Research Publications

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Start date: 2010End date: 2019

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    Effectiveness of albendazole on soil transmitted nematodes among school children-: a case of Kakamega County, Kenya
    (2019-03-25) Ngonjo, T.W.; Okoyo, Collins; Simiyu, Elses; Kihara, Jimmy; Lelo, Agola Eric; Kabiru, Ephantus; Mwandawiro, Charles
    Background: Recent assessment by WHO on Soil Transmitted Nematodes (STN) point that their morbidity is still high in people mainly in children. A. lumbricoides globally infects 1.2 billion people and T. trichiura 795 million worldwide. Infections with Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus 740 million leading to 135,000 deaths per year. It became necessary to find out the effectiveness of Albendazole on soil transmitted Nematodes among school children- a case of kakamega county, kenya. Methodology: Study respondents were selected fom public primary school children in Kakamega County. A total of 731 and 665 (pre & post) children in 7 primary schools in three sub counties of Kakamega County were recruited in the study. Pre-treatment survey was done in March, 2014 and follow up in September 2014. Fecal samples were examined for the presence of STN . 14 days after treatment using Kato- Katz method. The total number of eggs were expressed as eggs/gm of feaces (epg). Pretreatment prevalence was 43.5% for Ascaris lumbricoides, 1.8% for hookworm and 0.9% for Trichuris trichiura. Results: Mean intensity of hookworm, A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura infections in the pre-and post-surveys were reduced by 1.2%, 98.4% and 100% respectively. Prevalence decreased to 2.3% for Ascaris lumbricoides and 0 % for T. trichiura. Post treatment prevalence of A. lumbricoides and T. trichiura infections were significantly reduced by 94.8% and 100% respectively. A slight increase in hookworm prevalence was observed. However, this increase was not significant (p=0.993). Conclusion: The therapeutic efficacy of Albendazole indicated a good reduction in parasite burden. Albendazole satisfactorily reduced STN infection while for hookworm there was a non-significant increase in prevalence.
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    ICT Definition Implication on ICT Career Choice and Exclusion among Women
    (2016-05) Muchiri, Michael Njoki; Wabwoba, Franklin; Micheni, Elyjoy Muthoni
    One of the most noteworthy challenges in society in the 21st century is sustainable development. The usefulness of ICT has led to an overwhelming demand for electronics such as computers and mobile phones. ICT is vital for poverty reduction and in the growth of sectors such as agriculture, business, health, education etc. Applying ICT to drive any development has its advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, its measurement should be focused on whether the benefits outweigh the pitfalls. The purpose of carrying out this research is because most development initiatives in Africa are being undertaken with the use of ICT. Therefore, this paper surveys the literature on ICT for sustainable development without the digital divide and how ICT can lead to un-sustainability in Africa. Findings indicate that driving sustainable development through ICT initiatives bring much greater benefits than negative consequence.
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    Implementation Evaluation Metrics for Enterprise Resource Planning Solution – A Case of Kibabii University
    (2019-01-17) Mbuguah, Samuel Mungai; Wabwoba, Franklin; Wanjala, Chrispus Kimengich
    Most institution of higher learning are implementing and Enterprise Resource planning (ERP) in automating various activities. The architecture of most of the ERP is based on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) where each module can be called as service. In most of the contract signed between the vendor and the university, payment is tied to the level of implementation. The Question is how to then measure the level of implementation? This paper proposes a metric that could be used in evaluation of the degree of implementation. The metric was derived based on an acceptance test on each of functionality of module as per terms of reference. The result of a test was rated as a Fail, Pass, or Query The result was then coded such that a fail was assigned a zero (0), pass one (1) and query a half (½). From which a metric was derived which measures the level implementation.
