The present and future growth of scholarly publishing in Africa

Scholarly publishing in Africa, though still struggling to keep pace with the rest of the world, has made major progress. Many universities in Africa are seriously engaged in scholarly publishing, both in print and electronic formats. The outputs of research are constantly disseminated in universities, at conferences and during seminars; the same are then published as proceedings or in refereed journals. The various initiatives by African universities provide opportunities to researchers to present their findings for discussion before submission for publication in various scholarly journals published by universities or those collaborating with publishing houses. The journals provide an avenue for disseminating research findings from Africa, hence adding to the already existing body of knowledge by researchers from other parts of the world. The advent of electronic publishing has widened the space and opportunity for African researchers to publish their work. Most African universities maintain some sections on their websites for uploading research findings. The uploaded materials, whether proceedings or already published work elsewhere, contribute to the visibility of African research in the world. Scholarly journal publishing, therefore, has the potential to encourage research in Africa.Key Words: Scholarly Publishing, Africa, Universities, Scholarly Journal

Which Factors Influence African American Male students\u27 Persistence in and Graduation from College?

ABSTRACT Black male students (also known as African American male students) graduate from college at a lower rate than their Latino, White, and Asian counterparts for various reasons, including a lack of engagement, a lack of personal goals, institutional factors, and dispositions. Other reasons that impede students from achieving their academic goals include limited academic and personal support, a lack of flexible policies, and a lack of diversity engagement. These challenges are faced by both the 2-year colleges and the 4-year institutions. This study employed a narrative inquiry approach in exploring factors that influence African American male students’ persistence in and graduation from college through the stories of six individuals

Graduate Student Attitudes toward Different Instructional Approaches within Face-to-Face, Online, and Blended Learning Environments in a Public Four-Year Institution of Higher Learning

This study compared graduate student attitudes toward different instructional approaches within online, blended, and face-to-face courses in a public institution of higher learning. The participants completed an online survey questionnaire that was designed by the researcher using 4 learning theories in education: behavioral, cognitive, constructivism, and humanistic (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007) approaches toward teaching and learning. There were 210 total responses from graduate students enrolled during 2013 spring semester. There were more female (71.4%) than male (28.6%) students who responded. Previous studies have compared face-to-face (F2F) and online methods of instructions and have shown mixed results. Whereas some studies have shown F2F instructional methods as favorable to students, others found no differences between F2F and online methods. This study was guided by 4 research questions. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t test statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. The findings of this study showed significant differences in students’ preference in instructional methods and in instructional approaches (behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and constructivist). The study found that full-time graduate students tended to prefer F2F instructional methods, while part-time students preferred online methods. Additionally younger students (\u3c 35 years) reported stronger preference for F2F methods of instruction than older students (\u3e 36 years) in cognitive and constructivist instructional approaches with no significant differences by age for behavioral and humanistic instructional approaches

The Impact of Organizational-Based Self Esteem on Work Engagement among State Corporations Employees in Kenya

Work engagement as a work place behaviour is gaining currency in discussions in management literature. Evidence has been adduced linking high levels of work engagement with enhanced individual employee’s and organizational performance. The general performance in the public service is perceived to be low globally; this has been attributed to low levels of work engagement among employees. In a survey involving 389 managerial employees in 32 State Corporations in Kenya, organizational-based self esteem was examined as a predictor of work engagement.325 returned questionnaires were analyzed to derive descriptive and inferential statistics. Instruments were checked for reliability and validity and found to be within the recommended threshold. The respondents rated themselves high on Work engagement and Organizational-based self esteem mean =4.14 and 4.32 respectively. Relationship between work engagement and Organizational-based self esteem was high (r2=0.39.1, p< 0.01) β=.601.This demonstrated evidence that organizational-based self esteem highly influence Work engagement .Employees would exhibit high levels of work engagement when they perceive themselves as valued competent members of their organizations. Managers have a responsibility to identify and nurture organizational-based self esteem as a strategy towards improving their employees’ ability to voluntarily invoke vigour, dedication and be totally absorbed in their working. Key words; Organizational-based self esteem, Work engagement, Positive organizational behaviour

