Employment: A Significant Indicator of Socio-Economic Upward Mobility for the Lost Boys Living in the Kansas City Area

The United States Citizenship and Immigration services (USIS) have a provision that grants refugees who enter the United States permission to work. The government policy requires adult refugees, who are eighteen years and above, get jobs within six months of resettlement. They are to be assisted by agencies specializing in resettlement aid and services to find employment so as to become self-reliant quickly. This study examines the socio-economic dynamics and processes of adjustments the South Sudanese refugees commonly known as the Lost Boys since their resettlement in 2000 in the U.S. The study argues that the resettlement process of the Lost Boys had a problem in the first place in that the Boys were resettled according to their arbitrary given ages. This had important consequences as those resettled as minors had advantages over those resettled as legal adults. The minors, who were resettled as dependents in foster families and started off without economic empowerment, were placed in schools. Those resettled as Legal adults were placed in apartments and were required to start working. This produced a clear reverse trend, in terms of acquisition of social economic capital of the minors over legal adults more than ten years since their resettlement

The Rise and Fall of the Civil Societies: Why the Push for the Right to Development in Kenya Is in Limbo

Before the end of cold war in the 1990s Kenya’s civil society was one of the most vibrant in the region. The civil society comprised of the students and university staff intelligentsia, the religious body, and the local non-governmental organizations. From the heydays of political protests and activism of the 90s, a lot of change has taken place. First, this period saw the re-introduction of multiparty politics, lobbying for defense for human rights and several other numerous political transitions. However, since the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution in 2010, the place of civil society organisations has been bogged down by numerous challenges, hampering its reasons for existence. In Kenya, like in other developing countries, the role of civil society is crucial in the quest for social justice, transparency and accountability and most importantly, push for the right to development for all (D4A). Civil society activism has often provided an objective voice to temper political extremism and demand for development. Today the civil society movement has experienced a collapse of representativeness, the rise of dogmatism and sectarianism, and the glorification of violence as a means of social change and political rhetoric. This has significantly affected the agenda of the right to development especially to the marginalized communities. This paper attempts to show how human rights defenders coming from the civil society championed for development and social change in Kenya in the 1990s and reasons they have declined in public affairs in contemporary times leading to underdevelopment in Kenya

Adoption of improved potato varieties in jeldu district, oromia region, Ethiopia: a double-hurdle model

Smallholder potato producers in Jeldu district produce potato for both home consumption and market. Adoption of improved varieties is suggested to improve and diversify farmers’ household income. This study intents to identify factors determining adoption and intensity of adoption of improved potato varieties in Jeldu district of West Shewa zone, Oromia region, Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were used. The primary data were collected from 140 sample households’ selected using two-stage random sampling techniques. Descriptive statics and double hurdle econometric model were used to analyze the data. Results indicate that sex of the household head, access to extension services, livestock ownership and farmers’ perception about the technology positively and significantly determined adoption of improved varieties in the district. In contrast, distance from the nearest market affected adoption of improved potato varieties negatively and significantly. Intensity of adoption is measured by the area of land allocated for improved potato varieties by farmers. The truncated result identified improved varieties yield perception, family size, livestock ownership and membership to agricultural cooperative influenced intensity of improved potato varieties adoption positively and significantly. Strengthening extension services to enhance farmers’ awareness about improved potato varieties infrastructure development, family planning, asset ownership and facilitating membership to cooperatives are recommended. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 9(2): 15-22, December 201

A liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of amlodipine, valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide in tablets