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    Pervasiveness of green ICT awareness amongst Kenyan ICT personnel
    (2013-01) Wabwoba, Franklin; Wanyembi, Gregory W.; Omuterema, Stanley; Mutua, Stephen Makau
    There has been growing concerns about the rising costs of doing business and environmental degradation world over. Green ICT has been proposed to provide solutions to the two issues yet it is not being implemented fully in developing nations like Kenya despite the availability of the technologies of doing it. The study investigated pervasiveness of green ICT awareness amongst the ICT personnel, how they perceive it to be relevant to their organisations and the drivers towards implementation of the same. The study surveyed ICT personnel in four cases using a questionnaire on a seven scale likert scale. The study established that awareness level of green ICT in Kenya is low when compared with developed nations. It also established the green ICT drivers and how ICT personnel perceived it to be relevant to their organisations. The study recommends the raising of green ICT awareness levels through aligning the ICT personnel’s capacities.
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    The Role of Virtualization towards Green Computing and Environmental Sustainability
    (2017-06) Motochi, Vincent; Samuel Barasa; Owoche, Patrick; Wabwoba, Franklin
    The environment has become a key concern by the entire world and global warming is increasingly attracting attention in many conferences. Moreover, energy usage in data centers has become a concern bearing in mind the fact that the more energy is used in data centers, the more it affects the environment with emissions, which eventually cause global warming. This paper studies the role of virtualization towards green computing and environmental sustainability. Server virtualization is emerging as the prominent approach to consolidate applications from multiple applications to one server, with an objective to save energy usage. This research identified the virtualization environments, identified green computing environments, and then established how virtualization could be used to attain environmental sustainability. This paper was developed on an experiment design. The researcher reviewed an empirical experiment to investigate how server virtualization affects the energy usage in physical servers. Through this analysis, the researcher identified a fundamental trade-off between the energy saving from server consolidation and the detrimental effects (e.g., energy overhead and throughput reduction) from server virtualization. This paper found out that a server consumes a substantial amount of energy when idle thus the importance of consolidation. Secondly the energy overhead depends on the type of hypervisor used and the application architecture. Thirdly for a given traffic load, the energy cost can be minimized by launching an optimal number of virtual machines. The analysis and review results show that virtualization brings substantial energy savings, promotes green computing and would be a clear methodology to conserve the environment in the technology world today. Therefore, green computing is a well balanced and sustainable approach towards the achievement of a greener, healthier and safer environment without compromising technological needs of the current and future generations.
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    Green ICT Readiness Model for Developing Economies: Case of Kenya
    (2013) Wabwoba, Franklin; Omuterema, Stanley; Wanyembi, Gregory W.; Omieno, Kelvin Kebati
    There has been growing concerns about the rising costs of doing business and environmental degradation world over. Green ICT has been proposed to provide solutions to the two issues yet it is not being implemented fully in developing economies like Kenya. For its implementation, it is critical to establish the level of green ICT readiness of organisations to inform where to start and where to put more emphasis. Over the past few years this has been done using Molla’s G-readiness model. However, this model assumes the basic level of Greadiness to be same for both developed and developing economies to be the same with regard to ICT personnel preparedness. Based on green ICT readiness in Kenya, the relationship between ICT personnel’s gender, age and training with the G-readiness variables as proposed in Molla’s G-readiness model was investigated. The study surveyed ICT personnel in four cases using a questionnaire on a seven scale likert scale. It established that there exists a significant relationship between the ICT personnel related variables and the G-readiness variables. Based on the findings on the relationship, the study extended Molla’s G-readiness model to include a sixth dimension of personnel readiness.
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    Evaluating the Role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Support towards Processes of Management in Institutions of Higher Learning
    (2012-07) Ujunju, Michael Okumu; Wanyembi, G.; Wabwoba, Franklin
    The role of Information and Communication Technology in achieving organization’s strategic development goals has been an area of constant debate, and as well perceived in different management dimensions. Most universities are therefore employing it (ICT) as a tool for competitive advantage to support the accomplishment of their objectives. Universities are also known to have branches or campuses that need strong and steady strategic plans to facilitate their steady expansion and growth. Besides, production of quality services from the various levels of management in these universities requires quality strategic plans and decisions. In addition, to realize the steady growth and competitive advantage, ICT not only has to be an additive but a critical component towards supporting management processes in the universities. This research sought to determine the role of ICT in supporting management processes in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. The research investigated how the different levels of management used ICT in their management processes and whether the use had any effect on management processes. The research further made recommendations to the universities on better use of ICTs in their management processes. A public university in Kenya was used as a case study in this research.
