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The Levels of Pre-Retirement Anxiety among Senior High School Teachers in the Upper East Region of Ghana
(Journal of Medicine, Nursing & Public Health, 2026-03) Akaribo, William Aduko; Githae, Eunice Njango; Maingi-Ngunjiri, Lydiah
Despiteretirement beingan important life transition, the psychological readiness of teachers is mostly undermined in favour of financial planning, creating a practical and empirical gap in support systems.This study investigated the levels of pre-retirement anxiety among senior high school teachers in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The research employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design with a sample of 30 teachers within ten years of retirement. The Retirement Anxiety Scale, which demonstrated high internal consistency with a Cronbach's Alpha of 0.863, was used to measure anxiety levels before and after intervention. The results indicated that pre-retirement anxiety was very high amongst the participants before intervention, with 58.47% exhibiting high anxiety levels, 33.75% showing low anxiety, and only 7.78% demonstrating moderate anxiety. The study found that demographic factors such as gender and teaching experience were not significant predictors of pre-retirement anxiety, as no statistically significant differences were established regarding gender or years of teaching experience. The research concludes that pre-retirement anxiety is a serious concern among teachers in the Upper East Region and that universal, inclusive interventions are needed rather than demographic-specific approaches. It is recommended that educational stakeholders should integrate evidence-based psychological programmes into pre-retirement planning to facilitate holistic support for retiring teachers, moving beyond the current overemphasis on financial preparedness to address the psychological dimensions of this critical life transition.
Burrowing Nematode (Radopholus Similis) Abundance, Distribution and Agronomic Impact on Bananas in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
(International Journal of Horticultural Science, 2026-02) Gatheru, P. K.; Thagana, W.M.; Nchore, S. B.
Burrowing nematodes (Radopholus spp.) are the most significant parasites of bananas (Musa spp.) world over. They feed on the root tissue of bananas resulting to toppling disease at the fruit bearing stage. This study assessed the impact of farmers selected agronomic practices that influenced distribution of burrowing nematodes. We also assessed the abundance of Radopholus spp. across four AEZs namely; UM 2, UM 3, LM 3 and LM 4 of Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Purposive sampling was done on April, 2024 targeting farmers that grew ‘dwarf Cavendish’ variety of bananas, those that grew an average of 25 banana stems and those whose farms that were 1km apart. A structured questionnaire was issued to ninety farmers to collect demographic information and to determine their awareness of burrowing nematodes and toppling disease. Soil and banana root samples were also collected to determine abundance and distribution of burrowing nematodes. Data from the questionnaire and samples was subjected to R -statistical software and analysed at p≤ 0.02. The study revealed that majority of banana farmers practised mixed cropping and were not aware of toppling disease associated with Radopholus spp. It also revealed that majority of banana farmers were male and of ˃ 50 years of age. The findings also showed Radopholus spp was rarely distributed in lower AEZs of LM 3 and LM 4 compared to Pratylenchus spp. which was predominantly distributed in upper AEZs of UM 2 and UM 3 in both soil and root samples.
Towards development of effective policies and regulationsfor sustainable off-grid solar electronic waste managementsystems in Kenya
(John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2023-10) Kariuki, David Mugendi; Mireri, Caleb Ombuor; Enevoldsen,Martin Korch
Off-grid solar systems provide clean and affordable energy sources. Adoption
of off-grid Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular in Kenya as a source
of renewable energy, with an estimated 10 million people using off-grid solar
power systems as of the end of year 2022. However, the rising off-grid solar systems technology uptake comes with a growing amount of solar e-waste, which
can have harmful environmental and health effects if not managed properly.
Current data on the exact amount of solar e-waste being generated in Kenya is
unavailable and this amount will continue to rise with the expiry of many of
these off-grid solar systems lifespans. This study through stakeholder’s workshop and document review data collection and analysis approaches, established
that Kenya just like many countries in the Global South has a robust general
waste policy and regulation management framework. However, it lacks specific
policies and regulations on off-grid-solar electronic waste management a challenge that many countries in the Global North have made considerate steps in
addressing. In addition, there is a lack of awareness of the hazardous nature of
off-grid solar systems’ e-waste components to both consumers and institutions
of governance. There is a lack of adequate infrastructure and sufficient systems
for off-grid solar e-waste management in the country. Enforcement and implementation challenges of the existing general waste regulations due to limited
resources and capacity and corruption culture are major impending factors. This
calls for the development of effective policies and regulations to ensure sustainable off-grid solar e-waste management in Kenya against the backdrop of the
rising uptake of off-grid solar systems.
