"Socio-Economic Factors in the Development and Diffusion of New Wood/Charcoal Stoves: Some Theoretical and Methodological Considerations"

By Mauri Yambo

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that a good number of scientists working on energy do recognize, perhaps increasingly, that social factors play a crucial role in any successful development and diffusion of new wood/charcoal stoves. Consequently, if there is one major stumbling block to the development and diffusion of new stoves, it is likely to be not so much the failure to acknowledge the significance of socio-economic factors in the endeavour, as the apparent inability to bridge the gap between theory and practice. In this paper, some suggestions are made on how the said gap can be bridged sufficiently to make a difference in both the substance and style of prototype development. In addition, the theoretical underpinnings of technology development and diffusion are briefly discussed.

It is argued that a major prerequisite for the development of a new stove is the creation of an organic linkage between potential users and the Research and Development (R&D) “labs” involved in designing and field-testing the prototypes; and between the “labs” and petty manufacturers. It is argued, furthermore, that the mass media, particularly the radio, and other interpersonal contacts offer greater possibilities than extension agents per se for the diffusion both of the message about a new technology and of the technology itself. It is recognized that advertising and publicity are no substitute for actual adoption. For it to stand any good chance of adoption, a new stove must be easily available, affordable and responsive to the changing needs and demands of the users.


[Published in African Journal of Sociology, Vol. II, No. 2, November 1982, pp. 159-185]

CTO 202: Domestic Tuourism -- Course Outline

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

FACULTY OF ARTS

CSO 202: DOMESTIC TOURISM

LECTURER: Prof. Mauri Yambo SEMESTER: January-April 2007


COURSE OUTLINE


I. INTRODUCTION

I.1. BACKGROUND TO DOMESTIC TOURISM AROUND THE WORLD, AND MORE SPECIFICALLY IN KENYA

– Domestic Tourism around the World
– Domestic Tourism in Kenya.

I.2. KEY CONCEPTS

– Key Concepts: Cultural Lag, Destination Tourism, Diffusion of Innovation, Domestic Tourism, Domestic Traveller, Excursionist, Hotel Bed-Nights, Inbound Tourism, Internal Tourism, Leisure, Migration, National Tourism, Outbound Tourism, Region, Social Change, Social Mobility, Social Overhead Capital (SOC) as opposed to Directly Productive Activities (DPA), Tourism Infrastructure, Tourist Profile Statistics, Tourism “Suprastructure”, Visitor and Visitor Days.


II. KENYA’S NATIONAL POLICY ON DOMESTIC TOURISM

– Review of Selected Policy Documents
– Matching Policy with Action.


III. KEY PLAYERS IN KENYA’S DOMESTIC TOURISM TODAY

– The national government and related parastatals
– City Councils and County Councils
– Individual and Group Wildlife sanctuaries
– NGOs
– Private companies and organizations.


IV. MAPPING DOMESTIC TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE, ATTRACTIONS AND FACILITIES

– Physical Infrastructure
– Environmental and Natural Resources
– Transportation and Communications Infrastructure
– The variety of flora and fauna in Kenya (see Lonely Planet’s East Africa)


V. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS AND RECREATION/LEISURE PATTERNS IN KENYA

– National holidays in Kenya, compared to other countries
– Kenya’s tourism and sports calendar: Important tourism- and sports-related dates in year
– Other Annual Events: such as Book Fair, International Trade Show, Nairobi Homes Exhibition
– The holiday habits of Kenyans (including VFR), in comparative perspective

VI. DOMESTIC TOURISM TRADE SECTORS AND SELECTED STATISTICS AND INDICATORS

VI.1. OVERVIEW OF DOMESTIC TOURISM TRADE SECTORS

– Transportation
– Travel Trade
– Accommodation and Catering
– Tourist Attractions [See Narratives below]
– Entertainment [See Narratives below]
– Retail Shopping.

VI.2. SELECTED DOMESTIC TOURISM STATISTICS

– Types and uses of domestic tourism statistics
– Hotel bed-nights occupied in recent years, by country of residence (Compare Kenyans with other nationals; compute Kenyans’ % share of total bed-nights)
– Hotel bed-nights occupied by zone of country in recent years
– Number of visitors to National Parks, Game Reserves, Museums and Snake Park and Sites
– Wildlife population
– Rural-Urban networks and migration patterns.