A simple, rapid, sensitive, specific, accurate, precise and fast high performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of antihypertensive drugs amlodipine, valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide singly or in combination was developed and validated. Separation of the analytes was achieved on a Hypersil C-18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-KH2PO4 pH 3.0- water (75:6:19 % v/v/v) delivered at 1 ml/min, UV detection at 229 nm and 40 oC column temperature. The precision of the method was demonstrated through repeatability (coefficient of variation = 0.298-0.724) as well as intermediate precision (coefficient of variation = 0.435-1.412). The detector response was linear over the 25-150 % range with R2 ≥ 0.99 for each of the three analytes. The limit of detection for hydrochlorothiazide, valsartan and amlodipine were 10.72, 21.20 and 14.45 ng, while the limits of quantification were 35.76, 71.23 and 48.16 ng, respectively. The method showed satisfactory robustness and accuracy with a recovery of 99.7-100.6 %. The method was applied in the assay of 6 commercial products containing drugs under study. The results obtained revealed quality problems among the samples analyzed.Keywords: HPLC, amlodipine, valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, antihypertensive

Treating labour as a non-commodity: the right to strike in the wake of the current employment laws and the new constitutional dispensation

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Bachelor of Laws Degree at Strathmore University Law SchoolFor a very long time, a price tag has been attached to the labour that a human person expends. An example of this commodification is slave trading from as early as the 17th century.1 Before beginning any discussion on the right to strike, it is essential for one to understand the meaning of a strike and commodification. The Employment Act defines a strike as “the cessation of work by employees acting in combination, or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of employees to continue to work, for the purpose of compelling their employer or an employers’ organization of which their employer is a member, to accede to any demand in respect of a trade dispute

Factors associated with high-risk sexual behavior among Kenyans: Implications for public health strategies and policy in combating HIV/AIDS.

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa, representing only 12% of the world population is home to nearly 23 million people, approximately 70% of all HIV positives worldwide. HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya is characterized by high-risk sexual behavior (HRSB) such as lack of condom use, multiple sexual partners, and prostitution. Objective: The study measures the associations between HRSB, HIV testing, and attitudes/stigma with variables measuring HIV/AIDS, psychosocial, demographic and, economic elements, and behaviors. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey-2003 were used for this study. Data were weighted for stratum and primary sampling units attaining linearized standard errors ?robustness.? Parametric testing using univariate and multivariate logistic regression was performed. Stata version 11 was utilized for all analyses with statistical significance set at p<0.05. A sample size of 11,746 [8,171 (70%) women and 3,575 (30%) men] was retained for the analysis. For analysis involving HIV, three datasets representing women, men and HIV test results were merged together with a sample size of 6,190 [3,273 (53%) women and 2,917 (47%) men]. Both included women aged between 15-49 years (reproductive age) and men aged 15-54 years. Findings: HIV prevalence was 7% in Kenya [women (9%) and men (5%)]. Prevalence of negative attitudes/stigma towards HIV/AIDS and alcohol consumption among women and men in urban areas was 6%, p<0.01 and 30%, p<0.05 respectively. Prevalence of STDs and HIV tests among women and men was 8%, p<0.01 and 9%, p<0.001 respectively. Furthermore, the prevalence of uncircumcised men and HIV positive test was 48%, p<0.001. Women who consumed alcohol and resided in urban areas were at lower odds (OR = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.39-1.05, p=0.079) of having negative attitudes/stigma towards sex education on condoms in schools. In addition, the odds of men who resided in rural areas and consumed alcohol were notably high for having negative attitudes/stigma towards HIV/AIDS (OR = 1.31, 95%CI: 1.05-1.63, p<0.05). Also, men had higher odds (OR = 1.68, 95%CI: 1.39-2.04, p<0.001) and (OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.19-1.69, p<0.001) of having negative attitudes towards women for husband controlling attitudes and sexual attitudes respectively compared to those who did not. For wealth, in unadjusted results, the odds of richest men reporting HRSB were greater (OR = 1.08, 95%CI: 1.00-1.15, p<0.05) compared to the poorest; however, for women, the odds were lower (OR = 0.94, 95%CI: 0.89-0.99, p<0.05). For both women and men, the odds of testing positive for HIV was notably higher for those with an STD(s) (OR = 3.05, 95%CI: 1.34-6.96, p<0.01) and (OR = 2.01, 95%CI: 0.92-4.40, p=0.082) respectively. This was (OR = 1.69, 95%CI: 1.00-2.86, p<0.05) among women who were physically abused with a weapon and (unadjusted OR = 1.63, 95%CI: 1.08-2.47, p<0.05) for emotional abuse respectively, and (OR = 4.23, 95%CI: 2.51-7.13, p<0.001) among men who were uncircumcised. Conclusion: The findings suggest that HIV is prevalent in Kenya with intertwined complexities mainly driven by cultural and socioeconomic diversity. Implications for policy: Integration of services and other intervention programs with HIV/AIDS testing can reduce HIV incidence in Kenya. Policy recommendations: Eliciting key stakeholder support as equal partners in HIV/AIDS programs is critical. HIV/AIDS program appropriateness will instill ownership for such programs

