Doctor of Philosophy Theses and Dissertations
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Item Linguistic Stigmatisation in Discourses Towards Involuntary Childless Women in The Gĩkũyũ Community(Laikipia University, 2024-09) Gitu, Pamela MukamiPositioning women in a situation where womanhood is pegged to motherhood has resulted in stigma towards involuntary childless women. These women are viewed as outsiders in their communities and certain ideologies propagating their discrimination are spread. As much as men who are childless are stigmatised, women are expected to consider motherhood their most crucial life goal and are hence subjected to more stigma if they cannot deliver. Language has contributed significantly to stigmatizing and stereotyping the childless women and lowering their esteem. This study focused on the linguistic stigma that involuntary childless women in the Gĩkῦyῦ community encounter and the linguistic strategies that contribute to the stigmatisation of these women. The study also looked at attempts by the childless women to counter stigmatising discourse against them and redefine womanhood. Fairclough and Leeuwen's Critical Discourse Analysis theory (CDA) and Wodak’s and KhosraviNik's Discourse Historical Approach (DHA), a branch of CDA were applied. The ideas of Connell's Hegemonic Masculinity theory are also applied, particularly the concepts of gender and power. Purposive sampling was used to select twenty-four involuntary childless women and twelve men. Data were collected in Tetu sub-county of Nyeri County, Kenya in the villages of Kĩandu, Mathakwainĩ, Ndῦgamano, and Kĩgogoinĩ. The study employed focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews to collect the data which was audio recorded. The data were analysed using qualitative methods in the light of the theories identified. The study found that the Gĩkῦyῦ community follow deeply rooted gendered ideologies inscribed in men’s and women’s consciousness from birth. These ideologies impart a sense of self and identity that cuts across social and class divisions. As pronatalists, they hold common stereotypical ideologies which lead to viewing involuntary childless women as deficient and deviant. Based on these ideologies, language is used to stigmatise involuntary childless women through weaponised linguistic strategies and a host of topoi. The study also discovered that by giving voice to grief, some involuntary childless women redefined themselves and, in some cases, set themselves apart from other involuntary childless women by using the stereotypes applied to them. The findings of this study confirm the assertion of CDA-DHA that language use determines how people view themselves and the world around them. The involuntary childless women, for example, are referred to and view themselves in relation to their childlessness, though some are able to rebrand themselves. The findings of the study have advanced the application of CDA and Hegemonic Masculinity theory and demonstrated the power of language in constituting and contesting the reality.Item Land And other Forest Resource Use Dynamics In The Mau Forest, Kenya, 1880-2018(Laikipia University, 2024-10) Chemelil, Kipkemboi PhilipThe Mau Forestland has recently become a subject of intense public debate and national politics especially regards to issues such as ethnicity, land question, environmental conservation and management and electoral politcs in general. The forest land has historically been experiencing massive degradation heading to complete decimation. The situation has triggered conflicts among communities and between these communities and the government. Land use dynamics in the exploitation of forest resources are responsible for continued depletion reaching alarming levels by the beginning of the twenty-first century. The study thus attempts to account for land use changes in the Mau Forest between 1600 and 2018. The study interrogated land use change over time in the Mau Forest to give a deeper understanding of its history that will eventually give solutions to the diminution challenge. This is because solutions to human and ecological challenges are best solved when one first understands the underlying historical topography. The study adopted Beinart’s and Blaikie's views on political ecology theoretical frameworks. A wide range of interconnected methods of data collection was employed in the hope that a better fix on historical facts would be achieved. In that case, this study adopted an ex-post facto research design. The study also adopted the purposive sampling method. The data inputs were gathered from both primary and secondary sources. Data was then presented by the use of figures, tables, and pictures especially when showing how patterns have changed over time. Interpretation was backed by explanations in a narrative form by pegging theories with facts. It was found that pre-colonial land use and conservation were based on the co-existence of humanity and nature. The colonial forestland administration resulted in the diminution of customary rights, as well as the decline of traditional conservation and management systems. During the post-colonial period, the Mau Forestland became the centre of human rights abuses, politics, impoverishment and depletion. Efforts put in place for forest reclamation are bearing fruits as a result of multi-sectoral efforts and the enactment of the constitution and its subsequent legislative reforms.Item Personality Traits and Stress Resilience Among Teacher Counsellors In Public Secondary Schools In Kakamega County, Kenya(Laikipia University, 2024-10) Okubo, MonicaTeacher counsellors with their disparate personality traits encounter stress as they dispatch their noble service of counselling in secondary schools. Managing stress can partially be correlated to their personality traits analogous with their external environment. There is paucity of information on the relationship between personality traits and stress resilience among teacher counsellors in secondary schools. