Peterson Obara Magutu

E-Commerce Products and Services in the Banking Industry: The Adoption and Usage in Commercial Banks in Kenya

Globalization, collaboration and wireless technologies have led to stiff competition. As a result, commercial banks have generally adopted the use of e-commerce products and services in their delivery of services to customers. This study’s main objective was to explore the challenges faced and benefits that accrue from adoption and usage of e-commerce products and services banking by commercial banks in Kenya. A survey was carried out to achieve the envisaged aims of the study. A total of 100 questionnaires were distributed however only 70 banks responded. Overall, research showed that while the majority of the banks in Kenya have adopted e-commerce products and services, usage levels have remained relatively low, as not many customers are using this innovation in Kenya. To establish benefits and challenges in the adoption and usage of e-commerce, 32 variables were used to measure the level of application among these banks. These variables were analyzed using factor analysis procedure and in order to achieve a simple and meaningful structure, that is, have a nonzero loading of the explained variance for each individual factors, varimax rotation was done. As a result, 10 critical factors were established as the best practices which include: improved customer service, reduced number of customers in the banking hall, reduced operating costs and increased market share. The challenges faced in the adoption of e-commerce products and services include compatibility with existing legacy systems, cost of implementation and security concerns ranked high, ensuring desired levels of security and privacy. Unreliable telecommunication as well as lack of legislation governing e-commerce transactions rated highly.

A Survey of Benchmarking Practices in Higher Education in Kenya: The Case of Public Universities

Benchmarking has been used as a tool, a methodology and a technique for continuous improvements in sectoral operations to gain and maintain competitive advantage. This was a survey of benchmarking practices in higher education in Kenya, the case of public universities, whose objectives were; to document the benchmarking activities in the public universities; to establish the challenges facing the public universities in benchmarking. Cross sectional survey was used in this study to collect data from the six public universities with their respective campuses/schools in the population of interest. The respondents were senior administrators and the academic staff. Of the 53 informants who were sampled, 31 responded, thus, a response rate was of 58 percent. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and summarize the data before presenting it in the form of proportions, means, tables and graphs. This was in line with the first and second objectives, which were actually answered in relation to the benchmarking practices in the academic function of public universities in Kenya. The study found out that continuous improvement systems in Kenyan public universities are good, not excellent. The external drivers of change/continuous improvements in public universities are the customers/students as opposed to legislation, while the major internal trigger of change is the actual performance. The public universities effectively and successfully benchmark for continuous improvement. The Kenyan public universities use action research and performance indicators as the sources of referencing information on benchmarks. The most common type of benchmarking in use is development/improvement benchmarking and planning to make use of international benchmarking. Finally, the three critical factors that have influenced the success of benchmarking practices are: time and resource availability: limited duration, comparability and compatibility, which are reasons why the institutions don’t practice international benchmarking.

Operationalising Municipal Solid Waste Management

A municipality is an administrative division composed of a defined territory and population (Al-Salem and Lettieri, 2009). While there are many varieties of municipalities, most fall into one of two categories: a single settlement and a land area similar to a township that may contain multiple settlements, or even just part of one, such as a citys municipality. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) can be defined as solid waste which includes all domestic refuse and non-hazardous wastes such as commercial and institutional wastes, street sweepings and construction debris (Magutu et al., 2010). The major types of MSW are food wastes, paper, plastic, rags, metal and glass, with some hazardous household wastes such as electric light bulbs, batteries, discarded medicines and automotive parts. MSW is thus seen as primarily coming from households but also includes wastes from offices, hotels, shopping complexes/shops, schools, institutions, and from municipal services such as street cleaning and maintenance of recreational areas. In some countries the solid wastes management system also handles human wastes such as night-soil, ashes from incinerators, septic tank sludge and sludge from sewage treatment plants. The complexities and enormity of the challenges become evident when considering other waste types to be managed and these include industrial solid waste, municipal wastewater, industrial wastewater, storm water and hazardous waste. This chapter will focus on the major ways of managing the Municipal Solid Waste, especially through the proper long-term strategies by looking at the following four key areas: Formulation of the municipal solid waste management strategy; Objectives of municipal solid waste management; Waste management strategies used in municipal solid waste management; and lastly the challenges facing the implementation of sound municipal solid waste management strategies

Effects of Cybercrime on State Security:Types, Impact and Mitigations with the Fiber Optic Deployment In Kenya

The identification of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an essential tool for sustainable development has proved to be worth every investment. As a result of this, Internet usage in Kenya has grown rapidly resulting in the explosion of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet access points. The general objective of this study was to model the impact of Cybercrime on security in Kenya, Nairobi as the case study. This was a census study on modeling the effects of Cybercrime on the security in Nairobi. Thirty one (31) out of the 3ifty one (51) responded giving a response rate of 60.78% percent. It was found that the Cybercrime is prevalent in Nairobi although largely unreported. To a great extent, it was discovered that Internet Service Providers had established basic measures in order to curb the growing cyberspace crimes; as spamming activities remain prevalent in Kenya. Also, to a great extent the Criminal Investigation department (CID) and Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) have recognized that cybercrime is a growing threat to security in Nairobi and have collaborated with ISP’s to implement measures.

