Prediction of students’ performance in e-learning environment using random forest

The need of advancement in e-learning technology causes educational data to become very huge and increase very rapidly. The data is generated daily as a result of students interaction with e-learning environment, especially learning management systems. The data contain hidden information about the participation of students in various activities of e-learning which when revealed can be used to associate with the students performance. Predicting the performance of students based on the use of e-learning system in educational institutions is a major concern and has become very important for education managements to better understand why so many students perform poorly or even fail in their studies. However, it is difficult to do the prediction due to the diverse factors or characteristics that influence their performance. This dissertation is aimed at predicting students performance by considering the students interaction in e-learning environment, their assessment marks and their prerequisite knowledge as prediction features. Random Forest algorithm, which is an ensemble of decision trees, has been used for prediction and the comparative analysis shows that the algorithm outperforms the popular decision tree and K-Nearest Neighbor algorithms. However, Naive Bayes outperformed Random Forest. In addition to the performance prediction, Random Forest was also used to identify the significant attributes that influence students performance, which was validated by a statistical test using Pearson correlation. The research therefore, revealed that lab task, assignments, midterm and prerequisite knowledge are significant indicators of students performance predictions

Active and Fast Tunable Plasmonic Metamaterials

Active and Fast Tunable Plasmonic Metamaterials is a research development that has contributed to studying the interaction between light and matter, specifically focusing on the interaction between the electromagnetic field and free electrons in metals. This interaction can be stimulated by the electric component of light, leading to collective oscillations. In the field of nanotechnology, these phenomena have garnered significant interest due to their ability to enable the transmission of both optical signals and electric currents through the same thin metal structure. This presents an opportunity to connect the combined advantages of photonics and electronics within a single platform. This innovation gives rise to a new subfield of photonics known as plasmonic metamaterials.Plasmonic metamaterials are artificial engineering materials whose optical properties can be engineered to generate the desired response to an incident electromagnetic wave. They consist of subwavelength-scale structures which can be understood as the atoms in conventional materials. The collective response of a randomly or periodically ordered ensemble of such meta-atoms defines the properties of the metamaterials, which can be described in terms of parameters such as permittivity, permeability, refractive index, and impedance. At the interface between noble metal particles and dielectric media, collective oscillations of the free electrons in the metal particles can be resonantly excited, known as plasmon resonances. This work considered two plasmon resonances: localised surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) and propagating surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs).The investigated plasmonic metamaterials, designed with specific structures, were considered for use in various applications, including telecommunications, information processing, sensing, industry, lighting, photovoltaic, metrology, and healthcare. The sample structures are manufactured using metal and dielectric materials as artificial composite materials. It can be used in the electromagnetic spectrum's visible and near-infrared wavelength range. Results obtained proved that artificial composite material can produce a thermal coherent emission at the mid-infrared wavelength range and enable active and fast-tunable optoelectronic devices. Therefore, this work focused on the integrated thermal infrared light source platforms for various applications such as thermal analysis, imaging, security, biosensing, and medical diagnosis. Enabled by Kirchhoff's law of thermal radiation, this work combined the concepts of material absorption with material emission. Hence, the results obtained proved that this approach enhances the overall performance of the active and fast-tunable plasmonic metamaterial in terms of with effortless and fast tunability. This work further considers the narrow line width of the coherent thermal emission, tunable emission, and angular tunable emission at the mid-infrared, which are achieved through plasmonic stacked grating structure (PSGs) and plasmonic infrared absorber structure (PIRAs).Three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic stacked gratings (PSGs) was used to create a tunable plasmonic metamaterial at optical wavelengths ranging from 3 m to 6 m, and from 6m to 9 m. These PSGs are made of a metallic grating with corrugations caused by narrow air openings, followed by a Bragg grating (BG). Additionally, this work demonstrated a thermal radiation source customised for the mid-infrared wavelength range of 3 μm to 5 μm. This source exhibits intriguing characteristics such as high emissivity, narrowband spectra, and sharp angular response capabilities. The proposed thermal emitter consists of a two-dimensional (2D) metallic grating on top of a one-dimensional dielectric BG.Results obtained presented a plasmonic infrared absorber (PIRA) graphene nanostructure designed for a wavelength range of 3 to 14 μm. It was observed and concluded that this wavelength range offers excellent opportunities for detection, especially when targeting gas molecules in the infrared atmospheric windows. The design framework is based on active plasmon control for subwavelength-scale infrared absorbers within the mid-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Furthermore, this design is useful for applications such as infrared microbolometers, infrared photodetectors, and photovoltaic cells.Finally, the observation and conclusion drawn for the sample of nanostructure used in this work, which consists of an artificial composite arrangement with plasmonic material, can contribute to a highly efficient mid-infrared light source with low power consumption, fast response emissions, and is a cost-effective structure

