Journal of Environmental Sustainability Advancement Research

INFLUENCE OF NEED ASSESSMENT ON PROCUREMENT PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN EASTERN REGION KENYA.

2024-01-04T12:52:20+03:00

There has been effort by the public institutions in Kenya to improve performance of the procurement function. However, poor procurement performance in terms of delays and poor
quality goods received is still a challenge. The objective of the study was to investigate need
assessment on procurement performance in public universities. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study was 324 participants, the sample size was
102 and stratified sampling was adopted. Data which was collected by means of questionnaires. Multiple linear regression models aided in analysis to bring out the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable with the help of Statistical Packages for Social
Sciences (SPSS Version 28.0). The significance of the independent variable was tested using t-test. The t statistics and significance level established a statistically significant positive
effect of needs assessment on procurement performance of public universities in Eastern
region at a 5% significance level with coefficient of 0.059, and p-values 0.405. The study
concluded that public universities should encourage effective use of need assessments to
impact positively on the effectiveness of the procurement process of public universities in
Eastern region. The findings of this study are expected to be useful to; public universities, as
it would provide complementary knowledge useful in formulation of policy and a regulatory
framework on procurement planning in the Public Universities. The study will be a key ingredient in the; planning, designing and implementation of a sound public procurement
planning that will align itself to the overall economic strategy.

CITIZENS’ SATISFACTION WITH POLICE RECRUITMENT PROCESS: A CASE OF BOMET COUNTY, KENYA.

2024-01-04T14:25:45+03:00

Previous studies have examined citizens' perceptions of the police. However, studies on
the citizens’ perception of police recruitment are scarce. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating citizens' attitudes toward the recruitment of new police officers into the national police
service. The study's objective was to determine citizens' satisfaction with the way in which
police recruitment exercise is conducted in Bomet County, Kenya. The target population
for the study was 875,689 citizens. This study used a descriptive research design. The simple random sampling method was used to pick three Sub-Counties in Bomet County and to
identify the respondents for the study from the selected sub-counties. A questionnaire with
a series of statements on the Likert Scale was used to collect data. Analysis of the data was
conducted through frequencies, percentages, and Chi-Square. The results were presented
through frequency distribution tables. The study found that the respondents were not satisfied with the way in which police recruitment is conducted. The police recruitment exercise is still affected by police illegitimacy and other vices such as bribery, nepotism, favoritism, and discrimination. This study found police recruitment to be below a fair threshold
of accountability and transparency standards, which causes citizens’ dissatisfaction with
police recruitment exercises. The findings of this study provides significant insights to human rights organizations and other actors to advocate for proper implementation of police
recruitment reforms that would improve police recruited to the right standards.

INFLUENCE OF EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT ON RETENTION IN PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS IN NAIROBI CITY COUNTY, KENYA

2024-01-04T14:05:04+03:00

The challenge of employee retention is a global problem that affects organizations in both
developing and developed countries. Even though a lot has been done towards addressing
the problem, the situation has continued to be experienced among private security firms in
Nairobi City County, Kenya. The main objective of this study was to determine the influence of employee commitment on retention in private security firms in Nairobi City
County, Kenya. The work environment was used as a moderating variable. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of this research was 50 private security firms in Nairobi City County registered with Kenya Security Industry Association. Primary data was collected using a close-ended questionnaire. The study was anchored by
Kahn’s theory of engagement. Data was analyzed with the aid of SPSS version 25.0 and
presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. Simple and multiple regression analysis
was used to establish the relationship between variables and the t-statistic at a 95% significance level was adopted in testing the hypothesis of the study. The overall significance was
tested using F-test. The study established a positive significant effect of employee commitment on retention with a regression coefficient of 0.799 and a p-value of 0.000 implying that
employee commitment affected retention. The interaction between work environment and
employee commitment had a regression coefficient of 2.330 and a p-value of 0.025 implying that work environment positively altered the relationship between employee commitment and retention. The study recommends that private security firms ought to put strategies
that encourage employees to be committed to their work, to ensure increased retention. The
findings of the research will contribute to theory, policy making, and understanding of human resource management practices to ensure an increase in employee retention.

RELEVANCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL GOALS IN INSTILLING DEMOCRATIC VALUES AMONG PUPILS IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN IGEMBE SOUTH SUB-COUNTY. A CRITIQUE BASED ON JOHN RAWLS THEORY OF JUSTICE.

