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Item African Equatorial GPS Scintillations during the Minimum and Ascending Phases of Solar Cycle 24(2014) Andrew, Akala; Groves, KM; Amaeshi, Larry; Idolor, Raphael; Okoro, Ekemini; Carrano, Charles; Bridgwood, Christopher; Baki, Paul; Dujanga, Florence; Doherty, PatriciaThis study characterizes African equatorial scintillations at L-band frequency during the minimum and ascending phases of solar cycle 24. Three years' (2009-2011) of amplitude scintillation data from three African equatorial GPS stations namely; Lagos (3.48oN, 3.27oE, mag. lat: 3.04oS), Nigeria; Nairobi (1.30oS, 36.80oE, mag. lat: 8.03oS), Kenya; and Kampala (0.30oN, 32.50oE, mag. lat: 9.26oS), Uganda were used for the investigation. We grouped the data on daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly scales at three levels of scintillation (weak (0.3<=S4<0.4), moderate (0.4<=S4<0.7), and intense (S4>=0.7)), and adopted three data cut-off criteria. Scintillations exhibit daily trend of occurrence during the hours of 1900 LT-0200 LT, with higher levels being localized within the hours of 2000-2300 LT. Generally, highest scintillation occurrences were recorded during the equinoxes, and the trend increased with solar activity. Specifically, scintillations were almost absent during June Solstices of the period under investigation, and it appears as if January is a non-scintillation month over equatorial Africa. On a scintillation active day, the number of satellites available to the receiver's view reduces as the duration of observation reduces. These results may support the development of future models that could provide real-time predictability of African equatorial scintillations, with a view to supporting the implementation of GNSS-based navigation in Africa.Item Analysis of raw iron ores in Kenya: case study of Mwingi north constituency in Kitui county(2014) Kiptarus, Joan J; Muumbo, AM; Makokha, ABAccurate prediction of downstream processing performance of a mineral ore is critical to resource evaluation and development decisions, where significant cost and productivity benefits can be realized through early determination of an ore’s properties and processing potential. This study aimed at investigating the chemical, qualitative and quantitative composition of raw iron ore from the deposits in Katse area (Mwingi North Constituency in Kitui County) which lies in the Mozambique mobile belt. The quality of the iron ore was evaluated to establish its suitability as a raw material for iron production in Kenya. Samples were obtained along the perimeter vertices and centre of a land parcel measuring 150m2 with each excavation being 50cm length, 50 cm width and 500cm depth. Detailed studies were conducted to establish the composition and properties of the 5 samples. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) techniques were employed in the investigation. XRD studies revealed magnetite (above 86%) as the major mineral with subordinate amounts of hematite and quartz. XRF studies indicated a high content of iron (above 80%) with minor amounts of (5% Al2O3, < 5%TiO2, 1-44% SiO2, <1% of MnO, P2O5, SO3, K2O, V2O5). AAS experiment results indicated that the Iron content was above 90% with minor amounts of SiO2, Al2O3, CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O, TiO2 and MnO elements. The quality of this ore was compared to generalized world market standards and ores from other nations. The results indicated that Katse ore is a rich Magnetite grade with Fe content above 80% with minor amounts of hematite, quartz and clay as the major gangue (<1% SiO2 and <1% Al2O3) and low contents of the deleterious elements ( <1 %), which correspond to acceptable levels for commercial iron ores.Item Assessing alignment of an e-government project in the context of a developing country: a Heideggerian perspective(2009) Muganda, NixonE-Government has increasingly become an alternative for enabling public governance at various. The situation is especially poignant in developing countries where there are increasing calls to improve governance for improved national development. This study sought to investigate managerial processes in the alignment of e-government within Local Authorities in Kenya. A case study research design underpinned by critical realism assumptions was used. The analysis was grounded on empirical results of the study, and employed theoretical thematic analysis. Under the alienating conditions of social exclusion, the alignment of the e-government artifact espoused strong managerialist orientations of augmenting and reinforcing central governments control over its polity. A consequence of this alignment is a tendency towards technocratic evolution of the public service delivery system in local authorities in Kenya. However, it was also recognised that the form of e-government projects are constantly in flux, and that relying on a single case was therefore a limitation of the study. Categories and Subject DescriptorsItem EFFECT OF FIRM SIZE ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRATEGIC PLANNING DIMENSIONS AND PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA(2017-09-25) ALI, MOHAMUD JAMAABSTRACT Strategic planning has been regarded as a prerequisite to successful organizational outcomes and while the contexts of strategic planning differs by sector and geographical orientation, there is renewed interest in strategic planning- performance linkage in developing economies, this, due in part to the realization of the role of firm