School of Education and Social sciences
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Item A metaphoric analysis of Miriri’s Ekegusii pop song Ebunda(2021) Ntabo, Victor Ondara; Ouma, George OgalThe study undertakes a metaphoric analysis of the animal metaphors in Miriri’s Ekegusii pop song “Ebunda” (a donkey) to reveal meaning. The meaning of the animal metaphors in the song might be elusive to the majority of the fans because metaphor is principally a matter of thought and action which is often situated in a specific context. The study employed the descriptive research design to describe the metaphors as used in the song. First, four coders (including the researchers) were employed to identify the metaphors in the song through the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit. Secondly, the metaphors in the song were classified into animal metaphors based on the levels of the principle of Great Chain of Being metaphor (GCBM). The animal metaphors in “Ebunda” were then explained using the Conceptual Metaphor Theory. The study reveals that animals are stratified source domains used to effectively conceptualize human beings as highlighted in the song. In addition, the animal metaphors in “Ebunda” are used on a cognitive basis to reveal the perceptions Abagusii (the native speakers of Ekegusii) have about some animals in society. Metaphors are crucial ways of communication and are best explained using the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm.Item Unpacking modified idiomatic expressions in Kenyan political discourse: A cognitive linguistic perspective(2022) Ogal, George Ouma; Kirigia, Eliud Kiruji; Ntabo, Victor OndaraPolitical discourse employs colorful expressions to establish strong relationships with the audience. Speakers or writers exploit the relationship between human language and socio-political experiences to initiate creative discourses through modification of expressions. Against this background, this study sets out to investigate the meaning of modified idiomatic expressions in Kenyan political discourse. The study has two objectives: to describe the structural and lexical modification of idiomatic expressions and to interpret the modified forms using vital relations. The study employs descriptive research design. The study randomly sampled ten idioms used during the 2017 General Elections and used content analysis to establish the lexical and structural relationships between the canonical and modified expressions. The idioms were analyzed using the Conceptual Integration Theory to preserve the link between two expressions and account for the emergent meaning. The study found that Kenyan political discourse achieves figurative competencies through modified idioms. Interpretation of modified idioms requires a thorough understanding of vital relations and pragmatic inferences. Further, Cognitive Linguistics establishes backstage cognition and supplies the elements omitted by grammar. The study concludes that modified idiomatic expressions achieve contextual significance. Consumers of modified idiomatic expressions should immerse themselves in the socio-political backgrounds to unmask the emergent meaning.Item Representation of young people in Ekegusii proverbial metaphors: An image schematic account.(2023) Ndung’u, Catherine Waithera; Ntabo, Victor OndaraProverbial metaphors are useful resources for communicating known truths about life in a given community. Most African proverbial metaphors, however, make reference to customs and situations that might be unfamiliar to some language users especially young people. On the basis of this background, this study employed image schemas to interpret Ekegusii proverbial metaphors that allude to young people. The research was anchored within descriptive research design. Primary data was collected from four Ekegusii respondents of an advanced age of at least seventy years old through an interview schedule. The collected data were then subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universities (MIPVU) in which four annotators were used to identify Ekegusii proverbial metaphors. Seven Ekegusii proverbial metaphors that refer to young people were identified through MIPVU. The identified proverbial metaphors were then subjected to the FORCE and CONTAINER schemas and their subsidiary schemas for analysis. The paper reveals that there are norms and customs regarding young people that are conveyed through Ekegusii proverbial metaphors. In addition, image schemas are fundamental in explaining the role, place, and cultural expectations of young men and women in Gusii. The study concludes that proverbial metaphors are useful tools of communication, and should be interpreted using Cognitive Linguistics paradigm.Item The Role of Plantosemic Metaphors in the Conceptualization of the Males in Ekegusii: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach(2023) Ndung’u, Catherine Waithera; Ntabo, Victor OndaraPlants are fundamental in the transference of semantic aspects that are helpful in structuring maleness in society. As a result, plantosemic metaphors which enhance conceptualization of omosacha (a man) are ubiquitous in Ekegusii. This study employed conceptual mappings to evaluate Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors. The study adopted descriptive research design. First, an interview schedule was utilised to establish the terms used to describe men in Ekegusii from 48 Ekegusii native respondents purposively sampled using the criterion of gender. The collected terms were then subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) in which four annotators undertook the MIPVU procedure. Through MIPVU, ten metaphors were identified. The study then selected three metaphors that describe a man as a plant hence the Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors for analysis. The study reveals that Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors are critical in validating the culturally assigned roles to men among Abagusii. Moreover, the principle of conceptual mappings is useful in divulging critical issues concerning gender relations between men and women in Gusii. The paper concludes that metaphor is a valuable tool of communication and should be explained using the Cognitive Linguistics framework.Item Evaluating the Performance of Tree-Based Predictive Models as Programme Recommenders for University Entrants in Kenya.