http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/5613 Tue, 16 Jun 2026 21:33:39 GMT 2026-06-16T21:33:39Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/7042 Use of Geo-Information Technologies in Predicting Urban Growth Trends; an Integrated Simulation Approach: Gichuki, Ivy Njeri Many urban areas exhibit different growth patterns spanning from linear development, transit-oriented development, concentric zonal development to multi-nuclei development patterns. In today’s world, main urban areas present themselves as Central Business Districts (CBDs), that double up as mixed use commercial and residential areas, which serve majority of the population who live in and around them. Ideally, the CBD sites – for most cities around the world, were identified before any development took place, making it easier for the local authorities, urban planners and surveyors to demarcate and plan for sustainable development. Most, if not all jobs, are located in these urban areas, making these employment areas, urban growth hotspots. Decentralization of the traditional city was not only paramount for the survival of the CBD, but also necessary for creating new urban areas, which were relatively smaller than the CBD and played a significant role in shaping the urban spatial structure. The presence of multiple urban areas in a region contributes to, strengthening national competitiveness, social cohesion, service delivery, socio-economic integration and balanced regional development. When there is a shift from functional specialization of the CBD to economic specialization of the surrounding urban areas, this brings about changes in the economic processes and evolution of transport networks which are the foundation of urban growth and expansion, as in the case of Rhine Main Region in Germany. In Kenya, most of the known urban areas, like Limuru Town, emerged as traditional markets in the 1900’s and grew to modern urban areas and municipalities that we see today. However, urban growth has been accompanied by rapid land use changes and sporicidal growth of informal settlements. As a result, urban areas growing in Limuru Central Ward, are deprived of basic infrastructure, land use harmonization and spatial synergies. This study therefore attempts to explore the use of GIS and Remote sensing technologies in observing past and present urban growth trends, which should be done prior to predicting sustainable urban planning. The findings from this study are expected to contribute to the knowledge of simulating how urban centres can be planned in the present to cater for the future spatial and infrastructural needs of the growing urban population. Predicting urban growth trends introduces more practical ways of spatial planning and policy development in developing countries, through spatial analysis and modelling using GIS and Remote Sensing technologies. As a result, the study has uncovered that some of the factors that have affected the rate of urbanization in Limuru Central Ward include, slope and elevation, existing clustered urban development in specific areas especially near Limuru Town or along the existing transport network, and availability of infrastructure especially the road network which plays a key role in determining how accessible urban areas are in the study area. The impact of urbanization in Limuru Central Ward between 1999 and 2019 has been identified as; significant decrease in land occupied by bare soil and vegetation, rapid land use changes to accommodate more built-up spaces, sporadically growth of clustered development or dense built-up areas, and the need to expand infrastructure in newly developed areas to promote accessibility. Prediction of urban development in the study area between 2020 and 2050, shows that in the future, the urban footprint is likely to increase near existing urban areas, especially along the transport networks and near existing built-up areas such as schools. The urban footprint may likely adopt a mix of urban growth models – such us the multi nuclei and sector models, however, majority of the urban areas may most likely be located within proximity to the transport network – transport-oriented development. Master of Science in Geospatial Information Systems and Remote Sensing Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/7042 2026-05-28T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6849 Portfolio Diversification and Firm Value of Investment Companies Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange Kamuru, Joan Wangechi The effective management of firms is dependent on how well investment decisions are made to enhance the value of firms. As such the research sought to investigate how portfolio diversification affects firm value of investment firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Variables used to measure portfolio diversification were bonds, equity securities, and real estate investments, whereas firm value was the dependent variable and firm size, the moderating variable. The modern portfolio theory, resource-based view and the agency theory provided the theoretical framework on which the study was based. Both a longitudinal study technique and a quantitative research design were used. From 2013 to 2022, financial information from five investment companies—Centum Investment Co Plc, Home Afrika Ltd, Kurwitu Ventures Ltd, Olympia Capital Holdings Ltd, and Trans-Century Plc—listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was used. Normality, homoscedasticity, auto-correlation, multicollinearity, stationarity, and linearity were the diagnostic tests that were performed. These diagnostic tests were designed to ensure the robustness of the panel data model. Excel 2016 was used to enter the data, which was then exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. The variables of interest's mean, mode, median, variance, standard deviation, kurtosis, skewness, minimum, and maximum were all included in descriptive statistics. All of the independent factors, including the moderating variable, showed a positive association with the dependent variable, according to the correlation matrix analysis. A panel regression model with fixed effects was used. The impact of investing in bonds and equity securities on firm value was negligible. Firm value was significantly impacted by real estate investments, suggesting that a unit rise in the value of real estate assets resulted in a unit increase in company value. It was discovered that firm size had a considerable impact; in other words, there was an inverse relationship between firm size and firm value, meaning that for every unit increase in firm size, the firm value decreased by -1.2877 units. The findings therefore led to different conclusions regarding the study variables. Bonds investments’ insignificant effect on firm value implied that investment firms should be cautious when investing in bonds due to interest rates and maturity sensitivity. Other assets classes are more ideal than equity securities investments, if investments firms want to improve their firm’s value. Real estate had significant effect on firm value, and therefore investment companies in Kenya can maximize their firms’ value through successful real estate investments. Nonetheless, large firms should be cautious as firm