Environmental awareness and competence in amelioration of the architectural design studios in Kenya.
(SABS Journal of Environment, Space and Society, 2026-01) Kebenei,Judy; Karanja,Dennis; El-Naggar, Rehab; Mireri, Caleb
The paper examinedenvironmental psychology as a field that is focused on interactions between humanbeingsand their environments. Itemphasizedhow people modify their surroundings and how those surroundings influence behaviour. The paperhighlightedthe importance of environmental awareness in developing the competence needed to address human-environment challenges in designed spaces. Using case studies of architectural design studios at the University of Nairobi (UON), Technical University of Kenya (TUK), and Jomo KenyattaUniversity of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), the study identified mismatches between user needs and design solutions that were provided by built-environment professionals. The paper establishedpatterns of userbehaviour in these design studios based on spatial survey, participant observation andobservation of physical traces. The data revealed several indicators that guided the interaction of space and the users. These included space, staffing and object inadequacies, and use of the environment for prescribed activities. Also tagged wereflawed designof space and objects in space, space modification and manipulation, and space abandonment. Spaceand object abuse as well asbehaviour modification & afforded behaviourswere also identified as critical indicators.On the basis of thesefindingsthestudy developed an appropriateframework for the application of data on environmental psychology. Such applications would in effect guide the amelioration ofthe functionality ofarchitectural designspaces(studios) and the built environment at large
Slaying the Dragon of Corruption: Application of Multiple-Streams Framework in Anticorruption Policy Processes in Devolved Systems of Government in Kenya
(International Public Policy Association, 2024) Mwangi,Justa; Muna, Wilson
Public sector corruption is often defined as the abuse of public office for private gain (Alfano, Baraldi, & Cantabene, 2020). Scholars who support this definition argue that public office provides ideal breeding ground for certain types of corruption, such as embezzlement and bribery (Prasetyono, 2019). This paper focuses on embezzlement and bribery as they are of particular concern in Africa. It is estimated that Africa loses over U.S $ 50 billion annually to embezzlement, despite being the second fastest growing economic region in the world (World Bank, 2020). Africa is also home to some of the world’s most impoverished people who are forced to fork out bribes to access government services (Chalil, 2020). In Kenya, embezzlement and bribery have been identified as one of the greatest threats to public service delivery in the devolved governments (Opalo, 2020). A study carried out by Kenya’s Ethics and Anticorruption Commission found that 63% of Kenyans have to pay bribes to access county health facilities, 59% have to pay bribes to access water and sanitation, 58% have to pay bribes to access markets, and 57% have to pay bribes to access trade licenses within Kenya’s devolved governments (EACC, 2015). 2 Although policy makers view devolution as an anticorruption strategy, there is growing evidence that corruption poses a significant threat to the delivery of public services in many devolved jurisdictions (Mulyaman, Ismail, & Raya, 2019). Evidence from various Slaying the Dragon of Corruption: Application of Multiple-Streams Framework i... International Review of Public Policy, 6:3 | 2024 1 studies shows that corruption undermines the redistributive nature of public services, forcing the poor to shoulder a disproportionate burden, thus creating inequalities in society, exacerbating poverty, and causing an overall adverse effect on human development (Plotica, 2017). This problem is compounded by the absence of formal theoretical models within the anticorruption decision-making processes that would lead to successful outcomes within devolved governments (Chalil, 2020). Thus, scholars call for more empirical studies to delve into the complexities inherent in anticorruption policy processes within devolved governments and the state and nonstate actors involved (Boone, et al., 2019). 3 Current approaches to tackle anticorruption in the public sector have been influenced by scholarly views that look at corruption as a principal-agent problem, thus focusing policy efforts on integrity measures, strengthening institutions, training, and legislation (Brierley, 2019). The UN Convention against Corruption borrows from this tradition by emphasizing criminalization and law enforcement, which many countries currently use as a template for fighting corruption. Unfortunately, these approaches are based on interventionism (arresting the culprit after the corrupt act) and managerialism (tightening systems, procedures, and protocols to seal loopholes of corruption). They have been criticized for being based on western experiences and the exceptional case studies of Hong Kong and Singapore (Wickberg, 2018). They have also raised ideological concerns of the high moral ground taken by proponents of corruption policy agendas, especially those coming from the west and being pushed to third world countries (Arce & Hendricks, 2019). Critics argue that the corruption discourse and measures to fight it are highly western-centric and riddled with ideological interests of a capitalist and neoliberal economic agenda that promotes and legitimizes epistemological claims about corruption that are fundamentally westerncentric (Andersen, Johannesen, & Rijkers, 2020). For example, the function of the global corruption perceptions index is seen as legitimizing the corruption combating measures that western countries have placed on developing countries with the aim of eliminating obstacles to the free flow of capital (Andersen, Johannesen, & Rijkers, 2020). 