School of computing

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A Government Driven Approach Towards Green IT Economies
(African Journal of Computing and Information Systems (IJSTER-AJCIS)., 2016) Kamau, John Wachira; Muketha, Geoffrey Muchiri; Njeru, Kevin Mwiti
The growing threat on the environment driven by an accelerated growth in economic activities has amplified the role of government in enhancing sustainability. To business and the industry leaders, the global economic challenges have compelled them to reconsider how they do business to gain an economic advantage and as a drive towards enabling a socially responsible business environment. This has forced businesses and industry to consider and act on a broad range of socially responsible and sustainable programs. As a majority business and industry align their goals by embedding sustainability mechanisms as key pillars to economic empowerment, most global governments seem to be lagging behind in providing the necessary facilitation in their economies. In the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT), the integrating and enabling role of ICTs has been considered critical in managing the global carbon footprint by exploiting their innovative capabilities thus providing sustainable solutions to the environment. Even in this area, the government has been considered a late adopter thus limiting its ability to provide solutions that is critical in this vital area. This paper therefore analyzes the role of government in building a sustainable economy using ICT and provides an action plan for governments in developing economies. This is based on data collected from both primary and secondary sources. Descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyze the data and to draw conclusions. The action plan evaluates the role of government on green ICT from the perspectives of legislation, policies and regulations, Incentives, Education and social economics, support for business process integration and Implementation and usage of green ICT.
A Literature Survey of Image Descriptors in Content Based Image Retrieval
(International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 2016-03) Kamau, John Wachira; Makori, Cyrus Abanti; Mohamed, Abdulrehman Ahmed
As a result of the new communication technologies and the massive use of Internet in the society, the amount of audio-visual information available in digital format is increasing considerably. This has necessitated designing systems that allow describing the content of several types of multimedia information in order to search and classify them. The audiovisual descriptors are used for contents description in Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR). The CBIR is a technique for retrieving images on the basis of automatically-derived features such as color, texture and shape. It uses digital processing and analysis to automatically generate descriptions directly from the media data. Image descriptors are the descriptions of the visual features of the contents in images, which describe elementary characteristics of images such as the shape, the color, the texture or the motion, among others. A literature survey study is most important for understanding and gaining insight about specific area of a subject. Therefore, in this paper we survey some of the state-of-art technical aspects of image descriptors in CBIR. Even though lots of research works had been published on CBIR, however, in this paper an effort has been made to explore an in-depth chronological growth in this field of image descriptors with respect to performance measure metrics of CBIR systems.
A Model for Detecting Information Technology Infrastructure Policy Violations in a Cloud Environment
(The International Journal Of Science And Technoledge, 2019-09) Musau, Felix; Oginga, Ruth; Maghanga, Christopher
The pervasiveness of the internet and available connectivity solutions brought about by cloud computing has led to unprecedented increase in technologies built based on information technology infrastructures. Most organizations consider the deployment of different types of protection systems to curb the various malicious activities. Organizations offer sophisticated monitoring and reporting capabilities to identify attacks against cloud environment, while stopping multiple classes of attacks before they successful interfere with network activities. Users with ill intentions have increasingly used the cloud as an attack vector due to its ubiquity, scalability and open nature despite the existence of policy violation detection systems necessitating the need to strengthen access policies from time to time. Policy violation detection plays a major role in information security by providing a systematic way of detection and interpreting attacks. Some of the known weaknesses of most detection tools are the generation of false positives or false alerts and inability to perform analysis if traffic is encrypted as well as failure to detect and prevent attacks. This research paper was concerned with the investigation of weaknesses of firewall and Intrusion Detection system (IDS) which are supported by the cloud. The research design for the paper was based on the mixed methods. Experimental results revealed weakness in existing systems specifically IDS and firewall. Unlike the existing systems, new model designed to overcome the shortfall was able to detect both known and unknown attacks and signatures. Moreover, the model was capable of preventing the occurrence of false positives, and terminates suspicious nodes in real time without human intervention. Based on the tests carried out, it was recommended that Policy violation detection model be implemented to guarantee protection. An additional area of application such as migration from one cloud to another is not achievable, at this moment because of the heterogeneous nature of the cloud. This is a potential area for investigation in future.
