Government Laws And Regulations Influence On Competitive Advantage

Government laws and regulations are a key component to the technological changes taking place and the competitiveness and innovation experienced by Kenya's telecommunications industry. The high competition in the sector has meant that there is a need for stricter government laws and regulations that every player must observe to remain in the market. Open democratic space allows entry and exit of market players as long as the current laws are followed to the letter. This study's main objective was to explore the effect of government laws and regulations on the competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Kenya. Using a positivist philosophy, the study adopted a descriptive research design in testing the hypothesis to establish the relationship between government laws and regulations and the competitive advantage in telecommunications companies in Kenya. The main instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire targeting 26 licensed telecommunications companies in Kenya. Data from the field was sampled using the proportionate methodology, with a sample of 247 managers responding. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for this study and processed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The null hypothesis was tested using multiple regression analysis with two linear regression models through factor analysis and ANOVA. Presentation of results through percentages, standard deviation, mean, and frequencies provided a background for discussion, conclusions, and recommendations. The study results observed that government laws and regulations statistically influence the competitive advantage of telecommunications companies in Kenya (β = .273, t = 4.740, p<.05). This led to the study concluding that government laws and regulations influence the competitive advantage of telecommunications companies in Kenya. The study recommends further research to compare local laws and regulations against regional or global ones influencing competitive advantage in the telecommunications industry

Ринкові інновації та конкурентні переваги телекомунікаційних компаній в Кенії

Research question. To survive, organizations must have a competitive advantage in order to stay ahead of the competition. Market innovation has remained the driving force behind most market expansions and stability in the turbulent nature of global economies. The research question for the study thus was, “do market innovations influence the competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Kenya?” Design/Method/Approach. Using the philosophy of positivism, the study adopted an explanatory research design in testing the hypothesis. The main data collection instrument was a structured questionnaire using both physical conduct and online interactions to return 247 responses from mid and top-level managers in a total of 26 active telecommunications companies in Kenya. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS computer application to analyze the data. Findings. The study findings established that innovative distribution channels significantly influenced the competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Kenya, while advertising and promotions did not have a significant influence. This led to the conclusion that market innovation has a significant influence on the competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Kenya. Practical implications. The study recommends that telecommunication companies need to form collaborations and partnerships for establishing market distribution channels that have indicated to bring influence onto the competitive advantage of the companies. Other recommendations include a wider coverage of the East African market for the telecommunications sector. The study provides insights into new companies with an interest in the region. Originality/Value. From the results, marketing and promotions are not the only major contributing factors in the competitive advantage of telecommunication companies in Kenya; one must consider distribution channels too. Research limitations/Future Research. The study faced limitations on visiting the field during the COVID-19 pandemic period, thus encountering entry restrictions into various premises. All protocols were observed to overcome that obstacle. Some of the telecommunications companies were facing difficulties in operations and hence could not participate. Paper type. Empirical.Исследовательский вопрос. Для выживания на рынке организации должны иметь конкурентное преимущество, чтобы опережать конкурентов. Рыночные инновации остаются движущей силой большинства рыночных расширений и стабильности в условиях турбулентности мировой экономики. Ключевой вопрос данного исследования: «Влияют ли рыночные инновации на конкурентное преимущество телекоммуникационных компаний в Кении?». Дизайн/Метод/План исследования. Используя философию позитивизма, в исследовании принят объяснительный исследовательский дизайн для проверки гипотезы. Основной инструмент сбора данных – структурированная анкета, в которой использовались как личные контакты, так и интерактивное общение. Получено 247 ответов от менеджеров среднего и высшего звена в 26 действующих телекоммуникационных компаниях в Кении. В исследовании использовалась как описательная, так и логическая статистика с использованием компьютерного приложения SPSS для анализа данных. Результаты исследования. Установлено, что инновационные каналы сбыта существенно влияют на конкурентное преимущество, в то время как реклама и рекламные акции не имеют существенного влияния. Это привело к выводу, что рыночные инновации оказывают значительное влияние на конкурентные преимущества телекоммуникационных компаний в Кении. Практическое значение исследования. Этим исследованием рекомендовано телекоммуникационным компаниям наладить сотрудничество и партнерство для упрощения создания каналов сбыта на рынке, которые, как выявилось, могут оказывать влияние на конкурентные преимущества компаний. Кроме того, рекомендовано расширить охват восточноафриканского рынка телекоммуникационного сектора. Дано представление о новых компаниях, проявляющих интерес к региону. Оригинальность/Ценность/Научная новизна исследования. Исследованием доказано, что маркетинг и продвижение – не только важнейшие факторы, способствующие достижению конкурентного преимущества, но и каналы распространения. Ограничения исследования/Перспективы дальнейших исследований. Ограничения исследования связаны с необходимостью посещать места в период пандемии COVID-19, что привело к ограничениям входа в помещения. Все протоколы были соблюдены, чтобы преодолеть это препятствие. Некоторые телекоммуникационные компании столкнулись с трудностями в работе и, следовательно, не могли участвовать. Тип статьи. Эмпирический.Дослідницьке питання. Для виживання на ринку організації повинні мати конкурентну перевагу, щоб випереджати конкурентів. Ринкові інновації залишаються рушійною силою більшості ринкових розширень і стабільності в умовах турбулентності світової економіки. Ключе питання цього дослідження: «Чи впливають ринкові інновації на конкурентні переваги телекомунікаційних компаній у Кенії?». Дизайн/Метод/План дослідження. Використовуючи філософію позитивізму, в дослідженні прийнято пояснювальний дослідний дизайн для перевірки гіпотези. Основний інструмент збору даних – структурована анкета, яка передбачала як особисте, так й інтерактивне спілкування. Отримано 247 відповідей від менеджерів середньої і вищої ланки в 26 діючих телекомунікаційних компаніях у Кенії. Застосовано як описову, так і логічну статистику з використанням комп'ютерної програми SPSS для аналізу даних. Результати дослідження. Встановлено, що інноваційні канали збуту істотно впливають на конкурентну перевагу, в той час як реклама і рекламні акції не мають істотного впливу. Це дозволяє зробити висновок, що ринкові інновації суттєво впливають на конкурентні переваги телекомунікаційних компаній в Кенії. Практичне значення дослідження. Цим дослідженням рекомендовано телекомунікаційним компаніям налагодити співпрацю і партнерство для спрощення створення каналів збуту на ринку, які, як виявилося, можуть впливати на конкурентні переваги компаній. Крім цього, рекомендовано розширити охоплення східно-африканського ринку телекомунікаційного сектора. Надано уявлення про нові компанії, які проявляють інтерес до регіону. Оригінальність/Цінність/Наукова новизна дослідження. Дослідженням доведено, що маркетинг і просування – не тільки найважливіші фактори, що сприяють досягненню конкурентної переваги, але й канали поширення. Обмеження дослідження/Перспективи подальших досліджень. Дослідження зіткнулося з обмеженнями щодо необхідності відвідувати місця в період пандемії COVID-19, що призвело до обмежень входу в приміщення. Всі протоколи були дотримані, щоб подолати цю перешкоду. Деякі телекомунікаційні компанії зіткнулися з труднощами в роботі і, отже, не могли брати участь. Тип статті. Емпіричний

