This study sought to examine the participation and ascendancy of elite women in political leadership as it is of a national concern in Kenya. However, the case of Maasai community; especially within Narok South Sub-County has been focused in this study. The objectives of the study were to explore the influence of historical trends, socio-cultural, economic and demographic factors on women’s political participation. On the strength of these objectives, a conceptual framework was developed illustrating the relationship between independent, dependent and intervening variables. A theoretical framework based on the Radical Feminist perspectives, the theory of Empowerment and the structural theory informed the study. This study adopted descriptive survey research design. The study targeted elite women in Narok south sub county. A sample of 372 respondents was targeted but 294 participated during the actual study. The study used a mixed method in data collection where Questionnaires, focused group discussions guides and in- depth interview schedules were used as the main tools for data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical package for social science version 21 (SPSS) and presented in the form of percentage, frequency distribution, chi-square and tables. In addition, analysis of variance was used to establish whether the mean differences between the variables were statistically significant or not. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis and presented in form of excerpts, through identification, examination, and interpretation of patterns and themes in textual data. Findings of this study were expected to contribute to the theoretical and empirical knowledge on how to empower elite women to participate in political leadership and inform policy formulators. The study established that historical trends in the Maasai have an effect on the participation of elite women in politics. It was also noted that elite women participation in politics is influenced by the socio- cultural factors, demographic factors and economic factors. The results indicated that the four selected variables were all significant in influencing the participation of women in politics in the Maasai community. The study therefore concluded that the participation of elite women in politics is influenced by historical trends, socio- cultural factors, demographic factors and economic factors. The study recommended that women need to be sensitized about their important role in politics and leadership in the community in order to overcome the historical trends that make them lag behind; the community should lessen the cultural issues that are disadvantageous to women and ensure that women are free to participate in leadership activities: the government should enhance policy recommendations on women economic resource ownership and wealth accumulation among women without having to get permission from the men; Parliament should initiate effective strategies to implement the two thirds rule as provided in the constitution in support of women and provide a level playing ground for both men and women in political participation. Finally, government should implement strategies that lead to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Among the peoples of Kenya, there has been a cultural and religious revival and all means are being sought to propagate it. In certain circles, there is even a revival of ethnic rites, religious rituals and customs, and there are national efforts to preserve and take pride in ethnic cultures. Councils of elders are being treated with respect and honour as custodians of these cultures and religious beliefs. Generally, there has been a resilience of African Traditional Religion (ATR) and traditional religious institutions and practices in Kenya in the embodiment of councils of elders as seen in the case of Njuri Ncheke of the Ameru. Njuri Ncheke has been resilient in the face of modernization, even in the context of a dynamic society with a modern judicial system, new constitutional laws and new religious structures. Inspite of this apparent resilience of Njuri Ncheke in Meru County, there has not been any systematic investigation to unearth the phenomenon. The broad objective of this study, therefore, was to investigate the contributions of councils of elders to the resilience of African Traditional Religion in Kenya and in particular, the Njuri Ncheke of Meru County. The specific objectives were to identify the resilient practices and activities of Njuri Ncheke in relation to (ATR) in Meru County, to examine the sources of the influence and authority of the council in contemporary Meru community, to analyse the nature of the relationship between Njuri Ncheke and Christianity in the County and to assess the relevance of Njuri Ncheke in the context of a modern dynamic society. The study was informed by functionalism theory of religion as understood by Emile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. This was a qualitative study that sought to describe and analyse the resilience of traditional religious institutions in Kenya with Njuri Ncheke as a case study. The study involved a sample size of 200 respondents who were purposively selected. These were mainly Njuri Ncheke elders, clergy and religious leaders, and ordinary people. Data was collected using semi structured questions and structured interviews. The collected data was analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis in line with social sciences. The findings of the study are significant in making an important contribution to better understanding of councils of elders in Kenya and their role in ATR, understanding the role of religious and indigenous institutions in devolved system of governance, the basis of their influence and authority and their rightful place in a modern dynamic society.

