bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Strategic Scanning on Performance of NGOs in Samburu County, Kenya
Authors: Lalampaa Kelvin Saruni , Rintari, PhD Dr. Nancy , Kanyiri Adel 
Published: October 2024

Strategic scanning is a key influencer that enhanced an organizational ability to deliver services and programs effectively. Despite the NGOs in Samburu County adopting various strategic planning processes such as strategic scanning, there have been deteriorating performance in recent years. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to establish the effect of strategic scanning on performance of NGOs in Samburu County, Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research design, encompassing all 31 NGOs within the county. Notably,262 employees within these organizations were involved in the study. A sample size of 158 employees were selected using stratified random sampling where structured questionnaires were used to gather insights from these employees. Further, the study undertook a pre-testing and selected a pilot sample of 16 employees from three NGOs in Isiolo County to ensure the questionnaire's clarity and relevance. The correlation coefficient for strategic scanning r=0.505 at α < 0.009 and 99% significance level. Therefore, since the correlation coefficient was less than 1 and p-value was less than 0.05, the study rejected the null hypothesis. The study concluded that majority of NGOs wasted a lot of resources on strategies that they would have benchmarked with their competitors. This was attributed to poor strategic scanning of the environment to note what was working and what was not among different stakeholders such as their competitors. A continued non-benchmarked strategy would be a recipe for failure and reduced performance. The recommendation is that NGO management should liaise with operations staff for information on what their competitors were doing in regard to strategic plan implementation. In the same line of thought the management should set policies that allow flexibility on strategy changes to facilitate benchmarking practices. This would improve resonance of established strategic plans that were impactful, time-bound, and realistic in implantation stage.
Work-Life Balance Practices and Employee Performance in Public Universities in Kenya
Authors: Agunda Monica Achieng , Were Susan , Mboya Millicent Atieno 
Published: October 2024

Purpose: The study examines the influence of work-life balance practices on the employee performance of public universities in Kenya. The specific objective is to find out how work-life balance constructs (work-family conflict, flexible work arrangements, stress, burnout, psychosocial support) influence employee performance at public universities.
Methodology: Descriptive survey design was used guided by Spill over theory, and a positivism philosophy. The target population of the study comprised all employees in 30 accredited public universities in Kenya with a total population of 35,502 employees. A sample size of 385 employees was obtained using the statistical formula of Fisher for calculating sample size and respondents were chosen using a stratified random sampling technique.
Results: The study found that there was a significant positive correlation between work-life balance and employee performance with a regression coefficient of (β = .844, p ˂ .000). Work-life balance constructs accounted for 71.1% variation in employee performance. This means that when work-life balance practices are well managed, employee performance is likely to increase.
Conclusion: The study recommends that public universities in Kenya should focus on improving their work life balance practices to improve their employee performance.
Faculty-Student Mentorship Effects on Faith-Learning Integration: A Comparative Study of Residential and Open and Distance Learning Programs in Selected Christian Universities in Kenya
Authors: Koske Stanley Kiplang’at 
Published: October 2024

Being the organizing paradigm and the unique hallmark for the life and mission of Christian higher educational institutions, faith-learning integration (FLI) has dominated educational research for several decades, whilst, a limited body of empirical studies that focus on faculty and students’ perspectives on its implementation currently exists. What is more, most researches on FLI are skewed toward students in traditional residential studies programs (RSP). This situation exists against the backdrop of the phenomenal growth of Christian higher educational institutions offering their academic programs via open and distance learning programs (ODLP). Based on these issues, the present study was poised to investigate the extent to which faculty-student mentorship affects FLI in RSP compared to the effects of ODLP in selected Christian universities in Kenya. This comparison was analyzed based on Randall Lehmann Sorenson’s attachment theory with the view to addressing the problem of whether or not the extent of faculty-student mentorship effects on FLI in the two programs were similar. This study employed a cross-sectional survey research design. Three Christian universities in Kenya were purposely selected to participate in the study, namely: Africa Nazarene University, (ANU), Daystar University (DU), and Kenya Methodist University (KeMU). The target population was students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education Secondary Option (BEd SO) program and faculty members teaching in the program. A total of 613 residential and 113 ODL students were randomly sampled, whereas, 12 full-time faculty members were purposely selected to participate in the study. Mailed and self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. Validation of the instruments was carried out before they were tested using the split-half technique for reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics aided by contingency tables, percentages, and a Chi-square test of independence with the view to responding to two research questions. One null hypothesis was tested using a Chi-square test of independence at 0.05 level of significance with 2 degrees of freedom. The result of this analysis revealed that faculty mentorship effects on students’ learning integration in RSP are significantly different from students’ learning integration in ODLP. Major recommendations included the need for faculty in the selected Christian universities to develop close and dynamic mentoring relationships with students both in RSP and ODLP equally. There was also a need for faculty to creatively adopt effective FLI strategies to have a positive and transformative impact on students’ learning integration in the ODLP.