based factors such as strategic planning dimensions. This study aimed to determine the relationship between strategic planning dimensions and firm performance in the manufacturing sector in Kenya and to establish, the moderating effect of firm size on the relationship between strategic planning and firm performance in the manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study was informed by not only the low performance of the manufacturing sector over the past two decades, but also, by the mixed results and contentious debate on the effect of strategic planning dimensions of management participation, functional integration, strategic orientation and strategic control on performance. The study has adopted the use of multidimensional constructs to study strategic planning dimensions and performance linkage. The study utilized a cross sectional survey design, while stratified simple random sampling were used to obtain the sample comprising 191 firms in twelve subsectors among manufacturing firms in Nairobi and its surroundings. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire for key managers involved in the strategy formulation and implementation. Out of the 191 questionnaires administered, 111 were returned and found usable questionnaires, representing 58% which is adequate for this stream of research. SPSS Software was utilized to analyze data. Inferential data analysis was carried out by use of correlation analysis. Regression models were fitted using multiple regression analysis and hypothesis testing were done using standard F and T-tests. The study revealed that strategic planning analyzed through the dimensions of management participation, functional integration, strategic orientation and strategic control were significant and positively related to firm performance. However, firm size, was not found to moderate the relationship between strategic xxiii planning dimensions and firm performance in the manufacturing firms in Kenya. Thus, emphasis on specific strategic planning dimensions contribute positively to both large firms and small firms despite their difference in resources and development levels. The study contributes to the strategic planning performance discourse in the context of developing countries and furthers the discussion on the factors moderating in the relationship between strategic planning dimensions and firm performance. The study confirms that, firm size is neither a prerequisite nor a factor for successful application of strategic planning dimensions in both small and medium and large firms in the manufacturing sector in Kenya. The study recommended high participation and involvement of top management in the whole process of strategic planning, anchoring of deliberate functional integration processes in the firm, heightened strategic oriented paradigms for market orientation, customer focus and competitiveness and the development, design and customization of management control systems to enhance implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the strategic planning process outcomes.Item eGY-Africa: addressing the digital divide for science in Africa(2013) Baki, Paul; Nguno, Anna; Barton, Charles; Amaeshi, Larry; Tenthani, Chifundo; Petitdidier, Monique; Cottrell, LesAdoption of information and communication technologies and access to the Internet is expanding in Africa, but because of the rapid growth elsewhere, a Digital Divide between Africa and the rest of the world exists. In many sub-Saharan African countries, education and research sector suffers some of the worst deficiencies in access to the Internet, despite progress in the development of NRENs - National Research and Education (cyber) Networks. By contrast, it is widely acknowledged in policy statements from the African Union, the UN, and others that strength in this very sector provides the key to meeting and sustaining Millennium Development Goals. Developed countries with effective cyber-capabilities proclaim the benefits to rich and poor alike arising from the Information Revolution. This is still a dream for many scientists in African institutions. As the world of science becomes increasingly Internet-dependent, so they become increasingly isolated. eGY-Africa is a bottom-up initiative by African scientists and their collaborators to try to reduce this digital divide by a campaign of advocacy for better institutional facilities. Four approaches are being taken. The present status of Internet services, problems, and plans are being mapped via a combination of direct measurement of Internet performance (the PingER Project) and a questionnaire-based survey. Information is being gathered on policy statements and initiatives aimed at reducing the digital divide, which can be used for arguing the case for better Internet facilities. Groups of concerned scientists are being formed at the national, regional levels in Africa, building on existing networks as much as possible. Opinion in the international science community is being mobilized. Finally, and perhaps most important of all, eGY-Africa is seeking to engage with the many other programs, initiatives, and bodies that share the goal of reducing the digital divide - either as a direct policy objective, or indirectly as a means to an end, such as the development of an indigenous capability in science and technology for national development. The expectation is that informed opinion from the scientific community at the institutional, national, and international levels can be used to influence the decision makers and donors who are in