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits and stress resilience among teacher counsellors in public secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya. The study was guided by the General Adaptation Syndrome theory of stress management (GAS) and Seligman’s 3P’s theory of resilience. A Correlational research design was used. The target population was 327 teacher counsellors from the 327 public secondary schools in Kakamega County. Simple random, stratified and purposive sampling methods were used to determine the sample size. The study sample comprised of 181 teacher counsellors. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. A pilot study was carried out in Bungoma County, Kenya. The instruments’ reliability through Cronbach’s coefficient index was found to be α=0.80 and was accepted. The instruments were validated by seeking the opinion of the experts from the Department of Psychology, Laikipia University, where construct and content validity was affirmed. Data was analyzed through Pearson’s correlation. All the Big Five Personality Traits (except conscientiousness) negatively correlated to resilience. The extroversion personality trait was negatively correlated to resilience (r =-0.505, p <.05) and the null hypothesis was rejected. Neuroticism personality traits was negatively correlated to resilience (r= -0.368. p< .05) and the hypothesis was also rejected. Openness personality trait was negatively correlated to resilience (r=-0.176, p <.05) and the null hypothesis was rejected. Agreeableness personality traits was negatively correlated to resilience (r -0.374, p <.05) and the null hypothesis was rejected. Conscientiousness personality trait had no linear relation to resilient(r= 0.000, p >.05) and the hypothesis was not rejected. The study concluded that personality traits are correlated to stress resilience and impact on counselling service delivery. The study recommends more training and empowerment of teacher counsellors to enable them purposefully use their personality traits to enhance their stress resilience in counselling service provision. The findings details intend to assist in the making of policies frame work that would guide properly in the selection, recruitment and motivation of school counsellors. The findings could also contribute to research knowledge about the relationship between personality traits and stress resilience and how this would improve worker morale toward better service provision.Item Analysis of The Financial Deepening Determinants Influencing Securities Market Development In Kenya(Laikipia University, 2017-12) Onyuma,Owino SamuelDespite reforms undertaken to improve the macroeconomic and legal environment believed to foster capital markets development, the securities market in Kenya remains underdeveloped. The market has not fully contributed to economic growth as was expected at the onset of the reform period in early 2000s. Previous studies on securities market development have concentrated only on macroeconomic stability and institutional quality and arrived at conflicting conclusions. These studies have ignored other factors like market microstructure, intermediary development, foreign capital flows, and changes in governance systems and regimes. Their assessment of securities market development (SMD) has been limited to the use of market capitalization which is a measure of size, thereby ignoring other measures like depth and breadth of market activity and liquidity. This has left policymakers with no clear knowledge on how to stimulate securities market development. Guided by Calderon-Rossell Partial Equilibrium Theory of financial market development, the objective of this study was to analyse the influence of financial deepening determinants on SMD in Kenya between 1997 and 2016. Using an ex post facto research design of a predictive nature, monthly secondary data on value of shares listed and traded, macroeconomic variables, bank savings and credit, foreign capital flows, microstructure were collected from NSE, CMA, CBK and KNBS. Market capitalization, value traded and market turnover ratios were computed and nuanced into a SMD index. Test of dependence and normality were done to check for multicollinearity and distribution. Data for predictor financial deepening determinants were regressed against SMD index. ARDL Bounds estimation was used to assess the long-run and short-run cointegration between the predictor variables and SMD. Results showed that all indicators