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The purpose of this paper is to examine the access and use of the institutional repository (IR) among academic staff at Egerton University.

The paper provides a description of the building and development of the IR at the Egerton university and describes expected benefits of the repository to the University and relevant stakeholders. A survey was conducted among 84 academic staff with an aim of examining their levels of awareness on the existence of the IR at the Egerton University and assess their access and use. Through a structured questionnaire both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.

The study revealed that majority of the academic staff at the Egerton University are still not aware of the existence of the IR. Staff also faced challenges in accessing and using the content available. The paper provided suggestions on how best to enhance the access and utilization of the IRs among the academic staff.

From a practical point of view, the paper provides implications on the access and use of IRs by the academic staff. The paper points out some challenges faced by this group of users which other academic institutions may try to solve in their respective contexts.

Findings and discussions provided in the paper will pave way to solving the challenges faced in access and use of IR by the academic staff at the Egerton University.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors influencing adoption of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) into the agro-pastoral farming systems aiming at improving livelihoods.

The paper is based upon the diffusion theory which is linked to the random utility theory. A survey of 205 agro-pastoral households obtained through multistage sampling technique was used. Factors influencing adoption of AIVs were estimated using a logit model.

Findings indicate that the acreage under AIVs was still very low compared to other crop enterprises with the most common types of AIVs grown being Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus spp., Cucurbita maxima, Vigna unguiculata, Basella alba and Cleome gynandra. Factors influencing adoption were found to be gender, age, farm size, education level, off-farm income and number of visits to extension officer.

Limitations include reliance on respondents’ willingness to provide correct information.

This paper adds value in its contribution to literature on diversifying agro-pastoral livelihoods through production of AIVs for income and food security.

The information environment of a given society currently revolves around the ability to use and manipulate information technologies. This paper reviews the trend of information technology (IT) applications in East Africa government‐owned university libraries for the ten years 1987‐1997. By 1997, East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) had only eight government‐owned university libraries. The trend of IT applications in those libraries was surveyed using a questionnaire and review of available literature. It was revealed that the extent of IT applications in those libraries from 1987‐1997 was very limited. By 1997, only one government‐owned university library in East Africa had automated its library catalogue and books circulation control. Financial resources and lack of trained manpower in IT remained the most critical obstacles in the application of information technology in East Africa government‐owned university libraries.

The purpose of this study is to assess the users' needs and expectations on information services provided in libraries, in four public universities from the western region of Kenya. The study explores the extent to which the libraries address users' needs and expectations examining the challenges being encountered, remedies and best practices put in place to mitigate the challenges. The level of users satisfaction towards the information services provided is also examined.

Structured questionnaires were distributed among undergraduates (384) and lecturers (86), where 342 were successfully filled and returned, giving a response rate of 73%. The study interviewed ten library staff revealing their views in addressing users' needs and expectations in respective libraries. Collected data were analysed descriptively using statistical methods and presented in figures and tables. Qualitative data were analysed in narrative form.

Majority of users had a positive perception towards the library, while others indicated that their needs were yet to be meet. The study noted the poor state of affair with inadequacies in information materials infrastructure, dwindling budget, facilities and unskilled personnel. The study recommended the need for additional library budget to facilitate acquisition of additional and up-to-date information resources and facilities.

The concept of user needs and expectations has been widely discussed in developed countries. Identifying and understanding users’ requirements in the context of public libraries in developing countries would start up constructive trends towards building useable collections.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the inability to access affordable credit in Kenya which hinders many women entrepreneurs from either starting their own or expanding existing enterprises and capital base. The emergence of table banking groups attempts to fill the existing credit gap.

A cross-sectional survey involving 225 randomly selected women entrepreneurs who participate in table banking groups within Nakuru Municipality was conducted. Data collection comprised a questionnaire whose reliability coefficient was 0.83 at 0.05 confidence level.

Results indicated that a majority women entrepreneurs aged between 20 and 60 years with 71 per cent of them married. Further, 44 per cent had attained secondary-level education, while no illiterate entrepreneurs participated in the study. A positive increase in the number of employees, after members participated in table banking groups, was realized. Credit received from table banking influenced changes in the size of enterprises.

The study shows that availability, affordability and accessibility of credit from table banking groups led to positive growth of women-owned enterprises.

The purpose of this article is to report findings on the perceptions of quality of educational facilities in Kenyan public universities, and the implications for teaching/learning, and the learning environment.

The study adopted an exploratory descriptive design. A total of 332 and 107 undergraduate students and academic staff respectively from five public universities were randomly selected to participate in the study. The questionnaire was used for data collection.

The quality of the library, online resources and lecture facilities provided by Kenyan public universities did not meet quality measures of adequacy. They were unable to support the desired educational programmes effectively and facilitate the development of learning environments that support students and teachers in achieving their goals. The facilities were the antithesis of healthy and secure facilities that can provide a stimulating/inspirational setting for the users, critical measures of quality facilities.

The study investigated the quality of learning resources from the perspectives of students and academic staff. Other stakeholders could have given additional perspectives not reported here.

Perceptions of quality of facilities indicated in this study show the need for university managers to focus on the improvement of the same if the quality of learning and learning environment were to be improved.

Kenya's public universities can only develop the right calibre of manpower to meet the country's future needs by providing physical and other facilities that promote rigorous scholarship.

Improvement in quality of educational facilities is important for all interested in enhancing student learning and learning environment anywhere.