(2024-10) Kabiru, Kibuthi J.; Makiya, Ratemo C.; Anduvare, E. M.Enrolling for the wrong programme by university students has, to an extent, contributed to the high rates of discontinuation on academic grounds, repeat year cases, change of programme after registration, interuniversity transfers, deferments to change programme, drop out cases, suspension over exam irregularities as well as to strikes. This study focused on finding a technological solution for reducing these cases by evaluating three tree-based predictive models and recommending the most predictive model to implement as a programme recommender. Data was collected in five selected public universities in Kenya using Google Forms. The respondents were 308 translating to 308 rows of data with 36 columns. Numpy, Pandas, Matplotlib, Sklearn, Seaborn, Scipy, Plotly python analytics libraries were deployed using Jupyter Notebook for Anaconda. The cleaned and processed dataset features had categorical variables thus one-hot-encoding technique was employed. Data was split for training and testing with the random_state set to 42. Gini index criteria was implemented. The three models were evaluated on their performance from the optimally split data for training and test with a 80:20 ratio. Random Forest (RF) came out the most predictive at 99.3% followed by Gradient Boosting (XG Boost) at 90% then Decision Tree (DT) at 80.93%. The testing accuracy score for RF was 81.72%, XGBoost was at 75.72% and DT was at 76.34%. Confusion matrix criterion was implemented to evaluate the performance of the three models. The results of this study have demonstrated the high accuracy level of RF as the most predictive tree-based model for this real-world University crisis. The model is recommended for development as a system to be integrated into the KUCCPS portal. The integrated system is dubbed Programme Recommender which if launched would highly predict the best programme of study for application by university entrants.Item Can Schools Make Our Society More Cohesive? A Case of Public Secondary Schools in Embu and Nairobi Counties, Kenya(2023) Njoka, Johannes Njagi; Githui, PerminusCohesion’ is a growing concern for policy makers and society and this raises questions for the role of schools. This mini-report asks how, and whether, schools should respond. We draw on academic and policy research, think-pieces and perspectives from the LKMco Big Debate 2016 ‘Can Schools Make Societies More Cohesive?’ and ask: 1. What is social cohesion? 2. What influences levels of social cohesion? 3. What are schools currently doing to improve social cohesion? 4. How can schools make society more cohesive? 5. What stands in the way of schools doing more? 6. What barriers do schools face in doing more?Item The Role of Plantosemic Metaphors in the Conceptualization of the Males in Ekegusii: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach(2023-06-06) Ndung’u, Catherine Waithera; Ntabo, Victor OndaraPlants are fundamental in the transference of semantic aspects that are helpful in structuring maleness in society. As a result, plantosemic metaphors which enhance conceptualization of omosacha (a man) are ubiquitous in Ekegusii. This study employed conceptual mappings to evaluate Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors. The study adopted descriptive research design. First, an interview schedule was utilised to establish the terms used to describe men in Ekegusii from 48 Ekegusii native respondents purposively sampled using the criterion of gender. The collected terms were then subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) in which four annotators undertook the MIPVU procedure. Through MIPVU, ten metaphors were identified. The study then selected three metaphors that describe a man as a plant hence the Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors for analysis. The study reveals that Ekegusii plantosemic metaphors are critical in validating the culturally assigned roles to men among Abagusii. Moreover, the principle of conceptual mappings is useful in divulging critical issues concerning gender relations between men and women in Gusii. The paper concludes that metaphor is a valuable tool of communication and should be explained using the Cognitive Linguistics framework.Item REPRESENTATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN EKEGUSII PROVERBIAL METAPHORS: AN IMAGE SCHEMATIC ACCOUNT(2023-05) Ndung’u, Catherine Waithera; Ntaboi, Victor OndaraProverbial metaphors are useful resources for communicating known truths about life in a given community. Most African proverbial metaphors, however, make reference to customs and situations that might be unfamiliar to some language users especially young people. On the basis of this background, this study employed image schemas to interpret