This module covers introductory topics that are fundamental to understanding the subject of chemistry. In this module, we shall examine the structure of the smallest part of an element known as the atom (the building blocks of matter) and associated atomic models. The focus will be on the thought process involved in the development of the periodic table and its use in explaining the structure and properties of elements in “groups” and “periods”. Both microscopic (in which matter is regarded as a collection of atoms and molecules) and macroscopic (associated with the bulk properties of matter) views of matter will be considered. The underlying principles that govern structures and shapes of simple molecules and ions will be covered as well as the nomenclature for writing formula for binary inorganic compounds, cations and anions. In addition, a review of the concepts behinds interpretation and balancing of chemical equations, stoichiometric calculations involving quantitative relations in chemical reactions, calculations of percent composition by mass and derivation of molecular formula from experimental data will also be made.

The low Internet penetration and lack of electricity in the rural areas of the developing countries of Africa make the use of computerbased solutions a big challenge. Yet there is dire need of such applications in these areas. Luckily, most of these countries have reported impressive adoption levels of mobile phones [3], a phenomenon that is now creating a paradigm shift; computing is slowly moving from the traditional PC to the phone. Coincidentally, advancements in the smartphone technology have produced such powerful gadgets that can ably compete with PCs of the 21st century. Today, for less than US$ 400, one can acquire a smartphone equipped with; 1000MHz clock speed, 512MiB (ROM +RAM), access to several types of data networks (CSD, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE), and Wireless local-area network (WLAN) among other features [6]. With this kind of computing power, computer analysts/programmers can now develop both scientific and commercial applications to address numerous challenging facing poor people in the developing countries of Africa.

Since 2002 the Department of Physics at the University of Nairobi has established the Applied Nuclear and Radiation Physics Division for graduate training in a variety of nuclear science fields and research, the major line of which is method development in analytical …

Ambient aerosol particles smaller than 2.5 {mu} m (PM {sub 2.5}) are getting more and more attention worldwide. While legal focus is mainly on sample mass, the composition of the particles is an important research field gaining increased interest. The interest is not only …

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Product counterfeiting and trade in counterfeit products, labels and packaging involve imitation of genuine products that are marketed under brand names.3 Counterfeit products are becoming a major problem to consumers, innovators and traders in Kenya and globally. Such imitations are usually clones or falsified products, labels and packaging designed to look like those of genuine products. The aim is to confuse or deceive consumers as to their quality, source, origin or legitimacy. Counterfeits are manufactured, processed or supplied by unscrupulous traders who infringe and unlawfully apply other corporations’ or individuals’ innovations and intellectual property (IP).4 The basic thesis in this Chapter is that although there are short-term gains to consumers and the Kenyan economy from counterfeiting, the medium and long-term losses are massive. This Chapter adopts a three-pronged strategy on combating counterfeiting in Kenya. First, I evaluate the nature and extent of counterfeit trade in Kenya in the context of trade liberalization and the development of an information society. I also assess the effects of counterfeit trade on the various economic players including consumers, innovators, traders, investors, and the Kenyan Government. Second, I evaluate the intellectual property regime in Kenya and how IP can combat counterfeiting. I then carefully examine the anti-counterfeiting law and enforcement mechanisms in Kenya, including their effectiveness in addressing the problem. Third, I explore how that law can be reformed to ensure sustainable development by protecting innovators, consumers and other stakeholders.