A novel robust and fast Segmentation of the Color Images using Fuzzy Classification C-means
(IEEE, 2010) Musau, Felix; Toure, Mohamed Lamine; Beiji, Zou
This paper brings out a method for segmentation of color images based on fuzzy classification. It proceeds in a first step by a fine segmentation using the algorithm of fuzzy cmeans (FCM). The method then applies a test fusion of fuzzy classes. The result is a coarse segmentation, where each region is the union of elementary regions grown from FCM. The fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering is an iterative partitioning method that produces optimal c-partitions, the standard FCM algorithm takes a long time to partition a large data set. The proposed FCM program must read the entire data set into a memory for processing. Our results show that the system performance is robust to different types of images.
A Reliable and Secure Distributed In-Network Data Storage Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks
(IEEE, 2011) Musau, Felix; Wang, Guojun; Abdullahi, Muhammad Bashir
In a battlefield surveillance scenario, data readings and events emerging from a wireless sensor network deployed that may not be used immediately by or simply impossible to transmit to an authorized user (a Soldier) in real time are stored in the network. Without proper protection for the sensitive data generated in this setting, a compromised storage node (by an enemy soldier) may divulge its stored sensitive data about the monitored environment, and even worse, it may alter the data. In this paper, we integrate an elliptic curve cryptography scheme and an erasure coding scheme to provide reliable and secure distributed in-network data storage for sensor networks. The main idea is to distribute each erasure coded fragment appended with a fingerprint to different storage nodes. The fingerprint is to allow each coded data fragment to be independently verified as a valid and correct subset of a specific data item. So, the scheme achieves localization of data error. The proposed scheme is resilient to collusion attack, pollution attack, and data dropping attack, and guarantees forward and backward data secrecy as well. The security of the proposed scheme relies on the intractability of the elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem. Different from the existing solutions, the uniqueness of our method comes from the use of lightweight encryption scheme, which is well suited for resource constrained wireless sensors.
A Review of Prominent Technology Acceptance Models in the Context of Predicting Software Adoption in African Developing Countries: A Case of Free Desktop Open Source Software (OSS)
(Asian Journal of Information Technology, 2017) Kamau, John Wachira; Sanders, Ian D.
A number of technology adoption models have been developed over the years. Currently, there are ten prominent models which since, their development have been tested in different environments. The models have also been extended by including constructs which researchers perceive to be important depending on the environment. The models are Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Motivational Model (MM), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), Combined TAM and TBP, Model of PC Utilization (MPCU), Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and the Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (EUTAUT). Generally these models have been developed and tested in non-African and non-developing countries. This study reviews these prominent existing technology adoption models with the aim of establishing their appropriateness in predicting Desktop Open Source Software (OSS) adoption in developing countries in Africa.
A Study of the State of Art B2B Integration Patterns, Components and Architectures
(Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology., 2015-11-16) Njeru, Edwin Mwendi; Musau, Felix; Kipruto, Cheruiyot W.
In modern business operations, it has become imperative that processes, systems and sometimes organizations integrate. This is for various reasons such as maximizing profits, efficiency, expansion etc. Developing a robust integration plan, architecture and process mapping are key to any B2B integration. B2B integration can be defined as the integration of applications, programs, or systems extending the walls of an organisation and it include heterogeneous infrastructures, data, application software, and business processes integration between two or more businesses. The growth and change of systems and related technology is a very rapid arena, thus requiring almost every software system to have constant modification, integration and/or configuration, to provide enhanced integrated solutions to the changing world. Simply put it is developing an approach to expanded and extended collaboration, communication, resource sharing, optimization, profitability and efficiency within and between organisations. Integration is a general term for the tools and applications that are involved to enable different systems to interoperate and communicate with each other within or beyond a business enterprise, thus allowing complete integration of services and data sources among different applications. Current integration architectures are sufficient on the basis of service or product needs. But most B2B integrations do not sufficiently consider the involved processes, which contain most if not all stakeholders concerns and quality attributes. In this study, we take a look at the art of integration architecture and patterns, the impact on business processes, services and products as well as challenges hitherto.
A Usability Evaluation Framework for Web Based Learning Management Systems Used in Kenyan Universities.
(IJIRST –International Journal for Innovative Research in Science & Technology, 2020-08) Musau, Felix; Musau, Victor Vincent; Ratemo, Cyprian Makiya
Despite the fast adoption of web-based learning management systems (LMS) in institutions of higher Learning, insufficient attention has been paid to the usability of these systems in developing countries. Usability evaluation for the web-based LMS needs to be conducted before implementing them so as to get maximum benefits from tones of learning features which are integrated in them. However, the available standard usability evaluation guidelines are inadequate for evaluation of domain specific applications. There are few studies which have made the first steps in proposing guidelines for evaluating web-based LMS. However, they were found not adequate in the current study. On this premise, it is difficult to adapt any of the proposed guidelines without any further improvement. In this study, we proposed a usability evaluation framework for evaluating web-based LMSs used in Kenyan universities. The proposed framework was tested by applying it in usability evaluation of Moodle LMS. Two primary usability evaluation methods (UEMs) were used which are user testing and expert evaluation. Think aloud method and post-evaluation questionnaire were used to supplement user testing. Four expert evaluators were used for expert evaluation and 36 students were used for user testing. The proposed framework was found adequate for use in usability evaluation of web-based LMSs.
