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Picturing the experiences of the student–supervisor relationship towards completion of doctoral studies in African universities
(African Minds, 2024) Rugut, Cornelius Kipleting
Nations around the globe need scholars and lifelong researchers who can be involved in knowledge creation to meet national and global challenges. Governments are recognising that the foundation of a productive and prosperous country is a welleducated population, especially doctoral graduates who can be involved in research and take the lead in coming up with new and better ways of dealing with various aspects of the development of a country. However, statistics show that the completion rate of doctoral studies in Africa is still very low (Bacwayo et al., 2017). In order to increase the number of doctoral graduates, there must be quality postgraduate supervision which is one of the invaluable areas of higher education. This study, therefore, focused on the experiences of the student–supervisor relationship in postgraduate supervision and the completion of doctoral studies in African universities. The relationship between the supervisor and the doctoral student is paramount to the completion of doctoral studies. Research indicates that the most important factor in students’ decisions to continue and complete their doctoral studies or to withdraw is their relationship with their supervisors (Jones, 2013; Kiley, 2011). Several studies have also revealed that successful supervision is anchored in a quality student–supervisor relationship (Abiddin, 2009; Hodza, 2007) and yet there is no established procedure for effective supervision nor student– supervisor relationship. Individual supervisors seem to approach the student– supervisor relationship differently.
Strengthening Research Supervision in Universities in Kenya
(European Journal of Education Studies, 2023) Kipleting, Rugut Cornelius; Kisilu, Syomwene Ann
The vision for university education in Kenya is to provide globally competitive quality research and training. The aim is to produce highly trained researchers who can contribute significantly to the country’s national and economic development. However, several studies show that there are a number of supervision shortfalls in universities in Kenya; and this presents a great concern in the training of research students. The aim of this study therefore was to explore the perspectives of postgraduate students and supervisors on how postgraduate supervision can be strengthened in universities in Kenya. This was a qualitative study located within a social constructivist paradigm. Convenient and purposive sampling was utilised to select 18 participants from three public universities in Kenya. The participants were academic supervisors and postgraduate students doing Masters and Doctoral studies. Data collection was done using unstructured individual interviews with supervisors and focus group discussions with students. The data generated was analysed thematically and Vygotsky’s social-cultural theory was used to make meaning of the findings. The results revealed that supervisors need to be supported through capacity-building programs that shape their knowledge and skills and building physical and online structures that support the supervision process. It also revealed that there is a need to engage students in a comprehensive mentorship program and a constructive student-supervisor relationship. The study recommends that for the achievement of effective postgraduate supervision, there is a need for universities in Kenya to invest in developing the skills and knowledge of supervisors and improve the supervision environment by setting up the necessary support structures. Student–centered programs should also be put in place to enable students’ active participation and positive social interaction between the student and the supervisor.
Background Radiations and Radon Concentrations in the Dormitories of Secondary Schools in Otuke District, Uganda
(Natural Sciences Publishing Cor., 2020) Oruru, Bosco; Todo, Moses; Kisolo, Akisophel
Inhalation of radon and its progeny is the most significant source of natural radiation exposure to human population. Over 50% of the natural background radiation comes from radon (222Rn). This paper presents measured background radiations, indoor radon concentrations, and calculated effective doses to students due to radon inhalation in the dormitories of five selected boarding secondary schools in Otuke District. Background radiations in the dormitories were measured using survey meters, and radon concentrations determined using activated charcoal canister method. Effective doses were calculated basing on the radon concentrations in the dormitories. Data collection was done for a period of seven months in two shifts; between September 2016 and March 2017, and between April and May 2018, respectively. Background radiations in counts per second were found to range from 0.8±0.2 to 1.7±0.3 with an average of 1.2±0.2 cps. Radon concentrations were in the range of 18±3 Bq m-3 to 49±5 Bq m-3 with an average of 30±4 Bq m-3, and the corresponding annual effective doses ranged from 0.14±0.02 mSv y-1 to 0.39±0.04 mSv y-1 with a mean of 0.24±0.02 mSv y-1. Radon concentrations measured were below the World Health Organization action level of 100 Bq m-3 and the mean effective dose was well below 1.0 mSv y-1 which is the dose limit set for members of the public by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Basing on these set limits, students sleeping in the studied dormitories are not exposed to high doses of indoor radon and are therefore not vulnerable to effects associated with high doses of radiation. It is recommended that, strategies for radon prevention in new dormitories could be put in place to minimize radon concentrations below the values reported, and a national radon survey be done to establish a reference level for Uganda.