This chapter analyses copyright in the context of e-commerce in Kenya. It explores whether the music industry in Kenya is sufficiently protected in the digital era by focusing on five interrelated themes. Part One explores the interrelationship between e-commerce and intellectual property in Kenya. It discusses e-commerce in the context of patent, trade mark, trade secret and domain names. Part Two, Copyright law in e-commerce. It introduces copyright law; copyright in musical works; music in the Internet; the music industry in Kenya; legal dimensions of online music; and the challenges facing the music industry in Kenya.. Part Three explores copyright enforcement in Kenya with respect to civil and criminal remedies for copyright infringement as well copyright management organizations. We conclude Part Four critically

Essential oils are aromatic volatiles that are recovered from different plant tissues using a variety of distillation and extraction technologies. Kenya, being a country with diverse
plant genetic resources, is endowed with plant species containing essential oils, many of which have not been studied. A review of research on the chemical constituents and biological activities of Kenyan essential oil bearing plants is presented and shows that the use of these indigenous natural
resources are under-recognized and underutilized. Potential applications in cosmetic, food, agricultural and pharmaceuticalindustry, among others, are discussed.

Gender mainstreaming is crucial in soil and water conservation initiatives. The existing technologies though, as designed, are expected to be gender neutral, lead to gender differences at the adoption stage. This was confirmed during a study conducte d in Kathekakai settlement scheme, Machakos district where despite both men and women participating in soil and water conservation initiatives, women’s efforts to adopt the recommended technologies were hampered by their limited access to authoritative infor ma- tion and lack of control over land. Women though playing major roles as farmers (64.6%), could not make key decisions on land u se. Previous reports indicate that the women in Machakos district contributed significantly to soil and water conservation efforts in the mid 1980’s leading to terracing of over 70% of the district. Gender mainstreaming efforts need to be enhanced for achievement o f sustainable and effective soil and water conservation for improved agricultural production and livelihoods

To study the suitability of prosopis pods flour as a feed ingredient in manufacture of animal feeds, prosopis pods were collected from four districts heavily affected by the invasive species. Pods were collected from trees at three levels; green but mature pods still attached to the twigs, yellow (dry) pods still attached to the tree and yellow (dry) pods that had dropped onto the ground from the tree. Pods picked from the ground were inspected against decay or insect damage. These samples were analyzed at the department of animal production laboratory University of Nairobi for proximate chemical composition, fibre composition, and calcium and phosphorus profiles. In addition cost comparisons between prosopis pod flour and animal feedstuffs with approximate chemical composition were done. Pods collected in Tana River and Garissa Districts were drier than those collected in Baringo indicating potentially better keeping quality. The pods protein content averaged 11.7% but the fibre content was on the higher side at 29.8%. The calcium and phosphorus level, at 0.3% and 0.36% respectively, were considerably higher than those found in cereals although its availability on digestion was likely to be affected by the high fibre level. Pending studies on digestibility, degradability and metabolizable energy and performance evaluation will inform appropriate level of use in animal diets. However, the researchers, from the preliminary analysis, concluded that the flour will form a valuable addition to the feed ingredient base in Kenya.

This study examined the RWH using the run tests, Ljung-Box statistics, and the unit root tests. The data covered the period starting January 1994 to June 2007 for the daily closing prices of the Ksh/UD dollar spot rate. The main finding of this study is that the RWH is strongly rejected at the 5% significance level. The results indicate that the rejections are due to autocorrelation in currency returns. The exchange rate tends to appreciate most of the time over the sample period. Therefore failure of the EMH could be due to exchange rate undershooting and overshooting phenomena. The unit root tests showed that the exchange rate data is non-stationary while returns are stationary. Therefore the evidence strongly suggested that the foreign exchange market is not efficient.

This chapter begins with a description of some commonly used particle sizing techniques, their applicability to nanoparticles, and their advantages and disadvantages. A special emphasis is given to fractionation techniques and their ability to simultaneously characterize nanoparticles and isolate monodispersed fractions from polydispersed samples. The latter part of this chapter provides an in-depth discussion of sedimentation field-flow fractionation (SdFFF) size analysis of nanoparticles used in coatings

An instruction manual for teaching Social philosophy to third year students in the department of philosophy.

