Doctor of Philosophy Theses and Dissertationshttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/2632024-03-29T11:04:14Z2024-03-29T11:04:14ZCorrelation Between the Degree of Alignment and Opto-Piezoelectric Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals Fabricated From Water HyacynthAdem, Jack Abibohttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121392023-07-10T14:15:12Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZCorrelation Between the Degree of Alignment and Opto-Piezoelectric Properties of Cellulose Nanocrystals Fabricated From Water Hyacynth
Adem, Jack Abibo
Cellulose nanomaterials have recently continued to attract higher attention in the current research output, due to their extremely excellent mechanical, optical as well as electrical properties. Their sustainability coupled with good structural and morphological properties have made them become a great resource in the construction of both active and passive components in the electronics sector. Interestingly, water hyacinth, a serious environmental threat in Lake Victoria and other water bodies globally, is a rich source of this novel material. This research study has been dedicated to find out the correlation between the degree of alignment and the piezoelectric effect of cellulose nanocrystals fabricated from water hyacinth. The CNCs were synthesized by a rigorous acid hydrolysis using varied acids, concentration, temperature and time and the effects of these parameters on the opto-structural properties of the resultant films investigated using UV Visspectrophotometer, fluorescence spectrophotometer and XRD technique.Further, the Urbach energies have been calculated and found to increase while the optical band gap energies found to decrease with increase in hydrolysis temperature. From a plot of Eg verses Eu, the optical band gap energy of the CNCs when there was no disorder in their microstructure was found to be ~5.43 eV. Further, it has been shown that the Urbach energy is absent when hydrolysis process is done at 14.23oC. Additionally, the piezoelectric effect of the electric field assisted convective
shear assembled CNCs has been systematically studied and the effect of the applied voltage and the frequency mapped. The sensitivity of fabricated sensors was measured using the fabricated measurement setup. From the study, a high degree of CNC orientation in the films has been found to be a key characteristic for the piezoelectric response. The amount of applied voltage and the frequency have been found to increase the degree of the orientation/alignment of the CNCs within the films hence leading to enhanced piezoelectric response. This is because the orientation of crystalline CNC regions inside the films led to a remarkable increase of piezoelectric effect as a result of the large piezoelectric coefficient of the CNCs. From the study, it was clear that functional piezoelectric sensors can be fabricated from CNF films and thus, the results obtained suggests that CNC films are suitable sensor materials for applications in different fields including electronics, biomedical diagnostics and material sciences.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZRelationship Between Social Adjustment Indices and Academic Achievement of Students in Secondary SchoolsKibe, Henry Miringuhttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121302023-07-10T09:40:07Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZRelationship Between Social Adjustment Indices and Academic Achievement of Students in Secondary Schools
Kibe, Henry Miringu
The number of students quitting school before passing their matriculation examination is a major cause for concern. A highly qualified workforce is necessary due to the acceleration of technological advancement and the emergence of new, more challenging job prospects. Since underachievement hinders the growth of the labor force, it follows that each student should be encouraged to perform at his best level. With a perfect school environment, there are better chances of a better performance. However, many students in Kenya particularly, Githunguri Sub-County, whose performance has been very low, and the underlying Social Adjustment Indices that influence their Academic Achievement at secondary school have not received appropriate research. Determining the Influence of Social Adjustment Indices on Academic Achievement among students in public secondary schools in Githunguri Sub County, Kenya, was the main goal of the current study. Among students in public secondary schools in Githunguri Sub-County, the following objectives were set: to determine the relationship between peer acceptance and academic achievement; to
