Influence of Planning for Disasters and Emergencies by Boards of Management on Compliance with Safety Standards in Public Boarding Secondary Schools in Embu County, Kenya

The safety of learners is ultimate in the provision of quality education as secure school environments foster quality teaching and learning. However, the well-being of school children has remained a global problem due to recurrence of tragedies with safety management in institutions of learning remaining a growing concern. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of planning for disasters and emergencies by Boards of Management (BoMs) on compliance with safety standards in public boarding secondary schools in Embu County. The study adopted pragmatic philosophy and convergent mixed method, and targeted five sub-counties and 64 public boarding secondary schools. Respondents comprised chairpersons of BoMs and Parents Associations, BoM secretaries, Heads of Departments (HoDs) and Sub-County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (SCQASOs). Stratified sampling was advanced to pick a sample of 55 schools of various categories. Purposive sampling was used to select 275 HoDs from sampled schools and 5 SCQASOs. The total sample was 445 respondents. HoDs responded to a questionnaire while BoM members and SCQASOs were subjected to an interview. The study also used an observation schedule. Expert judgement was sought to determine the validity of the instruments. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.873 confirmed high reliability of the research items while 0.965 was a high reliability for the questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics; frequencies and percentages. The Hypothesis was tested using Pearson’s coefficient of correlation ‘r’. Research findings (r = .773) indicated that there is a strong positive correlation between planning for disasters and emergencies and compliance with safety standards in public boarding secondary schools, while a (p = 0.029) direct that planning also significantly influence the levels of school compliance with the safety standards. The study recommend that school boards should plan for safety; allocate financial, infrastructural and human resources to realize high levels of school safety Keywords: Board of Management, Compliance, Safety standards, Planning, Public boarding secondary schools DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-21-10 Publication date:July 31st 202

Influence of Working Conditions on Turnover Intentions of Secondary School Teachers in Meru County

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between working conditions and teacher turnover intentions in public secondary schools in Meru County, Kenya. The study used a descriptive survey design with both quantitative and qualitative approaches in data collection and analysis. A total of 520 respondents were involved in the study that included 503 secondary school teachers, 15 principals and 2 staffing officers. Teachers working conditions were examined to determine their relationship with turnover intentions. Data obtained from teachers’ questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS version 21.Hypotheses were tested using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and chi-square goodness of fit at 95%, p<0.05. The result of product moment correlation analysis indicated that the independent variable, working conditions (r= -0.488, p<0.001) have a negative and an inverse relationship with the independent variable, turnover intention. These results were agreed with the results of Chi-square analysis for both the independent variable which showed a significant relationship between working conditions and turnover intentions of secondary school teachers in Meru County. The results therefore established that teachers’ motivation in secondary schools in Meru County is low due to poor working conditions and the education system appears to be staffed with teachers with poor morale and low levels of commitment to their jobs leading to high turnover intentions. The study recommends the various Boards of Management and other education stakeholders at the national and county government levels consider issues of teachers working conditions as an essential element in the motivating and reducing turnover intentions hence retention in teaching service

“Respect is an Investment”: Community Perceptions of Social and Emotional Competencies in Early Childhood from Mtwara, Tanzania

Education programs in Africa increasingly aim to develop and measure social and emotional competencies. However, assessments are typically adapted from those developed in other continents and are not derived from local perspectives. In the current study, we conducted focus groups and individual interviews with teachers, parents and students in 4 randomly selected rural primary schools from Mtwara region in Tanzania, 3 of which had recently begun participation in a pre-primary education program. The aim was to understand the social and emotional competencies in early childhood that participants viewed as important for school and for life in general. Compared to existing frameworks of social and emotional competencies, participants placed more emphasis on aspects of social responsibility, for example respect, obedience and being an attentive listener. Individual competencies such as curiosity, self-direction and self-belief were valued more by teachers than parents and seen as most important for success at school. In general, most social and emotional competencies – even individual competencies - were discussed in terms of social relationships. Findings have implications for how cultural values are taken into account in assessment, curriculum design and parent and community engagement around pre-school education

In silico exploration of Lycoris alkaloids as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic whose adverse effects have been felt all over the world. As of August 2022, reports indicated that over 500 million people in the world had been infected and the number of rising deaths from the disease were slightly above 6.4 million. New variants of the causative agent, SARS-CoV-2 are emanating now and then and some are more efficacious and harder to manage. SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) has essential functions in viral gene expression and replication through proteolytic cleavage of polyproteins. Search for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors is a vital step in the treatment and management of COVID-19. In this study, we investigated whether alkaloids with antiviral and myriad other bioactivities from the genus Lycoris can act as SARS-CoV-2 Mpro inhibitors. We conducted a computer-aided drug design study through screening optimal ligands for SARS-CoV-2 Mpro from a list of over 150 Lycoris alkaloids created from online databases such as ChEMBL, PubChem, ChemSpider, and published journal papers. The In silico study involved molecular docking of Lycoris alkaloids to SARS-CoV-2 Mpro active site, absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination and toxicity (ADMET) screening and finally molecular dynamic (MD) simulations of the most promising ligand-SARS-CoV-2 Mpro complexes. The study identified 3,11-dimethoxy-lycoramine, narwedine, O-demethyllycoramine and epilycoramine as drug-like and lead-like Lycoris alkaloids with favorable ADMET properties and are very likely to have an inhibition activity on SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and may become potential drug candidates. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.704180

