Risk Analysis Commons^™

Breaking The Build: Detecting Software Supply Chain Vulnerabilities In Ci/Cd Pipelines, Mercedes R. Wahl, Dr. Benjamin Yankson

Military Cyber Affairs

This study examines whether integrating structured DevSec- Ops security controls into CI/CD pipelines can reduce software supply chain risk by preventing vulnerable components from progressing through the software development lifecycle. Software supply chain attacks frequently originate from weaknesses or compromises within dependencies, build environments, and trusted development stages, making early detection essential. A controlled sandbox experiment compared two pipeline configurations: a baseline CI/CD pipeline with no automated security enforcement and a secure DevSecOps pipeline integrating automated vulnerability scanning, SBOM generation, and artifact integrity verification. A known vulnerable dependency, the Python requests package (version 2.19.0) associated with CVE-2018-18074, was intentionally introduced …

The Impact Of Gender Sensitization On Requirements Elicitation: A Controlled Experiment, Ruthbertha Kateule, Salome Maro, Leonard Peter Binamungu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Previous studies in software engineering have reported the importance of considering gender aspects in various software engineering activities, including requirements engineering, however, to the best of our knowledge, no work has investigated the impact of gender sensitisation on eliciting gender inclusive software requirements. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of gender sensitisation on software requirements elicitation. We conducted a controlled experiment using 40 undergraduate students from three different computing programs at the University of Dar es Salaam. The 40 participants were divided into 9 groups with both males and females. The participants were asked to elicit …

Enhancing Community Engagement Through ‘Nitunze Kilombero’ Mobile App: Case Of Climate Land Use And Cover Management For Kilombero Basin, Ghanima Chanzi, Subira Munishi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The Kilombero Basin in southeastern Tanzania faces significant challenges due to rapid land use and land cover (LULC) changes driven by climate change, population growth, and unsustainable farming practices. This study assessed the role of community engagement and digital reporting through the 'NITUNZE KILOMBERO', mobile application in supporting water resources management in the basin. The App facilitates real-time reporting of environmental issues, provides educational resources, and enables collaboration between local communities and authorities. A mixed-methods approach, including household surveys and key informant interviews, was employed to assess the app's effectiveness. Results indicate high community awareness of LULC impacts, with 85% …

Ai-Scm Cmm: A Capability Maturity Model For Artificial Intelligence Integration In Supply Chain Management, Lordt Becklines, Omar F. El-Gayar, Patti Brooks, Insu Park

Annual Research Symposium

Artificial intelligence is increasingly deployed in supply chain management, yet many organizations struggle to align adoption efforts with process readiness, data quality, governance, and workforce capabilities, and they still lack validated supply chain specific roadmap for assessing readiness, sequencing investments, and reducing implementation risk. This study develops and evaluates a Capability Maturity Model for Artificial Intelligence Integration in Supply Chain Management to address that gap. Using a design science research approach, the study synthesizes prior literature and practitioner knowledge to define maturity dimensions, capability indicators, and staged progression levels for AI integration in supply chain contexts. The artifact and assessment …

A Predictive Model For Multi- Week Respiratory Risk From Red Tide On Florida’S Gulf Coast., Elmer S. Ochaeta

Computer Science and Engineering Faculty Publications

Florida’s Gulf Coast red tide (Karenia brevis) can put toxins into the air, making people cough, irritating the throat, and worsening asthma or other breathing problems especially when winds blow from the ocean toward the beach. Right now, most public updates don’t really help with the question people actually ask when planning a weekend or vacation: “Will going to or close to the beach be risky in the next few weeks?”.