establish the relationship between aggression and academic achievement; to find out the relationship between social withdrawal and academic achievement; and to determine the relationship between altruism and academic achievement. Social learning and classical conditioning theory were both used in the study. Utilizing Creswell's mixed method technique, concurrent embedded research design was used. The selection of the participating schools and students was done using stratified random, purposive, and saturation sampling procedures. A population of 2787 students, 38 deputy principals, and 38 teachers of guidance and counseling were selected for the study from which 350 form two students, 15 deputy principals, and 15 instructors of guidance and counseling made up the study sample. For data collection, the present study included questionnaires, interview schedules, and document analysis. A pilot study was carried out using 35 form two students from four public secondary schools in the Githunguri Sub-County. Two specialists from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology verified the validity of the instruments. By using Cronbach's alpha, internal consistency was employed to determine the instrument's reliability, and a reliability coefficient above 0.7 was found. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to examine quantitative data. Inferential statistics involved Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient, simple and multiple regression analysis, and ANOVA, and descriptive statistics covered frequency counts, percentages, averages, standard deviation, and variance. Hypotheses were evaluated at a 5% level of significance. Thematic analysis was employed to examine qualitative data. Peer Acceptability and Academic Achievement were shown to be positively correlated (n=308, r =.187; p =.001), while Altruism and Academic Achievement were also found to be positively correlated (n=308, r =.144; p =.012). The results also showed a somewhat negative associationbetween Aggression and Academic Achievement (n=308, r = -.568; p.05) and a negative relationship between Social Disengagement and Academic Accomplishment (n=308, r = -.345; p.05). According to the present study's findings, Social Adjustment Indices should be incorporated into school guidance and counseling policies and practices since they have a major impact on academic
attainment.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZIntegrating Engagement Theory in Usability Evaluation Framework for the Design and Development of Health Information Systems.Omoro, Gonza Otienohttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121272023-07-10T09:02:48Z2022-01-01T00:00:00ZIntegrating Engagement Theory in Usability Evaluation Framework for the Design and Development of Health Information Systems.
Omoro, Gonza Otieno
Usability is often ignored; many software developers focus on the functionalities and give little thought to the usability. This hinders the users and also damages the reputation of developers and the softwares. Such systems fail in use, scale up, and at times score very low when evaluated for usability. Users are not satisfied, systems are created ad hoc, and often abandoned, thus resulting in a waste of human and economic resources. Users many times describe the systems as complex, not intuitive and requiring a lot of training for successful use. There are a number of existing usability evaluation frameworks; however, they are suboptimal in providing health information systems (HIS) usability evaluation explicitly at the design and development stage. They each evaluate different aspects of HIS pertinent to human, organizational and technological factors. The frameworks differ in terms of generality and specificity, timing based on the system development phases, thus there exists a gap of an integrated evaluation framework that can merge critical usability
constructs together and also be utilized at the design and development of HIS products. The objectives of the study were first to develop an integrated usability evaluation framework for the design and development of HIS, secondly to investigate the existing usability evaluation frameworks in HIS, thirdly to analyse the user
involvement and satisfaction levels in HIS during the design and development phase using integrated software usability measurement tools and finally, to validate the developed integrated usability evaluation framework for the design of HIS. The study was conducted in selected public health facilities in western Kenya. The research study applied mixed methods research to gain detailed understanding of the entire HIS design and development processes. Simple random, and purposive sampling were used to select the health care workers i.e medical officers, clinicians, nurses, records staffs and patients who interact with the systems on a day today basis. Both survey questionnaires and focus group discussions tools were used to collect data. Data analysis was done using ordinal logistic regression and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results showed that users were never involved in the process of development of the current HIS that they are using thus were never satisfied with the processes. User involvement and participation during the design and development
positively influences user satisfaction levels therefore ease of use, efficiency, safety/errors of HIS has the potential to reduce the number of mortalities and readmissions in the health facilities. HIS developers need to consider utilizing the components, dimensions in the developed integrated usability evaluation framework
as they provide a perfect opportunity to promote engagement and consider key constructs throughout the development life cycle. Health care providers need to provide real time feedback to the development team of any mis-alignment and emerging usability issues during the design and development process. There is need to capture the dynamics, processes, and interrelationships involved in technological change during the user engagement during the development of the health information systems.
