Analysis of Low Cost Residential Housing Development for the Urban Poor: A Case Study of Kibera and Mathare Slums in Nairobi

Developing trend of urbanization due to industrialization worldwide caused overwhelming strain to housing the urban extreme-poor people. Affordability posed the main housing challenge in Kenya. This precipitated into the proliferation of slums in all urban areas and was most severe in Nairobi where the appalling slum settlements were densely populated. The research was focused on highlighting the unattended group of urban dwellers, the urban poor, who required decent, adequate and affordable housing and related services within their means. The study directed questionnaires to collect data for analysis. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis were used to analyze the data. The study established that slum residents were overcrowded in tiny rooms within filthy neighborhoods devoid of basic social amenities. The study findings suggest that many residents had monthly household income of approximately 10,000 Kenya Shillings(KSH) and could only rent houses within KSH1,000 and hence could not afford to live in decent neighborhoods. The study noted that the interventions by the government to address the housing situation were insignificant and much more effort was required to improve the living condition of slums in the wake of the fast growing urban population and widespread of urban poverty by provision and facilitation of basic services and decent low cost housing units. Keywords: Decent Housing, Urban Poor, Factor Analysis

INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES AVAILABILITY AND USE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRES IN BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

This paper reports finding of a study that sought to analyze the availability and use of instructional resources in Early Childhood and Development Education centers in Bungoma County, Kenya. Specifically, the teacher’s perception of the availability and use of instructional materials and its influence on learning was investigated. The research was based on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development 1964. The study adopted the descriptive survey design and involved use of purposive, stratified and simple random sampling techniques to select a sample size of 81 respondents from the target population of educational officers, head teachers and teachers of the selected ECDE centers. Data was collected using questionnaire, observation and interview schedules. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. The findings of the study showed that there are challenges related to the availability and use of instructional materials. The study is envisaged to provide useful information for the education policy makers to ensure availability of instructional resources for the teachers.  Article visualizations

MATHEMATICS TEACHERS' CONCEPTIONS ABOUT PROBLEM SOLVING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THEIR CLASSROOM PRACTICES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KENYA

The study investigated secondary school mathematics teachers’ conceptions of problem solving and their classroom practices. The study was based on theoretical frameworks represented by Anderson (1996), Ernest (1991) and Bernardo (2002). The study was conducted in selected secondary schools in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. Simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used to select 20 teachers from twenty schools. Data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedule and classroom observation checklist. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. In general, the results of this study indicated that there was no significant correlation between teachers’ conceptions about problem solving and their classroom practice. The results of this study also showed that teachers tend to hold strong conceptions about problem solving that are consistent with the instrumental view. In view of the findings, it was recommended that in-order to gradually challenge the teachers’ negative conceptions about mathematical problem-solving, adequate educational interventions should be planned and implemented in teacher education programmes and that teacher educators should assist and support teachers in concretizing these conceptions by undertaking reforms at both the pre-service and in-service training levels.  Article visualizations

Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation on the Growth of women Micro and Small Enterprises in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya

The MSEs are globally the focus of policy makers due to their ability to distribute incomes in both rural and urban areas for poverty reduction. Entrepreneurial orientation is one of the major  determinant of women MSE business start up, growth and graduation in to medium and large scale enterprises. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation on the growth of women owned Micro and Small Enterprises in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation methods were used to collect data from 170 sampled women group MSE owner managers under Women Enterprise Fund subsidized entrepreneurial credit scheme in Trans-Nzoia County who were licensed by the county revenue department and have been in business between 2009 and 2015.  Growth was measured in terms of change in sales revenue, profit and number of employees before and after Women Enterprise Fund intervention measures. The data was summarised and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics of frequency distribution, mean, percentages, correlation and  linear regression.  The study found out that Entrepreneurial orientation had statistically significant relationship with growth of women MSEs at 0.05 level of significance. It was recommended that the Government in conjunction with County Governments should nurture an entrepreneurial culture through continuous technology upgrading courses in National polytechnics in addition to experiential learning through exchange visits and attendance of  national and international trade fairs. The government should provide modern business infrastructure to women Micro and MSEs in order to spur their meaningful and faster growth. To attain production and marketing economies of scale, clustering of women MSEs with subsequent subcontracting arrangements with medium and large enterprises was also recommended

Science-based health innovation in Rwanda: unlocking the potential of a late bloomer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper describes and analyses Rwanda’s science-based health product ‘innovation system’, highlighting examples of indigenous innovation and good practice. We use an innovation systems framework, which takes into account the wide variety of stakeholders and knowledge flows contributing to the innovation process. The study takes into account the destruction of the country’s scientific infrastructure and human capital that occurred during the 1994 genocide, and describes government policy, research institutes and universities, the private sector, and NGOs that are involved in health product innovation in Rwanda.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Case study research methodology was used. Data were collected through reviews of academic literature and policy documents and through open-ended, face-to-face interviews with 38 people from across the science-based health innovation system. Data was collected over two visits to Rwanda between November – December 2007 and in May 2008. A workshop was held in Kigali on May 23rd and May 24th 2009 to validate the findings. A business plan was then developed to operationalize the findings.</p> <p>Results and discussion</p> <p>The results of the study show that Rwanda has strong government will to support health innovation both through its political leadership and through government policy documents. However, it has a very weak scientific base as most of its scientific infrastructure as well as human capital were destroyed during the 1994 genocide. The regulatory agency is weak and its nascent private sector is ill-equipped to drive health innovation. In addition, there are no linkages between the various actors in the country’s health innovation system i.e between research institutions, universities, the private sector, and government bureaucrats.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Despite the fact that the 1994 genocide destroyed most of the scientific infrastructure and human capital, the country has made remarkable progress towards developing its health innovation system, mainly due to political goodwill. The areas of greatest potential for Rwanda are in traditional plant technologies. However, there is need for investments in domestic skill development as well as infrastructure that will enhance innovation. Of foremost importance is the establishment of a platform to link the various actors in the health innovation system.</p

