A Theoretical and Empirical Review of the Relationship between Head Teachers’ Leadership Styles and KCPE Performance in Public Primary Schools in Kenya

The quality of education depicted in any school is largely influenced by the quality of leadership exhibited by the school administrator in that institution. Effective teamwork and networking among stakeholders in a school is a source of motivation that drives all people involved to work towards the achievement of the goals of that institution. It is the obligation of the institution leader to influence those workers under him or her to strive to achieve the institutional goals through the application of appropriate leadership skills. In this article, the authors discuss the findings from the study carried out on the relationship between headteachers’ leadership styles on KCPE performance in public primary schools in central region of Kenya. The study is based on normative decision theory by Vroom and Yetton (1973). The study adopted mixed methods and applied sequential exploratory design which involved quantitative and qualitative procedures in data collection and analysis. The study adopted purposive and stratified simple random sampling and data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules and document analysis for the secondary data. The instruments’ validity was established through the guidance of the experts in the department of management, administration and leadership of Mount Kenya University. The researchers established instrument reliability by using split half technique which involved calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) between the two halves of the tests.  Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 and qualitative data was analyzed thematically according to the objectives. The findings of the study indicated that pupils’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education corresponded to leadership styles to a very great extent. The study also found out that there was laxity by the headteachers in delegating power and duties to their teaching staff and lack of participation of all stakeholders in the welfare of the school thus affecting the pupils’ performance. The findings of this study drew conclusion that would assist education policy makers and implementers to formulate strategies that could be used to improve leadership styles that would promote better examination performance at primary school level. Keywords: Leadership, leadership styles, performanc

Effect of Financial Transparency on Financial Performance of Companies Listed in East Africa Securities Exchanges

Financial performance is normally viewed as how best managers have been able to utilize the resources available to the firm to enhance value. The main goal of shareholders in any company is to maximize their wealth which is enabling when a firm is performing well from time to time. The current sought to examine the effect of financial transparency on financial performance of companies listed in East Africa. Specifically, the study sought to find out the effect of financial policy, investment policy and liquidity disclosures on financial performance. Correlation research design and purposive sampling was used to select 73 which were listed from 2006 to 2015. Descriptive, correlation and regression analysis were used to analyse secondary data. Results of the study revealed positive and significant relationship between financial policy, investment policy, financial liquidity and financial performance. Keywords: Financial Transparency, Financial Policy, Investment Policy, Financial Liquidity, Financial Performance

Moderating Role Of Entrepreneurial Orientation On The Relationship Between Information Technology Competence And Firm Performance In Kenya

This study explored moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between Information Technology Competence and firm performance in Kenya. The impact of IT on FP remains debatable to-date because some results of previous studies have had high variations resulting from diversities in the conceptualization of the key constructs and their interrelationship, coupled with the exclusion of intangible effect of IT on performance. In Kenya, SMEs employ about 85 percent of the workforce. The need to link ITC with FP has become vital for firms striving to achieve superior performance. However, limited attention has been paid to the link and more so to the moderating role of EO on ITC- FP relationship model. To better understand this relationship, this paper adopted a mixed methods research guided by cross-sectional survey design. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed to analyze the collected data using SPSS, Ms-Excel, AMOS, SmartPLS, STATA, R-GUI and ATLAS.ti analytical softwares. Analyses were conducted using a two-phase process consisting of CFA and SEM models. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 94 SMEs in the 2013 Top 100 Survey. The study found that ITC had a positive relationship with FP. The results also revealed that EO did not significantly moderate the relationship between ITC and FP in Kenya. However, when run with the interaction term, the Technical (ITC and ISRA)*EO was statistically significant at 10% α-level. This study will enhance the skill set in Kenyan SMEs and produce a more sustainable solution

Moderating role of entrepreneurial orientation on the relationship between information security risk assessment and firm performance in Kenya

Information security risk assessments enable SMEs to identify their key information assets and risks in order to develop effective and economically-viable control strategies. In Kenya, SMEs employ about 85 percent of the workforce. The need to link ISRA with firm performance has become vital for firms striving to achieve superior performance. However, limited attention has been paid to the link and more so to the moderating role of EO on ISRA-firm performance relationship model. To better understand this relationship, this paper employed a mixed methods research guided by a cross-sectional research design. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were employed to analyze the collected data using SPSS, Ms-Excel, AMOS, SmartPLS, STATA, R-GUI and ATLAS.ti analytical softwares. Analyses were conducted using a two-phase process consisting of CFA and SEM. The theoretical models and hypotheses were tested based on empirical data gathered from 94 SMEs in the 2013 Top 100 Survey. The study found that ISRA was a significant predictor of firm performance. The results also revealed that entrepreneurial orientation significantly moderated the relationship between ISRA and firm performance in Kenya. This study will enhance the skill set in Kenyan SMEs and produce a more sustainable solution

