No description available.

Thesis (M. Sc.)(Animal Science)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis--Leiden, 1996.

This dissertation, based on pilot research in the U.S. and Kenya in 2002 and fieldwork in two secondary schools in Kenya in 2004, has a twofold focus. First, it examines language ideologies of English, Kiswahili, and Kenya's 53 indigenous languages, in particular Gikuyu [Kikuyu], in the context of Kenyan discourses of nationalism, education, and development. Second, it shows how these language ideologies are contributing to the language endangerment of Kenya's indigenous languages.The stable trilingualism enjoyed by the parents of today's young Kenyans is not shared by their children. The research question that drove this dissertation was, Why are trilingual parents raising bilingual children? This dissertation seeks to answer that question by drawing on ethnographic observations, consultant interviews, and newspaper data from Kenya's largest newspapers, the Nation and the Standard. Rapid language shift, occurring in just the past 20 years in Kenya, has put even large languages like Gikuyu into an endangered status. A historically contextualized understanding of the reasons behind the shift is necessary in order for the trend to be reversed.

The factors affecting the accumulation of nitrate in kikuyu grass pastures and the effect of elevated nitrate levels upon digestion in the ruminant were investigated. A high potassium level in the soil seems to be the major factor stimulating the accumulation of excessive amounts of nitrate in kikuyu grass, when the nitrate content of the soil is also high. The continuous elongation of kikuyu grass tillers allows constant exposure of high nitrate containing stem tissue to the grazing ruminant. Digestibility studies in vitro showed that nitrite, formed during the assimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonia, reduces cellulose digestion, but the degree of reduction also depends upon the presence of readily available carbohydrates and protein in the digest. Studies in vivo showed that the microbial population can adapt to metabolise high concentrations of nitrate (500 mg% N, m/m) in fresh kikuyu grass, without the accumulation of nitrite in the rumen. However, introduction into the rumen of nitrite in excess of the capacity of the nitrite reducing microbes, causes nitrite accumulation. Nitrite has no direct effect upon rumen cellulase activity. Due to the affinity of rumen carbohydrases for the substrate, attempts to isolate these enzymes by means of isoelectric focusing and other separation techniques met with limited success. Nitrite strongly reduces the xylanolytic, total and cellulolytic microbial numbers with a concomitant decrease in xylanase and cellulase activity of the digest. Decreased microbial numbers could not be .attributed to a less negative redox potential of the digest in the presence of nitrite, nor could the effect upon the cellulolytic microbes be attributed to an effect of nitrite on branched chain fatty acid synthesis required for cellulolytic microbial growth. A study of the effect of nitrite upon the specific growth rate of pure cultures of the major cellulolytic bacteria, Ruminococcus flavefaciens strain FDI, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens strain Ce 51, Bacteroides succinogenes strain S 85 and Ruminococcus albus strain 22.08.6A and the non-cellulolytic bacterium Selenomonas ruminantium strain ATCC 19205 revealed the extreme sensitivity to nitrite of some of these bacteria and the relative insensitivity of others. Growth inhibition seems to depend primarily upon the extent to which these microbes derive their energy from electron transport-mediated processes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1985.

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.

Numerous ethical guidelines are referred to when medical research is conducted on human participants. These guidelines include the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Helsinki, and the International Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects. From a Western viewpoint, these guidelines may seem like well-reasoned, universally applicable codes for conducting medical research on human subjects. Some of the guidelines, however, merely impose Western values on developing countries without giving adequate consideration to their worldviews. I explore the applicability of current codes and guidelines of ethics on medical research with human subjects to the Zulu of South Africa and the Kikuyu of Kenya. Through a study of African traditional religions and philosophy and the community mindset that flows out of them, I have gained insight into the limitations of current universal codes when applied to traditional Kikuyu and Zulu communities.

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Titles of accompanying sound discs. Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Muthunguci -- Aciari mutuge ngemi / by Nyamuga C. Troupe -- Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Adults only / complied and arranged by Joseph Kamaru -- Muna 2 / by Nyamuga Troupe -- Agikuyu traditional music. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Titles of accompanying sound discs: Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Muthunguci -- Aciari mutuge ngemi / by Nyamuga C. Troupe -- Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Adults only / complied and arranged by Joseph Kamaru -- Muna 2 / by Nyamuga Troupe -- Agikuyu traditional music. / School of Music

