Effects of Entrepreneurial Motivation in Tourism Environment on Entrepreneurship Development in Maasai Mara National Game Reserve in Narok County, Kenya

Tourism sector has remained a critical driver of economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa. In Kenya tourism is also an under exploited sector with considerable potential for expansion, particularly given the high labour absorption capacity of small businesses. Tourism businesses therefore have been identified as essential actors for creating jobs and generally growing the economy. However this sector erratically fluctuated widely with a decline trend. This study therefore investigated the effect of entrepreneurial motivation  in Tourism Environment on entrepreneurship development in Maasai Mara National Game Reserve in Narok County, Kenya. To achieve the objective of this study adopted explanatory and descriptive survey design. A sample size of 169 respondents was derived from a target population of 300 businesses in Maasai Mara National Game Reserve. The unit of observation was different sector of businesses. The sectors identified were travel and transport, catering and accommodation, tourism promotion and information and curio and souvenirs. This study used primary data. Primary data was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaires were administered using the drop-and-pick later method. The response rate in this study was approximately ninety seven percent which was considered sufficient for making inferences and drawing conclusions. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics included percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations while inferential statistics involved simple regression analysis. Results from quantitative data analysis were presented using figures and tables. Qualitative data was analyzed on the basis of common themes and presented in narrative form. The findings of the study established that entrepreneurial motivation in tourism environment positively influence entrepreneurship development. Moreover, entrepreneurial motivation was found to be statistically significant on entrepreneurship development. The insights deriving from this study can be used to enhance utilization of entrepreneurial motivation in entrepreneurship development and utilization of self-desires of independence and personal fulfillment in attracting communities to entrepreneurial activities as well derivation of business development from ethnic and social belonging. Key Words: Entrepreneurial Motivation, Tourism Environment and Entrepreneurship Developmen

The Response and Effect of Emergent Coastal Vegetation to Sedimentation and the Distribution of Coastal Vegetation Communities along Environmental Gradients

