Biomass as a renewable source of energy can also be efficiently utilized to produce biochar and pyroligneous acid (PA) through the pyrolysis process which is influenced by parameters like feedstock moisture content (FMC), pyrolysis residence time (PRT) and chimney inclination angles (CIA) for a given kiln. Even though the process is efficient, there exists scarce knowledge on optimization of these parameters to achieve the best condition that will result in a high production and quality of biochar and PA

The firms in the floriculture industry in Kenya have been facing myriad of challenges emanating from environmental concerns. The recent challenges came from the overseas markets when the Kenyan flowers were said to be the major pollutants of the environment due to their mode of transport. It took long negotiations and lobbying for the issue to be resolved. But the results were almost disastrous and it is therefore important that issues of marketing ecologically friendly products be addressed by the firms. The study sought to determine the green marketing practices within the floricultural firms in Kenya and also to assess the extent to which green marketing is practiced within floricultural firms in Kenya. A descriptive survey design was selected for the study. From the population of 104 firms, 52 firms were selected based on stratified random sampling. The data collection was through self- administered questionnaire with closed and open-ended questions. The respondents of the questionnaires were the senior managers of the selected firms. The result of the study was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages and mean scores. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to carry out the analyses. The results were then presented in the form of tables and charts. In relation to the green marketing practices, the results show that the respondents were aware of green marketing practices in the industry. Such practices were manifest in areas such as modifications of obsolete technology, embracing of entirely new technology, and elimination of some unnecessary processes of production. It is therefore concluded that green marketing practices are practiced to a larger extent within the flower firms in Kenya as seen in use of new technology, elimination of unnecessary production processes, and remanufacturing of some products using

This study offers an analysis of the comprehension of Ki-Embu idioms. The study looks at how the hearer arrives at the figurative meaning of Ki-Embu idioms. The significant fact about idioms is that its comprehension cannot rely on the compositional meaning of the idiom. More contextual material has to be used to understand idioms. So, different idioms like transparent, semi-transparent, semiopaque and opaque idioms need different activation of contextual information. In transparent idioms the hearer gets a clue from the words and can easily built the metaphor. In the interpretation of semi-transparent idioms the hearer finds fewer clues from words in the idioms and more activation of context is required. With the comprehension of semi-opaque idioms the hearer can rely on minimal clues from the actual words and more context is required. There is also need for cultural references of some terms. For the comprehension of opaque idioms the hearer does not get any clues from the words in the idioms. Opaque idioms are learnt like concepts. The study uses Relevance Theory as a framework. Chapter one provides the background of the study. It represents a brief description of the language under study, the statement of the problem, the objectives, significance of the study and the methodology used for data collection and analysis. In chapter two the study has discussed general information on idioms, definition of idioms and classification of idioms. Chapter three classifies the data that is the Ki-Embu idioms into the four categories discussed earlier. It also discusses the meanings of the idioms. Chapter four discusses the application of the Relevance Theory in interpretation of Ki-Embu idioms. It analyses the Ki-Embu idioms using the relevance theoretic procedure and lexical pragmatics and specifically broadening. Finally, chapter five gives a brief summary of the study.

Hydrological drought is a reduction in precipitation leading to water’ decline under a characterized threshold level over an extended period. This causes reduction and drying up of waterbodies. Hydrological drought onset and progress unnoticeably, and slowly, yet its impacts are cumulative and devastating leading to water shortage, environmental debasement, losses of agricultural production, famine and food crisis. Lake Naivasha Basin it affected by anthropogenic stressors such as loss of wetlands and water abstraction with Malewa River flow fluctuating, leading to decrease in the flow regime and scarcity of water in dry season portending the start of hydrological drought in the Malewa River catchment.

Small-scale cereal farmers dominate agricultural activities in developing countries. These agricultural activities are characterized by low productivity due to lack of agricultural input information. This lack is restrained by the low use of ICTs caused by some factors such as the farmers’ perception of ICTs and the ICTs’ delivered information quality. We investigated these factors and their effects on ICTs’ use by small-scale cereal farmers in developing countries. Sikasso region in Mali was selected as a case. A convenient sample size of 300 cereal farmers was selected. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling technique was used to analyse the data. The results suggested that the perception i.e. relative advantage, compatibility and simplicity and the delivered information quality were able to explain 77.9% of the variance in the Use of ICTs to access and use agricultural input information. From these results, it is important to take the Relative Advantage, Compatibility, Simplicity and Information Quality as the main factors determining the use of ICTs in developing countries in the cereal production context. A further line of inquiry could be to gather data from other developing countries to validate or find out more factors in such settings.

