Rapid urbanization and global warming have led to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon in Nairobi City. The UHI phenomenon is considered the most interpretive indication of an urban climate change in the current time of increasing urbanisation. Proper climate change adaptation planning actions in Nairobi city require recognizing the possible range of UHI intensity and spatial dispersion. However, climate research and its applications in urban planning and improvement in Nairobi city is constrained by inadequate evaluation and irregular descriptions of the local city's characteristics. Therefore, there is a need to study the correlation between urbanisation and UHI and quantify the benefits of plant species on microclimate and human thermal comfort within Nairobi city. The study models and simulates the UHI of Nairobi and further quantifies environmental amelioration effect of different tree species on microclimate and human thermal comfort in the city. The city was first classified into Local Climate Zones (LCZs), then estimated the land surface temperature (LSTs) distribution using a split-window algorithm, and simulated 2m air temperature by MUKLIMO_3 model to show UHI phenomenon for Nairobi city. After that, the attenuation effects of selected plant species on microclimate and human thermal comfort were quantified. The study generated the current LCZ classification for Nairobi city. Both built-up (LCZ 1-10) and natural (LCZ A-G) areas are present. The LCZ classification captured the forms and functions of each zone and indicated the potential UHI distribution pattern of Nairobi city. The study confirmed the presence of urban heat loads in built-up areas with a high percentage of water-resistant, non-reflective surfaces and low vegetation compared to the surrounding rural areas. Statistical analysis of LSTs showed significant differences among typical LCZs. Additionally, the amelioration effects of selected individual plant species demonstrated differences in performance. Focus benjamina (vast dense canopy) presented the highest ability to attenuate environmental parameters (surface temperature, ambient temperature globe temperature, and relative humidity) and reduce thermal discomfort index, followed by Cassia spectabilis, Warburgia ugandensis, Ficus religiosa, Callistemon citrinus followed by Dypsis decaryi, Bambusa vulgaris, Terminalia mantaly and Schinus molle (small open canopy). In conclusion, the study presented the LCZ Nairobi as a basic spatial unit for synoptic characterization and comprehensive climate-based classification of the city sites for urban planning and management. The spatial pattern of urban heat loads in Nairobi is influenced by local climate formation as differentiated by urban form (urban morphological parameters) and functions. In addition, the attenuation effects of plant species in urban spaces vary based on their allometric properties and planting designs. Therefore, proposals for urban planning and design strategies to manage urban heat in Nairobi City can optimize the form and layout of urban LCZs to enhance ventilation and promote appropriate building

One of the major challenges in the banking industry is the dynamic competitive environment in which banks operate. This has compelled commercial banks to adopt marketing methods that are consistent with the evolving customer behavior. Although commercial banks use various mobile enabled applications such as mobile banking the extent of application of mobile marketing is not known. The objective of this research was to determine the application of mobile marketing in commercial banks in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study was modeled on a descriptive cross - sectional design. The population of the study consisted of thirty four commercial banks in Mombasa County. No sampling was done, as a census of all the commercial banks operating in Mombasa County, Kenya was considered. Primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were personally administered by the researcher to the commercial banks’ marketing managers or equivalent. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that majority of the commercial banks do apply mobile marketing in all their marketing activities. It also concluded that customer attitudes towards mobile marketing and the characteristics inherent in the mobile phone are important factors that affect the application of mobile marketing. The study recommends that the banks should invest in techniques of optimizing the use of the mobile marketing so as to reap maximum benefits from the huge potential of mobile marketing.

The retention of employees has been shown to be significant to the development and the accomplishment of the organization’s goals and objectives especially in building competitive advantage over other organization in the phase of increased globalization. Today, changes in technology, global economics, trade agreements, and the like are directly affecting employee/employer relationships thus leading to high employee turnovers thereby affecting employee retention in an organization. Retention becomes one of the biggest issues for the Banking industry in Kenya because people are the one who generates profits and considered as the capital or asset of the organization. Few qualified employees have kept on moving from one bank to another in search of better employment terms. As such, human capital has turned out to be an important competitive tool in the banking sector which calls for proper management practices for these resources to ensure sustained bank competitive advantage. The research adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study was 355 employees based at the Head office of KCB. The study applied proportionate stratified sampling technique to identify the sample size of the study. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the quantitative data by use of percentages and frequencies. Content analysis was used for qualitative data. The study found that compensation of staff, training and development, job characteristics and promotion are important in the organization since they greatly influence the organization performance. This study recommends this study should shed light on how to maintain and retain employee in an organization. Furthermore, the result of the study should help the regulatory, banks managements, and owner in forming their human resource related strategies. Employees of Kenya Commercial Bank should benefit from the study as it would enable them appreciate the factors affecting their retention and how the management should provide incentives to them through offering them a career ladder through which they might progress. The study should generate information that would be used by various HR consultants who have interest retention of workers in order to maintain smooth industrial relations. The findings of the study should also help other researchers who would want to carry out research on factors affecting employee retention in Kenya.

