Gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics among secondary school students in Keiyo district, Kenya.

Paper presented at Strathmore International Math Research Conference on July 23 - 27, 2012The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics among secondary school students. It investigated the influence of students‟ perception of parental, teachers and peer expectations on their attitudes towards learning of mathematics. Descriptive Survey design was used. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires and interview schedules. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The accessible population were heads of mathematics department and form three students from selected secondary schools in Keiyo district, Kenya. Sample study comprised of 300 students (150 boys and 150 girls) and all heads of mathematics department from the sample schools in Keiyo district, Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to categorize schools into either boys/girls or mixed schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 15 from 32 secondary schools and 20 students from each selected class. Convenient sampling technique was used to select mathematics‟ teachers who were interviewed. The findings of this study revealed that significant gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics exist among secondary school students in Keiyo district. The findings showed that both boys and girls have positive attitudes towards learning of mathematics though boys were more positively inclined than girls. Students‟ perceptions of parental, teachers‟ and peer expectations were found to significantly influence gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics. From the findings, the study recommended appropriate approaches that teacher - trainers and learners would use when designing mathematical activities that are in the form of fun, relaxed learning and collaborative hands on work and problem solving. Such learning activities would make learning of mathematics a success.The purpose of this study was to find out the effect of gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics among secondary school students. It investigated the influence of students‟ perception of parental, teachers and peer expectations on their attitudes towards learning of mathematics. Descriptive Survey design was used. Data was collected by the use of questionnaires and interview schedules. The collected data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The accessible population were heads of mathematics department and form three students from selected secondary schools in Keiyo district, Kenya. Sample study comprised of 300 students (150 boys and 150 girls) and all heads of mathematics department from the sample schools in Keiyo district, Kenya. Stratified random sampling was used to categorize schools into either boys/girls or mixed schools. Simple random sampling was used to select 15 from 32 secondary schools and 20 students from each selected class. Convenient sampling technique was used to select mathematics‟ teachers who were interviewed. The findings of this study revealed that significant gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics exist among secondary school students in Keiyo district. The findings showed that both boys and girls have positive attitudes towards learning of mathematics though boys were more positively inclined than girls. Students‟ perceptions of parental, teachers‟ and peer expectations were found to significantly influence gender differences and attitudes towards learning of mathematics. From the findings, the study recommended appropriate approaches that teacher - trainers and learners would use when designing mathematical activities that are in the form of fun, relaxed learning and collaborative hands on work and problem solving. Such learning activities would make learning of mathematics a success.

Genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population

The genetic parameters for growth, reproductive and maternal traits in a multibreed meat sheep population were estimated by applying the Average Information Restricted Maximum Likelihood method to an animal model. Data from a flock supported by the Programa de Melhoramento Genético de Caprinos e Ovinos de Corte (GENECOC) were used. The traits studied included birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), slaughter weight (SW), yearling weight (YW), weight gain from birth to weaning (GBW), weight gain from weaning to slaughter (GWS), weight gain from weaning to yearling (GWY), age at first lambing (AFL), lambing interval (LI), gestation length (GL), lambing date (LD - number of days between the start of breeding season and lambing), litter weight at birth (LWB) and litter weight at weaning (LWW). The direct heritabilities were 0.35, 0.81, 0.65, 0.49, 0.20, 0.15 and 0.39 for BW, WW, SW, YW, GBW, GWS and GWY, respectively, and 0.04, 0.06, 0.10, 0.05, 0.15 and 0.11 for AFL, LI, GL, LD, LWB and LWW, respectively. Positive genetic correlations were observed among body weights. In contrast, there was a negative genetic correlation between GBW and GWS (-0.49) and GBW and GWY (-0.56). Positive genetic correlations were observed between AFL and LI, LI and GL, and LWB and LWW. These results indicate a strong maternal influence in this herd and the presence of sufficient genetic variation to allow mass selection for growth traits. Additive effects were of little importance for reproductive traits, and other strategies are necessary to improve the performance of these animals

Assessing the diversity of preferences of suburban smallholder sheep keepers for breeding rams in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

peer reviewedUrbanisation in developing countries entails deep changes in the livestock sector and the management of animal genetic resources (AnGR). Sheep breeding around Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) illustrates these changes and the need to coordinate genetic improvement in general and the use of crossbreeding in particular. For this, it is important to understand breeders' choices and improvement strategy, to accompany them within a national plan for AnGR management. In a context of missing market for breeding rams, a stated choice experiment was conducted with 137 farmers, together with a characterisation of herd management practices. This survey analyses farmers' preferences for breeding rams, estimating their willingness to pay (WTP) for different traits (attributes). Their practices were characterised by a high reliance on natural pastures (82% of farmers) and a minority of crossbreeding (23%). The highest WTP was observed for disease resistance. However, the subgroup of farmers practicing crossbreeding showed a tolerance to high susceptibility. A strong preference for the white colour was revealed. Although significant, the influence of sheep body size on decision-making showed a lesser importance, again with a distinct behaviour in the subgroup practicing crossbreeding. These results illustrate the need to take account of the diversity of goals and preferences among smallholder sheep keepers to gain their adhesion to a coordinated genetic improvement framework

