Impact: Journal of transformation

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Ambient Air Quality and the Incidence of Selected Diseases: Some Urban Health Observations in Lagos, Nigeria
(Africa International University, 2018-04-01) Laro, K. O.; Raheem, U. A.
The quality of air is determined by the extent of atmospheric pollution. The USEPA identifies six criteria pollutants namely particulate matter (PM), ground level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and lead exposure as toxic and injurious to human health. Thus, there is a need to examine ambient air quality and incidence of selected diseases in Lagos, Nigeria. The data for the study include a five-year sampling on criteria pollutants and data on selected airborne diseases that were collected for the same period of time. Data analysis adopted the use of multiple regression for examining the relationship between ambient criteria pollutants and the occurrence of diseases. GIS procedure was also employed to produce a map showing the spatial pattern of criteria pollutants. The findings reveal an R2 of 19.8, 13.9, 8.9, 8.4 and 16.8 percent respectively for asthma, bronchitis, heart failure, lung cancer and tuberculosis. The results show a low level of association and this was attributed to other causal factors responsible for the occurrence of the selected diseases. However, this study provides evidence of an association between outdoor air pollution and increased risk from these diseases. Therefore, the study recommends that governments, and other stakeholders in health sectors should harmonize efforts, resources and ideas towards effective planning, monitoring, policy implementation and provision of facilities that could control and ameliorate the presence of pollutants to which urban residents are exposed thereby reducing the health effects from such exposures.
Enhancing In-Bound Student Mobility in Kenyan Universities through Student Feedback on Their Satisfaction
(Africa International University, 2018-04-01) Nyagah, Esther
Quality education for attainment of sustainable development goals cannot exclude giving attention to students as global citizens. In the context of an ongoing trend of inter-regional and intra-regional student mobility, universities must consider hosting international students as a key attribute of internationalization of education and give attention to the needs of the international students they host. Feedback from students on their satisfaction with their university experiences is therefore vital for continuous quality improvement in universities. Understanding how different groups of students perceive their experiences is helpful in decision making to help meet diverse students’ needs. This paper focuses on feedback from international students enrolled in Christian universities in Kenya where a survey was conducted and cross-sectional data collected in the year 2017. Stratified random sampling was done for inclusivity of the various sub-groups of interest to the study. Overall satisfaction with students’ university experiences was sought and student characteristics were regarded as the dependent variables whose influence on the international students’ satisfaction is established. Relationships between students’ satisfaction and various student characteristics were determined through Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal Wallis tests which revealed that the variables of age, gender, current type of residence and the kind of accommodation preferred by international students had a significant relationship with students’ satisfaction. The findings revealed that the younger undergraduate students were significantly less satisfied than their older postgraduate counterparts and that female international students were significantly less satisfied than male students. University accommodation off campus was not just the least popular type of accommodation among international students; it also generated the least satisfaction. These are aspects to which educational administrators need to give attention in the endeavour to enhance service quality among international students in their institutions.