Coastal marsh vegetation is an important component in maintaining marsh stability that is threatened by changes in sedimentation, sea level rise, natural and anthropogenic disturbances, and competition from invasive species. Vegetation has been demonstrated to reduce wave energy, increase sedimentation, and decrease erosion in tidal environments under a range of conditions. Similarities and differences between the morphology of vegetation species may play an important role in understanding the mechanism between vegetation, sedimentation, and wave energy. Diversity of species within vegetation communities has been shown to reduce the success of biological invasions from invasive species as well as increase the ability of the community to adapt to environmental changes such as inundation period (period of time vegetation is submerged partially or fully by water). The species present along coastal marshes and specifically at the interface between vegetated marsh and unvegetated mudflat provide an opportunity to better understand the interactions between vegetation and its physical setting. In this dissertation I focus on the species and vegetation communities that are present at this interface of the terrestrial and aquatic boundary to better understand how plant communities may be characterized, how they respond to disturbance, how they are distributed, and how they may influence the physical environment in which they grow. In Chapter two, I explore the ability to use image analysis and the lateral obstruction of vegetation to describe a species density, height and diameter and evaluate the tradeoffs in using image analysis over more traditional methods. In Chapter three, I evaluate the response of an emergent vegetation species, threesquare bulrush (Schoenoplectus pungens), to different depths of complete burial as could be expected from extreme storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, or restoration efforts involving sediment amendment. Chapter four describes the distribution of coastal marsh communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes along an elevational gradient beginning at the terrestrial and aquatic boundary, identifying patterns of wetland distribution, species composition, and exotic plant invasion. In Chapter five, I conclude the dissertation with an evaluation of the effects of two morphologically distinct species of emergent marsh vegetation, threesquare bulrush and Lyngbye’s sedge (Carex lyngbyei), on the sedimentation rate and variability in Tillamook Bay, OR and compare the results to the current understanding of vegetation-sediment feedback. In Chapter two, I found that for morphologically simple species, such as S. pungens, image analysis of lateral obstruction can be used to determine important morphological characteristics of a stand of vegetation including the mean stem height, density, and mean diameter. The method provides a description of the vertical variation in morphologic structure, providing a rapid analytic tool for exploring the effects of vegetation on wave and sediment interaction. However, I note that more morphologically complex species, such as sedges and grasses may not be as easily described using image analysis. In Chapter three, I determined that aboveground biomass of S. pungens would return to pre-disturbance levels following burial by up to 40 cm of mineral sediment after two years. Vegetation was observed to survive burials depths of up to 80 cm, although initially at much lower density. The aboveground height of stems were statistically similar to unburied controls after two years, which is important for the continuation of ecosystem services such as wave attenuation. The results suggest that S. pungens is capable of returning to pre-disturbance levels of biomass following large natural sedimentation events such as extreme storms, hurricanes, or tsunamis, and that burying portions of marshes with sediment as a restoration tool is not likely to harm the buried vegetation. In Chapter four I refine and describe 21 coastal vegetation communities in the Laurentian Great Lakes and the ecological gradients along which they are distributed. Latitude, agricultural intensity, site geomorphology, substrate, and water depth were found to be the significant variables that determined community distribution. Additionally, we observed an expansion of invasive plant species near areas of high anthropogenic activity such as farms and urban centers. In Chapter five, I found that there were species-specific differences in sedimentation rate and variability in Tillamook Bay, OR. Schoenoplectus pungens was found to retain more sediment than C. lyngbyei. Sedimentation rate was observed to be variable by location within the estuary. Two patterns of sediment accumulation were observed. The first occurred along vegetation gradients, with increased sedimentation farther into vegetation beds. In the second pattern, sediment accumulation was observed to be greatest at the marsh/mudflat boundary where vegetation was dense and then decreased with increasing depth into the vegetation. In conclusion, this dissertation explores the interaction of emergent wetland vegetation with environmental factors. Image analysis provides a new tool for rapid characterization of vegetation structure, a burial experiment documents Schoenoplectus pungens’ tolerance to sand burial, a field study at Tillamook, OR documents the relationship between sediment accumulation and emergent vegetation beds, and a wetland classification is developed for coastal wetlands along the Great Lakes, which includes plant communities dominated by S. pungens

The Role of Nutritionists in Primary Health Care: A Case of Narok County Referral Hospital in Narok County

Introduction: The study identifies the perception of users in devolved in primary Health care (PHC) with regards to the role of nutritionists. This study also aims at acknowledging the importance of the nutritionist’s work for their health, and verifies their expectations in relation to it. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were applied to users of Primary Health Care, under follow up or otherwise with the unit nutritionist. The interviews were transcribed and submitted to a discursive textual analysis. Results: The nutritionist was correctly associated to food, feeding and nutrition, although the boundaries of their function are subtle, suggesting a weak professional identity. The work developed has always been positively evaluated and recognized as important for the users’ health. The expectations related to the practice point to the need of humanized and integral care, including more actions for the collectivity – community and team work – in accordance with present health policies. Conclusions: To meet expectations and advance in the professionalization process it is necessary to listen and fulfill the demands, as well as assess the education process and daily practice, taking into account the new paradigms of primary care and health promotion. Keywords: Nutritionist, Primary Health Care, Perception, Narok County. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/68-08 Publication date: November 30th 201

Characterization of Schoenoplectus pungens in a Great Lakes Coastal Wetland and a Pacific Northwestern Estuary

This study seeks to identify key components of structure and growth habit of Schoenoplectus pungens (bulrush) that allow it to thrive in severe environments. Schoenoplectus pungens, an emergent herbaceous plant growing in shallow, high energy freshwater and brackish coastal wetlands, occurs throughout North America and several continents. We observe the plant in ecologically distinctive Laurentian Great Lakes and Pacific Northwestern estuaries. Plant populations were characterized in terms of above-ground and below-ground biomass, stem density, diameter, height, and flexibility. Plants grown in flooded planters for research were compared with populations in their natural environments. The modulus of elasticity was found to be similar for planter- and wild-grown plants from fresh and brackish waters. Aerenchyma tissue, important for conducting oxygen to roots, increased with flooding and possibly reduced stem flexibility. Stem diameter and height increased as water depths or flooding increased, while below-ground biomass decreased. Soils ranging from course gravels to clays supported S. pungens. Most regeneration occurs as sprouts from rhizomes, not seedlings. Below-ground biomass accounted for a greater proportion of total biomass than above-ground biomass in most zones. This study collected large below-ground biomass samples that allowed for more effective evaluation of root and rhizome structure than traditional small samples.Keywords: Young’s modulus of elasticity, Aerenchyma, Biomass, Great Lakes coastal wetlands, Pacific Northwestern estuaries, Bulrushe

