Of tissue blocks and higher anatomy: A typical day in the life of a BSc (Anatomy) student

No Abstrac

Clinical Outcomes of Colorectal Cancer in Kenya

Background The incidence of colorectal cancer in Africa is increasing. True data on clinical outcomes of the disease is hampered by follow up challenges. Method Follow up data of 233 patients treated for colorectal cancer between 2005 and 2010 at various Nairobi hospitals were evaluated. The primary outcome was mortality while secondary outcomes included recurrence rates, time to recurrence and the patient, disease and treatment factors associated with mortality and recurrence. Kaplan Meir charts were charted for survival trends. Results Half of the lesions were located in the rectum. There was no relationship between the sub-site location and recurrence and mortality. The mean follow-up period was 15.9 months. Overall recurrency and mortality rates were 37.5% and 29.4% respectively. Most recurrences occurred within one year of surgery. Recurrence was not influenced by age, gender, sub-site, chemotherapy receipt or presence of comorbidity. Factors significantly associated with mortality included the male gender ( p 0.04), presence of co-morbidity (p 0.029), recurrence (p 0.001), curative intent (p 0.01), disease stage (p 0.036) and receipt of chemotherapy ( p< 0.01). Conclusion Follow up of colorectal cancer patients is still challenging. The mortality and recurrence rates are high for the short follow up periods. Further studies are needed to explore the determinants of both survival and recurrences, especially with longer follow ups

GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND PERFORMANCE OF ISO 14001 CERTIFIED MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN EAST AFRICA

Increasing levels of environmental degradation by manufacturing firms hasresulted in heterogeneous pressures from various organizational groups on the need for themto conduct environmentally friendly operations. A viable option for these firms has been theimplementation of green supply chain practices. The key concern however is whether theimplementing these practices actually lead to improved performance. The main objective ofthis study therefore was to examine the relationship between the implementation of GSCMpractices and performance of ISO 14001 certified firms in East Africa. Through the use ofpositivist research paradigm and descriptive cross-sectional research design, primary datawas collected from persons in charge of environmental issues in ISO 14001 manufacturingfirms in East Africa. Based on the objective, the study establishes a statistically significantpositive direct relationship between implementation of GSCM practices and organizationalperformance. The study therefore confirms existence of a positive link between GSCMpractices and organizational performance thus helping to reduce the uncertainty which hasarisen out of contradictory findings from past studies on whether it is beneficial to pursuethese practices. The results support the natural resource based view that GSCM practicesaffords the firm an opportunity for competitive advantage and performance improvementthrough unique causally ambiguous and socially complex resources. The study recommendsthat manufacturing firms should implement environmentally sound practices in all phases ofthe supply chain, beginning with procurement of raw materials through to design,manufacture, packaging, distribution and end of life disposal of their products. Regulatorscan use the findings to scale up the level of implementation of GSCM practices by enforcingstricter environmental legislation and giving incentives to firms that have alreadyimplemented these practices. The findings also provide future researchers’ with a usefulconceptual and methodological reference to pursue further studies in this under-studiedGSCM area especially in the African context

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING AS A MEDIATOR OF THE INFLUENCE OF TACIT KNOWLEDGE ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: LEARNING FROM ICT SERVICE PROVIDERS IN NAIROBI

This study sought to determine how tacit knowledge interplays with organizational learning to enhance the competiveness of ICT content service providers in Nairobi. Many scholars, building on the resource- and knowledge-based theories of strategic management theory, have postulated that tacit knowledge is a valuable source of competitive advantage. However, there appear to be no empirical studies that have explicitly tested this theory in the Kenyan context. The current theory fills this gap. The study followed a post-positivist critical realism philosophical orientation and used a cross-sectional survey design approach. Accordingly, data was elicited from study participants using a self-administered survey instrument. The population for the study was the ICT content service providers licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), a fertile ground for ICT knowledge creation and dissemination. Out of the target population of 197 ICT content service providers licensed by the CAK, 135 firms provided valid responses to the survey. The study showed that organizational learning was a strong mediator of the influence of tacit knowledge on competitive advantage. The study is an additional building block in strategic management theories that show the importance of continuous enhancement of the productive knowledge of individuals as a driver of competitive advantage for an organization, particularly the Knowledge-Based View and Organizational Learning Theory. The insights from the study will motivate policy makers and strategic management practitioners to embrace and promote tacit knowledge and organizational learning practices in their respective organizations