Antisocial Behaviours that are More Prevalent Among Children with Complicated Grief in Selected Public Primary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya
Authors: Omucheni Priscillah Ndunge , Mwenje Margaret , Kamunyu Ruth 
Published: October 2024

The inability of children to comprehend and process death due to factors like chronological age, attachment of the child to the deceased, nature of death, and family support, might lead to delayed or prolonged grief processes resulting in complicated grief (CG). Complicated grief in a child’s life can affect his/her social and cognitive functioning manifesting in antisocial behaviours. This study aimed to find out antisocial behaviours that are more prevalent among children with complicated grief in selected public primary schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study was guided by Attachment Theory. Multistage sampling, purposive sampling, inclusion, and exclusion criteria were used to select 259 pupils aged 10-13 years who had lost a loved one in the last year. Purposive sampling was also used to select 22 class teachers of the bereaved pupils who participated in the study. The study employed a convergent mixed-method design. Data was collected through self-administered questionnaires (SDQ, ICG, and STAB) and interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS Version 25.0. The findings indicated that the most prevalent antisocial behaviour was social aggression with an aggregated mean of 3.01. The findings indicated that antisocial behaviours were common among children with CG as well as those without. The most prevalent antisocial behaviour among children who had lost a loved one was social aggression. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education should introduce a school-based counseling program incorporating grief intervention techniques and recommend trained counselors who do not double up as teachers to be school counselors to negate dual relationships. Public Primary schools are encouraged to develop several training programs to help teachers understand how to intervene and foster resiliency in their students who have experienced grief.
Parenting Practices as Predictors of Problem Behaviours among Form Two Students in Embu County, Kenya
Authors: Ngari Evalusia Mukami , Mawang Dr. Lucy , Ngunu Dr. Susan 
Published: October 2024

Purpose: Problematic behavior in high school is a problem that needs to be addressed. The few studies done have not yet concluded what is the major predictor of problem behaviours in secondary schools. This study focused on parenting practices as predictors of problem behaviour among form two students in Mbeere South Sub-County, Embu County. The research was anchored on social learning theory.
Methodology: A correlational research design was employed in this study. The study population consisted of 18-day schools and 14 boarding schools in Mbeere South Sub County. The target respondents were 8822 form two students. A sample size of 383 students was selected using simple random sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis.
Results: The results showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between parenting practices and problem behaviour.
Conclusion: The study concluded that parenting practices such as parental behavioural control, parental psychological control, parental warmth, and parental acceptance are negative predictors of problem behaviour of students. It was suggested that parents should strive to express parental warmth to their children. Parents should also express acceptance to their children by way of helping them manage stress and problem-solving, helping them with things they are unable to do, and complimenting them. Further, parents are advised not to express too much control over their children.
Evaluation of Antifungal Properties and Phytochemical Composition of Selected Euphorbiaceae Species
Authors: Nikhat Shaikh Saiyada , Khan Zafar S. 
Published: October 2024

Aims: To study antifungal activity and phytochemical analysis of Euphorbiaceae members.
Study Design: Experimental.
Place and Duration of Study: The research was carried out at the Department of Botany, Maharashtra College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai, India, over a period spanning from April 2022 to December 2023.
Methodology: Six medicinal plants from the Euphorbiaceae family were tested for their antifungal activity in vitro and phytochemical profile. Plant extracts were prepared in different concentrations of methanolic extracts and tested against five plant pathogenic fungi Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Alternaria alternata for their antifungal activity. In preliminary screening, all the plant extracts were tested against fungi using the poisoned food technique.
Results: The extract with 20% concentration was found to be most effective in inhibiting mycelia growth. Phyllanthus emblica exhibited 100% inhibition in the extract with 20% conc. Whereas, Codiaeum variegatum exhibited the lowest inhibition i.e. 10.74% in the extract with 5% conc. In preliminary phytochemical analyses, all the plants showed the presence of tannin, saponin, flavonoid, phenol, alkaloids, terpenoids, glycosides and protein except in Jatropha pandurifolia in which few secondary metabolites were present.