Factors Influencing Students’ Discipline in the Process of Classroom Management: A Case Study of Mixed Day Public Secondary Schools in Kisau Zone, Mbooni Sub-county, Makueni County, Kenya
(Africa International University, 2018-04-01) Tshibangu, Godfrey Mwamba
This study was a descriptive research that sought to investigate the influence of sociocultural factors on the discipline of students in the process of classroom management among mixed day public secondary schools in Kisau Zone of Mbooni Sub-county, Makueni County. Specifically, the study was guided by four theories of school discipline: The non-interventionist Interventionist, interactionalist and developmental approach to classroom management and discipline. The target population included all the 793 students in the five mixed day public secondary schools in Kisau Zone from which a stratified random sample informed by Krejcie and Morgan Table comprising 260 students (125 boys and 135 girls) from Forms 1 to 4 was selected. Quantitative data was obtained using closed and open ended self-administered questionnaires. Other data collection tools included students’ discipline cases checklist and the students’ behaviour observation checklists. A pilot test was conducted in a school in the neighbouring zone to test the reliability of the questionnaire. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) Ver. 20 and presented in form of tables and graphs. The study concluded that, socio-economic status (SES), moral values, attitudes, perceptions, and Christian faith had a positive influence on the discipline of students during the process of classroom management in mixed day public secondary schools within Kisau Zone, particularly where the discipline of girls, as opposed to boys, is concerned. The study recommends in terms of socio-economic status, schools and parents should embrace valuebased education (VBE) and concentrate on students from high SES. Since, it imparts social, moral, integrity, character, spirituality and many more in terms of moral values, churches and schools intensify teaching on good moral values including the national values as espoused in the Kenyan Constitution 2010, Article 10(2) while at the same time setting good examples as role models. In terms of attitudes and perceptions, teachers should use a developmental approach to classroom management and discipline as it places more emphasis on building relationships than on controlling students. Further research could be done regarding how sociocultural factors influence the discipline of students in the following categories of schools; mixed boarding public secondary schools, girls only or boys only boarding public secondary schools and private secondary schools.
The Kikuyu Conceptualization of Adoption: A Cognitive Grammar Approach
(Africa International University, 2018-04-01) Mbua, Abigael Wangari
The process of Bible translation entails interpretation of concepts in the original text. Such interpretation calls upon translators/exegetes not to just reconstruct and analyze the conceptualization evoked by a biblical concept with regard to the conceptual universe of the author and his original recipients but also to analyze the conceptualization evoked with regard to the speakers of a receptor language. The underlying idea is to aid the translator/exegete, in a complementary way, to gain an understanding of the meaning of the original text. The aim of this approach to the translation task is to come up with a translation that is clear to the speakers of a receptor language. This paper concentrates on the concept of ‘adoption’ represented by the Greek term, huiothesia in Gal. 4:5; Rom. 8:15, 23; 9:4; and Eph. 1:5 Which is variously rendered in the English translation versions. Focusing on Kikuyu as a receptor language, the concept of adoption is represented by gũciarwo na mbũri ‘to be procreated by means of (slaughtering) a goat’ the Kikuyu label for adoption. The evoked conceptualization is analyzed using a Cognitive Grammar approach. Cognitive Grammar enables first the semantic characterization of the expression gũciarwo na mbũri and its components as grammatical constructions, second the analysis of the conventional conceptual content evoked by gũciarwo na mbũri and its components in the conceptual universe of the Kikuyu speakers. The evoked conceptual content is incorporated in the emergence of the meaning of the expression.
The Role of Leadership and Governance in Managing Occupational Stress in Higher Educational Institutions
(Africa International University, 2018-04-01) Chukwuma, Victor Priest
Stress is a modern-day epidemic that calls for urgent attention and proactive measures to end its threat on employees’ wellbeing in order to promote quality education through competent and reliable personnel to fulfil organizational goals. It is observed that many potential workers are severely affected as a result of occupation stress. The role of leaders in higher educational institutions and government policy makers is critical in ensuring the safety of employees in the workplace. This study is based on quantitative research methods conducted in one private university in Kenya to determine the effect of stress on workers’ effectiveness. Pertinent data was collected through a questionnaire based on open and close-ended questions. Descriptive survey design was used to describe the cause of occupational stress while correlation analysis was used to test the linear relation between variables. The results obtained from the data revealed four causes of occupational stress: Conflicting relationships among co-workers and their immediate supervisors, heavy workloads with deadlines, lack of rest, and lack of adequate finances to pay workers in due time. The outcome of the hypothesis test indicates that conflicting relationships between staff members and their immediate supervisors has a significant effect on job performance. Also, a heavy workload that needs to be accomplished within a specific period has a significant effect on job performance. Thus, it was recommended that leaders should minimize stress in the workplace by lowering the amount of work assigned, and to build strong relationships through team building activities.