Quality Performance of Drugs Analyzed in the Drug Analysis and Research Unit (DARU) during the Period 2006-2010

During the period 2006-2010, the Drug Analysis and Research Unit analyzed 583 samples. The samples comprised 50.6% local and 49.4% imported products. Samples were subjected to compendial or in-house specifications. The failure rate was 12.2% for local products and 14.2% for imports.  Antibacterial products recorded the highest failure rate (21.6%) while  anticancers and drugs acting on the gastrointestinal, respiratory and  reproductive systems all passed in the tests performed. The failure rate for antiprotozoals, antimalarials, antifungals, anthelminthics and analgesics was 14.3%, 12.5%, 11.8%, 8.9% and 11.5%, respectively.Key words: DARU, drug product, assay, dissolution, antimicrobial, antimalaria

Oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices as risk factors for breast and cervical cancers: a systematic review

Breast and cervical cancers have commandingly become major public health threats across the world. While studies have reported on the nexus between the use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and intrauterine devices (IUDs) as risk factors for breast and cervical cancers, there exists a paucity of explicit data on the nature of the association. Authors report the effect of oral contraceptives and the use of IUDs on the development of breast and cervical cancers. Several databases (Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and PubMed) were searched using well-specified criteria and a total of 15 papers selected. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and studies that used cross-sectional designs were excluded from the review. Three and twelve cohort and case-control studies were reviewed respectively. Four of these studies reported an increased association between oral contraceptives and the risk of cervical cancer while nine showed positive correlation between oral contraceptives and risk of breast cancer. One study showed association between levonogestrel IUDs and risk of breast cancer while the other study did not show association between both levonogestrel and copper IUDs with risk of breast cancer. Use of copper IUDs was associated with diminishing risk of cervical cancer. Overall, use of oral contraceptives upsurges risk of breast and cervical cancers especially when used for longer periods of time. Further studies should therefore be done to understand the mechanisms of action of oral contraceptives and IUDs on the development of both cancers

Antileishmanial activity of Aloe Secundiflora plant extracts against Leishmania Major (2013).

Human leishmaniases are a spectrum of diseases caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. In this study antileishmanial activity of the methanolic and water leaf extracts from Aloe secundiflora plant were analysed by determining the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC), nitric oxide (NO) production stimulation, infection rates (IR) and multiplication index (MI). Cytotoxicity of these plant extracts was also assessed. The MIC levels of water and methanolic plant extracts, amphotericin B and pentostam were 2000 µg/ml, 1000 µg/ml, 125µg/ml and 250 µg/ml respectively against Leishamnia major promastigotes. This study revealed that water and methanolic plant extracts significantly inhibited the growth of Leishmania parasites (P ? 0.05) as compared to amphotericin B with respect to the parasite infection rates and MIC levels. The IC50 for the water and methanolic plant extracts was 279.488 µg/ml and 42.824 µg/ml respectively. The elevated inhibitory activity observed in this study against Leishmania major parasites provides evidence and basis for their potential use as therapeutic agents against leishmaniasis. Key words: Aloe secundiflora, Plant extracts, Leishmania major and Minimum Inhibition Concentrations (MIC

Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets

Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In subS-aharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from high-precision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) and black rat (Rattus rattus). Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation