MMTI Theses and Dissertations (2018)

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    Leveraging TV white apace to monitor game conservation environments
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Mabele, Leonard Omung’ala
    Installation of camera-traps by the conservancies has been gaining interest in the recent years here in Kenya. This is due to the increased scientific need to carry out wildlife research and also monitor the movement patterns of the wild game as a way of helping to address issues such as human-wildlife conflict and poaching. This is also gaining traction by the safari camps to enhance customer experience. The implementation of these camera-traps poses a limitation of remotely accessing the camera feeds. This is majorly caused by a challenge of connectivity as many of these game environments are located in rural environments of Kenya. The focus of this study was to find out and establish the best approach of implementing a camera-trap that allows remote access of feeds in the game environments while leveraging on the connectivity that can be provided through deployment of Television (TV) White Space network. Through the use of questionnaires, an online survey was conducted in a select conservancy and a safari camp to investigate the challenges and the technology state within these environments that limit the adoption of networked game cameras. Various secondary sources were also studied to understand the existing connectivity technologies in the realm of the Internet of Things (IoT). The study used a combination of hardware and software technologies in realising the model in a TV White Space environment. A networked game camera prototype that delivers video feeds on a remote mobile interface was developed. The camera prototype utilised a programmed Raspberry Pi camera and the System-On-Chip to relay the gathered feeds in real-time to the mobile interface. The mobile interface developed in this case was an Android-based mobile-web. This was tested by ordinary users in a Wi-Fi environment, TV White Space connectivity experts and conservation officers.
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    A Mobile application for tracking and verification of cobalt ores in artisanal mines a case study of democratic republic of Congo
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Kakira, Destin Nsarhaza
    Tracking and verification of Cobalt in artisanal mines is enormously challenging in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Several artisanal mining companies have been disseminated throughout the country, some of these companies are involved in illegal exports and branding of Cobalt ores. Consequently, these unlawful activities are leaching a fifth of all Cobalt revenue away from the state budget. It is estimated that between 2013 and 2016, over $1.3 billion of payment by mining companies to Congo’s tax agencies never reached the national treasury. This research used an online questionnaire that was distributed to 95 mine inspectors and mining officers to give a comprehensive study of characteristics of a licit Cobalt ores bag, methods and technology currently used to track and verify Cobalt ores bags and how a mobile application for tracking and verification of Cobalt bags can be designed, developed and tested. Google analytics tools were used to collect data from respondents. The results were used to attain the system requirements and design of an Android application for tracking and verification of Cobalt ores in artisanal mines. Agile software development methodology was used because it allows iteration and gets the user involved in the entire process of development. The Android application was integrated with a back-end application which gives a synopsis of Cobalt ores bags legally extracted and vetted artisanal mines. Testing and validation was done on the final prototype by the potential users of the application. Mine inspectors, mining officers and ultimately the government tax collector agencies stand to gain by using the mobile application to ensure that a Cobalt ores bag has been extracted from a vetted artisanal mine. It allows the government to maximize the revenue from tax on Cobalt extracted from artisanal mines and minimize significantly the illegal exports and rebranding of Cobalt ores in artisanal mining sector. The proposed system achieved imposing results in terms of functionalities. Respondents stated that the system solved the problem related to tracking and verification of Cobalt ores in artisanal mines. 100 % of respondents were able to scan or generate the QR code. It crucial to note that if the system is adopted by the government through the Ministry of mines, illegal exportation and branding of Cobalt ores can be significantly reduced.
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    Improving customer shopping experience using an Android bar-code reader application
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Othuon, Kiza Dimira
    Queues continue to grow in spite of exhaustive methods done at the supermarkets to reduce it. There has been a rising interest in fast and simple shopping in supermarkets. In the ordinary shopping framework, check-out counters are distributed to minimize the queues yet at the same time it is said to be tedious. This created an exceptional opportunity that the researcher used to improve the current way of managing check-out queues and improve customer shopping experience. A review on consumer shopping behavior and existing solutions was done to get an understanding of consumer’s reaction to queues. Several theoretical models were extracted and combined in order to facilitate the study of queues and discovery of retail solutions. The literature shows that queues are an extremely complex phenomenon, and many of the drivers and pointers to customer satisfaction with queuing cannot be measured simply in terms such as the length of queue or wait time. Improving queues and satisfying customers required considerable understanding and more sophisticated responses. A mobile and web application was developed to make the management of check-out queues easier and efficient and to improve customer shopping experience. Agile methodology was adopted as the software methodology for the development of the application. Scan It, a mobile barcode scanning application was developed as a tool to offer an interactive platform where customers can scan and purchase supermarket products. It was developed for better improvement of shopping experience. The final prototype was tested to verify if the requirements were met.
