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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Quantifying The Role Of Water Quality On Nitrogen Cycling In A Trophic Estuary, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy Nov 2023

Quantifying The Role Of Water Quality On Nitrogen Cycling In A Trophic Estuary, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy

Symposium of Student Scholars

Jobos Bay Estuary is an intertidal, tropical estuary located in southern Puerto Rico. The estuary covers about 12 km2 and has a variety of habitats, such as seagrass beds, mangroves, mud flats, and coral reefs, which play important roles in sediment trapping and water quality maintenance. Seagrasses also serve as nursery and feeding grounds and provide shelter for macrofauna. Currently, the role of seagrasses and water quality on nitrogen (N) cycling in trophic estuaries is not well constrained. Understanding variations in sediment-based effects on N cycling rates and transformations, and how they are associated with water quality, is an …


Blended Learning In The Wake Of Ict Infrastructure Deficiencies: The Case Of A Zimbabwean University, Lucia Makwasha, Sam Jnr Takavarasha, Hazel Mubango Sep 2023

Blended Learning In The Wake Of Ict Infrastructure Deficiencies: The Case Of A Zimbabwean University, Lucia Makwasha, Sam Jnr Takavarasha, Hazel Mubango

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

In the wake of debates between actors in the Zimbabwean higher education sector about the effectiveness of e-learning models, it is important to investigate the effectiveness of using blended learning at a time when infrastructure challenges are disrupting ICT access. This paper aims to address this quest for a deeper understanding by investigating students' perceptions of blended learning at a selected Zimbabwean university. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with students from a Zimbabwean university that employs blended learning under an interpretivist paradigm. Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) was used for conceptualising students' cognitive development and Engestrom's (2003) Third-generation Activity …


Factors Influencing User Adherence Towards Privacy Standards Of Internet Of Things Devices, Philip Bazanye, Walter Uys, Wallace Chigona Sep 2023

Factors Influencing User Adherence Towards Privacy Standards Of Internet Of Things Devices, Philip Bazanye, Walter Uys, Wallace Chigona

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

The upsurge in the use of Internet of things (IoT) devices increases the likelihood of cyber-attacks on end users. The objective of the study reported here was to investigate the factors that influence IoT device users’ adherence to privacy standards. This interpretivist exploratory research was guided by a three-phased approach using activity theory. The interview questions were derived from the conceptual model and themes analysed using deductive thematic analysis. The findings indicate that a lack of adherence is driven by a lack of trust in IoT devices and service providers, as well as convenience and health factors. In addition, users’ …


Social Media & Privacy: Understanding Privacy In The Age Of Content Creator Culture, Robert Tagoe, Raphael Amponsah, Emmanuel Awuni Kolog, Eric Afful-Dadzie Sep 2023

Social Media & Privacy: Understanding Privacy In The Age Of Content Creator Culture, Robert Tagoe, Raphael Amponsah, Emmanuel Awuni Kolog, Eric Afful-Dadzie

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

In today's digital age, content creators are gaining public attention and becoming highly influential. With that increased influence, it is important to acknowledge the privacy concerns within this culture. This interpretive research study seeks to identify and understand the dynamics of privacy within the content creator culture. This research will leverage information from interviews with content creators from various social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Using theories to understand the phenomena, theories of privacy calculus, privacy paradox and self-disclosure, will be used to view how content creators define and navigate privacy, strategies employed to control personal …


Digital Transformation In Government: A Bibliometric Scoping Of African Aspirations And The Realities, Hossana Twinomurinzi, Sibukele Gumbo Sep 2023

Digital Transformation In Government: A Bibliometric Scoping Of African Aspirations And The Realities, Hossana Twinomurinzi, Sibukele Gumbo

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

African countries have persistently ranked poorly in the United Nations E-Government Development index (EGDI). This study therefore sought to make sense of the nature and form of digital transformation (DX) in African governments. It used a bibliometric analysis and a critical realist lens to explore some of the underlying structures and generative mechanisms that influence DX. The key findings from 606 scholarly publications over the three decades of DX research reveals marked sharp contrasts, with South Africa dominating the research on DX, an underrepresentation of DX research from most African nations, and some influence from non-African nations, particularly the United …


Codesigning A Big Data Analytic Tool For Girl Child Learner Drop Out From Eastern Cape Province -South Africa, Nobert Rangarirai Jere, Nosipho Carol Mavuso, Nelly Sharpley Sep 2023

Codesigning A Big Data Analytic Tool For Girl Child Learner Drop Out From Eastern Cape Province -South Africa, Nobert Rangarirai Jere, Nosipho Carol Mavuso, Nelly Sharpley