Trends of armed conflict in Kenya from 1997 to 2021: an exploratory data analysis

Armed conflict patterns have drastically changed since the post-cold war period. In Sub-Saharan Africa, armed conflict continues to be persistent and on the rise. Kenya has not experienced civil war, but has experienced intra-state conflicts which display themselves as political, natural resources, ethnicity, land, and environmental conflicts. This study aimed to identify patterns and trends of armed conflict in Kenya. Secondary data from Armed Conflict and Location Events Data (ACLED) for the period 15th January 1997 to 25th February 2021 was used. Exploratory data analysis and generalized additive model were used to identify patterns and trends. For the period studied, 7,437-armed conflict events and 11,071 fatalities were recorded. There was a non-linear trend and a general increase in the number of armed conflict cases in Kenya. The peaks in the non-linear trend were observed during the years 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2017. On the contrary, the number of fatalities from armed conflict decreased over time and had a non-linear trend, with peaks in the years 1998, 2001, 2007, 2013 and, 2017. Similarly, there was a reduction in the number of fatalities per armed conflict over time with 149 fatalities per 100-armed conflict events recorded in the study period. Linear and non-linear trend of armed conflict events was observed at the county levels, with counties like Nairobi and Nakuru having a non-linear trend similar to the overall trend. The number of events of armed conflict for riots and protests event type had a non-linear trend while the rest had a linear trend with a positive slope. Violence Against Civilians (VAC) event type had the highest number of events followed by Riots and Protests. Additionally, VAC had the highest number of fatalities followed by Battles and Riots. In terms of fatalities per armed conflict, Explosions/Remote violence event type had the highest fatality rate followed by Battles and VAC. The peaks in the number of armed conflict cases and fatalities were observed in the years in which general elections were conducted in Kenya

Impact of Sociocultural factors on adoption of modern technologies in beekeeping projects among women groups in Kajiado County- Kenya

