Open-Source Face Recognition Frameworks: A Review of the Landscape

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Availability and Use of Instructional Media Technology Equipment in Teacher Training in Kenyan Universities

This paper assesses the status of instructional media technology equipment based on a survey of Bachelor of Education undergraduate preparation in development and administration of instructional media technology by Kenyan universities. The research sampled four universities out of the thirteen that are operational in Kenya. The universities that participated in the study were Moi University, Kenyatta University, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and Baraton University. A survey research design was adopted. The researcher visited the Universities and third year Bachelor of Education students. Lecturers were involved in the study. Questionnaire, interviews and observations were used to collect data. The study established that departments of Educational Communications and Technology were inadequately equipped, lecturers were overloaded and time allocated could not allow all components to be taught. In light of the said findings the author recommends that universities should source for funds and ensure that ECT departments are adequately equipped   Keywords: Availability, Use, Instructional Media Technology Equipment, Teacher Training, Kenyan Universitie

The Use of ICT in Teaching Kiswahili Play in Secondary Schools in Uasingishu County, Kenya

The main aim of this study was to investigate the use of ICT in teaching Kiswahili plays in secondary schools as a way of cultivating interest and positive attitude towards drama at an early age. The objectives of the study were: To ascertain whether teachers of Kiswahili play have ICT skills for teaching Kiswahili plays and to examine attitude of teachers of Kiswahili towards integration of ICT in teaching Kiswahili plays The study used social learning theory by Bandura and the functionalism theory by John Dewey. The study employed a descriptive survey design to answer the research questions. Stratified sampling was used to categorize schools in to boys, girls, mixed schools, day and boarding schools. Simple random sampling was applied to select 275 students from a total of 918 students. The study used focus group discussion, questionnaires for teachers and students to collect data and interviews to provide further information on the teacher’s attitude on the use of ICT in teaching Kiswahili play and observation. The study showed limited use of ICT in teaching and learning of Kiswahili play and it adds up into the pool of existing knowledge and is beneficial to teachers since it gives suggestion on the best combination to motivate and arouse interest of teaching and also to the teacher training institutions in preparing teachers to adequately use ICT in instruction in classroom level and also to the curriculum developers

Effects of Corporate Governance on Financial Performance of Listed Insurance Firms in Kenya

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Corporate Governance on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in Kenya. Specifically, this study examined board size, board composition, CEO duality and leverage and how they affect the   financial performance of listed insurance Companies in Kenya.  Firm performance was measured using Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). This study adopted a descriptive research design. The study population was all those insurance Companies which were quoted on the Nairobi Securities Exchange as at December 2012.  The primary data were collected through the administration of questionnaires to the staff in these listed insurance firms. Stratified random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample staff for the purpose of administering questionnaires.  Secondary data were collected using documentary information from Company annual accounts for the period 2007 to 2011. Reliability test was carried out using Cronbach’s alpha model. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Data was analyzed using a multiple linear regression model.   The study found that a strong relationship exist between the Corporate Governance practices under study and the firms’ financial performance. Board size was found to negatively affect the financial performance of insurance companies listed at the NSE. There was a positive relationship between board composition and firm financial performance. However, the most critical aspect of board composition was the experience, skills and expertise of the board members as opposed to whether they were executive or non executive directors. Similarly, leverage was found to positively affect financial performance of insurance firms listed at the NSE. On CEO duality, the study found that separation of the role of CEO and Chair positively influenced the financial performance of listed insurance firms. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Insurance firms, Financial Performance  

Granger Causality Effect of Macroeconomic Factors on Treasury Securities Yields in Kenya

Treasury securities are important financial instruments in any economy since their yields provide a benchmark interest rates for other securities. They are also key indicators of market expectations, risk perceptions and money conditions in an economy. Over the recent past years, Kenya has experienced unexpected great movements of the treasury securities yields which has presented a real risk to economic stability. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to determine the granger causality effect of macroeconomic factors on treasury securities yields in Kenya. The key macroeconomic factors considered in this research are inflation rate, monetary policy rate, Government debt and foreign exchange rate. This study finds that inflation rates significantly contribute more in explaining positive movements of short-term and medium-term treasury yields in Kenya. Similarly, monetary policy rates were found to have a significant, but relatively less, contribution in explaining negative movements of short-term and medium-term treasury yields in Kenya. Moreover, foreign exchange rates were significantly found to have more contribution in explaining positive movements of short-term treasury securities yields in Kenya. Finally, the study found that Kenyan government debt does not significantly contribute in explaining the movement of treasury security yields of all maturities in Kenya. Keywords: Treasury Securities, Inflation Rate, Monetary Policy Rate, Government Debt, Foreign Exchange Rate, Granger Causality

Influence of Teaching And Learning Resources When It Comes To Use Of Life Themes Pedagogy In Christian Religious Education (CRE) In Secondary Schools In Kenya