Housing as both an economic good and a basic need is one of the most challenging aspects of rapid urbanization taking place in developing countries (Mitullah, n.d.). As the population of urban areas continues to balloon with each passing day, dignified housing becomes a more and more scarce commodity. This scarcity of low-income housing is a result of a wide array of problems including increased population density, inadequate development of infrastructure limiting areas where settlement is possible, the astronomic value of land in urban areas, and the real estate market addressing itself exclusively to middle- and high-income segments of the market. In an attempt to remedy the problem, on December 12th, 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta launched ‘The Big Four’ plan for economic development of the country. Its focus is on four pillars, one of them being the provision of Affordable Housing. As part of the affordable housing pillar, the government plans to deliver five hundred thousand new housing units over a period of five years. A 2020 status report from the State Department of Planning revealed that only 2,202 units have been constructed (Big-Four-Agenda-Report-2018_19.Pdf, n.d.) This is not the first time the Government of Kenya has come up with an ambitious plan to solve the problem of scarcity of quality low-income housing. In previous attempts, projects and policies either were not followed up with implementation, or the solutions have not served the population they were meant to (Temple 1973, (Mitullah, n.d.) instead being occupied by middle income earners, and those with close ties to the government. Different approaches have been employed often with limited success. Incremental housing, redevelopment and sustainable urban renewal are some options that are considered in this thesis. They present different opportunities to overcome some of the challenges that past endeavours have faced. This study seeks to understand the current housing situation in two housing estates in Eldoret Town; Kidiwa and Kapsuswa and determine what recommendations can be made to solve the problem of quality housing there. The research objectives will be to identify the recommended housing standards for low-income households in urban areas, establish the existing housing conditions for low-income residents in Kidiwa and Kapsuswa Estates in Eldoret Town and identify factors that contribute to the current housing status. The thesis will also seek to determine the housing aspirations of the low-income households first from a broad perspective, then from the perspective of residents in the two Estates. Finally, it will propose planning interventions that can contribute to meeting the low-income resident’s aspirations of quality housing. Using a population census, information about the site and its inhabitants will be collected, and through purposive sampling, key informants identified to best serve the objectives of the study. The adoption of both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection tools like open and closed ended questionnaires and observation checklists among others will ensure the data requirements are met and the analysis and presentation will accurately reflect the situation.

Whereas African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides a long list of goods that can be exported to the United States of America (USA), Kenya has not been able to take advantage of the huge market to export textile and apparel products. This paper therefore has analyzed the factors that determine Kenya’s textile exports to the United States of America under the AGOA provisions. The paper sourced secondary data for the period 1990 to 2010 from UNCTAD, World Bank database, Statistical Abstracts and Kenya’s Economic Surveys. The study used the general export model applied by Ogun (1998) and Edwards and Alves (2005) and introduced GDP for USA as a proxy to capture the demand for Kenya’s apparel exports or purchasing ability of USA citizens, employment in the textile sector, Foreign Direct Investment from USA to Kenya, Real Exchange Rate, GDP for Kenya to capture the level of infrastructure development and a dummy variable to capture the effect of AGOA on Kenya’s apparel exports to the US. The results showed that USA GDP, Kenya’s GDP, Terms of Trade, Real Exchange Rate (RER) and the dummy had a positive and significant impact on Kenya’s textile exports while FDI and employment in textile sector had a significant but negative impact on apparel exports to the USA.