2022-01-01T00:00:00ZAssessing the Management Strategy and the Potentiality of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Larvae as Poultry FeedOkello, Emilly Awuorhttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121252023-07-03T11:33:01Z2021-01-01T00:00:00ZAssessing the Management Strategy and the Potentiality of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Larvae as Poultry Feed
Okello, Emilly Awuor
Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a serious pest of about 350 plant species such as maize and sorghum. Management of this pest through mass trapping and handpicking of the larvae to feed the chicken would reduce its population. The objectives of the study were; to assess the optimal visual cues of FAW for landing, to evaluate the effectiveness of mass trapping as a method of collecting FAW larvae, to determine the potentiality of FAW larvae as poultry feed. The research assessed optimal visual cues of Spodoptera exigua as a model insect for S. frugiperda. Freshly eclosed moths were tested in a wind tunnel using a water trap with Light emitting diodes (LED). Seven light colours (365,385, 400, 470, 530, 592 and 650 nm) at one light intensity (brightness) were tested for attractiveness. Data was collected after 30 minutes and 14 hours. To determine the effectiveness of mass trapping FAW, field experiments were done during the long and short rains of 2020 and long rains of 2021. In the long and short rains of 2020, a water trap with UV-A (385 nm) LED light (LWT + UV-A) and a delta trap from Kenya Biologics Company were tested with two categories of pheromones. The pheromones used were S. frugiperda (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004/2005 and 2006) from Pherobank Company and Kenya Biologics pheromone (kbp). LWT was tested with the Pherobank pheromone while the delta trap was tested with Kenya Biologics pheromone. Further, three trap designs, namely: LWT + UV-A (385 nm), the funnel bucket trap from Pherobank, and delta trap, were tested using (2003 and four component (4C) pheromones. Proximate analysis was performed on air dried samples of fall armyworm larvae and experimental data was compared to secondary data of other chicken feeds. The research found that S. exigua had optimal visual cues at (365, 385, and 400) nm wavelengths compared to (470, 530, 592, and 650) nm wavelengths at (p = 0.01 and p =0.001). Results for the long rains 2020 showed that LWT + UV-A performed better than the delta trap over three weeks at (p = 0.01, 0.001, and 0.01). Long rains 2021 experiment showed that LWT + UV-A captured higher numbers of FAW moths than the delta and the bucket traps at (p = 0.001). The means of the protein content of FAW larvae (56.22) % was similar to those of BSF larvae (38.41) %, HF larvae (60.94) %, and Soya bean (40.12) %. This research concludes that LWT + UV-A (385nm) has the potential to be utilized for mass trapping S. frugiperda, and FAW larvae have sufficient nutrients to be used as poultry feed. The study recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO adopt the use of LED water trap in the Integrated Pest Management and also include FAW larvae in poultry diet to boost food security.
2021-01-01T00:00:00ZEffect of Pollution Gradient on Sediment Bacterial Composition and Potential Pathogens in Urbanization-Impacted Streams Draining into Lake VictoriaAchieng’, Odhiambo K.http://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121142023-06-27T06:02:27Z2022-01-01T00:00:00ZEffect of Pollution Gradient on Sediment Bacterial Composition and Potential Pathogens in Urbanization-Impacted Streams Draining into Lake Victoria
Achieng’, Odhiambo K.
