Cloud-based human resource management system (HRMS) presents numerous benefits to an organization including cost reduction, improved efficient, elimination of errors, and optimal utilization of human resource data. The aim of this study was to assess factors that affect the adoption of cloud-based HRMS in county governments resulting in the development of adoption framework. The specific objectives of the study was to establish the effect of organizational, technological, and external environment factors on adoption of cloud-based HRMS at the Nyeri County Government offices. The study adopted a descriptive case study design with a sample of 160 staff selected from a population of 400 staff working at the Nyeri County Government headquarter offices using the clustered random sampling method. The sample size was arrived by computing 40% of the population size in line with recommendation by Mugenda and Mugenda that the sample size for population of less than 1000 individuals be at least 30% of the population. Quantitative data was collected from operational staffs using questionnaires while qualitative data was collected from senior managers using interviews. Cumullatively,110 questionnaires were resubmitted to the researcher while 7 interviews were completed. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the multiple regression technique while qualitative data analysis was done using the thematic technique. Findings revealed that Nyeri County Government has made notable progress in terms of adoption of cloud-based HRMS with adoption score of 74.1%. Organizational factors (β= 0.238, p=0.011), Technological factors (β= 0. .284, p=0.005), and external environment factors (β=0.388, p=0.00) had a positive and statistically significant effect on adoption of cloud-based HRMS in Nyeri County. External environment factors had the strongest effect followed by technological factors. Results also showed that age, gender, and education level of workers did not have a significant moderating effect on the influence of the organizational, technological, and external environment factors on cloud-based HRMS adoption. The study recommended that to improve the adoption of cloudbased HRMS, the county government should ensure adequate allocation of resource, improve internet connectivity, and find strategies for coping with a less vibrant economic environment. Keyword: Cloud computing, human resource management system, organizational factors, technological factors, external environment factors.

Public value is used when evaluating the performance of e-government. Furthermore, the performance of e-government is assessed from the citizen’s perspective. Transparency, participation, and collaboration in county governments processes should be viewed as means toward desirable ends, rather than administrative ends in themselves, as they appear to be currently treated. The creation of public value is the goal of public organizations; through public value, public organizations meet public goals with respect to substantive benefits as well as the intrinsic value of better government. Kettani (2014) states that Information and communication technologies (ICT) have tremendous potential to enhance the lives of people in general and, particularly, those in developing countries. Kettani (2014) continue to state that the use ICT can boost business, support education and healthcare systems and also enhance all levels of government in their development processes worldwide. The main objective of this research project was to assess the public value of ICT investment in public service delivery in Homa Bay county. Data was collected through questionnaires from residents, leaders and staff of Homa Bay county. Considering the nature of e-government in Kenya, four dimensions of public value creation through e-government were considered. These dimensions outline the four different ways of creating public value including the delivery of public services, the achievement of desirable outcomes, the development of trust, and the effectiveness of public organizations. The study recommends that a sensitization be done among the county residents of Homa bay on the existing electronic government channels they can use to access County services to allow more uptake of the ICT technologies for their own good. There is need to increase the services being provided through ICT e-government platforms to quicken up take of the ICT systems. This coupled with support on the usage and supporting systems such as infrastructure and power will help more services to be done through ICT platforms and more residents to use them.