In this project, I build a weekly early warning system that estimates respiratory risk for specific beaches and predicts that risk 2 to 4 weeks ahead. The study covers …

Resilience Engineering Via Bifurcation And Ecological Network Analysis: Demonstrated In An Electric Power Case Study, Rogelio Gracia Otalvaro

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Modern systems are increasingly complex, interconnected cyber-physical systems that combine digital controls with physical infrastructure. This integration, along with the constant introduction of new technologies and actors into the network, enables reliable operation but introduces vulnerabilities to unexpected and varied disruptions and cascading failures, making resilience a critical concern. Traditional risk management and resilience assessment methods often struggle with the nonlinearity and dynamic behavior of these systems. This dissertation proposes a novel approach combining Bifurcation Analysis (BA) and Ecological Network Analysis (ENA) to enhance the understanding and improvement of system resilience. BA, a mathematical method from dynamical systems theory, is …

Techno-Enviro-Economic Approach For Electrification Of Rural And Shrimp Farming Regional Development Of An Isolated Island In Indonesia By Utilizing Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems, Fiqih Akbar Wijaya, Mohammad Akita Indianto

Journal of Materials Exploration and Findings

One of the challenges in developing and archipelagic countries such as Indonesia is maintaining energy demand in rural and isolated areas due to difficulties in electrical distribution. For instance, in areas like Bawean Island, no additional electricity capacity has been introduced in the past year, leading to an unmet potential customer demand. One of the possible options is by utilizing Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRES) that are integrated with existing fossil fuel-based energy systems to support the growing energy demand in the remote island. A case study in Bawean Island is conducted with the projected energy demand covers the energy …

Evaluation Of Thermal And Emission Performances Of Briquettes Produced From Carbonized Corn Cob And Corn Husk, Karina S. Motani

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The Mozambican agro-industrial sector relies heavily on various crops, with maize being the most significant. During processing, substantial waste is generated, which is often discarded as organic matter or burned, contributing to environmental pollution and the loss of potential energy resources. This study evaluated the thermal and emission performance of briquettes made from carbonized corn cob (CCC) and carbonized corn husk (CCH), using cashew nut skin as a binder for clean cooking applications. The briquettes were assessed against firewood and charcoal as control fuels, focusing on several energy performance parameters: water boiling time (WBT), combustion index (CI), thermal efficiency (TE), …

Review On Gas-To-Liquids Conversion Technology: Lessons From Case Studies And Potential Strategies For Implementation In Tanzania, Joseph H. Kihedu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This review paper explores the transformative potential of Gas-to- Liquids (GTL) technology for harnessing Tanzania's vast natural gas resources. With significant discoveries of natural gas reserves totalling up to 57 Tcf in fields such as Songosongo, Mnazi Bay, Block 1, 2, 3 and 4. Tanzania is positioned to leverage GTL technology to convert these resources into high-value liquid fuels like gasoline, diesel and naphtha. Review of GTL process, its products and applications has been done. By analysing successful GTL projects globally and drawing lessons applicable to Tanzania, this paper provides strategic recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to foster GTL development. …

Towards Effective Academia-Industry Collaborations: The Case Of Higher Learning Institutions In Tanzania, Fatuma S. Ikuja

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Industries are the main consumers of products from higher learning institutions (HLIs); graduates for employment and research outputs for socio-economic development. Research outputs from HLIs are commercialized as services or products facilitated by academia-industry collaborations. The collaborations are expected to address mismatch between labour market needs and HLIs’ products, which has resulted in graduates’ employability challenges. Despite their importance, effective academia-industry collaborations remain challenging. This study explores the effectiveness of Academia-Industry collaborations established by HLIs in implementing the Higher Education Economic Transformation (HEET) project (2021-2026) in Tanzania. One of the project objectives is to build functional linkages between industry and …

Toward The Application Of Natural Language Processing In Electronic Health Record Analysis For Taxonomy Development, Latoya Mcdonald

All Dissertations

Electronic health records (EHRs) are pivotal resources for nurse practice because they increase the timeliness and reliability of patient information at the point of care and support access by multiple healthcare providers and the individual patients themselves. However, it is widely recognized that data extraction from EHRs is challenging due to the variability in the language used in clinical care notes and the lack of standardized terminology across healthcare systems. The broad objective of this dissertation is to develop taxonomy-based classification models for nursing care by applying feature engineering approaches to EHRs that include nursing care of ostomy patients following …

