A case study using a phenomenological approach was carried out to determine how effective and enduring learning is for two diverse groups of grade 9 natural science learners when delivered through a collaborative co-teaching approach involving a high school science teacher and a special needs teacher. Even though the findings of this research indicate that the co-taught sessions did not significantly affect the learners’ test results, the majority of the learners reported very positive perceptions of co-teaching. From the findings the main benefits for the learners included an improvement in their understanding of learning styles and associated study skills, increased contact time with the teachers, and the benefit of another teacher’s expertise in the classroom. The researcher found the co-teaching approach yielded a clearer focus on the individual learning styles, new strategies for differentiation, and a positive teaching experience. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)

Marist International University College, Nairobi – Kenya is challenged with problems like duplication of work due to lack of a central repository for knowledge, loss of knowledge through expertise leaving the institution without knowledge being captured and over reliance on a few known subject experts as others have not been identified. This research thus set out to address these problems. The aim of the study was to conduct a knowledge management assessment at the Marist International University College (MIUC) in order to identify and recommend a suitable strategy for the institution. The study employed a concurrent triangulation mixed methodology approach which encompassed a questionnaire and an interview schedule to collect data from 33 academic staff and 9 members of the MIUC management respectively. These two groups were purposively selected as the target population for the study as they play the key role in knowledge creation at MIUC. All 33 copies of the questionnaires that were distributed to the teaching staff were returned by respondents and all the 9 MIUC members of management were successfully interviewed. Data transformation analysis was applied during which qualitative data from open-ended questions and interviews were quantified using content analysis. Quantitative data in the questionnaires was descriptively analysed using SPSS. The study revealed a variety of informal knowledge management structures and resources at MIUC and the challenges of managing knowledge at Marist. The main challenge was that there was no uniformity and consistency in the management of knowledge. The study hence, formulated a KM strategy for MIUC that would help leverage its knowledge assets. / Information Science / MA (Information Science)

For school libraries to sufficiently contribute to better information skills’ development and creation of a culture of lifelong learning among students, they require backing through well articulated policies both at national and individual school level. This study investigated the prevailing status of school libraries in public secondary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. Using a survey research design, with a response rate of 68% for school principals and 66% for school librarians, this study established that although the majority of the schools had school libraries, these were individual schools’ efforts. There were no government policies on school libraries and most of the schools lacked explicit library policies. Additionally, they had not embraced contemporary trends in technology and the major impediment was lack of financial support. The study concluded that school libraries in Nairobi County were inadequately resourced and supported and recommended that the government of Kenya should come up with national policies that will entrench school libraries in the education system. / Information Science / MA (Information Science)

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Social entrepreneurship has spread worldwide, as social entrepreneurs seek the solutions to developmental challenges. This is especially true in Nairobi, Kenya, as social entrepreneurship has established itself in the labor market. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of social enterprises in African countries, especially with regards to the labor market. It is for this reason that this study aims at highlighting the impact of social enterprises on the labor market in Nairobi, Kenya. It also provides an outline of the labor market structure in Nairobi. The study employed a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, collected concurrently as part of a concurrent triangulation design. Five social enterprises located in Nairobi were involved in the study, and were chosen through snowball sampling. These social enterprises offered direct employment, training programmes or support for beneficiaries to start their own businesses. The research instruments used in this study were as follows; 10 interviews (5 interviews with beneficiaries and 5 with social entrepreneurs), 50 questionnaires distributed to beneficiaries through random sampling, field work observations and a literature review. The results of this study were that social enterprises in Nairobi have a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries by directly employing them, providing necessary skills for later employment or supporting them to start their own businesses. However, these increases in income are often either inadequate or inconsistent as most beneficiaries are forced to diversify their livelihoods. Social enterprises also fail to reduce the gender wage gap among their beneficiaries. Social enterprises also increase market access among their beneficiaries by providing them with advice and training, as well as, direct access to customers. In the same vein, they increase the level of training of beneficiaries. This helps beneficiaries improve their relations with customers, produce high quality goods, hone their skills, gain employment, gain experience, build a repertoire, earn profits and start businesses. The subject of training also affects the income levels of beneficiaries, as many of those who study entrepreneurship, quality training and customer service earn above minimum wage.

This qualitative interview study aims to examine the work of change regarding IntimatePartner Violence (IPV), through the voices of seven change workers at Non-GovernmentalOrganizations (NGO) in Nairobi, Kenya. The focus lies on identifying worker’s expresseddefinitions and comprehensions of violence and in what ways those affect the work of changein sectors as victim support, awareness creation & changing societal attitudes and norms. Athematic analysis reveals two themes of social and cultural norms, which emerges as themain comprehensions of violence; as well as essential components of the work of change.Feminist theory enables the image of gendered, embodied norms that supports the hierarchalstructure of marriage and women’s subordination. Findings of social and cultural normsinclude IPV as a loving form to discipline a woman, marital rape does not exist and womenshould stay in marriage. Furthermore, this study presents a mutual understanding of IPV bythe change workers, but with various ways to create change. Obstacles for the eradication ofIPV is presented as lack of shelters, lack of legal implementation, as well as lack ofknowledge within the police force. Key findings include an ambivalent perspective from thechange workers concerning women’s subordination. Most worked against it, while sometaught it, so women could “escape” violence by becoming more submissive. Throughout, IPVis expressed in gender-neutral terms, but interviews reveal the perspective of genderasymmetry and that IPV is a form of violence directed towards women by men.

