Clustering and Visualizing the Status of Child Health in Kenya: A Data Mining Approach.

International audienceThe inauguration of the new constitution in Kenya has led to the devolution of health care in the counties. It is against this backdrop that has necessitated the need to develop a model of grouping these regions into natural groups with similar characteristics that can influence the child health for the purpose of health care planning and regulation. Little research has explored the methodology that can be used to create such groupings in Kenya. The purpose of this research was to develop and explore a methodology of clustering and visualizing the status of the child health in Kenya. In this research we propose a new model that clusters the counties based on the UNICEF indicators of child health. The cluster analysis methodology employed to achieve this was by use of k-means clustering algorithm. Both hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering algorithms were used to build a consensus with the results of clusters obtained by k-means. The number of clusters selected was based on heuristic integrating a statistical-based measure of cluster fit. Using data from literature, the clustering methodology developed grouped the 47 counties into three distinctive clusters. These three clusters were made up of 12, 8 and 27 observations respectively. The study classified the clusters as well-off, most marginalized and moderately marginalized counties. The methodology developed was objective, replicable and sustainable to create the clusters. It was developed in a theoretically sound principle and can generalize across applications requiring clustering. An examination of several clustering algorithms revealed similar results

A Secure Web Based Records Management System for Prisons: A Case of Kisoro Prison in Uganda

Most Prisons in the developing countries are still using the traditional system – pen and papers, to keep track of their records. This system takes long to finish a single transaction; this has led to loss of information of some cases (crimes files), insecurity and data redundancy. Similarly, some cases have been reported where some prison staff connives with clients (victims) to change and hide some information or files hence leading to compromising the evidence of the matter. This has consequently resulted in time wastage to handle cases, increased corruption and insecurity of important files hence making the whole process costly. Also when reports are needed especially about prisoners, it takes a long time and therefore makes it hard for Prison Management to take urgent decisions. This has created a lot of loopholes in the system because there is no tracking and/or monitoring of the information available in the different Departments and there are no security measures in place to safe guard the available information. This necessitated automating the system to make it more efficient and effective. There was close study of the existing manual file based system that was in use, it was compared to the proposed system. A prototype of a proposed system was developed to ease data access, security and retrieval for instant report production by the prison management. The prototype was developed using MySql database, PHP, CSS, JavaScript and HTML

Impact of direct-electric-current on growth and bioactive compounds of African nightshade (<i>Solanum scabrum</i> Mill.) plants

Production of indigenous African leafy vegetables such as African nightshade (Solanum scabrum Mill.), whose high nutritional and medicinal value is well documented is still limited due to insufficient preharvest techniques. Electric current is known to improve quality in food crops. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of direct-electric-current (DC) on growth and characteristic bioactive and health promoting compounds were evaluated in different morphological sections, i.e., leaves and stems of African nightshade cv. Olevolosi. Six weeks old plants were exposed to different DC applied with a voltage of 8 and 16 V, 10 h/day for 12 days. Non-treated plants served as control. Plant growth, primary and secondary plant compounds were evaluated. Applying DC increased leaf fresh (11.5-14.4%) and dry (12.1-24.2%) weight as well as marketable leaves (29.1-55.3%). Biosynthesis of chlorophylls and carotenoids was enhanced by increased DC. Furthermore, dietary fibre fractions such as hemicellulose was promoted (23.3-45.3%) by DC applications, while cellulose and lignin remained unaffected. Minerals accumulated with increasing DC. Alteration of cell membrane permeability due to DC may enhance physiological processes leading to the improved growth and acceleration of bioactive compounds in African nightshade leaves

Modeling and Visualization of Clinical Texts to Enhance Meaningful and User-Friendly Information Retrieval

Access to digital health data collections such as clinical notes, discharge summaries, or medical charts has increased in the last few years due to the increased use of electronic health records, which provide instant access to patients’ clinical information. The volume and the unstructured nature of these datasets present great challenges in analyses and subsequent applications to healthcare. The growing volume of clinical data generated and stored in electronic health records creates challenges for physicians when reviewing patients’ records with the aim of understanding individual patients’ health histories. Electronic healthcare records contain large volumes of unstructured data, which require one to read through to get the required information. This is a challenging task due to lack of suitable techniques to quickly extract the needed information. Information processing tools in the clinical domain that provide support to users in seeking needed information are lacking. The use of data visualization has been introduced in an attempt to solve this problem; however, no single approach has been widely adopted. In this paper, we propose a unique approach for modeling clinical notes using the semantics of various units of a clinical text document to aid doctors in reviewing electronic clinical notes. This is achieved by applying the supervised machine learning technique to identify and present semantically similar information together, facilitating the identification of relevant information to users

Potentials for using interactive storytelling as a pedagogical tool : A qualitative and explorative focusgroup featuring co-design