size weakens any positive relationship between portfolio diversification and firm value. Several recommendations were made. Investment companies should adopt investment strategies that are geared towards investment in real estate assets. Investors and investment companies should consider interest volatility and the maturity period of bonds when investing in bonds. The study’s limitations included need to apply caution and high precision as secondary data used which is prone to errors of commission and omission. The study also used data from 2020 and 2021, periods when there was the Coronavirus pandemic, which ultimately affected investment operations. Future research should focus on capturing data from all investment firm in Kenya, to enhance generalizability of data. Both primary and secondary data should be used in future studies to ensure that all relevant data is collected and analyze. Keywords; Investment Companies, Bonds, Real Estate, Equity Securities, Bonds, Firm Value, Firm Size Master of Science in Finance and Accounting Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6849 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6848 Green Supply Chain Management Practices and Performance of Beverage Manufacturing Industry in Kenya Bett, Monicah Jelimo The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of GSCM practices on the performance of beverage manufacturing industry in Kenya. Green supply chain management practices have been an increasing interest in the green aspects of purchasing and supplier relations as a business issue. GSCM practices have attracted a growing and compelling interest among beverage manufacturing industry in Kenya due to pressure from different stakeholders including government regulators such as KEBS, NEMA; local and foreign clients; competitors; neighboring communities; NGOs; media; investors, and employees. The motivations for GSCM practices are wide-ranging and heterogeneous. They include the desire to reduce the risk of environmental hazards in the supply chain, fear of adverse publicity of non-compliance with associated government penalties, contribution towards sustainability and to demonstrate an image of an environmentally responsible corporate. Although green issues are globally viewed as the pedal for economic, social, and environmental reasons, they have not been fully incorporated into supply chains in developing countries. Other reports are based on case studies and therefore, their findings cannot be used to make general conclusions about GSCM practices and beverage manufacturing industry performance. This research problem was studied through the use of a descriptive research design. The specific objectives of the study were; to establish the influence of internal environmental management, green purchasing, eco-design, and reverse logistics on the performance of beverage manufacturing industry in Kenya. The study target population was the beverage manufacturing industry in Kenya focused on the 181 beverage companies registered under KAM 2020 directory where a sample of 64 companies was identified. Questionnaires were the major instrument for data collection. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study found that internal environmental management, green purchasing, eco-design and environmentally-oriented reverse logistics and performance of beverage manufacturing industry are positively and significant related. The study concluded that internal environmental management and performance of beverage manufacturing industry are positively and significant related. To enhance firms’ performance, it is imperative for manufacturing firms to invest heavily in internal environmental management with respect to green supply chain management practices. The study concluded that an increase in the practice of green manufacturing system, purchasing energy saving equipment’s by the company, purchasing products that have been stamped by reliable eco-labels, cooperating with suppliers to ensure standard packaging and allowing products back from consumers positively influences the performance of beverage firms. The study concluded that improved performance was attributed to eco-design practices such as: production processes designed to reduce wastes and ensure water conservations; enhancing full capacity utilization; reduction of hazardous wastes during the production process; product eco-design and; cleaner production techniques. The study recommends that full commitment of top management should be understood, communicated, implemented and maintained at all levels in the organization in order to improve organization process efficiency. The government through the ministry of environment recently banned use of polythene bags across the country. It is therefore recommended that the beverage processing firms back this initiative by reducing polythene usage in their packaging and other supply chain processes. The manufacturing firms ought to show their commitment towards having a greener environment by putting measures that encourage environmentally oriented reverse logistics. Master of Science in Procurement and Logistics Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6848 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6846 Capital Structure, Dividend Policy and Financial Performance of Agricultural Companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya Kariuki, Beth Wambura The choice, whether equity or debt financing, has led to an ongoing debate for the most effective capital structure. The study aimed to examine the capital structure and financial performance of agricultural firms listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange using dividend policy as the moderator. Capital structure, the independent variable, was assessed through measures such as debt, share capital, and retained earnings. Financial performance, the dependent variable, was evaluated using return on equity (ROE). The study relied on secondary data drawn from six agricultural firms listed on the NSE over the period from 2013 to 2022. Data analysis was conducted using R-Programming to explore the connections among the key variables. The moderating effect of dividend policy was tested using the stepwise regression technique by employing a Three-step approach by Baron and Kenny (1986). Finally, the study used the bootstrapping method to approximate the panel regression model owing to the presence of normality problem. The results of the study revealed that 21% and 23% of the changes in the dependent variable can be well explained by the predictor variables without moderating variable and with moderating variable respectively. From the study, Debt was found to have a negative insignificant effect on ROE. Share Capital exhibited a negative and significant effect on ROE and Retained Earnings showed a positive and significant effect on ROE. The moderating variable, dividend decisions have no significant effect on the relationship between capital structure and ROE. This study recommends that agricultural firm management should utilize Retained Earnings, which is also the cheapest source of capital and most convenient. Master of Science in Finance and Accounting Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://localhost/xmlui/handle/123456789/6846 2025-12-01T00:00:00Z