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Masuala ibuka katika vipindi vya watoto: tathmini ya vikatuni vya ubongo kids
(Chuka University, 2025) Opondo Stephen Odiwuor
Utafiti huu ni wa kifasihi na ulilenga kuchanganua masuala ibuka katika vipindi vya watoto kwenye televisheni, kwa kuangazia vikatuni vya Ubongo Kids. Utafiti huu uliongozwa na nadharia ya Elimu Burudani ambayo iliwekewa msingi na Miguel Sabido (2003). Elimu Burudani ni nadharia iliyofumwa kwa lengo la kuelimisha na kubadilisha mitazamo ya jamii kupitia burudani. Nadharia hii ilimsaidia mtafiti kuelewa jinsi vikatuni vya Ubongo Kids vinavyoeleza hali halisi kuhusu maisha ya watu na jinsi watazamaji wanaweza kuchochewa kujenga maana fulani kwa kulinganisha matukio katika kipindi na maisha yao. Sampuli ya utafiti ilipatikana kwa kutumia mbinu ya usampulishaji kimaksudi. Ukusanyaji wa data ulitumia mbinu ya kiwango kifu. Hatimaye, mtafiti aliteua video 20 zilizolingana na malengo ya utafiti. Data ilikusanywa kwa kutazama visa, kauli na matendo kwenye vipindi vilivyoashiria masuala ibuka na kunukuliwa ili kurahisisha uchunguzi kuhusiana na masuala ibuka. Uchanganuzi pamoja na uwasilishaji wa data ulifanyika kwa njia ya maelezo. Utafiti ulibaini kuwa masuala ibuka katika vipindi vya vikatuni vya Ubongo Kids huwasilishwa kwa njia rahisi, yakilenga kuelimisha watoto kuhusu changamoto za sasa. Masuala yanayojitokeza kwenye vipindi hivi ni mabadiliko ya tabianchi, usafi wa mazingira, umuhimu wa lishe bora, elimu, ulinzi wa watoto, usawa wa kijinsia na matumizi salama ya teknolojia. Mafunzo yanayotolewa yanahamasisha watoto kuwa raia wanaowajibika na wanaofikiria kimkakati katika kukabiliana na matatizo ya kijamii. Utafiti huu unatarajiwa kuwafaidi walimu, wakuza mitalaa, waundaji sera, jamii na watafiti wengine kwa kuonyesha ufaafu wa vipindi vya watoto kama kiungo muhimu cha elimu kando na kuburudisha. Kwa kuchambua maudhui, uhusika, na mbinu katika kazi za kifasihi, walimu, wakuza mitalaa na watafiti wengine wataweza kuboresha maudhui ili yaambatane na masuala yanayoikumba jamii kwa sasa kwa njia inayovutia.
Determination of micronutrients, heavy metals and Proximate analysis of selected indigenous vegetables in Kirinyaga East Sub-County, Kirinyaga County
(Chuka University, 2025) Maina Janet Njeri
Socio-economic changes that have taken place in Africa have influenced peoples eating habits in both rural and urban set-ups. Indigenous vegetables are important for food insecurity, malnutrition reduction and therapeutics in sub-Saharan African countries. In Kirinyaga County, indigenous vegetables are underutilized or neglected due to some nutritional content are known and others unknown. Limited data exist on the precise levels of key micronutrients (e.g. iron, zinc, magnesium) in specific indigenous vegetables cultivated in Kirinyaga East Sub-County. Variability in nutrient content due to farming practices, soil types, and climatic conditions in the region has not been comprehensively studied. Leaves are the most preferred parts of indigenous vegetables for consumption. Although they have nutritional benefits, there is a need to determine the safety levels due to toxic metals in vegetables contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals and toxins leading to failure of certain organs of the human body. The study aimed to determine levels of micronutrients (calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc), heavy metals (lead and cadmium) using AAS (atomic absorption spectrometer) using and proximate analysis (ash content, moisture content, crude fat, protein content, carbohydrates and crude fiber) of selected African indigenous vegetables (African nightshade, Spider plant, Vine spinach and Pumpkin leaves) in Kirinyaga east sub county. The results revealed that African indigenous vegetables are rich in essential micronutrients. Pumpkin leaves had the highest calcium levels (14,070.81 mg/kg), spider plant showed the highest iron concentration (233.53 mg/kg), African nightshade recorded the highest zinc content (483.33 mg/kg), while vine spinach was richest in magnesium (570.87 mg/kg). Proximate analysis indicated that spider plant and African nightshade contained higher protein levels (up to 17.9%), while moisture content ranged from 82–91%. Crude fat levels were consistently low, confirming African
indigenous vegetables as nutrient-dense but energy-light vegetables Cadmium and lead concentrations varied across species and locations, with African nightshade and vine
spinach showing relatively higher levels. However, all values remained within WHO/FAO permissible limits, indicating that the vegetables are safe for human
consumption in terms of heavy metal contamination. African indigenous vegetables have high nutritional potential and can be promoted as affordable dietary sources of
essential minerals and protein to combat malnutrition.
