Archives-December 2020

The Kenya Vision 2030, which is the blue print of development in Kenya, aims at making Kenya a globally competitive and prosperous nation through security, peace building, conflict management participatory governance, legal reforms and inculcation of a culture of respect for sanctity of human life. The general objective of this study was to identify the challenges faced by teachers in implementing peace education and determine the approaches used in the implementation of peace education. This study is grounded on the integrative theory of peace in which. The descriptive research design was used to conduct the study. The study targeted all the 8 public primary schools with a population of 97 teachers. Purposive sampling techniques were used to get 8 head teachers and get 40 teachers. Questionnaires were used to collect the required information. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 22. Challenges faced by teachers in the implementation of peace education in the sub county included lack of peace educational materials, trained teachers in peace education, inadequate time allocated and teachers being overloaded due to shortage of teachers. The study recommended that the Ministry of Internal Affairs conducts comprehensive civic education and social cohesion to the residents in the area, to mitigate instances of recurrent conflict which is witnessed every electioneering year, that the ministry of education provides more in-service courses on peace and that the KIE provides guidelines on the methodologies of teaching peace education.

The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perception on the implementation of the competency-based curriculum in public pre-schools in Keiyo North Sub-County. The study objective was to establish teachers’ perceptions on the implementation of the competence-based curriculum in public pre-schools. The study adopted curriculum implementation theory and descriptive survey design. The target population was 38 public pre-schools, 38 head teachers and 320 pre-school teachers. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample which comprised 108 respondents, 96 pre-school teachers and 12 head teachers. Data was collected using questionnaires. The quantitative data was processed and analysed with the help of the SPSS software programme using Pearson product moment correlation. There was a positive influence of attitudes of the teachers (r = .406) on implementation of competency-based curriculum. This implies that as the attitudes of the teachers improved the on implementation of competency-based curriculum increased. The findings also indicated that majority of the teachers had a positive attitude towards the competency-based curriculum. The study recommended that the ministry of education and Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development to organize for more in-service training for teachers to equip them with subject content knowledge and positively change their perceptions about the competency-based curriculum.

The study examines the challenges behind the succession and sustainability of family businesses. Mentoring was identified as the means to tackle this menace. The study was conducted in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. Eight family businesses were selected through purposive sampling method. The inclusion criteria were operational family businesses in their second or more generation. Data were collected using fifteen semi structured, in depth, face to face interviews with participants. Sampling continue until saturation of the data was reached. Content analysis approach was applied to analyse the data. Family business successors acknowledged mentoring shaped their emergence as the successor of their family businesses. 

Our study proposes a quantitative investigation to identify trends of anxiety and physical activity among medical students or graduates while studying for the United State Examination Licensure Examination Steps at Pass Program in Champaign, Illinois. The research emphasizes students' physical activity and anxiety contributing to study performance, such as retention and concentration with USMLE question bank improvement. The quantitative research study aims to evaluate medical students and graduates by providing participants with questionnaires. The study is divided into two phases. The first phase provides a clinical questionnaire to participants, and the second phase interviews to evaluated responses and eliminate any barriers in the research. Students or graduates engaged in physical activity are more likely to retain and have efficient concentration while studying for the USMLE examination. Physical activity controlled participants' anxiety; however, physical activity did not significantly change the daily USMLE test banks. Medical students and graduates are less physically active and have developed generalized high levels of anxiety. The study estimated that 73.3% of students claimed that they suffer from anxiety, contributing to test banks' low performance. The research has shown that medical students and graduates are not regularly physically active. Females are less physically active than males. The concentration results presented that 59.7% of participants stated daily physical activity improved concentration by providing efficiency on USMLE question banks. 59.5% of participants mentioned that physical activity significantly helped students and graduates control their anxiety levels. 51.1% of participants stated they did not witness any significant changes (increase or decrease) in daily question bank performance with regular physical activity. 46.9% of students stated that physical activity improved retention of study material with daily physical exercise activity. The research has significantly shown medical students' and graduates' study hectic schedules hinder participants' physical activity. The stress of USMLE has caused students and graduates to experience a high level of anxiety. Students or graduates engaged in physical activity are more likely to retain and have efficient concentration while studying for the USMLE examination. Physical activity controlled participants' anxiety; however, physical activity did not significantly change the daily USMLE test banks.

Car washing is among businesses that erupted recently in urban Tanzania. The business in many areas has been done informally and hence not fully regulated polluting receiving environments. Results show solid waste and wastewater in the selected carwashes were predominant waste (25,732.5 kg/yr and 9,415,540 l/yr, respectively). Management of solid wastes were through collection, storage and transfer by trucks to municipal disposal sites. While wastewater discharge in municipal sewerage systems, onsite collection tanks, on soil and/or into water bodies. Wastewater management mechanisms were environmentally unfriendly. Henceforth, the study recommended upgrading hybrid carwash facility by introducing hydroponic vertiver grass cultivation.

Cobalt(II) complexes with 2,4-pentanedione, salicylaldehyde and 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-Naphthyl)-1,3-butanedione(tfnb) as primary ligand, ethylenediamine, 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline as secondary ligand have been synthesized and characterized by metal analysis, infrared, electronic spectral studies, conductance, magnetic susceptibility measurements and antimicrobial studies. The conductivity measurement in nitromethane indicates that the complexes and adducts are non-electrolytes while the different shifts of the carbonyl frequencies were revealed by the infrared spectral measurements. The electronic measurements are indicative of a probable six-coordinate octahedral geometry for all the cobalt(II) compounds except [Co(tfnb)2] with a probable four-coordinate square planar geometry. The ligands and the cobalt(II) compounds were screened for in vitro antimicrobial activity against ten microorganisms. [Co(tfnb)2Bipy] and [Co(tfnb)2en] showed more promising antimicrobial than antifungal activity.

9 potted plants of Rosa sp., in which 3 R. indica L. and others hybrid Rosa sp. 10 & 2 years old respectively werye observed the sequence of formation of dried or dead stems and alive stems. New branches and bud formed after cutting on date 6/11/2020 and the observation on date 27/11/2020 i.e. within 21 days. Fusarium oxysporum causing the wilting or dried condition in Rosa sp. was confirmed in the Laboratory of Department of Botany, M.M.A.M. CAMPUS, BIRATNAGAR, T.U, U NEPAL on Date 22/11/2020 at 1-2.15 P.M as characterised by Synder & Hansen (1940, 1941,1945)27,28,29 Synder (1965)30, Dube (1983)3 & Mehrotra (1980)11.

Table of contents for the month of December 2020