Despite urban rivers/streams draining into Lake Victoria suffering from urbanization-
linked anthropogenic pollution, little is known about their microbiome diversity and structure, or
how they respond to intensive anthropogenic inputs. This study conducted a comprehensive
analysis of the spatial bacterial community distribution in the sediments of Kisat and Auji streams,
that flows through Kisumu City into Lake Victoria's Winam Gulf. Specifically, the study: i) used
16S rRNA gene-based Illumina MiSeq sequencing to determine the diversity and abundance of
sediment bacterial communities along the stream catchment impacted by varying levels of
urbanisation; ii) determined the presence of potential pathogens and the predicted functional
profiles of the sediment bacterial communities in the river to establish their role in the ecosystem,
and (iii) identified the key environmental factors (nutritional factors and heavy metals) influencing
compositional variations in these communities. The study adopted a stratified purposive sampling,
where 22 sediment samples were randomly collected from Lower, Mid and Upper catchment of
Auji and Kisat streams, stratified as highly, moderate and non-urbanized zones, respectively, based
on land use patterns. Results showed that polluted mid and lower catchment zones stream
sediments were highly enriched (p < 0.05) with Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, and potential
pathogen groups such Corynebacterium, Staphylococcus, Cutibacterium, Turicella, Acinetobacter
and Micrococcus, including enterics such as Faecalibacterium, Escherichia, Klebsiella,
Enterococcus, Prevotella, Legionella, Vibrio and Salmonella. Further, Phylogenetic Investigation
of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt) analysis revealed enrichment
of genes associated with carbon and nitrogen metabolism and disease pathogenesis and
virulence in the lower and mid catchment zones stream sediment. Physicochemical analyses also
showed that the highly urbanized mid and lower stream catchment zones had significantly higher
(p < 0.05) total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP) content,
including severely pollution with toxic heavy metals such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and copper
(Cu) than the less urbanized upper catchment zone. Multivariate analysis suggested that TOC, Pb,
Cd, TN, pH and Cr were the significant drivers (p < 0.01) of spatial variation in community
structure, with Pb, TOC and Cd content being most influential sediment properties (p < 0.01).
Overall, these results suggest urban pollution significantly affects the stream sediment microbiome
and that the current waste management in Kisumu City is insufficient for the protection of public
health and aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, proactive and sustainable urban waste management
strategies are needed as the city undergoes rapid urbanization.
2022-01-01T00:00:00ZAssessing the Management Strategy and The Potentiality of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Larvae as Poultry FeedOkello, Emilly Awuorhttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121122023-06-26T14:05:02Z2022-01-01T00:00:00ZAssessing the Management Strategy and The Potentiality of Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera Frugiperda) Larvae as Poultry Feed
Okello, Emilly Awuor
Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a serious pest of about 350 plant species such as maize and sorghum. Management of this pest through mass trapping and handpicking of the larvae to feed the chicken would reduce its population. The objectives of the study were; to assess the optimal visual cues of FAW for landing, to evaluate the effectiveness of mass trapping as a method of collecting FAW larvae, to determine the potentiality of FAW larvae as poultry feed. The research assessed optimal visual cues of Spodoptera exigua as a model insect for S. frugiperda. Freshly eclosed moths were tested in a wind tunnel using a water trap with Light emitting diodes (LED). Seven light colours (365, 385, 400, 470, 530, 592 and 650 nm) at one light intensity (brightness) were tested for attractiveness. Data was collected after 30 minutes and 14 hours. To determine the effectiveness of mass trapping FAW, field experiments were done during the long and short rains of 2020 and long rains of 2021. In the long and short rains of 2020, a water trap with UV-A (385 nm) LED light (LWT + UV-A) and a delta trap from Kenya Biologics Company were tested with two categories of pheromones. The pheromones used were S. frugiperda (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004/2005 and 2006) from Pherobank Company and Kenya Biologics pheromone (kbp). LWT was tested with the Pherobank pheromone while the delta trap was tested with Kenya Biologics pheromone. Further, three trap designs, namely: LWT + UV-A (385 nm), the funnel bucket trap from Pherobank, and delta trap, were tested using (2003 and four component (4C)) pheromones. Proximate analysis was performed on air dried samples of fall armyworm larvae and experimental data was compared to secondary data of other chicken feeds. The research found that S. exigua had optimal visual cues at (365, 385, and 400) nm wavelengths compared to (470, 530, 592, and 650) nm wavelengths at (p = 0.01 and p = 0.001). Results for the long rains 2020 showed that LWT + UV-A performed better than the delta trap over three weeks at (p = 0.01, 0.001, and 0.01). Long rains 2021 experiment showed that LWT + UV-A captured higher numbers of FAW moths than the delta and the bucket traps at (p = 0.001). The means of the protein content of FAW larvae (56.22) % was similar to those of BSF larvae (38.41) %, HF larvae (60.94) %, and Soya bean (40.12) %. This research concludes that LWT + UV-A (385nm) has the potential to be utilized for mass trapping S. frugiperda, and FAW larvae have sufficient nutrients to be used as poultry feed. The study recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO adopt the use of LED water trap in the Integrated Pest Management and also include FAW larvae in poultry diet to boost food security.