The relationship between supply chain strategies and supply chain performance among large-scale manufacturing firms: the moderating effect of supply chain technology

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of supply chain technology in the relationship between supply chain strategies and supply chain performance. A sample of 138 firms was drawn using proportionate sampling from a total population of 627 large scale manufacturing firms in Kenya firms. The descriptive statistics, reliability and validity tests of the constructs, correlation analysis and factor analysis and regression analysis models were used to test the hypotheses. The study findings indicate that there is a very strong significant relationship between supply chain strategies, supply chain technology, and firm supply chain performance outcome whereby the supply chain strategies and supply chain technology explain 92.9% of the changes in the firms supply chain performance outcome. This study cleared a number of contradictions to support the position that firms should invest in supply chain configurations and technologies that lead to improved service delivery accompanied with enhanced operational and supply performance.

Electronic Money Transfer Systems and Business Process Management among Commercial Banks in Kenya

The study determined the frequency of practice of the health care waste management practices on segregation, minimization, collection, storage, transport, disposal and treatment in the hospitals in Tabuk City. The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design. Interviews and ocular surveys/on-site observation, and the interviewer-administered questionnaire were utilized to gather data from the head nurse, waste handler during collection, waste handler during transport and waste manager. Data collected were treated using a five point Likert scale, and quantified using the frequency count, ranking, percentage and the Weighted Mean. The revealed that the health care wastes management practices are sometimes implemented in the hospitals in Tabuk City; segregation of wastes was generally often practiced, however, the use of plastic bags/plastic-lined cardboard boxes/leak-proof as containers of infectious and pathological wastes was seldom practiced. Waste minimization was often practiced, but composting was seldom practiced. Waste collection was sometimes practiced, but the collection of general wastes every shift and collection of biohazard wastes every shift was seldom practiced by the respondents. Waste storage and waste transport were sometimes practiced by the hospitals; but labeling properly all bags/containers with basic information of content, written or attached on the bag, and using transport vehicles exclusively for HCW were never practiced. Waste disposal was sometimes practiced, but offsite disposal exclusively for HCW was never practiced. Waste treatment was seldom practiced. Treating HCW before disposal, onsite treatment and using chemical disinfection as a type of treatment were seldom practiced while categorizing HCW when treating and treating wastewater prior to discharge off-site” were never practiced. From the conclusive results, the following recommendations were formulated: There is a need for the DOH to monitor regularly the management of health care wastes in each hospital 1. For waste segregation, in the use of labels and color coding scheme, all body fluids and excreta should be disposed in the infectious category. 2. Waste minimization through source reduction and recycling not only of plastics but also other recyclable materials such as papers 3. Strengthen the practice of composting 4. Due to the lack of appropriate storage area, collection and transport of biohazard waste should be done daily. 5. The city government should propose a separate disposal site for all healthcare wastes and set limit to public access to decrease the risk of infectious diseases 6. Burial pits should be lined with material of low permeability, such as clay, to prevent groundwater contamination. However, burial pits are recommended if they are located within the premises of the establishment. Encapsulation is the best method for disposal of sharps and should be practiced. 7. Waste treatment should be done to all infectious wastes. 8. The KASC Midwifery Department can initiate and conduct education and information campaign (IEC) for the hospital personnel, patients and guests at least once a yearMICROMEGAS (MICROMEsh GAs Structure) detector which is among the major families of position detectors in High Energy Physics, introduced in the late sixties, detects and localizes energy deposit by charged particles over large areas, is widely used in particle physics. This detector is in a sealed in which mixture gas circulates. This mixture usually based, on a noble gas and a few proportions a “quencher”. In this paper, we use 55Fe source that produces X-ray photons of 5.9 keV and a mixture gas on Argon (Ar) with quencher as isobutane (iC4H10) and dimethyl-Ether. We will present the results of the MATLAB simulations of MICROMEGAS performance taking into account all the processes from the primary ionization, the distribution of charges in the electrodes and the electron avalanche amplification (first Townsend coefficient and amplification gain). All the simulated results obtained indicate that the performances of the detector depend on many parameters. The simulation results are nearly consistent with the data that are published in other references, and provide important information in the MICROMEGAS design, making and operating. Our simulation predicts that further improvements are still possible for give a best spatial and temporal resolution for a MICROMEGAS detector.At the beginning the article focuses on general thematic considerations und explains why the implementation of approaches towards innovation management of public administrations into the private sector can be regarded as a reasonable aim. Furthermore, the underlying basic hypotheses are being established. Afterwards, the individual steps of a generally applicable implementation model will be described in detail and additional considerations on implementations and instructions on the course of action will be provided. At the end of each process that has been realized this way, a