Green Technology Market projects have immensely developed in the 21st Century with global spotlight on design of green techniques for preservation of farm produce and Environmental conservation at the market. However, the pragmatic literature posits that they maneuver on colossal budgets and yet mainstream of the projects have aborted in less than five years. Perhaps, the project drivers are not well expressed at the design phase obstructing their performance. In the luminosity of this, study seeks to establish the influence of project design factors on the performance of Green Technology Market projects in Meru County, Kenya. Design factors under study are infrastructure, Stakeholders’ Involvement, Quality management practices and beneficiary Selection. The study was twirl on theory of Value-Belief-Norm, Environmentally Responsible Behavior, Diffusion of Innovation and Stakeholder. The sample size was 85 total populations of 204 sampled using stratified random sampling criteria. Questionnaires were administered to collect primary data. Descriptive statistics and multiple regressions were utilized whereas qualitatively open-ended questions were analyzed using conceptual content analysis method. The multiple regressions established the influence amid variables. The results across the area of study on major gaps were analyzed objectively using statistical packages SPSS version 25. The data was tabulated for presentation. There was a spike in years of operation of Green Technology Market Projects for the last five years. Traders share facilities at the market. Traders accessed quality facilities at the market. Furthermore, to great extent traders comprised of project committee identified in fair process and had knowledge and skill on project design. Locals supplied labor needed in the project design where beneficiary’s selection was fair prioritizing the local traders and also tenders were awarded to locals. The study also found that traders accessed quality of services. The study initiate that a unit increase in project infrastructure would lead to 0.067 increase in the performance of Green Technology Market Projects in Meru County, Kenya; a unit change in beneficiary’s selection would lead to 0.050 increase in performance of the project; a unit change in the score of stakeholders’ involvement would lead to a 0.046 change in performance of the project and a unit change in the score of quality management practices would lead to a 0.040 change in performance of the project. The variables were significant since pvalues were more than 0.05 and alternative hypothesis were accepted while the values for Fcalculated were greater than F-critical (4.001). The study concluded that project infrastructure had the greatest influence, followed by stakeholders’ involvement, Quality Management Practices while Beneficiary’s selection had the least influence on the performance of Green Technology Market Projects in Meru County, Kenya. The study also recommends that market designs should embrace greener technologies such as harness of solar energy through roofing of markets with solar panel materials, proper waste disposal with biogas production technologies from green wastes, proper clean water supply, proper parking and green landscapes for aeration, adequate refrigeration facilities to preserve agri-foods from yield loss hence enhancing food security for growing population and achieve poverty reduction as a key focus in the sustainable development goals and also achieve the Big Four Agenda of the Kenyan Government. KEY WORDS: Green Technology Markets, Project infrastructure, Beneficiary’s Selection, Stakeholders’ involvement, Quality Management Practices, Project Design.

Street children are a common phenomenon in urban settlements. 25% of the 100 million children globally living in urban settlements live as street as children. Kenya is estimated to have 250,000 to 300,000 street children. 40% are living in the streets of Nairobi and this number is expected to rise exponentially with increase in unemployment rate, early mortality rate caused by HIV/AIDS and high divorce rate which subsequently leaves young children vulnerable to abuse and neglect. The Government of Kenya through various child protection services and programs has made huge strides to curb the rise and infiltration of street children in urban centers. It has created rehabilitation centers, schools and children homes. Street children are placed in these facilities for the purposes of rehabilitation, education, and training on vocational skills to equip them with right skills for potential employment opportunities and sustenance. However, there have been challenges in implementation and sustainability of the government funded street children rehabilitation programs which have led to relapse of street children back to the streets. Some of these challenges include lack of schooling equipment, lack of enough food in the rehabilitation projects and centers, mistreatment and unprofessionalism in handling street children. This study investigated the determinants of sustainability of government funded street children programs in Nairobi County. The study sought to examine how financial resource, stakeholder involvement, capacity development and management styles determined sustainability of government funded street children rehabilitation programs in Nairobi County. Descriptive survey design was used in the study. The target population was 140 staff working in government rehabilitation centers in Nairobi County. A census approach was employed because the target population was small hence the need to reduce errors and provide as detailed information as possible. There was use of Statistical package for social sciences to analyze both descriptive and inferential data. Frequencies, analysis of variances, regression, and correlation were used to interpret the data. Findings revealed that there was an association between financial resource, stakeholder involvement, capacity development and management styles and sustainability of government funded street children rehabilitation programs. It was found that there was inadequate funding with late disbursement of funds, consultative meetings were inadequate, trainings were not frequent and preference of bottoms up approach style of management. Based on the findings, the study recommended allocation of more funds to government funded street children rehabilitation programs, increased consultative meetings, frequent trainings, with encouragement for staff to mobilize for resources and an open channel for communication. This would improve sustainability of government funded street children rehabilitation programs. The research project will benefit government and policy makers, program managers in street rehabilitation programs, street children, the community and other researchers.

Ransomware have become a real threat to the use of technology, unlike other form of malware which could target systems by deleting some files, editing some files and some creating backdoor for the attacker to access the system, ransomware have gone a notch higher by targeting human. This is achieved when ransomware encrypt data of the infected computer and a note demanding for a ransom to be paid is printed on the screen. Due to the advancement in technology, ransomware use advanced and secure encryption algorithm which is difficult to decrypt even when the computational power is not limited. Ransomware is mostly spread through the use of a phishing email which tricks the victim into clicking on a link that is loaded with malicious files or downloading an attachment which is loaded with malicious files. Due to this, it is of benefit to educate the employees so as to be more careful when interacting with emails of unknown origin. Attackers are capitalizing on the fact that ransomware attack is highly automated and therefore there are limited chances of getting the attacker, the whole process from attack to ransom payment is fully automated. There is no system that have so far been developed to get rid of ransomware and therefore prevention of attack is of paramount importance. This study therefore seek to investigate the distinctive features of ransomware that are not available to other forms of malware. These features can be used to help detect an impeding ransomware attack and thereby stop any possible data encryption midway. The conventional antivirus have no capability to fully detect and stop ransomware attack and therefore necessitating some more extra measure to keep the system secure against the ransomware. This study will also seek to study the state and preparedness of Kenyan companies in regard to ransomware attacks. The fact that very few companies in Kenya take cyber security with seriousness it deserve makes Kenyan companies an easy target to cyber criminals. There is a major cyber security professional gap in Kenya and the few available come at an added cost to the company, therefore, small and medium companies fail to meet this important requirement to safeguard their digital asset.