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Developing sustainable solutions is critical for adoption of digital solutions. As the high number of learners dropping out of school continues to increase, it is critical to find innovative ways of predicting and preventing high drop out. Current literature has documented a number of factors that influence learner drop out. Innovative ideas, techniques and activities have been undertaken to motivate learners to stay at school. It is unfortunate that most of the initiatives have not helped to avoid drop out of learners. The study is based on a mixed approached that was used targeting female learns from Oliver Tambo District …


A Social Profile-Based E-Learning Model, Xola Ntlangula Sep 2023

A Social Profile-Based E-Learning Model, Xola Ntlangula

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

Many High Education Institutions (HEIs) have migrated to blended or complete online learning to cater for less interruption with learning. As such, there is a growing demand for personalized e-learning to accommodate the diversity of students' needs. Personalization can be achieved using recommendation systems powered by artificial intelligence. Although using student data to personalize learning is not a new concept, collecting and identifying appropriate data is necessary to determine the best recommendations for students. By reviewing the existing data collection capabilities of the e-learning platforms deployed by public universities in South Africa, we were able to establish the readiness of …


Factors Influencing The Retention Of Millennial Software Developers In South African Companies, Kim Fouche, Maureen Tanner Sep 2023

Factors Influencing The Retention Of Millennial Software Developers In South African Companies, Kim Fouche, Maureen Tanner

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

South Africa has an Information Technology skills shortage leading to high turnover of Information Technology professionals. Not only do companies face significant costs in replacing software developers, but high mobility also affects staff morale. Millennials are known to be more loyal to their own needs and do not tend to stay at companies for long, increasing the complexities of retention. This study explores the factors that influence the retention of millennial software developers in South African companies. The qualitative study was carried out using online semi-structured interviews. The study found that work environment, lifestyle, and management style, play a key …


An Assessment Of The Consistency Gap In Developing Countries: A Case Of Zimbabwe’S Ict Regulatory Framework, Casper Chigwedere Sep 2023

An Assessment Of The Consistency Gap In Developing Countries: A Case Of Zimbabwe’S Ict Regulatory Framework, Casper Chigwedere

African Conference on Information Systems and Technology

An effective Information and Communications Technology (ICT) regulatory system is expected to advance regulatory consistency, independence, pro-competitiveness, consistency, competency, and accountability. These qualities will inspire investor confidence, sectoral growth, and customer satisfaction. Since we considered regulatory independence elsewhere, this paper investigates the level of regulatory consistency in developing countries. This is done using data from Zimbabwe a developing country in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study employs a Qualitative methodology, and Heeks’ (2002) Design Reality Gap (DRG) model under an interpretivist paradigm. Data collection employed in-depth interviews with purposively selected stakeholders and the analysed using Nvivo (release 1.6.1 (1136)) and thematic analysis …


Analysis Of Honeypots In Detecting Tactics, Techniques, And Procedure (Ttp) Changes In Threat Actors Based On Source Ip Address, Carson Reynolds, Andy Green Apr 2023

Analysis Of Honeypots In Detecting Tactics, Techniques, And Procedure (Ttp) Changes In Threat Actors Based On Source Ip Address, Carson Reynolds, Andy Green

Symposium of Student Scholars

The financial and national security impacts of cybercrime globally are well documented. According to the 2020 FBI Internet Crime Report, financially motivated threat actors committed 86% of reported breaches, resulting in a total loss of approximately $4.1 billion in the United States alone. In order to combat this, our research seeks to determine if threat actors change their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) based on the geolocation of their target’s IP address. We will construct a honeypot network distributed across multiple continents to collect attack data from geographically separate locations concurrently to answer this research question. We will configure the …


Probing The Effect Of Nitrogen And Boron Doping On Structures, Properties, And Stability Of C20 Clusters, Ramsay Revennaugh, Martina Kaledin Apr 2023

Probing The Effect Of Nitrogen And Boron Doping On Structures, Properties, And Stability Of C20 Clusters, Ramsay Revennaugh, Martina Kaledin

Symposium of Student Scholars

Fullerenes are carbon molecules arranged in a closed hollow shell to form spherical-like structures. These clusters exist in various sizes, Cn, with the smallest being C20. C20, often when doped with other elements, has shown promise in creating new materials as a catalyst and as energy storage material. Here, we look at the existence of C20 doped with nitrogen or boron atoms using density functional theory (DFT). C20 is doped with one to three boron or nitrogen atoms, respectively, including the five different C18N2 / C18B2 …


Ab Initio Calculations Of Vibrational Spectra Of Model Peptides, Katheryn Foust, Martina Kaledin Apr 2023

