Self-Regulation of Facebook Usage and Academic Performance of Students in Kenyan Universities

The increasing connectivity of places to the internet platform has led to widespread use of the social media platforms in homes, workplaces and schools wherein it is preffered by mostly the young people christened as dot.com generation. The use of social media platforms has a potential effect on the productivity of the users either in their places of work, schools and society in general. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of self-regulation of Facebook usage on academic performance among university students in Kenya. To achieve this objective, the study employed the ex post facto research design. Purposive and stratified random sampling methods  were used to select partcipating campuses (n=4) from (N=12) and students (n=348) from (N=2698) third year regular students. Data was collected using a self administered questionnaire. The null hypothesis was tested at .01 level of significance using Kendall's tau_b correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that there was a moderate level of self regualtion on facebook usage by university students thus depicting ambivalence in attitude towards controlling the urge to use facebook when in site. Further, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the level of facebook self regulation and academic performance (p<.01). The implication of this finding was that the more one self regulates, the higher the likelihood of improving in academic performance. From the findings, it is recommended that universities incorporate time management skills in the curriculum in order to help the students achieve balance between leisure activites and academics. KEYWORDS: Facebook, Facebook usage, self-regulation, academic performance

Impact of English Proficiency on Academic Performance of International Students

Using an ex-post facto, non-experimental approach, this research examined the impact of English language proficiency and multilingualism on the academic performance of international students enrolled in a four-year university located in north central Louisiana in the United States. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire from 59 students who were in their sophomore, junior or senior year of college. Statistical analyses revealed significant differences in language proficiency and multilingualism in relation to academic performance. The highest mean GPA was evident among students who had reported high levels of self-perceived English language proficiency, and among students who spoke at least three languages

Factors influencing dietary behaviours in urban food environments in Africa: a systematic mapping review

Objective: To identify factors influencing dietary behaviours in urban food environments in Africa and identify areas for future research. Design: We systematically reviewed published/grey literature (protocol CRD4201706893). Findings were compiled into a map using a socio-ecological model on four environmental levels: individual, social, physical and macro. Setting: Urban food environments in Africa. Participants: Studies involving adolescents and adults (11–70 years, male/female). Results: Thirty-nine studies were included (six adolescent, fifteen adolescent/adult combined and eighteen adult). Quantitative methods were most common (twenty-eight quantitative, nine qualitative and two mixed methods). Studies were from fifteen African countries. Seventy-seven factors influencing dietary behaviours were identified, with two-thirds at the individual level (45/77). Factors in the social (11/77), physical (12/77) and macro (9/77) environments were investigated less. Individual-level factors that specifically emerged for adolescents included self-esteem, body satisfaction, dieting, spoken language, school attendance, gender, body composition, pubertal development, BMI and fat mass. Studies involving adolescents investigated social environment-level factors more, for example, sharing food with friends. The physical food environment was more commonly explored in adults, for example, convenience/availability of food. Macro-level factors associated with dietary behaviours were food/drink advertising, religion and food prices. Factors associated with dietary behaviour were broadly similar for men and women. Conclusions: The dominance of studies exploring individual-level factors suggests a need for research to explore how social, physical and macro-level environments drive dietary behaviours of adolescents and adults in urban Africa. More studies are needed for adolescents and men, and studies widening the geographical scope to encompass all African countries

Factors affecting actualisation of the WHO breastfeeding recommendations in urban poor settings in Kenya

Poor breastfeeding practices are widely documented in Kenya, where only a third of children are exclusively breastfed for 6 months and only 2% in urban poor settings. This study aimed to better understand the factors that contribute to poor breastfeeding practices in two urban slums in Nairobi, Kenya. In-depth interviews (IDIs), focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) were conducted with women of childbearing age, community health workers, village elders and community leaders and other knowledgeable people in the community. A total of 19 IDIs, 10 FGDs and 11 KIIs were conducted, and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were coded in NVIVO and analysed thematically. We found that there was general awareness regarding optimal breastfeeding practices, but the knowledge was not translated into practice, leading to suboptimal breastfeeding practices. A number of social and structural barriers to optimal breastfeeding were identified: (1) poverty, livelihood and living arrangements; (2) early and single motherhood; (3) poor social and professional support; (4) poor knowledge, myths and misconceptions; (5) HIV; and (6) unintended pregnancies. The most salient of the factors emerged as livelihoods, whereby women have to resume work shortly after delivery and work for long hours, leaving them unable to breastfeed optimally. Women in urban poor settings face an extremely complex situation with regard to breastfeeding due to multiple challenges and risk behaviours often dictated to them by their circumstances. Macro-level policies and interventions that consider the ecological setting are needed