Baringo apis Bee Honey: Nutritional, Physicochemical, Phytochemical and Antibacterial Properties Validation Against Wound Bacterial Isolates

Skin wounds are a global public health concern demanding significant resources from the healthcare system. Their consequences include pain, social, physical or psychological impact. Hence the right approach to its management should be considered. This is towards reducing the economic burden while lowering morbidity and mortality through developing new preventive and therapeutic technologies.Bee (Apis) honey samples were collected from their beehives in Marigat Sub County, Baringo County, Kenya, followed by quantitative analysis of physicochemical, nutritive, phytochemical and antioxidant properties contributing to its antibacterial capacity. Different concentrations of honey (10x104, 20x104, 50x104 and 75x104 µg/ml)) in impregnated discs were tested against each type of clinical isolates obtained from wound swabs collected from Nakuru County Referral Hospital Nakuru, as indicated in the previous study on Stingless bee honey analysis. The bacterial isolates obtained included; Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. Their individual antibacterial inhibition was then compared to cartridges containing antibiotics (Levofloxacin 5μg, Ampicillin 10μg, Tazobactam 110 μg, Meropenem 10μg, Gentamicin 10μg and Chloramphenicol 30μg) through disc diffusion (Kirby-Bauer) technique.According to this study, quantitative analysis of the honey samples yielded 90.13 ± 5.76g/100g, 4.07 ± 0.08 and 114.28 ± 26.66 mg/g in sugar, pH and moisture, respectively. The phenolic compounds that act as antioxidants were in the mean value of total phenolic compounds (80.81 ± 36.25mgGAE/100g), total flavonoids (21.83 ± 6.16 mg RE/100g) and total carotenoids (4.41 ± 2.07 mgβ –carotene/kg). These and other components contributed to the honey's antibacterial inhibition with a mean range of 14.54 ± 2.0mm to 17.58 ± 3mm, which was relatively higher than the antibiotics used (Gentamycin, Levofloxacin, Ampicillin, Tazobactum, Meropenem and Chloramphenicol). Control bacterial isolates ATCC 25923, ATCC 25922, ATCC 27736 and ATCC 27858 for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively, enhanced the standard in the analysis. The potency of honey from different botanical sources reveals important antimicrobial differences comparable to local antibiotics.Over and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains, a global public health problem. Alternative antimicrobial strategies like plants and plant-based products such as honey need to be given more attention to solving this challenge. Hence the present study demonstrates that the composition of honey from honey bees (Apis) enables it to be proposed for prophylaxis and treatment of surface infections, which has traditionally been practiced in the management of wounds and burns. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/105-01 Publication date: January 31st 202

Recovery of Zn2+, Fe2+ and Mn2+ from Some Selected Edible Vegetables and Pumpkin using Modified Maize Cobs

This study reports on the pre-concentration of some essential trace elements from vegetables using modified maize cobs by sorption. This was enabled by some functional groups anchored within the chemical structure of the material. Modification was achieved by treating the dry powdered material with thionylchloride (SOCl2) which was dispersed in dimethylformaldehyde (DMF) then reacting with ethylenediamine air drying the resultant for 24 hours. The presence of the anchored group was confirmed by FT-IR and it was used for Batch sorption experiments. The effect of pH, concentration, and dosage on the adsorption of zinc, iron and manganese ion by the parent and modified materials were carried out. Using the optimal parameters, the modified material was used for the pre-concentration of the trace metal ions from solutions of some selected vegetables samples. Pre-concentration of nutrients from fermented samples showed significantly high levels than non-fermented samples. This new method of pre-concentrating metal ions shows promising results and can improve the nutrition value in the preparation of dietary supplements. The method is effective and is of low cost

A Theoretical and Empirical Review of the Relationship between Head Teachers' Leadership Styles and KCPE Performance in Public Primary Schools in Kenya

Abstract The quality of education depicted in any school is largely influenced by the quality of leadership exhibited by the school administrator in that institution. Effective teamwork and networking among stakeholders in a school is a source of motivation that drives all people involved to work towards the achievement of the goals of that institution. It is the obligation of the institution leader to influence those workers under him or her to strive to achieve the institutional goals through the application of appropriate leadership skills. In this article, the authors discuss the findings from the study carried out on the relationship between headteachers' leadership styles on KCPE performance in public primary schools in central region of Kenya. The study is based on normative decision theory b

A Comparative Study of Modified and Unmodified Algae (Pediastrum boryanum) for Removal of Lead, Cadmium and Copper in Contaminated Water