Sociocultural factors can have various impacts in projects during different project phases. These impacts can be either negative or positive. It is important for project implementers who target adoption of technology among people who hold onto certain cultures to understand what their clients believe and consider effective as well as acceptable. This research focused on sociocultural factors influencing adoption of modern technologies in beekeeping projects with particular focus to women beekeeping groups in Kajiado County in Kenya. The objective of the study was to establish the sociocultural factors that influence adoption of modern beekeeping technologies. The target population for this research was the beekeeping women groups in Kajiado County where a sample size of 116 respondents were drawn. The study employed the use of personal interviews, questionnaires, observation guides and key informant interview guides to collect data from the targeted respondents. The collected data was coded and entered into SPSS (version 21) for analysis. The findings of the study revealed that sociocultural factors have a positive and negative influence on adoption of beekeeping technologies. The factors identified were sex of the household head, marital status, size of the house hold, size of land and cultural beliefs. This conclusion confirmed the study carried out by the Kenya Beekeepers Association (K.B.A., 2005) which suggested that some of the sociocultural factors affecting adoption of new technologies could besex of household, marital status and size of the household among others. &nbsp

Spatial dynamics of armed conflict in Kenya during the electioneering periods of 1997, 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2017 general elections

Paper presented at the 5th Strathmore International Mathematics Conference (SIMC 2019), 12 - 16 August 2019, Strathmore University, Nairobi, KenyaSince Kenya became a multiparty state in 1991, most of the elections have been proceeded by election violence mostly in form of armed conflict. In addition, election violence is prone to some Kenyan parts. To understand the dynamics of armed conflict during the electioneering period, there is a need to understand the interaction between the time before and after the election and the location of the armed conflict. Furthermore, there is a need of an empirical approach that describes armed conflict spatial dynamics during the electioneering period putting into consideration spatial effects, time effects and also the interaction between time and space for the armed conflict. This study aims at mapping armed conflict relative risk during the electioneering period of 1997, 2002, 2007,2013 and 2017 general elections held. The electioneering period is defined as 180 days before and 180 days after the election. Five-time knots, with each knot at day 180 and day 90 before the election, the election date, day 90 and day 180 after elections are used. Secondary data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) is used. A Stochastic Partial Differential Equation (SPDE) is used to analyze the point level armed conflict during the electioneering period, where the continuous Gaussian field is represented as discrete indexed Gaussian Random Markov Field (GRMF). Integrated Laplace approximation (INLA) is used to estimate the marginal posterior distribution of the model parameters. In all the electioneering periods of 1997,2002,2007,2013 and 2017 there was a similar pattern of armed conflict relative risk. The relative risk was low at day 180 before the election and continuously increased at day 90 with its peak at the election date. At day 90 after the election, the relative risk is lower than at the election date and lowest at day 180 after the election. Nyanza, Central Rift Valley, Nairobi and Mombasa regions are having the highest relative of armed conflict during the electioneering period. Armed conflict during the election period follows the same pattern in all electioneering periods, with the relative risk being highest at the period near the election date and lowest at periods that are far away from the election dates. Also, some parts of Kenya have a high relative risk of armed conflict in all the electioneering periods. The study offers insights at spatial dynamics of armed conflict in Kenya during the electioneering periods which is important for policy formulation aiming at reducing armed conflict in Kenya.Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya

Urethro-cutaneous fistula after hypospadia repair: a single institution study

Urethro-cutaneous fistula (UCF) is one of the most frequently seen complications of hypospadias surgery requiring reoperation; it occurs with an incidence of between 4% and 28%. Risk factors associated with the development of UCF can be classified as preoperative, intraoperative or postoperative. The aim of this study was to determine the association of perioperative risk factors and the development of urethrocutaneous fistula after hypospadias repair. A retrospective review of patients who had undergone hypospadias repair at Kenyatta National Hospital between 2013 and 2017 was conducted. 114 patient records were retrieved. The incidence of UCF was 47%. Risk factors that were significantly associated with UCF are hypospadias type (p=0.028), lack of a protective intermediate layer (p=0.002), and presence of postoperative complications (p=0.001). Age at surgery, suture material, type of repair and use of catheter/stents were not significant factors. Multivariate analysis showed wound infection and meatal stenosis as the most significant factors associated with UCF development.Keywords: Hypospadias, Urethro-cutaneous fistula, Risk factors, Wound infection, Meatal stenosi

Understanding Adherence to Daily and Intermittent Regimens of Oral HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Kenya