2022-01-01T00:00:00ZFinancing Structure and Financial Performance of Listed Manufacturing Firms on Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya: A Dynamic Panel ApproachOganda, Aloys Jaredhttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121052023-06-26T09:12:11Z2022-01-01T00:00:00ZFinancing Structure and Financial Performance of Listed Manufacturing Firms on Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya: A Dynamic Panel Approach
Oganda, Aloys Jared
Globally, the manufacturing industry is a crucial engine for sustaining economic growth and development. However, in Kenya, the sector’s contribution the economy has stagnated at 10% of the gross domestic product (GDP), contributing to an average of 10% from 1964-1973 and marginally increased to 13.6% from 1990-2007 and has been below 10% in recent years further dropping to 8.4% in 2017 and 7.1% in 2020. The renewed effort to revive the sector through the National Government Big 4 Agenda is expected to grow its contribution to GDP to 15% by 2022. Financing structure is imperative to optimize a company’s profitability and hence improve its competitiveness to realize the National Government Medium Term Development Agenda. Findings by previous researchers in the subject have not been conclusive. This study applied Dynamic Unbalanced Panel analysis techniques using Secondary data for 10-year period (2010 - 2019) with the study population comprising of 9 listed firms. A census of the firms was done and resulted to 86 observations. Focus was on debt, equity, retained earnings and asset tangibility moderated by economic growth rate and earnings volatility on performance which was proxied by Tobin’s Q and EVA. Four theories guided the study namely; Modigliani & Miller, trade – off, pecking order and agency theories. Longitudinal research design was used as it is appropriate when dealing with panel data. STATA version 15 was used for analysis. Model estimation followed a two Step System GMM testing the study hypotheses at 5 % significance level. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to show the strength and direction of association among the study variables. Short term debt financing was negatively and significantly correlated to Tobin Q; (r = -0.4790) and negatively correlated with LnEVA (r = -0.5032) giving negative and significant effect on performance as shown by the regression weights estimated by GMM. Long term debt ratio (LTDR) has a fairly moderate and positive correlation with Tobin Q (r = 0.4388). It is also strongly correlated with ln EVA (r = 0.6570). The regression coefficients were also positive and significant for both performance proxies. Equity financing had a negative correlation with Tobin Q (r = -0.2682). The regression weight being (β= -0.1674526; p = 0.002 < 0.005). On the other hand, EAR was found to have positive correlation with Ln EVA (r= 0.5218). The regression coefficient was positive but not significant (β = 0.2901601; p = 0.087 > 0.05) and hence concluding that it improved performance marginally. RR had a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.3197) with Tobin Q and a strong positive correlation (r = 0.5997) Ln EVA respectively. The regression coefficients were also positive and significant. ATNG was positively correlated with Tobin Q (r = 0.4331) and LnEVA (r = 0.3683). The regression weights were also positive and significant. The study therefore concluded that financing structure is imperative as it directly determines the financial burden firms face in their operations financing sources and concentrate on recovering cash flow quickly to minimize need for short term financing. Long term financing sources improve performance and need to be enhanced. Additionally, the government need to reduce the cost of borrowing. Equity require any payment of cash hence should be applied. Lastly, MAFs need to consider project financing to limit exposure to credit risk. Future studies can consider a balanced panel analysis and other panel data econometric techniques.
