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Effect of Class Attendance on Learners’ Performance in History Subject in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Kayonza District, Rwanda
No full textThe research investigated the impact of class attendance on students' performance in the history subject in selected public secondary schools in Kayonza District, Rwanda. The study employed a descriptive and correlation design with a mixed approach, involving a population of 718 respondents, including 118 teachers and 600 students. Results revealed that 71.3% of respondents agreed that students attending classes on time significantly affected performance in the history subject. Additionally, 72.5% agreed that the number of presentations in class and 70.8% agreed that participation in group activities were also class attendance factors influencing performance. For the second objective, the study found that 72.1% strongly agreed that completion of homework was a crucial factor affecting students' performance in history. Moreover, 60.5% believed that test and exam results were instrumental in analyzing performance, and 65.1% agreed that student cooperation based on historical principles was a key factor. Regarding the relationship between attendance and performance, 95% of respondents agreed that students attending class on time had a positive correlation with greater cooperation based on historical principles (r=.451**) and test/exam results (r=.305**). Moreover, attendance correlated positively with student competition outcomes in the history topic (r=.632). The study revealed positive correlations of the number of students present in class with greater cooperation (r=.250), test/exam results (r=.029), and competition outcomes (r=.093). Based on the findings, the study recommended that the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and Rwanda Education Board plan teacher training programs on effective history teaching methods. It further suggested the provision of adequate teaching and learning materials, such as charts, textbooks, and dictionaries. Additionally, all stakeholders in the education sector were encouraged to support history teaching and learning activities in Rwanda. In conclusion, the research indicated a positive association between class attendance and students' performance in the history subject. The recommendations emphasized the importance of teacher training and the provision of appropriate teaching materials to enhance history education in Rwanda. The study also proposed further research on the effects of different teaching and learning methods on academic performance in the history subject.
Keywords: Class Attendance, Learners’ Performance, History Subject, Selected Public Secondary Schools, Kayonza District, Rwand
Predictors and Determinants of HIV Proneness among University Pre-service Teachers at Two Selected Universities in East Africa: A Logistic and Multiple Regression Analysis
No full textThe study explored the impact of various factors, including age, university affiliation, religion, gender, self-efficacy, intimacy, and HIV risk perception, on the likelihood of university pre-service teachers being affected by HIV. The research aimed to identify which among the three critical independent variables—self-efficacy, intimacy, and HIV risk perception—most significantly predicts susceptibility to HIV. The investigation was carried out among pre-service teachers at two universities in Uganda and Tanzania, chosen through systematic random sampling. Participants were evaluated using demographic, Likert, and dichotomous scales. Through the use of indices, proportions, logistic regression, and multiple regression analyses, the study found that most pre-service teachers exhibited a low tendency towards HIV. The study revealed that female pre-service teachers and those from Ugandan universities were more prone to HIV, while religious affiliation did not significantly affect HIV risk. Age appeared to influence vulnerability to HIV, but this was not statistically significant. In light of these findings, it is recommended that tertiary education institutions educate their students about intimacy, HIV risk, soft skills, and self-concept through various non-academic departments. These elements are crucial for mitigating HIV risk and, if not managed effectively, could negatively impact students’ health, education, and overall well-being.