Analysis of the TCR Repertoire in HIV-Exposed but Uninfected Infants

Maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has been shown to leave profound and lasting impacts on the HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infant, including increased mortality and morbidity, immunological changes, and developmental delays compared to their HIV-unexposed (HU) counterparts. Exposure to HIV or antiretroviral therapy may influence immune development, which could increase morbidity and mortality. However, a direct link between the increased mortality and morbidity and the infant’s immune system has not been identified. To provide a global picture of the neonatal T cell repertoire in HEU versus HU infants, the diversity of the T cell receptor beta chain (TRB) expressed in cord blood samples from HEU infants was determined using next-generation sequencing and compared to healthy (HU) infants collected from the same community. While the TRB repertoire of HU infants was broadly diverse, in line with the expected idea of a naïve T cell repertoire, samples of HEU infants showed a significantly reduced TRB diversity. This study is the first to demonstrate differences in TRB diversity between HEU and HU cord blood samples and provides evidence that maternal HIV, in the absence of transmission, influences the adaptive immune system of the unborn child

Adopting a multi-systems approach: examining the academic belongingness of first-generation college students with multiple stigmatized identities in STEM

First-generation college students often experience greater social alienation and marginalization due to a mismatch of their cultural values compared to those of their university and often report lower academic satisfaction and sense of belonging. The effects on sense of belonging and satisfaction are intensified when first-generation college students have identities that intersect with other stigmatized social and cultural identities, like low socioeconomic status, Black or Latinx racial identities or religious identities, specifically for STEM majors. Students’ holistic health and well-being, including their sense of belonging, is highly correlated to their academic achievement, persistence, and overall student success, especially for underrepresented minority groups. However, there has been limited consideration for the nuanced experiences of first-generation college students with multiple stigmatized identities, and for how the academic STEM environment shapes student’s perceptions of inclusivity considering their social identities. To address these concerns, we used the Bioecological Systems theory to contextualize drivers of sense of belonging for students with stigmatized social and cultural identities by allowing space to explicitly consider institutional, departmental, classroom and societal-level phenomena that may operate to erode or fortify belonging for some individuals over others. Findings were organized contextually first, revealing how broader societal and familial values shaped their perceptions of their first-generation identity. Next, we reported how various forms of engagement and interactions with institutional agents impacted their perceptions of support at the institutional level. We then documented behavioral patterns within STEM departments that culminated to reveal how first-generation college students’ sense of belonging was impacted by perceived departmental culture. Last, we revealed interactions within STEM classrooms that signaled inclusivity through humanizing and intentional pedagogical practices. Infused throughout all findings are instances where student experiences were mediated through their multiple identities and were shaped by dual global pandemics of 2020, that being COVID-19 and the racial unrest resurfaced by the murder of George Floyd. Implications for this work have the potential to restructure how institutions provide support for first-generation college students given the salience of their intersecting stigmatized identities in shaping their institutional, disciplinary, and classroom belonging

Modern Contraception: Uptake and Correlates among Women of Reproductive Age-Group in a Rural Community of Osun State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Universal contraceptive access is one of the key strategies for achieving sustainable developments in any country. Yet, uptake has remained low in most developing nations like Nigeria. The reasons for low use must be contextually understood to aid effective contraceptive programming. This study assessed contraceptive use and its determinants among reproductive aged women in Ejigbo, Osun State, Nigeria.METHOD: A quantitative study involving 405 participants which were recruited using multi-stage sampling method was carried out. Data were collected using pretested semi-structured, intervieweradministered questionnaire. Chi-Square test and binary logistic regression analysis were used for inferential statistics.RESULTS: The mean age of the respondents was 28±6. The majority (92.8%) of the respondents were aware of family planning, 68.9% of them possessed good knowledge but only 53% of them demonstrated favorable contraceptive attitude. Less than half (33.0%) of those who had heard about contraception were current users of modern methods. Injectables (45.0%) and male condoms (30.0%) were the most prevalent contraceptive methods among the respondents. The main determinants of contraceptive uptake were respondents’ educational status (AOR=0.525, 95%CI=0.284-0.972), contraceptive knowledge (OR=0.512, 95%CI=1.242-1.968) and attitude (OR=0.512, 95%CI=1.242- 1.968). Fear of perceived side effects (45.2%), low pregnancy risk perception (35.7%) and spousal refusal (12.5%) were the main reasons for non-contraceptive use among non-users.CONCLUSION: Contraceptive demand in the study population was low in spite of high awareness level. There is a need to increase contraceptive literacy in the study population and make the services more acceptable to rural dwellers so as to meet the SDG-3 target in Nigeria