2022-01-01T00:00:00ZAnalysis of Capital Structure Decisions and Financial Performance of Sugar FirmsOdeyo, Boaz Omondihttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121012023-06-23T06:44:09Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZAnalysis of Capital Structure Decisions and Financial Performance of Sugar Firms
Odeyo, Boaz Omondi
Capital structure decisions help to maximization of the value of the firm; but in most cases these capital structure decisions if they are inappropriate the performance of firms shall remain in jeopardy. The sugar industry play a significant role in socio-economic development of the economy. It is estimated that six million Kenyans derive their livelihood directly or indirectly from the sugar industry. Despite these dependence most of the sugar firms in western Kenya are facing myriad of problems that hurt their profitability, sales volume and financial leverage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Capital Structure decisions on financial performance of Sugar firms in Western Kenya. The study objectives are: examine the effect of loan financing on financial performance, determine the effect of debenture financing on financial
performance, assess the effect of preference share capital financing on financial performance, assess the effect of ordinary share capital financing on financial performance, and evaluate the effect of institutional capital (Retained Earnings) financing on financial performance of sugar companies in western Kenya. The research was directed by Trade-Off and Pecking order Theories. The study adopted the use of descriptive survey study design. The study unit of analysis was the 11 sugar companies in western Kenya, from which a target population of 149 employees were used. The study sample size was 109 respondents selected using Fischer formula and simple random sampling was adopted. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview guide. Secondary data was obtained from the Kenya Sugar Board Annual reports, Finance departments of the sugar companies and the Sugar survey manuals/financial reports using the secondary data collection sheet. Data analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools and the results thereof interpreted. The study findings revealed that: one unit increase in cane maintenance loan causes 0.225 unit change in financial performance of the sugar firms in western Kenya. For cane development loans a unit increase in their use causes 0.224 unit increase in financial performance of the sugar firms. Further it is observed that a unit increase in the use of factory rehabilitation loans causes 0.429 increases in financial performance and for machinery and equipment loans a unit increase in its use causes 0.219 unit increase in financial performance in the sugar firms in western Kenya. The capital structure decisions (Loan financing, Debenture financing, preference share capital, ordinary share capital, institutional capital) account for 63.1% (R = 0.631, p <.05) of discrepancy in the outcome (financial performance). The ANOVA results showed that regression was significant for modeling with F (3, 94) =46.502 being significant statistically (p<0.05). The variables’ coefficients, the study found that the constant term (B = 12.51, p <.05), loan financing (B = 0.633, p <.05), Debenture financing (B = .481, p = .038), preference share capital (B=0.578; p=0.028); ordinary share capital (B=0.442; p= 0.011) and Institutional Capital (B = 0.467, p =.019). All these variables (predictors) were found to be statistically significant and positively predicted the financial performance of the sugar firms, since in all their p-values, (P<0.05). Hence as various forms of capital structure decreases so is the financial performance of the sugar firms in western Kenya. The study concludes that sugar firms should embrace the use of capital structure decisions to improve on their financial performance.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZOn Continuity and Separability in Bitopological SpacesOgola, Blasushttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/121002023-06-23T06:18:45Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZOn Continuity and Separability in Bitopological Spaces
Ogola, Blasus
Many studies have been conducted on properties of bitopological spaces and aspects of continuity over a long period of time and different results have been obtained so far. However, pointwise characterization of various aspects of continuity has not been done in bitopological spaces. Moreover, our work is aiming at establishing particular separation criteria for bitopological and spaces where N > 2. This therefore calls for an in depth study of continuity and separability in bitopological spaces. The objectives of the study were to: characterize notion of ij-continuity in bitopological spaces; establish separation criteria for bitopological spaces via ij-continuity; and determine extensions of continuity and separability in N-topological spaces. The methodologies involved use of criterion for continuity, criteria for inverse continuity, separation axioms and conditions for normality. The results showed that various continuity notions such as p_, θ_ and pd exist in bitopological spaces. For separation criteria, the results showed that if bitopological spaces are T0, T1, T2 and T52 properties are both topological and hereditary. For extension and separability in N-topological spaces results indicated that properties can be naturally extended to N-topological spaces. The results obtained are useful in studying topological deformations such as stretching which is fundamental in understanding the shape and structure of the universe and formulations of real functions and topological mappings. Our results also help in deep understanding of molecular biology more particularly on DNA structure. Our results also play a great role in understanding the applications of computer topology such as line, ring, star and hybrid topologies.