Perinatal care and breastfeeding education during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives from Kenyan mothers and healthcare workers

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on breastfeeding (BF) practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not well understood. Modifications in BF guidelines and delivery platforms for breastfeeding education during the COVID-19 pandemic are hypothesised to have affected BF practices. We aimed to understand the experiences with perinatal care, BF education and practice among Kenyan mothers who delivered infants during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth key informant interviews with 45 mothers who delivered infants between March 2020 and December 2021, and 26 health care workers (HCW) from four health facilities in Naivasha, Kenya. While mothers noted that HCWs provided quality care and BF counselling, individual BF counselling was cited to be less frequent than before the pandemic due to altered conditions in health facilities and COVID-19 safety protocols. Mothers stated that some HCW messages emphasised the immunologic importance of BF. However, knowledge among mothers about the safety of BF in the context of COVID-19 was limited, with few participants reporting specific counselling or educational materials on topics such as COVID-19 transmission through human milk and the safety of nursing during a COVID-19 infection. Mothers described COVID-19-related income loss and lack of support from family and friends as the major challenge to practising exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) as they wished or planned. COVID-19 restrictions limited or prevented mothers’ access to familial support at facilities and at home, causing them stress and fatigue. In some cases, mothers reported job loss, time spent seeking new means of employment and food insecurity as causes for milk insufficiency, which contributed to mixed feeding before 6 months. The COVID-19 pandemic created changes to the perinatal experience for mothers. While messages about the importance of practising EBF were provided, altered HCW education delivery methods, reduced social support and food insecurity limit EBF practices for mothers in this context

Short-term study fails to capture negative impacts of livestock intensification on wildlife

No abstract available

Efficient three-dimensional reconstruction of aquatic vegetation geometry: Estimating morphological parameters influencing hydrodynamic drag

Aquatic vegetation can shelter coastlines from energetic waves and tidal currents, sometimes enabling accretion of fine sediments. Simulation of flow and sediment transport within submerged canopies requires quantification of vegetation geometry. However, field surveys used to determine vegetation geometry can be limited by the time required to obtain conventional caliper and ruler measurements. Building on recent progress in photogrammetry and computer vision, we present a method for reconstructing three-dimensional canopy geometry. The method was used to survey a dense canopy of aerial mangrove roots, called pneumatophores, in Vietnam’s Mekong River Delta. Photogrammetric estimation of geometry required 1) taking numerous photographs at low tide from multiple viewpoints around 1 m2 quadrats, 2) computing relative camera locations and orientations by triangulation of key features present in multiple images and reconstructing a dense 3D point cloud, and 3) extracting pneumatophore locations and diameters from the point cloud data. Step 3) was accomplished by a new ‘sector-slice’ algorithm, yielding geometric parameters every 5 mm along a vertical profile. Photogrammetric analysis was compared with manual caliper measurements. In all 5 quadrats considered, agreement was found between manual and photogrammetric estimates of stem number, and of number × mean diameter, which is a key parameter appearing in hydrodynamic models. In two quadrats, pneumatophores were encrusted with numerous barnacles, generating a complex geometry not resolved by hand measurements. In remaining cases, moderate agreement between manual and photogrammetric estimates of stem diameter and solid volume fraction was found. By substantially reducing measurement time in the field while capturing in greater detail the 3D structure, photogrammetry has potential to improve input to hydrodynamic models, particularly for simulations of flow through large-scale, heterogenous canopies