Geophysical Characterization of Serpentinite Hosted Hydrogeology at the McLaughlin Natural Reserve, Coast Range Ophiolite
Authors: Ortiz Estefania , Tominaga Masako , Cardace Dawn , Schrenk Matthew O. , Hoehler Tori M. , Kubo Michael D. , Rucker Dale F. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractGeophysical remote sensing both on land and at sea has emerged as a powerful approach to characterize in situ water‐rock interaction processes in time and space. We conducted 2‐D Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys to investigate in situ hydrogeological architecture within the Jurassic age tectonic mélange portion of the Coast Range Ophiolite Microbial Observatory (CROMO) during wet and dry seasons, where water‐rock interactive processes are thought to facilitate a subsurface biosphere. Integrating survey tracks traversing two previously drilled wells, QV1,1 and CSW1,1 at the CROMO site with wireline and core data, and the Serpentine Valley site, we successfully documented changes in hydrogeologic properties in the CROMO formation, i.e., lateral and vertical distribution of conductive zones and their temporal behavior that are dependent upon seasonal hydrology. Based on the core‐log‐ERT integration, we propose a hydrogeological architectural model, in which the formation is composed of three distinct aquifer systems: perched serpentinite aquifer without seasonal dependency (shallow system), well‐cemented serpentine confining beds with seasonal dependency (intermediate system), serpentinite aquifer (deep system), and the ultramafic basement that acts as a quasi‐aquiclude (below the deep system). The stunning contrast between the seasonality in the surface water availability and groundwater storativity in the formation allowed us to locate zones where serpentinite weathering and possibly deeper serpentinization processes might have taken place. We based our findings primarily on lithological composition and the distribution of the conductive formation, our work highlights the link between serpentinite weathering processes and possible sources of water in time and space.
Tephrostratigraphy and Provenance From IODP Expedition 352, Izu‐Bonin Arc: Tracing Tephra Sources and Volumes From the Oligocene to Recent
Authors: Kutterolf S. , Schindlbeck J. C. , Robertson A. H. F. , Avery A. , Baxter A. T. , Petronotis K. , Wang K.‐L. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractProvenance studies of widely distributed tephras, integrated within a well‐defined temporal framework, are important to deduce systematic changes in the source, scale, distribution, and changes in regional explosive volcanism. Here, we establish a robust tephrochronostratigraphy for a total of 157 marine tephra layers collected during IODP Expedition 352. We infer at least three major phases of highly explosive volcanism during Oligocene to Pleistocene time. Provenance analysis based on glass composition assigns 56 of the tephras to a Japan source, including correlations with 12 major and widespread tephra layers resulting from individual eruptions in Kyushu, Central Japan, and North Japan between 115 ka and 3.5 Ma. The remaining 101 tephras are assigned to four source regions along the Izu‐Bonin arc. One, exclusively assigned to the Oligocene age, is proximal to the Bonin Ridge islands; two reflect eruptions within the volcanic front and back‐arc of the central Izu‐Bonin arc, and a fourth region corresponds to the Northern Izu‐Bonin arc source. First‐order volume estimates imply eruptive magnitudes ranging from 6.3 to 7.6 for Japan‐related eruptions and between 5.5 and 6.5 for IBM eruptions. Our results suggest tephras between 30 and 22 Ma reflect a subtly different Izu‐Bonin chemical signature compared to the recent arc. After a ∼9 Ma gap in eruption, tephra supply from the Izu‐Bonin arc predominated from 15 to 5 Ma, and finally a subequal mixture of tephra sources from the (palaeo)Honshu and Izu‐Bonin arcs occured within the last ∼5 Ma.
Microseismicity Linked to Gas Migration and Leakage on the Western Svalbard Shelf
Authors: Franek Peter , Plaza‐Faverola Andreia , Mienert Jürgen , Buenz Stefan , Ferré Bénédicte , Hubbard Alun 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe continental margin off Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard, is characterized by widespread natural gas seepage into the water column at and upslope of the gas hydrate stability zone. We deployed an ocean bottom seismometer integrated into the MASOX (Monitoring Arctic Seafloor‐Ocean Exchange) automated seabed observatory at the pinch‐out of this zone at 389 m water depth to investigate passive seismicity over a continuous 297 day period from 13 October 2010. An automated triggering algorithm was applied to detect over 220,000 short duration events (SDEs) defined as having a duration of less than 1 s. The analysis reveals two different types of SDEs, each with a distinctive characteristic seismic signature. We infer that the first type consists of vocal signals generated by moving mammals, likely finback whales. The second type corresponds to signals with a source within a few hundred meters of the seismometer, either due east or west, that vary on short (∼tens of days) and seasonal time scales. Based on evidence of prevalent seafloor seepage and subseafloor gas accumulations, we hypothesize that the second type of SDEs is related to subseafloor fluid migration and gas seepage. Furthermore, we postulate that the observed temporal variations in microseismicity are driven by transient fluid release and due to the dynamics of thermally forced, seasonal gas hydrate decomposition. Our analysis presents a novel technique for monitoring the duration, intensity, and periodicity of fluid migration and seepage at the seabed and can help elucidate the environmental controls on gas hydrate decomposition and release.