Ekegusii proverbial metaphors that allude to young people. The research was anchored within descriptive research design. Primary data was collected from four Ekegusii respondents of an advanced age of at least seventy years old through an interview schedule. The collected data were then subjected to the Metaphor Identification Procedure Vrije Universiteit (MIPVU) in which four annotators were used to identify Ekegusii proverbial metaphors. Seven Ekegusii proverbial metaphors that refer to young people were identified through MIPVU. The identified proverbial metaphors were then subjected to the FORCE and CONTAINER schemas and their subsidiary schemas for analysis. The paper reveals that there are norms and customs regarding young people that are conveyed through Ekegusii proverbial metaphors. In addition, image schemas are fundamental in explaining the role, place, and cultural expectations of young men and women in Gusii. The study concludes that proverbial metaphors are useful tools of communication, and should be interpreted using Cognitive Linguistics paradigm. Article visualizations:Item The Influence of Institutional Resources on Doctorate Degree Enrolment and Completion Rates in Selected Public Universities Kenya(Micro-think Institute, 2023-10-16) Motanya, Jared Ochwangi; Nyambura, Salome; Gathara, Peter MugoDoctorates are fundamental pivot towards facilitating the social and economic transformation of a nation. Nevertheless, research on doctorate education point out that most candidates in Kenyan public universities spend lengthy period of time to earn their doctorate degrees. Furthermore, data of those enrolling in selected Kenyan public universities demonstrate that less students enroll for doctorate programmes in contrast with those who register for Master and Bachelors’ programmes. Institutional resources have been cited as a critical ingredient toward enhanced students’ enrolment into doctorate programmes. The purpose of this paper was, therefore, to establish the influence of institutional resources on doctorate degree enrolment and completion rates from selected Kenyan public universities. The study sought to analyse institutional resources influence on doctorate degree programmes enrolment and completion rates from selected public universities in Kenya for the last fifteen years. The study employed the mixed methods research design. Data was collected from four purposively sampled universities using questionnaires, analysis of documents (on enrolment, completion and staff enrolments) and interview schedules. Qualitative data was coded and then thematically analysed guided by the study objectives while quantitative data was analysed using percentages and graphs. The study revealed that institutional resources influence enrolment and completion rates at doctorate level. Availability of qualified and sufficient academic staff, funding, mentorship programmes, well equipped libraries, reliable internet connections and ambient social environment to be critical in determining where one enrolls for a doctorate programme and how long it will take to complete. The study furthermore established that between 2003 and 2017, there was low doctorate programmes enrolment and completion rates at the selected public Universities Kenya. This was demonstrated from trends in the numbers of those who enrolled and those who graduated. The trends revealed that more males than females enrolled and completed their studies with the highest being between 2008 and 2013. The findings of this research would be resourceful to university policy makers, administrators and lecturers to improve on institutional policy framework with regard to institutional resources which could be used to enhance doctorate programme enrolment and completion in Kenyan public universitiesItem Assessment of the Contribution of Various Family Structures on Juvenile Delinquency in Embu County, Kenya(2023-08) Miruka, Florence Gesare; Thuku, Pauline; Osamba, JoshiaJuvenile delinquency has been on the increase all over the world. Research has established a positive correlation between juvenile delinquency and family violence. However, few studies have assessed the relationship between the various family types and juvenile delinquency in Kenya, hence the need for this study. A descriptive survey research design that employed quantitative techniques was utilized. The target population was 360 juvenile delinquents in Embu County. Using Krejcie and Morgan’s Table for Determining Sample Size from a Given Population, a sample size of 176 respondents was arrived at. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents. A questionnaire with both open and closed ended questions was utilized in data collection. Cronbach’s Alpha measured the instrument's reliability. A reliability coefficient of 0.805 was achieved indicating that the instrument was reliable. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Data was described using frequencies and percentages. ANOVA was conducted in hypothesis testing and found a significant relationship between family structure and juvenile delinquency. The type of family in which a child was born and bred determines so much whom he becomes in adulthood. Most juvenile delinquents grew up in dysfunctional families characterized by violence, lacking role models from whom the children were to emulate. This study recommends the formulation of parental education programmes to sensitize parents on the role of family in addressing juvenile delinquency. Family being the smallest unit from whence community sprung, there is need to strengthen families of whatever type.