Adoption of Students Management Information System for the Development of Student Records in Secondary Schools in Kenya
(The International Journal Of Humanities & Social Studies, 2019) Ondiek, Collins Oduor; Opiyo, Elisha T.; Ndung’u, Joseph Karanja
The Government education institutions identified the student management information system (SMIS) as a key contributor for building trust and confidence for the general education institutions in the heart of any nation or state. SMIS has been visualized to not only help the teachers and administrators to have better monitoring and control of the functioning of the education institutions but also many other education stakeholders across the nation who needs decision support indicators. This study established the extent to which adoption and implementation of SMIS in education institutions and determined the extent to which SMIS promoted management decision making, academic practices and increasing demand for students information use. Target population was school administrators, teachers and parents in Kandara Sub County. A sample size of 200 respondents was used and questionnaires were the data collection tools. Findings showed that 90% of administrators had already adopted and implemented the use of SMIS in their institutions, 87.5% of teachers had adopted and implemented the use of SMIS in managing students’ data and information while 75% of parents appreciated the adoption and implementation of SMIS in the institutions where their children were learning. Further, 95% of administrators and 75% of teachers appreciated the use of SMIS in their institutions which has enabled them to make sound decisions regarding students’ data and information. The study recommends adoption and implementation of SMIS since it helps institutions’ administration manage various operations including students’ data and information.
Advanced Algorithm for Brain Segmentation using Fuzzy to Localize Cancer and Epilespy Region
(IEEE, 2010) Musau, Felix; Beiji, Zou; Toure, Mohamed Lamine; Camara, Aboubacar Damaye
The research which addresses the diseases of the brain in the field of the vision by computer is one of the challenges in recent times in medicine, the engineers and researchers recently launched challenges to carry out innovations of technology pointed in imagery. This paper focuses on a new algorithm for brain segmentation of color images based on fuzzy classification to diagnose accurately the region of cancer and the area of epilepsy. In a first step it proceeds by a fine segmentation using the algorithm of fuzzy cmeans (FCM). It then applies a test fusion of fuzzy classes. The result is a coarse segmentation, where each region is the union of elementary regions grown from FCM. The fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering is an iterative partitioning method that produces optimal c-partitions. The standard FCM algorithm takes a long time to partition a large data set. The proposed FCM program must read the entire data set into a memory for processing. Our results show that the system performance is robust to different types of images.
Advanced Algorithm Partitioning of Markov and Color Image Segmentation
(IEEE, 2010) Musau, Felix; Beiji, Zou; Toure, Mohamed Lamine
The color vision systems require a first step of classifying pixels in a given image into a discrete set of color classes. In this paper we introduce a new method of algorithm partitioning, and color image segmentation based on similarities or dissimilarities of the pixels. We consider fuzzy segmentation with markov, and normalized cut method. Experiments show these different processes used an effective solution on natural images, and computational efficiency. Finally, the algorithm has proven our process of experiments on gray scale, color, and texture images show promising segmentation results successful
An Enhanced Service Flow Management Scheme for IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Systems
(International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 2012-08) Musau, Felix; Mwamafundo, Juma Modie; Kipkorir, Sang
While the protocols have been proposed to support QoS (quality of service) guarantees for a variety of applications, the WiMax/IEEE 802.16 standard does not specify a mandatory scheduling architecture to fulfill stringent QoS requirement for the different classes of traffic. Only the framework is established in the standard which provides an opportunity for developers to design efficient scheduling mechanism to fulfill stringent QoS requirement for the different classes of traffic. The scheduling scheme requires catering for rigorous QoS guarantee for all types of service flows as specified in the standard, enabling fairness and facilitating the traffic of lower priority. In this paper, we propose a Service Flow Management Scheme for the IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access systems that can provide QOS support that enhances performance through a scheduler that performs optimally and efficiently.