Performance Evaluation Of Free Space Optical Communication In Dar Es Salaam: Impact Of Scintillation And Modulation Schemes, Mustafa H. Mohsini

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Free space optical communication (FSO) holds significant relevance in the modern communication system as it offers high and unlimited data rates, enhanced security, rapid deployment, and low cost for installation. However, the performance of FSO transmission is greatly affected by harsh atmospheric conditions such as wind, temperature, and humidity, which induce scintillation. With the rapid growth of internet users and Dar es Salaam being a business city in Tanzania, higher and unlimited bandwidth for communication is highly demanded. This study primarily aims to evaluate the performance of FSO transmission in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, by investigating the impact of atmospheric …

Potential Of Lidar And Hyperspectral Sensing For Overcoming Challenges In Current Maritime Ballast Tank Corrosion Inspection, Sergio Pallas Enguita, Jiajun Jiang, Chung-Hao Chen, Samuel Kovacic, Richard Lebel

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Corrosion in maritime ballast tanks is a major driver of maintenance costs and operational risks for maritime assets. Inspections are hampered by complex geometries, hazardous conditions, and the limitations of conventional methods, particularly visual assessment, which struggles with subjectivity, accessibility, and early detection, especially under coatings. This paper critically examines these challenges and explores the potential of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) to form the basis of improved inspection approaches. We discuss LiDAR’s utility for accurate 3D mapping and providing a spatial framework and HSI’s potential for objective material identification and surface characterization based on spectral …

Evaluation Of Business-Driven Reference Architecture For Big Data Analytics Implementation By Public Sector Organizations In Resource-Constrained Setting: A Case Study Of Uganda, Matendo Didas

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Big Data Analytics (BDA) is a new area at the nexus of agenda, public sector organizations, and government business. It may satisfy the growing need for trustworthy, cost-effective services in the public sector for better, more informed decision-making processes. BDA has been proposed on the planning schedules of several public sector organizations and the government. Therefore, from the previous work, using Uganda as a case study, specifically the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Ministry of Health (MoH), and Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), this study aims to evaluate a designed Business-Driven Reference Architecture for Big Data Analytics Implementation (BRABDAI) …

Assessment Of The Factors Affecting The National Ict Broadband Backbone (Nictbb) Systems Restoration Time, Victoria Mahabi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This study investigates the factors affecting the prolonged system restoration time when national ICT broadband backbone (NICTBB) services are affected by breakdown incidents. NICTBB is the government-owned backbone infrastructure constructed nationally by the Republic of Tanzania to increase the usage of ICT for equitable and sustainable socio-economic development and accelerate poverty reduction. This study utilised a mixture of exploratory and descriptive study approaches. The sample size determination was executed using purposing and simple random sampling, thus involving 289 respondents. The data reliability test was undertaken. It was followed by factor analysis, analysis of variances (ANOVA), linear regression analysis, and confirmed …

Assessment Of Web Security Vulnerabilities For Common Open Source Virtualization Software, Said Ally

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Open-source hypervisors have emerged as an integral technology for virtualizing server resources in cloud and data center computing. Hypervisor security efficiency is determined by virtual machine isolation, which is a de facto adoption factor in the selection process, as well as its ability to respond to web attacks. This paper assesses the security performance of Proxmox VE and XenServer for type 1 hypervisors, and Kernel Virtual Machine and Oracle Virtual Box for type 2 hypervisors. Security analysis was conducted using common exposures extracted from vulnerability databases and mapped against the OWASP 2013 and 2017 projects. For clarity, experiments were carried …

2024 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, Nora Riedinger, Miles Mikkelsen, Brendan Stratford, Derek Tom, Zach Kwast, Harmon Yanikian-Sutton, Kennedy Urcelay, Tori Thomas, Brady Caron

Mechanical Engineering

PolyWave Energy is the second team from California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo to compete in the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. PolyWave Energy consists of Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Business Administration students who have worked together from September 2023 to May 2024 on designing, building, and testing a marine power device to serve a selected market.