The work reported in this thesis was designed to develop a better understanding of the fate of fertiliser nitrogen applied to a tropical pasture under field conditions, with the eventual objective of improving the economy of livestock production off such pastures. This involved an examination of the concentrations of soil total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen at different depths within the soil profile following the application of different levels of fertiliser nitrogen to a grazed kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) pasture, as well as the influence of such applications on pasture yield and some elements of pasture quality. The trial was conducted over a two year period at Broadacres in the Natal Mistbelt. A labelled [15]NH[4]N0[3] fertiliser experiment was also conducted to ascertain how the labelled ammonium ion moved through the soil, roots and herbage after being applied in spring onto a kikuyu pasture. In the absence of fertiliser N, a total of 15.45 t/ha of soil N was recorded at an average concentration of 0.15%. More than 30% of the soil total N was, however, situated within the top 10cm of soil. organic matter (OM) content in the top 0-10cm of the profile was high (4.75%), reflecting an accumulation of organic matter in this zone. However, as organic C (and thus c: N ratios) declined with depth, so too did soil total N concentration. Not surprisingly, fertiliser measurably increase soil total N, N applications did not but indirectly may have affected soil N dynamics by increasing net mineralisation (due to its "priming" effect) thereby stimulating plant growth and thus increasing the size of the organic N pool through greater plant decay. Total soil N concentration did not change significantly from the first to the second season. This could be attributed to the fact that N gains and losses on the pastures, being over 15 years old, were probably in equilibrium. Generally similar trends in soil total N down the profile over both seasons was further confirmation of this. Before the application of any fertiliser, 331.9 kg NH[4]-N was measured in the soil to a depth of 1m, on average, over both seasons. This amount represented only 2.1% of the soil total N in the profile. The concentration of NH[4]-N followed a quadratic trend down the soil profile, irrespective of the amount of fertiliser N applied, with the largest concentrations accumulating, on average, in the 0-10cm and 75-100cm depth classes and lowest concentrations in the 50-75cm depth class. Laboratory wetting/drying experiments on soil samples collected from a depth of 75-100cm showed that NH[4]-N concentrations declined only marginally from their original concentrations. A high organic C content of 1.44% at this depth was also probable evidence of nitrification inhibition. Analysis of a similar Inanda soil form under a maize crop did not exhibit the properties eluded to above, suggesting that annual turn-over of the soil was causing mineralisation-immobilisation reactions to proceed normally. Addition of fertiliser N to the pasture significantly increased the amount of NH[4]-N over that of the control camps. Furthermore, the higher the application rate, the greater the increase in NH[4]-N accumulation within the soil profile. As N application rates increased, so the NH[4]-N:N0[3]-N ratio narrowed in the soil complex. This was probably due to NH[4]-N being applied ln excess of plant requirements at the high N application rates. On average, 66.7 kg more NH[4]-N was present in the soil in the first season than in the second after fertilisation. Although this amount did not differ significantly from spring through to autumn, during early spring and late summer/autumn concentrations were higher than in mid-summer. Observed soil NH4-N trends were also very similar to the soil total N trends within both seasons, suggesting that soil total N concentrations might well play an important role in determining soil NH4-N concentrations. Before fertilisation, only 45.6 kg N0[3]-N, representing 0.29% of the soil total N, was on average, found in the profile to a depth of 1m. The highest concentration of N0[3]-N was lodged in the top 10cm of the soil. Nitrate-N declined, on average, with depth down the profile. However, during the second season, even though the concentration of N03-N declined down the profile, it increased with depth during relative to that of the first season, suggesting the movement of N0[3]-N down the profile during this period. Fertilisation significantly increased the concentration of N0[3]-N above that of the control camps. Concentrations increased as fertiliser application rates increased, as did N0[3]-N concentrations with depth. This has important implications regarding potential leaching of N03-N into the groundwater, suggesting that once applications reach levels of 300 kg N/ha/season or more, applications should become smaller and more frequent over the season in order to remove this pollution potential. On average, 94.3 kg N0[3]-N/ha was present down to a depth of 1m over both seasons. However, significantly more N0[3]-N was present in the second season than in the first. This result is in contrast to that of the NH[4]-N, wherein lower concentrations were found in the second season than in the first. No specific trends in N0[3]-N concentration were observed within each season. Rather, N0[3]-N concentrations tended to vary inconsistently at each sampling period. Nitrate N and ammonium N concentrations within each month followed a near mirror image. A DM yield of 12.7 t/ha, averaged over all treatments, was measured over the two seasons. A progressive increase in DM yield was obtained with successive increments of N fertiliser. The response of the kikuyu to the N applied did, however, decline as N applications increased. A