2024-01-04T13:21:35+03:00

The study focused in determining the relevance of primary school educational goals in instilling democratic values among pupils in public primary schools in Igembe South SubCounty in reference to John Rawls theory of justice. The study adopted descriptive survey
research design. The target population was 6700 subjects, comprising of 5950 standard seven pupils and 750 teachers in public primary schools in Igembe South Sub-County. Simple
random sampling was used to select 325 pupils while purposive sampling was used to select
45 teachers forming a total sample of 370 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaires. Collected data was cleaned, coded and entered in the computer for analysis using
SPSS version 21. Quantitative data was analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The
findings of the study revealed that the goals of primary school education are relevant in instilling democratic value of socio-economic equality amongst learners as advocated by
Rawls theory of justice. The study therefore recommends Need for schools to come up with
strategies for promoting democratic values in relation to educational goals. Such Strategies
may include establishment of democratic values clubs and invitation of resource persons to
talk on democratic values to the school community. The study further recommends that
Schools should organize for workshops/seminars to sensitize teachers on promoting democratic values such as justice, equality, freedom and dignity as suggested by John Rawls theory of justice. This is because besides forming basis for academic achievement they also
form foundation for instilling democratic values on pupils. The researcher concludes that
the recommendations made would prove quite instrumental in informing the policy makers,

DEEP LEARNING MACHINE TRANSLATION TECHNOLOGY IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES TRANSLATION-A REVIEW

2024-04-22T11:59:42+03:00

Machine translation (MT) is the use of computers to automatically translate one language to another. Machine translation has numerous applications in society, such as ecommerce, tourism and marketing. Africa has approximately 2,000 spoken languages, however, only 30 African languages have been machine translated. The main technical factor for the low-rate adoption of MT in Africa is the poor translation accuracy of existing machine translators. Currently, there are two approaches to MT in Africa. The first approach is the classical approach. This approach utilizes the direct mapping of input texts to produce a translated output. Examples of classical MT approaches include: statistical-based machine translators (SBMT), rule-based machine translators (RBMT) and hybridized machine translators (HMT). Classical approaches are the most widely adopted MT approach for African languages. The main reason for the wide adoption is ease in building and maintenance of classical MT platforms, in addition, the low cost of computing power in utilizing these platforms. However, classical approach has high-levels of inaccuracy due to language structures differentiation. The second approach is the use of Deep learning (DL) MT. Deep learning MT is a field in artificial intelligence concerned with the application of artificial neural networks to mimic the human brain learning process in language translation. Deep learning MT has the advantage of understanding phrases, complex sentence structures, and even slang when compared to classical MT approach. Deep learning has produced results 60-90% more accurate than the classical approach in translating structured languages such as French into English. However, DL has shortcomings in MT, including, high-costs of training and evaluating models, and, DL is data intensive. This review aims to analyze the current status of machine translation approaches in Africa and provide an output recommendation for universalizing applicable MT in African languages translation. The results of this review will be in both graphical and tabular format.

FLASH FICTION AS AN AVENUE TO ADDRESS SOCIAL VICES: A CASE STUDY OF VINCENT DE PAUL’S FLASHES OF VICE, VOLUME 1

2024-01-04T14:18:25+03:00

Advancement in technology and the internet age has given rise to new platforms of sharing
ideas thereby leading to the rise and development of flash fiction. This paper analyzes flash
fiction as a new avenue for addressing social vices in the digital age. Some of the vices addressed in the selected mini-fictions resonate with the Sustainable Development Goals
showing how writers rely on global trends in their creative processes. Marxist literary theory
was adopted to examine the social vices that the selected texts address. The article argues
that these exemplary flashes are used to develop and propagate complex themes with a long
literary history and a wide contemporary relevance. It therefore avers that flash fictions of
East Africa, though utilizing the contemporary platforms, have a literary significance just
like other genres of art. It is a new avenue to addressing human challenges with wide readership. Flash fiction and the new media are therefore seen as new frontiers in fostering education, research and economic recovery.

EFFECT OF NITROGEN FERTILIZER RATES ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND YIELD OF NEW SELECTED SUGARCANE CULTIVARS IN KIBOS, KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

2024-01-04T13:30:44+03:00

The sugar industry plays an important role in economic development of Kenya. Nitrogen is
the primary nutrient limiting sugarcane production throughout the world. A study was conducted in Kibos from 2015 to-2018 on the effect of nitrogen fertilizer rates on the yield of
newly released cane cultivars. The aim was to determine the optimal nitrogen rates for the
new sugarcane cultivars and to analysis the cost benefits of N fertilizer rates on new sugarcane yields. The treatments consisted of 11 cane cultivars KEN 98-367, KEN 98-530, KEN
98-533, KEN 98-551, KEN 00-13, KEN 00-3548, KEN 00-3811, EAK 73-335, KEN 82-
121, KEN 82-601, KEN 82-493 and 3 levels of N fertilizer rates; 0kg Nha-1
, 80kg Nha-1
and
160 kg Nha-1
as top-dress at five months after planting. The experiment was laid out as 11
x 3 factorial in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) having three replications with
a gross plot size of 5 rows 6m long and spaced at 1.2 m apart. Clean seedcane aged 10
months was used. The trial was harvested at 17 months for plant crop (PC) and 16 months
for ratoon1 (R1). Data was analyzed by ANOVA using GENESTAT vs 19.0. The results
showed that significant differences (p<0.05) were noticed in girth, stalk heights, R1sugarcane yields and nitrogen rates of R1. Stalk population, pol% juice and nitrogen rates of PC
did no differ. KEN00-3811 out yielded all the other cultivars and EAK 73-335 was the
worst performer. Therefore there is a need for further evaluation on Kibos soil before appropriate nitrogen fertilizer rate is recommended that should be site specific.