Rongo University

Abstract Crop and varietal diversification are essential for African smallholder farmers to adapt to the complex and unprecedented challenges posed by climate change. Although African genebanks maintain seed collections of numerous crops, with thousands of varieties collected from their countries’ farmers, the direct use of these collections by farmers is very limited. Five African national genebanks therefore explored ways to strengthen farmers’ access to and use of these collections through a longer-term collaborative process. The genebanks and their partners engaged with ‘Germplasm User Groups’ as a basis for facilitating sustained joint learning with farmers for use of conserved germplasm. The structure of these groups and the methods they used for identifying and testing germplasm accessions, although differing by country context, all enabled a diversity of farmers to learn about a wide range of germplasm under relevant field conditions. The large number of accessions that farmers selected, their diverse advantages and the requests by numerous farmer groups to continue exploring additional crops and varieties indicated the usefulness of these approaches. These experiences revealed the feasibility and unique roles and opportunities for national genebanks to facilitate farmers’ direct use of the diversity conserved in their crop collections. National genebanks thus have unique responsibilities for adapting their operating procedures and partnering with research and development practitioners to facilitate farmers’ discovery and use of their conserved crop diversity.

E-resources (electronic resources) are critical components of teaching and learning at universities today. Even though universities continue to put a lot of money into online information and digital databases, evidence shows that undergraduate students do not always take full advantage of these resources when using them. At Laikipia University, there have been concerns about the difference between the subscribed e-resources and their actual use. Thus, the purpose of the study was to examine whether or not user training has an effect on how much undergraduate students use e-resources. Using the Diffusion of Innovations theory, a descriptive research design was employed in this study. Undergraduates were selected by stratified random sampling so as to be represented across all years of study. Data were collected using questionnaires and were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (correlated with training and regression analysis) to set up a relationship between user training and user levels of e-resource utilisation. The findings in this study indicate that user training is a good predictor of how much university students will use e-resources. The students who participated in user training reported they would use the databases more frequently than those who did not receive user training; they also reported they were able to search for information better than those who did not receive user training; and, finally, that they felt more confident conducting research after having received user training than they did before having received user training. However, user training only occurred during orientation classes, with minimal practical engagement and limited follow-up support. Limitations of the use of digital resources have hindered the potential for sustained use of e-resources in a strategic way. The overall results of the study revealed that although training users effectively impacts their use of digital resources, the frequency, intensity, and institutional support provided by an institution impact the effectiveness of training. Consequently, the study recommends integrating training for both digital literacy and e-resources into the university curriculum, enhancing hands-on training to be conducted on a more frequent basis, and greater collaboration between librarians and faculty to assist in promoting ongoing use of digital resources.

Social media has emerged as a transformative force in democratic participation, challenging traditional media gatekeeping and enabling citizen-led political mobilization. This systematic review examines how social media platforms fostered democratic engagement during Kenya's 2024 Gen-Z movement, in which young activists used X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to organize protests against the Finance Bill 2024. The movement demonstrated how digital platforms enable rapid information dissemination, coordinate collective action, and amplify marginalized voices beyond traditional media narratives. Through a systematic thematic analysis of secondary literature and documentation of the 2024 protests, this paper reveals that social media facilitated unprecedented direct engagement between citizens and government leaders, including Kenya's first presidential participation in an X-space discussion. However, significant challenges, including misinformation, digital surveillance, state-sponsored censorship, and the rural-urban digital divide, constrained the movement's full potential. The findings suggest that maximizing social media's democratic potential requires prioritizing digital literacy programs, strengthening independent journalism, ensuring equitable access to technology, and protecting digital rights. This study contributes contextually relevant insights into digital activism in African democracies and offers lessons for global democratic engagement in the digital age.

The integrity of the electoral process is the bedrock of any thriving democracy, a principle deeply enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya-2010, particularly under Articles 10, 81, and 86(a), which mandate free, fair, transparent, verifiable, and accountable elections. Despite this robust constitutional mandate, the current electoral system, governed by the Elections Act of 2011 and its subsidiary regulations, faces critical challenges. A fundamental issue lies in the abstract nature of a vote once cast, rendering its traceability and contribution to the final tally a "matter of faith," thereby making practical verification impossible. This research aims to critically analyze the effectiveness of the Elections Act, 2011, and the Elections (Technology) Regulations in ensuring compliance with these constitutional principles. Through an examination of recurring presidential election disputes in Kenya (2013, 2017, 2022) and the inherent limitations of the current legal framework, especially concerning the undefined "digital vote" and the contentious Section (83) of the Elections Act, 2011, this paper argues that the existing system fundamentally undermines electoral integrity and the core tenets of the Social Contract Theory. It highlights the significant gap between constitutional ideals and practical reality, leading to eroded public trust, political instability, and challenges to arbitrary vote attribution. The paper concludes with a call for comprehensive reform to align Kenya's electoral laws with its constitutional imperatives for a truly transparent, accountable, and verifiable democratic process.