Ab Initio Calculations Of Vibrational Spectra Of Model Peptides, Katheryn Foust, Martina Kaledin

Symposium of Student Scholars

The function of biological molecules is closely related to their spatial structure and conformational dynamics. Therefore, understanding the structure and functions of small peptides contributes to gaining insight into the behavior of more complex systems. The peptide bond (-CO-NH-) is among the very important binding patterns in biochemistry. It links amino acids together, specifies rigidity to the protein backbone, and includes the two essential docking sites for hydrogen-bond-mediated protein folding and protein aggregation, namely, the C=O acceptor and the N-H donor parts. Therefore, the C=O (amide-I) and N-H (amide-A) vibrations provide sensitive and widely used probes into the structure of …


Operation Enduring Freedom: Improving Mission Effectiveness By Identifying Trends In Successful Terrorism, Dalton Shaver Apr 2023

Operation Enduring Freedom: Improving Mission Effectiveness By Identifying Trends In Successful Terrorism, Dalton Shaver

Symposium of Student Scholars

This research examines how the characteristics of terrorist attacks predict the chance of an attack succeeding, where an attack is defined as successful if the intended attack type is carried out. Data from The Global Terrorism Database (https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd) was analyzed across three geographical missions within Operation Enduring Freedom: Trans-Sahara, Horn of Africa, and the Philippines. The three models were able to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful attacks at 78.74%, 82.11%, 74.25%, respectively. Using predicted probabilities of success obtained from each logistic regression models, the medians were plotted to compare the characteristics of terrorist attacks across missions. The coefficients for each …


The Phosphorus Puzzle: Why Metal Phosphites Could Be The Missing Piece, Eleanor Boyle, Thomas J. Leyden Iii Apr 2023

The Phosphorus Puzzle: Why Metal Phosphites Could Be The Missing Piece, Eleanor Boyle, Thomas J. Leyden Iii

Symposium of Student Scholars

It is well understood that phosphorylation of organic molecules is a keystone mechanism toward developing early cell function. However, the source of phosphorous in prebiotic chemistry is under debate. Phosphate minerals were abundant on the early Earth, but they are highly insoluble. In comparison, metal phosphites are significantly more soluble. While they may not have been preserved in the geological record, there are several plausible pathways for their formation under prebiotic conditions. We hypothesize that metal phosphites were a major source of phosphorus. To test our hypothesis, we synthesized and characterized metal phosphites, containing the most abundant cations on the …


Employee Attrition: Analyzing Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction Of Ibm Data Scientists, Graham Nash Apr 2023

Employee Attrition: Analyzing Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction Of Ibm Data Scientists, Graham Nash

Symposium of Student Scholars

Employee attrition is a relevant issue that every business employer must consider when gauging the effectiveness of their employees. Whether or not an employee chooses to leave their job can come from a multitude of factors. As a result, employers need to develop methods in which they can measure attrition by calculating the several qualities of their employees. Factors like their age, years with the company, which department they work in, their level of education, their job role, and even their marital status are all considered by employers to assist in predicting employee attrition. This project will be analyzing a …


Crime In Los Angeles, Cierra Hughley Apr 2023

Crime In Los Angeles, Cierra Hughley

Symposium of Student Scholars

This study will examine crimes committed in the city of Los Angeles dating back to the year of 2020. The reported data was pulled from the open data of Los Angeles Police Department. The purpose of this study is to show if gender is related to the three primary crimes: property crimes, violent crimes, or other crimes. Doing so will show which crimes were committed by each gender. Even though this study is on gender and crimes committed; it was a hard decision because there were many variables to choose from. However, exploring the relationship between crime and gender was …


Statistical Analysis Of The Relationship Between Protected Bird Species And National Parks, Katherine Harmon Apr 2023

Statistical Analysis Of The Relationship Between Protected Bird Species And National Parks, Katherine Harmon

Symposium of Student Scholars

The ecological diversity of Earth is majorly threatened by habitat loss due to the destruction by human intervention. The conservation status of all identified species are classified into nine categories of varying vulnerability as described by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. By understanding the vulnerability of specific species, scientists can work to maintain a viable and healthy ecosystem globally by instilling rules and regulations of observed habitats for threatened species. These habitats are identified by surveying potential locations for threatened species and determining the population size at each site. An example of one of these surveys …


Bis(Difluoroborylamidinates) With Flexible Ethylene Bridges As Bifunctional Aggregation-Induced Emitters, Connor Welch Apr 2023

Bis(Difluoroborylamidinates) With Flexible Ethylene Bridges As Bifunctional Aggregation-Induced Emitters, Connor Welch

