MAPE Theses and Dissertations (2017)

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Ethical analysis of science, technology and innovation policies in four East African countries
(Strathmore University, 2017) Langat, Simon K.
Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) policy is an essential part of the larger public policy programming in order to improve livelihoods and quality of life. Extant literatures indicate that policy-making is driven largely by economic considerations. Policy studies came into being largely as a response to a need to guide development of nations and competition among them. However, there has been a resurging interest in ethics of policies in the last few years as a response to the empiricist approach that followed the Second World War. Partly, this is due to concerns about policy makers‟ failure to address the moral ambiguity in technology development and adoption, and possible dire consequences that could arise from this failure. The main objective of the study was to analyze the ethical frameworks underlying the ST&I policies of Kenya and three selected eastern African countries namely Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda using content analysis. The study found that the policies are predominantly utilitarian in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. In Tanzania it was found to be duty based. On whether it is necessary analyze ethics in ST&I policy, it was found that there are compelling reasons to undertake this task as this would give technology a more useful measure for determining whether it is responding to man‟s need for authentic development.
Implementation of moral education in Kenyan schools: a study of selected catholic schools from Kitui Central Deanery
(Strathmore University, 2017) Muthamba, Julius
This study has been carried out to find out if students in secondary schools in Kitui central deanery are being brought up to make morally right judgment for their actions. The study has been prompted by increased acts of indiscipline as well as acts of immorality which have been witnessed in schools in Kitui central deanery for the last seven years. This study was guided by the concepts of virtue in the philosophy of Aristotle. Aristotle’s concept on human excellence incorporates both cognitive and conative capacities. According to him bringing up a person of excellent character involves combination of both the phronesis (the virtue of practical wisdom) and other moral virtues. This study has highlighted the concrete situations in schools which attest to the fact that there have been increased cases of indiscipline and immorality in schools. The study has looked at different constitutional documents as well as taskforce reports in Kenya which spell out the role of moral education in schools. It has found a glaring mismatch between what is envisioned in these documents and what is being practiced in schools. In the literature review, the study has explored what different authors have said regarding moral education of the students. The first section of the literature review explored the importance of moral education in secondary schools. Further it has looked into how students are being brought up to acquire moral virtues and practical wisdom using school systems and culture. The third part of literature review looks at the consistency of the approaches which schools have been using in moral education. Finally this section gives the conceptual framework guiding this study. Chapter three of the study deals with the research methodology. This area handles research design, location of the study as well as how data has been collected and analyzed. Chapter four of this study presents research findings which show that moral education is not being properly implemented in catholic sponsored secondary school in Kitui central deanery. The fifth chapter is a critical interrogation of research findings as well as proposing areas which schools need to improve on in implementing moral education in schools. Chapter six gives summary of the study, conclusions and recommendation. The key conclusion the study has made is that moral education is not properly being implemented in secondary schools in the catholic sponsored schools in Kitui central deanery. Finally the study recommends that there is need to mainstream moral education in both curriculum and co-curriculum activities.
An Analysis of mothers’ perceptions of their children from the perspective of Wojtyla’s concept of child as a gift
(Strathmore University, 2017) Maingi, Caroline Shisubili
In the African context, childbirth is highly valued and child bearing is perceived as a key element in social respect and hierarchy. This paper sought to investigate how mothers’ perceive their own children with regard to their socioeconomic conditions and find out the connection between socioeconomic factors and a mother’s appreciation of her child in the county of Nairobi, Kenya. Since great efforts are made to conceive a child, which manifests an awareness of the fact that to have a child is a gift, does a child still seem as a gift in the face of varying socioeconomic factors. The view of child as gift has significantly changed in modern society. In will further analyze a mother’s appreciation of her child in view of Wojtyla’s concept of person as a gift based on his phenomenological approach. The investigation utilized phenomenological methodology to form descriptive themes. Respondents were selected who self-identified as from three different socioeconomic backgrounds. These were young professional mothers, mothers from low income areas of Nairobi and mothers who have children with physical challenges in Nairobi city. Purposive sampling was used, employing maximum variation sampling method with a sample size of fifteen respondents which aims at capturing and describing the central theme. In-depth interviews were conducted using a set of questions that were applied in a flexible and individual manner. The data was interpreted using a 5 step method that included bracketing, delineating units of meaning, clustering themes, summarizing each interview and extracting general as well as unique themes and finally making a composite summary of the findings. While the results of the connection between a mother’s economic status and her appreciation of her child as a gift were highlighted, the findings revealed that despite the socioeconomic factors prevailing, mothers still considered their children as gift.
An Enquiry into afro hairstyle from the perspective of feminine identity
(Strathmore University, 2017) Ndekei, Brenda
Women from all societies around the world often feel the struggle of hair styling from time to time. However, not all hair is the same and some women encounter more challenges when it comes to styling their type of hair as well as pressure from the rest of society to conform to certain beauty standards that may not be suitable to them as persons and as women seeking to be more feminine in their own right. The issue of hair for women of African descent is particularly complex due to the history of the black race being enslaved and forced to imitate western standards, hair being among them, in order to fit in and adapt to a new world. The question arises of why so many black women feel unsure of how to deal with their natural hair and why black hair that is altered and "tamed" seems to be more acceptable to many societies around the world even in Africa. How these and other perceptions regarding natural afro hair shape a woman's feminine identity are investigated. This study on Strathmore University full time female staff and female evening masters’ students looks at whether there is a link between how women understand or develop their [sense of] feminine identity and how positively or negatively their natural hair is perceived in the workplace. The study uses Cormac Burke's theory of feminine identity to ground it in philosophical anthropology. A qualitative research methodology was employed in this descriptive study, questionnaires were distributed and focus group discussions were carried out among various black women from different categories in the university while themes derived from the research objectives and Burke's theory of feminine identity were utilized to analyze the information. It was found that feminine identity was understood to be a more non-material quality of womanhood rather than a physical one. It was also discovered that the perceptions (mostly positive) of afro hair in Strathmore University were different from organizations elsewhere while the effect this had on the women was to raise their confidence and dignity when their freedom of expression was supported and lower self-esteem when the freedom was denied.

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