Francis Mwangi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Francis Mwangi

European Journal of Sport Sciences

Sports participation is hailed as one of the effective ways of nurturing positive character among... more Sports participation is hailed as one of the effective ways of nurturing positive character among the youth. However, some studies have also indicated that sports may lead to undesirable behavior when conducted under certain uncontrolled conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of selected contextual factors on character changes related to sports participation among secondary school students. The study focused on level of sports participation, gender, age, type of sport, school category, school status, school type, and class level of students as independent variables with potential to influence character changes related to sports participation. A Quasi-experimental research design was utilized, with the dependent variable of character traits assessed at the pre and post three months competitive games season. Purposive sampling was used to select 336 student-athletes from 24 (9.3%) of secondary schools in Nairobi city county. A close-ended questionnaire on ch...

Journal of Human Kinetics, 2022

Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to successful performance in academics, man... more Mental toughness is a psychological construct related to successful performance in academics, management, and sports among other sectors. However, studies on the determinants of mental toughness with respect to different human endeavours have remained inconclusive. This study explored mental toughness characteristics of male university athletes in selected sports in relation to contextual factors of athletes’ age, playing experience, year of study, and the type of sport. The Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48) was used to collect data from male university athletes (n = 140). Results of this study showed significant difference in the following components of MT: lower scores in challenge (p = .015), emotional control (p = .005), and life control (p = .002) among athletes with shorter playing experience, and higher scores in life control (p < .001), emotional control (p = .021), and confidence in abilities (p = .009) in handball as compared to soccer players. Soccer players had s...

Journal of physical education and sport, 2018

Sport confidence is a critical mental attribute that influences sport performance. Research on so... more Sport confidence is a critical mental attribute that influences sport performance. Research on sources of sport confidence among athletes is largely inconclusive. This study postulated that the sources of sport confidence among the athletes are not mediated by selected contextual demographic factors such as gender, level of study, type of sport and playing experience. A cross-sectional research design was used to examined the sources of sport confidence among randomly selected university athletes (n =183). Data were collected using the Sources of Sport Confidence Questionnaire as articulated in Vealey model, and the values converted into percentage of maximum possible scores. Among the highest rated sources of sport confidence were coaches’ leadership (63.31±17.22), vicarious experience (63.11±9.44), mastery (62.93±19.00) and demonstration of ability (61.60±17.54). Athletes differed significantly across gender in vicarious experience (p < .03), with males recording higher scores....

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021

Children’s physical activity (CPA) in low- and middle-income regions has received increasing atte... more Children’s physical activity (CPA) in low- and middle-income regions has received increasing attention, but research is still very limited. This study explores the CPA in contemporary pastoralist Maasai society in rural Kenya by considering its sociocultural dimensions. The physical activity of 25 children (15 girls and 10 boys) was documented with mixed methods, including an epidemiological assessment of the CPA and semi-structured interviews with the targeted children regarding their daily activities. These methods were integrated with the ethnographic data on children’s socialization in the same area. Results showed a very high level of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) of these children with significant gender differences especially outside school. Children reported their continued social participation in local gender–age labor divisions outside of school. As their activities outside school strongly contributed to their empirical learning of local knowledge and skill...

Contemporary Advances in Sports Science [Working Title], 2021

Performance in different athletic activities has continued to improve over time, with some athlet... more Performance in different athletic activities has continued to improve over time, with some athletes from diverse parts of the world registering new world records from time to time. With stiff competition from athletes from different parts of the world, constant upgrading of sports science based approaches to training and competition are employed to achieve more success. However, some approaches used to improve sports performance may pose ethical concerns and may challenge sports as a concept of celebrating natural human abilities. This book chapter interrogates the factors associated with efforts towards improvement of performance in endurance sports events, with a specific focus on marathon races, and the future implications for training, competition, and the nature of sports. While the interplay between nature and nurture determines the unique psychophysiological responses to training and competition, technological exploits leading to advanced sports products coupled with favourab...

Journal of Human Sport and Exercise, 2020

Doping cases have in the recent past (second decade of 21st century) tainted the Kenyan athletes'... more Doping cases have in the recent past (second decade of 21st century) tainted the Kenyan athletes' dominance in long distance running. The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions (KAP) on doping among university students pursuing sport related courses. It was postulated that KAP on doping will be mediated by year of study, age, gender, sporting experience and degree programme. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from university students (n=179) drawn from four universities that offer sport-related courses in Kenya. Results revealed that there were significant differences between year of study (first vs fourth) in knowledge on performance enhancing substance (PES) (Mean Ranks; 68.16 vs 94.22, p=.013) and perceptions about doping (109.98 vs 86.14, p=.023). Sport Science and Health Promotion students showed significantly higher scores on attitudes towards doping (p=.003) than those in Physical Education courses. There were significant differences (p < .05) in KAP on doping in favour of those students who had previous participation in sport competitions. It is concluded that KAP of university students on doping is differentiated based on the selected variables of year and programme of study, and previous participation in sport competitions. It is recommended that the unpacking of doping education should take these variables into consideration. Universities need to partner with anti-doping agencies to expose students to both theoretical and practical applications of doping knowledge. Further investigation in needed on the possible factors that contribute to less negative perceptions with higher knowledge on doping among university students.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008

This paper analyses multidimensional aspects of child poverty in Kenya. We carry out poverty and ... more This paper analyses multidimensional aspects of child poverty in Kenya. We carry out poverty and inequality comparisons for child survival and also use the parametric survival model to explain childhood mortality using DHS data. The results of poverty comparisons show that: children with the lowest probability of survival are from households with the lowest level of assets; and poverty orderings for child survival by assets are robust to the choice of the poverty line and to the measure of wellbeing. Inequality analysis suggests that there is less mortality inequality among children facing mortality than children who are better off. The survival model results show that child and maternal characteristics, and household assets are important correlates of childhood mortality. The results further show that health care services are crucial for child survival. Policy simulations suggest that there is potential for making some progress in reducing mortality, but the ERS and MDG targets cannot be achieved.

Child Welfare in Developing Countries, 2010

Abstract This chapter analyses multidimensional aspects of child poverty in Kenya. We carry out p... more Abstract This chapter analyses multidimensional aspects of child poverty in Kenya. We carry out poverty and inequality comparisons for child survival and also use the parametric survival model to explain childhood mortality using DHS data. The results of poverty comparisons ...

International Journal of Advanced Scientific Research and Management, 2020

This study investigated relationship between organizational learning and operational performance ... more This study investigated relationship between organizational learning and operational performance of Water and Sanitation Corporation. In Rwanda. Specifically, the study examined the influence of knowledge acquisition, information distribution, and organizational memory on organizational performance. The study was correlational by relating predicator (operational performance) with its criteria variables (organizational learning). It was conducted on a sample size of 239 respondents. The study used structured questionnaires and interview guides and analyzed data using SPSS version 23. A multiple regression analysis indicated that that knowledge acquisition was positive and significantly related to operational performance (B=0.168, p value=0.002). The study indicated that information distribution was also positively and significantly related to operational performance (B=0.257, p value=0.001). This implies that an improvement in information distribution by one unit leads to an increase in business operations' performance by 0.257 units. Information distribution positively correlated to operational performance (B=0.372, p value=0.000). The study recommended that Water and Sanitation Corporation should ensure that employees are empowered on methods of retrieving data for different purposes as per their needs, in order to enhance the decision-making process.