of macroeconomic environment had a significant relationship with SMD. Particularly, there was cointegration relationship between inflation rate (positive short-run), interest rate (negative short-run), foreign exchange rate (negative short-run and long-run) and securities market development. Secondly, results indicate that institutional quality via regulatory reforms to protect investors had a positive short- and long-run cointegration relationship, while attraction of foreign investors was not statistically significant. Thirdly, financial intermediary development only positively influenced SMD through private domestic savings in the short-run, while bank credit to private sector was not statistically significant. While foreign capital flows through Diaspora remittances negatively influenced SMD both in the short- and long-run, influence of cross-border listing was not statistically significant. Also, market microstructure changes through automation positively influenced SMD both in the short- and long-run, while transaction frequency positively influenced SMD, with a cointegration short-run relationship. Lastly, governance systems and regimes through demutualization and political regime change both positively and significantly influenced SMD in the long-run. Overall, ARDL bounds test confirmed a stable long-run relationship between SMD and its determinants. Every month, 27.4 percent of the divergence from long-run equilibrium SMD was corrected by short-run adjustment, though the speed of adjustment was slow. To promote SMD in Kenyan, the study recommends that policy makers should focus on the following: design sound policies that stabilize macroeconomic environment; encourage savings using policies that further develop financial intermediaries to mobilize more savings; improve the institutional framework to further tightening investor protection regulations; re-modulate trading ecosystem to foster safe and robust trading infrastructure; create laws which facilitate less costly foreign capital flows; give incentives to firms to issue different types of securities so as to improve transaction frequency and liquidity; lobby brokers to further reduce their stockholding in NSE Ltd and create a conducive stable political environment; and design policies aimed at promoting Kenya’s economic growth.Item Effects of Teaching Using A Dance Analogy on Physics Students’ Motivation, Self-Concept And Conceptualization of Heat Concepts In Secondary Schools In Nyandarua County, Kenya(Laikipia University, 2014-10) Kaboro, Githae PeterAn important component of science learning is mastery of scientific concepts. The topic of heat forms an important part of the science curriculum at all levels in the Kenyan education system. Explanation of heat concepts requires understanding of kinetic theory of matter. The theory deals with the behaviour of sub-microscopic particles of matter. This abstractness of the theory presents difficulties in its teaching and learning in secondary schools. As a result, students have developed misconceptions on physical heat concepts and an unfavourable attitude towards learning of the concepts. Teaching using analogies has been found useful in concept learning in science. However the factor of students’ socio-cultural knowledge as the basis for selecting and designing the analogies has not received adequate attention. There is also paucity of literature on the effect of analogy teaching on students’ self-concept of scientific concepts. This study set out to investigate the effect of teaching kinetic theory of matter using a ‘dance’ analogy on students’ motivation, self-concept and conceptualization of physical phenomena associated with heat. Data were collected from Form 1 students in 4 coeducational public secondary schools in Nyandarua County. A Heat Concepts Test (HCT) and a Students’ Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) were used to collect the data. Purposive sampling technique was used to identify the Form 1 classes to participate in the study which were randomly assigned to the four design groups of the Solomon Four Non-equivalent Control Group design adopted by the study. The instruments were pilot-tested to assess their reliability and construct validity in 2 co-educational public schools in Nyandarua County. Reliability of the HCT was estimated using the alternate forms technique while that of the SMQ was estimated using the split-half technique. The reliability coefficients were computed using Pearson’s product-moment correlation. The reliability coefficients obtained were above the 0.7 level required for social science research. Data were analysed using student’s t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Hypotheses were tested at α = 0.05 level of significance. Results obtained indicated that teaching kinetic theory of matter using the dance analogy produced significantly better conceptualization, motivation and self-concept and reduced more students’ misconceptions of physical phenomena associated with heat compared to teaching using conventional instructional techniques. Based on the findings, the study recommends that teachers should often use analogies to teach abstract scientific concepts and in so doing consider students’ socio-cultural knowledge