The presence of heavy metals in water is of concern due to the risk toxicity. Thus there is need for their removal for the safety of consumers. Methods applied for removal of heavy metals include adsorption, membrane filtration and co-precipitation. However, studies have revealed adsorption is highly effective technique. Most adsorbents are expensive or require extensive processing before use and hence need to explore for possible sources of inexpensive adsorbents. This research work investigated the use an algal biomass (pediastrum boryanum) as an adsorbent for removal of Lead, Cadmium and Copper in waste water in its raw and modified forms. The samples were characterized with FTIR and was confirmed a successful modification with tetramethylethlynediamine (TMEDA). Sorption parameters were optimized and the material was finally applied on real water samples. It was found that the sorption was best at lower pH values (4.2-6.8). Sorption kinetics was very high as more that 90% of the metals were removed from the solution within 30 minutes. The adsorption of copper fitted into the Langmuir adsorption isotherm indicating a monolayer binding mechanism. Cadmium and lead fitted best the Freundlich adsorption mechanism. Sorption of lead and cadmium was of pseudo-second order kinetics, confirming a multisite interaction whereas copper was pseudo-first order indicating a single site adsorption. The adsorption capacity did not improve upon modification but the stability of the material was improved and secondary pollution of leaching colour was alleviated. This implies that the modified material is suitable for application on the removal of metals from water

Evolution of fungal and non-fungal eukaryotic communities in response to thermophilic co-composting of various nitrogen-rich green feedstocks

Thermophilic composting is a promising soil and waste management approach involving diverse micro and macro-organisms, including eukaryotes. Due to sub-optimal amounts of nutrients in manure, supplemental feedstock materials such as Lantana camara, and Tithonia diversifolia twigs are used in composting. These materials have, however, been reported to have antimicrobial activity in in-vitro experiments. Furthermore, the phytochemical analysis has shown differences in their complexities, thus possibly requiring various periods to break down. Therefore, it is necessary to understand these materials’ influence on the biological and physical-chemical stability of compost. Most compost microbiome studies have been bacterial-centric, leaving out eukaryotes despite their critical role in the environment. Here, the influence of different green feedstock on the fungal and non-fungal eukaryotic community structure in a thermophilic compost environment was examined. Total community fungal and non-fungal eukaryotic DNA was recovered from triplicate compost samples of four experimental regimes. Sequencing for fungal ITS and non-fungal eukaryotes; 18S rDNA was done under the Illumina Miseq platform, and bioinformatics analysis was done using Divisive Amplicon Denoising Algorithm version 2 workflow in R version 4.1. Samples of mixed compost and composting day 84 recorded significantly (P<0.05) higher overall fungal populations, while Lantana-based compost and composting day 84 revealed the highest fungal community diversity. Non-fungal eukaryotic richness was significantly (P< 0.05) more abundant in Tithonia-based compost and composting day 21. The most diverse non-fungal eukaryotic biome was in the Tithonia-based compost and composting day 84. Sordariomycetes and Holozoa were the most contributors to the fungal and non-fungal community interactions in the compost environment, respectively. The findings of this study unravel the inherent influence of diverse composting materials and days on the eukaryotic community structure and compost’s biological and chemical stability

The soil microbiomes of forest ecosystems in Kenya : their diversity and environmental drivers

DATA AVAILABILITY : The demultiplexed high-quality sequence reads has been deposited in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Sequence Read Archive (SRA), as Bio Project ID: PRJNA851255 and study accession numbers available for download at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/biopr oject/851255. This Whole Genome Shotgun project has been deposited at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank under the Bioproject PRJNA291812. The metadata, soil chemistry data, input files for Qiime and R analysis scripts were deposited at https://zenodo.org/ and a DOI-10.5281/zenodo.7827433 available using the link; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.78274 32.Soil microbiomes in forest ecosystems act as both nutrient sources and sinks through a range of processes including organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and humic compound incorporation into the soil. Most forest soil microbial diversity studies have been performed in the northern hemisphere, and very little has been done in forests within African continent. This study examined the composition, diversity and distribution of prokaryotes in Kenyan forests top soils using amplicon sequencing of V4-V5 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene. Additionally, soil physicochemical characteristics were measured to identify abiotic drivers of prokaryotic distribution. Different forest soils were found to have statistically distinct microbiome compositions, with Proteobacteria and Crenarchaeota taxa being the most differentially abundant across regions within bacterial and archaeal phyla, respectively. Key bacterial community drivers included pH, Ca, K, Fe, and total N while archaeal diversity was shaped by Na, pH, Ca, total P and total N. To contextualize the prokaryote diversity of Kenyan forest soils on a global scale, the sample set was compared to amplicon data obtained from forest biomes across the globe; displaying them to harbor distinct microbiomes with an over-representation of uncultured taxa such as TK-10 and Ellin6067 genera.USAID, The Oppenheimer Foundation and the University of Pretoria.https://www.nature.com/srepam2024BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant PathologySDG-15:Life on lan