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Forecasting of Banking Sector Security Prices in Kenya Using Machine Learning Techniques
No full textMaster of Science in Statistics, 2022Financial analysts should be able to make accurate predictions about the direction of the stock market. First and foremost, investors should understand how the stock market works before making any form of investment in a company. An investment in a stock that is trading at a cheap price at the right moment can result in profits, but an investment in a stock that is trading at a high price at the wrong time might result in low results. When deciding whether to buy, sell, or do nothing at all, experienced traders typically use a combination of indicators to make their assessment. Less experienced traders, on the other hand, may not be able to recognize the appropriate patterns of market elements when using the available indicator baskets. Throughout the course of history, there have been a wide variety of strategies and methods that may effectively predict the behaviour of stocks. On the other hand, more resources have been devoted to the study of the stock market since Machine Learning (ML) was developed, and it has been shown that accurate stock market prediction is feasible. Although research in this area has been done, there hasn't been any that compares the various machine learning algorithms for predicting the securities of the Kenyan banking sector. As a result, the purpose of this study was to make projections on the pricing of banking sector securities in Kenya by utilizing Machine Learning techniques and fit Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Artificial Neural Network (ANN), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) models for forecasting banking sector security prices. The study made its predictions based on the random walk theory of predicting stock market movements. The research aimed to look at all of the banks that are traded on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, and a representative sample was picked from three of those institutions, using purposive sampling technique: the Kenya Commercial bank, the Equity bank, and the Co-operative bank. The correctness of each model was evaluated by applying the Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) criterion, the Mean Squared Error (MSE) criterion, the Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) criterion, and the Mean Absolute Error (MAE) criterion. The confusion matrix criterion was used to choose the most effective model. With an RMSE of 0.1217, SVM beat the other models when using the accuracy metrics criteria and the Confusion Matrix. In comparison, ANN and ARIMA had RMSEs of 0.1477 and 0.1743 respectively. It was also clear, based on the confusion matrix, that SVM performed better than ANN since it had an accuracy of 0.6171, which is equivalent to 61.71 percent, whereas ANN only had 0.5959, (59.59%). The study recommended that SVM should be used by financial experts for stock price predictions. For further research, historical data can be used in conjunction with studies of financial and political events when forecasting.Murang'a University of Technolog
Effect of Moderated Internal Audit Practices on Financial Performance of NSE-Listed Banks in Kenya
No full textDoctor of Philosophy in Business Administration (Finance Option), 2022The application of ongoing financial management reforms seeks to enhance and improve the performance of various organizations. In the last decade, performance of Kenyan banks, in terms of rate of increase in profits before tax has been 20% below the industry average. The banks' capacity to improve this level of performance has proven to be an area of concern and therefore, banks have enhanced the use of internal audit practices. The research investigated the effect of moderated internal audit practices on the financial performance in the NSE listed banks in Kenya. The specific objectives of this study were to; analyze the effect of adoption of ISAs; evaluate the effect of independence of internal audit; assess the effect of audit committees’ operations; examine the effect of internal control systems on financial performance of NSE listed banks in Kenya; and to investigate the moderating effect of CBK regulations on the effect of internal audit practices and financial performance of NSE-listed banks in Kenya. The study was anchored on the attribution theory, and further supported by the contingency and agency theories. The research adopted descriptive and correlational research approaches. The regression and structural equation models were adopted. A census survey was used for the banks. Stratified sampling was done to identify the different departments in the listed banks, while purposeful sampling was applied to deduce a representation of the participant departments of 44. Questionnaires were used to collect the main data from the 11 NSElisted banks in Kenya, while data extraction techniques were used to obtain secondary data to collect data for financial performance from the CBK annual supervisory reports. Likert collected responses from questionnaires were analyzed while quantitative data analysis was deduced using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The research findings showed that independence and internal controls have a statistical effect on financial performance in Kenya's NSE-listed banks, while the unmoderated ISAS and the audit committee had no statistically significant effect. The R squared for the independent variables showed a good fit with relatively low values of ROA and ROE at 20.2% and 19.5% respectively. The F statistic was also significant for the two variables on independence and internal controls. The R squared for the CBK regulations moderating effect also showed a good fit with relatively high values of 76.2% and 61.1% respectively for ROA and ROE. It was also evident that the moderating effect of the CBK regulations affected the internal audit practices, and specifically the ISAs. Internal audit aids boards of directors in carrying out their governance responsibilities, resulting in enhanced performance and competitiveness. Corporate success and a well-governance structure are inextricably intertwined. This study therefore recommends the continuous adoption of ISAs and ensuring independence of internal audits to keep improving the NSE-listed bank’s financial performance. The internal auditors’ members should be hired on merit, receive regular training, and include a reporting channel identified that will protect independence and objectivity. Further, the study recommends that there should be policies to guide audit functions, remunerations and fees charged to improve NSE-listed banks performance. The study also recommends on adoption and employment of internal control systems. A recommendation to study other internal audit practices apart from these studied on the financial performance of the NSE-listed banks in Kenya is imperative and another field that can be explored.Murang'a University of Technolog
DIVISION OR DIALOGUE. GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF CATTLE RUSTLING AMONG PASTORAL COMMUNITIES IN KENYA
No full textPurpose of the study: The study focused on how the Kenyan government utilizes state-based policies in the management of cattle rustling among pastoral communities and the extent to which the policy leads to division or dialogue.
