Climate change and tourism adaptation: literature review

Purpose – This paper reviews published English literature on tourism adaptation to climate change. Climate change remains a challenge in the 21st centaury and beyond. Climate sensitive industries like tourism are vulnerable to climate change. It is for this reason that tourism researchers have continued to explore the relationship between tourism and climate change and further explored response strategies among tourism stakeholders. Tourism research on climate change adaptation may be traces way back in the 1960s. However, focused research on climate change and tourism has emerged in the last 15 years. Design – This review maps tourism adaptation knowledge domains between early 1960s and 2014. Methodology – This paper rely on secondary English published tourism literature to aid the review Findings – Findings indicate that tourism adaptation literature have advanced under five thematic areas prior 2010 to include: Business adaptation; Consumer adaptation, Destination Adaptation; adaptation Policy and; Frameworks for adaptation. However, after 2010 a new theme on ‘sustainable adaptation’ is tourism has emerged and it is gaining attention among tourism researchers Originality – The originality of this paper is that the paper is the first paper in tourism that has identified sustainable adaptation as a new emerging thematic area in tourism and climate change adaptation research. The paper notes an emergence of interest on sustainable adaptation knowledge domain despite lack of clarity on what is sustainable adaptation within tourism research. It is therefore important for researchers to amicably define the term sustainable adaptation to enable comparative studies and discourse in the area

Will Small-Scale Dairy Producers in Kenya Disappear Due to Economies of Scale in Production?

There is growing policy concern regarding the competitiveness of small-scale livestock production in the wake of the contemporary livestock revolution in many developing countries. In Kenya, this debate has focused on economies of scale and the undue influence of policy distortions on promoting the scaling up of dairy farms. This paper seeks to investigate economies of scale in Kenyan dairy in terms of relative profit efficiency at different levels of output, and identify policy and technology options to help small-scale farmers develop solutions to the challenges of competition. Data were collected from 204 dairy producers of different farm sizes in rural Kiambu and Thika, and urban Nairobi districts and a stochastic frontier model approach was used to analyze the determinants of profitability and inefficiency. Unit profitability per farm ranged between US$0.13 - US$0.16 per liter of milk with no significant variation across scales of farm. However, at all given levels of scale of farm, inefficiency significantly contributed to variability in profitability across farms. Scale had no significant effect on efficiency, confirming the relative competitiveness of small-scale dairy producers. Dairy farmers with commercial poultry achieved higher relative profit efficiency as poultry waste was fed to cattle. Rural location relative to Nairobi also increased efficiency. Linking rural areas and major market centre with good roads, strengthening of farmers' co-operative societies and exploring use of cheaper raw materials in the manufacture of concentrate feeds may strengthen the competitive position small dairy farms versus large ones.Dairy Production, Stochastic Production Frontier, Efficiency, Profitability, Livestock Production/Industries, C21, Q12,

Challenges and Opportunities to Sustainable Sport Tourism Events: Insights from an Urban Host City

Sports tourism is viewed as an ideal tool for supporting the livelihood of the host communities in developing countries. As an alternative way of involving the host community in tourism activities, sports tourism aims to enable the hosts to earn income from tourism. Sports tourism events have been hosted in the country for decades but still facing challenges that has hauled its growth process. This article will shade light on the challenges and opportunities of hosting sports tourism in Nairobi as a way of enhancing sustainable tourism development. A cross-sectional research design is used in the study, 404 respondents form the sample size of the study.  Questionnaires and interviews are used to collect data from informants in three stadia that frequently host   sports tourism events. Descriptive, thematic analysis and inferential statistics are used for data analysis. Findings indicate that major challenges facing the hosting of sports tourism event are; poor planning, policy issues and security. Results also show that the main opportunities for sports tourism events are boosting of domestic tourism, diversification of tourism products and marketing of host cities. Key recommendations are made to policy makers to craft policies that will spur sustainable sports tourism development. Key words Sports Tourism Events, Challenges, Opportunities, Sustainable, and community DOI: 10.7176/JTHS/55-06 Publication date:March 31st 202