In response to the escalating concerns surrounding carbon emissions, climate change, and the depletion of fossil fuels, California Polytechnic State University’s Polywave Energy team has developed a sustainable and reliable energy source for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) charging. Through extensive research of …

Bidding Strategy For A Wind Power Producer In Us Energy And Reserve Markets, Anne Stratman

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wind power is one of the world's fastest-growing renewable energy resources and has expanded quickly within the US electric grid. Currently, wind power producers (WPPs) may sell energy products in US markets but are not allowed to sell reserve products, due to the uncertain and intermittent nature of wind power. However, as wind’s share of the power supply grows, it may eventually be necessary for WPPs to contribute to system-wide reserves. This paper proposes a stochastic optimization model to determine the optimal offer strategy for a WPP that participates in the day-ahead and real-time energy and spinning reserve markets. The …

Assessment Of Risk Factors Related To Body Pain Complaints In Tanzania Construction Industry, Fatma K. Mohamed

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The construction industry is associated with risks that can result in musculoskeletal diseases. Although young male workers who are presumed to be healthy dominate the industry in Tanzania, body pain complaints have been widely reported. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence and causes of body pains in workers. A cross-sectional study involving 396 workers was conducted. A chi square test was used for testing association of independent categorical variables and binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors for body pain complaints. The results show that all study participants complained of at least one form …

Comparison Of Meteorological Drought Indices In Tanzania Using The Meteorological Drought Monitoring Software Package, Paul Ts Limbu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Low precipitation, substantial evaporation, and an unequal distribution of precipitation throughout the area are the characteristics of drought, a climatic abnormality. This study used the Meteorological Drought Monitoring (MDM) software and monthly rainfall data from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) to examine and compare the Deciles Index (DI), Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI), Percent of Normal Index (PNI), Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI), Z-Score Index (ZSI), China-Z Index (CZI), and Modified China-Z Index (MCZI) for drought monitoring in Tanzania from 1988 to 2017. It was found that ZSI represented the dry years better than other indices, followed by DI, RAI, PNI, SPI, …

Data-Driven Approaches For Enhancing Power Grid Reliability, Behrouz Sohrabi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the transformative potential of data-driven approaches in addressing key operational and reliability issues in power systems. The first part of this thesis addresses a prevalent problem in power distribution networks: the accurate identification of load phases. This study develops a data-driven model leveraging consumption measurements from smart meters and corresponding substation data to reconstruct topology information in low-voltage distribution networks. The proposed model is extensively tested using a dataset with more than 5,000 real load profiles, demonstrating satisfactory performance for large-scale networks. The second part of the thesis pivots to a crucial safety concern: the risk and …

Reliability Improvement In The Traction System Of Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway, Yusufu Katuga

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

In recent years, many African governments have been developing Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to replace the old after becoming absolute, inefficient Meter Gauge System (MGR) to carry more loads at high mileage and speed while combating the oil and environmental crises. With the increase of SGR, the amount of traction systems has grown sharply, the service life of the traction system has increased gradually, and the components of the vehicle traction system have become worn and aged as a result. While Tanzania is transitioning to SGR with its gradually increasing traction systems, reliability improvement becomes a key for the sustainability …

On Uncertainty For Ill-Posed Robot Decision Problems, Jared Joseph Beard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

As robots adopt more real world responsibilities, they will be expected to solve more complicated problems. In some cases limited prior knowledge will result in unmodelled environmental conditions; in others, multiple users may have competing perspectives on how to frame a decision problem. Many existing frameworks, namely Markov decision processes (MDP) presuppose users have identified a specific problem with models sufficient to solve or learn a problem. If we wish to extend MDPs to novel problems or those heavily dependent on user feedback, autonomous decision makers must be able to identify limitations in how a given problem is framed and …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Kwad - Ksu All Weather Autonomous Drone, Nick Farinacci, Sebastian Gomez, Stewart Baker, Ed Sheridan

