Department/Unit: Strategic and Organizational communication
Qualifications: Doctor of Philosophy in mobile communications and development
PhD Institution: University of East London
PhD dissertation title: Mobile assemblages and maendeleo in rural Kenya: case of Marakwet
Current research interests and projects: media and mobile communications, development communication, information and communication technologies for development, Social and behavior change communication, social transformation
Selected publication 1: Campbell, S. W., & Komen, L. J. (2022). Doing Mobile Media and Communication scholarship in different keys: Sounding out structure and integration in the field. Mobile Media & Communication, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/20501579221131422
Selected publication 2: Komen, L.J & Ling. R (2021): ‘NO! We don’t have a joint account’: mobile telephony, mBanking, and gender inequality in the lives of married women in western rural Kenya, Information, Communication & Society, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2021.1927137
Selected publication 3: Komen, L.J. (2020). “My Mobile Phone, My Life: Deconstructing Development (Maendeleo) and Gender Narratives among the Marakwet in Kenya.” Ada: A Journal of Gender, New Media, and Technology, no. 16. 10.5399/uo/ada.2020.00.0.
Selected publication 4: Komen, L. (2016). M-PESA: A Socio-economic assemblage in rural Kenya. Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network, 9(5), 1-12. doi:10.31165/nk.2016.95.458
Selected publication 5: Komen, L.J. (2017). Mobile telephony and copresence in Marakwet, Kenya. Journal of Development and Communication Studies, 5(1): 44-55. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jdcs.v5i1.3
Selected publication 6: Komen, L. (2016). ““Here you can use it”. Understanding mobile phone sharing and the concerns it elicits in rural Kenya. for (e) dialogue, 1(1), 52-65. doi:10.29311/for(e)dialogue.v1i1.532
Selected publication 7: Komen, L J (2021). Mobile Assemblages and Maendeleo in rural Kenya. Langaa, RPCIG, Bamenda , Cameroon. ISBN: 978-9956-552-84-9 https://www.africanbookscollective.com/books/mobile-assemblages-and-maendeleo-in-rural-kenya
Selected publication 8: Komen, L. J (2020). Engaging the disengaged: Examining the domestication of mobile telephony among older adults in Trans-Nzoia and Bungoma Counties in Western Kenya. Journal of Development and Communication Studies, 7(1):24- 34. https://doi.org/10.4314/jdcs.v7i1-2.2
Selected publication 9: Kisiangani, F., Gachari, R and Komen, L. J., (2019). Challenges of Communicating Cancer Screening awareness and uptake in Bungoma County, Kenya. Networking Knowledge: Journal of the MeCCSA Postgraduate Network, 12(2),36-54. https://doi.org/10.31165/nk.2018.112.537
Selected publication 10: Kinuthia, C., B, M., & L, K. (2021). Advocacy Communication and The Child Trafficking Situation in Kenya: The Case of Mathare Constituency Primary Schools. International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, 9(2), 01–19. https://doi.org/10.31686/ijier.vol9.iss2.2897
Capstone assignment title: To admit or not to admit: Examining the selection and recruitment of Doctoral students, Reflections from Africa (SU number: 24662003)
Capstone assignment abstract: The life cycle of a graduate education begins with selection, recruitment and admissions (Louw & Muller, 2014), this means that the success or failure of a doctoral programme depends largely on who is selected or recruited into the programme. The success or failure at PhD level lies largely on who is recruited into the program. However, despite this fact, there is little emphasis laid on this crucial process as has been noted by scholars, which if not checked may be key to doctoral attrition (Golden, 2002: Lovitts, 2001). The sentiments by Prof Botha outlines key issues that I wish to elucidate further in my paper making reference to literature and personal experiences, and guided by two theoretical framework, firstly, the human capital theory(by Theodore schultz) and the Three world framework(Jan Botha). These key questions are: who qualifies for admission and who does not, what are some of the selection and recruitment challenges faced by Universities while competing for a doctorate student, what are best practices for doctoral selection and recruitment, and what academic rigor and integration should be put in place to ensure that the doctorates we release to the academia and market are part of solutions rather than problems