This study provides an overview of youth empowerment in Liberia which has a very youthful population of which almost all were affected by the civil crisis. The study investigates the extent to which youth empowerment in developing countries can be a strategy for fostering sustainable international relations. It analyzes the role of youth empowerment in the socio-economic development of post-war countries and explores empirical findings on youth empowerment in Liberia and beyond. As a way of getting an in-depth understanding of how youth empowerment in Liberia can contribute to the socioeconomic and cultural development of country, using a qualitative method, the study sampled the views of selected government officials, adult community members, and youth in Montserrado and Margibi counties. The study established that youth themselves need to understand what youth empowerment is all about and the policies that are in place for youth empowerment are being implemented, The study concludes that despite the little efforts made by the Government of Liberia, the issue of youth empowerment still needs to be given keen attention and that preventive mechanisms be put in place to avoid youth-led violence.

The genus Brachiaria (syn. Urochroa) is ranked among the high-quality nutritious forages that originate from Africa. It remains a favourite forage for Sub-Saharan Africa due to different traits including high quantity and quality of its biomass. However, diseases were reported as one of the major constraints of Brachiaria production worldwide. The general objective of the study was to increase livestock productivity and improve income of farmers through sustainable management of diseases affecting Brachiaria grass in Rwanda. The study analysed the effect of growing seasons on distribution, disease incidence and severity of Brachiaria grass diseases in prevailing climatic conditions of Rwanda. Disease surveys were conducted in five districts during the dry season and the wet season in 2018 and 2019. Surveys showed that leaf spot, leaf rust and leaf blight diseases were largely distributed across the country. Incidence and severity of these diseases differed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) by districts, seasons, and district × season interactions, however, exception was non-significant effect of season and district × season interactions on leaf rust incidence in 2018. Furthermore, isolation and confirmation of causative relationship between Bipolaris secalis/ Phakopsora apoda and leaf spot/leaf rust were evaluated. Brachiaria leaf samples with disease symptoms were taken from farmers’ fields during the wet season of the year 2018. Fungi associated with major diseases were isolated and identified based on morphological, molecular characteristics and pathogenicity tests. Molecular identification confirmed the results of morphological identification and revealed Phakopsora apoda as the only fungus associated with leaf rust, and predominant association of fungi Epicoccum spp. and Nigrospora spp. with leaf blight while Bipolaris secalis and Fusarium spp. were associated with leaf spot symptoms. Morphological, molecular identification and symptoms reproduced on inoculated Brachiaria seedlings confirmed Bipolaris secalis and Phakopsora apoda as causal agents of leaf spot and leaf rust, respectively. Moreover, whole genome sequencing and genomic characterisation of Bipolaris secalis isolates from Brachiaria grass (Humidicola and Basilisk.) grown in Bugesera, Nyagatare, Rwamagana and Huye districts were performed. Illumina platform to give 151 bp reads in paired – end sequencing was used. The phylogenomic relationships of 12 isolates was also constructed and de novo assembly of one isolate (BS7) was performed. Eleven isolates were re-sequenced based on BS7 and they were mapped to the reference (BS7). Illumina sequencing results of BS7 produced the estimated genome size of 34,813,291 bp with an average GC content of 50.01%, organised into 108 contigs with the longest contig of 2,265,317 bp, the N50 of 1,032,497 bp and the L50 of 12. The self-mapping of BS7 was 97.69%. The results obtained when mapping dataset of 11 isolates to BS7 indicated that the final mapping ratio was in the range of 80 – 95%, consisting of 28,950,637 – 15,611,348 total mapped reads. Finally, field experiments were established to evaluate management options against foliar diseases affecting Brachiaria grass in Rwanda. One study evaluated the reaction of nine improved Brachiaria cultivars (Marandu, MG 4, Piata, Xaraes, Basilisk, Humidicola, Cayman, Cobra and Mulato II) against leaf rust, leaf spot and leaf blight diseases and agronomic performances in two agro-ecological zones of Rwanda. Experiments were established under natural disease pressure for three distinct consecutive harvests in 2019 and 2020. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed for data on disease and agronomic parameters of Brachiaria grass and Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the relationships between agronomic traits and the extent of the diseases expressed as Area Under Disease Progress Curve (AUDPC). Basilisk, Marandu, MG4 and Xaraes exhibited moderately resistant to resistant response to all three diseases but Cayman and Cobra were the most susceptible to leaf rust. Cultivars differed for biomass production (p ≤ 0.05), as well as percentage of dry matter content. The highest biomass producers were Marandu, Mulato II and Xaraes but a high percentage of dry matter content was registered for Cayman and Cobra. The interaction of between site, cultivar and harvest was evident (p ≤ 0.05) for disease development and agronomic performances. Moreover, an experiment was established to evaluate different management options including mineral fertiliser application, fungicide application, manual weeding, no fungicide application, no weeding, and no fertiliser application for leaf rust using the susceptible cultivar (Brachiaria hybrid cv. Cayman) for four consecutive harvests. The results showed a significant reduction in the incidence and severity of leaf rust as a result of mancozeb and mineral fertiliser treatments, leading to simultaneous increases in plant growth, number of tillers and biomass production. The findings of the study provide baseline information on diseases affecting Brachiaria grass in Rwanda. Farmers can use resistant cultivars identified in this study and they can be explored for further use in breeding programmes. The information generated in the study is therefore, useful for sustainable management of diseases affecting Brachiaria grass and other crops in Rwanda and in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Likewise, this is the first study to provide a whole genome sequence of Bipolaris secalis hence, the generated genome data under this study will contribute to the database improvement of Bipolaris secalis for future investigation and it will contribute to identification of novel sources of genetic resistance for improving disease management in Brachiaria grass and other new strategies for the control of this pathogen.

Bovine mastitis is a very important production disease in cattle dairy herds in Kenya. The objectives of this thesis were to determine: 1) the types of bacterial infections in dairy cows using the California Mastitis Test (CMT) and culture at dry-off; 2) the effectiveness of different dry cow therapy options for treating existing mastitis infections; and 3) factors associated with Staphylococcus aureus infections at dry-off and post-calving in smallholder dairy farms in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study targeted cows at the point of dry-off, and farms with such cows were recruited through cooperative societies and the help of artificial insemination service providers. On twenty farms, 32 cows with CMT-positive quarters at dry-off were recruited into the study, including 75% Friesian, 19% Ayrshire and 6% Jersey, totaling 121 quarters. From all the CMT-positive quarters, milk samples were aseptically collected for bacterial culture. Additionally, the positive quarters were randomly allocated to receive either dry cow therapy (DCT) plus internal teat sealant (ITS) or ITS alone, and farm- and animal-level factors were captured through a questionnaire. The project was undertaken between the months of September 2019 to March 2020. The mean herd size of the farms was 11 cattle, with the composition of 4.2, 1.3, 2.9 and 2.3 milking cows, dry cows, heifers and calves respectively. Mean daily milk production for the dairy farms was 55 liters. On milking practices, 75% of the farms use hand-milking only, of which 47% and 53% squeeze and pull the teats, respectively, while 15% use machine milking and 10% use both machine and hand milking methods. All farms use a cloth for udder cleaning, with 90% using one cloth for all the cows in the farm. Additionally, 80% of the farmers were drying their cows gradually, but only 40% were sometimes using dry cow therapy. Subclinical S. aureus mastitis was among the most common type of infection at dry-off (54.6% of CMT-positive quarters and 81.3% of CMT-positive cows were infected with S. aureus). Dry cow therapy significantly reduced the proportion of quarters infected with S. aureus from 67.9% at dry-off to 44.0% post-calving (35% reduction), but did not significantly reduce other infections, although proportions of other isolates were low. The final multivariable logistic regression model found there were 0.35 times lower odds of S. aureus infection post-calving than at dry-off. The odds of S. aureus infection were 0.14 times lower when milk production was over 2.5 kg/day than when it was under 2.5 kg/day. There were 0.29 times lower odds of S. aureus infection when udders had scant dirtiness versus when they were clean. However, compared to “clean” lower leg cleanliness, scant and moderate dirtiness had 8.7 and 4.5 times higher odds of S. aureus infection, respectively. Finally, compared to no bedding, mattresses and sawdust/grass/leaves/crop waste had 0.14 and 0.06 times lower odds of S. aureus infection, respectively. This study points out the importance of subclinical mastitis at dry-off in smallholder dairy farms, and therefore provides information on how dry cow therapy can be used to address the problem. Preventive measures against subclinical mastitis (e.g. hygiene in the cow cubicle and use of post-milking teat dip) and strategic screening of milking cows with CMT, especially at dry-off so that cows with subclinical mastitis at dry-off can be treated with DCT, can go a long way in the control of the disease, and thus help reduce the cost associated with it.