Technology development and field testing: access to credit to allow smallholder dairy farmers in central Kenya to reallocate concentrates during lactation

A field trial with smallholder dairy farmers in central Kenya was carried out to study the feasibility of reallocating concentrates as a means of increasing the profitability of milk production. Researchers designed the trial with extension officers, dairy co-operative and feed company staff to ensure that all stakeholders and key players were involved. Central to the design was the provision of feed on credit from the dairy co-operative to its members, the volunteer farmers involved in the study. The role of the research team was to present the technology to the farmers and monitor the implementation and impact. Farmers were not constrained in the way they chose to implement the recommendations, but the research team monitored any modifications as well as recording production parameters and characteristics of the farm and feed management systems likely to explain underlying variation. The recommendation was to feed 8 kg/day in early lactation, withdrawing concentrates completely after twelve weeks so that during the course of lactation the amount fed would be equivalent to the most frequent farmer practice, a flat rate of 2 kg/day. Actual quantities offered by most farmers were reported to be higher than in previous lactations, but varied from 2-10 kg/day. Although some decreased the amount offered between 8-12 weeks post lactation most continued with the higher levels until a drop in milk yield was observed. Milk production increased as a result of the intervention with a large part of the variation in milk yield (r2 = 0.55) reflecting the amount of concentrate offered. Month of calving and sampling also influenced the production response For many smallholder dairy farmers one of the key constraints to making technological changes expected to improve production is the lack of credit to allow them to make investments. The results so far available from our study showed that farmers were able to increase their milk yield as a result of the intervention, and that, as expected, the response depended on the level of concentrate offered

Benchmarking food environment policies for the prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases in Kenya: National expert panel’s assessment and priority recommendations

Introduction: Unhealthy food environments drive the increase of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Objective: We aimed to examine healthy food environment policies in Kenya and identify priorities for future action. Methods: Using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) we collected evidence on the extent of government action to create healthy food environments across 13 policy and infrastructure support domains and 43 related good practice indicators between 2017 and 2018. A panel of 15 national experts rated the extent of government action on each indicator compared to the policy development cycle and international best practice respectively. Based on gaps found, actions to improve food environments in Kenya were identified and prioritized. Results: In the policy development cycle, 16/43 (37%) of good practice policy indicators were judged to be in ‘implementation’ phase, including: food composition targets, packaged foods’ ingredient lists/nutrient declarations; systems regulating health claims; restrictions on marketing breast milk substitutes; and school nutrition policies. Infrastructure support actions in ‘implementation’ phase included: food-based dietary guidelines; strong political support to reduce NCDs; comprehensive NCD action plan; transparency in developing food policies; and surveys monitoring nutritional status. Half (22/43) of the indicators were judged to be ‘in development’. Compared to international best practice, the Kenyan Government was judged to be performing relatively well (‘medium’ implementation) in one policy (restrictions on marketing breast milk substitutes) and three infrastructure support areas (political leadership; comprehensive implementation plan; and ensuring all food policies are sensitive to nutrition). Implementation for 36 (83.7 %) indicators were rated as ‘low’ or ‘very little’. Taking into account importance and feasibility, seven actions within the areas of leadership, food composition, labelling, promotion, prices and health-in-all-policies were prioritized. Conclusion: This baseline assessment is important in creating awareness to address gaps in food environment policy. Regular monitoring using Food-EPI may contribute to addressing the burden of diet-related NCDs in Kenya

GC13I-0857: Designing a Frost Forecasting Service for Small Scale Tea Farmers in East Africa

Kenya is the third largest tea exporter in the world, producing 10% of the world's black tea. Sixty percent of this production occurs largely by small scale tea holders, with an average farm size of 1.04 acres, and an annual net income of $1,075. According to a recent evaluation, a typical frost event in the tea growing region causes about$200 dollars in losses which can be catastrophic for a small holder farm. A 72-hour frost forecast would provide these small-scale tea farmers with enough notice to reduce losses by approximately 80 USD annually. With this knowledge, SERVIR, a joint NASA-USAID initiative that brings Earth observations for improved decision making in developing countries, sought to design a frost monitoring and forecasting service that would provide farmers with enough lead time to react to and protect against a forecasted frost occurrence on their farm. SERVIR Eastern and Southern Africa, through its implementing partner, the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD), designed a service that included multiple stakeholder engagement events whereby stakeholders from the tea industry value chain were invited to share their experiences so that the exact needs and flow of information could be identified. This unique event allowed enabled the design of a service that fit the specifications of the stakeholders. The monitoring service component uses the MODIS Land Surface Temperature product to identify frost occurrences in near-real time. The prediction component, currently under testing, uses the 2-m air temperature, relative humidity, and 10-m wind speed from a series of high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical weather prediction model runs over eastern Kenya as inputs into a frost prediction algorithm. Accuracy and sensitivity of the algorithm is being assessed with observations collected from the farmers using a smart phone app developed specifically to report frost occurrences, and from data shared through our partner network developed at the stakeholder engagement meeting. This presentation will illustrate the efficacy of our frost forecasting algorithm, and a way forward for incorporating these forecasts in a meaningful way to the key decision makers - the small-scale farmers of East Africa