The status of flora and fauna in the Nzoia River drainage basin in western Kenya

The species richness of flora and fauna in the Nzoia River drainage basin is documented through a study of museum specimens,  catalogues and databases. The catchment area and basin covers 2.2% (12900/580367 km2) of Kenya’s total land area with an altitudinal range of 1140 to 4300 m and varied ecosystem and land uses. We recorded approximately 9.3% (3239/34677) of Kenya’s current known species of vascular plants, invertebrates (insects and spiders), fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Bird species made up the highest proportion 58.3% (650/1114) of the national total followed by amphibians 37.3% (41/110), reptiles 45.0% (86/191), mammals 31.3% (122/390), vascular plants 17.9% (1251/7000), fish 6.7% (58/872) (32.2% (58/180) for freshwater fish only) and invertebrates (insects and spiders) 4.1% (1031/25000). Ninety-five species recorded in this area are endemic to Kenya and 42 globally threatened. The species recorded contribute to several ecosystem services including pest control, pollination, bio-indicators, medicine and cosmetics, building materials, ecotourism, research and education. Data available differed substantially across counties and taxon groups with gaps apparent in five counties (Bungoma, Busia, Elgeyo Marakwet, Siaya and Usain Gishu) and four taxa plants, invertebrates, fungi and bacteria where a dearth of information exists. To fill these gaps we recommend prioritisng future survey effort on taxa and counties with fewer than 10% of the total numbers of records

Adapting sheep production to climate change

Apart from contributing to the climate change phenomenon, sheep production sys tem is also sensitive to its adverse impacts. This poses a great challenge for develop ing sheep sector around the world. Currently the economic viability of the sheep production system worldwide is jeopardized due to the devastating effects of cli mate change. Among the multiple climatic stresses faced by sheep, heat stress seems to hugely destabilize production efficiency of the animals. Heat stress jeopardizes the growth, wool, meat and milk production in sheep. Further, climate change leads to several vector borne diseases to sheep by compromising the immune status of the animals. The animal employs several adaptive mechanisms to maintain homeosta sis through behavioural, physiological, neuroendocrine, cellular and molecular responses to cope up to the existing climatic condition. Sheep also significantly contributes to climate change through enteric methane emission and manure man agement. Further, climate change can alter the rumen function and diet digestibility in sheep. Hence, enteric methane mitigation is of paramount importance to prevent both the climate change and dietary energy loss which may pave way for sustaining the economic return from these animals. Further, various other strategies are required to counter the detrimental effects of climate change on sheep production. The management strategies can be categorized as housing management, animal management and monitoring of climate, and these strategies are ultimately targeted to provide suitable microclimate for optimum sheep production. Nutritional inter ventions involving season-specific feeding and micronutrient supplementation may help the animal to sustain its production during adverse environmental conditions. Body condition scoring system developed specifically for sheep may help to opti mize economic return in sheep farms by minimizing the input costs. Finally, suffi cient emphasis must be given to develop appropriate adaptation strategies involving policymakers. These strategies include developing thermotolerant breeds using bio markers, ensured water availability, women empowerment, early warning system and capacity building programmes for all the stakeholders. These efforts may help in augmenting sheep production in the climate change scenario

Visual mismatch negativity to vanishing parts of objects in younger and older adults.

We investigated visual mismatch negativity (vMMN) to vanishing parts of continuously present objects by comparing the event-related potentials (ERPs) to infrequently (deviant) and frequently (standard) disappearing parts of the objects. This paradigm both excludes low-level stimulus-specific adaptation differences between the responses to deviants and standards, and increases the ecological validity of the stimuli. In comparison to frequently disappearing parts of the stimulus objects, infrequently vanishing parts elicited posterior negative event-related brain activity (vMMN). However, no vMMN emerged to the reappearance of the same parts of the objects. We compared the ERPs of an older and a younger sample of participants. In the 120-180 ms time period vMMN was similar in the two age groups, but in the 180-220 ms time period vMMN emerged only in the younger participants. We consider this difference as an index of more elaborate automatic processing of infrequent stimulus changes in younger adults