A qualitative assessment of Kenyan men who have sex with men taking daily and intermittent oral HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) found stigma, sex work, mobility, and alcohol impacted adherence. We analyzed quantitative data from the same cohort to explore different definitions of intermittent adherence. Volunteers were randomized to daily emtricitabine/tenofovir or placebo, or intermittent (prescription: Mondays/Fridays/after sex, maximum1 dose/day)emtricitabine/tenofovir or placebo (2:1:2:1), and followed for 4 months. By electronic monitoring, median adherence for daily dosing was 80 %. Median adherence for intermittent dosing was 71 % per a ‘‘relaxed’’ definition (accounting for off-prescription dosing) and 40 % per a ‘‘strict’’ definition (limited to the prescription). Factors associated with lower adherence included travel, transactional sex, and longer follow-up; higher adherence was associated with daily dosing and an income. The definition of intermittent dosing strongly affects interpretation of adherence. These findings suggest interventions should address challenges of mobility, sex work, and long-term PrEP

Residual disease and HPV persistence after cryotherapy for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 in HIV positive women in Kenya

Objective: To assess residual cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 disease and clearance of high-risk (hr) human papillomavirus (HPV) infections at 6 months after cryotherapy among HIV-positive women. Design: Follow-up study. Methods: 79 HIV-positive women received cryotherapy for CIN2/3 in Nairobi, Kenya, and underwent conventional cytology 6 months later. Biopsies were performed on high grade cytological lesions and hrHPV was assessed before (cervical cells and biopsy) and after cryotherapy (cells). Results: At 6 months after cryotherapy CIN2/3 had been eliminated in 61 women (77.2%; 95% Confidence Interval, (CI):66.4–85.9). 18 women (22.8%) had residual CIN2/3, and all these women had hrHPV at baseline. CD4 count and duration of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) were not associated with residual CIN2/3. CIN3 instead of CIN2 was the only significant risk factor for residual disease (odds ratio, OR vs CIN2 = 4.3; 95% CI: 1.2–15.0) among hrHPV-positive women after adjustment for age and HPV16 infection. Persistence of hrHPV types previously detected in biopsies was found in 77.5% of women and was associated with residual CIN2/3 (OR = 8.1, 95% CI: 0.9–70). The sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value of hrHPV test in detecting residual CIN2/3 were 0.94, 0.36, and 0.96 respectively. Conclusions: Nearly one quarter of HIV-positive women had residual CIN2/3 disease at 6 months after cryotherapy, and the majority had persistent hrHPV. CD4 count and cART use were not associated with residual disease or hrHPV persistence. The value of hrHPV testing in the detection of residual CIN2/3 was hampered by a low specificity

Comparison of HPV DNA testing in cervical exfoliated cells and tissue biopsies among HIV-positive women in Kenya

HIV-positive women are infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) (especially with multiple types), and develop cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer more frequently than HIV-negative women. We compared HPV DNA prevalence obtained using a GP5+/6+ PCR assay in cervical exfoliated cells to that in biopsies among 468 HIV-positive women from Nairobi, Kenya. HPV prevalence was higher in cells than biopsies and the difference was greatest in 94 women with a combination normal cytology/normal biopsy (prevalence ratio, PR = 3.7; 95% confidence interval, CI: 2.4-5.7). PR diminished with the increase in lesion severity (PR in 58 women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL)/CIN2-3 = 1.1; 95% CI: 1.0-1.2). When HPV-positive, cells contained 2.0- to 4.6-fold more multiple infections than biopsies. Complete or partial agreement between cells and biopsies in the detection of individual HPV types was found in 91% of double HPV-positive pairs. The attribution of CIN2/3 to HPV16 and/or 18 would decrease from 37.6%, when the presence of these types in either cells or biopsies was counted, to 20.2% when it was based on the presence of HPV16 and/or 18 (and no other types) in biopsies. In conclusion, testing HPV on biopsies instead of cells results in decreased detection but not elimination of multiple infections in HIV-positive women. The proportion of CIN2/3 attributable to HPV16 and/or 18 among HIV-positive women, which already appeared to be lower than that in HIV-negative, would then further decrease. The meaning of HPV detection in cells and random biopsy from HIV-positive women with no cervical abnormalities remains unclear. What\u27s new? Assignment of human papillomavirus (HPV) types to individual cervical lesions is essential for the understanding of the biology of different HPV types, efficacy of HPV vaccines, and design of detection assays. Such attribution is however hampered in HIV-positive women by the high proportion of multiple HPV infections. This study is the first to systematically compare HPV detection in paired cervical exfoliated cells and cervical tissue biopsies. HPV testing using biopsies instead of cells results in decreased detection of multiple infections in HIV-positive women. Exclusive reliance on biopsies also decreased the proportion of CIN2/3 attributable to vaccine-preventable HPV16 and/or 18 infection