In-Sample Spatio-temporal Predictions by Multivariate Singular Spectrum Analysis
(Procedia Environmental Sciences, 2015) Awichi, Richard O.; Müller, Werner G.
In this paper, we present a method of utilizing spatial information, usually intrinsic in spatial data sets, to improve the quality of temporal predictions within the framework of singular spectrum analysis (SSA) techniques. Those constitute a model free approach to time series analysis and SSA can be applied to any time series with a notable structure. Indeed it has a wide area of application including social sciences, medical sciences, finance, environmental sciences, mathematics, dynamical systems and economics. The aim of SSA is twofold: i) to make a decomposition of the original series into a sum of a small number of independent and interpretable components such as a slowly varying trend, oscillatory components and a structureless noise; ii) to reconstruct the decomposed series to make a forecast in the absence of the noise component. It has two stages each with two steps. The first stage is the Decomposition Stage with steps comprising: (i) embedding – a usual procedure in time series analysis; the result of which is a called a trajectory matrix in SSA literature; (ii) singular value decomposition step that computes and arranges eigenvalues of this matrix for further analysis. The second stage is the Reconstruction Stage: it comprises two steps of (i) grouping the eigenvalues of the SVD step and (ii) diagonal averaging that works on the grouped matrices to realize a series close to the original series and this series is then used for further analysis. Multivariate Singular Spectrum Analysis (MSSA) is an extension of SSA to multivariate statistics and takes advantage of the delay procedure to obtain a similar formulation as SSA though with larger matrices for multivariate data. In environmental sciences and other areas where spatial data is an important focus of investigation, it is not uncommon to have attributes whose values change with space and time and an accurate prediction is thus important. Spatial dependence subsequently influences data analysis. The usual question asked is whether the location parameters can be of use in the analysis of such data sets. We present a method that can be used to harness the location attributes to enhance prediction of spatial data sets using an MSSA approach. This technique is applied to climate data recordings (particularly rainfall data) from Upper Austria.
Computational Analysis of the Capacitance by the Boundary Element Method
(International Journal of Applied Physics and Mathematics, 2018) Semwogerere, Twaibu; Awich, Richard; Nampala, Hasifa
The boundary element method (BEM) has had an advantage of discretizing the boundary over the finite element method and the finite difference method for so long. The curved and straight elements are crucial for the discretization process. The BEM has been of fundamental importance in as far as solving a two –dimensional Laplace problem is concerned. The study aimed at using the BEM to compute the capacitance as compared to the ordinary physics methods. The BEM and its applications were reviewed in relation to curved and straight elements. The Dirac-Delta and the Green’s functions were behind the use of the BEM. A model problem was tested for analysis of the BEM with curved elements in relation to the computation of the capacitance. The MATLAB programs (𝐵𝑒𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑐𝑝.𝑚, 𝐵𝑒𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑐.𝑚, 𝐵𝑒𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑐𝑝5.𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑝.𝑚, � �𝑙𝑡𝑠𝑝.𝑚, 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑒1.𝑚, 𝐸𝑙𝑡𝑠𝑝5.𝑚, 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑡2.𝑚, and 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑧.𝑚) and subprograms were used among others in solving the problem and also in the analysis. Findings involved the computation of the matrix terms for curved elements in relation to the cylinder curvatures. Findings also showed and compared three methods of computing the capacitance in a model problem from electrostatics. The concentric cylinder considered in this study had different shape plates where the BEM showed a fundamental advantageous stage of the BEM in calculating the capacitance for various curvature plate shapes than any other numerical method by simply increasing on the number of elements. The BEM avoids assumptions about the inner plate and treating the situation as a connected domain. Key words: Boundary element method, capacitance, curved, elements, formulation.