Statementof the problem: Despite the effort by the Government of Kenya defining many policies to curb cattle rustling, the menace still continues. Pastoral violence and militarism seemto accompany and mark developmental transitions in northern Kenya. In reference to Cheserek, Omondiand Odenyo, (2013) despite adopting a new constitution and establishing devolved governance structures in the country, violence continues to define intercommunal interactions in northern Kenya.
Research methodology: The study used mixed study design and covered the five counties in North western part of Kenyanamely, Elgeyo-Marakwet, Baringo, West Pokot, Samburu and with a population of 2,980,035 residents. The sample size of the population is 384, which was determined by the deployment of Krejcie, R.V., & Morgan, D.W. table.
Results of the study: The results indicated the government has succeeded in the following policies, able to control cattle raids in the region(72% agreement), reduced rampant gun ownership(85% agreement), enacted laws to deter cattle rustling(72% agreement), offered education on good farming (72% agreement) and encouraged community intermarriages(average success of 55% agreement). However, the government has not succeeded in the following policies; introduction of agricultural farming to reduced rustling had only 10% success, giving scholarships had 43% success, providing employment after school had only 15% success, supporting locals to access loans to own permanent structures had a low success of 17%, supporting locals to own farm implements also had a low success (14%), and offering locals market to their produce had a low success of 33%.
Conclusion:The study concludedthat the GoK has been able to put framework policies to control cattle rustling menace. However,the implementation of such policies have not succeeded in impacting the positive changes envisaged by the GoK. This implies that the GoK has not been able to bring dialogue among the cattle rustling communities hence division exists among the communities thus continued menace.
Recommendations: GoK should turn to other non-Government agencies to implement its policies such as the churches, NGOs. To enable successful management decision-making, conventional institutions should play a more decisive role and integrate more robustly with the government. Local governments should legitimize and promote neighborhood associations. County governments shouldcollaborate with local community organizations, which requires additional support from the federal government and at the policyand planning levels. Donors, governments, and projects should strengthen and empower such institutions rather than supplanting and alienating them. The County government's powers and responsibilities should be defined in legislation, and there should be legal mechanisms for evaluating the quality of local government cooperation with traditional institutions
Effect of Career Counselling on Employee Performance in Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company Limited
No full textCareer counseling is a career development initiative in which career education is provided to workers by career counselors to help them appreciate their motivations, explain their objectives, commit to action, navigate career transitions, and learn how they can contribute to the organization's overall effectiveness. The fundamental aims of counseling are to foster behavioral improvement, support decision-making, facilitate the capacity of clients, develop coping skills and improve relationships. Employee performance is a major challenge in organizational management and the key goal of any business enterprise is to take steps to inspire workers to deliver and achieve organizational competitiveness. This study sought to establish the effects of career counselling practices on employee performance in Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company Limited (MUWASCO) in Murang’a County in Kenya. Specifically the study sought to establish the extent to which career coaching, career guidance and counseling programs have influenced employee performance in MUWASCO. The study was guided by trait and factor theory. Descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The target population was 150 employees and the researcher employed census sampling technique. The data collection instrument was self-administered questionnaires. Absolute forms of mean, standard deviation and percentages were employed in descriptive analysis. Regression analysis was used to establish the relationship between dependent and the independent variables of the study. The response rate was 85% hence reliability and validity of the study. From the analysis it was observed that the organization has implemented career counseling and this positively contributed to employee performance. A positive and significant relationship between the variables under investigation was demonstrated. The researcher recommends that the organization under study should formulate a clear policy on career coaching to help workers define their personal goals, prepare their career plans and address their needs. The study also suggests provision of adequate information on career guidance and a career guidance policy directed towards enhancing the competencies of workers
A Review Pesticidal Activity of Essential Oils against Sitophilus oryzae, Sitophilus granaries and Sitophilus Zeamais
No full textInfestation of cereals in storage by Sitophilus oryzae, Sitophilus granaries and Sitophilus Zeamais lead to great food loses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the synthetic pesticides which are available are non-biodegradable and have adverse effect on the environment and humans. Previous studies show that plant extracts have the potential for use as pesticidal agents against the weevils. The use of plant extracts in pest management is preferred because they are readily available and chances of drug resistance are low. The aim of this study was to collate and review the fragmented information on essential oils from plants with pesticidal activity against S. zeamais, S. oryzae and S. granaries and present recommendations for future research. Peer-reviewed articles were retrieved from Scopus, Science Direct, SciFinder and Google Scholar. This study led to identification of 196 essential oils extracted form plant species belonging to 31 plant families. Essential oils from the Lamiaceae family are the most studied, followed by Myrtaceae, Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Lauraceae and Piperaceae families. Insecticidal activity studies of the essential oils were mostly tested against S. zeamais (115 essential oils) followed by S. oryzae (58 essential oils) and S. granaries (23 essential oils) which suggests that S. zeamais is the most rampant and the most dreaded species. Future studies aimed in isolating and characterizing the active compounds from the essential oil is necessary. It is also necessary to develop effective formulations for controlling the pest