Student Number : 0111065D - PhD thesis - School of Architecture and Planning - Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment / This thesis deals with self-help housing networks in Nairobi, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa. It starts by discussing some of the current manifestations and challenges of self-help housing in the two contexts. It locates these against neo-liberal development paradigms in Kenya and South Africa. It reviews some of the main theories and concepts that have been applied to understand self-help housing, arguing that there are many issues that these lenses fail to explain. Amongst these are the relationships amongst actors and the ways resources are exchanged in self-help housing. The thesis discusses some of the key resources used for self-help housing in Nairobi and Johannesburg, namely: land, finance, labour, materials and technology, and infrastructure and services. It develops a case for network analysis of these resources and actors in self-help housing. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to analysis of self-help housing networks in Nairobi and Johannesburg, based on empirical data. The three categories of networks analysed are: individual-based ego-centric networks; group-based networks of collective action; and content-of-ties-based networks of exchange. The study compares self-help housing networks in Nairobi and Johannesburg. On one hand, lack of the state intervention in Kenya has resulted in self-help housing in Nairobi being accessed almost exclusively through networks. On the other hand, state intervention in South Africa has resulted in weakening of ties within local groups and domination of state/market hierarchies in access to various self-help housing resources in Johannesburg. The major conclusion from this study is that, in both cities, networks remain a viable third way of provision of housing, in addition to (not instead of) housing production through state/market hierarchies and decentralised models. Networks tend to overcome lack of inclusion dominant in state/market hierarchies and lack of capacity, endemic in decentralised models. In terms of analysis, the study shows that network theories are relevant to understanding the operations of actors and access to resources in low-income housing, complementing sector-based understanding, which remains dominant in analysis of low-income housing today.

Thesis (M.M. (Finance & Investment))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Graduate School of Business Administration, 2013. / This study examined stock market reaction to annual earnings announcements using the most recent data from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (Kenya) and JSE Securities exchange (South Africa). The period of study is 1 January 2005, to 31 December, 2011. Using the event study methodology, the magnitude of market reaction to the earnings announcements for a sample of 261 listed firms on NSE and JSE is tested. Abnormal returns (ARs) were computed for each firm and tested how announcements impact a firms’ share price. The results show positive and significant returns on the announcement month for JSE, whereas the returns for NSE are negative and significant on the second month after announcement. In our study, JSE and NSE observed mean CAR of (+1.64%) and (-1.8606) respectively, suggesting that earnings contain important information for the market. We find that there is no post earnings announcement drift observed over the next six months after the announcement. The results are consistent with the efficient market hypothesis, thus suggesting that the Johannesburg securities exchange and Nairobi securities exchange are informationally efficient to earnings announcements by the sample of listed firms. Furthermore, our results show NSE firms performed better than JSE firms during the economic boom and meltdown, whereas JSE firms observed a good performance during the economic recession compared to NSE firms.

Media in Nairobi is segmented when it comes to news and information; different media target different audience groups in the society through their preferred channels in search of news and information.     In Kibera, the biggest slum area in Nairobi and in whole East Africa, the urban slum community radio station Pamoja FM only works for the citizens living within Kibera. We aimed to find out how the youth in Kibera perceive the efficacy of the radio station as a viable source of news and information. We wanted to establish how important this radio station is to them as a tool of empowerment and knowledge to the youth.   Through semi-structured interviews with the youth in Kibera we carried out a qualitative research study during ten weeks, from October until December in 2011. We walked the field in Kibera to gather as much data as possible, and our findings were very interesting.   Key theories used in this study included the participatory communication model, the media dependency model and the uses and gratifications model.   The findings indicated that Pamoja FM has a great influence in the community as it is considered the most important source for news and information for the youth in this slum, and provides a platform that meets their needs as active participating audiences to the content supplied by the radio station. The radio is accredited to have changed the citizens´ way of thinking about tribalism since the post-election violence in 2007; the young women have assertively declared their space by playing a more proactive role in the community and audiences are empowered with home-grown problem solving skills that have bettered their lives and in pursuit for peace.

Thesis (doctoral)--Köln, University, 2001.

A case study using a phenomenological approach was carried out to determine how effective and enduring learning is for two diverse groups of grade 9 natural science learners when delivered through a collaborative co-teaching approach involving a high school science teacher and a special needs teacher. Even though the findings of this research indicate that the co-taught sessions did not significantly affect the learners’ test results, the majority of the learners reported very positive perceptions of co-teaching. From the findings the main benefits for the learners included an improvement in their understanding of learning styles and associated study skills, increased contact time with the teachers, and the benefit of another teacher’s expertise in the classroom. The researcher found the co-teaching approach yielded a clearer focus on the individual learning styles, new strategies for differentiation, and a positive teaching experience. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Natural Science Education)