Self-adornment plays a significant role in ensuring the continuity of the political and cultural life of pastoralists. This study outlines changes in Samburu body adornment from the pre-colonial period to the present. In the study it is argued that Samburu body adornment in the pre-colonial period was influenced by interaction with neighbouring communities like the Rendille. Colonial policies and mingling of cultures in the post-independent period also shaped Samburu body adornment either positively or negatively. The study employed cultural theory of history. Cultural history combines the approaches of anthropology and history to look into popular cultural traditions and cultural interpretations of historical experience. The ideas were borrowed from Edward Tylor and Simon Gunn. Tylor’s main concern was on the evolution of human culture. He stated that culture developed from primitive stages. He argued that communities within each stage of development had distinct traits which show slow replacement as new generations set in. As societies advanced some traits survived to present day culture. On the other hand Gunn had interest in periodization of body history and stated that modernity was specifically focusing back to the changes in the ancient symbols with the belief inspired by modern science towards social and moral development. Thus there is need to write a history of historically specific bodies, which provides an understanding of the body that is neither static nor coherent. Data was collected from literature search in the libraries and Kenya National Archives, photography and oral interviews on individuals and groups. Data from both primary and secondary sources was analyzed chapter by chapter within the parameters set by the research problem and the theoretical framework. Findings indicate that forms of body adornment among the Samburu are pre-historic. Many forms of traditional body adornment have evolved overtime and still exist within the community, however, examples of recent forms of body adornment, show that although still very much in practice, in many cases the meaning has been lost. The impact of Christianity, colonial policies, trading of new materials, have all played a major part in the evolving patterns of Samburu body adornment. Tourists brought new fashions, materials, creations and designs that changed Samburu views of everyday body adornment. Body adornment among the Samburu is today is based on what looks good as apposed to a ritual or rite of passage that marked one's body. The study will contribute to the preservation of the Samburu cultural values in Kenya’s historiography. Further, the research findings will used as reference for researchers who may want to understand similar or different aspects of the Samburu cultural practices and of other communities in Kenya.

This study examined gender-labour relations in tobacco production and their implications on household‟s socio-economic welfare in Kuria Sub-Counties. The major issue that led to this study was and still remains that tobacco is being regarded as a crop belonging to men since its inception in the 1960‟s. Consequently, men have institutionalized restriction and constraints on women regarding the access to land resources and the benefits accrued from tobacco sales on one hand, while appropriating the intra-household tobacco labour on the other. The most affected social segments are women and children in this scenario. This study intended to establish facts of this assertion through three objectives, which included: to examine the effects of intra-household gender-labour relations in tobacco production on socio-economic welfare of the household in Kuria Sub-Counties, to assess the effects of access to resources in tobacco production on socio-economic welfare of the household in Kuria Sub-Counties and to evaluate the effects of differentials between female and male headed households in tobacco production on socio-economic welfare of the household in Kuria Sub-Counties. This study was informed by both the Structuration and the Marxist theory of dialectic materialism. Both cross-sectional survey and ex-post facto designs were adopted in this study. The target population consisted of tobacco farmers. Data was obtained through interview schedules and focus group discussions. Sample size was 212 households and the unit of analysis was the household head. Multi-stage sampling procedures were applied. SPSS version 21 was employed for data analysis. The descriptive statistics were utilized in this study. Findings of the study established that 98 percent of the respondents were significantly affected in their intra-household labour relations, while 92 percent indicated that gendered distribution of work had the socio-cultural differentials. Further, 77 percent of the respondents asserted that decision making on household tobacco income spending was made by the husband, whereas 75 percent pointed out that female headed households had good welfare considerations. This study concludes that tobacco production significantly affected gender-labour relations and socio-economic welfare of the households. This study recommends that the Government of Kenya should formulate strong policies to alleviate gender-labour challenges and household‟s socio-economic welfare. Further research should be conducted in other adjunct areas in relation to tobacco production involving child labour and health problems in Kuria East and West Sub-Counties.

This study sought to make a critical analysis of the relationship between grand development projects and regional conflicts in the 21st century Africa: case of the Nile basin. The study asked these questions; what are the implications of Grand Development projects and regional relations in the 21st century? To what extent has the Grand National Development projects impacted in the regional conflict in the Nile Basin? What is the impact of the Grand National projects on Ethiopia- Egypt relations? The objectives of the study included; to assess the implications of Grand Development Projects on Regional relations in the 21st Century. To evaluate the impact of Grand National Development projects and Regional Conflict in the Nile Basin. To critically examine the impact of Grand National Development projects on Ethiopia-Egypt Relations. The study was anchored on Liberal institutionalism theory whose main argument was that it’s difficult for states to manage shared resources without having international institutions which are empowered and they guide the behaviors of the individual states when it comes to matters of regional relations and utilization of shared resources. The study relied on both the primary sources of data collection which was mainly the use of the Interview guide and the secondary sources of data collection which were books journal articles, publications as well as other documentaries. The study found out that although the Nile Basin region is endowed with a lot of resources, the state of instability and conflicts continues to undermine its growth and development, that Grand National development projects has had a negative impact on Africa’s regional relations. That Grand National Development programs has strained the Egypt Ethiopian relations. Based on these findings, the study concluded that Grand Development projects has had a great influence of African regional relations, that Grand National Development projects has negatively impacted on regional conflicts. And that Grad Development projects has negatively impacted on the state of Ethiopia Egypt relations. The study recommends that More conferences, meetings and negotiations between the concerned states should be encouraged to enable the states in question to arrive at a consensus, the Nile Basin region should consider setting up of regional body with strong regional institutions to manage the utilization of the Nile waters, that non-member states should keep off from meddling the affairs of the Nile Basin region, That experts drawn from member states should be hired so as to advise these countries on how best to secure the regional interests without compromising on national inters. Finally, the study recommends the revival of the Pan Africanist spirit among the citizens of the Nile Basin region. This will enable them to look at each other as brothers and sisters as opposed to enemies and rivals.

