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  THE DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF THE 2024 GEN Z PROTESTS IN KENYAN NEWSPAPERS

  (UoEm, 2026-06-18)

  Joy, Karambu

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  This study explored the discursive construction of the 2024 Gen Z protests in Kenya’s newspapers. The study was guided by the following three objectives: To investigate the discursive construction of the Gen Z protesters in the Daily Nation and The Standard; To assess the discursive construction of the law enforcement officers during the Gen Z protests in the Daily Nation and The Standard; To examine how the Daily Nation and The Standard discursively constructed the strategies used by Gen Z during the 2024 protests. Data analysis was conducted using two complementary theoretical frameworks: Ruth Wodak's Discourse Historical Approach (DHA) and Chong and Druckman's (2007) Framing Theory. The DHA was adopted because it provides analytical discursive strategies which enabled systematic analysis of how language constructed the social actors and the protest events. Framing Theory was employed because it explains how media texts select and emphasise certain aspects of reality to promote particular interpretations of events. A total of 62 texts were sampled from the Daily Nation and The Standard: 21 front-page news headlines, 13 editorials, and 28 news articles published in June 2024. This period was selected because it represents the peak of the protest activity. Both newspapers were selected because they command the widest readership in Kenya, with the Daily Nation at 35% and The Standard at 21% of the national readership, according to the State of Media Report 2023/2024 by the Media Council of Kenya. The findings revealed three systematic patterns. First, both newspapers overwhelmingly constructed the Gen Z protesters positively as revolutionaries, patriots, and representatives of the entire Kenyan nation. They were attributed qualities of peacefulness, civility, and bravery, and their actions were constitutionally mandated. This positive construction was reinforced through intertextual references to various global movements and laws positioning protesters as legitimate defenders of democratic order. Second, both newspapers consistently constructed law enforcement officers in a negative manner. Nominations escalated from neutral labels such as "police officers" to condemnatory terms such as "killer plainclothes police." They were constructed largely as brutal, and as violators of the constitution. Third, Gen Z's protest strategies were constructed as innovative, technologically sophisticated, and unprecedented. Digital platforms, the leaderless structure, and accountability tools such as the "Wall of Shame" website were framed as legitimate instruments of democratic participation superior to formal state accountability mechanisms. This study contributes to the disciplines of discourse studies, media studies, and political communication. The newspapers constructed the technological strategies as powerful tools that the youths can use to oversight the government, a role that is traditionally performed by Parliament. The framing of the protest as an in-group versus an out-group situation, has important implications in media studies in that grassroots groups as opposed to the elite, can attain newsworthiness. It was established that reference to the past global protests gave legitimacy to the 2024 protests. This implies that global occurrences have an influence on subsequent political actions.

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  A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF KENYAN DAILY NEWSPAPERS’ REPRESENTATION OF NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS CHEATING

  (UoEm, 2026-05-20)

  Othuon, Judith Akoth

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  Although there are considerable studies on examination cheating globally and in Kenya, there is limited focus on how the media discursively construct the phenomenon. The study explored Kenyan daily newspapers’ representation of national examinations cheating guided by the following objectives: to examine how the act of examination cheating is discursively constructed in Kenyan daily newspapers; to investigate how social actors in national examination cheating are discursively constructed in Kenyan daily newspaper; to evaluate how the measures against examination cheating are discursively constructed in Kenyan daily newspapers. Data was drawn from the Daily Nation and The Standard, Kenyan newspapers with the widest readership. Focus was given to the news and opinion articles, and their headlines. The study focused on the period between 2022 and 2024, a period that was characterized by the massive development in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which contributed to ease of cheating. It further concentrated on the months of November and December and a month post- result release, a period when there is usually wide coverage of examination issues. Sampling followed a cyclic and iterative procedure until discursive saturation was reached. The study was guided by Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) which is both a theory and a method. It further adopted Michel Foucault’s theory of disciplinary power. CDA was employed to make transparent linguistic and discursive strategies through which examination cheating and its aspects are constructed in newspapers’ discourse. Foucault’s theory of disciplinary power provided a broader sociological lens to explain how the discursive constructions relate to mechanisms of surveillance, normalization and punishment. This integration enhanced triangulation, making it possible to connect micro-level textual choices to macro-level structures of power. The analysis was further complemented by corpus tools; AntConc (Version 4.3.1) to aid in finding frequencies, salient lexical and grammatical patterns and SKELL Engine to further support the analysis of collocations. The findings reveal that the act of examination cheating is dominantly constructed as a crime rather than as a structural problem embedded within the education system. Through naming and reference, collocations, over wording, and metaphors, cheating is framed as a threat that must be battled, contained, and eradicated. Grammatical patterns such as modality, nominalization and grammatical processes foreground cheating act as deviance while backgrounding structural pressures such as high-stakes testing and inequality. Institutional actors are positioned as competent and morally committed guardians of national integrity. Non- institutional actors like students are labelled as cheats; teachers are represented as professional traitors; parents appear as facilitators; and barely named criminalized groups are constructed as cartels and syndicates. Institutional and elite voices dominate the discourse, while the perspectives of students, parents, and other non-elite actors are marginalized or silenced. Measures against national examination cheating are naturalized as inevitable, necessary and sufficient by constructing them as punitive and deterrent, security and surveillance operation, legally mandated, technological and reform-oriented. Examinations emerge as tools that render individuals visible, measurable, and correctable, while legitimizing expanded surveillance and punitive control. The study concludes that Kenyan newspapers do not merely report on cheating; they normalize institutional authority, reproduce their discourses and sustain them. This study offers insights into linguistic and discursive strategies used in examination cheating discourse, important to linguists. It also informs journalistic practices in reporting about examination cheating. It is hoped that it will contribute to education reforms, specifically on matters of assessment and evaluation.

