No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

In Kenya, as in most developing countries, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise for the past five decades. Since the early 1960s when serious concerns were raised over housing provision for low income groups and the proliferation of slums and informal settlements, various intervention strategies have been applied without much success. The failure of these interventions has been attributed to high costs of implementation hindering their replication, and displacement of targeted beneficiaries by better endowed income groups upon their completion. As a result, the realised moderate density housing has been transforming into multi-storey housing with intense densification. Housing and the built environment in general are realised within the prevailing systems of social, physical, and economic, settings and are influenced by development and urbanization trends. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify, account and document the prevailing systems of settings and the embedded systems of activities in the informal settlements that determine and sustain them in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The study analysed these systems at the city, the neighbourhood, and the dwelling levels with the objective of establishing relevant systems of settings and their embedded systems of activities appropriate for adaption in the regularization of informal settlements for sustainable housing development for the urban poor in Nairobi. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodology was utilised in this explorative study. The research methodology applied entailed questionnaires, interviews, observations and discussions. Three case study areas were selected representing three different settings for informal settlements namely; informal settlement on government land with minimal level of interventions; community based informal settlement upgraded for rental housing; and site-and-service settlement informally transforming into multi-storey tenements. Theories and concepts that informed this study include Environment-Behaviour Relations, Environment-Attitude Relations, Sustainable Livelihoods, Social, and Market Theories. The study was conducted in Mathare Valley informal settlement of Nairobi which is located approximately six kilometres from the city centre. The settlement was selected because of the varied informalities it hosts in addition to being the oldest informal settlement in the city. The findings of the study show that the social, economic and physical systems of settings are crucial determinants of housing outcomes and determine the location, nature and characteristics of these settlements including the activities they embody at the city, the neighbourhood and the dwelling levels. Similarly, the study shows that the dwellers adapt to the prevailing systems of settings in response to their livelihood constraints, opportunities and capabilities. As a consequence, limitations arising from economic constraints have led to the predominance of rental housing over owner-occupied housing. Limited access to land has led to crowding and densification. Poverty and unemployment has led to uncontrolled commercial activities within residential neighbourhoods. The study recommends that intervention approaches spearheading regularization of informal settlements commence by considering the problem of informal settlements at city level where their recognition and acceptance is important. This should then be related to job opportunities, ease of access to work, and other social amenities. At the neighbourhood and dwelling levels where the two are intertwined, emphasis should be given to maximum utilization of land and development of housing typologies that evolve with economic improvement of the nation. The government and local authorities should still be responsible for infrastructure development whereas private investors encouraged to develop rental housing targeting the low-income groups and on land designated for such purpose by the government. Market forces should be allowed to determine rent levels. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

This thesis interrogates the suitability of wireless technologies to implement an eBusiness infrastructure in Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries, particularly in Kenya. A research model was developed based on literature and information obtained from a pilot study. The proposed model extended Task-Technology Fit with two core constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. A preliminary study was conducted to refine the proposed model and inclusion of any variables limiting the suitability of wireless technologies as MSEs’ eBusiness infrastructure. The proposed model was empirically tested using data collected using a survey questionnaire and five descriptive case studies on MSEs in Kenya. A proportionate stratified random sampling method within well defined geographic clusters was used to collect data from 570 MSEs. The constructs were assessed for reliability, validity and exploratory factor analysis using SPSS and validated via a confirmatory factor analysis using Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS maximum likelihood method. Most Kenyans live in rural areas of the country with no access to mainstream technologies and a considerable digital divide exists, particularly between the urban and rural areas. This necessitated an intra-country comparison of access and use of wireless technologies in rural and urban MSEs in implementing an eBusiness infrastructure. The results of the intracountry comparisons indicate that while there are indisputable similarities in usage and perception of barriers and benefits of using wireless technologies to implement eBusiness infrastructure between the rural areas and urban centers in Kenya, there are also considerable differences. The relationships among the research model constructs were different depending on whether the sample was rural or urban. However, the differences between rural and urban MSEs’ ratings of the proposed research model constructs were not statistically significant. The study finds that there are evident positive performance impacts on MSEs that use wireless technologies for their eBusiness infrastructure and that the research model fit well with the data collected. The results also indicate that Task-Technology Fit and Usage directly and significantly affect organizational performance while Performance Expectance, Social Influence and Task-Technology Fit were significant determinants of Usage. Among the three proposed barriers of Security Risks, Affordability and Performance Risks, only Performance Risks had a significant negative effect on Usage. Finally, the study’s results, theoretical, managerial and policy implications are discussed and recommendations for future research given. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2010.

