KCA University

ABSTRACT In this practice-based contribution, using a language more poetic than academic, I discuss my drawings that reimagine found material – prints, drawings or photographs – and reflect on how historical images can be transformed, in a process both alchemical and mysterious, into personal stories or commentaries on contemporary life and politics. The Museum of London invited me to collaborate with their prints and drawings archives after seeing my exhibition Remember Me, commemorating architectural transition at King’s Cross (Guardian Media, London). Researching in their Archives, I chose urban figurative prints of King’s Cross and St Pancras, depicting ghosts, graveyards, death, health spas, foundling children and the built environment. Using these as starting points for my own stories about the passing of time, while erasing and re-drawing theirs, I became fascinated by a sense of walking in the earlier artists’ footsteps. This led to my exhibition Present in the Past, 2015 (Collyer Bristow, London, 2015). Photographic sources then replaced engravings as source material for Feet of Angels (Carey Blyth, Oxford, 2023), using mostly Fox Talbot photographs from the Talbot Catalogue Raisonné, Bodleian Libraries. This exhibition, while still exploring time and memory, used these historical photographs as a conduit to new narratives of war, dystopia and mortality.

When Kenya’s new constitution was promulgated in August 2010, citizens’ prospects for the future of the country were upbeat. It was largely anticipated that the devolved system of government enshrined in the constitution would lead to a future of prosperity and good governance. Fifteen years on, the benefits of devolution are yet to be experienced fully in the country. This paper sought to investigate the factors influencing the absorption of development funds at the county level. The research examined the effect of county government structures, county government systems, and employee characteristics on the level of absorption of development funds. The target population comprised of the Chief Officers of the 47 Counties’ Ministries of Finance and Planning. A census approach was utilized - thereby resulting in a sample of 47. The study conducted exploratory factor analysis to extract latent factors of each independent variable, after which a multiple linear regression analysis was undertaken. The results of data analysis indicated that all independent variables had a positive and significant relationship with absorption of county development funds. Further, the overall fitted model was statistically significant. Based on these findings, the study made a number of recommendations to enhance absorption of county development funds in Kenya.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people work, making remote and hybrid work arrangements in organizations around the world rise. This systematic review examines 17 studies (journals/articles) that were published between the years 2018 and 2025 to understand how such work arrangements have influenced the outcomes and what factors justify their continued use in a post-pandemic environment. We conducted these studies through literature reviews based on scholarly databases, following the guidelines provided by Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). One of the greatest findings in our research is that since 2020, remote and hybrid work arrangements have become increasingly common. This review seeks to address essential questions regarding the design of these work models, their implications for well-being, the challenges they raise, the modifications organizations should undertake, and the gaps requiring additional research. It provides a guide to developing sustainable hybrid work practices.

This is a conceptual paper which analyses the challenges and prospects of primary education in Dadaab Refugee Camp, Garissa County, Kenya, one of the world’s largest and longest-standing refugee settlements. Whereas education is a fundamental right and pathway to empowerment, refugee children in Dadaab face major barriers, including overcrowded classrooms, inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, limited learning materials, and chronic underfunding. Despite Kenya’s commitment to international frameworks such as the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF), and the 2021 Refugee Act, policy gaps and weak implementation continue to limit access and quality. It is by Human Capital Theory and the Capabilities Approach, which frames education as both an economic investment and a rights-based strategy for creating and enhancing opportunities. Leveraging on scholarly work, policy documents, and institutional reports, it highlights structural, socio-economic, and governance constraints shaping refugee education. Emerging issues include Kenya’s transition to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), the recognition and accreditation of refugee teachers, and the potential of digital learning innovations. While challenges remain acute, opportunities lie in curriculum reforms, sustainable financing, teacher professional development, and stronger partnerships. Strengthening refugee education is both a humanitarian obligation and a developmental imperative, fostering self-reliance, social stability, and long-term resilience for displaced and host communities.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu/0120/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

