Abstract

The strategy implementation process is a very vital process in the sustainability of the organization. The objective of the study was to establish strategy implementation challenges faced by Kenya Police Service and to determine the measures taken by the Kenya Police Service to address the challenges faced by the Service in Strategy Implementation. Towards the realization of the same objective, a case study research design was adopted whereby the researcher interviewed seven senior managers at Kenya Police Service headquarters who are responsible for strategy process. The data were collected through the use of the interview guide and analyzed using content analysis. Political interference, evolution of international terrorism, inadequate human resources, inadequate modern security equipment, insufficient funds and change of Government rules and regulations were cited as some of the other factors affecting implementation of the strategies. Some of the measures suggested included the need to align the organization culture to its strategy, motivation of staff to enhance performance, accountability of the leaders, fast communication of the strategy and teamwork. Strategy formulation process in the organization projects follows a top-down approach while implementation process adopts a bottom up approach. These disconnect in the strategy process of the organization and insufficient funds have in some way brought about challenges in the success of implementing the set strategies. The KPS should source for more funds and involve all stake holders in program formulation. Further research should be conducted on effects of resources allocation on performance in the service.

The general objective of this study was to establish the effect of supply chain strategies on the performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya. The independent variables for the study were agile supply chain strategy, risk hedging supply chain strategy, postponement supply chain strategy and lean supply chain strategy;dependent variable was performance of manufacturing firms in Kenya and environmental uncertainties was themoderator.The study was anchored on different theories such as resource based theory, contingency theory, transaction cost economics theory, dynamic capabilities and technology acceptance model. The study used a cross sectional research design. The target population was829respondents from manufacturing firms around the country. The study used stratified random sampling technique in data collection. A sample of 270respondentswereselected to constitute the sample. Primary data was used for the study which constituted qualitative and quantitative questions.A pilot test of 10%was done where a cronbach αthresholdof 0.7 was achieved for all variables. Multiple regression model and correlation analysis was applied to examine the relationship between the study variables.The findings indicated that agile supply chain strategy, risk hedging supply chain strategy, postponement supply chain strategy, and lean supply chain strategy had a strong positive and significant effect on performance of manufacturing firms with an r values of .652, .699, .651 and .679 respectively.Further, the results indicated that environmental uncertainties have a significantly negative moderating effect on the relationship between supply chain strategies and performance of manufacturing firms with a change in R square from 73.3% to 34.6%. The study concluded that supply chain strategies are significant contributors of manufacturing firms’ performance. The most significant predictor of firm performance is lean supply chain strategy, followed risk hedging supply chain strategy, followed by postponement supply chain strategy and lastly agile supply chain strategy with coefficients β of .229, .224, .159 and .134 respectively. The study recommends that firms should be fully responsive to customer orders by incorporating electronic data interchange and enterprise resource planning to communicate seamlessly with customers. Similarly, firms should develop suppliers through collaboration product development, specifications sharing and development and capacity building.Also, manufacturing firms should delay final product assembly in order to be able to customize customer orders with their requirements.Further, manufacturing firms should conduct demand forecasts and fully utilize their labor and equipments.Lastly, manufacturing firms should regularly scan the environment through pestle and swot analysis.

This research aimed to identify the variables that affect the number of street kids in Nairobi. The target group in the Nairobi City Street Children Rehab Facilities was 530 people, including 500 children who are homeless and 30 supervisors of the organizations that engage with children. Upon obtaining affirmative consent, children were questioned to use an organized questionnaire to find out how several of them completely reside in wastelands, reside with caretakers but spend the majority of the days on open spaces, are dual orphans, solitary orphans, have both parents, have a single mother, or have parents who are divorcing, divided or are alcoholics. The researcher assembled and arranged finished equipment before using descriptive statistics to examine the data. The explanatory statistical techniques of estimate, mean, percentages, and rates were used to assess quantitative data. Worksheets, graphs, and charts were used to communicate this fact to the audience. Next, the researcher calculated the percentages of the participants who gave data to analyze general and demographic statistics. On the other side, qualitative data was arranged and condensed into reports and opinions that were pertinent to this Research.