Denna studie undersöker interaktivt berättande och lärande på webben som medium. Syftet är att studien ska resultera i kunskap om hur man kan gå tillväga för att skapa en interaktiv berättelse som kommunicerar och lär ut till målgruppen. Det grundläggande forskningsproblemet som försökte lösas var att besvara hur man kan skapa en interaktiv berättelse som genom sina komponenter assisterar i att lära ut till målgruppen. Studien har haft kvalitativa fokusgruppsintervjuer som metod. I anslutning till fokusgruppsintervjun hölls en workshop med inslag av co-design. Detta för att undersöka målgruppens syn på interaktivt berättande och lärande på webben. Målgruppen har definierats som digital natives i åldern 18–25 år. Valet av målgrupp motiveras med att de spenderar en övervägande stor tid på internet. Det teoretiska ramverket för studien är teorier som berör interaktivt berättande, co-design samt lärande. Studien utgick från detta ramverk i analysen av insamlade data från fokusgruppen. Därefter skapades en prototyp baserat på resultatet från studien och efter det utvärderades prototypen tillsammans med två deltagare från tidigare fokusgrupp. Genom analysen framkom flera insikter utifrån målgruppens syn på interaktivt berättande. Några av dessa insikter var att de interaktiva aspekterna av webbsidan ska harmonisera med innehållet. Webbsidan ska vara dynamisk och multisensorisk, bild och ljud ska assistera övrigt innehåll. En webbsida med en hög grad interaktivitet är möjligen fördelaktig för att skapa engagemang och få uppmärksamhet men kan samtidigt vara förvirrande i brist på struktur. Detta sammanfattades och konkretiserades i en första iteration av prototypen. Uppsatsen presenterar en lösning på problemet gällande hur en interaktiv berättelse kan användas för att lära ut på webben. Prototypen som skapades är en möjlig lösning på denna problematik. Implikationer till fortsatt forskning är att undersöka den äldre målgruppen digital immigrants.This study investigates interactive storytelling and learning on the web as a medium. The aim for this study is to result in knowledge of how to create interactive storytelling that through its components communicate with and educate the target group. The core research problem that we attempted to solve was; how to create an interactive story that educates the target audience. This study has had a qualitative research method, specifically focus groups. Within the focus group interview, a workshop with elements of co-design was included. The reason for this was to investigate the audience's view of interactive storytelling and learning on the web. The target group has been defined as digital natives within the age span of 18 – 25 years. The reason for choosing this target group is motivated by them spending a predominantly large amount of time on the Internet. The theoretical framework for this study is theories in relation to interactive storytelling, co-design and learning. This theoretical framework was used in the analysis of the data collected during the focus group interview. A prototype was created based on the results of the study. The prototype was then evaluated together with two participants from the previous focus group. The analysis revealed several insights based on the audience's view of interactive storytelling. In the following text, some of the insights are described. The interactive aspects of the webpage should harmonize with the content. The webpage should be dynamic and multisensory, images and sound should assist other content. A webpage with a large amount of interactivity might be advantageous for gaining the users interest and attention but can also be confusing if lacking in structure. This information was summarized and applied in the creation of the first iteration of the prototype This essay presents a solution to the question of how an interactive story can be applied and used for education on the web. The prototype created is a possible solution to this problem. Implications for further research could be to investigate an older target group, such as digital immigrants

Utilizing Technology: A Cross-Sectional Study on ICT in Healthcare in Kericho County, Kenya

Introduction: The potential for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in healthcare is immense, revolutionizing the delivery of medical services and improving patient outcomes. ICT efficiently manages health information, facilitating electronic health records (EHRs) and streamlined communication among healthcare professionals, leading to significant changes, especially in underserved areas. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study took place between March and April 2023 among healthcare professionals in Kericho County, Kenya. Participants were selected using simple random sampling and completed a self-administered questionnaire. Data on the ICT status of health facilities were collected using a checklist. The qualitative component involved key informant interviews with a health record and information department officer. Collected data were entered into Excel and analysed using R software for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. Results: The study engaged 201 participants. Findings showed a 67.66% [95% CI=0.607, 0.741]; p-value<0.0001, uptake of ICT among healthcare workers. Those with computer training were approximately 10 times [OR = 10.867, 95% CI=3.121, 40.99] more likely to utilize ICT in service delivery than those without IT training. Operating at least one healthcare database was associated with over 2 times [OR=2.552, 95% CI=0.7475, 8.7195] higher likelihood of ICT uptake compared to those without this skill. Health facilities with eHealth platforms showed, on average, 38% higher [OR=1.386, 95% CI=0.7661, 2.223] utilization of ICT than those without. Conclusion: IT training for personnel is crucial, ensuring they can operate preferred health management and information systems (HMIS) within the sector. The presence of an IT department and the use of ICT for administrative purposes significantly affected the general uptake of ICT in health facilities. Additionally, infrastructure such as roads, power, and security had a significant association with ICT compliance. Improving these supportive elements will considerably enhance ICT uptake in healthcare

Dynamic Channel Sharing Strategies through Gametheoretic Reinforcement Learning

Abstract—Random access protocols are used by multiple nodes in wireless networks to effectively share a wireless channel for data transmission. While competing for the channel, the nodes seek to achieve an individual or group objective. Game theory, can thus be applied to analyze and model individual or group behavior of nodes in random access networks. It can also be used as an ‘engineering ’ application and subsequently re–engineer the system. In this paper, the current CSMA/CA mechanism was analyzed using game theory. Based on the analysis, the strategy space available to individual nodes was increased so that the optimal strategies for different situations learnt using reinforcement learning. From the analysis it was determined that the Nash equilibrium was not Pareto optimal. Simulation experiments yielded better results for the modified algorithm pointing to moving the Nash equilibrium towards being fair and Pareto optimal