This research investigated what the musical characteristics of mwomboko music were, what its social characteristics were in terms of performers, listening, venues and class relations to what extent this music functioned as a means of engendering feelings of personal empowerment under conditions of social exclusion and how this music functioned as a catalyst for social cohesion. This study is necessary for it may contribute to the further study of the mugithi one-man guitar performance. I worked with the theoretical approach that music can create or maintain social cohesion. I also looked a how it can contribute to group solidarity and so increase the effectiveness of collective action. I am worked with the theory of social cohesion through music which works with the idea that music can be used as an avenue to create a sense of belonging to a group or community. Through the affirmation of the society's identity music also ended up affirming the individual 's identity. While this study specifically focused on mwomboko music within mugithi performance style there were factors that had and continued to influence this type of music's performance and growth. This study shall try to investigate ways in which the development in Kenya influenced music's role in social identity, why music is used as a channel for social cohesion and the issues that bring up ethnic identity within multicultural urban setting. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

For the past five decades, the provision of adequate housing for the urban poor has been an elusive exercise in Kenya, as in most developing countries. Several years before Kenya’s independence in 1963, concerns over the proliferation of slums and informal settlements began to emerge. Various intervention strategies have been attempted without any significant success. This study examines the historical manifestations of policies adopted by the Kenyan government to address the issue of slums from its independence to date. Since then, the Government of Kenya has recently shifted its approach from slum demolition to slum upgrading initiatives as an intervention measure. This study focuses on the case study of public housing project in Kibera Soweto East in Nairobi, an initiative conceived under the Kenya Slums Upgrading Programme (KENSUP), courtesy of a partnership between Government of Kenya and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) which began in 2002. Despite the timely intervention of KENSUP, various challenges encounter its implementation initiatives. This study aims to understand this complexity by uncovering the underlying KENSUP’s implementation challenges and suggest some recommendations to enhance the efficiency of government in providing its poor with decent and affordable housing. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc. )-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

The basic theme of this study is that determination of the economic value of water resources is a necessary condition for rational decision-making and management of these environmental assets, and their associated public goods, in developing countries. The research particularly evaluates the contingent valuation (CV) method as a technique for evaluating increments and decrements in environmental and natural resource service flows, and estimates households' evaluations for improvements in river water quality and connections to piped water supply for domestic uses. The study objectives were to (a) estimate the economic value of piped water supply and improved water quality in the Nzoia River Basin, Kenya, (b) evaluate the feasibility of using the CV technique to value an environmental amenity and its related quasi-public service in rural settings where respondents have limited education and monetary resources, (c) examine the role of temporal dimensions of bid payments (i e, frequency of payments) in contingent values for environmental commodities, (d) empirically investigate embedding effect bias in contingent valuation of improvements in river water quality improvement in a less developed economy, and (e) evaluate the role of water connection charges in households' willingness to hook onto piped water supply in Webuye Division, Kenya. Empirical analysis and estimates of the non-market value which local people assign to water quality in the Nzoia River and a private household water connection is based on a detailed survey of a representative sample of 311 households in Webuye Division of Bungoma District, Kenya. In an on-site survey carried out in May through September 1995, contingent markets were developed for the two goods, (1) improved river water quality, and, (2) provision of a private connection to water supply. The corresponding willingness to pay (WTP) values are explained using Ordinary Least Square regression models. Whatever the good, the WTP is seen to increase with income. However, the effects of other factors are more specific to the contingent good. In order of strength, the other determinants of WTP "quality" are sex, age, household ranking of status of domestic water source, distance from river to household residence, the other factors affecting WTP "connections" are existing source of water supply, household size, ranking of river water quality, and age of household head. On the whole, residents accepted the exercise of contingent valuation and were willing to pay important amounts (Ksh 459 and Ksh 386 on average per household per year, respectively, for goods 1 and 2). Discussion issues include policy significance of the resulting WTPs in terms of the demand for river pollution control and individual household water connections, the effect of the goods upon the CV evaluation process, the "Third World" impacts of frequency of payments in contingent valuation, including perceived-frequency and income-smoothing routes, the embedding effect in WTP values for water pollution abatement in the Nzoia River basin, the importance of pricing influences, specially payment profiles for initial connection charges, on household decisions to connect to piped water systems, and limitations of the study.