Abstract

Background: Hypertension and raised blood sugar are the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. In Kenya, they are responsible for much of the disease burden and account for most of the hospital admissions. Also, greatly contributes to catastrophic health expenditures incurred by the patients. For the longest time, the public health system structure was organized in favour of communicable diseases and treatment of chronic conditions was centralized at secondary and tertiary levels of care and occasionally in primary health facilities for emergency response and very basic care. Recently, the government has focused on decentralizing treatment and management of hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity to primary health facilities to increase access and utilization. However, cost information at this level to guide budget allocation is lacking greatly interfering with service provision since they solely depend on government funding. Objectives: This research sought to estimate the economic costs of hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity in the public primary health facility. The specific objectives were to estimate the economic cost in level 2 and level 3 health facilities in Kiambu county, Kenya and determine how affordable is the estimated economic unit costs to hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity patients. Methods: The study adopted a hospital-based analytical cross-sectional design and Activity-Based Costing technique. Further, an ingredient approach was adopted to retrospectively collect prevalence-based data on cases from a health provider perspective and the time horizon for the study was one year, 1st January 2020 and 31st December 2020. The cost ingredients included: personnel remunerations, supervisory staff time, equipment and furniture, essential medicines, non-pharmaceutical products, utility charges, and building space for rental. The study sites were four health facilities in Kiambu county which were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Also, a sample of the cases across all the study sites was interviewed to determine the affordability of hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages, were used to summarize categorical variables, whereas continuous variables were summarized and presented in means. Further, univariable, and multivariable regression analysis was done to determine variables that added significance to the affordability of hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity. Results: The unit economic cost for treating and managing hypertension-diabetes Mellitus at a level health 2 facility was estimated at US $ 21.73, US $ 48.91 for a level 3 health facility, and US $ 38 for a primary health care level. Among the cost ingredients, labour across all levels of care was the main cost driver estimated at 48% at level 2 and 59% at level 3. Drugs followed at 13% at level 2 and 28% at level 3. Equipment cost contributed approximately 13% for level 2, and 21% and 13% for level 3 respectively. Non-pharmaceutical and utilities contributed to less than 10% in both levels of care. Logistic regression analyses found drug availability to be associated with the affordability of hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity. Compared to the unavailability of drugs, public primary health facilities with the availability of drugs is 11.9 times more likely to be affordable to hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity patients (aOR: 2.48; 95% CI; 5.20- 27.25; P<0.00) holding all factors constant. x Conclusion and recommendation: The study findings reveal the need for the government at all levels to strengthen primary care facilities with trained and adequate staff, enough mix of medical devices and essential drugs, and adequate space to support the delivery of quality care increasing patients’ utilization and affordability. Cost studies on hypertension-diabetes Mellitus comorbidity from a provider perspective are critically missing; no considerable research has been done in Kenya. This calls for more in costing health services, especially referencing the guidelines outlined to make the ‘invisible’ visible to the decision-makers to inform budgeting and resource allocation are achieve the quality care and sustainable development target on NCDs of reducing one-third of premature deaths from NCDs by 2030.

Studies on Brucella prevalence in milk produced in Rwanda are limited. Brucellosis knowledge among cattle farmers and the risk of exposure to Brucella through milk consumption are, also, poorly documented. A study was, therefore, conducted to assess brucellosis knowledge among cattle farmers in Rwanda; to determine the prevalence of Brucella in milk produced under zero and open grazing cattle production systems in Rwanda and to assess the risk of exposure to Brucella through milk consumption in cattle keeping households. The study was cross-sectional and involved 198 zero grazing cattle keeping households and 132 open grazing cattle keeping households. Questionnaires and indirect Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELISA) were used to collect data and data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression in statistical package for social studies (SPSS) software. More than half of all respondents (63.6 %; 210/330) had heard about brucellosis but only 3.8 %; 10.0 % and 4.3 % could correctly name at least two ways through which cattle contract brucellosis, at least two brucellosis clinical signs in cattle and at least two farm animals which can contract brucellosis, respectively. The overall knowledge score was very low with only 1.8 % (6/330) of all respondents having a knowledge score of ≥ 7.5 out of a possible maximum 15. Very few among farmers, 5.2 % (6.6 % in zero grazing study areas and 3.0 % in open grazing study areas) were using PPE while assisting cattle in parturition or handling aborted materials. Artificial insemination was practiced by 66.2 % (131/198) among zero grazing farms while no farm among open grazing farms reported using artificial insemination. Only a total of 8 farms, all of which were zero grazing, had vaccinated their cattle against brucellosis. Majority among respondents (63.9 %; 211/330) indicated they would seek veterinary help if their animal had or was suspected of having brucellosis. Anti-Brucella antibodies were prevalent in 19.7 % (95 % CI, 15.5-24.4) of the 330 collected farm bulk milks with a significantly higher (p < 0.05) sero-prevalence among open grazing farms (37.9 % [50/132]) compared to zero grazing farms (7.6 % [15/198]). Practicing open grazing system (OR = 69.5; 95 % CI = 1.6 - 3033.6), history of abortion (OR = 19.5; 95 % CI = 8.1 - 2 46.8), and placenta retention (OR=4.2; 95 % CI = 1.7 - 10.3) were the significant risk factors for the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies in milk. Overall, 14.2 % (47/330) of all surveyed households were exposed to Brucella by having at least one household member consuming raw milk while the farm bulk milk sample had turned Brucella seropositive. Notably and significantly (p < 0.05), raw milk was consumed in more open grazing households with a Brucella seropositive farm bulk milk sample (34.8 %; 46/132) than in zero grazing households with a Brucella seropositive farm bulk milk sample (0.5 %; 1/198). Compared to other household members, the cattle keeper was the household member most exposed (OR=19.9; 95 % CI, 5.9-66.2) to Brucella through milk consumption. Brucellosis knowledge among surveyed respondents was generally poor. Brucella was prevalent in farm bulk milk especially milk from open grazing farms and the risk of exposure to Brucella through milk consumption was higher in households practicing open grazing cattle production in Rwanda. Therefore, educational campaigns are needed to raise awareness about brucellosis among cattle farmers in Rwanda. In addition to brucellosis educational campaigns, further research is needed to identify prevalent Brucella species and strains by cultural and molecular methods and implement more informed and appropriate brucellosis control programs in the country. With the observed scarcity and difficulty in accessing biosafety level three laboratories needed to culture Brucella, more efforts should be directed towards establishing more research infrastructure