VII. SELECTED THEORIES PERTINENT TO DOMESTIC TOURISM

– Diffusion/Communication of Innovation Theory
– Transportation/Technological Theory of Tourism
– Theory of Leisure
– Social Change and Social Mobility
– Theory of Externalities with Particular Reference to Domestic Tourism.


VIII. THE MARKETING, MANAGEMENT AND PROVISION OF DOMESTIC TOURISM ATTRACTIONS AND SERVICES: FOCUSING ON SELECTED INSTITUTIONS AND NARRATIVES.

VIII.1.Case Descriptions of Selected Organizations:
– Ministry of Tourism
– Kenya Wildlife Service
– Kenya Tourism Board
– Tourism Trust Fund.

VIII.2.Selected Narratives of Domestic Tourism Attractions and Experiences:
– Rupi Mangat: “Travel” [Articles in Saturday Nation]
– John Fox: “Going Places” [Articles in Sunday Nation]
– Gastro D’Nom: “Eating Out” [Articles in Saturday Nation]
– Edward Rodwell’s: Coast Causerie [Selected Articles Compiled into a Book. Articles used to appear weekly in the East African Standard]
– KWS: “Up and About” [a TV programme focusing on domestic tourism attractions]


IX. URBAN, RURAL AND COASTAL CONTEXTS OF DOMESTIC TOURISM

– The context of urban tourism
– The urban experience of domestic tourists
– The positive and negative impacts of urban tourism
– The context of rural tourism
– The rural experience of domestic tourists
– The positive and negative impacts of rural tourism
– The context of coastal and resort tourism
– The coastal and resort experience of domestic tourists
– The positive and negative impacts of coastal and resort tourism.



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READING LIST

Cooper, Chris, John Fletcher, David Gilbert and Stephen Wanhill. 1998. Tourism: Principles
and Practice. Second Edition. Harlow: Addison Wiley Longman
Davidson Rob. 1993. Tourism. Second Edition. Harlow: Addison Wiley Longman.
D’Nom, Gastro, “Eating Out” [Weekly Articles in Saturday Nation]
Finlay, Hugh and Geoff Crowther. 1997. East Africa. 4th Edition. Hawthorn: Lonely Planet
Foster, Douglas. 19??. Travel and Tourism Management. Harlow: Addison Wiley Longman.
Fox, John “Going Places” [Weekly Articles in Sunday Nation]
Government of Kenya. 2003. Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation, 2003-2007. Nairobi: n.p.
Kenya Tourism Board website [visit this website]
Lickorish, Leonard J. and Carson L. Jenkins. 1997. An Introduction to Tourism. Melbourne: Reed Educational and Professional Publishing.
Mangat, Rupi “Travel” [Weekly Articles in Saturday Nation]
Page, Stephen J., Paul Brunt, Graham Busby and Jo Connell. 2001. Tourism: A Modern
Synthesis. London: Thomson [Read, in particular, pp. 18-27, and 333-383]
Peace, Douglas. 1987. Tourism Today: A Geographical Analysis. New York: Longman Scientific and Technical, with John Wiley & Sons [See Chapter 1: Tourism Models; Chapter 4: Intra-national travel patterns; Chapter 6: Domestic tourist flows; Chapter 8: The national and regional structure of tourism; and Chapter 10: Coastal resorts and urban areas]
Republic of Kenya. 1994. Economic Survey 1994. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 1997. Development Plan, 1997-2001. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2003. Statistical Abstracts 2003. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2004. Statistical Abstracts 2004. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2005. Statistical Abstract 2005. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2004. Economic Survey 2004. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2005. Economic Survey 2005. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Republic of Kenya. 2006. Economic Survey 2006. Nairobi: Government Printer.
Roberts, Kenneth. 1970. Leisure. London: Longman Group
Rodwell, Edward. 19??. Coast Causerie. Nairobi: ??
Shepherd, Rebecca, ed. 1999. Tourism: Principles and Practices. LongmanTravel News & L

Nominating the ODM-K Presidential Candidate: 50% Plus One, 'Simple Majority', or Plurality:

By Mauri Yambo

In to-day's Daily Nation (February 12, 2007), it is reported that a debate has flared up within ODM-K concerning the number of delegate-votes a candidate will have to garner to win ODM-K's presidential nomination. The first point to remind ourselves is that "50% plus one" and "simple majority" mean one and the same thing. That is, 50% + 1 (which is different from 50% + 1%, except when one is talking of exactly 100 votes) is precisely where simple majority begins. It is the minimum number required to claim majority support. The upper end of simple majority -- at which one begins to talk of a landslide -- is a matter of some conjecture; but a winner is certainly entitled to claim a landslide when his or her votes equal or surpass 66.7%. The person who merely gets the highest number of votes among three or more contestants can only claim victory based on a "plurality" (not the majority) of the votes cast.