There has been a relatively unsteady performance of CRE in the country as reflected in the K.N.E.C reports of the years 2006-2013.This is also evident in the performance at the County level where the trends have kept down streaming. The purpose of this study was to establish the use of teaching learning resources in CRE curriculum in Secondary schools in Bungoma County. The study was based on two theories: Lev Vygotsky’s theory, known as Social Development Theory and Situated Learning Theory (J. Lave).The study employed descriptive survey design. It utilized stratified random sampling to select the schools, purposive sampling techniques to select the teachers of CRE and simple random sampling to select the form three students of CRE in Secondary schools in Bungoma County. The county had a total of 580 teachers of CRE from whom 29 were sampled as well as 425 students based on Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table of sample size determination and Stat Trek (2012) formula. Three research instruments, namely questionnaire, observation guide and document analyses were used for the data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data that was collected. The data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Cronbach alpha of 0.850 was used in the study to test internal reliability of five-point Likert scale items from questionnaires whereas validity especially construct validity was checked by the teaching faculty in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Media as well as guidance from the supervisors. The study revealed that teachers don't fully utilized a variety of teaching learning resources among them video, posters and charts reference books, teachers’ guides and use of resource persons/place. From the study findings it can be concluded that teaching and learning resources are crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked in order to realize success in implementation of the CRE curriculum by applying life themes pedagogy. Furthermore availability of teaching learning resources is an issue that can greatly enhance successful implementation of CRE curriculum when using the life themes. Key words: Teaching, Learning, Resources, Christian Religious Education

TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE IN DEVOLVED MANAGEMENT OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TO THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT: A COMPARISON OF LEARNER PERFORMANCE BETWEEN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN KENYA

The Kenya 2010 Constitution placed management and financing of Early Years’ Education (EYE) under custody of County Governments. As such management and efficiency of early childhood education is expected to be more effective in offering quality ECDE in the counties than it was before devolution. This study emerges from the theoretical perspective that increased inputs should lead to increased outputs. Consequently, the Education Production Function (EPF) theory was employed. The objective of this comparative study was to compare teacher qualification and experience and how these teacher factors could influence learning and achievement of pupils in public and private ECDE centres in the context of increased funding to public ECDE centres. Kericho County with a target population of 1,066 teachers and 18,405 pupils in public ECDE centres as well as all the 628 teachers and 4,180 pupils drawn from 750 public and 258 private ECDE centres was selected for the study. Pupils in Pre-Primary 2 (PP 2) were used in the study. Sampling was done through stratified, purposive and simple random sampling methods. The sample size was determined by adopting the Krejcie and Morgan formula. Cross-sectional correlation survey was used to compare the impact of selected independent variable on academic achievement among ECDE learners. Data collection was done using questionnaires, observation schedules, document analysis guides, and interview guides. The instruments were validated by experts and piloted to determine their reliability in neighbouring Bomet County. Qualitative and quantitative data collected was analyzed using respective techniques. The quantitative techniques involved descriptive and inferential statistics in order to answer the questions posed for study. Qualitative techniques involved descriptive statistics. The results obtained showed that despite the increased funding to public schools, learners in private schools had high academic achievement compared to their counterparts in public schools. The study provides useful information for education policy makers in both levels of government for decision making with regard to devolution of management of ECDE centres, funding and academic performance. Proposed guidelines are intended to deliver, accountability for Early Years Education (EYE) funding, service delivery and increased quality service. The major findings of this study show that in spite of funding by the County Government, learners in Private ECDE centres continue to outshine their counterparts in the Public ECDE centres. This implies that there could be other underlying factors that affect performance at this level other than funding.  Article visualizations

Mobile presentations with interactive chat for m-Learning

Masters of ScienceUsing presentations in an m-Learning environment enables delivery of rich content to a mobile phone learner. This study investigated how to prepare and stream presentations from a desktop computer to a mobile phone in near-realtime. It also addressed communication between users using interactive text chat in the same environment. Our analysis of text/podcast-based m-Learning applications revealed limited interactivity and lack of diversity in content streamed. To address this, we developed a mobile-based application that uses a task-timer model to synchronize with a server every n units of time to enable near-real time streaming of presentation slides between mobile and desktop users. The application included text-based instant messenger. Laboratory experiments investigated the use Open Office and PowerPoint presentations and techniques used to convert these presentations into mobile phone compatible formats. Experiments were carried out with smart mobile phones running on a third generation cellular network. We employed transaction-logging techniques in addition to automated image analysis techniques to observe and record data. Analysis of the results revealed using presentations enabled more rich content than text-based models such as short message service-based frameworks and podcasts. Although m-Learning is not yet widely adopted, applications such as the one developed in the study offer high hopes for m-Learning because of the use of rich content and interactivity between users.South Afric

Uhasi Wazi Wa Maudhui Katika Tamthilia Teule Za Kiswahili Nchini Kenya.

Tamthilia ni mojawapo ya tanzu za fasihi andishi zinazofundishwa katika shule za upili nchini Kenya. Tamthilia pia hutahiniwa katika mtihani wa kitaifa wa kidato cha nne nchini Kenya Utanzu huu huandikwa kwa mtindo wa mazungumzo kama mchezo wa kuigizwa. Mojawapo kati ya malengo ya elimu nchini Kenya ni ufungamano wa kitaifa. Kila kipengee cha elimu nchini, hupaswa kuelekezwa katika kutimiza malengo ya elimu kama yanavyodokezwa na KIE (2006). Makala haya yanatathmini jinsi suala la ufungamano wa kitaifa limeshughulikiwa na tamthilia zinazotahiniwa katika mtihani wa kitaifa wa kidato cha nne. Lengo kuu la makala haya ni kuchunguza iwapo tamthilia teule zimesawiri kichanya maudhui yanayohusu suala la ufungamano wa kitaifa na nafasi inayochukuliwa na migogoro na maridhiano katika tamthilia teule kwa shule za upili nchini Kenya. Istilahi muhimu: tamthilia, usawiri, uchanya, uhasi, migogoro, maridhiano, ufungamano, taifa na jamii