Any improvement on the quality of bitumen is a great achievement as it is a major component in road construction material providing its ability to sustain traffic loading. Bituminous paved road fails or get damaged if it is no longer able to sustain traffic or other environmental loading. They fail through poor road maintenance, pot-hole development, overloading among other factors. Convectional bitumen can be modified using waste sugar cane ash (WSCA) and shredded waste plastic bags (SWPB) to improve its mechanical properties as well as solving their disposal problem The main objective of this study was to understand the fundamental behavior of the modified bitumen, evaluate its mechanical property, and determine optimum mix proportion of the waste to modify conventional bitumen grade 80/100. The physical properties of the material used in road construction were investigated to ascertain their suitability in road construction. The test carried out to assure the quality of aggregates with modified bitumen includes aggregates impact value, crushing test, Los Angeles Abrasion test, flakiness index, specific gravity and water absorption test. The results were found to be satisfactory. While the tests carried out on the bitumen samples included penetration test, softening point, ductility and bulk specific gravity to ensure its suitability to its grade for being used for wearing course. The procedure for Marshall Stability test was standardized by using America Society for Testing and Material (ASTM D-1559) to determine the optimum binder content of different mixes. The results obtained from the tests carried out on modified bitumen and modeled briquettes were within the recommended standard specifications. The optimum bitumen content value was 5.5% and a stability value of 14,400N. Penetration index values were in the range of 61 to 68mm and softening point value in the range of 51.3 to 57.8oC. The other test results values were for the aggregates strength 20.6%, water absorption 0.69% while durability test was 2%. The conventional bitumen was modified using 3% SWPB and 2.5% WSCA by reducing the bitumen content in the mix with the same percentage. xvii From this study, modified bituminous mix has the ability to withstand high temperature, higher load compared to conventional mix and this will minimize the development of rutting and cracking of the wearing course reducing water seepage through the pavement surface. The construction cost of the wearing course can be reduced by approximately 3.0 and 2.5% when SWPB and WSCA is used respectively for modification. It is recommended that the convectional bitumen commonly used in Kenya 80/100 should be modified using WSCA or SWPB to make it a better binder for road construction.

Most developing countries like Somalia have a challenge of widespread occurrence of meat related diseases due to inadequacy of laws on safety, practices of handling meat and sanitation conditions, weaknesses in regulatory framework, inadequate education to those involved in handling meat and inadequate financial resources for investing on safe equipment. The study sought to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes, and meat hygiene practices among butchers, slaughterhouse workers and meat traders in abattoirs and meat markets in Bosaso Puntland State of Somalia. Specifically, the study sought to assess the level of knowledge and attitude of meat hygiene among butchers, slaughterhouse workers and meat traders in Bosaso Puntland State of Somalia and to determine the meat hygiene practices butchers, slaughterhouse workers and meat traders adopt while doing their work. The study population comprised of all slaughterhouse workers, butchers and meat traders in both abattoir and meat markets in Bosaso Puntland State of Somalia. A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used to estimate the level of knowledge, attitude and practices in meat hygiene among slaughterhouse workers, butchers and meat traders in abattoir and meat market in Bosaso. Face-to-face questionnaire and key informant interviews were used to collect information about knowledge, attitudes and practices of the target population regarding meat hygiene. Data collected from markets and slaughterhouses was edited and entered in the excel computer program. The statistical analysis was in terms of proportion, mean and standard deviation. Chi square (χ2 was significant in determining the relationship of the sociodemographic features with the practice and knowledge scores. P <0.05 had a statistical significant value and the analysis was done by SPSS software. To preset the findings, figures and tables were used. The study findings indicated that most of the respondents (69.3%) agreed that wearing gloves is one part of individual hygiene, 64.6% agreed that washing hands regularly after contamination is one part of personal hygiene and 71.4% agreed that employees should keep short nails and with makeup color. On the other hand, majority of the respondents (79.7%) disagreed that the regular washing of hands regularly before one begins work is a vital part of personal hygiene, 70.8% disagreed that the proper washing of hands properly reduces contamination risk, 62% disagreed that washing hands using water only is not effective enough and 60.2% disagreed that employees should not touch their hair after washing their hands. It was concluded that slaughterhouse workers and meat traders in Bosaso Puntland State of Somalia have good attitude and fair knowledge on meat hygiene, but poor in implementation of appropriate hygiene practices. There was a significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and the knowledge, attitude and meat hygiene practices among the meat actors. This study recommends that the government should increase training for slaughterhouse workers, butchers and meat market workers to enhance their knowledge and attitudes on food hygiene. Slaughterhouse workers and meat traders should be trained on appropriate meat hygiene practices. The various stakeholders in the meat chain should strive to maintain high standards right from the slaughter houses as well as in the transportation of the meat to the market, the sale process and consumption. This will ensure that the quality of meat produced of is maintained at the required standards. Furthermore, massive sensitization based on the outcome of this study and on moral persuasion campaigns should be rolled out by the relevant regulatory agencies. The government should endeavor to develop meat policies to ensure that all meat issues are addressed, especially the safety of the meat. Additionally, the government should review and harmonize the various legislations governing the livestock industry and meat safety to reduce disease outbreak and to enhance general safety management. This will ensure that all actors respond appropriately to ensure meat safety along the production and supply chain.

Relationship between exchange rate volatility and demand for foreign currency in Kenya