This study sought to establish the use of portfolio assessment as an alternative authentic assessment tool in Kenyan secondary school setting. The study was guided by three objectives: a) to determine whether Kenyan secondary school teacher practice in classroom assessment reflect an integration of portfolio assessment as an alternative authentic assessment tool; b) to determine secondary school teachers’ perception on the use of portfolio assessment as an authentic assessment tool; and, c) to determine the perception of students on portfolio assessment as an alternative authentic assessment tool. To achieve these objectives, the study adopted a quantitative research methodology where Mbeere sub county was used as a case study. The target population in this study was secondary school teachers and Fourth Form students in Mbeere Sub-county. Self-administered research instruments were used and distributed among the targeted population for response. The study utilized a combination of purposive and convenient sampling to collect data from the target population. Collected data was organized coded, and entered into SPSS Version 25. This data was then analyzed for descriptive statistics to answer the research questions. The results of the analysis confirmed that; a)Objective one, Secondary school teachers utilized portfolio assessment as an alternative authentic assessment tool [88% of the sampled teachers agreed to using portfolio assessment, 8% were not aware of portfolio assessment, while 4% did not use portfolio assessment. Secondary school teachers cited process portfolio as the most frequently used style [46%]. Evaluation style of portfolio assessment was equally popular at 36% while product portfolio was used by 18% of the total sampled population. Different subject seemed to prefer varying style of portfolio assessment. For instance, the science teachers seemed to prefer process portfolio 70%, Product portfolio was common among teachers teaching humanity subjects 56% while process evaluation was popular among mathematics teacher. Teachers teaching languages preferred evaluation portfolio 55%. b) Objective two and three,Teacher and student perception on portfolio was assessed based on portfolio use, portfolio as a learning tool, the process of developing portfolio and grading portfolio. The first two constructs portfolio use, portfolio as a learning tool reported a positive attitude towards portfolio assessment for both teachers and students M=>4.5. Both teachers and students expressed their reservation on the last two constructs of portfolio assessment [process and grading]. The study could not authoritatively report a positive perception towards portfolio assessment as a result of the division in opinion for both teachers and students, however, both the teachers and students recommended the use of portfolio assessment as an effective alternative assessment tool. Based on this finding, portfolio assessment should be encouraged as an alternative authentic assessment tool and integrated into Kenyan secondary schools.

Theories, for example the modern portfolio theory, the agency theory and the resource based theory suggest that diversification has a close relation to the financial performance of the diversifying institution. The modern portfolio theory suggests that diversification improves returns while controlling risk. The agency theory confirms that performance and diversification have a relation which is dependent on the principal-agent relationship in the organization. The intent was to determine how diversification impacts performance of DT-SACCOs in Nairobi County. The population included 43 DT-SACCOs in the County. The predictor variables were diversification given by Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI), management efficiency given by the ratio of total revenue to total assets, age of a firm given by the number of years in existence, firm size by natural log of total assets and liquidity given by liquid assets to total assets. Financial performance was the response variable given by ROA. Secondary data for 5 years was obtained annually. A descriptive cross-sectional design and a regression model were used in analysis. SPSS version 23 was utilized for this function. An R-square value of 0.455 which meant that 45.5 percent changes in performance of DT-SACCOs in Nairobi result from the independent variables was found while 54.5 percent variations were the result of additional factors not considered. The independent variables had a substantial correlation with value(R=0.674). ANOVA showed that F statistic was substantial at 5% with a p=0.000, making the model appropriate. The findings also showed that diversification, liquidity and firm size had positive substantial values in the study. Management efficiency and age of the firm was insignificant to performance. The study recommends the need for DT-SACCOs in Nairobi County, Kenya and other SACCOs in general to diversify their revenue streams as this significantly influences their financial performance. URI