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    A Mobile based Tuberculosis contact tracing and screening system
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Mwongela, Stanslaus Wambua
    The National TB programme in Kenya is facing some significant challenges as relates to TB contact tracing and screening. Tuberculosis contact tracing and screening is typically conducted in resource-limited settings with paper forms. This approach presents a number of challenges, first is the challenge of covering vast geographical locations with the limited number of health workers. The approach is also limited by inefficiencies in data collection, storage, retrieval and poor data quality. These limitations of the current contact tracing and screening, have made the National TB Programme in Kenya fall short of reaching its objectives in combating TB and consequently the country has experienced an increase in TB rates. This scenario creates a significant gap, which the researcher can help close by improving the current way of TB contact tracing and screening. This study aimed to come up with a mobile-based system for TB contact tracing and screening using USSD technology and Android technology. Agile methodology was adopted as the software methodology for developing the system. An Android application was developed for the use of identifying TB contacts, alerting TB contacts to screen their symptoms and risk factors and recording laboratory results of TB contacts. Further, a USSD application was developed to allow TB contacts to select their symptoms, risk factors and to check status of their screening results. Both the USSD application and Android application were integrated with analytical back-end for presenting summary of the activities of contact tracing and screening. The TB contact tracing and screening system was developed and designed to benefit from the high mobile phone availability and usage in Kenya, to improve TB contact tracing and screening and tackle the inefficiencies of surveillance based on paper records. The system also improves decision making by TB policy officials by providing them with relevant surveillance reports, analytics and statistics.
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    A Mobile financial management system for investment groups
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Matu, Zachary Kabugi
    Investment groups have become a sure path to financial freedom not only because of their simplistic nature, but also due to the substantial gains that members of such groups accrue. They have been recognized as the driving force of the non-formal economy helping members to invest in various industries like real estate and transport. However, many of them fizzle out without making any substantial gains due to poor financial management practices and lack of financial management tools. Majority of investment groups are unable to accurately document, manage and track their financial transactions leading to lack of transparency and accountability. The study establishes that majority of investment groups are not able to effectively manage their finances due to various factors like limited financial resources to take up credible tools for financial management and limited access to information on financial management. To fill this gap, the study came up with a mobile financial management system. The system comprised of an Android mobile phone, an Android application and a back-end web application for authentication, transactions monitoring and generation of reports. The application was implemented using a combination of mobile money technologies to allow group members to contribute directly to a group’s bank account. The application allowed group members to view financial statements for the group e.g. group balance sheets and trial balances hence enhancing transparency. The functionality and usability of the system was tested to establish whether the system and user needs were adequately realized. Results of the tests established the system is efficient, fast and user friendly, hence, a conclusion was made that the system can therefore be used in Investment Groups to accurately document, manage and track financial transactions in real time. Additionally, supporting MFIs can now accurately monitor these groups due to improved financial reporting brought about by the solution.
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    A Mobile application to improve tracking and verification of products in supply chain logistics using blockchain technology
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Kiano, Julius Gikonyo
    In Kenya, the generation, distribution and utilisation of fake products has been expanding at an alarming rate. In spite of the fact that there has been numerous related researches concentrating on improving supply chain quality management, major issues are still present due to the lack of trust in a supply chain. The main challenges facing traditional supply chain is the self-interest of supply chain members and the limitations of quality inspections. With vast supply chains it becomes next to impossible to trace the movement of goods as they make their way to a retailer. A retailer then does not have a trusted way of verifying authenticity of goods received. Blockchain is a promising technology that can be leveraged to solve the aforementioned problems by providing a decentralised system of trust. The purpose of this study is to address the shortcomings of a traditional supply chain by leveraging Blockchain technology. This study has developed a solution that is able to provide an effective, efficient and secure way to track and verify products in a supply chain. The mobile application is able to track the distributions of products among the manufacturers, distributors and consumers. Supporting the mobile application is a network of distributed fault-tolerant validator nodes that utilise the Proof of Stake algorithm to maintain and mutate the state of the Blockchain based on incoming transactions.This study adopted the Agile Software methodology because it offers a quick and flexible way to conduct development sprints and incorporating user feedback. The developed solution recorded high performance results from the usability tests conducted and the network of distributed validator nodes maintained consistent and accurate Blockchain records, facilitating a decentralised method of trust within a supply chain.
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    Class attendance monitoring system using NFC technology
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Mwangi, Philomena Waithira
    The ubiquitous nature of ICT has made it possible to create innovations which have contributed to efficiency across different industries. As such, ICT has been applied in different areas of educational management, from content creation and distribution to electronic assessments. More recently, it has been applied in the monitoring of class attendance in different institutions across the world. Local institutions still rely on manual monitoring of this information, and as such prompted this research which seeks to find a lasting solution to this problem through the application of ICT. NFC technology involves wireless communication between digital devices through the use of electromagnetic signals. This technology has been used for a variety of purposes, especially in electronic payments. The properties of NFC tags which allow identification information to be written on them has made it possible for the technology to be used in place of biometric technologies. NFC has therefore emerged as a means through which identification can be done using a device with an NFC tag and read through an NFC reader. This research presents preliminary information relating to the class attendance monitoring process. Informed by the growing need for automation in this process, this document has addressed the challenges and opportunities for change around manual class attendance monitoring. Relevant literature was reviewed in an effort to differentiate a solution that has be applied to the current local situation. The qualitative method was used to obtain information on the challenges faced with the current manual system, and thereafter the prototyping methodology used to develop the solution which is based on the NFC technology. The intention of this research paper was to revolutionize the ways in which attendance information is collected within institutions of higher learning.