This study aims to predict smartphone prices using machine learning models, specifically Random Forest and Gradient Boosting algorithms, based on various smartphone features such as internal memory, RAM, processor speed, battery capacity, and camera specifications. The dataset, consisting of 980 smartphones available in India, was preprocessed to handle missing values and categorical variables, ensuring it was ready for model training. The models were evaluated using Mean Squared Error (MSE) and R-squared (R²) scores, with Gradient Boosting outperforming Random Forest in terms of predictive accuracy. Key findings from the feature importance analysis revealed that internal memory, RAM, and processor speed were the most influential features in determining smartphone prices. The results indicate that machine learning models, particularly tree-based algorithms, are effective tools for predicting smartphone prices based on hardware specifications. This study has practical implications for businesses and consumers, as it provides insights into the factors influencing smartphone prices, helping businesses optimize pricing strategies and assisting consumers in making more informed purchasing decisions. Future research could explore deep learning models and incorporate additional features, such as market demand and consumer sentiment, to improve prediction accuracy.

This study investigated the critical part that teachers’ strategies have in ensuring student safety during emergencies in public secondary schools. Understanding how teacher practices contribute to efficient emergency response and student safety is important. This is because educational institutions encounter a variety of possible hazards that include natural catastrophes and other emergencies caused by people or mere accidents. Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, it was determined that teacher practices, namely emergency planning, training and drills, resource allocation, and evaluation, have a moderate impact on student safety. The findings bear great significance in understanding the degree to which distinct facets of teacher practices contribute to their readiness in ensuring student safety during crisis situations in academic institutions. The findings provide valuable perspectives for policymakers in the field of education, as well as administrators and instructors, to refine current safety protocols, and enhance teachers’ capacity to protect students during emergency occurrences.

This article analyzes the impact of the Kenya's Insolvency Act, 2015 (the Act) on the efficiency and predictability of secured creditors' ability to realize their security interests in digital age. It critically examines key provisions of the Act, relevant case laws, and highlights identified procedural ambiguities and systemic impediments that deviate from the Act's objectives of establishing a clear, efficient, and equitable framework balancing debtor rehabilitation and predictable security realization. The study draws upon existing legal research and comparative analysis with international insolvency regimes. While the Act aims to protect creditor rights, the introduction of debtor rescue mechanisms and practical implementation challenges, including the lack of comprehensive empirical data and limited integration of digital tools, potentially undermine the anticipated ease and cost-effectiveness of security realization. The article explores the potential role of digital technologies, including data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI), in enhancing transparency, predictability, and efficiency within the insolvency process, particularly concerning data management and decision support for security realization.

Traffic flow in, real life situation, affect the movement of people/goods from one point to another. This directly hampers efficient delivery of service in a country or region. This creates the need of studying and looking for possible ways of solving this menace. This article therefore delves in the possible statistical distributions that can be applied in modeling traffic flow. The statistical distributions that this study has looked into includes Exponential, Weibull, Gaussian and Gamma Distributions. It provides a summary of how distributions can be applied in modeling traffic.

W pierwszej połowie XX wieku, kiedy kobiety w większości krajów europejskich zostały zrównane w prawach obywatelskich z mężczyznami, posiadały prawa wyborcze, a tym samym mogły uczestniczyć w wyborach do organów państwowych i uczestniczyć w życiu politycznym, w Szwajcarii – kolebce nowożytnej demokracji europejskiej – obowiązywała całkiem inna koncepcja roli kobiety, która opierała się głównie na macierzyństwie oraz obowiązkach związanych z wychowaniem i opieką nad dziećmi. W latach 20. i 30. XX wieku, kiedy ich koleżanki w Niemczech i Austrii w pełni korzystały z przysługujących im praw wyborczych, Szwajcarki prowadziły daremną walkę o prawa kobiet i przeciwko ich patriarchalnie zdominowanej pozycji społecznej. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest znalezienie odpowiedzi na pytanie, dlaczego postulaty kobiet w Szwajcarii zostały spełnione tak późno, poszukiwania odpowiedzi na postawione pytanie badawcze skupiają się na medium, za pośrednictwem którego zarówno przeciwnicy, jak i zwolennicy praw wyborczych kobiet wyrażali swoje poglądy na temat aktywnego udziału kobiet w polityce oraz jego konsekwencje dla rodziny i szerzej - społeczeństwa, a tym medium był plakat.

This study explores the impact of digitalization on employment content within the public service, with a focus on Kisumu County, Kenya. The global trend of integrating digital tools and systems into public services has reshaped job profiles, work environments, and employment relations. Kisumu County provides an interesting case study, representing a devolved government unit at the forefront of adopting digital technologies. Digitalization of public services is a global phenomenon, reaching 176 countries by 2018. However, a significant digital divide persists, mainly affecting less developed countries due to unequal access to information technology and low digital literacy. The study sought to investigate the effects of digitalization on the employment environment in Kisumu County. The study concentrates on three key aspects: employment content, interpersonal relationships at the workplace, and interactions of public servants with service recipients. Conducted in Kisumu County, the study applied a mixed-method approach with 384 participants. Data collection methods include questionnaires, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews. The analysis comprises SPSS for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative insights. Findings reveal a varied utilization of digital platforms across departments, with finance-related and administrative tasks demonstrating higher integration. However, manual processes persist in revenue collection, especially in the field. Respondents acknowledge the advantages of digitization, such as efficiency gains, but highlight challenges like system drops, power outages, and inadequate user training. While Kisumu County showcases significant digitalization in specific areas, there's a need for a more inclusive approach. The study recommends spreading digitization across all service sectors, implementing comprehensive training programs, ensuring access to digital tools, and investing strategically in digitization enablers. The study recommends that the Kisumu County government should expand digitization efforts across all service delivery sectors; implement targeted training programs to equip government employees with essential digital skills; ensure access to digitization enablers, such as data plans for all employees, and invest in power backup systems to enhance service continuity during power failures.