The mediating effect of school based management on climate, bureaucracy and effectiveness in Nigeria secondary schools

School effectiveness is a global issue among education stakeholders particularly in developing countries where difficulties in delivering quality education are widespread. However, internal and external factors in schools make school outcomes unpredictable, thus making bureaucracy an effective managerial and analytical tool which can be used to examine organizational structure and direct human behaviour. This study examined the effect of the school climate and bureaucracy on effectiveness by means of mediating the relationships through school-based management through a quantitative research of the cross-sectional survey type with population of 7,533 teachers. Four sets of instruments were adapted from the study of Ruane (1995), MacKay and Robinson (1966), Hoy and Ferguson (1985) and Bandur (2008) and were administered on a sample of 350 teachers in Nigeria secondary schools through a stratified random sampling of the proportionate method. The preliminary analysis of data was done through the Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis with the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS 23.0 version) was employed to test the fitness of data in relation to the constructs in the model and further confirm hypotheses generated for this study. The findings of this study revealed that, the underlying predictors were true measure of their respective constructs. There was a mediating effect of school-based management on bureaucracy and school effectiveness while the other path analysis revealed that school-based management did not mediate between school climate and school effectiveness. This study expands theory on bureaucracy as bright side and validates the assertion that, bureaucracy is required in public schools. It further proves that, even though climate is a key factor in school, the composition and structure of school differ across context. This can significantly increase the administration’s ability to collectively address member’s interest and further strengthen the school system

Identity and Access Management System: a Web-Based Approach for an Enterprise

Managing digital identities and access control for enterprise users and applications remains one of the greatest challenges facing computing today. An attempt to address this issue led to the proposed security paradigm called Identity and Access Management (IAM) service based on IAM standards. Current approaches such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Central Authentication Service (CAS) and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) lack comprehensive analysis from conception to physical implementation to incorporate these solutions thereby resulting in impractical and fractured solutions. In this paper, we have implemented Identity and Access Management System (IAMSys) using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) which focuses on authentication, authorization, administration of identities and audit reporting. Its primary concern is verification of the identity of the entity and granting correct level of access for resources which are protected in either the cloud environment or on-premise systems. A phased approach methodology was used in the research where it requires any enterprise or organization willing to adopt this must carry out a careful planning and demonstrated a good understanding of the technologies involved. The results of the experimental evaluation indicated that the average rating score is 72.0 % for the participants involved in this study. This implies that the idea of IAMSys is a way to mitigating security challenges associated with authentication, authorization, data protection and accountability if properly deployed

Al-Qaṣāʾid Fil-Madḥis Sayyidil-Maḥmoodi, Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa Sallam (Panegyric poems for the Prophet)

