allergens associated with edible insects unlikely to cause adverse health effects to consumers

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Drivers of Health Insurance Coverage in Low Income Settlements: A Case of Kibera Informal Settlement, Nairobi County, Kenya

Insurance is critical for any country's economic growth and development to be sustainable. In rural areas of Kenya, among the illiterate, unemployed, poor, and vulnerable in society, health insurance adoption is extremely low. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence health insurance uptake among low-income populations in Kibera, Nairobi County. Data was collected through semi structured questionnaires administered to households located in Kibera. Simple random sampling was adopted in selecting 399 respondents. In estimation, the study employed binary Probit regression model where health insurance ownership was used as the dependent variable while age, gender, marital status, household size, school attainment, occupation, income levels, religion, cultural beliefs, frequency of hospital visits, cost of premiums and also pre-existing illness were used as the independent variables. Results showed that only 27.6 percent of the respondents had health insurance coverage. Following model estimation, the findings revealed that occupation, income levels, and religion significantly influence health insurance ownership among low-income populations in Kibera, Nairobi. Public health insurance cover was the most owned type of health insurance scheme. Recommendations were for the ministry of health and other relevant stakeholders to raise knowledge on the various health insurance options available and improve flexibility of the products in order to drive insurance uptake. In addition, national and county governments need to develop programmes and policies that could empower households in the informal settlements. Further, it is necessary for the government to subsidize the cost of acquiring public health insurance covers since this would encourage uptake among low-income families. Lastly, the ministry of health should work in conjunction with various religious denominations to campaign for uptake of health insurance among the poor

Factors Influencing Implementation of Intergrated Financial Management Information System in Kenya Government Ministries

The main purpose of the study was to establish factors influencing implementation of intergrated financial management information system in Kenya government ministries. Establishment of an IFMIS has become an important benchmark for the country’s budget reform agenda often regarded as a precondition for achieving effective management of budgetary resources. The study was carried out in Ministry of Finance, Meru County.  It covered all the management employees’ cadres. There are 24 management levels employees in the whole county who includes the district accountants, the internal auditors, and the vote book controllers. The study adopted descriptive research design. The researcher applied correlation analysis to analyze the collected data generated by using SPSS, which provided a correlation coefficient between the variables. Inadequate funding was highlighted as challenge that is impeding the implementation of IFMIS. The study found that the cost of implementation was a challenge. It is therefore recommended that the ministry of finance should increase the budget for IFMIS implementation in order to roll out the program in all government ministries. Keywords: Integrated financial management information system, Implementation Cost, Organization Commitment, Management Support, Technology