Characterised existing sweetpotato seed system actors, identified efficient seed distribution channels and market preferred varieties in Bukombe and Butiama districts, Tanzania

Tanzania is a major sweetpotato producer in sub-Saharan Africa. The area under sweetpotato has been rising steadily relative to main food staples. However, the yields have stagnated at around 4 t/ha compared with the potential yield of above 20 t/ha, partly due to limited access to quality seeds. Most farmers in SSA recycle seed from the previous crop or source from neighbours. This increases the probability of accumulating viruses, which may reduce the sweetpotato yield by over 50%. Studies have shown that farmers are willing to pay a premium for quality seeds. Therefore, an efficient seed distribution channel that ensures seeds move from the breeding stage to the multiplication stage without any disconnections between the nodes can provide farmers with better access to quality seed at an affordable price. However, there are disconnections in the current seed distribution channels, particularly between the public and private sectors. In addition, most farmers do not often replenish planting materials once they buy quality planting materials. There are hardly any exclusive seed multipliers in the seed value chain due to a lack of understanding about potential business opportunities. Identifying a sustainable and profitable business model for seed multipliers is important in ensuring that farmers are constantly supplied with quality planting materials when they need them. This needs greater efforts to demonstrate the benefits of using quality planting materials, establish delivery seed distribution channels to reach a large number of end-users, and strengthen farmer seed management capacities and farmer seed networks. A study was conducted in Mara and Geita regions to identify market preferred and the main sources of the sweetpotato roots. The survey on the root producers were carried to understand the acquisition and provision of the market-preferred varieties and the connections between the nodes in the existing seed distribution channels. The study also conducted key informant interviews with other key stakeholders such as the public sector (i.e., Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute-TARI). The team will propose a sustainable business model that can link formal and informal seed sectors for consistent supply of quality and market preferred planting materials to root producers. The study utilized “the structure, conduct, and performance (SCP)” tool to establish relationships in the sweetpotato seed market. The SCP paradigm postulates a causal relationship where the structure influences the conduct, and in turn, the conduct influences the performance. The structure refers to the type of market, pricing strategy, the degree of concentration of buyers and sellers, the level of product differentiation, and condition of entry in the market. The conduct is the behavior of buyers and sellers and how they react to each other strategy. The performance of the seed market considers indicators such as profit of the seed and root producers and seed security indicators. The study also mapped the linkages of the existing nodes of sweetpotato seed channels by looking at the seed acquisition and provision transactions. A total of 45 traders participated in the survey in Bukombe, Butiama, Ilemela and Nyamagana districts. Most of the traders were male, and the average age was between 37- 44 years in the four districts. Most traders are members of trader’s associations, some traders were in cooperatives, and a few were in digital platforms. The traders benefited from the association through access to credit, access to market information, facilitating joint marketing, and saving cash. The markets were mainly rural (Bukombe and Butiama) and urban markets (Ilemela and Nyamagana). The type of traders in these markets were either wholesalers or middlemen (aggregators), with most markets operating the whole day, where the contract between sellers and buyers is largely oral. The high season when the supply of sweetpotato roots is high in the market ran from February to June, while the low season runs from July to November. Overall, Polista (62%), Mage (40%), and Ukimwi (28%) were the three most traded in the market, but there were district differentials in the traded varieties. For instance, Ukerewe (56%) was the most traded variety in Butiama. The common attributes liked about these varieties include high dry matter, big root size, good taste for Polista, high dry matter, good color and high market demand for Ukimwi, long shelf life, high market demand, and good color of the flesh for Mage. The three most disliked attributes in Polista were late maturing, short storage life, and susceptibility to pests and diseases. In Ukimwi susceptible to pests and diseases, limited supply of planting material, and small size of the root. Low dry matter, late maturing, and high-water content were the three most disliked attributes of Mage variety. In the root and seed producers survey, a total of 110 households from the Bukombe and Butiama district participated in the rapid seed system assessment survey after being identified as a major source to sweetpotato markets in the region. The proportion of root producers who also produced seeds was higher in Bukombe (72%) than Butiama (42%), where the majority of the seed producers were not trained. Most producers produce seeds for their own use. However, the neighbor farmers play a dominant role in both seed acquisition and seed provision. The existing root buyers include wholesalers, commission agents/aggregators, retailers, and NGOs. Most farmers sell the roots to wholesale traders, followed by commission agents and retailers. The median size for sweetpotato root plots was 0.8 hectares in both districts, while the average size for sweetpotato seed plots was 0.2 hectares in Bukombe and 0.32 hectares in Butiama. The average root yield was 2,461 kg/acre in Bukombe and 2060kg/acre in Butiama. The average seed yield was 5,695kg/acre in Bukombe and 3,140 kg/acre in Butiama. Overall, the three most preferred varieties are Polista, Ukimwi, and Mage, but varied with the district. Polista variety was liked because of its high dry matter content, better taste, and high market demand. The traits that farmers disliked include matures late, has low yield and is not resistant to SPW. Ukimwi was preferred because it matures early, has high market demand, high dry matter. The traits producers disliked were less resistant to SPVD, not stress-tolerant, short shelf life, and limited access to planting material. The preferred attributes in Mage include high market demand, good flesh color, early maturing, and high root yield. However, the variety is late maturing, has low dry matter content, has a shorter shelf life, and less resistant to stress (drought and poor soils). About 90% of producers sell/share sweetpotato roots. The roots are mostly sold to wholesale traders, followed by commission agents, retailers, and NGOs. The average quantity sold by the respondents in the last year was about 8924 kg in Bukombe and 4850kg in Butiama. Only 26% and 53% of respondents sold seeds in Butiama and Bukombe, respectively. The most common varieties provided were Ukimwi (33%), Pisi tatu (27%), Uso wa mchina (20%) in Bukombe. Polista (57%) and Ukerewe (29%) were the most common varieties in Butiama. Farmers predominantly sold to sweetpotato producers in both Butiama (86%) and Bukombe (97%). Other seed buyers were international organizations, and local NGOs. Respondents sold to producers mainly because they were friends and relatives without expectations but sold to local NGOs, international organizations because they give higher prices. About 47% in Bukombe and 28% Butiama acquired seed from elsewhere. Ukimwi was the most dominant variety in Bukombe, while most respondents in Butiama received Polista and Ukerewe. At least half of the respondents chose these varieties because they were market preferred. The seeds were mainly sourced from sweetpotato producers because of close relationships (relatives and friends). TARI produced Kabode, Kakamega, NASPOT 12, and Mataya varieties through rapid multiplication in screen houses and conventional methods in open field plots. The three most preferred varieties were Kabode, NASPOT 12, and Mataya. All of them are early maturing, high yielding, with better nutritional benefits. Kabode and NASPOT 12 are also tolerant to SPVD and SPW. TARI has regular contact with about 20 decentralized vine multipliers and 30 farmers. In the last one year, TARI provided 5 types of varieties The five types of varieties that TARI provided were Kabode, Kakamega, NASPOT 12, Mataya, and Ejumula, where the seed class was basic. TARI provided a total of 1257 bundles to local NGOs in February at TSH 2500 for each bundle of 100 cuttings of 30cm size