The roled performed by FDI has been appreciated by many governments and they are coming up with means of attracting it. Foreign direct investment inflows movements into a country are said to have a positive and significant influence on economic progress of a country. Countries have to find new methods of attracting FDI stock because investors have different motivations all over. However, it is possible that FDI inflows influences overall growth but not necessary the growth of different sectors and therefore the need to investigate the relationship between FDI inflows and sectoral growth. This research attempted to find out the effect that FDI inflows have on manufacturing sector growth in Kenya. The independent variables were direct foreign investments, the rates of interest, public debt and balance of payments. Growth of the manufacturing sector was the response variable that this study aimed on explaining. The researcher gathered quarterly data of 10 years (January 2010 to December 2019). An explanatory research design was adopted whereas in analyzing their relationship amongst the variable multiple linear regression model was applied. Statistical packages version 23 was used to analyze the data. The findings of the study generated an R-square value of 0.595 that implies that 59.5 percent of that variation in the Kenyan manufacturing sector growth could be attributed to the independent variables selected in the study whereas 40.5 percent was attributed to factors not incorporated in the current study. The study showed that the independent variables had a strong association with growth of the manufacturing industry as shown by (R=0.771). ANOVA outcomes exhibited that the F statistic was significant at 5% level with a p=0.000. This implies that the model was appropriate in explaining the growth of the manufacturing industry. Further, the results showed that only public debt was a significant determinant of growth in the manufacturing sector. Although FDI inflows has a positive influence on growth of the manufacturing sector, the influence was not statistically significant. Interest rate and balance of payment exhibited negative but not statistically significant influence on growth of the manufacturing sector. The study recommends that measures are needed to control the prevailing levels of public debt as they significantly influence growth of the manufacturing sector.

In view of the key roles played by listed firms in an economy, it becomes very important that their financial soundness and viability is maintained. This is only possible if the different factors that play to affect listed firm’s financial positions are known. This research work sought to establish the effect of capital structure on the financial performance of listed firms in Kenya. An exception was made on the financial firms as they have high liquidity which can make their financial structures very peculiar and specific to their industries. Data was collected for 5 years ending with the year 2018 and in total, 47 companies were studied. The factor was studied alongside other factors as literature review identified other factors with possible effect on financial performance. Such factors are the corporate governance characteristics as measured by the number of directors, use of interest-bearing debt as measured by the amounts of interest payments, liquidity positions as determined by the current ratio and the firm size as measured by the amount of assets held by a firm. The study established that the factors actually affected the financial performance of the listed nonfinancial firms. The study established that the factors were relevant and they affected the financial performance in a way. Their effect was found to account for 12.55% of the variations in performance of companies. More equity in the capital structure was found to affect financial performance positively. The effect was that, for every unit increase in equity ratio, there was, a corresponding 0.62 units increase in financial performance. Board size and use of interest-bearing debt were found to affect financial performance negatively. For every unit increase in board size, there is a decrease in financial performance by 0.08 units while unit increase in interest expense decreases financial performance by 0.06 units. Firm liquidity and size were found to impact positively on performance. Unit increase in liquidity and firm size caused a corresponding increase in financial performance by 0.04 and 0.23 units respectively. The impact of board size and firm size were significant while liquidity, capital structure and interest-bearing debt were insignificant. The factors had p-values of board size (0.049), liquidity (0.570), capital structure (0.070), firm size (0.017) and interest-bearing debt (0.364). These findings indicate that counties need to optimise on use of equity in their capital structures and use less of interest- bearing debts. The management in these companies also need to be more liquid to advance financial performance by taking advantage of opportunities emerging and enhance their size to take advantage of economies of scale. The companies also need to relook into the composition of their boards in terms of expertise as currently, the boards and causing a negative performance although it’s insignificant.

SMEs in Kenya are struggling to survive amid challenges that are threatening their survival due to their evolving nature. Availability of market for their products is one of the major challenge SMEs in Kenya are struggling with. Although the SMEs are putting a lot of work into their products, the local market is congested due to a high number of SMEs focusing on one clientele as well as the entrant of international players such as Amazon and Ali Express. This study aimed to test whether SMEs in Kenya are using internet to sell their products in the global market. The study was anchored on three objectives that sought to: identify actual internet tools used by SMEs in Kenya; determine the extent to which SMEs use internet in reaching international market and establish the consumer category patterns with respect to SMEs adoption of internet for international interactions. Diffusion of innovation Theory, Technology Acceptance model theory and Social Exchange theory were used in this study. The study used a mixed-method approach to collect data and interpret findings. This study targeted Manufacturing SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya. Purposive and Random sampling was used to develop the sample for this study. An interview schedule and a survey were used to gather data. Forty-three SMEs were surveyed and the data collected was presented through tables and graphs while thirty SMEs were interviewed and data presented in coded themes. The findings suggested that Kenya’s manufacturing SMEs are still in the experimental stage in terms of adopting internet for internationalization purposes and internet is primarily used in communicating, administrative support and research marketing. This study recommended that SMEs take initiative in embracing internet, collaborate and create network that will help them reach international market and SMEs increased adoption of internet as a tool for reaching international market.