Influence of Principals’ Perception of Computers on Their Use in Administration of Public Secondary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya

This paper is a report of a study carried out to establish the relationship that existed between principals’ Perception towards computer application and the actual computer use by principals in public secondary schools in Kiambu County. Computer use in schools administration is a contemporary issue in the improvement of quality leadership in schools. The study was triggered by the need for effective leadership in schools which would lead to improved academic performance in Kiambu County, a county surrounding the Kenyan capital city of Nairobi.. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The target population for this study was 307 principals of public secondary schools in Kiambu County. The study sample comprised of 205 principals which translated to 67% of the target population. Simple randomand purposive sampling techniques were used in the selection of the respondents. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Relationship between the two variables under study was established by use of spearman rho. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi- square test of independence through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to test the null hypotheses. The study found out that principal’s attitude towards use of computers influenced the use of computers among school principals. The study recommended that the MOE in collaboration TSC to mount regular ICT workshops to sensitize school principals on the need to use computers in school administration with a view of changing their attitudes towards computer use

Publicity of Livestock Training Institutes in Kenya

Educational publicity is undertaken to give the public accurate and complete understanding of Education Institutions. Publicizing the Livestock Training Institutes (LTIs) has been an annual event since the inception of Training frontline Agricultural Extension staff in Post Independent Kenya. The responsibilities of the publicity have cost implications. This study was prompted by the practical concern of finding a cost effective way of publicizing the Livestock Training Institutes of the State Department of Livestock more efficiently in the current Constitutional set up of devolved functions of the Counties, and the Mandate of the LTIs carrying out a national function as Educational Institutions. The objectives of the study were to find out the most effective means of publicity in the counties, to establish if there was a gender difference in relation to the means of publicity and to establish the students motivation in undertaking the AHITI course. Survey design was adopted and all 630 students in the LTIs responded to a questionnaires ensuring that even the marginalized counties with very few students participated in the study. The survey established that the most popular publicity channel differed by county, with majority of the students pointing out that information from former students and parents were the most effective means of publicity.  Further, the findings indicated that there was a relationship between gender and effective  publicity channels between the Counties. A big group of the LTI students (45%) intended to go into self-employment while minority (24%) intended to seek gainful employment. Keywords: Educational Publicity, Student Career Guidance, Livestock Training Institutes

Aspects determining the risk of pesticides to wild bees: risk profiles for focal crops on three continents

In order to conduct a proper risk assessment of pesticides to bees, information is needed in three areas: the toxicity of the pesticide;the probability of bee exposure to that pesticide; andthe population dynamics of the bee species in question.Information was collected on such factors affecting pesticide risk to (primarily wild) bees in several crops in Brazil, Kenya and The Netherlands. These data were used to construct ‘risk profiles’ of pesticide use for bees in the studied cropping systems. Data gaps were identified and potential risks of pesticides to bees were compared between the crops. Initially, risk profiling aims to better identify gaps in our present knowledge. In the longer term, the established risk profiles may provide structured inputs into risk assessment models for wild and managed bees, and lead to recommendations for specific risk mitigation measures. Keywords: pesticide, exposure, risk, wild bees, risk profil

Personal Characteristics and Career Progression of Tutors in Primary Teacher Colleges in Kenya

Abstract This study investigated the effect of tutors ' personal characteristics (age, qualification, gender, caree

The Antinociceptive Effects of Hydrazinocurcumin

Background Analgesics in clinical used have many side effects and are not always effective. Hence need for safer and more effective agents. Hydrazinocurcumin is an azole derivative of the natural product curcumin. It is reported to have antiangiogenic, antiplasmodial and cytotoxic activities. Objective: The antinociceptive activity of hydrazinocurcumin was evaluated. Methodology: Hydrazinocurcumin was synthesized by reacting curcumin with hydrazine at room temperature and a yield of 81 % was obtained. It was investigated for in vivo antinociceptive activity using the acetic acid induced-writhing test while central antinociceptive activity was investigated using the hot plate method. Results: Hydrazinocurcumin (22.4mg/kg) reduced acetic acid induced writhing by 42.7%. Its activity was comparable to that of sodium salicylate (50mg/kg). It did not increase reaction times of mice on the hot plate after 30 minutes of administration but increased the reaction time after 60 minutes. Discussion: The findings suggest that hydrazinocurcmin has peripheral and delayed centrally mediated antinociceptive activity. Conclusion: Hydrazinocurcumin may be a potential lead compound for agents with analgesic effects. Keywords: hydrazinocurcumin, antinociceptive, hot plate method, acetic acid writhing tes

Guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya

This document describes guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya. The document provides guidance for the assessment of a limited number of aspects that are part of evaluation of a pest control product registration dossier. It should therefore not be considered as a complete pesticide evaluation manual, though it is intended to contribute to a future complete pest control product evaluation manual for Kenya. The guidance should be read together with an im plementation report which contains stepping stones for further development.The guidance was developed within the Pesticide management initiative East African Region: Kenya (PEAR -Kenya) project. The project ran in the period 2016 – 2019 and was sponsored and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nairobi.The guidance addresses various aspects of a pest control product evaluation covering low risk pest control products, microbial pest control product, chemical pest control products and equivalence determination. The evaluation procedures developed covers a fast-track pathway for low risk products. For microbial products the procedure focusses on identification, human pathology and infectiveness and hazard and risk assessments for metabolites of potential concern. For chemical products the procedure includes methods for human health and pollinator risk assessments. The evaluation process of new pest control products can be speeded up if the active ingredient or active agent of a new product proves to be equivalent to an already registered product

Implementation of guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya

This document describes suggestions for further steps that can be taken with regard to the evaluation of pest control products in Kenya. The document should be read together with the document describing proposed guidance on dossier evaluation for the registration of pest control products in Kenya and as such both contribute to a future complete pesticide evaluation manual for Kenya.Both documents were developed within the Pesticide management initiative East African Region: Kenya (PEAR -Kenya) project. The project ran in the period 2016 – 2019 and was sponsored and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nairobi.This document is intended to feed into discussions on further development of a complete pesticide evaluation manual for Kenya using the guidance mentioned as a starting point. Reflections on some of the methods proposed and also information on what is needed to implement the guidance developed in the project are provided. Additionally, suggestions for developing a framework for the risk assessment of aquatic organisms are given