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  SAFETY PREPAREDNESS OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EMBU EAST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

  (UoEm, 2026-06-18)

  Mugo, Kenneth Kivuti

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  School safety is a crucial part of the teaching-learning process because it gives pupils the chance to reach their full learning, development, and growth potential. This study sought to investigate the Embu East Sub-County's secondary schools' safety preparedness, in Embu County, Kenya, using a mixed methods research methodology. Finding out staff knowledge of school safety, identifying secondary school safety measures, identifying barriers they encounter in implementing school safety regulations, and examining teachers' perspectives of school safety were the specific goals of the study. Teachers, security personnel, and deputy principals from public secondary schools in Embu East SubCounty participated in the study. Data was gathered through surveys, interviews, and observations. To confirm the validity and dependability of the data gathering tools, a pilot research was carried out with five deputy principals, six teachers, and five security guards chosen from the target population. The study included a sample of 135 teachers, 44 security guards, and 44 deputy principals. The quantitative data schools was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, median, and standard deviation. The data was presented using tables, graphs, charts, frequencies, and percentages. Qualitative data were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis for emerging themes. The results reveal that while a majority of teachers (64%) reported some awareness of school safety, significant gaps remain in training and policy implementation. Only 6% of schools had installed the required safety equipment, and over 70% lacked customized safety policies. Key challenges included inadequate safety equipment (74%), lack of training (67%), and financial constraints. Teachers and deputy principals also expressed concerns over low safety preparedness and limited access to safety tools, highlighting the urgent need to enhance awareness, training, and infrastructure for school safety. Through raising awareness of the safety procedures, this study offers helpful insights into initiatives that may be made to enhance the level of safety preparedness in schools.

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  DETERMINANTS OF MALNUTRITION AMONG CHILDREN UNDER FIVE YEARS IN MBEERE NORTH IN EMBU COUNTY

  (UoEm, 2026-05-20)