CONCEPT OF ZONING MANAGEMENT IN PROTECTED AREAS

This paper examined the concept of zoning management in protected areas. In the past 25 years, the area of land under legal protection has increased exponentially, particularly in developing countries where biodiversity is greatest. Concurrently, the mission of parks and reserves expanded significantly. By global mandates, protected areas (PAs) now are supposed to do far more than conserve biological diversity. The protected areas are now charged with improving human wellbeing and providing economic benefits across multiple scales (WPC 2003), mitigate conflict and preserve indigenous cultures. These important goals have been widely embraced in principal, but in practice they are far more difficult to achieve. Due to the promises offered by zoning to mitigate development conservation conflicts, many leading nongovernmental conservation organizations (NGOs) advocate zoning processes in protected areas. These organizations cite similar reasons for advocating zoning. While many of these NGOs promote zoning, there are concerns regarding its success. These concerns have resulted in a variety of recommended methodologies and precautionary tales from NGOs to ensure that future zoning projects learn from past experience. Zoning around large nature conservation areas is especially beneficial for vulnerable or valuable habitats on the edges of these areas. Keywords: Kenya, Management, Protected Area, Zoning

Seasonality Effects on Trends of Domestic and International Tourism: A Case of Nairobi National Park, Kenya

Tourism is a very important source for foreign revenue for Kenya, as well as the main supporter and rationale for wildlife conservation in the country.  But most of this revenue is from international tourists, which the government and stakeholders seem to invest and focus on more rather than domestic tourism.  However, international tourists cannot always support the tourism industry, especially in years of economic, political and social turmoil. A vibrant domestic tourism can cushion the industry from fluctuations in international tourists and bring stability and predictability in the industry.  This study sought to addresses reasons why domestic tourism is still low despite its importance, and suggest ways of improving it in Kenya.  The data for this study was gathered through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) tourism records, interviews with key stakeholders and players in the industry and interviews with local communities surrounding NairobiNational Park. About 64% of all tourists for NairobiPark for the last twenty years was domestic tourism, while only 35% were international tourists.  The level of education influenced the likelihood of the community to visit the parksand appreciate its conservation contribution.  Extra disposable income, lack of free time and low education were the hindrances towards local Kenyans visiting the park.  Therefore new marketing strategies, special holiday hotel rates for Kenyans and a more friendly hospitality industry for Kenyans would increase domestic tourism, especially for protected areas in urban vicinity. Key words: Domestic tourism, international tourism, Kenya, NairobiNational Park

Like Tweedledum and Tweedledee? Influence of model similarity on efficacy, acquisition of concepts and performance of skills in cricket among middle school children

This dissertation probes, through a blending of qualitative and quantitative inquiry, the influence of a model’s ethnic similarity to observers on the attentional; and motivational processes of young observers. It examines their concept and skill acquisition as well as their performance on the demonstrated (novel) motor skill and any differential in efficacy, skill acquisition and performance under similar or dissimilar conditions. This inquiry aims to establish whether viewing a similar model (of ethnicity similar to the observer) boosts self-efficacious feelings, expectancy and therefore confidence to perform and as a consequence, performance. This is then compared with actual performance and recall of concepts. The probe follows the line of scholarship and research literature that has comprehensively examined the significant influences of similar and dissimilar model characteristics on learning of motor skills by observers. This has often focused on gender, age, and model status and skill level. In the similarity studies, the feature of ethnicity has not been given as much focus as it should get. This has mainly been due to the controversy that the specter of ethnicity and race investigation evokes in the American society. Building on previous studies, this dissertation explores the impact of this salient model feature. This feature has not been investigated with as much intensity as compared to the other features such as age, gender, and skill level in literature. And all the later have been found to exert significant influences on acquisition of modeled motor skills.Curriculum and Instructio

Physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth encounter in America

Although research has identified that physical activity enhances the psychosocial, physiological, and the academic well-being of at-risk youth, little information is known about the unique challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth face as they acculturate into the United States of America.Methods: This case study used photovoice methodology (Wang, 1998) to examine the physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard immigrant youth encounter upon arrival into the United Stated of America.  Sixteen adolescent Montagnard youth (eight male and eight female) participated in this intensive study. They all completed a demographic survey with the use of two bilingual and bicultural interpreters (1 male and 1 female), participated in photovoice training on the use of cameras, took photographs, wrote photo captions, and shared stories about their pictures. A total 356 photographs were developed and analyzed.  Results: The results from the photovoice study clearly indicated that the environmental, socio-cultural, and socio-demographic were the main barriers to participating in physical activity as well as accessing community parks and recreation amenities.Conclusion:  The findings reaffirmed that collaborations among all stakeholders were invaluable, especially in cross-cultural settings