An Enhanced Service Flow Management Scheme for IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access Systems
(International Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 2012-08) Musau, Felix; Kipkorir, Sang; Mwamafundo, Juma Modie
While the protocols have been proposed to support QoS (quality of service) guarantees for a variety of applications, the WiMax/IEEE 802.16 standard does not specify a mandatory scheduling architecture to fulfill stringent QoS requirement for the different classes of traffic. Only the framework is established in the standard which provides an opportunity for developers to design efficient scheduling mechanism to fulfill stringent QoS requirement for the different classes of traffic. The scheduling scheme requires catering for rigorous QoS guarantee for all types of service flows as specified in the standard, enabling fairness and facilitating the traffic of lower priority. In this paper, we propose a Service Flow Management Scheme for the IEEE 802.16 Broadband Wireless Access systems that can provide QOS support that enhances performance through a scheduler that performs optimally and efficiently.
Analysis of MS Power Saving Scheme to BS with Finite Buffer in IEEE 802.16e networks
(IEEE, 2011) Musau, Felix; Kipruto, Cheruiyot W.; Mushi, Joseph Cosmas; Tan, Guan-Zheng
This paper analyzes effects of power saving of mobile station (MS) to Base Station with finite buffer in IEEE802.16e class type I network. IEEE802.16e standard accept MS to switch to sleep-mode to minimize power when MS processing load is reduced. However, when packets destined to MS appear into BS buffer, they should be stored until end of MS sleep window. Although the sleep-mode designed in effort to conserve environment but it risks loss of packets once BS buffer overloaded with accumulated packets. This paper designs numerical analytic model to measure risk of packet drop. Through asymptotic analysis the effect of packets destined to sleeping MS into BS finite buffer is measured and analysed.
BYOD Concept and Issues Relating to Adoption in Learning Institutions
(International Journal of Education Management & Administration (IJEMA)., 2016-09) Kamau, John Wachira; Mutwiwa, Petronilla Ndunge; Gikandi, Joyce
As Information Communication Technology (ICT) has evolved, the overall physical size of computing devices has gradually decreased due to advances in the microchip technology; com`puting processing power doubles every few months and at the same time the cost of the computing devices has continuously been going down. What this means is that today, the general citizenly in every economy have every powerful devices within their hands for personal use. With the growth in internet and interconnectivity between devices, all these devices already have access to the internet where they can be able access vast amounts of information resources and organizational systems (school included). With the global shift to internet based systems, this combines to add immense power to a knowledge/information based societies. Schools and other learning institutions are at the verge of being transformed by the growth of this digital content/transformation. Students from their early years of learning have access to these powerful devices and most of them now how to operate them. Learning institutions on the other hand face the challenge of acquiring computing devices especially with the drive towards one device a student, driven by the rising financial needs to sustain education hence limited budgets to acquire and maintain computing devices. Bring your own device (BYOD) offers an opportunity for learning institutions to exploit the power of the devices that students and staff have to drive the delivery of digital content. However, this is not easy as it may sound even thou beneficial. Several issues have arisen as regards BYOD adoption in schools and addressing them would be critical for its success. This paper looks at these issues, and provides an approach on how each of these issues can be handled to provide an inherent framework for BYOD adoption.
Demonstrating the Weaknesses of IDS and Firewall on Policy Violation in the Cloud
(International Journal of Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, 2019-09) Musau, Felix; Oginga, Ruth; Maghanga, Christopher
Organizations are increasingly becoming aware of the business value that cloud computing brings and are taking steps towards transition to the cloud. With the diverseness of technologies, there are different security attacks and challenges. There are several important challenges that exist with regard to efficient provisioning and delivery of services through cloud. Threats on the cloud environment can be due to policy violation. Despite the use of protection systems to detect any malicious activities, policy violation is one factor that hinders widespread usage of cloud. The focus of this paper is on demonstrating the weaknesses of IDS and firewall on policy violation in the cloud. In particular, the research design used was based on mixed research and the prototype was tested by a group of experts. The results were demonstrated using algorithm, flow charts and experiments. It was recommended that security and applicable policies needs to be implemented to safe guard the customers‟ data.
Determinants of Information and Communication Technology Adoption by Religious Organizations: A case of National Council of Churches Of Kenya (NCCK) member Churches in Nairobi
(Journal of Information Technology., 2020-07) Musau, Felix; Joshua, Kioko K.