The entire manuscript is available for download as a single PDF file. Higher-resolution images may be available upon request. For technical assistance, please contact [email protected]. Fieldwork Team: Dr. Mustapha Hashim Kurfi (Principal Investigator), Malam Umar Hajji Mustapha (Local Project Manager) and Abdullahi Mohammed (General Field Facilitator). Technical Team: Prof. Fallou Ngom (Director African Studies Center), and Eleni Castro (Technical Lead, BU Libraries). This collection of Yoruba Anjemi materials are copied as part of the African Studies Center’s African Ajami Library. Access Condition and Copyright: These materials are subject to copyright. All rights reserved to the author. For use, distribution or reproduction contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]). Citation: Materials in this web edition should be cited as: Kurfi, Mustapha Hashim, Ngom, Fallou, and Castro, Eleni (2019). African Ajami Library: Digital Preservation of Yoruba Anjemi Materials of Southwestern Nigeria. Boston: Boston University Libraries: http://hdl.handle.net/2144/38122. For Inquiries: Please contact Professor Fallou Ngom ([email protected]).Provenance and Condition: This manuscript is owned by the Markaz Ihyahil Islam Abayawo, Ilorin – Nigeria, an institution, which propagates, teaches, and popularizes Yoruba Anjemi knowledge. This Al-Qaṣāʾid Yoruba Anjemi manuscript has 13 pages, which are all numbered using Roman numerals. This Yoruba Anjemi manuscript is in good condition and has the name of the translator/author As-Sheikh Al-Ḥājj Abubakar Yusuf As-Ṣūfī, with the date of publishing (1423 A.H.).This manuscript is a collection of panegyric poems in honor of Prophet Muḥammad. It is called "Al-Qaṣāʾid Fil-Madḥis Sayyidil-Maḥmoodi, Ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa Sallam," shortened as Al-Qaṣāʿid, which can be roughly translated as a set of Panegyric Poems for praising the leader of mankind, Peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him). Al-Qaṣāʾid, as the title suggests, hails and praises the unrivaled attributes of Prophet Muḥammad. The poems describe his virtuous characteristics, and what makes him unique, which include his being a chosen person, trustworthy, noble yet humble, generous, and compassionate. Like many prophetic poems – Waka, Al-Qaṣāʾid is a popular poem among the Yoruba Muslim communities. It is chanted in madrasas, as well as social gatherings, such as walimat (a banquet, dinner) during weddings, naming ceremonies, and so on. The author, Al-Ḥājj Abubakar Yusuf As-Ṣūfī uses the modern Mashriqi writing style, but with the special features of the Yoruba diacritics.The contents of this collection were developed with support of the Title VI National Resource Center grant # P015A180164 from the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government

The practice and challenges of e-Government in Nigeria in the 21st century

This paper investigates the state of the present condition of e-government commitment in Nigeria. It also, examines the difficulties encountered in the implementation process.Layne and Lee (2001) “Stages of growth theory” was adopted to explain the position of Nigeria in the implementation and the challenges it faced on e-government.To do this,this paper used secondary data as a source to collect different articles and report.This paper finds that while e-government is present in Nigeria, it is still in its initial stage.Not only have that, the environment lacked many prerequisites for the survival and continued maintenance of e-governance due to many factors such as inadequate electricity, technical expertise etcetera.It is therefore suggested that both the government and the stakeholders should take it up as a challenge to find quick and lasting solutions to them. There must also be political will and government should have its administrative staff retrained in IT to properly manage the facilities and infrastructure necessary for e-government

EXPLORING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AMONG HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES; A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

ABSTRACT Knowledge management is described as a systematic act of identifying, capturing, and disseminating information and knowledge so that individuals can utilize it to develop, complete, and improve knowledge. As such, knowledge management is viewed as both a concept and a practice and concept. Most firms are finding that knowledge management is a crucial instrument for preserving their reputation and standing in the global marketplace. This paper therefore aims to explore knowledge management among health professionals. Using the PRISMA approach, a systematic search was conducted on PUBMED and Google Scholar databases. The eligibility criteria include both qualitative and quantitative studies on knowledge management practices among health professionals. Extraction of data was done on all the papers that met the inclusion criteria based on the objectives of the study. A total of 115 articles were identified, of which 13 were selected for the review. Most of the publications examined emphasized knowledge sharing as a knowledge management practice. Knowledge sharing was through in-person interactions, social media, online forums, blogs, emails, etc. The respondents\u27 methods for gathering and creating knowledge included using personal computers, tabs, laptops, mobile devices, bookmarks, etc. Knowledge acquisition and/or application was done through training programs, coaching, webinars, continuing medical education, and other avenues for health information. However, factors affecting knowledge sharing among health professionals include resource allocation, access to information sources, intrinsic motivation, ICT infrastructure, ICT training among others. The study\u27s findings can be utilized as support for planning and implementing programs to enhance information sharing practices by health administrators, policy makers, health professionals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and researchers

Strengthening innovation capacity of Nigerian agricultural research organizations:

Strong agricultural research and development (R&D) is crucial for improving agricultural productivity and efficiency, which in turn both lead to agricultural development, food security, and poverty reduction. However, several studies have shown that in many developing countries, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa, there is persistent underinvestment in R&D and weak research capacity, both of which continue to undermine agricultural productivity and growth in these countries.research system, innovation system, Capacity development, organizational culture,