The Zelensky files: Leadership strategies and practices for university leaders

Leadership, in all its guises, is complex, messy, elusive and often times enigmatic. Talented leaders fail and average leaders thrive in all sectors of society, including universities. Dynamic leadership situations with the right timing and a little luck create great leaders; complex situations also result in failure for some of the most talented leaders. And, occasionally a leader’s talent transcends even the most complex situational context resulting in sustainable transformational change. This paper is a descriptive analysis of one leader who has captured the hearts, minds and imaginations of people across the world – President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. The article askes: Does Zelensky’s leadership contribute to the field of leadership? Do the Zelensky’s files [lessons] provide leadership options for university leaders? The author concludes yes to both research questions. Indeed, this article is not a political statement nor advocacy for any particular position. It is a discussion and analysis of leadership – and not simply for presidents and senior CEO leaders but all leaders within universities and schools, particularly those in educational technology and online digital learning. Education is at a crossroads and it is increasingly clear that institutions of the future must be resilient, adaptive and agile organisations capable of responding rapidly and effectively to societal trends and change. Future-proofing education against uncertainty, change, and complexity is simply not a viable option. Organisations will need a dynamic, humanistic and inspirational approach to leadership centred around empathy, empowerment, engagement and execution. Leaders of digital online learning units and managers of educational technology will need The Zelensky Files as much as chief executives

Techniques for lightning prediction: A review

Lightning is a natural occurrence which is created through the mixture of hot and cold air in the cloud. Sudden occurrence of lightning has caused damages to many lives and properties, for this reason; there is a need to develop a system that can predict lighting occurrence for people to take necessary precaution. However, accurately predicting lightning has been a challenge among researchers, as they find it difficult to select the right approach and algorithms to use when predicting lightning. Thus, this paper presents a systematic literature review on the best techniques for lightning prediction by reviewing relevant papers that are systematically collected based on the inclusion and the exclusion criteria from four different academic databases which includes Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Science direct, and SpringerLink. The findings from the review shows that the Random Forest algorithm is mostly used for lightning prediction and has generally out performed all other algorithms that have been used in lightning prediction in remote region. Also the review finds out that there is an inverse relationship between predicting system accuracy and lead time. Another observation in the research is that numerical weather prediction predicts more accurately compare to geo satellite prediction

Detecting tomato leaf diseases with convolutional neural networks and image processing using a Sri Lankan tomato leaf dataset

Crops like tomatoes are vital to farmers' livelihoods in Sri Lanka, where agriculture is a key economic pillar. But growing tomatoes comes with a lot of difficulties, not the least of which is the possibility of certain diseases that can destroy crops. The timely implementation of interventions and reduction of losses are contingent upon the early discovery of these disorders. Using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and image processing techniques, this study offers a novel solution to this problem by detecting tomato leaf illnesses. One unique aspect of this study is the use of a custom dataset made up of photos of Sri Lankan tomato leaves from several farms in Embilipitiya, Suriyawewa an area noted for being susceptible to several tomato illnesses. The dataset includes a variety of disease categories that are common in the local agricultural setting, such as tomato early blight, tomato Septoria leaf spot, tomato curl, and tomato leaf minor. The quality of the dataset is improved using pre-processing methods including segmentation and picture enhancement. The dataset is then used to train a CNN architecture for the purpose of classifying diseases. The efficiency of the suggested method is demonstrated by the experimental findings, which show that it can accurately identify and classify tomato leaf diseases. The system that has been built provides an automated and effective tool for early disease diagnosis, which facilitates timely intervention and efficient management approaches. Utilising a localised dataset improves the system's resilience and adaptability, which makes it ideal for implementation in Sri Lankan tomato farms

Cybersecurity education for South African school children through the action Cybercrime Prevention Programme: A systematic literature review

Cybertechnologies have become so important to human daily engagements that society can hardly do anything outside these ubiquitous technologies. These technologies have a great impact on the economy, as well as the social well-being of citizens in developed and third world countries. The dependence on digital technologies is useful in every sector of society. The consistent call for the adoption of digital technologies in education has seen different governments in advanced and developing nations of the world introducing the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) at the different facets of education. This introduction of ICT has brought in the use of the Internet in education which in turn has exposed the learners to the various threats that come with exposure to the Internet or cybertechnology. The internet is believed to have played a prominent role in facilitating the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) in the different sectors of the world economy, most especially education. However, cybertechnology has brought a new dimension of threats ranging from cyber-bullying, identity theft, scamming, advanced fee fraud, and so many other dangers to humans’ daily existence. None of the citizens in the developed and developing nations of the world is immune from these crimes committed in cyberspace; therefore, there is a need to introduce school children to cybersecurity education as early as possible. It is in light of the foregoing that this systematic review proposes the Action Cybercrime Prevention Programme to equip school children with knowledge and skills that would minimise their exposure to dangers inherent in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and the Internet for education and social purposes. This systematic review discusses the intergenerational effects of the proposed Action Cybercrime Prevention Programme on young learners to educate their parents or grandparents from falling victim to cybercrimes

Development of students' critical thinking abilities through active literary analysis approaches

The topic of the essay is how to cultivate critical thinking through literary works. It stands for a variety of analytical, research, and cognitive techniques meant to stimulate mental processes while reading and understanding literary texts. Additionally, it emphasizes the active literary analysis techniques that foster critical thinking in students, such as event analysis, fishbone structures, and socionist analysis. The study's findings demonstrated that today's openness in literary education permits a variety of methods and resources for examining the linguistic and fictional "fabric" of literary texts.The topic of the essay is how to cultivate critical thinking through literary works. It stands for a variety of analytical, research, and cognitive techniques meant to stimulate mental processes while reading and understanding literary texts. Additionally, it emphasizes the active literary analysis techniques that foster critical thinking in students, such as event analysis, fishbone structures, and socionist analysis. The study's findings demonstrated that today's openness in literary education permits a variety of methods and resources for examining the linguistic and fictional "fabric" of literary texts