In this paper, the main objective was to analyse the influence of exchange and interest rates on volatility persistence using asymmetric GARCH models (EGARCH and TGARCH) on NSE data. The analysis of the relationship between stock return volatility, exchange, and interest rates on volatility persistence was performed using the models ARMA (1, 2) -EGARCH (1,1) and ARMA (1, 2) -TGARCH (1,1) under the student t distribution and the generalised error distribution assumption using the NSE daily 20-share price index, interest rates, and exchange rates from 02/01/2015 to 31/12/2024 accounting for 3106 observations. The degree of persistence in the conditional variance equations slightly increased for the ARMA(1,2)-TGARCH(1,1) model and there was a slight reduction for the ARMA(1,2)-EGARCH(1,1) with the inclusion of interest rate and exchange rate which was consistent regardless of the error term distribution assumption. Generally, information shocks increase volatility persistence, and negative shocks have a greater impact than positive shocks. The coefficient of the exchange rate ($\delta_2$) is positive and statistically significant for ARMA (1,2)-TGARCH (1,1). Hence, we deduce that the volatility in the NSE can be explained by the exchange rate, and there exists a positive relationship. Therefore, it is evident that stock returns are positively related to changes in exchange rates. The government should implement policy measures to control the exchange rate, such as real-time disclosure of financial information, trading volumes, and corporate actions, as these affect stock returns.

ABSTRACT Non-profit organizations in Nairobi County play a vital role in delivering essential services to marginalized communities. However, limited outreach continues to hinder their effectiveness in serving underserved populations. This study examined the effect of financial inclusion strategies on the outreach of NPOs in Nairobi County, Kenya. Specifically, the study assessed the effect of mobile money solutions, community-based financial services, financial literacy programmes, and partnerships with local institutions on outreach. Anchored on the diffusion of innovation theory, social capital theory, agency theory, and resource dependency theory, the study employed a descriptive survey design targeting 1,388 registered NPOs in Nairobi County. A sample of 311 finance officers or their equivalents was selected using Yamane’s formula. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaires, and analysis was conducted using multiple linear regression. The findings revealed that all four financial inclusion strategies significantly and positively influenced outreach: mobile money solutions (β = 0.382, p < 0.05), community-based financial services (β = 0.211, p < 0.05), financial literacy programmes (β = 0.228, p < 0.05), and partnerships with local institutions (β = 0.702, p < 0.05). The model had a strong explanatory power (R² = 0.931), indicating that these strategies collectively account for 93.1% of the variance in outreach. The study concludes that leveraging digital technology, community engagement, financial education, and strategic collaborations significantly enhances the reach and impact of NPOs. It recommends that NPOs intensify mobile money usage, strengthen grassroots financial services, scale up literacy programmes, and deepen partnerships to expand their outreach and social impact.

Abstract Food, energy, and water are basic needs that are quite important in livelihood sustainability. In most situations, their interactions make trade‐offs between these key areas of need challenging to attain. For the Food‐Energy‐Water Nexus (FEWN), there exists a need for appropriate decision‐making tools that may help to surmount such challenges. Multiobjective Optimization Approaches (MOAs) have emerged as potential solutions within this domain. The major components explored in this review include the objective functions, decision variables, and optimization techniques within MOAs. Despite their potential, few studies comprehensively address the key concepts of these components, the role of stakeholder involvement, the limitations of existing research, and the emerging technological opportunities that could enhance MOAs in the FEWN. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses protocol, was combined with Meta‐ethnography to select, review, and analyze the literature. The data synthesis was done by meta‐ethnography, finding key terms to categorize objective functions, decision variables, and optimization techniques and developing key concepts related to MOAs in the FEWN. Key terms for categorizing objective functions are maximizing economic, environmental, and social benefits and food, energy, and water security. For the decision variables, the key terms include availability, accessibility, and sufficiency, while the optimization techniques are Mathematical Programming and Metaheuristics. Besides, emerging technologies create substantial opportunities to improve the performance of MOAs. Therefore, there is a need to develop MOAs that integrate economic, environmental, and social aspects to support the sustainability of the FEWN.