The adoption of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) have drastically changedthewaypeoplework,relateandcommunicateintheworldtoday.Thereligiousinstitutionplaysakey role in shaping the conduct of people and how they relate with one another. Likewise,technology changes how people relate to each other. As such, adoption of technology in religionis critical if the organization is to reach the surging numbers already hooked to various ICTplatforms. This study was necessitated by the fact that technology itself is not value-free. It ispresented to religious societies wrapped with cultural values that compliment, challenge or evenrepelreligiousattitudes.Hence,thepurposeofthisstudywastoinvestigatethefactorsdeterminingadoptionofICTbyreligiousorganizationswithafocusonNationalCouncilofChurchesofKenya(NCCK) member churches in Nairobi. The specific objectives of this study were; to establish thecongregationcharacteristics,leadershipperception,sizeofmembershipandhowethicalconsiderations affect adoption of ICT. Applying the Technology Acceptance Model, the studycarried out a cross sectional survey in which various churches were studied. The sample size was27 NCCK member churches and the target population was 324 church leaders. Simple randomsamplingwasusedtogiveeachelementofthetargetpopulationanequalchanceofbeingselected.Thedatawasanalyzedusingacomputerizedstatisticalsoftwareandresultspresentedinpercentages and frequencies through tables and figures. The researcher conducted a multipleregressionanalysisto determinetherelationshipbetweentheindependentvariableanddependent variable. The study found that the attributes of congregation, leadership perception of ICT, size of church membership and ICT adoption are positively and significantly related, whereas ethical considerations and ICT adoption are positively but insignificantly related. Based on the study findings, it was concluded that these factors influence the adoption of ICT in religious organizations. The researcher recommends that church leaders should take cognizance of their congregation characteristics and develop ICT programmes which serve them best. In addition, the church leadership should take deliberate efforts to change their perceptions on ICT owing to benefits that it may present. These findings may be relevant to both new and existing religious organizations. It will also make pertinent contribution to the existing literature and inspire stakeholders of various faith based organizations to come up with policies and strategies on how to adopt ICT.
E-services & devolution: usage of ICT applications on customer Service delivery in Machakos county government, Kenya
(International Journal of Management Research & Review, 2016-04) Musau, Felix; Egessa, Mathew M.
This paper examined the effect of ICT applications and their frequency of usage on customer service delivery in Machakos County Government (MCG). The ICT applications included Mobile Point of Sale (M-POS) for revenue and parking fees collection, CCTV security surveillance system in different sub-counties within Machakos County and the Help Desk System. Self-administered questionnaires and interviews were used to collect primary data from 57 employees of MCG and 100 service seekers (traders and vehicle owners who pay parking fees). The research study established that there exists a strong positive relationship between ICT applications and their usage (r = 0.795, P = 0.000) and customer service delivery. The paper recommends that county governments fully adopt ICTs by allocating funds and goodwill towards the development and maintenance of ICT system applications.
Evaluation of the Effects of SaaS on SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya
(Journal of Information Systems Engineering & Management, 2018-07) Mwaniki, Paul; Ondiek, Collins Oduor
SMEs in Kenya form the majority of enterprises in Kenya providing close to 80% of Kenya’s employment. Although they are the majority they perform dismally contributing very poorly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). GDP is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. Past statistics indicate that three out of five businesses fail within the first few months of operation and those that continue, 80 per cent fail before the fifth year. This means that there is a sustainability issue among small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). If SMEs adopted information and communications technology (ICT) solutions their sustainability would increase, but the main challenge SMEs face with implementing ICT solutions is the high cost of implementation and maintenance. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of SaaS on SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya to find out if SaaS was affordable and if it improved the SMEs. The effects that were evaluated were end user effects, economic effects and functional effects. Literature review of SMEs, SaaS and the effect that SaaS has on SMEs in various countries was done. The study which followed the explanatory research design evaluated 35 SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya. This number was identified through a sample formulae. The data collected through a questionnaire was then analyzed and indicated that SaaS use had positive end user, economic and functional effects on SMEs. The study then recommended that SMEs in Nairobi County, Kenya, should be encouraged to use SaaS as it would improve their performance.
Genetic Algorithm-Enhanced Retrieval Process for Multimedia Data
(International Journal of Advancements in Computing Technology, 2011-04) Musau, Felix; Mushi, Joseph Cosmas; Tan, Guan-Zheng; Kipruto, Cheruiyot W.
The explosive growth of digital media content from various domains has given rise to the need for efficient techniques for retrieval of relevant information is getting more and more attention, especially in the large-scale Multimedia Digital Database (MDD) applications. It is for this reason that there has been an increased interest in the query reformulation for use in Multimedia Information Retrieval (MIR) using a combination of various techniques. In this paper, we propose a retrieval method that is formalized as an optimized similarity search process that combines Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), Query Quality Refinement (QQR) using Histogram Equalization and Genetic Algorithm (GA) enhancement. Experimental results show that the approach significantly narrows the search process by retrieving similar images satisfying the needs of the user.

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