as the basis for selecting and designing the analogies. The study recommends further research to establish ways in which analogy teaching could be integrated within other pedagogical models of teaching science.Item A Cognitive Linguistic Approach To Analogies Of Marriage: The Case Of Dholuo In Kenya(Laikipia University, 2024-10) Ogal, George OuCommunication is influenced by the context in which language is used. Every language utilizes certain resources and experiences within a speaker’s surroundings to create meaning. Such language resources may lock out outsiders from comprehending certain language phenomena because they lack the background knowledge required to decode the expressions. Interpretation of analogy may pose challenges to certain language users whose experiences, cultural resources and thought processes are different from those of a speaker. Against this backdrop, this study sought to undertake a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of analogies of marriage in Dholuo to reveal how mental representations influence the conceptualization of marriage in Dholuo. The study was guided by the following objectives: to categorize analogies of marriage in Dholuo using contrasting mental models approach; to exposit the image schemas of analogies of marriage in Dholuo; to explicate how mental spaces account for the meaning of analogies of marriage in Dholuo and; to examine the sociolinguistic implications of analogies of marriage in Dholuo. The study employed the Conceptual Integration Theory (CIT) and the Image Schemas Theory (IST) to analyze Dholuo analogies of marriage. To achieve the objectives of the study, the research adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for the study were native Dholuo speakers of the Kisumu South Nyanza (KSN) dialect. Through an interview schedule, the study purposively sampled 40 respondents based on demographic variables of gender, age and marital status to identify analogous expressions of marriage in Dholuo. The study used four annotators including the researcher to identify and translate the 66 analogies from the data collected. The identified analogies were then presented in tables categorizing them into various contrasting mental models. The annotators then established the schematic patterns emerging from the collected items using the Image Schemas Theory. The analogies were then graphically analyzed using conceptual mappings, blending networks and mental spaces to account for their meaning using the CIT. The annotators then described the sociolinguistic implications of the analogies used to conceptualize marriage in Dholuo. The study found that Dholuo employs pictures of the world in the form of contrasting mental models to describe marriage as an abstract phenomenon. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that embodied experiences of marriage in Dholuo manifest themselves through schematic patterns such as FORCE, CONTAINER, OBJECT and PATH. The study also found that mental spaces are crucial to the interpretation of analogies of marriage because they help in retrieving and mapping culture-specific experiences about marriage among the Luo community. Finally, analogous expressions used to describe marriage in Dholuo disclose general sociolinguistic implications which reveal the community’s general perception of the institution of marriage. The study concludes that analogy is conceptual in nature and should, therefore, be investigated using the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm to reveal novel meanings in specific contexts. The findings of this study have implications for analogy theorists and researchers operating within the Cognitive Linguistics framework which is a relatively fallow research area. Further, the study will be of help to Dholuo scholars in conceptualizing marriage and related abstract phenomena.Item Constraints Based Code-Switching During The English Language Lesson In A Multilingual Classroom In Kenyan Primary Schools: A Structural Perspective(Laikipia University, 2017-11) Ngugi, Beth NjeriThis study is a descriptive survey of code-switching in selected lower primary classes in selected Kenyan schools. The study investigated code-switching in English lessons and its implications on second language proficiency in lower primary schools in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to find out how languages are used in an English lesson in lower primary classrooms. It also sought to identify the syntactic elements of code-switching used by teachers and learners in lower primary school level during classroom discourse as well as to analyse the syntactic constraints resulting from grammatical rules of the two or more languages. Finally, the study sought to establish how code-switching could be used as an effective communication strategy in an ESL classroom. The study was guided by three theories: Lado’s Contrastive Analysis, Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Framework and Baker and Westrup’s Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) Framework. Three (3) public primary schools in Kasarani Sub County in Nairobi County were used in the study where nine teachers were interviewed. The data were mainly collected through audio-video recording and supplemented