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Ucu 100: Communication Skills Question Paper
Ucu 100: Communication Skills
Course:Bachelor Of Education Science
Institution: Kenyatta University question papers
Exam Year:2010
KENYATTA UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS 2009/2010
MAY INTAKE TRIMESTER EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF EDUCATION, BACHELOR OF ARTS, BACHELOR OF
SCIENCE, BACHELOR OF COMMERCE, BACHELOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES AND BACHELOR OF HOME ECONOMICS
UCU 100:
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
DATE: Thursday, 22nd July, 2010
TIME: 2.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.
Candidates MUST write their registration number in the space provided on each
answer booklet.
2.
There are FOUR (4) questions in this paper. Candidates must answer ALL four
questions.
3.
There is a separate question 2B for Visually Impaired students only.
4.
All answers MUST be written in the answer booklet provided.
5.
All the used booklets must be tied together by the candidates after use.
Q.1
READING COMPREHENSION (25 MARKS)
Read the following passage and answer questions a to h.
PRIVATE FIRMS AGAINST MULTINATIONALS
The winds of change are blowing towards private-sector development initiatives
in many African nations. This fact has been noted in the various conferences
focusing on the industry. Most industry observers recognize that the production
and marketing of books is best left to private sector firms that are professionally
equipped to do the job.
This idea is gaining currency. Even in countries with strong state-run publishing
interests, there are initiatives to involve and consult with the private sector in the
development of reading materials in many countries. In Ghana, for example,
there is a new development and distribution policy that has been established for
basic-education textbook. In Kenya, the industry was liberalized in 1993 when
the Kenya Institute of Education stopped publishing school textbooks and allowed
private publishers to compete freely.
But even as private publishers are finding more freedom to operate, they face a
further challenge from the multinational publishing houses. In Africa,
multinationals are seen as powerful, uninvited guests, who regard the countries of
the continent either as mere export markets or as a source of profit for their
shareholders back at home. Their policy of repatriation of profits leads to capital
flight, damaging the already fragile economies of their African host companies.
The multinationals were the first companies to run publishing activities on the
continent.
Today, most publishing activities in many countries are controlled by
multinationals. As evidenced in various countries, multinationals inevitably kill
indigenous firms due to their superior financial base, access to manpower and
technologies. Although it has been argued that competition promotes quality, this
David versus Goliath scenario is unhealthy. Foreign control – economic and,
sometimes, political – has sometimes occurred. For instance, in Kenya, there is a
free primary education project. This is a donor initiative that has been perceived
by many in the book industry as a way to funnel profits directly to the
multinational publishing firms in the country. The donor agencies dictated the bid
evaluation criteria, which effectively locked out most local publishers. In a few
countries, the situation is different. For example, in South Africa, previously
independent publishing houses and booksellers have been acquired through
mergers by large media conglomerates that are looking for synergy between
traditional publishing and other forms of media.
At the end of the day, local publishing firms need protection from foreign
competition. A strategy is needed to monitor and appraise the maturity level of
the local firms, so that they can be allowed to compete on equal terms with the
multinational firms. In most countries however, this may be difficult to achieve.
Local firms benefit from being considered „immature? because they receive legal
protections, and no company will want to come from behind that protective wall
to compete head-on with the multinationals.
In 1978, the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decree required that at least 60 per
cent of the publishing industry be owned by local investors. Many foreign
publishers were forced to either reduce their equity participation or leave the
scene altogether. Some of these foreign publishers simply changed their names:
Oxford University Press became University Press, for instance. A similar
situation (but triggered by different legislation) occurred in Kenya, where
Longman sold most of its equity shares to Longhorn. Unfortunately, the same
foreign publishers have come back, and they dominate the publishing sector in
Africa.
a)
Which industry is the author referring to in paragraph one?
(3 marks)
b)
Explain briefly the important change in thinking underpinned in the first
paragraph.
(3 marks)
c)
Paragraph three carries the idea of exploitation. Identify the sentence that best
supports this claim.
(3 marks)
d)
Identify the three players described in the passage.
(3 marks)
e)
State three factors from the passage that give multinational an upper edge in the
scenario being discussed.
(3 marks)
f)
In your own words explain what the writer means by “this David Vs Goliath
scenario”
(3 marks)
g)
“All African countries are victims of the problem under focus” True or False?
Support your answer.
