Teacher Preparedness in the Implementation of the Integrated Business Studies Curriculum in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

The main purpose of this paper was to assess teacher preparedness in the implementation of the integrated Business Studies curriculum in public secondary schools in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to: find out the level of pre-service training of the Business Studies teachers implementing the integrated Business Studies curriculum and to find out the extent of in-service training of the Business Studies teachers implementing the integrated Business Studies curriculum. This study was based on the ideas and concepts of curriculum theorists; Gross et al., (1971), Tyler, (1949), Fullan (1982) and Shiundu and Omulando (1992), who noted that, for successful curriculum implementation, the degree of success depends on the extent to which several factors would be considered. The study employed a descriptive survey design. The study took a census inquiry and thus purposively collected data from all the Business Studies teachers and head teachers of all the public secondary schools in Nandi North Sub-County. Questionnaires for Business Studies teachers and interview schedule for head teachers were used to collect data. Validity of the research tools was determined by having experienced supervisors in the School of Education, Moi University who checked the questionnaires and the interview schedule, while reliability of the research instruments was established by a pilot study. Analysis of data was done using descriptive statistical techniques. The findings of this study revealed that Business Studies teachers were trained in the orientation of the old curriculum to teach Accounting, Economics or Commerce as separate subjects with majority having been trained to teach Economics and not Business Studies as an integrated subject while about a third of the teachers were untrained. Furthermore the study found out that majority 52 (71%) of the Business Studies teachers had never received any in-service training such as seminars and workshops. This study recommends that, there is need for Teachers Service Commission (TSC) to hire more professionally trained Business Studies teachers and organize more in-service training courses. Teacher training institutions should offer relevant training program in all areas of the integrated Business Studies subject. It is hoped that the findings from this study will be utilized by the Ministry of Education and other education stakeholders in order to come up with strategies that should be put in place to enhance the implementation of the integrated Business Studies curriculum in Kenyan secondary schools. Keywords: Business Studies, curriculum, implementation, integrated, preparednes

Desertification

IPCC SPECIAL REPORT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND LAND (SRCCL) Chapter 3: Climate Change and Land: An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystem

Comparative Study of Composite Made from Ensete False Banana Fibres and Polyethylene with Block Board

This paper is an effort to utilize abundant availability of natural fibres and waste plastics for the development of composite materials based on polymer and particles of natural fibres for conservation of natural resources such as forests. Ensete false banana (EFB) fibres were used as reinforcement to obtain composites with melted waste polyethylene bottled as matrix phase. The composites were prepared by means of compression moulding, and then the effects of fibres loading on mechanical properties such as impact strength, flexural strength, and wear resistance were investigated. Water uptake was also studied. It was observed that the flexural modulus, compressive strength and flexural strength of treated EBF reinforced PE increased linearly with increment of fibres loadings. This trend was similar for impact strength where it exhibited a slight reduction at the initial stage but increased later as the fibres loading increased. It was also observed the water absorption increased with increase in fibres loading. Machining operations such as grinding, milling, drilling and cutting can be performed on the composite. The study has demonstrated that the optimum fibres loading for the best performance of the composite achieved was 30 wt%. The composite produced has a high potential as alternative block board materials. Keywords: Ensete false banana, Block board, fibres, plastics waste, composite

Attribution of the human influence on heavy rainfall associated with flooding events during the 2012, 2016, and 2018 March-April-May seasons in Kenya

The changing probabilities of extreme climate and weather events, in terms of frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration, and timing is one of the most noticeable and damaging manifestations of human-induced climate change. During the March-April-May (MAM) rainfall season of 2012, 2016 and 2018, Kenya experienced high rainfall that caused both widespread and localised flooding, resulting in human and livestock deaths, destruction of infrastructure and property, bursting of riverbanks, submerging of farmlands and emergence of isolated cases of water-borne diseases. Here, we aim to quantify how the magnitude of heavy rainfall during these seasons may have been altered by human-induced climate change. We undertake a probabilistic attribution analysis using three different approaches utilising two observational datasets and two independent climate model experiment set-ups. We analyse three different seasonal heavy rainfall indices, maximum consecutive 5-day, 10-day, and 20-day rainfall, to compare the magnitude of maxima recorded in MAM 2012, 2016 and 2018 with the magnitude of maxima in a pre-industrial climate (with little or no anthropogenic influence). We find a shift towards intensification of extreme rainfall in today's climate, although these increases are not in all cases statistically distinguishable from our estimates of magnitudes in the preindustrial climate. Although we find no significant anthropogenic climate change influence, the intensification of extreme rainfall amid the observed drying trend and the projected increases in rainfall in the MAM season in Kenya, leave the already vulnerable societies with uncertainties about how to prepare for a changing climate. This study, therefore, provides a basis for an in-depth assessment of current and future trends of extreme rainfall in East Africa in adapting to changing climate risks for sustainable development in the already vulnerable and less resilient society