Reliable road infrastructure is key for any nation’s development, but the inability to achieve suitable standards in road infrastructure is a major problem worldwide. Contractors play a central role and the success in implementation of road infrastructure projects depends majorly on the performance of the contractor. This study sought to establish the influence of contractor’s capacity on the implementation of road infrastructure projects in Meru County. This was guided by the following objectives; To determine the influence of contractors’ technical capacity on the implementation of road infrastructure construction projects in Meru County, Kenya; To establish the influence of contractors’ financial capacity on the successful implementation of road infrastructure construction projects in Meru County, Kenya; To investigate the influence of contractors’ quality management on the implementation of road infrastructure construction projects in Meru County, Kenya; To determine the influence of contractors’ management structure on the implementation of road infrastructure construction projects in Meru County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the institutional and resource dependency theories. A correlational research design was used to determine the strength and direction of relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The target population for the study was all the 140 road infrastructure contractors in Meru County, 1 county roads engineer, 1 county accountant, 1 KURA roads engineer, and 40 subcounty projects committee members. The sample size for the study was 126 which was arrived at using Alemeda’s formula. The contractors were stratified based on the sub-counties in Meru County, then simple random sampling was used to get the contractors from each sub-county whose number had been proportionately allocated, while purposive sampling was used for the County Roads Engineer, County Accountant and KURA Roads Engineer. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides. A pilot study was carried out in Tharaka Nithi County with a sample of 10 contractors. The validity of the research instrument was checked by an expert in the field and reliability was done using the Cronbach Alpha. Quantitative data collected was coded into SPSS v23, then cleaned and analyzed for descriptive statistics, that is, mean, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. A Pearson correlation coefficient was computed to check the strength of relationship between the variables and a regression model was developed then testing on the hypothesis will be done using ANOVA, then presented in tables. Qualitative data was grouped then analyzed thematically after which the outcome was combined with the quantitative output. The results showed that contractor’s technical capacity has an influence of 0.364 on implementation of road projects, contractor’s financial capacity has an influence of 0.812 on implementation of road projects, contractor’s quality management has an influence of 0.574 on implementation of road projects, and contractor’s management structure has an influence of 0.133 on implementation of road projects. It was also found that contractor’s capacity which was made up of technical, financial, quality management and management structure capacities accounted for a change of 86% in implementation of road infrastructure projects in Meru County. The findings will be useful to the road infrastructure contractors, the ministry in charge of roads and the world of academia. The research recommends that a study be done on other factors influencing the implementation of road construction projects as well as the gender perspective in road construction projects.