Keywords: Predictors, Determinants HIV Proneness, University Pre-service Teachers, Multiple Regression Analysis. East Afric
ICTs’ Role in Strengthening Administrative Management in Catholic Secondary Schools of South West Cameroon
No full textInformation and Communication Technology use in schools has substantially influenced the efficiency and productivity of school administration. The study focused on how ICT strengthens administrative management in Catholic Secondary schools in the South West Region of Cameroon. The study employment convergent mixed method design and the target population was 22 schools, 22 principals, 22 school Bursars, 308 teachers, 1,440 students, and 756 parents are the number of CSS in the SWR of Cameroon A sample size of 264 comprising six principals, six school accountants, 60 teachers, 168 students, and 24 parents, was selected using stratified sampling, simple random sampling, purposive and snowball sampling. Data was collected using structured questionnaires. Delete a pilot test was conducted to validate the research tools and to test for reliability and validity tests. The study found out that ICT had dramatically facilitated communication, data recording and management, enhanced the quality of teaching and learning, supported curriculum planning, facilitated student assessments, facilitated budgeting, payroll preparation, and accounting processes in schools, and improved the accuracy and efficiency of financial tasks in schools. Despite this positive impact of ICT in schools, the study established challenges associated with the use of ICT that included; lack of ICT infrastructure, inadequate resources, lack of ICT policies, resistance to policies, electrical shortages, and lack of necessary skills and training to use ICT effectively. The study concludes that ICT improved administrative management in schools and recommended training programs for principals, teachers, school accountants, students, and parents on the use of ICT, improvement of infrastructure, increase of resources for ICT tools in schools, and enhanced utilization of ICT in teaching and learning.
Keywords: ICT, Administrative Management, Efficiency, Catholic Secondary Schools, South West Cameroo
Resistance to Fast Gradient Sign Method Using Block Switching Algorithm
No full textTraditional ways of protecting against the "Fast Gradient Sign Method" attack usually involve methods like altering the input data before processing, training systems to recognize harmful inputs, or identifying harmful inputs directly. However, these traditional methods have a number of shortcomings, including their limited success, vulnerability to more advanced attacks, difficulty in understanding how they work, and too much dependence on standard sets of data for testing. By creating a strong protective, the system against The Fast gradient Sign Technique, the objective of this study is to enhance the resilience of machine learning algorithms against adversarial attacks while improving their safety and dependability in the highest level of accuracy and performance. The study is guided by three objectives: to investigate the robustness of existing Deep Learning algorithms for defense against the Fast Gradient Sign Method; to implement the block-switching algorithm for defending against the Fast Gradient Sign Method; and to evaluate the performance metric of the block-switching algorithm for the protection of deep learning models against adversarial attacks. The study will consider three theories that underpin the block-switching algorithm including: Avalanche effect, Cryptographic Strength, and Probability theory. The research will use datasets from the Modified National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. It will select commonly used deep learning models for image classification, such as Residual Neural Network, Visual Geometry Groups, or Inception, for analysis. The study will employ the Fast Gradient Sign Method to create adversarial examples for each model within the chosen datasets. The researcher will then compare each Deep Learning model's performance on the adversarial dataset with the original dataset to see how resilient each one is against first gradient sign adversarial assaults. To evaluate these criteria including accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score will be applied. The research will perform a sensitivity analysis on the parameters used in the Fast Gradient Sign Method attack generation to investigate how the attack strength and the number of iterations affect the model's robustness against adversarial attacks. To perform the sensitivity analysis, the researcher will use Python and a set of test data in the Tensor Flow library. 
Assessing Factors Hindering Effectiveness of Family MUAC Program on Nutrition Surveillance and Early Detection of Malnutrition Cases Among Children Aged 6-59 Months in Banisa Sub County
No full textThe Family MUAC Program, which trains mothers and caregivers to use a Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) tape to detect malnutrition in children, has improved nutrition surveillance and early detection of malnourished children. This study assessed the factors hindering the effectiveness of family MUAC programs on nutrition surveillance and detection of malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in Banisa Sub-County, Mandera County. The study objectives were to assess the influence of mothers' characteristics and socio-economic factors on nutrition surveillance and early detection of malnutrition cases. The study was guided by Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT) and adopted a descriptive correlation research design. The target population was 293 mothers from Banisa Sub-County, and the sample size was determined through the census method. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides and analyzed using SPSS version 26. The response rate was 89% (209 out of 236). The findings showed a positive relationship between socioeconomic factors and the effectiveness of family MUAC programs (r(204) = .232, p = .001). On the contrary, there was no significant influence between mothers’ characteristics factors and MUAC programs (r(204) = .030, p = .489). The study recommendations and conclusion aimed at exploring the feasibility and accuracy of incorporating MUAC measurements into family-based programs for detecting and addressing malnutrition, providing valuable insights into the implementation and efficacy of MUAC-based screening initiatives in community settings.