Tax revolts in Kenya have mainly been through the judicial process. Members of the public who are increasingly aware of their rights have on several occasions headed to court to demand that public institutions should not receive or raise taxes without fulfilling their mandate. One of the most organized cases of judicially aided tax revolt in Kenya was the case pitting Karen Langata residents under the umbrella of Karen Langata District Association against City Council of Nairobi in which the court barred the City Council from collection of property rates from residents of the Karen- Langata area. The residents had complained of poor service delivery by the council. Although judicially aided tax revolts are now a common phenomenon in Kenya, little research had been done on the effect of judicial aided tax revolts on public administration in Kenya. Much of the research into the effects of tax revolts have generally been in developed countries. This study therefore sought to bridge the existing knowledge gap by investigating the impact of the Karen Langata case on fiscal decision making at City Council of Nairobi. The study adopted a descriptive design which enabled the study to answer the questions of the status of the subject under study. The target population were the managerial staff at CCN and the officials and office bearers at KLDA. Snow ball sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. Qualitative data was gathered using interviews with both officials of CCN and KLDA. Responses gathered were analysed by way of content analysis. Quantitative date was gathered from the available financial records from CCN. Time series analysis was done to ascertain the change in revenue collection in the period after the court ruling. The study concluded that following the court ruling, there had been no significant dip in revenue collection at CCN as the council had introduced other sources of revenue. The study recommended that the CCN complies with the court order to enable it receive the property rate monies currently held by KLDA to be used towards enhancing service delivery to members of the public.

Escherichia coli (E.coli) are globally recognised as important causes of diarrhoeagenic infections as well as other extra-intestinal infections in both animals and man. In developing countries, E.coli is the most important agent causing diarrhoeal diseases which results in significant economic losses. In veterinary medicine, domestic animals are indicated as an essential harbour of multidrug-resistant E.coli which can be transferred food animals to man. The global rise in antibiotic resistance and particularly multi-drug resistance (MDR) has made treatment of infections challenging. The objective of this research study was to determine the pathotypes, and antimicrobial resistance profiles of E.coli isolated from foods, water and livestock in selected informal settlements in Nairobi. The study was carried out in two informal settlements in Nairobi, namely Viwandani and Korogocho. It entailed reviving of previously isolated and biochemically confirmed E.coli isolates. These isolates were streaked onto MacConkey agar plates and then incubated overnight at 37ºC. Distinct pink colonies were then picked from MacConkey agar, streaked on Tryptone Soy Agar (TSA) and incubated for 24hrs at 37ºC to obtain pure colonies. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was employed to determine the phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates in accordance with the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI) guidelines (CLSI 2014). Inoculated plates with Mueller Hinton Agar (MHA) were seeded with antimicrobial disks and the zone of inhibition measured after incubation. Each isolate was screened for antimicrobial susceptibility with twelve different antimicrobial agents of veterinary and human health importance. The reference organism used was Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. The highest resistance was shown to ampicillin where 79(45.4%) isolates showed resistance to the antimicrobial agents, while the least resistance (0%) was demonstrated to ceftriaxone where all the isolates were susceptible. For livestock isolates, 74.5% of the isolates were susceptiple to antimicrobial agents tested, 8% were intermediate, and 17.5 were resistant.The highest resistance in livestock isolates was shown to tetracycline at 53% and sulfamethoxazole/ trimethoprim at 53% while amoxicillin/clavulanate and ciprofloxacin showed the least resistance at 1%. Antibiotic resistance genes detected in food isolates included blaTEM (91%) and tetA31% while in livestock, the antimicrobial resistance profiles included blaTEM (35%), and tetA (15%).The most prominent pathotype in food isolates was enteropathogenic enteropathogenic E. coli ETEC estA with 2% of the isolates testing positive while enterohaemorhagic E.coli (EHEC) was the most prominent pathotype in livestock with 4%. This study also showed that Escherichia coli from Viwandani and Korogocho are pathogenic and resistant to antibiotics. Since most antibiotics are shared between animals and human, the detection of resistance E.coli strains points at a risk of spread of resistant strains to man. This calls for further research and collaboration of public health department in a one health approach.