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZSelected Factors Influencing the Implementation of Learners’ Psychomotor Activities in Public Pre-Primary Schools’ Curriculum, in KenyaAvosa, Arthur Ahindahttp://ir.jooust.ac.ke/handle/123456789/120962023-06-22T11:31:01Z2022-09-01T00:00:00ZSelected Factors Influencing the Implementation of Learners’ Psychomotor Activities in Public Pre-Primary Schools’ Curriculum, in Kenya
Avosa, Arthur Ahinda
Studies indicate that learners’ participation in the psychomotor activities is limited and that more emphasis is put on the academic-oriented activity areas. The purpose of this study was to establish selected factors influencing the implementation of the learners' psychomotor activities in the pre-primary school curriculum in Vihiga County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were; to find out the influence of the teacher factors, examine the influence of the physical resources, examine the influence of parental participation, and determine the influence of the policy factors on the implementation of the learners' psychomotor activities in the public pre-primary schools in the curriculum in Vihiga County, Kenya. The findings of the study might be useful in informing parents on importance of psychomotor activities in learners’ education, improve the national policies through Ministry of Education of Education and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development. It might also inform future research on play. The study adopted a mixed method approach specifically a concurrent triangulation research design. The study was anchored on Maria Montessori‘s theory of children‘s play. The target population was 432 that included; 110 head teachers, 110 teachers, 110 parents, and 12 ECDE supervisors. A sample size of 88 that included; 33 head teachers, 33 teachers, 10 parents', and 12 ECDE Sub County supervisors was used for the actual study. The questionnaire schedule was administered to the head teachers and teachers while the focus group discussion guide was used for probing parents and ECDE supervisors. The document analysis and the observation schedule were used to strengthen the findings of the study. The validity and reliability of the instruments were established during the pilot study from the neighboring Sabatia Sub County that was outside the actual study locale. Validity was ensured based on the construct and content validity. The instrument's reliability was ensured through the test-retest technique. An instruments’ reliability coefficient of 0.7 was used for the actual data collection. The qualitative data was analyzed using prose and narrative form. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, and percentages, and findings presented in pie charts and tables. The inferential statistics, ANOVA, was used to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The study ensured the ethical considerations. The results showed a significant difference between teacher factors and the implementation of the learners’ psychomotor activities in the curriculum {F (6, 25) = 2.552, p = .000}. The results showed a significant difference in the means between physical resources implementation of the learners’ psychomotor activities in the curriculum {F (6, 25) = 2.840, p = .000}. The results further showed that there was a significant difference between parental participation and the implementation of the learners’ psychomotor activities in the curriculum {F (6, 25) = 8.661, p = .004}. Finally, the results showed a significant difference between the policy factors and the implementation of the learners’ psychomotor activities in the curriculum {F (6, 25) = 9.983, p = .000}. The study concluded that teacher factors, adequacy of the physical resources, parental participation, and policy factors enhance the implementation of learners' psychomotor activities in public pre-primary school activities. The study recommended that public pre-primary school management improve parental participation and provision of learning materials and equipment in the implementation of the learners’ psychomotor activities in the public pre-primary school curriculum. A study should be conducted on selected factors influencing the implementation of psychomotor activities in private pre-primary schools to corroborate the findings of this study.
2022-09-01T00:00:00Z