(4 marks)
h)
What do you consider to be the most important idea of the last two paragraphs
(3 marks)
Q.2
A)
TRANS-CODING AND INTERPRETATION OF INFORMATION
(15 marks)
Table I
Education Expenditure in Relation to Total Central Government Expenditure on Main Service 1967/70-1987/88 K£ Million
RECURRENT
DEVELOPMENT
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
Year
Total Public Education Edu. In % Total Public
Education Educ. In %
Total Public
Education Edu. In %
1969/70 91.14
16.12
17.7
30.71
1.55
5.0
121.95
17.67
14.5
1974/75 210.85
58.49
27.7
90.73
5.31
5.9
301.58
63.80
21.2
1979/80 549.26
122.57
22.3
232.05
14.47
6.2
781.32
137.04
17.5
1982/83 669.81
179.39
26.8
356.70
14.33
4.0
1,026.51
193.72
18.9
1983/84 688.58
185.51
26.9
300.34
14.39
4.8
989.19
199.9
20.2
1984/85 799.93
225.87
28.2
436.47
20.17
4.6
1,236.4
246.04
19.9
1985/86 876.22
301.49
34.4
409.80
17.23
4.2
1,286.02
318.72
24.8
1986/87 1,090.47
350.35
32.13
537.48
24.06
4.5
1,627.95
374.41
23.0
1987/88 1,166.91
385.58
33.04
613.07
32.18
5.2
1,780.58
417.76
23.5
Calculate the averages for the following
i)
Recurrent expenditure during the period between 1979/1980 to 1986/87
(2 marks)
ii)
Development expenditure during the period between 1974/1975 to 1987/1998
(2 marks)
iii)
Total expenditure during the period between 1969/1970 to 1987/1988
(2 marks)
iv)
What is the difference between the averages of development expenditure and
recurrent expenditure during the period 1969/1970 to 1987/1988 (3 marks)
v)
IN five grammatically correct sentences, comment on the trend in Development
expenditure during the period 1969/1970 to 1987/1988
6 marks)
B.
TRANS CODING AND GRAPH/TABLE INTERPRETATION
(FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED STUDENTS ONLY)
Use Table II to answer the following questions.
i)
Express the rural population of region A in the year 2000 as a percentage of the
rural population in region B in the same year.
(3 marks)
ii)
Which region has a relatively slow rural growth between 1950 and 2000
(1 mark)
iii)
Name two places whose rural population have constantly been less than 50
million in the entire period 1950 – 2000
(2 marks)
iv)
In one sentence, describe the trend of the population growth in South Asia
between 1950 and 2000.
(4 marks)
Table II
RURAL POPULATION (MILLIONS)
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
WORLD TOTAL
734
1032
1371
1764
2234
2854
More Developed Region A
447
571
698
798
877
950
Less Developed Region B
287
460
673
966
1,357
1904
Africa
35
53
81
129
210
340
Caribbean
6
8
11
16
21
27
Temperate South America
17
22
28
35
42
49
Tropical South America
31
54
86
130
184
239
East Asia (Excluding Japan) 70
139
191
242
296
384
South Asia
113
161
237
358
524
757
Source Global Report on Human Settlements OUP New York.
Q.3
LIBRARY SKILLS
(25 marks)
a)
You have been assigned a topic to research on and write a project report.
You have no reference or reading material at hand. Explain how you
would use the topic to access specific sources of information from any
library to make notes from to enable you compile your report
(10 marks)
b)
Identify and name any 14 bibliographic details from the references below
(7 marks)
i)
Ocitti, J.P. African Indigenous Educations practiced by the Acholi
of Uganda, Nairobi : East African Literature Bureau. 1975.
ii)
Raju, B.M. Education in Kenya : Problems and Perspectives in
Educational Planning and Administration, Nairobi : Heinemann.
1973.
iii)
KNUT, “Ndegwa Commission Salary Scales for Teachers.” The
Kenya Teacher, June 1971.
iv)
Bogonko, S.N. et.al A History of Education, Nairobi : University
of Nairobi Press. 1986.
v)
Lewis, A.J. and Liech L.B (eds) A Report of the Conference of the
Institute of Education, Mombasa, Kenya. 1964.
c)
Identify the authors in question 3b iii, 3b iv and 3b v.
Write the authors you have identified and say what type of authors each of
the 3 (identified in 3 b iii, 3b iv and 3b v) are.
3 marks)
Q.4
STUDY SKILLS (10 Marks)
Wan Xu HU has just joined Kenyatta University (K.U) for a Bachelors degree in
Fine Art. In her last 12 years as a student, Wan Xu HU was in a boarding School
where strict rules were followed in academic and other operations. Wan Xu HU
has realized that at K.U. it is her own responsibility to accomplish her tasks : she
is completely in charge of her academic, personal and social life. Nobody follows
her to ensure that she fulfill her obligations. Consequently, she is at a loss as to
how to become an effective scholar.
As an older student of K.U., give Wan Xu HU TWO tips that will help her
become an effective student in each of the following areas:-
a)
Use of library
(2 marks)
b)
Private studies
(2 marks)
c)
Filing
(2 marks)
d)
Preparation for examinations
(2 marks)
e)
Taking examinations
(2 marks)
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