Symposium of Student Scholars

4,4-Difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacenes (BODIPYs) represent one of the most prominent classes of dyes, since they are ubiquitously used in protein and DNA labelling, photodynamic therapies, as luminescent tags, sensors, laser dyes, paint and ink compositions, as well as for electroluminescent devices. [1] This is because of their robustness in terms of photochemical stability, polarity and pH changes of their environment, in particular under physiological conditions. The versatility to introduce multiple functional substituents and ability of BODIPYs to strongly absorb UV-light while providing sharp fluorescence peaks, combined with high quantum yields make these dyes highly attractive for numerous applications. Closely related azaBODIPYs offer …


Estimating Blue Carbon Stocks In Native And Non-Native Seagrass Beds Of Jobos Bay, Pr, Michael Chapman, Raven Winant, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy, Mark Mccarthy, Ángel Dieppa-Ayala Apr 2023

Estimating Blue Carbon Stocks In Native And Non-Native Seagrass Beds Of Jobos Bay, Pr, Michael Chapman, Raven Winant, Kayla Gonzalez-Boy, Mark Mccarthy, Ángel Dieppa-Ayala

Symposium of Student Scholars

Seagrasses are keystone species that support coastal biodiversity, but not all species of seagrasses provide the same ecosystem services. Although seagrasses occupy a small area of marine habitat, they provide many ecosystem services. They stabilize sediments, remove nutrients, provide habitat and food for diverse marine life, and promote carbon storage in sediments. Jobos Bay is the second largest estuary in Puerto Rico and contains salt marshes, mangroves, and seagrass beds. The native seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, is the most abundant seagrass in the bay; however, a seagrass species from the Indian Ocean, Halophila stipulacea, began invading in recent years. The impacts …


Ec-371 Planit Crm - Refactoring For The Future, Justin Hall, Oluwaseyi Falaiye, Thomas Anderson, Sai Krupa Bariki Vidura, Samet Yekta Guclu, Ahmet Bugra Dogan Apr 2023

Ec-371 Planit Crm - Refactoring For The Future, Justin Hall, Oluwaseyi Falaiye, Thomas Anderson, Sai Krupa Bariki Vidura, Samet Yekta Guclu, Ahmet Bugra Dogan

C-Day Computing Showcase

Planit CRM is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software that helps in managing and tracking projects, tasks, invoices, quotes, leads, customers, transactions and much more. This software allows anyone to manage leads, create invoices, and start collecting payments seamlessly. The system was developed by Driven Software Solutions under the guidance of Shahzib Sarfraz in 2018. The software has since been used by business owners to allow for easier management of the income and expenses of their operation. It is supported by a team of around fifty developers who maintain the PlanIT CRM software off the site https://planitcrm.com, which can be …


Gr-342 Integration Of Blockchain In Computer Networking: Overview, Applications, And Future Perspectives For Software-Defined Networking (Sdn), Network Security And Protocols, Md Jobair Hossain Faruk Apr 2023

Gr-342 Integration Of Blockchain In Computer Networking: Overview, Applications, And Future Perspectives For Software-Defined Networking (Sdn), Network Security And Protocols, Md Jobair Hossain Faruk

C-Day Computing Showcase

The rapid advancement and increasing complexity of computer networks have created a need for robust, secure, and scalable solutions to manage and protect network resources. Blockchain, an emerging distributed ledger technology, offers enhanced security, transparency, and privacy preservation, making it a promising solution for addressing networking challenges. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of blockchain integration in computer networking, focusing on its potential applications, benefits, and future perspectives in Software-defined Networking (SDN), network security, and networking protocols. We identify that blockchain's tamper-proof nature could significantly improve network security by mitigating risks associated with centralized control and single points of failure. …


Gr-334 Comparative Evaluation Of Embed Dataset For Mammogram Classification Using Deep Learning Techniques, Nalla Vineela Apr 2023

Gr-334 Comparative Evaluation Of Embed Dataset For Mammogram Classification Using Deep Learning Techniques, Nalla Vineela

C-Day Computing Showcase

Breast cancer is a global health concern for women. The detection of breast cancer in its early stages is crucial, and screening mammography serves as a vital leading-edge tool for achieving this goal. In this study, we evaluated the performance of centralized versions of Resnet 50v2 and Resnet 152v2 models for classification of mammograms using different datasets, which were divided by location number extracted from the EMBED dataset. The datasets were preprocessed and used various techniques to improve the performance of the models. The models are trained and evaluated using metrics such as accuracy, area under the curve (AUC), F1 …