higher yield of 1.8 t DM/ha in the first season over that of the second was difficult to explain since rainfall amount and distribution was similar over both seasons. On average, 2.84% protein N was measured in the herbage over both seasons. In general, protein N concentrations increased as N application rates increased. On average, higher concentrations of protein-N were measured within the upper (>5cm) than in the lower <5cm) herbage stratum, irrespective of the amount of N applied. Similar bi-modal trends over time in protein-N concentration were measured for all N treatments and within both herbage strata over both seasons, with concentrations tending to be highest during early summer (Dec), and in early autumn (Feb), and lowest during spring (Oct), mid-summer (Jan) and autumn (March). spring and autumn peaks seemed to correspond with periods of slower growth, whilst low mid-summer concentrations coincided with periods of high DM yields and TNC concentrations. The range of N0[3]-N observed in the DM on the Broadacres trial was 0.12% to 0.43%. As applications of fertiliser N to the pasture increased, N0[3]-N concentrations within the herbage increased in a near-linear fashion. On average, higher concentrations of N0[3]-N, irrespective of the amount of fertiliser N applied, were measured wi thin the upper (>5cm) than the lower <5cm) herbage stratum. A similar bi-modal trend to that measured with protein-N concentrations was observed in both seasons for N0[3]-N in the herbage. High concentrations of N0[3]-N were measured during spring (Nov) and autumn (Feb), and lower concentrations in midsummer (Dec & Jan), very early spring (Oct) and early autumn (March). During summer, declining N0[3]-N concentrations were associated with a corresponding increase in herbage DM yields. A lack of any distinctive trend emerged on these trials in the response of TNC to increased fertilisation with N suggests that, in kikuyu, applied N alone would not materially alter TNC concentrations. Higher concentrations of TNC were determined in the lower <5cm) height stratum, on average, than in the corresponding upper (>5cm) stratum. This may be ascribed to the fact that TNCs tend to be found in higher concentrations where plant protein-N and N0[3]-N concentrations are low. A P concentration of 0.248% before N fertilisation, is such that it should preclude any necessity for P supplementation, at least to beef animals. Herbage P concentrations did, however, drop as N fertiliser application rates were increased on the pasture, but were still high enough to preclude supplementation. Even though no significant difference in P concentration was measured between the two herbage strata, a higher P content prevailed within the lower <5cm) herbage stratum. On average, 2.96% K was present within the herbage material in this trial. The norm for pastures ranges between 0.7 and 4.0%. On these trials, applications of fertiliser N to the camps did not significantly affect K concentrations within the herbage. The lower <5cm) herbage stratum, comprising most of the older herbage fraction, was found to contain the highest K concentration in the pasture. The presence of significantly (although probably biologically non-significantly) less K within the herbage in the second season than in the first may be linked to depletion of reserves of · this element in the soil by the plant and/ or elemental interactions between K and other macro-nutrients. An average Ca content of 0.35% within the herbage falls within the range of 0.14 to 1.5% specified by the NRC (1976) as being adequate for all except high-producing dairy animals. Increasing N application rates to the pasture increased the Ca content within the herbage . No significant differences in Ca concentration were found between the upper (>5cm) and lower <5cm) herbage strata over both seasons, even though the lower stratum had a slightly higher Ca concentration, on average, than the upper stratum. Calcium concentrations did not vary between seasons, probably because concentrations tend rather to vary according to stage of plant maturity, season or soil condition. However, higher concentrations of the element were measured in the second season than in the first. The reason for this is unknown. On average, 0.377% Mg was present within the herbage over both seasons. This compares favourably with published data wherein Mg concentrations varied from 0 . 04 to 0.9% in the DM, with a mean of 0.36%. All camps with N applied to them contained significantly more Mg in their herbage than did the material of the control camps. On these trials, the Ca :Mg ratio is 0.92: 1, which 1S considered to be near the optimum for livestock and thus the potential for tetany to arise is minimal. Magnesium concentrations remained essentially similar within both herbage strata, regardless of the rate of fertiliser N applied. As in the case of Ca, Mg concentrations within the herbage were significantly higher in the second season than in the first. Calcium:phosphate ratios increased, on average in the herbage, as N application rates increased. This ratio was high in spring, dropped off in summer and increased again into autumn, suggesting that the two ions were following the growth pattern of the kikuyu over the season. The K/Mg+Ca ratios were nearly double that of the norm, suggesting that the pasture was experiencing luxury K uptake which may be conducive to tetany in animals grazing the pasture. This ratio narrowed as N application rates were increased, probably as a result of ion dilution as the herbage yields increased in response to these N applications. The ratio was low in spring (October), but increased to a peak in December, before declining again to a low in March. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1994.

Zugl.: Nairobi, IFTS, Diss., 2008.