Abstract/Overview There seems to be no end to the debate about whether textese positively or negatively affects writing skills of high school learners of English. For instance, Carrington (2005:171) observes that “text messaging „infects‟ Standard English…leading to lower scores on written examinations”. Plester, Wood and Joshi (2009) similarly found evidence that text literacy is positively associated with Standard English literacy. However, Crystal (2008:157) does not just dis...
Abstract/Overview Research on women’s activities and interests was spurred by the feminist movement in the 1960s and has sustained its recognition as a genuine field of investigation. Since early 1970s national and international attention has focused on women. In Africa, research on women grew intermittently in the wake of the global feminist movement and despite numerous setbacks it has grown incredibly. It was particularly boosted after the UN Declaration of Women’s Decade in 1975. ...
Abstract/Overview Daily interaction of society members in a given locality depends on their level of acceptance and recognition of one another as distinct and unique individuals. Thus, coexistence of communities in disregard to administrative boundaries, clans or ethnicities is quite instrumental in realizing the goal of development. However, the introduction of devolved units of government in Kenya since 2013 following the promulgation of the 2010 constitution has generated politicized r...
Abstract/Overview International boundaries remain finite lines of divisions by which national geopolitical space is delineated and contained. This understanding is based on territoriality and sovereignty of each state denoting what is internal and external to the state. The thrust of this paper is that the establishment of the international boundary between Kenya and Uganda not only split or separated pastoral communities that hitherto lived together but has contributed in fueling cross b...
Abstract/Overview Job satisfaction is a globally important factor in determining human capital and subsequent worker productivity. In Kenya, human capital is a major concern as evidenced by teacher burnout and the strikes in the teaching fraternity. This study investigated the influence of marital status on job satisfaction of public secondary school teachers in Kisii Central Sub-County, Kenya. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two factor theories guided the present study. Th...
Abstract/Overview This paper was based on an exploratory study carried out on student leadership in three public universities in Kenya in 2004/2005 academic year. The study was premised on the challenges facing student leadership and the transformative roles student leadership plays in the management of student affairs and overall university management. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 34 student leaders and analyzed through descriptive statisti...
Abstract/Overview Floods are extreme weather events that occur when water rises to overflow on land that is not normally submerged. Flood is one the major natural disasters affecting man and his environment in Kenya, floods have been declared a National disaster. Budalangi Division, which lies in the floodplains of rivers Nzoia and Yala experiences floods every year. This has resulted in decline in agricultural production. The inhabitants of the division are threatened by food Insecurity ...
Abstract/Overview For over two decades now, linguists, educators and anthropologists have directed their efforts at researching about factors that occasion and result from language shift (Trudgill, 1991; Fishman 1991, 2001, Crystal, 2000; Edwards, 1992; Sasse, 1992; Landweer, 2000; Crawford, 1995; Blair and Freeden, 1995; Dorian, 1981, 1989; Brenzinger et. al. 2003; Paulston, 1994; and Lewis, 2006). However, since the formulation of the Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) by ...
Abstract/Overview Conflicts and conflict resolutions among pastoral communities are not new phenomena. Among the pastoral communities living in arid and semi arid environments of Kenya, conflicts over control of and access to natural resources area common phenomenon. Despite the increase in peace building initiatives conflicts inthese areas are far from ending resulting in conflict-torn pastoral regions. The current study investigated conflict and conflict resolution strategies in West Po...
Abstract/Overview The study of conceptual interaction has attracted the attention of many scholars in Cognitive Linguistics. Primarily, the analysis has focused on the role of image schemas in the construction of metaphors. This study explores the PATH image- schema and the role it plays in conceptual formation of metaphors in political discourse in Kenya. It presents the PATH image-schema and the subsidiary image schemas it activates in metaphors of politics in Kenya. The study’s aim i...
Abstract/Overview Opinions are important in raising public awareness and assessing government on development issues. Understanding opinion of the electorates is a critical aspect for political success and service delivery. The objective of this study was to conduct a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of recurring themes from opinions on Kenya’s Jubilee Government’s performance from local digital dailies between April 2013 and December 2015. Opinions in local digital dailies have conti...
Abstract/Overview This study was mounted to provide better understanding of the role non-state actors (NSAs) are currently playing in the context of community-based ecotourism in the western tourist circuit of Kenya. The motivation to carry out this research stemmed from the fact that there is dearth of information on this important area of scientific inquiry. While the existence of NSAs engaged in various aspects of ecotourism development in the western circuit is not contested, this con...
Abstract/Overview Teenage motherhood is a worldwide problem with 36.4 million girls giving birth before the age of 18 years in developing world. The present study investigated the relationship between attitude towards guidance and counseling programme and adjustment of re-admitted teenage mothers in selected Kenyan secondary schools. The study employed Ex-post facto Research Design. The target population of the study was 242 readmitted teenage mothers from selected schools in Ugenya Sub C...
Abstract/Overview Colonial policies and practices were very instrumental in the creation of the Luo Diaspora. This Diaspora extended far beyond the physical and cultural boundaries of Central Nyanza as was constituted by the colonial administration. To colonial officials, this Diaspora represented ‘detribalized natives’ responsible for social decay and immorality in the colonial townships. Similarly, to the male elders in the rural areas, this Diaspora was an affront towards destabili...
Abstract/Overview The aim of this article is to give an account of the Ber gi dala exhibition at the Kisumu Museum, Kenya. It focuses on the customs, traditional buildings, and intangible cultural heritage of one of the major tribal groups in Kenya, the Luo. The development and use of this innovative exhibition, insofar as it recreates traditional Luo homesteads is first analysed. The exhibition's relevance in the framework for preserving and interpreting intangible cultural heritage is t...