Keywords: Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC), Mandera County, nutrition surveillance, nutrition, family-based program
Effect of Contract Management on Public Procurement Performance in Rwanda. A Case of Ministry of Education (MINEDUC)
No full textThis research aimed to examine the link among contract management practices and Public procurement performance at MINEDUC during the period from 2020 up to 2022. Researcher stated research problems where the inadequate legal provision to regulate contract management for public procuring entities; several weaknesses in the management of public procurement contracts for works were identified. These included; improper signing of contracts in some cases, some of the contracts lacked important information and documents such as conditions of contract, drawings and specifications and some of the contracts contained non-legal documents such as invitation for bids and instructions. Basing on the observed malpractices and incompliance, it seems that the question of effective contract management in order to achieve public procurement performance in public sector is still a challenge that has to be studied and provide recommendations to the policy makers and other stakeholders. The study takes theoretical references on general theories as the theory of procurement discipline and contract theory. The entire population is target population of 212 including employees of MINEDUC; specifically, the total sample size is 128 respondents who were selected through simple random sampling technique. Therefore, the questionnaire and documentation research techniques were used during data collection. The findings reveal that in long run, the public procurement performance in MINEDUC is explained by effective probabilities of contract negotiation; contract execution; contract monitoring and evaluation that all are less than 10%. Basing on simple regression of each factor influences the public procurement performance in MINEDUC. The R2 = 0.955 and Adjusted R2 = 0.949, show the goodness of fit of the estimated model. Up to 95.5% of long-run appreciation in public procurement performance in MINEDUC is influenced by changes in contract negotiation; contract execution; contract monitoring and evaluation as implemented by MINEDUC. According to the research, the correlation of 0.952 or (95.2%) is located in the interval [0.75 - 1.00] categorized as positive and very high correlation. This leads to confirm that there is significant relationship between contract management practices and public procurement performance in MINEDUC
Effect of E-Procurement on the Performance of a Wholesale Pharmacy: A Case of KIPHARMA- Rwanda (2018-2022)
No full textThe general objective of this study was to assess the effect of e-procurement on the performance of Kipharma- Rwanda. Especially the study examined the effect of the e-tendering on the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda, assessed the effect of e-auction on the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda, found out the effects of e-purchasing on the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda and found out the effects of e-invoicing on the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda. This study refers and uses the theories like Stakeholder Theory and Agency theory. For this study, correlation analysis was used. Both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) research techniques were used by researcher in order to collect data (information) related to the objectives of the study. The entire target population of the study who are supposed to provide the information data related to the objectives of the research study was based on employees of Kipharma-Rwanda who are totalized to 97 employees The researcher has decided to use a census inquiry method instead of sampling due to the relatively small number of individuals in the population. The research relied on questionnaire technique, interview and Documentation technique. Views that were given by the respondents were analyzed through SPSS 23rd version. The R value of 0.922 indicates a strong positive correlation between the predictors (e-invoicing, e-tendering, e-auction, e-purchasing) and the dependent variable. The R Square value of 0.851 signifies that approximately 85.1% of the variability in the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda can be explained by the independent variables in the model. For e-tendering (β= 0.297, t = 4.252, p=0.000 < 0.05). Similarly, e-auction shows a positive effect (β= 0.216, t = 3.054, p = 0.003< 0.05). E-purchasing and e-invoicing also have positive effects, contributing to the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda, (β= 0.244, t = 2.422, p = 0.018< 0.05) and (β= 0.247, t = 2.530, p = 0.013< 0.05) respectively. These results indicates that the adoption of e-procurement practices, including e-tendering, e-auction, e-purchasing, and e-invoicing, is associated with positive effects on the performance of KIPHARMA-Rwanda. All p-values are statistically significant at p < 0.05, reinforcing the strong relationships. KIPHARMA-Rwanda should focus on enhancing skills related to e-tendering processes, ensuring that all stakeholders are well-equipped to leverage the system effectively.