Supervision in schools is worldwide phenomenon. Head teachers’ instructional supervision practices can improve teaching and learning process to achieve quality academic performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision practices (independent variable) on academic performance in KCPE (dependent variable). The objectives were; to establish the extent to which head teachers’ checking of teachers’ professional documents influence pupils’ KCPE performance, to examine the extent to which headteachers’ observation of teachers’ lessons influence KCPE performance, to determine the extent to which headteachers’ provision of teaching learning resources influence KCPE performance, to examine the extent to which headteachers’ use of staff meetings influence pupils’ KCPE performance and to examine the extent to which headteachers’ checking of teachers’ punctuality influence pupils’ KCPE performance in Lower Yatta Sub-county, Kenya. Goal Setting Theory by Locke and Latham of 1968 guided this study. Descriptive survey design was used. 61 public primary schools, 427 teachers and 1556 standards eight pupils formed the target population. The study sample comprised of 51 schools, 51 headteachers, 194 teachers and 51 pupil focus groups. Instruments used were questionnaires, focus group discussion guide and document analysis guide. Questionnaires were validated by pretesting and expert judgement while reliability was determined using test retest method and value r = 0.8 obtained. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics that were frequencies, means, deviations and percentages and presented in tables. Findings using chi-square test at alpha value 0.05 level of significance on instructional supervision and pupils’ KCPE performance showed that; there was significant and positive relationship between checking of professional documents and KCPE performance, there was significant and positive relationship between observation of lessons and KCPE performance, there was significant and positive relationship between provision of teaching learning resources and KCPE performance, there was significant and positive relationship between use of staff meetings and KCPE performance, there was significant and positive relationship between punctuality and KCPE performance. All pvalues greater than critical value, null hypotheses were rejected and alternative hypotheses that there was significant relationship adopted. The findings showed that (403.12>critical value) use of staff meetings showed the greatest influence for KCPE examinations. The study revealed that the specific headteachers’ instructional supervision practices were inadequately performed in Lower yatta Sub-county, Kitui. This study recommends headteachers to be equipped with the required supervision knowledge and skills that would lead to improved pupils’ academic achievement. This may be acquired from management training institutions including Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) among other institutions.

Abstract

Performance in national examinations by day primary girls’ schools has been poor in Kenya. The participation of girls in primary education has been below that of boys for the last five years. Various interventions have been undertaken to address the gender gaps in the education sector. Significant achievements have been scored through these initiatives towards improving girls' access, retention and performance. However, the gender disparities are still wide. It has been noted that the girl child’s academic performance is generally below average, yet, it is acknowledged that an educated girl plays a significant role in society as compared to an educated boy child. The purpose of this study was to establish the factors influencing academic performance of girl child in public primary schools in Sereolipi Education Zone. The study was guided by the following objectives: To determine how family background affects academic performance of girl child in public primary schools; to establish how pupil's characteristics affect academic performance of the girl child in public primary schools; to establish the effect of parental involvement on academic performance of girl child in public primary schools; to assess the influence of school infrastructure on academic performance of girl child in public primary schools. The researcher employed the descriptive survey and ex post facto designs. The research was undertaken at Sereolipi Education Zonewhich is located in Samburu East District of Samburu County. All the 3 schools were used for the study because the target population was so small that selecting a sample would have been meaningless. The population studied was then divided into strata comprising of teachers, Parents and girls in class 6, 7 and 8 to get a more homogeneous sub-population. The researcher then used purposive technique to identify the teachers to be interviewed. Simple random sampling methods were used to select the Parents and girls for the study in order to avoid biasness whereby every girl and parent in the study had an equal chance of participating. Primary data was collected in two ways. First, a questionnaire was conducted with the pupils and parents. Secondly, interviews were carried out to teachers. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regressions using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The study found that Parental involvement influences academic performance of girl child in public primary schools most followed by pupil's characteristics, Family background and school infrastructure was influencing academic performance of girl child least. It was clear that status of the family has the highest effect on academic performance of the girl child followed by number of siblings, structure of the family, period of time in the current school, whether the girl is a day scholars and boarders with age of the respondents having the lowest effect on the academic performance of the girl child. This study recommends that that the government intervenes to create more awareness on the need of parental involvement in the education of their children. This can be done by encouraging teachers under the auspices of education officials to sensitize the parents on the importance of education for their girls` future and hence the need to get involved in it. The study further recommends that various forums be organized so as inspire and inculcate the importance of education of the girl child in Sereolipi education zone.