structured evaluation of the implemented methods and actions will be conducted. On the basis of a specific instruction on the course of action the article describes a generally usable model with the necessary work stages, instruments and required accompanying measures.The aim of this paper is to give a general view of the history of “Llaiko Vima” newspaper of the Ethnic Greek Minority in Albania from the year 1945-2012 in which will be mentioned the general characteristics of “Llaiko Vima” newspaper and mainly its purpose, its publishing team, its circulation, its personality and its ideology, the ideological action frame of its correspodents, its economics and circulation.Insurance, which was created in the early centuries, is of great interest even today. As a result, private insurance had to be distinguished. A great part of society is interested in protecting property. The basic of insurance must be juridical connection of subjects and people that was called insurance title. In the conditions of modern life, it is necessary for a person to be insured.Egypt has witnessed several waves of Armenian immigration through history particularly during the Ottoman era in Egypt and Arab world from the sixteenth century until the nineteenth century. After years of settlement and immigration, the Armenian minority became part and parcel of the multi-ethic/multi-cultural Egyptian society. Due to their commitment and dedication, the Armenians gained a reputation as experts in the fields of business and commerce244. This paper investigates the effect of this immigration on Egypt in the 19th century and the participation of the Armenian people in Mohamed Aly’s civilizational project which put Egypt on the map of the modern world. The paper will explore the significant role, played by Boghos Yosefyan, the central political and economic advisor of Mohamed Ali, in the development of the Egypt Renaissance. Based on the mutual correspondences (and letters) between the two parties (Mohamed Ali and Boghos) in addition to other historical documents, pursued in the Egyptian historical Archive, this study traces the nature of the role played by Boghoss Yosefyan in the construction of the Egyptian Renaissance during the first half of the nineteenth- century.The article considers the problems of conducting women nature research. The author offers to study women social behavior by reading fiction by Kazakh women writers. The author of the paper supposes that by analyzing Kazakh authors’ literature it is possible to find out problems that Kazakh women faced in the families, society, business, etc.Ten years have passed since the resources of the second tier- Mandatory State Funded Pension Scheme- have been transferred to the private fund managers. The second tier has started to pay accumulated capitals to the participants of pension schemes in 2013; therefore the aim of this paper is to assess the contribution of the private fund managers to the accumulation of the above-mentioned capitals.The amount of money accumulated on the second tier account depends on the amount of shares and their value. The last factor is the most considerable and it depends on the performance of investments made by the private fund manager. Profitability is one of the main indices for assessing the gain derived from the participation in the Mandatory State Funded Pension Scheme. For the analysis of profitability 26 pension plans have been divided into different groups. Then the authors have analyzed the following indices: profitability of 26 pension plans in different years and during the whole existence period; profitability depending on the declared risk of pension plan, its assets value and operation duration; deviation of profitability for all plans and for different groups of plans with similar declared risks, assets value and operation duration.The conclusions about the distinctions between the profitability of plans with different risks, assets and existence duration have been drawn. On the basis of conclusions the authors have estimated the contribution of the private fund managers to the accumulation of pension capital in the second tier of Latvian pension system.In the concluding remarks of the paper the authors have made proposals for increasing the contribution of private fund managers to the accumulation of capital in the Mandatory State Funded Pension Scheme.The subject of a surrogate motherhood in Georgia is no longer banned in Georgia at present. There are a lot of discussions currently occurring in the society. Moreover, medical technologies have gone even further and become more efficient in this respect. Therefore, these programs have become more popular all over country. People, who formerly tried to adopt children, now think of acquiring children through this particular method, which they would be genetically bound to.The article is devoted to the political and legal aspects of international cooperation against spectator violence and misbehavior at sports. The measures taken by the states and international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to maintain public order to prevent the acts of violence and misbehavior at sports is reviewed, as well as cooperation coordination problem on these issues at the national (the level of ministries, governmental agencies and sports organizations) and international levelsDefining demand at a national level is problematic in terms of the total volume of the structure, as to the performance of transnational corporations. Reviving of unemployment can not only be assessed at the national level, but an important aspect affecting national labor market is the revival of global economy which leads to the growth of the global labor needs. Currently, the focus of new jobs is shifting from partial professions towards cross-cutting and systemic professions, which must give a comprehensive response to developments in a particular industry. Slovakia is a small market economy significantly tied to major European economies, dominated by linkage to the German economy. Due to the high openness of the economy, the crisis has significantly affected the rate of growth of countrys performance and caused a drop in demand, a decrease in both production and unemployment. High unemployment in this period was related to revenue shortfalls in