Parental involvement in homework support is a key approach in improving academic performance of pupils. Recently, the new curriculum launched in 2017 involved the parents in the activities of the pupils. Therefore, the study general objective was to examine the effect of parental involvement on pupils’ academic performance at Mwiki public comprehensive school in Ruiru sub-county, Kiambu county, Kenya. Specific objective was to determine the effect of homework support on the pupils’ academic performance. The study was founded on Epstein framework. Descriptive research design was employed since no manipulation of the variables by the researcher. The target population comprised of 682 pupils from which a sample of 246 pupils was obtained using stratified and simple random sampling techniques. Data was collected using questionnaires while data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hypothesis testing was carried out at 5% significance level and F-statistic was used to test the significance of the model and computed at 95% confidence level. Quantitative data was presented inform of tables and chart. The study found that homework support has a positive significant effect on pupils’ academic performance at Mwiki public comprehensive school in Ruiru sub-county, Kiambu county, Kenya. The study recommends that the school should have more of the parents’ tailored programs and capacity building on significance of their involvement in children academic progress in order to enhance the students’ academic performance. In addition, parents should ensure friendly atmosphere when assisting the pupils during homework assignment. The study called on future research to examine, the effect of parental involvement on students’ academic performance in other levels of education. For instance, senior secondary schools, technical institutes and even universities.

Worldwide, there are increasingly high expectations when it comes to service delivery. Service delivery is expected both from the public and private sectors. Infrastructure is one of the areas on which citizens rely in their day-to-day activities. Many countries, both developed and developing, are working hard to improve their infrastructure with the objective of achieving this and providing service to their citizens. Kenya's highways have not achieved the desired milestone. Despite the increased funding, this can be associated with rampant corruption and mismanagement of financial allocations, among others. This has left citizens without the desired services from the Kenya National Highway Authority. Thus, the current study aimed at establishing the role of public participation in service delivery by public sector organizations. A case of Kenya's national highway authority. The study was guided by two objectives, which include the role of stakeholder engagement in service delivery at the Kenya National Highway Authority and the influence of public involvement in decision-making on service delivery at the Kenya National Highway Authority. The communicative action theory anchored the research. The target population was a total of 118 employees of the Kenya National Highway Authority in the Nairobi region. The sample size of 91 respondents was calculated using Yamane's 1967 formula. The study used a descriptive research design to examine how the variables were related. The research used a well-structured questionnaire to collect primary data from the respondents. The questionnaire was administered electronically, and the respondents were requested to fill it out and return it. The validity and reliability of the data collection instruments were ascertained using content validity and a pilot test for reliability. Further, a multiple linear regression was done to assess the relationship between the study variables, both independent and dependent variables. Data analysis was done using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that public participation improved Service Delivery at the Kenya National Highway Authority. Further, stakeholder engagement will improve service delivery at the Kenya National Highway Authority by 0.420 units, and public involvement in decision-making will improve service delivery at the Kenya National Highway Authority by 0.578 units. In conclusion, the study found that the two variables, stakeholder engagement and Public Involvement in decision-making, significantly explained the service delivery at Kenya's national highway authority. Thus, the study recommended that there should be active citizen involvement in decision-making as well as stakeholder engagement by providing platforms to establish further areas of expansion for improved service delivery. Further study can be done to explore road safety measures and traffic management strategies implemented by the Kenya National Highway Authority.

Cognition of causes, consequences and responses to climate change is considered as an important determinant of decisions made by any organisation on climate change mitigation behaviour (CCMB). There is, however, scant empirical information on the role of cognitive factors on tourist hotel managers’ CCMB. A cross sectional survey was therefore conducted in a stratified random sample of 70 medium to luxury-priced tourist facilities with 182 managers. Data was collected from three managers in each sampled establishment using self-administered questionnaires. A beta regression model was used to establish the role of cognitive factors on CCMB. The study identified efficiency and curtailment practices as two categories of CCMB. In addition, the results revealed that the managers had moderate scores on CCMB. Moreover, the different dimensions of cognitive factors had divergent associations with both categories of CCMB. Cause knowledge was positively associated with both curtailment and efficiency CCMB. Consequence knowledge was negatively associated with curtailment but positively with efficiency practices. Response knowledge had no relationship with curtailment practices but had a positive association with efficiency CCMB. Findings indicate that policy frameworks to enhance CCMB among key decision-makers need to integrate cognition of climate change as a critical factor that can be improved through training and awareness creation efforts.