by interviews and observation. A discourse and grammatical analysis of data was done then presented. The data were presented in forms of tables, excerpts from text books and texts from the recorded data. The findings revealed that teachers switched from English into other languages during the English lesson. Code-switching enhanced language development as observed in learners’ performance on learning activities during vocabulary lessons. Strict adherence to ML frame enhanced L2 development. The study recommends use of code-switching rules during target language lessons but with caution. Support of local languages development and a structural analysis of their grammar are necessary for their effective use in teaching a target language. The study has implications for teacher educators and Applied Linguistics theory development.Item Discursive Construction of Self-Identity Among Internally Displaced Persons In Kenya’s 2007/2008 Post Election Violence(Laikipia University, 2015-10) Ndiritu,Ng’arua Nelson.This study investigated the self-identity of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) following Kenya’s 2007 election-related violence. The study looked at how the attacks the IDPs suffered and life under displacement impacted on their self-identity in their cultural context and as nationals of Kenya and the discursive strategies they employed in the construction of these identities. The study was guided by Critical Discourse Analysis and Discourse Historical Approach which were complemented by Michael Foucault’s theory of knowledge and power as well as Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus, symbolic power and symbolic violence which provided insight in understanding the IDPs’ identity. The research data was collected using interviews with open-ended questions from a sample of twenty-four respondents selected from 350,000 IDPs, through stratified sampling. The data was complemented by a review of six newspaper reports and opinions on the displaced persons and four memos and press statements from the IDPs. The research sample was selected from IDPs from different ethnic communities to capture a wide diversity of experiences. The findings revealed that IDPs have suffered an identity crisis in their cultural identity and gender roles feeling that they did not measure up to the expectations of their communities as a result of the displacement. They had also largely lost their national identity as Kenyans due to unmet expectations from the government and the community. The study found that the displaced persons used ethnic and political party labels as well as their difficult economic situation to define themselves and distinguish themselves from the other Kenyans. They also employed various topoi. The study brought to light the role of discourse in creating groups and therefore unifying and dividing communities. The self-identities of the IDPs indicated a need for economic restitution and psychological interventions to enable the displaced persons get over their traumatic experiences. It also indicated areas where discourse could be employed to promote a positive image of the IDPs. The research which was situated in the area of applied linguistics also advanced the study of language in use.Item A Comparative Study of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy And Conventional Teaching Method on Students’ Mathematics Self-Concept And Achievement In Secondary Schools In Laikipia County, Kenya(Laikipia University, 2017-11) Mbacho, Watetu Naomi.The knowledge of mathematics as a tool for use in everyday life is important for every individual and society. However, Secondary school students in Kenya have continued to perform poorly in mathematics in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) national examinations. This raises concern among all stakeholders in education due to the importance they attach to mathematics. The factors that are attributed to the students’ poor performance in the subject include; gender stereotyping, lack of role models, the ineffective instructional methods used by teachers and the low mathematics self-concept. There is inadequate documented information in research conducted in Kenya on the effect of the use of Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy on students’ self-concept and achievement in mathematics. This study sought to address the problem of ineffective instruction by teachers and low mathematics self-concept by finding out if the use of Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy during instruction of surds and further logarithms in mathematics to Form Three students has an effect on their mathematics self-concept and examination performance. Surds and further logarithms are topics performed poorly in the KCSE examination. The study was guided by the General Systems Theory and the Constructivist Theory. The study used a quasi-experimental research design. Solomon four non-equivalent control group design was used in the study. Two experimental groups received the Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy as treatment, while two control groups were taught using the conventional learning/teaching methods. A simple random sample of four co-educational secondary schools was selected from Laikipia