Coffee Berry Disease which affects green Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) berries is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum kahawae and is a major problem in Arabica coffee production in African countries. Breeding for resistance to this disease is therefore to a major priority in these countries avoid intensive chemical usage for its control. Recently, microsatellite and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLP) markers for a gene conferring resistance to the disease were identified and mapped onto the chromosomal region carrying the gene. To improve the repeatability of the AFLP markers, four of the marker bands were selected for cloning and sequencing to facilitate specific primers to be designed. Three of the resultant primers did not amplify products that exhibited polymorphism characteristic of the parent AFLP bands; but one primer pair amplified a product that dominantly identified the presence of the parent AFLP marker at an optimum temperature of 62°C followed by electrophoresis in agarose. The reliability of the designed primers was confirmed by analysis in 95 plants from a F2 population previously used to map the chromosomal fragment carrying the resistance. The importance of the results in enhancing the utility of the parent AFLP marker in relation to analytical costs and position on the chromosomal fragment is discussed.

An Instructional Manual for teaching African Philosophy to second year students in the department of philosophy, University of Nairobi

Collaborative filtering is a method of making predictions about the interests of a user based on interest similarity to other users and consequently recommending the predicted items. There is a widespread use of collaborative filtering systems in commercial websites, such as Amazon.com, which has popularized item-based methods. There are also many music and video sites such as iLike and Everyone’s a Critic (EaC) that implement collaborative filtering systems. This trend is growing in product-based sites. This paper discusses the implementation of graph-based semisupervised learning methods and memory-based methods to the collaborative filtering scenario and compares these methods to baseline methods such as techniques based on weighted average. This work compares the predictive accuracy of these methods on the MovieLens data set. The metrics used for evaluation measure the accuracy of generated predictions based on already known, held-out ratings that constitute the test set. Preliminary results indicate that graph-based semi-supervised learning methods perform better than baseline methods. However, some of the memory-based methods outperform the graph-based semi-supervised learning methods as well as the baseline methods.

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One of the critical issues for Community Development, Civil Society action and Governance anywhere and specifically in Africa is to create leaders at the fastest possible rate, at all levels of the society/ community. Such levels of leadership revolve round - skilled, ethical, effective and unifying leadership. Young people are most eager to play a leadership role in these efforts. The values/ benefits of the African young people involvement in Civil Society in the African states will bring energy, catalyze other group members to rethink their priorities, commitment and remove invisible barriers that have kept them from moving forward. Typically and traditionally in many cultures, young people have been excluded from efforts to rebuild their communities. This marginalization of our youth not only harms them and endangers our future, but it also cheats the world of a valuable resource. If we are to function effectively as local and even global communities then we must incorporate all significant voices. This paper argues that an enduring and positive community renewal is possible only if all members are involved and feel a sense of ownership. On the other hand, the spirit of volunteerism by young people helps to create a stable and cohesive society and as a result add value to the services that governments provide. Voluntary action creates bonds of trust and encourages cooperation; in other words it creates social capital. Volunteerism draws people of different ethnic origins, religion and economic status. This compositional aspect enhances social harmony. Voluntary participation in public affairs can also help to create a politically literate public, which is important for the preservation of democratic principles. Volunteer effort is essential to Civil Society action as a way that would enhance community policing and conflict resolution. Service For Peace (SFP) Kenya Chapter as an organization, through its young people empowerment program has the aim to integrate service learning and volunteerism in the processes of capacity development/ building, creating appropriate awareness, dissemination and networking of the youth in the sub-regional and region areas. The Kenyan Chapter serves as a knowledge resource base for periodic value-based training programs on volunteerism.

Abstract: The recent and rising increase in enrollment at th e primary school level since the
introduction of th e FPE in 2003 has led to a corresponding and signif icant rise in enrollment
rates at the secondary school level. This has translated into an increased demand for higher
education in the country. The demand for higher education is driven by the realiz ation that
this level of education forms the princi pal pillar of development. The current development
agen da in Kenya is inspired by the realization that there are many available options and …