Linking Ambidextrous Learning with Organizational Performance: Critical Review of Literature and a Research Agenda

Modern organizations are confronted with the dilemma of ensuring effectiveness and efficiency in management of current operations while at the same time adapting to the dynamics of business environment for future viability. Achieving a balance in this paradigm requires organizations to be ambidextrous. Research on ambidexterity is inconclusive with studies giving divergent and even contradictory results particularly on the configuration and conceptualization of the dimensions of ambidextrous learning and their effect on organizational performance. This paper, therefore, makes a critical review of literature on the linkage between ambidextrous learning and organizational performance and proposes a conceptual framework and research methodology for future research. Keywords: Ambidextrous learning, employee ambidexterity, exploitative learning, exploratory learning, innovative work behaviour, environmental dynamism, organizational performance

SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT USING INTEGRATED HOUSEHOLD AND GIS DATA FROM SMALLHOLDER KENYAN FARMS

Although soil fertility is recognized as a primary constraint to agricultural production in developing countries, use of fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa is declining. Smallholder farmers still rely heavily on livestock manure for soil fertility management. To explore the determinants of soil fertility management practices, including both the use of cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer, data are used from a sample of 3,330 geo-referenced farm households across Central and Western Kenya. A bivariate probit model is applied to jointly examine the use of the two technologies. Particular attention is given to measures of location related to market access and agroclimate, which in the adoption literature have typically been addressed using crude proxies. To avoid such proxies, GIS-derived variables are integrated into the household decision model. Their use also allows the spatial prediction of uptake based on parameter estimates. The results show clearly the derived-demand nature of soil fertility services, based on markets for farm outputs. They also illustrate that supply of manure for soil fertility amendments is conditioned by demand for livestock products, especially milk. The integration of GIS-derived variables is shown to better estimate the effects of location than the usual measures employed, and offers scope to wider use in technology adoption research.spatial analysis, soil fertility, market access, technology adoption., Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Q12, Q16,

The Effect of Commercial Bank Lending Interest Rate on the Performance of the Residential Property Market in Kenya

The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of commercial bank lending interest rates on the performance of the residential property market in Kenya. Swelling of the residential property prices in Kenya vis a vis the commercial bank lending interest rates has ignited concerns about the sustainability of residential property market in Kenya. This study adopted a positivist philosophical attitude using causal research design. The study used secondary data from first quarter of 2005 to fourth quarter of 2018. The study conducted several test statistics and diagnostic tests in order to achieve the most optimal solution. Vector error correction model and auto-regressive distributed lag model were employed to test the hypothesis in the short run and long run respectively. The results found out that commercial bank lending interest rate had a negative effect on performance of residential properties in Kenya in both the short run and long run in line with loanable fund theory. The study has narrowed down the research gap brought about by the conflicting emprirical, theoretical and conceptual literature with regard to the effect of commercial bank lending interest rate on performance of residential property market in Kenya. To investor, the study recommends that need to negotiate for favorable loan terms especially interest rate given to them and/or their potential customers as it ultimatly influences their returns in the residential property market in Kenya both in the short run and long run

STUDENTS’ ENTRY BEHAVIOUR AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: CASE OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MACHAKOS COUNTY, KENYA

Quality education is indicated by learner aptitude, perseverance, readiness for school, prior knowledge, barriers to learning, and demographic variables, among many others. This study sought to investigate the extent to which students' entry behavior influences students' academic achievements and also to determine the association between the learning environment and student's academic achievements in public secondary schools in Machakos County. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the target population for the study was 369 principals, 4,267 teachers, and 115,132 students. The researcher used purposive and stratified sampling techniques to extract the actual sample size for the study. The sample size was 37 principals, 390 teachers, and 397 students. Questionnaires collected data from the teachers, students, and principals. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the research tools. The validity of the instruments was ascertained through discussions with the lecturers from the department of Education of Machakos University and the supervisors. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean, mode, standard deviation, frequency tally, and percentages. Inferential statistical tools, mainly Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Regression Analysis, were also used, and inferences were made from the analysis. Findings showed that; there is no statistically significant relationship between students' entry behavior and students' academic achievement (p = .863) and that there is a statistically significant relationship between learning environment and students' academic achievement (p = .000).  Article visualizations