County. The sample size was 4 schools out of the 67 schools with a population of about 20,800 students in Laikipia County. A Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) and a Mathematics Self-Concept scale (MSC) for students were used to collect the required data. A total of 188 Form three secondary school students comprising 84 girls and 104 boys sat for the MAT and 183 Form three secondary school students comprising 85 girls and 98 boys filled the MSC questionnaires. Piloting of the instruments was done in a school which was not used for study in Laikipia County. The reliability coefficient of the MAT was computed to be 0.95 using KR-21 formula while that of the MSC was computed to be 0.96 using Cronbach alpha. MAT was validated by the researcher and also by education experts from the Department of Curriculum and Education Management, Laikipia University. Data were analyzed usingT-test, ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc to test the hypotheses at alpha (α) level of .05. The study revealed that students who were taught mathematics using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy had a higher mathematics self-concept than those taught using conventional teaching methods ( F (3,179) = 12.620, p = .000). Moreover, gender did not affect students’ mathematics self-concept when students were taught using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy (t (81) = -1.345, p =.155). In addition, students who were taught mathematics using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy performed better than those taught using conventional teaching methods (F (3,184) = 31.367, p = .000) and gender did not affect students’ achievement in mathematics when students were taught using Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy (t(92) = -.835, p=.423). The findings are expected to be useful to teachers in secondary schools because they will be able to identify learning strategies which will improve learners’ mathematics self-concept and their achievement in the subject. Curriculum developers and education officers are likely to benefit from this study in deciding on the appropriate learning strategies for learners to improve the quality of mathematics instruction in the country and beyond. The research recommends use of Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Strategy in mathematics instruction in secondary schools in Kenya to improve and also reduce gender disparities in the mathematics achievement.Item Social Media Discourse: Linguistic Study of Facebook Among A Selected Group of Kenyan Internet Users(Laikipia University, 2016-10) Mwithi, Muthoni FlorenceWith over 1.71 billion active users worldwide, Facebook (FB) has permeated the lives of millions of people and the way they relate to one another and share information. This research recognizes the utility of FB as a novel tool to examine and interpret linguistic features for a selected group of Kenyan FB users. The study also evaluated and interpreted how the participants presented their identities on FB and explored the motivations for their use of FB. The study uses Herring’s (2004) Computer Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) theoretical framework. The research design used was both qualitative and quantitative. Purposive sampling procedure was used to arrive at eight FB friends in the 22-35 age bracket. This is the age that was found to use FB most in Kenya. The first data set for the study consisted of profile information and FB posts (written and visual) of the eight which was collected at two scheduled times in a day: three times a week for three months. This ensured that the corpus of interactions had varied themes and topics of discussion. The findings showed that the language used was mostly English as opposed to Kiswahili the National language. Other languages in use included vernacular and Sheng. While Kenyan FB users used conventional internet language including non-standard English, acronyms, emoticons, lengthening practice, code switching and capitalization, the linguistic features varied in form and frequency. The group chosen presented honest and positive identities of themselves on FB. The second data set was compiled from responses of an online questionnaire filled by the group. The analysis of the questionnaire found that the motivation for use of FB was occasioned by both technological and social factors. The motivations for use included among others: entertainment, viewing one’s and other peoples’ walls, posting photos, updating status, marketing, education and staying connected to friends. This research adds knowledge to the field of Applied Linguistics especially, Discourse Analysis as well as Sociolinguistics especially with regards to the methodology and tools of carrying out a Computer Mediated Communications study. It bridges a knowledge gap of the linguistic features common to FB users, what identities those users present and what really motivates them to use FB. For social scientists, it offers useful insights into the unique ways in which FB shapes identities and provides the social and interactive needs of the users. Finally, the findings of the study could be used for policy formulation on
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