  Muendi, Annah Mbithe

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  Malnutrition has remained a global public health issue in many developing countries with poor understanding of the sustaining factors of childhood malnutrition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of children under five years, assess the caregiver’s knowledge on child feeding and child care practices and determine the factors associated with child malnutrition in Mbeere North Sub-County, Embu County. This study adopted a cross-sectional study design. The sample size was 388 children selected from 330 households from December 2023 to January 2024. Two structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Anthropometric measurements such as height and weight were taken from each individual child to assess nutritional status of the children. Initial analysis involved converting the measurements into height for age (HAZ), weight for age (WAZ) and weight for height (WHZ) Z scores which were then compared with the World Health Organisation standard measurements to assess the nutritional status. Logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate factors associated with the various malnutrition indicators. Overally, the prevalence of malnutrition was 49.7% (95% CI: 44.8-55.1). Undernutrition and overnutrition were estimated at 40.5% (95% CI: 35.6-45.6) and 15.7% (95% CI: 11.3-20.3), respectively. Stunting, underweight, wasting, and overweight/obese prevalences were 30.4% (95% CI: 26.0-35.3), 14.4% (95% CI: 11.1-17.8), 13.7% (95% CI: 9.3-18.2), and 15.7% (95% CI: 11.3-20.3), respectively. Further, 3.9% (95% CI: 0.0-8.9) of the children were stunted, underweight and wasted, 6.7% (95% CI: 2.1-11.8) stunted and underweight, 3.6% (95% CI: 0.0-8.7) underweight and wasted, and 6.4% (95% CI: 1.8-11.5) stunted and overweight/obese. Data on caregiver’s knowledge on child nutrition and child care practices was assessed. The majority of caregivers (59.1%) indicated complementary feeding should begin at 24 months, and limited breast milk as the primary cause. The most common food introduced to the children was mushed food (41%). Only 36.3% of caregivers breastfed their children. Majority of the children (84.3%) had inadequate dietary diversity. The median number of meals given to children per day was 3 (range 0-8) with 57.7% having the accepted minimum meal frequency. Majority of the households (74.2%) were food insecure. Based on multivariable results, overall malnutrition prevalence differed by study sites with children in Evurore ward having higher likelihood of malnutrition compared to Nthawa (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.17–3.15) and child’s immunization status whereby partially immunized children were more likely to have malnutrition than fully immunized children (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.03 – 2.72). Overnutrition was predicted by child’s partial immunization status (AOR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.52–5.01), severe household food insecurity status (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.07–5.81) and the caregiver time for child food preparation (AOR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.12–0.74). Child’s age (24-47 months) (AOR = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.09–4.71), male gender (AOR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.28–4.54), low birthweight (AOR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.10–4.60), lack of anthelmintic drug administration (AOR = 4.74, 95% CI: 1.85–11.97) and sharing meals with family members (AOR = 10.04, 95% CI: 2.22–43.83) were associated with underweight. Predictors of overweight/obese included partial immunization status (AOR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.52–5.01), high birthweight (AOR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.09–1.10) and severe household food insecurity status (AOR = 2.49, 95% CI: 1.07–5.81). Stunting was associated with child’s food allocation practices, particularly sharing meals with family members (AOR = 10.04, 95% CI: 2.22–43.83). The high malnutrition rates are significant, as is the co-occurrence of undernutrition and overnutrition in the same context, suggesting that multiple determinants are at play in child nutrition in this context. This challenge requires extensive and specific interventions on multiple levels that can contribute to decreased malnutrition levels and improved health results for children in the study area

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  TRANSFER HYDROGENATION OF KETONES CATALYZED BY (PHENOXY)IMINO/AMINO NICKEL(II) COMPLEXES

  (UoEm, 2026-06-20)

  Wambui, James Kamau

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  Alcohols are important intermediates in pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, solvent industries, cosmetics, and fuels. Alcohols have traditionally been synthesized by methods like direct hydrogenation, the addition of water to alkenes, reduction of carbonyls using metal hydrides, hydrolysis of alkyl halides, and addition of Grignard reagent to carbonyls. However, these methods have not been effective in meeting the demand of alcohol. This is due to several drawbacks such as complex synthetic routes, most reagents being sensitive to moisture or air, poor selectivity, harsh reaction conditions, and expensive reagents. Catalytic Transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of ketones, which involves the reduction of ketones using hydrogen donors and a metal-based catalyst, is a better alternative route with high percentage enantiomeric excess (ee) and good percentage yields. CTH has been utilizing precious metal-based catalysts like Ir, Ru, Rh, and Pd. However, due to the harmfulness, expensiveness, and scarcity of these precious metals, the field of CTH is turning to non-precious first-row transition metals (TM). In this work, the phenolate ligands 2-[{(2-hydroxyethyl)-imino}methyl]phenol (TL1) and 2-[1-{2-(diethylamino)ethylimino}ethyl]phenol (TL2) were synthesized by condensation reactions between the appropriate aldehydes/ketones and the corresponding amines. Successive reduction of TL1 and TL2 with sodium borohydride resulted to formation of amino analogues 2-[{(2-hydroxyethyl)-amino}methyl]phenol (TL3) and 2-[1-{2-(diethylamino)ethylamino}ethyl]phenol (TL4), respectively. Treatment of ligands L1-TL4 with NiCl2 afforded complexes [Ni(TL1)Cl2] C1, [Ni(TL2)Cl2] C2, [Ni(TL3)Cl2] C3 and [Ni(TL4)Cl2] C4, respectively. These compounds were characterized using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, and MS. Upon activation with tBuOK, these complexes displayed high catalytic activities (up to 96% conversion) in transfer hydrogenation of ketones (THK) within 6 h at 100 °C. Notably, the imine-based complexes (C1 and C2) displayed higher activity (69.50% and 69.93% conversions, respectively) compared to the amine analogues (C3 and C4) (63.97% and 62.66% conversions, respectively) indicating the influence of electronic effect in catalytic activity. More importantly, the nature of base, hydrogen donor and substrate employed played an essential role in the catalytic performance of these complexes.

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