a position to deliver better Internet capabilities. eGYAfrica workshops have been held approximately bi annually, the last of which was in Nairobi Kenya.Item Evaluating Creative Mobile Applications Development Using Emotional Design(2014) Muganda, Nixon OIn this research paper, we adopt an integrative view of user involvement in software development; where, a user's psychological state, at various phases of development, is linked to the contribution of user involvement in the success of software development. We explore the link between creativity and emotional design in order to evolve a conceptual framework for studying creativity in the fast growing area of mobile applications (apps) development. Action research, which is regarded as participatory, emancipatory and contextual, was adopted in this study. The study used a case study design and a survey of 1,502 students registered for a first year course in Management Information Systems at a large urban University in South Africa. Results from this study found that for app development to be more creative and innovative, emotional design should be part of the broader process of improving requirements engineering in Information Systems Development (ISD). We also found that in situations where emotional feedback is genuine, requirements engineering problems related to the "misinformation effect" common in ISD can be minimized. The third claim we affirm stronger is how users in ISD play a closer role as co-developers of mobile apps in order to realize true creativity and innovativeness. This study further demonstrated how subjective feelings in ISD can be evaluated using visual artifacts such as the EmocardItem The Impact of Libraries and Information Services in Shaping Vision 2030 in Kenya(SCECSAL XXI PROCEEDINGS, 2014) Kwanya, TomAbstract Information is increasingly becoming accepted as an important factor of socio-economic production besides land, labour and capital. Credible information and its effective use is a potentially powerful socio-economic development tool. Due to their position as the trusted source of information for many people, libraries play a pivotal role in facilitating socio-economic development by promoting good governance, literacy, social reconstruction, innovation and better decision-making. This paper analyses the impact of libraries and information services on the realisation of Kenya’s Vision 2030. The study was conducted using a survey research method. Data was collected from librarians, the general public and national development planners, using key informant interviews. The findings indicate that libraries have so far had a low impact on the realisation of Vision 2030 in Kenya. One of the major challenges hampering the effective support of the Vision 2030 by libraries is the perceived laid-back nature of librarians. Therefore, it is suggested that librarians should be more assertive in their involvement in national issues.Item An Investigation of Project Success for Engineering and Technology-Based Projects in Developing Countries(2006) Marwanga, R.O; Nyangara, F.M; Deleveaux, V.J.The success or failure of engineering and technology-based development projects is studied in this paper. A sample of one hundred and thirty three (133) completed projects funded by the World Bank are investigated to determine their level of success based on bank criteria and assessments. The assessments mainly focus on the following criteria: relevance of objectives, efficacy, efficiency, sustainability, institutional development impact, outcome, bank performance, and borrower performance. One other dimension that has been downplayed by these assessments is project management success as represented by project schedule and cost. In the current study, the level of project success is evaluated on the basis of bank criteria and performance in project management. A composite project performance index is then derived, planned schedules are compared with final closeout, and budgets are compared with final costs to determine the overall success of these projects. Finally, the effects of project sector, regional location of projects, and project size, on success are investigated. The results show that only about half (50%) of the World Bank projects are successful in achieving their goals. The results also show that the sector of a project, its geographical region, or size have no effect on project successItem Kenyan women in physics: Overcoming cultural, economic, and professional challenges(2011) Baki, Paul; Kasina, Angeline; Nyamwandha, Cecilia; Kawira, Millien; Mburu, Jane; King'ori, Gladys; Kahonge, Teresia; Gichana, ZubedaEfforts to attract, retain, and improve the status of girls and women in Kenya to the sciences, in particular physics, are outlined. Areas in which positive change has been observed are noted. Issues that still need to be addressed to realize the full potential of women undertaking physics are discussed.Item Key Issues for Information Officers in South Africa(2006) Johnston, Kevin; Muganda, Nixon; Theys, KarenBusiness strategy, operations, communication and technology have converged and resulted in increased demand for business flexibility. Chief information officers (CIO) are particularly challenged because they operate at the intersection between information technology and their organisations. Amidst increasing emphasis on cost-efficiency, information technology resource investment and emergence of new technologies, stakeholders need to understand the most relevant issues within a three- to five-year period. This