An Empirical Orthogonal Function Reanalysis of the Northern Polar External and Induced Magnetic Field During Solar Cycle 23
Authors: Shore R. M. , Freeman M. P. , Gjerloev J. W. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractWe apply the method of data‐interpolating empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) to ground‐based magnetic vector data from the SuperMAG archive to produce a series of month length reanalyses of the surface external and induced magnetic field (SEIMF) in 110,000 km2 equal‐area bins over the entire northern polar region at 5 min cadence over solar cycle 23, from 1997.0 to 2009.0. Each EOF reanalysis also decomposes the measured SEIMF variation into a hierarchy of spatiotemporal patterns which are ordered by their contribution to the monthly magnetic field variance. We find that the leading EOF patterns can each be (subjectively) interpreted as well‐known SEIMF systems or their equivalent current systems. The relationship of the equivalent currents to the true current flow is not investigated. We track the leading SEIMF or equivalent current systems of similar type by intermonthly spatial correlation and apply graph theory to (objectively) group their appearance and relative importance throughout a solar cycle, revealing seasonal and solar cycle variation. In this way, we identify the spatiotemporal patterns that maximally contribute to SEIMF variability over a solar cycle. We propose this combination of EOF and graph theory as a powerful method for objectively defining and investigating the structure and variability of the SEIMF or their equivalent ionospheric currents for use in both geomagnetism and space weather applications. It is demonstrated here on solar cycle 23 but is extendable to any epoch with sufficient data coverage.
Differing Properties of Two Ion‐Scale Magnetopause Flux Ropes
Authors: Alm L. , Farrugia C. J. , Paulson K. W. , Argall M. R. , Torbert R. B. , Burch J. L. , Ergun R. E. , Russell C. T. , Strangeway R. J. , Khotyaintsev Y. V. , Lindqvist P.‐A. , Marklund G. T. , Giles B. L. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn this paper, we present results from the Magnetospheric Multiscale constellation encountering two ion‐scale, magnetopause flux ropes. The two flux ropes exhibit very different properties and internal structure. In the first flux rope, there are large differences in the currents observed by different satellites, indicating variations occurring over sub‐di spatial scales, and time scales on the order of the ion gyroperiod. In addition, there is intense wave activity and particle energization. The interface between the two flux ropes exhibits oblique whistler wave activity. In contrast, the second flux rope is mostly quiescent, exhibiting little activity throughout the encounter. Changes in the magnetic topology and field line connectivity suggest that we are observing flux rope coalescence.
Multiple Emplacement and Exhumation History of the Late Mesozoic Dayunshan‐Mufushan Batholith in Southeast China and Its Tectonic Significance: 2. Magnetic Fabrics and Gravity Survey
Authors: Ji Wenbin , Chen Yan , Chen Ke , Wei Wei , Faure Michel , Lin Wei 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe Late Mesozoic magmatic province is a prominent feature of the South China Block (SCB). However, the tectonic regimes associated with the magmatism are still elusive. A combined anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and gravity study has been carried out to determine the fabric patterns and shape at depth of the Dayunshan‐Mufushan composite batholith in the north‐central SCB. This is a companion paper to Part 1 that presented the structural and geochronological data of this batholith. The magnetic fabrics in the batholith interior predominantly reflect magma flow structures. Two distinct patterns of the magnetic lineations are defined, around NNE‐SSW and WNW‐ESE trends for the early‐stage and late‐stage intrusions of the batholith, respectively. The gravity survey reveals that the early‐stage intrusion has a main feeder zone located below its northern part, while several linear feeder zones trending NNE‐SSW are inferred for the late‐stage intrusion. Integrating all results, a two‐stage construction of the batholith with distinct tectonic regimes has been established. It is concluded that the early‐stage intrusion experienced a southward magma transport during its emplacement, partially assisted by far‐field compression from the north at ca. 150 Ma. Conversely, the emplacement and exhumation of the late‐stage intrusion was accommodated by a NW‐SE crustal stretching involving a lateral magma expansion above the multiple feeder zones (likely corresponding to extensional fractures) and ductile shearing during 132–95 Ma localized mainly along the Dayunshan detachment fault. Finally, we discuss the geodynamic linkage between the paleo‐Pacific subduction and the Late Mesozoic tectonomagmatism in the SCB.