Keywords: E-procurement, E-tendering, E- invoicing, E-purchasing, E-auction and Performance
Capital Adequacy and Financial Performance of Deposit Taking Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kenya
No full textDT SACCOs are significant in the stimulation of the economic growth in Kenya, besides contributing to the stability of the country’s financial system. The financial institutions promote investments and through financial inclusion to the household economies. In the year 2022, the DT-SACCO segment had a 5.71% ratio of total assets to the national GDP. Though prudential regulations to guide these financial institutions have been set, several DT SACCOs had their licenses revoked or renewed conditionally. Besides, the trend of ROA in this segment has been erratic and inconsistent, implying that the segment has not been consistently utilizing the assets maximally. The study was guided by Information Asymmetry theory and inclined toward positivism philosophy while adopting explanatory research design. Secondary data for period 2018 to 2022 were collected using data extraction sheets. The target population was 176 while the sample size was 159, which derived by utilizing the inclusion-exclusion criteria. Data was analyzed using STATA, where both descriptive statistics and inferential analysis were conducted. Results showed that capital adequacy had a significant effect on the financial performance of DT SACCOs in Kenya. This implies that higher capital ejected into these financial institutions, the higher the ROA, and vice versa. Rigorous regulations and policies on capital levels/adequacy ratio should therefore be put in place by the regulator to enhance the financial performance
Influence of Financial Process Innovation on Profitability of Commercial Banks in Mombasa County, Kenya
No full textThe study investigated the influence of Financial Innovation on Profitability of Commercial banks in Mombasa County. The Transaction Cost Theory was applied in support of this study. The study adopted descriptive survey design, with a target population of 252 respondents consisting of branch managers and various heads of departments. The sampling size was calculated using Nassiuma’s formula to determine the sample size of 77. Both primary and secondary data were collected in this study. Statistical analysis was carried out with the aid of IBMS SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 27. The hypothesis testing led to the rejection of H01 hence confirming that financial process innovation had a significant positive influence on the profitability of Commercial banks in Mombasa County. The study therefore recommends that there is need for banks to continuously update bank processes while filing patents for the same as this influences profitability positively.
Keywords: Financial Process Innovation, Profitability, Commercial banks, Mombasa Count
Investment Diversification in Equities and Financial Performance of Pension Schemes in Kenya
No full textThe general objective of the study was to investigate the effect of investment diversification in equities on the financial performance of Pension schemes in Kenya. The study further examined the moderating effect of foreign exchange rate on the relationship between investment diversification in equities and financial performance. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The population employed comprised of 421 Pension schemes. The stratified random sampling technique used resulted into having 206 units of analysis. Primary and secondary quantitative data were employed in this study. Data analysis was through the statistical package for social sciences. The hypothesis testing led to the rejection of H01, thus depicting that investment diversification in equities has a significant positive effect on the financial performance of the Pension schemes in Kenya. The hypothesis testing for the moderated relationship model led to the rejection of H02, thus confirming that foreign exchange rate has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between investment diversification in equities and the financial performance of the Pension schemes in Kenya. The study concludes that investment diversification in equities has a significant positive effect on the financial performance of Pension schemes in Kenya. Furthermore, the study concludes that foreign exchange rates play a significant moderating role in the relationship between investment diversification in equities and financial performance. The study recommends that the Pension schemes should consider diversifying their investments in equities because it affects their financial performance. In addition, schemes should be vigilant on the volatility of the foreign exchange rate because it has a moderating effect on the relationship between the investment diversification in equities and their financial performance. Schemes should also establish robust monitoring systems to regularly evaluate the performance of their diversified equity portfolios and make adjustments as necessary. Furthermore, Pension schemes should invest in enhancing the financial literacy and expertise of their management teams and investment committees, particularly in areas related to equity diversification and foreign exchange risk management.
Keywords: Investments, Diversification, Equities, Financial Performance, Pension Schemes, Portfoli