study was undertaken to contribute to the body of knowledge around key information systems issues in South Africa. Thirty-one responses were received from South African chief information officers surveyed in late 2004. The top issues were: security and control, building a responsive it infrastructure, it value management, service delivery, and improving is strategic planning. The ranked list of issues was compared to previous studies, and further analysed by industry and source of it services (in-house, outsource or combination). Industry and the sourcing of information services were found to have an effect on the ranking of key issues.Item Mainstreaming Ethics in Higher Education The Teacher: Between Knowledge Transmission and Human Formation Vol. 2(2021-02-09) Ike, Obiora; Mbae, JustusIn the first volume of our book, titled “Mainstreaming Ethics in Higher Education – Research Ethics in administration, Finance,Education, Environment and Law”, published under the Globethics.net Education Ethics series, the editors indicated that a second volume would follow. This project is part of the result of those efforts made by Globethics.net Geneva, to lead the integration of Ethics in Higher Education globally, through ensuring that a conference with training held in March 2018 at the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA), Nairobi Kenya reached a global audience. The book captured the potential for sharing of knowledge, triggering interdisciplinary collaboration and research. It is our joy as editors to present the second volume of this project. Higher Education institutions and their universities play vital roles in contributing to a better world. These interdisciplinary works on ethical reflection address the needs of teachers and professionals, and show the urgency of preparing the next generation of leadership at all levels, with persons grounded and founded in ethical integrity. The lack of Ethics has remained one of the biggest challenges for a world without corruption, which is the bane of many societies, political groups, technologies, businesses, economies, law and research. Ethics permeates every sphere of life and every activity so that no aspect of human life is beyond or above ethics. Not even witchcraft! On November 2019, the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) held a controversial two-day conference on witchcraft despite prayers, fasting, strong opposition from Christians and social media. Under immense pressure, the conference organizers were forced to change the theme of the conference from the original “Witchcraft: Meaning, Factors and Practices”, to a new theme on “Dimensions of human behaviours”. So, is ethics relevant to the practice of witchcraft? Certainly! Anything that has to do with human behaviour is a subject of ethical consideration. The issues dealt with in the second volume of ainstreaming Ethics in Higher Education clearly demonstrate this fact. The articles contained in this volume cover a wide variety of issues ranging from religion, ethics, education, commercial entrepreneurship, leadership, corruption, witchcraft and fundraising for climate change. All authors emphasise the importance of mainstreaming ethics in the teaching of higher education, as a way of preparing students and professionals to live their ethical lives in full. The authors also address down-to-earth issues concerning the nature of ethics. While some of the chapters focus on the understanding of ethics and its relationship with the various other aspects of life, others concentrate on the methods and strategies of effectively teaching ethics, and on ways of ensuring that this teaching is not just another theoretical acquisition among other. Teaching should be a formation that ensures the graduates of universities develop skills and attitudes that help them to live as ethical professionals, and models for the rest of society. The teacher is crucial to the success of ethics education, and programs in schools and universities. Unlike certain schools, where designated teachers are charged with the responsibility of teaching values and ethics, every lecturer and every professor in the university, is by virtue of their position, both an academic and a moral educator. As such, he/she must be expected to play an important role in ensuring that the students are ethically formed to live the life of morals and virtue. In addition to the academic qualifications that these teachers may hold, it is necessary that they should also be ethical exemplars for emulation. They must be models to be emulated by their students. This is in recognition of the fact that teachers are always teaching, even when they may not be conscious that they are. The most effective method of teaching is not the saying, but the doing. Students learn more from what teachers do than what they say! Teachers must also understand the basics of values and ethics, such as the skill of ethical decision-making, and they must be willing to teach these skills along with ethical attitudes to their students. All this has serious implications for the way in which teachers are trained, as well as how they are recruited, selected and hired. A couple of chapters in this volume allude to traditional African roots, and the traditional methods of education. We suggest that we could take a leaf out of their book, and learn from the effective methods used by African society. While they do not make a direct reference to the African philosophy of Ubuntu, which served to guide our African values and world-view, these authors lead