In the years since independence, one has occasionally heard of "majority tribes". The truth of the matter is that there can be only one majority -- though such a one can be created through a coalition. There is another truth, ignorance of which has deluded some political leaders with strong ethnic bases into thinking that their respective ethnic groups somehow represent the majority of Kenyan voters. No single ethnic group in Kenya is large enought to be the majority. More importantly, we do not have amidst us any two or three ethnic groups, however you mix and match them, which add up to the majority of the citizenry.

I do not know what ODM-K leaders agreed on at the relevantNaivasha meeting. Raila is reported to believe that they agreed on 50%+1. Kalonzo claims that they agreed on a plurality. Some slants in the story suggest that they agreed on a simple majority. Mutula Kilonzo seems to agree with Raila, and advises aspirants to read the implications of a simple majority (or 50% +1)correctly and hit the campaign trail accordingly.

What I know is that it would be dangerous and eventually self-defeating for any aspirant to seek victory within ODM-K simply on the basis of a plurality. How would a flag-bearer with less than the majority of the party's support (as reflected in the actual pattern of delegate-voting) -- say 25%, or even 49% -- galvanize and energize the party toward electoral victory in December 2007? How are we to imagine that those turned off by his/her narrow margin of victory would vote in December?

It may be difficult for anyone to win majority votes in the first ballot. So I expect a lot of horse-trading when the delegates meet to annoint one of the declared candidates. Woe betide the candidate whose supporting delegates cannot network or articulate his/her case -- when such horse-trading begins.

There will probably be two to five voting sessions before the winner is eventually declared. Contingency measures should be agreed upon and established ahead of time to accommodate this possibility. And I would suggest that once someone gains 50% +1, the losing candidates should have the opportunity to "offer" their votes to the actual winner. This would serve as the first move to rally the entire party behind the declared winner.

To argue that the process winning the majority of delegates would be exhausting to the candidates is in the end to look for excuses to avoid the popular mandate. It is to reveal a certain fear of real Democracy in practice. Better to expend requisite energy in order to get the party's unequevocal support behind one, than to conserve energy only to wage a losing war in December.

Woven Air

By Mauri Yambo

Intricately woven air
Neath the art.
Season’s fare, it so so happens.
Neath ’er summer art!
’Er vase clawing in the sun shine.

Gotta C ’er – all the dime!
All this is heady stuff,
Posing me to zing.
Is this my lady happiness?

Making my mind
MIGs choy and wonder!
Making my days with ’er
To be days I alone halve.

Yet I, an idolater,
Am the one beside, besides,
The picturesque.
I, the picture-perfect Esquire!

Com-bounding abstraction
With ethnic ascent.
Fearful of the thunder
And not the lightEning!

Of sky and not. Babyface.

My ajenda was never these. Nor this.
Never to pool people but to cause rafter.
Heavy-duty pun!

Never the thimble-thick robber baron!

Never what you may call it
What you wan.
Chuckling pigness and noise.

Sings like a pad.
Dances with (owes it all to) the Coverment.
The people’s, Mo(n)rov(i)a.

Every society has a potter and a king-
Maker. Every society has a jief –
And, lo and behold, a thief!
And the ones who will leaf
After the others are cone.

After the conmen have cone!

Weather, too, pools us. Here the sun.
There’s heavy metal rain.
A batchwork of brown, green
And bluegrass. Everywhere she looks.
There, too, pink pantomime.

But not as kalcha which bulls us
Altogether. And yet it looks
Sat on and short of breath.
Stores up what we remember.
And that which we behave.
What we ’ave to ’ave and B!

After the conmen have corn!

Ethiopian jam and Athenian grace,
Are both once!

All the hills are to the East,
There are no hills Westward!
All the redness is to the East,
There is no blue there!

Sad songs stream down the vast plains,
Where lion’s not always king.

Still,
Intricately woven air
Neath the art.
Season’s fare, it so so happens.
Neath ’er summer art!

And here is a confession from me:
I’m no longer as good as I am
Yet to be!

That you called it even
In my sleep,
What was in my name, Love?

What was in thy voice,
What was in that air,
That I dreamt in Degnigala?