Machine Learning Load Balancing Techniques in Cloud Computing: A Review
No full textLoad balancing (LB) is the process of distributing the workload fairly across the servers within the cloud environment or within distributed computing resources. Workload includes processor load, network traffic and storage burden. LB’s main goal is to spread the computational burden across the cloud servers to ensure optimal utilization of the server resources. Cloud computing (CC) is a rapidly growing field of computing that provides computing resources as a product over the internet. This paper focuses on the issues within Cloud Load Balancing (LB) that have attracted research interest. The paper also mainly focused on uncovering machine learning models used in LB techniques. The most common algorithms in the reviewed papers included Linear Regression, Random Forest classifier (RF) Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Long-Short Term Memory- Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM -RNN). The criteria for LB technique was identified through performance metrics like throughput, response time, migration time, fault tolerance and power saving. The paper adjourns by identifying research gaps found in the reviewed literature
Challenges Faced by Parents in Implementing Competence Based Curriculum in Primary Schools: Kenyan Perspective
No full textThe successful implementation of competency-based curriculum at all education levels will be determined by parental understanding of skills, knowledge and attitudes imparted. Parental engagement in educational activities for their children is very critical in determining their educational achievement. They are key educators of their children irrespective of their socioeconomic backgrounds. As they engage in school activities, a connection is established between home and school. Additionally, parental engagement is expedient in promoting confidence in children, enhancing their communication skills, motivating them, increasing their interest in education among other benefits. Clearly, several parents in Kenya lack an understanding of the new education system; and this cause mixed reactions an impediment to the successful implementation of competency-based curriculum in primary schools in the country. Although there are many successes associated with the curriculum change, challenges have also been encountered. Base on Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence theory this paper seeks to establish challenges faced by parents in implementing competence based curriculum in primary schools, understanding and skills, reality on the ground, successes and finally recommendations on the implementation of competency-based curriculum in the Kenyan primary schools. This paper relied on secondary data to investigate the main challenges faced by parents in the implementation of competence-based curriculum (CBC) in Kenya. Results show that there are differences in children’s academic achievement between the parental involvement profiles, indicating children whose parents have a low involvement have lower academic achievement. Findings are in line with international research evidence, suggesting the need to focus on this variable in Kenya. Further, low levels of education of parents, communication barrier, time challenge and lack of the necessary materials and resources required to implement the curriculum
Triterpenes and Sterols from Ocimum suave
No full textOcimum species which belong to the family Lamiaceae have several medicinal uses including antimalarial, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, hepato-protective, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, cardio-protective and insect repellent. Ocimum suave Willd is used in traditional medicine to treat ulcers, fever, stomach ache, and bronchopneumonic infections. However, information about bioactive principles from the plant is scanty. This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Ocimum suave. Hexane and ethyl acetate extracts from the plant were subjected to chromatographic fractionation using organic solvents. This led to isolation and identification of five compounds namely β-amyrin, betulinic acid, lupeol, β-sitosterol and stigmasterol. The structures of the compounds were determined using spectroscopic method of analysis. Further studies aimed in identification of bioactive compounds from extracts of the plant, especially from polar solvent which are in traditional medicine are needed
Effect of Entrepreneur’s Attributes on Financial Performance of Private Security Firms in Kenya.
No full textThe study investigated the effect of entrepreneur attributes on the financial performance of private security firms Kenya. Further, the research employed a descriptive survey research design with a census of 75 private security firms. Both primary and secondary data was used in this study. Primary data was collected using questionnaires as the main tool for data collection. The instrument was pretested to ensure validity and reliability of each construct measurements before actual study. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were used to describe the basic features of the data. Simple univariate regression was applied to examine the effect of entrepreneur attributes on financial performance of private security firms in Kenya. The study established that entrepreneur attributes had a significant direct effect on private security firms’ financial performance. The study recommended that the owners/mangers of private security firms should have the required professional attributes that can enable their businesses thrive. They should employee managers with the required academic qualifications