the state budget and deepening of the budget deficit.The compiling of Greek - Albanian and Albanian - Greek dictionaries after the 90’s has been a necessity due to the contacts which were established between the Greek and Albanian people after the fall of Communism in Albania and after the Albanian people came out of the half- century isolation. The efforts for compiling bilingual dictionaries during this period have been very important although there didn’t exist models which could be used to compile such dictionariesThe searches for solution to overcome the problems of prevention and deviant behavior in teenagers have focused our attention on the concept of personality-oriented approach in learner - centered education. In the psycho-pedagogical science it is established to be quite clear criteria that reveal the essence of deviant behavior of juveniles (teacher isolation, maladjusted, delinquency, instability of values, psychological aggression, social passivity, increased anxiety, conflictprone). The study of the etiology of deviant behavior allows the scientists to isolate the multiplicity of factors that produce such behavior. Causes of deviant behavior of teenagers is a pedagogical isolation, indocileness, tortfeasor, instability of value orientations, psychological aggression, social passivity, increased anxiety, conflict potential.The given article deals with the interests towards fit of passion of murder in the Science of Criminal Law of Georgia which already exists for a long time. It is stipulated by two causes: firstly, by permanent necessity towards investigation – judiciary practice which demands precise criteria of qualification of the act; secondly, by essential changes of criminal law doctrine in Georgia which caused working out of the new approach towards the problem of guilt. Consequently, Georgian scientists had to review a whole range of conceptions which did not answer demands of the present day. It is clear that due to complexity of the issue, it is hard to discuss approach of all conceptions in one article. We shall light briefly peculiarities of approach of Georgian scientists towards some conceptions. We should single out only so called argumentations of estimation for criminal and subject conceptions of psychological crime of guilt.Thу article describes one of the modern problems – political condition of international relations, relations between nations and inter-ethnical consent. The authors analyze the experience of Kazakhstan and Germany in ethnic politics, explore the importance of these issues in the world today.In modern conditions of oil and gas functioning there is exigency in search of field reserves of development at the expense of rational use of investment resources and efficient realization of investment projects. In the present situation such tasks solution is possible only in the framework of strategy development of component parts of the complex, including efficient attraction of foreign investment and mechanisms formation of its use.The availability of solar energy and its use for heating sanitary water is a resource that has been used since ancient times. However, current technologies allow optimization and its widespread use. In the project carried out by the National University of General Sarmiento (UNGS), it has designed an experimental system hybrid solar concentrator unit for heating water for sanitary use. This project was intended as a complement to traditional water heating for domestic use , based on a parabolic concentrator . The system was designed so that it can be used in existing conventional facilities or be installed as the primary system for heating water.All components are within the structure of the base parabolic concentrator, which allows transport and fixation. The proposed project conserves the energy consumption of a traditional water heater, develop applications and combine existing technologies in a solar tracking parabolic concentrator, so to optimize its operation. Not used the traditional flat panel, but experimented with a heat exchanger mounted in the focal zone of the concentrator. One of the main objectives of this project was to arrive at a design of an integrated product that contains all the necessary elements for operation in a single platform. This adjusted the designs and location of components achieving optimal layout of the facility, giving greater freedom in the design development and implementation of design concepts. This system will allow conventional energy saving which is normally used for purposes of domestic water heating, but plans to integrate these conventional systems. That is why we speak of a hybrid system, which uses solar energy and conventional energy (electricity or gas). Considering the average consumption that occur in a house with four people, this system can replace between 45% and 91% of the energy used for water heating use , depending on time of year and considering its application in the Argentina northwestern area. The components were sized according to the proposed operating conditions. In the case of solar energy utilization, the analysis was extended to different geographic locations of the country, analyzing performance and selecting different areas favorable for the implementation of the system. This project will lay the foundation for the future development of associated projects conducted by researchers and students of the university, such as the study of the control loops, the solar tracker system development and the possible construction of a prototype, for academic use.For nearly a decade, a significant amount of research, investigations, and scandals in mass media has produced a new understanding about the threat of violence in penitentiaries and the changing the international approaches to this phenomenon. Experience has shown that almost no country is immune from practices that amount to torture and ill-treatment. In the article author explores the reasons and scope of torture in the law enforcement and penitentiary systems of Georgia. Particularly author analyzed: reasons for the torture of the accused offenders on the stage of preliminary investigation; violence as a result of overcrowding in closed correctional facilities public policy and investigation of torture; and reasons for the use of force in prisons.