Anaemia and especially iron deficiency anaemia remain one of the most significant nutritional deficiency in the world affecting approximately 30% of the population. This is more so in countries like Kenya being developing countries. Women of child bearing age and adolescents bear the largest burden. Previous studies have identified inadequate dietary intake and poor absorption of iron as the main causes of anaemia. The study evaluated the effect of consuming cooked vegetables enriched with baobab powder, on haemoglobin status of anaemic adolescent girls in Kilifi, Kenya. A rapid assessment was conducted to determine knowledge attitude and prevalence of anaemia in Kilifi County through four key informant interviews. A structure questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and socio-economic data, morbidity data and food consumption habits of adolescent girls. Analyses were carried out to determine the iron content of the vegetables Amaranth and Solanum nigram and the vitamin C content of the baobab grown at the study site. The iron content of raw Solanum nigrum was 5.5mg/100g and of amaranths at 4.4mg/100g. However, the iron content of cooked vegetables in the serving of 225g was 6.2mg and 4.5mg respectively. The vitamin C content of baobab powder was 106mg/100g. Each serving of the mixed vegetable (225g) was enriched with 10g of baobab powder containing 10.6mg of vitamin C. Systematic random sampling was used to select 112 adolescent girls from the entire school population using the class registers. From the sampled girls 101 were screened for haemoglobin level, after obtaining parental consent during the baseline testing. Reagent less method using a HemoCue machine was used to assess the haemoglobin level of each of the girls. 32 out of the 101 girls had a haemoglobin of < 11.9 g/dl and hence were recruited into the feeding trial. During the intervention, the 32 anaemic adolescent girls were allocated into two feeding groups consisting of 16 girls in each group. One group was served with mixed vegetables enriched with 10g of baobab powder in each serving of (225g) and the other group with vegetables without baobab powder (placebo) during the scheduled school lunch. The feeding xiiperiod lasted 30days, after which 31 adolescent girls who completed the feeding trial were reevaluated for haemoglobin level. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, mean and percentile) were used to describe the study population. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to determine associated factors (diet consumption habits, age of participant with the haemoglobin level) and T-test was used to compare means of the two feeding groups. The result show that the prevalence of anaemia among the sampled population at baseline was 31.7%, out of which 9.4% had severe anaemia (<8.0g/dl), 40.6% had moderate anaemia (8.0-10.9g/dl) and 50% mild anaemia (11.0-11.9g/dl). A comparison between the two feeding groups indicated the mean baseline haemoglobin were lower in the intervention group (10.5g/dl) compared to the control group (11.2g/dl). Although the difference was not significant (P=0.052). After the 30 days of feeding trial 14 girls representing 45.2% of the adolescent girls achieved normal Hb (>11.9g/dl). The mean final haemoglobin concentration for the intervention group was 11.6g/dl and for control at 11.8g/dl with a mean change of 1.1g/dl and 0.6g/dl respectively. This was significant at (P=0.045). In conclusion, indigenous green leafy vegetables are a good source of iron and are availability all year round in the study area. Baobab being a rich source of vitamin C with a shelf life of up to 3 months can be used concurrently with the vegetables to enhance the absorption of iron and hence improve anaemia significantly. Almost half of the adolescent girls who completed the feeding trial 14 out of the 31 achieved normal Hb of >11.9 with an average rate of increase of 1.0g/dl mostly from the intervention group, thus can be concluded that cooked vegetables enriched with baobab powder can effectively improve haemoglobin level of anaemic adolescent girls

Flipped learning is a learner-centred instructional approach whereby pupils are predeposed to new materials and content outside of the classroom and apply them in the next classroom meeting with the teacher playing the role of a facilitator. The pupils are expected to do their research at home and while in the classroom, actively engage in brainstorming, collaborating and reflecting on the concepts with guidance of the teacher. The primary aim of flipped learning is to increase pupils’ achievement through enhancements to homework, to bolster the attitudes surrounding homework, to increase the proportion of pupils submitting quality homework and to foster independent learning. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of flipped learning facets on class seven pupils’ academic in science in Abothuguchi Central Division, Meru County. The study sought to address the following objectives; establish whether there is a significant difference in the science subject mean scores of pupils taught using educational videos and traditional methods; examine whether there is a significant difference in the science subject mean scores of pupils taught using out-of-class text reading and traditional methods; evaluate whether there is a significant difference in the science subject mean scores of pupils taught using video and out-of-class text reading and traditional methods; determine whether there is a significant difference in the science subject mean scores of pupils taught using blended learning and traditional methods. The objectives were formulated into four hypotheses. The sample consisted of 4 teachers, 4 head teachers and 103 class seven pupils from the 4 primary schools sampled for the study. The instruments used to collect data were: questionnaires for science teachers and pupils, interviews for the head teachers, observation schedule and pre and post achievement test. The objectives were analysed via inferential and descriptive statistics and presented via frequencies and percentages while the hypotheses were analysed through use of a computer program, SPSS version 23 and Microsoft Excel 2010. An independent-samples ttest was conducted to determine whether there was a statistically significant difference between the means in the control and the experimental groups. It is expected that the outcome of the study will be beneficial to both stakeholders and policy makers in matters of education. One of the key findings of the study was that flipped learning improved academic achievement in science. The key recommendation of the study is that the Government through the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education should allocate adequate funds for acquisition of IT resources in school.