4 Further, a growing body of literature is showing that anticorruption efforts are failing globally, in spite of high-level prosecutions that have targeted public officials, particularly in the third world. This has been blamed on current anticorruption policymaking approaches, which have been mainly informed by the principal-agent approach and tend to target the demand side of corruption (public officials) and mostly ignore the demand side (business/public) (Nguyen & Luong-Montenegrin, 2020). Other studies show that communities such as businesses and civil society, welcome corruption in certain contexts as the solution to easing the burden of bureaucratic bottlenecks, thus saving time and boosting their revenues (Nguyen & LuongMontenegrin, 2020). This view is not surprising given that many corruption studies have been approached from a functionalist and rational theory viewpoint, which tends to view corruption as how things are done (jumping bureaucratic hurdles). This approach has however received criticism for being tautological, as it does not rend itself to explanations on when corruption is functional (or not) (Smartis, 2018). It also does not explain why some people are corrupt and others are not, and what kinds of problems might be more amenable to corrupt solutions (Smartis, 2018). Slaying the Dragon of Corruption: In the absence of robust empirical evidence, Kenya’s attempts to deal with corruption have followed global trends by adopting a managerialism and interventionist approach. This has involved criminalizing corruption, tightening procedures, and arresting the culprits. At the national level, Kenya has attempted to increase public sector wages and privatize public services, but this has not yielded the desired results and has exacerbated corruption (Boone, et al., 2019). Evidence from the Kenyan counties (devolved governments) shows that efforts to combat corruption have not been rigorous, as current practices rely on faulty, anecdotal corruption indexes and politicized interventions (Opalo, 2020). For instance, when we look at county level policy instruments in Kenya, we find that they borrow from the rational theory approach and thus concentrate on managerialism and deterrent measures as anticorruption mechanisms (Mackey, 2019). Since different stakeholders such as the state, business and civil society have varying agendas with regard to the corruption situation, the resulting policy instruments at the county level will be the result of the actor(s) best able to lobby their case. 6 Despite this state of affairs, there is hardly any scholarly work on anticorruption policymaking processes in Kenya. Analytical frameworks that have been used to explain anticorruption policymaking in Kenya have largely been informed by rational choice theory (Chege & Wang, 2020). This paper makes a departure from this by utilizing MSF to add analytical value as it allows us to explore policymaking under conditions of ambiguity (Hoefer, 2022). Since policymaking is the result of complex processes involving a myriad of actors and institutions who operate in varying social, political and economic contexts, this paper seeks to illuminate Kenya’s anticorruption policymaking complexities under such ambiguity. MSF is considered suitable as it overcomes problems raised in earlier rational actor models (Hoefer, 2021). As this paper is the result of a case study of two counties in Kenya, MSF was deemed appropriate as it has been particularly praised for being helpful in conducting case studies (Cairney & Jones, 2016). 7 The study’s research strategy aims to provide comparative perspectives on the MSF model and contribute to comparative scholarship, taking into account key institutional differences between other countries and Kenya, and in so doing, potentially provide insightful theoretical and empirical contributions that may contribute to theory making in Africa. The paper makes a departure from existing anticorruption approaches by applying MSF to fluid and unpredictable environments that lack sequence. It also looks at MSF’s applicability to anticorruption agenda setting, drawing on previous implementation and evaluation to explain why hard-hitting anticorruption policies do not enter the agenda. 8 Contextually, the paper focuses on Kiambu and Nairobi City counties, which are two devolved governments in Kenya. The multiple streams framework is relevant for devolved governments in Kenya as it was initially applied to the U.S which has a devolved system of government. In analyzing the framework’s transferability, the paper looks at the interplay between three critical actors: the state, business, and civil society, which have been identified from the literature on the multiple streams framework as playing varying roles within the problem, policy, and political streams (Cairney & Jones, 2016)