Land is an emotive issue for women in Kenya, majority of who still suffer the consequences of not having access to land, leading to economic insecurity. This paper aims at examining the effects of women access to land on household nutritional outcomes among smallholder farmers in Kenya.

The study uses primary data collected from a sample of 384 small-scale women farmers selected using multi-stage sampling technique. For data analysis, household nutritional outcomes were measured using Households Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) and Household Hunger Scale Scores (HHS). Stratification multilevel and matching-smoothing approach that controls for pre-treatment heterogeneity bias and treatment effect heterogeneity bias was used in estimating heterogeneous effects of women access to land.

The analysis reveals that women access to land has a significant positive effect on household nutritional outcomes. All households across all propensity scores strata benefited significantly but differently from women access to land in terms of nutritional outcomes.

Econometrically, propensity matching technique used in computing heterogeneity effects captures selection bias due to observable characteristics but it fails to capture selection bias due to unobservable factors. However, robust strategies were employed to ensure minimal estimation bias.

The paper provides insights on the determinants of women access to land and the influence women access to land has on household nutritional outcomes. In addition, by employing one of the conventional impact evaluation techniques, the paper contributes to knowledge by taking into accounts the heterogeneity in the effects of women access to land on household nutritional outcomes.

Understanding farmers’ perceptions of how the climate is changing is vital to anticipating its impacts. Farmers are known to take appropriate steps to adapt only when they perceive change to be taking place. This study aims to analyse how African indigenous vegetable (AIV) farmers perceive climate change in three different agro-climatic zones (ACZs) in Kenya, identify the main differences in historical seasonal and annual rainfall and temperature trends between the zones, discuss differences in farmers’ perceptions and historical trends and analyse the impact of these perceived changes and trends on yields, weeds, pests and disease infestation of AIVs.

Data collection was undertaken in focus group discussions (FGD) (N = 211) and during interviews with individual farmers (N = 269). The Mann–Kendall test and regression were applied for trend analysis of time series data (1980-2014). Analysis of variance and least significant difference were used to test for differences in mean rainfall data, while a chi-square test examined the association between farmer perceptions and ACZs. Coefficient of variation expressed as a percentage was used to show variability in mean annual and seasonal rainfall between the zones.

Farmers perceived that higher temperatures, decreased rainfall, late onset and early retreat of rain, erratic rainfall patterns and frequent dry spells were increasing the incidences of droughts and floods. The chi-square results showed a significant relationship between some of these perceptions and ACZs. Meteorological data provided some evidence to support farmers’ perceptions of changing rainfall. No trend was detected in mean annual rainfall, but a significant increase was recorded in the semi-humid zone. A decreasing maximum temperature was noted in the semi-humid zone, but otherwise, an overall increase was detected. There were highly significant differences in mean annual rainfall between the zones. Farmers perceived reduced yields and changes in pest infestation and diseases in some AIVs to be prevalent in the dry season. This study’s findings provide a basis for local and timely institutional changes, which could certainly help in reducing the adverse effects of climate change.

This is an original research paper and the historical trends, farmers’ perceptions and effects of climate change on AIV production documented in this paper may also be representative of other ACZs in Kenya.

The application of global indices of nutrition and food sustainability in public health and the improvement of product profiles has facilitated effective actions that increase food security. In the research reported here we develop index measurements further so that they can be applied to food categories and be used by food processors and manufacturers for specific food supply chains. This research considers how they can be used to assess the sustainability of supply chain operations by stimulating more incisive food loss and waste reduction planning. The research demonstrates how an index driven approach focussed on improving both nutritional delivery and reducing food waste will result in improved food security and sustainability. Nutritional improvements are focussed on protein supply and reduction of food waste on supply chain losses and the methods are tested using the food systems of Kenya and India where the current research is being deployed. Innovative practices will emerge when nutritional improvement and waste reduction actions demonstrate market success, and this will result in the co-development of food manufacturing infrastructure and innovation programmes. The use of established indices of sustainability and security enable comparisons that encourage knowledge transfer and the establishment of cross-functional indices that quantify national food nutrition, security and sustainability. The research presented in this initial study is focussed on applying these indices to specific food supply chains for food processors and manufacturers.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD) as important and unique collections that facilitate open access.

The paper presents a brief introduction of the importance of ETD as materials for open access. This is with emphasis on the Kenya Information Preservation Society (KIPS) project which has, since 1993, been digitizing theses from a number of participating institutions across the country. This paper relies heavily on literature derived from existing documentation, online searches and website exploration, and the KIPS's union list of theses and dissertations CD‐ROM. A number of contracted employees (scanning and input) were also interviewed in order to provide statistics about the contributing institutions. Findings – The paper finds that the necessity of showcasing the intellectual research of higher education institutions within Kenya is reason enough to justify making the move towards creating electronic thesis services. The benefits making ETD available outweighs that of print‐only thesis provision due to the potential for enormous dissemination and open access. Research limitations/implications –ETD is a renowned research area for consideration. Librarians should be engaged in digitization of electronic collections that will provide desirable services to end users. Such approaches boost the knowledge economy of any country.

Evidence cited from the strengths of KIPS indicates that its major objective was to compile a national comprehensive database of research on Kenya, and by Kenyans. From available statistics, theses undertaken at postgraduate university levels meet the needs of Kenyan scholars. Originality/value – This paper attempts to give insights for emulating the ETD initiative by KIPS as a way to showcase the unique materials of open access, thereby making them relevant for the modern day library.