Population growth and internal migration in parts of the developing world have led to increased conflict over land rights carried out in the context of competing tenure paradigms. In Kenya, violent conflict between 'indigenous' and 'outsider' communities occurring in the midst of a program of democratic liberalization and political change has been variously explained as primarily driven by material or political interests. This thesis examines land rights conflict in the wake of a violent clash at Enoosupukia in 1993, which led to the displacement of up to 30,000 people, and analyzes how changing tenure paradigms, shifting socio-spatial boundaries, ethno-political polarization, and pressure on land resources all contribute to the perpetuation of conflict and tenure uncertainty. I argue that, despite challenging civil precepts of liberal governance, assertion of exclusive ethnic rights to traditional territories may nevertheless lead to political justice and alleviate the marginalization of indigenous and minority groups.

Patient satisfaction is one of the indicators of the quality of care being given to the users of a service. It can also be used as benchmarks for ensuring the delivery of quality physiotherapy services in health facilities. Physiotherapists have been involved in treatment of persons suffering from low back pain for decades. Treatment approaches are varied, but all have the common goals of pain relief, rehabilitation, and prevention of recurrence of low back pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate the satisfaction of low back pain sufferers with the physiotherapy services they receive. The study was carried out in selected public hospitals in Nairobi and the Central Province in Kenya.

The prevalence of low back pain has assumed an upsurge trend in the last five decades despite the many interventional strategies. One interventional strategy that has been unsuccessful has been patient education. Lack of positive results from many of the existing patient education programmes is probably due to the type of health information that has been presented and the method that has been used. Many of the health education programmes have been planned according to what the medical professionals assumed the individuals needed to know, assumptions that could have ignored some crucial aspects. This study explored the perceived health education needs of individuals with low back pain at the Nairobi Hospital Rehabilitation Unit in Kenya, the method used to educate the individuals, the appropriateness of the method according to the individuals in addition to identifying the source of the health education that the individuals had.

Thesis (MNutr (Human Nutrition))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / INTRODUCTION: Adequate nutrition is required for patients to improve and maintain their health. Nurses are in one of the best positions to ensure adequate nutrition because of their holistic caring role. The aim of the study was to determine aspects of the current nutritional knowledge, attitudes and practices of registered nurses towards nutritional management of patients. RESEARCH METHODS: This was a descriptive and observational study. One hundred and one out of 160 Kenyan registered nurses working at the surgical division at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya successfully completed the study representing a 63% response rate. The 47-item validated questionnaire consisted of 9 socio-demographic questions, 13 questions on nutrition knowledge, 13 questions on attitude and 12 questions on nurses’ practices. RESULTS: The general performance of the registered nurses on the selected aspects of knowledge, attitudes and practices was overall poor. They contradicted themselves on their beliefs in relation to their practices. They did not know their primary role in nutrition care, neither did they know the role played by dietitians/nutritionists and doctors. Twenty-six percent of the registered nurses strongly agreed that it was the nurses’ responsibility to assess the nutritional status of patients compared to 72% who strongly agreed it was the dietitians’/nutritionists’ responsibility and 24% who strongly agreed it was the doctors' responsibility. Eighty-two percent reported that they would refer patients to a dietitian/nutritionist, 18% that they would discuss diet options with the patients, while none of the registered nurses would consult the doctor if they felt that the patient was not receiving adequate nutrition. Seventy-five percent of them suggested that nutritional care of patients could be improved by adopting a multidisciplinary approach and 18% by catering staff feeding the patients. Only 28% reported that nutritional issues were included in ward rounds. Although 72% of the registered nurses reported that it was important to weigh patients on admission, only 43% reported actually weighing patients, of which 59% weighed patients for medication purposes and only 18% weighed patients for nutritional status assessment. The overall nutritional knowledge score was graded as average (57%). The poorest scores were noted for knowledge on clinical nutrition questions (14%) and the highest scores for knowledge on basic nutrition questions (91%). CONCLUSION: Although the nurses regarded nutritional care of patients as important, their practices seemed to contradict their attitudes. Considering the responsibility the nurses are entrusted with regarding patient nutritional care, their current knowledge, attitudes and practices towards nutritional care is a cause for concern. The results of this study provide a basis for continuous nutrition education, well-designed protocols for nutritional status assessment by registered nurses and efforts directed towards improved clinical practice.