Powdery mildew (Podosphaera pannosa) is a major disease of roses which reduces yield and quality through growth of mycelia on different parts of the rose plant which affects their salability. The disease is wide spread where roses are grown both in greenhouse and field. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of Bacillus spp and sodium nitrophenolate on powdery mildew of roses in greenhouse conditions. The trial was done in an already established bush of roses in the greenhouses at Kikuyu in Kiambu County and at Naivasha in Nakuru County both are in Kenya. The experiment was conducted on a variety known as A one which is grown in different farms in Kenya. Weekly foliar application of Real subtilis® (Bacillus subtilis) at the rate of 2ml/L, Hatake (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) 3.0g/L, Atonik® (sodium nitrophenolate) 1ml/L and Meltatox® (Dodemorph acetate) 2.5ml/L. In the second experiment, foliar application of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was done at different concentrations and at various intervals of application as follows 1.5g/L, 4 days, 3.0g/L, 4 days, 4.5g/L 4 days, 1.5g/L, 7 days, 3.0g/L, 7 days, 4.5g/L, 7 days, 1.5g/L, 10 days, 3.0g/L, 10 days, 4.5g/L, 10 days and no treatment as control. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications for each treatment in plots with 44 plants. Data was collected on incidence and severity of powdery mildew on weekly basis while data on stem length, bud diameter, bud length and marketable grade were collected daily for twenty weeks and six weeks for the first and the second experiments respectively. In the first experiment, Bacillus subtilis, B. amyloliquefaciens, sodium nitrophenolate and dodemorph acetate significantly reduced incidence of powdery mildew from 83% to 55% with dodemorph acetate posting the best results followed by B. amyloliquefaciens, sodium nitrophenolate and Bacillus subtilis. In the second experiment, at different rates and at various intervals Bacillus amyloliquefaciens reduced incidence of powdery mildew with the rate of 1.5g/L at four and seven day intervals gave better results than ten days interval. Disease severity was reduced significantly from 15.8% to 2.1% by application of dodemorph acetate and B. amyloliquefaciens while application of B. subtilis and sodium nitrophenolate did not significantly at P ≤0.05 reduce severity of powdery mildew. Applications at the rate of 1.5g/L and 3.0g/L at four days and weekly applications had the highest reduction in severity in the second experiment. Dodemorph acetate had the highest area under disease progress curve (932) followed by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (988) in the first experiment while application of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens at the rate of 1.5g/L at the interval of seven days showed the highest AUDPC (799.8). Application of the test products did not significantly affect the yield and quality paramenters in the first experiment but in the second experiment, foliar application of Bacillus amyloloquefaciens at different rates and at various intervals improved the quality. Marketable stems significantly increased in the second experiment after the application of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens at different rates and at various intervals. Foliar application of Bacillus Spp and sodium nitrophenolate controlled powdery mildew of roses. Application of the same products did not have significant effects on quality and yield parameters of flowers such as flower bud length, stem length and bud diameter and number of stems produced in the first experiment, however, there was improvement in yield and quality in the second experiment. Growers of roses should be encouraged to apply Bacillus spp and sodium nitrophenolate in managing powdery mildew. The optimal concentration of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens should be established and how sodium nitrophenolate induce resistance to plants against phytopathogens should be investigated.