Symposium of Student Scholars

"KWAD" or "KSU all-Weather Autonomous Drone" project was sponsored by Ultool, LLC to the KSU Research and Service Foundation to create a lightweight drone capable of capturing HD video during all-weather operations. The conditions of all-weather operation include rainfall of one inch per hour and wind speeds of up to twenty miles per hour. In addition, a global minimum structural safety factor of two is required to ensure the system's integrity in extreme weather conditions. Potential mission profiles include autonomous aerial delivery, topological mapping in high moisture areas, security surveillance, search and rescue operations, emergency transportation of medical supplies, and …

Ambient Air Emission Profiles Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Around A Typical University Power House In Nigeria, Oyetunji Okedere

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The level of electricity generation in Nigeria is presently grossly inadequate. Consequently, the productive sectors of the economy do not presently enjoy an uninterrupted supply of electrical energy from the country’s national grid and the downtime is in most cases too much. Using diesel-fueled electric power generators has become an attractive alternative to meet the shortfall in the energy supply gap. In this study, the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the vicinity of the diesel-fueled electric power generators operated by Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria were investigated with a view to ascertain the priority levels and carcinogenic PAHs. Since …

Comparison Of End-Point Energies Of Bremsstrahlung Photons From 28 Ghz Ecr Ion Source In Three Measurement Locations, Mwingereza John Kumwenda Dr

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Bremsstrahlung photons measurement show elevated energy emission beyond critical energy in 28-GHz ECR and its nature is not revealed. Thus, the aim of this study is to unveil the nature of high end-point energies at the three measurement locations. Bremsstrahlung photons from a 28-GHz ECR ion source were measured at Busan center of Korean Basic Science Institute (KBSI). The gamma-ray detection system consists of three round type NaI(Tl) scintillation detectors placed 62 cm radially from the beam axis at the three measurement locations namely injection, centre and extraction sides of an ECR ion source, and a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector placed …

Integrating Sensor Development, Risk Assessment, And Community Engagement To Support Environmental Justice In The Rural Community Of El Tiple, Colombia, David Bahamon Pinzon

All Dissertations

In Colombia, ethnic communities have traditionally been responsible stewards of natural resources. They recognize the importance of these resources for their livelihood, as well as their ancestral and cultural heritage. El Tiple, a rural Afro-Colombian community, has been affected by the incursion of private corporations that promoted the expansion of sugarcane monocrops in their territory. Since the introduction of the monoculture industry, local freshwater sources have been depleted due to intensive water use for irrigation of the sugarcane crops. Additionally, the intensive usage of agrochemicals has been linked with loss of native flora, damages to family farms, and pollution of …

Isolation And Performance Test Of Green Low Dosage Hydrate Inhibitors From Local Materials For Improving Flow Assurance In Oil And Gas Industry, Makungu Madirisha

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The formation of gas hydrates in oil and gas industry can be minimized or prevented by the use of inhibitors. This paper reports on hemicellulose and modified lignin as low dosage gas hydrate inhibitors (LDGHIs). LDGHIs were isolated from sugarcane bagasse (SCB), plant gum exudates (PGE) of Acacia trees, and coconut coir, and further characterized by Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectrometer, porosimeter and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The PGE and SCB yielded 77.75% and 12.38% of hemicellulose, respectively, while coconut coir yielded 35.59% of lignin which was modified to sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) to improve its solubility in …

Fragility Of The Florida Panhandle's Electrical Transmission Grid To Hurricanes, Zachary D. Schumann

Theses and Dissertations

The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events from climate change necessitates understanding impacts on critical infrastructure, particularly electrical transmission grids. One of the foundational concepts of a grid’s resilience is its robustness to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes. Resilience of the electric grid to high wind speeds is predicated upon the location and physical characteristics of the system components. Previous modeling assessments of electric grid failure were done at the systems level with assumptions on location and type of specific components. To facilitate more explicit adaptation metrics, accurate component-level information is needed. In this study, we build …