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Towards developing a fast reliable instant e-learning networks of distributed systems (friends) for higher education institutions in Tanzania
(Nova Science Publishers, 2022) Mahenge, Michael P. J.; Sanga, Camilius A.
The accessibility, availability and affordability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in developing countries has brought new opportunities in improving learning and teaching in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) through E-Learning. The overwhelming development of resource-intensive contents such as video streaming, simulations, Virtual Reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), 3D graphic visualization, and others emerging educational technologies used for E-Learning applications has not only resulted into enhancing education delivery but also it has caused challenges in performance and capacity of smart mobile devices. Consequently, this chapter proposes a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) supporting E-learning framework to reinforce learning processes in HEIs which are geographically sparsely distributed systems in different locations. Moreover, by leveraging the advanced capacity of MEC framework such as offloading, content caching closer to users, and ability to collaborate with the cloud computing, it enhances flexibility in learning, content sharing and guarantees cost-efficient learning with minimum response time. Thus in order to determine the potential of the proposed MEC-supported E-learning framework, we designed a case study and configured it in a simulation environment using edgeCloudSim simulator. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework improves average response time and content download time.
Evaluation of livestock information network knowledge system (LINKS) based on user satisfaction
(International Journal of Information and Communication Technology Research, 2016-08-08) Mussa, Mussa; Kipanyula, Maulilio J.; Angello, Consolata; Sanga, Camilius A.
The advancement of technology has brought low cost mobile phones which are affordable to majority of livestock keepers and traders in Kilosa District. The Government of Tanzania has developed livestock market information system which offers markets and market information for different livestock products. The system was established to enhance the bargaining power of livestock keepers to traders and middlemen in livestock markets. Thus the ultimate goal of the developed system was to create a platform to link farmers and lenders, as well as farmers and buyers. Despite the potential of the developed system, few livestock keepers are using it. This study was designed to evaluate the usability of the livestock market information system as well as the causes of its limited use. The Software Usability Measurement Inventory approach for usability was used during system evaluation to gauge user’s satisfaction. The results indicate that development of the livestock market information system was not participatory enough. The majority of respondents indicated that the mapping of information needs was inadequate and therefore, information contents provided by the system do not meet user requirements. The results indicate the need to adopt user centred systems development involving all stakeholders in all phases of software development life cycle. Hence there is a need to improve up to date publication of market information to enable users to get reliable prices via web and mobile phones.
Algorithm for the evaluation of Free and Open Source Software when the Evaluator is "Uncertain"
(North American Institute of Science and Information Technology (NAISIT), 2015-09) Sanga, C; Venter, I. M
Free and Open Source Software is freely available on the Internet and making use of it, could benefit many higher learning institutions in developing countries. However, before adoption, it is necessary to evaluate the software to see if it meets the requirements of the institution. The evaluation of software involves considering the quality attributes of the software, which can either be evaluated objectively or subjectively, depending on whether the attributes are measured directly or indirectly. To handle the subjectivity of qualitative evaluation an algorithm with inherent computational intelligence was developed. The algorithm, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process incorporates a modified version of extent analysis. It can tolerate fuzziness, ambiguity, imprecision, uncertainty and ill-illustrated judgements. In addition to the improved Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process development, the Group Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process was developed. Using a specially derived set of end-user centric metrics, the algorithm provides the means for evaluating software according to quality attributes. Software developers, to predict end-user requirements, and to more accurately measure end-user satisfaction can use these quality attributes. Soft Systems Methodology was the preferred research methodology in this investigation as it is well suited for fuzzy problems. The algorithm was validated by evaluating Moodle, a free and open source e-learning system, adopted by a University in Tanzania. Students and staff from the university were involved in providing the subjective opinions about the software. The data collected from the subjective evaluation was captured and using Soft System Methodology, the data was analysed cyclically, improving the algorithm with each cycle. The advantages of the proposed final algorithm are: it is efficient, simple to use and cost-effective. It guides the end user to form an informed decision based on the evaluation results of software. The evaluation results determine whether the outlook is pessimistic, moderate or optimistic.
Factors influencing the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium sized enterprises in Tanzania: a case study of Kilosa district
(ResearchGate, 2013) Sanga, C
The major developments in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have transformed the world more than any other technological invention. ICTs and fisherfolk cannot be seemingly related, but not anymore these days. Fisheries have been playing significant roles in the social and economic development of the country. On the other hand, ICTs can help fisherfolk a lot. The broad objective of the study is to assess the extent of use of ICTs by fisherfolk in the Kutubdia Island. In this study, researchers have used descriptive survey methods to collect primary information. Besides, data from secondary sources have also been used. To carry out this research, 60 respondents have been selected from Kutubdia Island of Bangladesh. The socioeconomic condition of these fisherfolk is not so good. However, all of the fisherfolk use mobile phone, radio and radar while they are out in the sea. They also use other ICT tools like computer, television, Internet, newspaper, sonar, wireless and GPS. They use these tools to know, search, distribute and share information and weather updates; track fish swarm, increase income, save time and assist shipping. A minor section of the fisherfolk do not use ICTs because they still depend on the traditional ways of catching fish. The study has found out that these fisherfolk face many problems in gaining access to ICTs which include lack of uninterrupted power supply, insufficient finance, lack of enabling government policies and lack of training on ICTs.