Guilt, shame, and postpartum infant feeding outcomes: A systematic review

Abstract Negative maternal affect (e.g., depression and anxiety) has been associated with shorter breastfeeding duration and poorer breastfeeding intention, initiation, and exclusivity. Other affective states, including guilt and shame, have been linked with formula feeding practice, though existing literature has yet to be synthesised. A narrative synthesis of quantitative data and a framework synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data were conducted to explore guilt and/or shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes. Searches were conducted on the DISCOVER database between December 2017 and March 2018. The search strategy was rerun in February 2020, together yielding 467 studies. The study selection process identified 20 articles, published between 1997 and 2017. Quantitative results demonstrated formula feeders experienced guilt more commonly than breastfeeding mothers. Formula feeders experienced external guilt most commonly associated with healthcare professionals, whereas breastfeeding mothers experienced guilt most commonly associated with peers and family. No quantitative literature examined shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes, warranting future research. The framework synthesis generated four distinct themes which explored guilt and/or shame in relation to infant feeding outcomes: ‘underprepared and ineffectively supported’, ‘morality and perceived judgement’ (breastfeeding), ‘frustration with infant feeding care’ and ‘failures, fears and forbidden practice’ (formula feeding). Both guilt and shame were associated with self‐perception as a bad mother and poorer maternal mental health. Guilt and shame experiences were qualitatively different in terms of sources and outcomes, dependent on infant feeding method. Suggestions for tailored care to minimise guilt and shame, while supporting breastfeeding, are provided