Prevalence of Fasciolosis in Cattle, Sheep, and Goats Slaughtered in Slaughter Slabs in Trans-Nzoia West, Kenya. and Knowledge of Livestock Handlers

Background: Fasciolosis is known globally to be an important helminthic disease of ruminants caused by liver fluke species of the genus Fasciola, and it is one of the most neglected tropical zoonotic diseases that can lead to human infection. It has the widest geographic spread of any emerging zoonotic disease, and it occurs in many countries of the world.  Objectives: The study aimed at determining the prevalence of fasciolosis in ruminants slaughtered in Trans-Nzoia West. Specific objectives were to establish the trend of fasciolosis in ruminants, ascertain the relationship between fasciolosis prevalence and rainfall patterns and assess the knowledge of meat sellers and farmers about fasciolosis. Methodology: A 5-year secondary data retrospective study was carried out in Trans-Nzoia West, Trans-Nzoia County. The study population consisted of ruminants slaughtered, meat sellers and livestock farmers.Results: A total of 104,221 cattle, sheep and goats were slaughtered in the five-year period in which 6,098 (5.85%) were infested with fasciolosis with a prevalence of 6.52%, 6.08% and 4.10% in cattle, sheep, and goats respectively. Most meat sellers (72.2%) were able to identify fasciolosis in infested livers, 88.9% reported liver flukes infestation resulted in the loss of income while 58.3% were not aware of nutrition depletion associated with fasciolosis. Of the farmers interviewed, 52.9% grazed in swampy areas, 66.7% dewormed after 3 months, 78.4% had heard about fasciolosis and 80.0% did not know the cause of fasciolosis. The majority (95.0%) were not aware of the snail species spreading liver flukes while 77.5% did not know that fasciolosis was a zoonotic disease.Conclusion: Fasciolosis was prevalent in the area and caused great economic loss to the meat sellers. Most farmers were not aware of its cause and zoonotic nature. Recommendations: Fasciolosis control should be approached from a multidisciplinary angle and farmers should be educated on it and its zoonotic nature. Keywords: Fasciolosis, Prevalence, Knowledg

Avifauna of Ishaqbini Community Conservancy in Ijara District, NE Kenya

Ishaqbini community conservancy, in the arid northern-eastern Kenya was established in 2006 by local pastoralists as a community initiative to safeguard their wildlife heritage especially the endemic Hirola Beatragus hunteri. Prior to this survey there were no known recent avifaunal surveys for the area despite the fact that the conservancy lies adjacent to the relatively well-known lower Tana River forests, an important bird area (Bennun & Njoroge 1999), as well as the East Africa coast forests endemic bird area (Stattersfield et al. 1998). In this paper we present the results of an avifaunal survey of the conservancy that includes a description of the bird assemblages in the conservancy, and an annotated account of some species of global and regional conservation concern occurring there

Effect of Acid Treatment on the Chemical Properties of Clays from Selected Sites in Murang’a and Nyeri counties, Kenya

Assessing improvement on the quality of clay has been conducted by treatment with different concentrations of hydrochloric and oxalic acid. This project intended to assess the effect of acid treatment on the elemental composition of clays from selected sites. The clays were leached using hydrochloric and oxalic acid separately at a concentration of 0.0, 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2M. The elemental composition of raw and acid-treated clays was determined using AAS. Elemental composition of the acid-treated clays, in oxide form were in the ranges of 40.80-65.16 % SiO2, 7.16 -30.33 % Al2O3, 0.33-7.62 %TiO2, 0.24-2.65 % K2O, 0.01-1.82 % MgO. The findings of this study showed that the quality of clays could be improved by acid treatment hence the clays can be used as a source of raw materials for industrial applications. Keywords: Acid-treatment, Elemental, raw materials DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/11-22-05 Publication date: November 30th 202