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    A Critical Evaluation of the Environmental Effects of the Existing E-Waste Management Practices in Kenya
    (2019) Simiyu, Peter Wamalwa; Wabwoba, Franklin; Ronoh, Richard
    Information Communication Technology (ICT) gadgets and other electronics are extensively being used in the health, industries, education, homes, communication and trade sectors. With the expected introduction of use of laptops in primary schools in Kenya, the use of these electronics is expected to drastically increase, thus, leading to an increase in electronic waste. Although e-waste has parts and components of value, they contain many toxic components, which prompt a potential need of this research to assess the contents, qualities and impact of e-waste material. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the environmental implications of the existing e-waste management practices. The study adopted survey research design. The sample population included 18 policy officers in County Government of Bungoma, 28 electronic shop repairs, and 61 institutions and collectors of e-waste material. The study is expected to provide guideline on Green ICT practices and e-waste management as a platform for evaluation, policy enforcement, guidelines and further research on electronic waste management.
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    Students Selection for University Course Admission at the Joint Admissions Board (Kenya) Using Trained Neural Networks
    (2011) Wabwoba, Franklin; Mwakondo, Fullgence M.
    Every year, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) is tasked to determine those students who are expected to join various Kenyan public universities under the government sponsorship scheme. This exercise is usually extensive because of the large number of qualified students compared to the very limited number of slots at various institutions and the shortage of funding from the government. Further, this is made complex by the fact that the selections are done against a predefined cluster subjects vis a vis the student’s preferred and applied for academic courses. Minimum requirements exist for each course and only students having the prescribed grades in specific subjects are eligible to join that course. Due to this, students are often admitted to courses they consider irrelevant to their career prospects and not their preferred choices. This process is tiresome, costly, and prone to bias, errors, or favour, leading to disadvantaging innocent students. This paper examines the potential use of artificial neural networks at the JAB for the process of selecting students for university courses. Based on the fact that Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) have been tested and used in classification, the paper explains how a trained neural network can be used to perform the students’ placement effectively and efficiently. JAB will be able, therefore, to undertake the students’ placement thoroughly and be able to accomplish it with minimal wastage of time and resources respectively without having to utilise unnecessary effort. The paper outlines how the various metrics can be coded and used as input to the ANNs. Ultimately, the paper underscores the various merits that would accompany the adoption of this technique. By making use of neural networks in the university career choices, student placement at JAB will enhance the chances of students being placed into courses they prefer as part of their career choice. This is likely to motivate the students, making them work harder and leading to improved performance and improved completion rate. The ANN application may also reduce the cost spend on the application processing and the time the applicants have to wait for the outcome. The ANN application could further increase the chances of high quality applicants getting admission to career courses for which they qualify.
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    Classifying Program Visualization Tools to Facilitate Informed Choices: Teaching and Learning Computer Programming
    (2012) Mutua, Stephen; Wabwoba, Franklin; Ogao, Patrick; Anselmo, Peter; Abenga, Elizabeth1
    Program Visualization (PV) is a technique that has been found useful in teaching computing programming. This has seen proliferation in development of PV tools with an aim of enhancing teaching/learning programming over the last two decades. However, the tools usage has remained minimal. Perhaps because it becomes challenging to ascertain the appropriate tool for the right task. This paper presents a classification of program visualization tools with the focus of aiding teachers and students in choosing the most appropriate tool for an interesting experience in the classroom. The paper is based on six various PV tools evaluated over a period of two consecutive academic years in a Kenyan public University. The classification augments the Price’s taxonomy of software visualization arm of PV by presenting four basic levels which are further subdivided into lower levels. Index Terms– Classification, Pedagogy, Program Visualization and Taxonomy