Techniques for creating and printing historical architectural artifacts in 3D

The authors outline a technique for creating and printing three-dimensional models that can be used for graphic reconstruction of old architectural objects. An illustration of the sequence of implementation of the methodology is the creation of a model of the Parochial Cathedral of St. Mary. To reveal the implementation of the methodology, the authors demonstrate the sequence of execution of the stages of architectural-spatial modeling: analysis, construction, design, printing of the model. The analytical stage of designing the model of the cathedral was carried out on the basis of archival photographs and drawings. A stereogram miniature of the destroyed cathedral was used to create a three-dimensional model. Measurement of image parallax serves as the basis for reconstruction of the configuration of a spatial object. The stages of project implementation are defined. The methods of modeling using 3DS Max tools and preparing the model for 3D printing in Cura are presented.The authors outline techniques for creating and printing three-dimensional models that can be used to graphically rebuild old architectural pieces. The construction of a model of the 1950s Parochial Cathedral of St. Mary of the Perpetual Assistance serves as an illustration of the methodologies' order of operation. The most widely used specialized software tools have been examined and evaluated, and the 3DS Max environment has been selected to create a three-dimensional model. The suggested software solutions provide effective methods for handling large amounts of data and are pertinent to current IT developments. They also boost the accuracy, speed, and granularity of fixing complex systems and extended databases. The order and nature of the operations for the cycles of analysis and modeling are supported. The cathedral model was constructed from old photos and sketches. To reconstruct the architectural object, the authors discuss techniques, an algorithm of steps, and the fundamentals of architectural and spacious modeling. The stereogram miniature of the demolished Cathedral is used to create the three-dimensional model. The measurement of picture parallax serves as the foundation for the reconstruction of spacious object configuration. The phases of the project's execution are chosen. Methods for implementing modeling using 3DS Max tools and getting the model ready for 3D printing in Cura are presented

A systematic review of the literature on methods and technologies for teaching parallel and distributed computing in universities

There is a growing demand for software developers who have experience writing parallel programs rather than just "parallelizing" sequential systems as computer hardware gets more and more parallel. In order to develop the skills of future software engineers, it is crucial to teach pupils parallelism in elementary computer science courses. We searched the Scopus database for articles on "teaching parallel and distributed computing" and "parallel programming," published in English between 2008 and 2019. 26 papers were included in the study after quality review. As a result, a lab course using the C++ programming language and MPI library serves as the primary teaching tool for parallel and distributed computing.There is a growing demand for software developers who have experience writing parallel programs rather than just "parallelizing" sequential systems as computer hardware gets more and more parallel. In order to develop the skills of future software engineers, it is crucial to teach pupils parallelism in elementary computer science courses. We searched the Scopus database for articles on "teaching parallel and distributed computing" and "parallel programming," published in English between 2008 and 2019. 26 papers were included in the study after quality review. As a result, a lab course using the C++ programming language and MPI library serves as the primary teaching tool for parallel and distributed computing

Consciousness of undergraduate students in Nigerian universities about security risks of online social networking

This study was designed to examine the consciousness of undergraduate students in Nigerian universities about the security risks of online social networking. Data was collected from 336 students using Qualtrics, an online survey tool. To a large extent, 53.4% of the respondents reported concerns about the specific data that other social media users could possess about them due to their participation in social networking. As high as 72.6% reported that they are aware of pretenders in the OSN; they are very vigilant in adding people to their friends’ list and seriously consider security (75.9%) before posting their photos to avoid exploitation. Indices of the security consciousness are not as high. Except for social media experience (p=0.112) and past privacy invasion (p=0.209), the rest of the variables explained the security risk consciousness of the students. &nbsp

A design model proposal for digital learning platform based on interactive e-books

One of the most important factors in the successful results of electronic learning environments is the strengthening of student-content interaction. In creating this interaction structure, it is of great importance that the content used is interesting by the student. The digital transformation in the traditional publishing industry allows the use of electronic books in different formats. The possibilities brought by new technologies allow students to use Interactive Electronic Books (IEB) as an educational material, independent of time and place, through smart devices. The IEB is a program that can be accessed with new digital devices such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and students can use Augmented Reality (AR), 3D animation, video files, etc. It is a technology in which it is integrated with electronic media and technologies. The use of interactive e-books as an educational material can also enable instructors to monitor student activities on these books. This study has been developed to convey the design and development processes of IEB, AR applications in IEB and a simple LMS in which IEB can be integrated, which is thought to contribute to student-content interaction. In the study, first the theoretical approach of the integrated system, then the development processes of LMS, IEB and AR applications are presented within the framework of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) approach

Digital technologies for conducting dictations in Ukrainian

At present, modern information technologies are developing very rapidly. A lot of different software tools are being created to improve and simplify people's lives. This is especially true in the context of distance learning. In the context of online learning, the traditional form of conducting dictations needs to be transformed. Therefore, it is possible to propose automation of the process of conducting and checking dictations using software. The paper analyzes scientific research and publications of the current state of language synthesis technologies and text similarity testing. With the help of C# and the language synthesis libraries of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, software has been developed that allows the user to listen and type text, and then automatically check it with the initial sample. The conducted testing for different types of errors showed the possibility and expediency of development the system for conducting and checking dictations. Follow-up activities will focus on improving the effectiveness of the program. The use of such programs will help improve the organization of conducting and checking dictations during distance learning and self-training of students