Kenya is currently rolling out the competency-based curriculum at primary school level. The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher related factors that influence implementation of competency-based curriculum at the lower primary school level in Luanda sub-county, Vihiga County Kenya. Four objectives guided the study. They were: to determine how teachers’ professional qualifications, pedagogical content knowledge, technological skills, and perceptions’ influence implementation of CBC at the lower primary school level. The study used descriptive survey design. The study targeted 50 head teachers, 620 lower primary school teachers and 900 Grade 3 pupils. All the respondents were sampled using simple random sampling technique. A sample of 15 head teachers, 186 teachers and 90 pupils was selected for the study. Data were collected using questionnaires for teachers, interview guides for headteachers and focus group discussion guides for the pupils. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The study findings showed that teachers and headteachers agreed that teachers’ qualifications influence implementation of competency based curriculum (teachers: M = 2.86; headteachers: M = 2.98). Majority of the teachers (87.1%) rated themselves as having sufficient content knowledge to implement competency based curriculum and a similar percentage (87.1%) were of the opinion that content knowledge influences how teachers engage with learners, influences what they learn and how well teachers can use instructional materials; thereby curriculum implementation. Teachers (80.71%) were of the view that they were well equipped with pedagogical skills required to facilitate implementation of competency based curriculum and they could use different teaching and learning methods. Headteachers equally agreed and said that how teachers handle content inside of a classroom is key to implementation of competency-based curriculum. From the findings, only a small percentage of teachers (8.0%) said they had limited exposure to ICT tools and knowledge of using them. The teachers rated their perceived ICT knowledge and skill as moderate, M = 3.18; SD =1.14. Overall, it was clear that teachers perceived ICT efficacy was low (M = 2.98; SD 1.63). Most teachers were not using technology to deliver content most of the time (M =2.21; SD = 1.55). However, an overwhelming majority (84.69%) was of the opinion that ICT influences implementation of competency based curriculum positively since the curriculum is digitally-based. The findings revealed that almost all (98.6%) of the teachers held positive perceptions towards implementation of the curriculum. It was concluded that teacher related factors influence implementation of competency-based curriculum. The researcher recommended that the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development and Teachers Service Commission should continue training teachers on ICT knowledge and skills that are very critical to implementation of the new curriculum.

Understanding of how firms can attain improved organization performance has been empirically researched but has not yet to be settled. While strategy is seen to influence performance, other factors seem to influence this relationship which could have either a direct or indirect influence. Empirical research indicates that organizations exist in a dynamic environment. Another factor which has received little attention is corporate image. Many firms today spend large amounts of significant resources in an endeavor to create a good image. Firm’s stakeholders are sensitive to corporate image and they are the ones that influence performance. Literature is not clear on corporate image influence to the performance of firms. This study sought to determine the influence of competitive strategies, business environment, and corporate image on the performance of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. The study used Porter’s (1980) competitive strategies framework and was founded on Dynamic Capability, Stakeholders theories and goal setting theory. The study used positivist philosophy while adopting a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The population of the study was all the large manufacturing in Kenya. Sample selection was through simple random sampling from each stratum of the manufacturing sector. Collection of data was done through a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was done through the use of percentages, mean scores and standard deviations. Through regression analysis results indicated that manufacturing firms in Kenya adopted competitive strategies in response to business environment, cost strategy particularly had a higher influence on the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. These strategies significantly improved the performance of large manufacturing firms in Kenya. Additionally, results indicated that manufacturing firms have been trying to maintain a good corporate image leading to reinforcement of the view of dynamic capability theory stakeholder’s theory and goal setting theory that firms should set goals, and then build a good corporate image as a firm’s intangible resource toward the stakeholders, which can lead to improved performance. The findings for competitive strategies had a significant influence in predicting performance of the firms. The moderating role of both corporate image and business environment on the relationship between competitive strategies and performance of the firms was found to be statistically significant. Additionally, the joint influence of competitive strategies, business environment and corporate image on the performance of firms was significant. Corporate Image is a function of organization signal which determines perception of the stakeholders especially the key stakeholders who are the customers. The proximate basis for differences in firms’ performance is mostly found within the capabilities and resources of the firm. Each firm can endeavor to set challenging goals to differentiate from rivals by creating value profitably in the eyes of the stakeholders to gain support. Large manufacturing firms in Kenya should emphasize cost leadership strategies especially consistently seeking to lower the costs of production, cutting down operating costs and putting more emphasis on tight control on expenses. This can enable the firms achieve a sustained performance. The study recommends further that manufacturing firms should craft competitive strategies to mitigate the influence of business environment as firms enhance corporate image. The study recommends that firms have a strategic view of corporate image since it can significantly influence performance of firms. The study recommends inclusion of other sectors like service industry and medium and small firms in future research to be able to further generalize the findings.