1,720,995 research outputs found
Uncovering service gaps and patterns in smallholder dairy production systems: A data mining approach
Full text linkThis research article was published by Science Direct Volume 26, December 2024Traditional clustering algorithms have often been used to categorize farmers but tend to overlook
the underlying reasons for these groupings. Typically, clusters are formed based on common
metrics such as dispersal and centrality, which provide limited insights into the relationships
among key attributes. This study introduces an innovative approach using pattern and association
rules analysis to better understand the characteristics of dairy production clusters. Focusing on
Tanzanian smallholder farmers, the research moves beyond identifying clusters to uncovering the
hidden relationships within them. Through pattern analysis, the study logically examines the
behavioral mechanisms that define these clusters, highlighting service gaps that, if addressed,
could enhance smallholder dairy farmers’ productivity. Frequent patterns with support ranging
from 57 % to 93 % and confidence levels between 85 % and 100 % were identified, revealing
critical challenges faced by these farmers. For instance, farmers using Artificial Insemi-
nation—typically younger or new entrants—face constraints related to farm size, land holdings,
fodder production, lack of farmer groups, and insufficient formal training in dairy care. Mean-
while, seasoned farmers deal more with institutional barriers such as limited access to market-
places, extension services, and distant water sources. The study highlights the diverse challenges
faced by different farmer groups and provides strategic recommendations for improving dairy
productivity. Enhancing access to formal training, improving fodder production, supporting the
formation of farmer groups, and addressing institutional barriers are key actions that could help
Tanzanian smallholder dairy farmers increase milk yield and overall productivity
Use of agent – based models in characterizing farm types and evolvement in smallholder dairy systems
Full text linkA Thesis Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of
philosophy in Information and Communication Science and Engineering of the Nelson
Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyThe ever-increasing demand for milk and dairy products has attracted research interventions
on how milk yield can be increased for the context of smallholder farmers. While bearing
significant contribution on milk production and fulfilment of the market demand, the
smallholder dairy farmers are faced with challenges that hinder productivity. Among the
challenges is the inadequate characterization of the dairy production systems and lack of
knowledge on factors attributing to their growth. This has resulted in aggregation of the
smallholder dairy farmers and lack of interventions tailored to suit particular farm types. By
using Tanzania and Ethiopia as case studies, this research identified the main determinants for
evolvement of smallholder dairy farmers. Evolvement in this research refers to, gradual
increase in milk yield. The factors that determine evolvement for individual farm typologies
were identified by using cluster and frequent pattern analysis. The differential influence of the
identified determinants towards increase in milk yield was studied by using Agent-based
modelling and simulation where each factor was observed.
Six farm types were identified for Tanzania and four for Ethiopia. The characteristics of the
farm types were enriched by frequent pattern analysis with confidence level 60% - 97%. Agentbased
modelling
revealed
that,
income
and
farm-based
determinants
influenced
an
increase
of
up
to
7.58
litres
above
the
average
(13.62
±
4.47)
for
Ethiopia.
For
Tanzania,
farm
and
farmerbased
determinants
influenced
an
increase
of
up
to
7.72
litres
of
milk
above
the
average
(12.7
±
4.89).
The
identified
determinants
could
predict
up to
96%
and
93%
of
the
variances
in
milk
yield
for
Tanzania
and
Ethiopia,
respectively.
There was an increase in milk yield based on
the identified evolvement determinants; from baseline data average milk yield of 12.7 ± 4.89
and 13.62 ± 4.47 to simulated milk yield average of 17.57 ± 0.72 and 20.34 ± 1.16 for Tanzania
and Ethiopia, respectively. Dairy development agencies should consider the disaggregation of
dairy farmers and prioritization of the determinants identified in this research for evolvement
of dairy farms. In future, it is important to develop a web or mobile application that can inform
smallholder dairy farmers about the identified evolvement determinants to aid on-farm decision
making
1st International Conference on Technological Advancement in Embedded and Mobile Systems (ICTA-EMOS) - Book of Abstracts
Full text linkThis Book of Abstracts is a collection of all abstracts of papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Technological Advancement in Embedded and Mobile Systems
(ICTA-EMoS) 2022. ICTA-EMoS is organized by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Tanzania, and the Carl von Ossietzky University of
Oldenburg, Germany, under the umbrella of the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa, CENIT@EA. This first installment of ICTA-EMoS took place at Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) on the 24th and 25th of November 2022
1st International Conference on Technological Advancement in Embedded and Mobile Systems (ICTA-EMOS) - Book of Abstracts
Full text linkThis Book of Abstracts is a amended version of urn:nbn:de:gbv:715-oops-55922.