Assessing the impacts of climate variability and change on agricultural systems in Eastern Africa while enhancing the region’s capacity to undertake integrated assessment of vulnerabilities to future changes in climate
(ICRISAT, 2015-02) Sanga, C; Sumari, Neema; Tumbo, Siza; Mourice, Sixbert K; Kadigi, Ibrahim; Kahimba, Frederick
One of the key messages emerging out of the recent IPCC reports is that the climate change is real, happening and will continue to happen for the foreseeable future , irrespective of what happens to future greenhouse gas emissions . The report also estimates wi th high confidence that the negative impacts on agriculture outweigh the positives which makes adaptation an urgent and pressing challenge. However, adaptation planning requires accurate information about where, when and how the impacts are going to be fel t and who will be more vulnerable. Among the regions, Africa is considered as more vulnerable due to its high dependence on agriculture for subsistence, employment and income. In Eastern Africa, agriculture accounts for 43% of GDP and contributes to more than 80% employment (Omano et al. 20 06). Within Africa, Eastern Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions due to its high dependence on rain - fed agriculture for subsistence, employment and income. The region experiences high variability in rainfall (Webster et al., 1999, Hastenrath et al. , 2007) which has a direct bearing on the performance of agriculture. Generally the region experiences prolonged and highly destructive droughts covering large areas at least once every decade and more localized events even more frequently. The region reco rded severe droughts and/or famines in 1973 - 74, 1984 - 85, 1987, 1992 - 94, 1999 - 2000, 2005 - 2006 and more recently in 2010 - 11. According to UNDP (2006), a single drought event in a 12 - year period will lower GDP by 7% – 10% and increase poverty by 12% – 14%. Extrem e events, including floods and droughts, are becoming increasingly frequent and severe (IPCC 2007). Based on the analysis of data from the international Disaster Database (EM - DAT), Shongwe et al. (2009) concluded that there has been an increase in the numb er of reported disasters in the region, from an average of less than 3 events per year in the 1980s to over 7 events per year in the 1990s and 10 events per year from 2000 to 2006. The negative impacts of climate are not limited to the years with extreme c limatic conditions. Even with normal rainfall, the countries in the region do not produce enough food to meet their people’s needs. Left unmanaged, these impacts can have far - reaching consequences on the local food security, economy, and poverty. Over the past few years, climate research has contributed significantly to increased understanding of how the climate in the region is var ying on inter - annual and decadal time scales and on how the climate is changing in response to global warming and other factors . The impacts of this variability and changes in climate on various sectors including agriculture have also received considerable attention . These studies indicate that a griculture, especially the one practiced under rainfed conditions in moisture limiting environments such as semi - arid tropics , is one of the most vulnerable sectors since these are relatively warmer places and rainfall is the only source of water. There is a rapidly growing literature on vulnerability and adaptation to climatic variability and change , but most of these studies are based on assessments made using statistical and empirical models that fail to account for the full range of complex interactions and their effects on agricultural systems (Parry et al., 2004; Cline, 2007; Lobell e t al., 2008). Evidence available to date indicate s that w ith 1°C of warming, roughly 65% of current maize growing areas in Africa will experience yield losses (Lobell et al., 2011) and the average predicted production loss es by 2050 for most crops are in t he ra n ge of 10 - 25% (Schlenker and Lobell, 2010) . For developing and implementing adaptation programs, more detailed information about the impacts of climate change on various components of the smallholder farming systems such as which crops and varieties are more vulnerable and which management practices are unviable is required . This requires a comprehensive assessment using site and location specific climate and crop management information. However, s everal problems constrain such an assessment. Firstly, downscaled local level climate change projections that are required to make such assessments are not readily available . While climate models provide various scenarios with high levels of confidence at global and sub - regional level, there are challenges in downscaling them to local level (IPCC, 2007) . Secondly, lack of information on the sensitivity of smallholder agricultural systems to changes in climate . Though process based crop simulation models can serve as important tools to make a more realistic assessment of impacts of climate variability and change on agricultural systems, application of the same is limited to few location specific studies mainly because of the intensive data requirements and practical limitations including capaci ty to calibrate, validate and perform detailed analyses. Thirdly, there is scarcity of information on how the impacts of climate change on the production and productivity of agriculture translate into economic impacts including food security at household a nd national levels. This assessment is aimed at developing more accurate information on how the projected changes in climate impact the productivity and profitability of agricultural systems that are widely adopted by smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa using the protocols and methods developed by Agricultural Model Intercomparision and Improvement Project (AgMIP) (Rosenzweig et al., 2013) . One key aspect of this assessment is the attention paid to captur e the complexity and diversity that exists in the s mallholder farm ing systems including the different ways in which th e system is managed. The study is an attempt to make a comprehensive assessment of climate change on crop growth and performance under conditions that interactions as well as related economic impacts by integrat ing state of the art downscal ed climate scenarios with crop and economic models. Th e assessment was carried out in contrasting agro - ecological zones spread over the four major countries in eastern Africa – Ethiopia, Keny a, Tanzania and Uganda. This report summarizes the findings that include trends and changes in the observed and downscaled climate scenarios, quantified information on impacts of these trends and changes on performance of maize under a range of environment al and management conditions, implication of these changes in crop performance on in come, poverty and food security of smallholder farmers and potential adaptation strategies that can assist smallholder farmers in minimizing negative impacts .
Contribution of Information and Communication Technology in Improving Access to Market Information among Smallholder Farmers: The case study of Kilosa District
(North American Institute of Science and Information Technology (NAISIT), 2015-09) Njelekela, C; Sanga, C
This study investigates the contribution of information and communication technology in improving access to market information among smallholder farmers. The study was conducted at Kilosa District. The representative sample involved 50 smallholder farmers from two villages. A structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant information from random selected respondents. Data were analysed using statistical software. The overall findings revealed that there were great disparities in gender division of labour at the market process. Men participate much in access market information because they are the one who made decision. In other hand, women were performing more activities in the farm production compared to men who engaged themselves in market. The research concludes that there is unequal gender division of labour in the farm activities and also, on the access and use of the market information. Based on this, it is recommended that massive education campaign for mainstreaming gender is needed to both men and women who are actively engaged in smallholder farmers.

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