Financial Statement Lending, Credit Information Sharing and Access to Financial Services by Small and Medium Enterprises in Kenya

Policy makers and scholars acknowledge the significance of small and medium enterprises in stirring the economic growth and development in developing and developed economies. In spite of the generally fast pace by which access to financial services for small and medium enterprises is being established, significant segments of the small and medium enterprises sector do not yet benefit from the expansion. This study therefore investigated the effect of financial statement lending on access to financial services by small and medium enterprises in Kenya. The study further sought to establish the moderating effect of the credit information sharing on the relationship between financial statement lending and access to financial services by small and medium enterprises in Kenya. The study was based on Financial Intermediation Theory and information asymmetry theory. The target population comprised 4,253 small and medium enterprises in Kenya. A sample size of 366 SMEs was target by the study. The study adopted multistage sampling technique to obtain the SMEs respondents. Primary data was utilized and was acquired through semi-structured questionnaires. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Heckman two step selection model was applied in regression analysis. The findings of regression analysis show that financial statement lending had a positive and significant effect on access to financial services among SMEs in Kenya. The results established that credit information sharing had insignificant moderating effect on the relationship between financial statement lending and access to financial services among the SMEs in Kenya. The study concluded that financial statements play a critical role in ensuring small and medium enterprises access financial services. Lenders can determine the financial position of the business by analysing their cashflow in order to be able to advance the credit that the business is able to pay based on their financial statement. Keywords: Financial Statement Lending, Financial Services, SMEs, Kenya. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/12-16-06 Publication date:August 31st 202

Participatory mapping for transformation: multiple visual representation of foodscapes and environment in informal settlements in Nairobi

Although branded as ‘obstructionists’ and major agents of ‘disease and filth’ by city authorities, food vendors remain the pivotal node in the local food system in most informal settlements; therefore, their interaction with the environment and infrastructure services, and challenges they face to keep the food safe to eat, requires further grounded exploration. Food vendors from informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, who are acting as mappers and change agents, are building multi-layered views of places through the deliberative process of knowledge coproduction by participatory sensing, which lead to opportunities and challenges to improve those places

Science-based health innovation in sub-Saharan Africa

In recent years emerging markets such as India, China, and Brazil have developed appropriate business models and lower-cost technological innovations to address health challenges locally and internationally. But it is not well understood what capabilities African countries, with their high disease burden, have in science-based health innovation

Access to Scientific Publications: The Scientist's Perspective

BACKGROUND: Scientific publishing is undergoing significant changes due to the growth of online publications, increases in the number of open access journals, and policies of funders and universities requiring authors to ensure that their publications become publicly accessible. Most studies of the impact of these changes have focused on the growth of articles available through open access or the number of open-access journals. Here, we investigated access to publications at a number of institutes and universities around the world, focusing on publications in HIV vaccine research--an area of biomedical research with special importance to the developing world. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We selected research papers in HIV vaccine research field, creating: 1) a first set of 50 most recently published papers with keywords "HIV vaccine" and 2) a second set of 200 articles randomly selected from those cited in the first set. Access to the majority (80%) of the recently published articles required subscription, while cited literature was much more accessible (67% freely available online). Subscriptions at a number of institutions around the world were assessed for providing access to subscription-only articles from the two sets. The access levels varied widely, ranging among institutions from 20% to 90%. Through the WHO-supported HINARI program, institutes in low-income countries had access comparable to that of institutes in the North. Finally, we examined the response rates for reprint requests sent to corresponding authors, a method commonly used before internet access became widespread. Contacting corresponding authors with requests for electronic copies of articles by email resulted in a 55-60% success rate, although in some cases it took up to 1.5 months to get a response. CONCLUSIONS: While research articles are increasingly available on the internet in open access format, institutional subscriptions continue to play an important role. However, subscriptions do not provide access to the full range of HIV vaccine research literature. Access to papers through subscriptions is complemented by a variety of other means, including emailing corresponding authors, joint affiliations, use of someone else's login information and posting requests on message boards. This complex picture makes it difficult to assess the real ability of scientists to access literature, but the observed differences in access levels between institutions suggest an unlevel playing field, in which some researchers have to spend more efforts than others to obtain the same information

Improving decision making in schools through teacher participation

The hierarchical structure that places head teachers at the apex of a pyramid of staff is a common feature in secondary schools in Kenya. In this arrangement, school heads are poised to use their superior knowledge and experience to direct and control the working of the entire school. This negatively affects efficiency and productivity of the schools because teachers work at half steam because they are not effectively involved in decision making to make them feel as part of the schools. Owing to the dynamics of professionalism and diversity of ideas in secondary schools occasioned by staffing schools with professionally trained teachers and the need to decentralize decision making to the lower levels, the hierarchical structure in management of schools is challenged. On many occasions head-teachers have been advised to involve teachers in decision making as a way of motivating them and to create a feeling of belonging. This study was designed to investigate the extent to which teachers were involved in decision making in comparison to their desired extent of participation. An ex-post facto study was designed. One hundred and twenty three teachers responded to the participatory decision making questionnaire. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. It was found that teachers desired greater involvement in decision making than they were currently involved. It was recommended that school managers should increase the extent to which they involve teachers in decision making to improve on the quality of decisions and boost their morale in their performance of duty