us to reflect on the role of African identity, culture and values that seem to be conveniently forgotten. Perhaps a future study could be devoted to the importance of understanding our African identity and cultural roots, and how that can help Africans to better understand their roots, and perhaps fit in better within the globalized world in which we live today. The authors of this volume are quite clear that it is not enough to introduce the teaching of ethics in our universities. That is only the first step. The goal is not achieved by simply adding one more course or programme to an existing university curriculum. The success of mainstreaming ethics in our universities must be measured by the degree of commitment of our graduates (read new professionals and leaders), to change our currently corrupt, unethical and unsustainable society, into one that respects integrity and honesty, and so guarantees sustainability for the future. Africa urgently needs people who will help transform our society by living a more ethical life. This transformation that our society so desperately needs can only come around when our learners commit to doing the right thing, because it is the right thing to do, and not because it profits them to do so.Item Music and education in Kenya: Une Renaissance Culturelle(2000) Akuno, EAItem Providing Home-based Care Using Text Messaging(2011) Sowon, Karen; Marwanga, Reuben OTh e i ncreasing miniaturization of mobile devices marks an important opportunity for the next generation health care delivery. Mobile health (mHea lth), existing at the nexus of health and technology provides a singular opportunity to take health where it is needed the most. Having had nearly mainstream adoption, may explain why the developed world is in tandem with health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On the other hand, developing countries still lag behind in meeting the same health-related goals, yet they continue to report successful stories of mobile technology growth and adoption but no major usage of the same to deliver healthcare. This resear ch sought to explore existing mHealth applications to establish their suitability for use in developing countries such as Kenya to provide home-based care. This was done by a survey of existing literature and mHealth models, and an architecture developed in light of local communication infrastructure and local mobile phone abilities. It was established that for developing countries to take advantage of this leapfrogging technology in health, they would have to take advantage of the Short Message Service (SMS) that is cheap and accessible to all. A relationship amongst mHealth stakeholders was considered as key to enhancing the adoption of mHealth in such countriesItem Semantic markup of information on sanitation initiatives in informal settlements(2006) Obonyo, Esther; Omenya, AlfredThe fundamental problem with the ‘traditional’ Web is: information is designed for human consumption and even with the evolution of powerful search engines, information filtering still remains a task that requires significant human involvement. Consequently, any application that is designed to use Web-enabled technologies will eventually encounter problems related to ‘information overload’ and ‘digital anarchy’ (the latter problem emanates from lack of interoperability across systems especially in different organisations). This paper describes a conceptual framework that addresses these issues using emerging Semantic Web Technologies. The framework will focus on demonstrating the potential benefits of using semantic markups and ontologies to augment Web content for Sanitation initiatives in informal settlements using the experience in Nairobi as a test case. It will address problems arising from the sheer scale and diversity of data on sustainable sanitation practice through the use of the Semantic Web technologies. The conceptual framework presented in this paper will be further defined through an iteration of workshops with the stakeholders and expanded into a platform for semantically matching a controlled taxonomy for Sustainable Sanitation for informal settlements.Item Semi-solid processing of cast iron.(2002) Takita, M; Muumbo, A; Nomura, HItem Slum upgrading initiatives in Kenya within the basic services and wider housing market: A housing rights concern(2006) Huchzermeyer, M; Omenya, AItem Succession Planning for Information Professionals(2015-05-19) Nganga, Francis G.; Kibugi, Sarah W.This is a literature-based opinion paper which examines how succession planning and management in information centers can help in improvement of service provision and delivery. In general succession management plays a critical role in change management and change is inevitable. It ensures that library staffing levels and skill sets rely not only on recruiting new librarians and library technicians, but also retaining incumbent library staff in support of the future of the library. It also provides for critical and timely knowledge transfer. Effective succession planning and management helps an information center to identify, develop and retain capable and skilled employees in line with current and projected objectives. It is about developing pools of talent to fill key areas and positions that are critical to an organization's ongoing operations and long-term goals. This paper is aimed at helping information professionals to regularly review and update as change occur. The succession plan should evolve to suit the current circumstances of the information center.