a collection of all abstracts of papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Technological Advancement in Embedded and Mobile Systems (ICTA-EMoS) 2022. ICTA-EMoS is organized by the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Tanzania, and the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, under the umbrella of the Centre of Excellence for ICT in East Africa, CENIT@EA. This first installment of ICTA-EMoS took place at Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC) on the 24th and 25th of November 202
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Review of Security Frameworks in the Converged Web and Mobile Applications
No full textResearch Article published by International Journal of Computer and Information Technology Volume 03 – Issue 04, July 2014As the Internet access is becoming pervasive there is an increasing number of mobile applications users. Enterprises are now reaching a diversified number of customers through the use of Web and mobile applications. However, this improvement in the accessibility means to computing resources does not move in same pace with the improvement of security controls to protect data and services offered through Web and mobile applications.
This review paper is focused on identification of both practical and theoretical security frameworks for Web and mobile applications in use, with an intent of assessing the capability of the frameworks to assist developers build secure mobile Web applications.
A discussion follows the review by highlighting main characteristics of the frameworks with their merits and demerits. The analysis establishes that, available security frameworks are not adequate for the growing convergence of Web and mobile applications, in that there are some security gaps and therefore suggest a need of developing a new security framework for the converged Web and mobile applications
A Review on NLP Techniques and Associated Challenges in Extracting Features from Education Data
Full text linkThis research article was published by International Journal of Computing and Digital Systems in August 2024There has been a significant increase in academic processes to ensure the quality of educational resources such as curricula,
examinations, and educational content. This has drawn attention to studies exploring the use of text mining, learning machines,
and auto-analytic tools like natural language processing (NLP) to interpret and evaluate the quality of these educational resources.
Auto-analytical techniques are required to evaluate the quality of educational content; otherwise, manual evaluation can be burdensome
and improperly influenced by human instincts. This study employs a methodical approach to comprehensively survey NLP techniques
for extracting syntactic and semantic features to analyze and comprehend educational content. NLP, in combination with machine
learning, is an ideal tool for automatically evaluating the aspects of higher education quality. This is because they include features
that aid in textual content comprehension as well as implementing natural language techniques that provide an interpretive interface
between humans and machines. The review highlights the limitations of NLP in evaluating educational data, including the need for
sentence-level understanding and the need for research to address challenges like noise in text data, domain-specific language variations,
and improving model robustness for effective feature extraction in educational contexts. The findings of this review hold substantial
benefits for various stakeholders, including education regulatory bodies, researchers, higher education institutions, and NLP researchers.
Notably, the study equips NLP researchers with valuable insights into document analysis’s current strengths and weaknesses. The
accumulated evidence can provide the skills to develop NLP-based applications for evaluating the relevant and quality aspects of
education in higher educational settings. Furthermore, NLP researchers can be updated on the strengths and limitations of document
analysis, allowing them to apply effective text representation approaches and implement the appropriate algorithm and techniques for
NLP tasks, particularly in educational data.
Keywords: NLP, syntactic features, semantic fea
Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation for Transmission Dynamics and Surveillance of Dengue: Conceptual and Design Model
Full text linkAfrican countries need to strengthen surveillance and control of arboviral diseases such as dengue due to increased outbreaks and spread of arboviruses. Climatic, socio-environment, and ecological variables influence the spread of dengue fever in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper presents an Agent-Based conceptual and design model for dengue fever developed using the Multi-Agent Research and Simulation (MARS) framework. The study analyzes dengue fever's spatial distribution and identifies the causal relationship between the disease and its climatic and environmental variables. Agent-based modeling (ABM) was used to comprehend the spatial patterns of variation to determine the ecological association between the observed spatio-temporal variations in dengue fever. The domain and design model of an ABM for the surveillance of dengue fever is presented based on the Overview, Design Concepts, and Details (ODD) protocol. Model input parameters and input data for the study area are also presented. The dengue ABM can be adopted and reused for modeling other diseases and other complex problems from different domains while ensuring that their unique characteristics and appropriate modifications are considered to ensure the model's validity and relevance to the new context
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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