A hybrid deep learning model for intrusion detection in cloud-based implantable medical devices
(Chuka University, 2015) Kirimi James
The rapidly evolving technologies in the healthcare sector, such as implantable medical devices (IMDs), require advanced security solutions that leverage the intelligence
capabilities of these technologies while ensuring optimal safety and reliability. The IMD technology redefines healthcare service delivery by offering timely interventions,
minimally invasive treatment options, and continuous patient condition monitoring to improve quality of life. Despite these achievements, IMDs face unauthorised access, data manipulation, and denial-of-service attacks, which conventional security solutions are limited in handling due to resource constraints within IMD ecosystems. As a result, different machine learning and deep learning frameworks have been proposed for real‐time threat detection. However, they still suffer from overfitting, slow inference, and excessive resource demands, hindering their effective integration into the IMD ecosystem. The study's primary goal was to design and develop a hybrid of deep autoencoders, convolutional neural networks, and long short-term memory (LSTM) strategies to provide a comprehensive detection model that reduces inference time for deployed models while enhancing performance. Autoencoders provide the fundamental architecture of the detection model, while convolutional neural networks are used in the encoder and decoder for simplicity and to capture nonlinear data effectively. The Long Short-Term Memory captures temporal dependencies in the model, enhancing overall detection capabilities. The study adopted an experimental approach, developing a hybrid deep autoencoder model to test its performance against convolutional neural networks, long short-term memory, and other conventional machine learning techniques. The results demonstrate that the hybrid model outperformed standalone
models, achieving high accuracy scores across the datasets. The best model in the ICU dataset achieved 100% accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score, and a false positive rate of 0.00%. The WUSTL had an accuracy of 79.32%, a recall of 79.92%, a precision of 79.41%, a specificity of 79.24%, and a false positive rate of 20.59%. The Edge IIoT dataset had a recall, F1, and accuracy of 96.87%, a precision of 96.94%, a specificity of 96.88%, and a false-positive rate of 3.12%. The model’s inference time was substantially reduced compared to the standard deep autoencoder model across the datasets, providing a lightweight detection environment for the intrusion detection system.
Analysis of persuasive and politeness strategies used in sermons by pentecostal preachers in Nyeri County
(Chuka University, 2015) Kibuchi Robert Warui
Language is used to persuade, dissuade, manipulate, and develop diverse power and political beliefs. Politicians, lobbyists, corporate experts, and religious speakers, among others, achieve enormous power, influence, and profit by skillfully employing words.This research sought to discover the persuasive strategies and politeness used by religious preachers in their discourse within the church context. The purpose of this study was to analyze persuasive and politeness strategies used in sermons by Kenyan Pentecostal preachers in Nyeri county. The objectives that guided this study were; to describe the persuasive strategies used by Pentecostal preachers to execute their persuasion agenda and to analyze politeness strategies used by Kenyan Pentecostal Preachers in Kenya. The data source was audio recordings from the sermons of three preachers. The population of study was all the sermons with politeness and persuasive strategies. Purposive sampling was used to select five sermons with persuasive techniques and politeness. The research design of this study was qualitative. A card was used in this study by isolating the persuasive strategies and politeness strategies applied in the discourse of the Pentecostal preachers. Two theories were used to analyze data. Politeness theory was used to analyze data for the first objective while Aristotle theory of persuasion was used for the second objective. The study revealed that preachers employed different persuasive techniques to influence belief, evoke emotion and t encourage action. It was also found that the preachers strategically used a range of politeness strategies and they relied on the frameworks of the negative politeness, and
positive politeness, bald-on-record and off-record communication. Indirectness, hedging, apologies depersonalized addressing characterized negative politeness strategies that are oriented towards maintaining the autonomy of the hearer. the preachers strategically used a range of politeness strategies and they relied on the frameworks of the negative politeness, positive politeness, bald-on-record and off record. The study is of relevance to sociolinguistics and pragmatics because it provides information on how politeness and persuasion works in the church discourse. In addition, the results offer helpful information to the interlocutors on the use of proper strategies to ensure successful and decent communication, where everybody during the
contact feels listened to and appreciated. The results may form basis for effective sermon preparation to achieve different communicative goals. Further research can be done by doing a comparative study on the use of rhetorical devices among different denominations.
Influence of customers’ brand perception, preferences and satisfaction on performance of airbnb facilities in Nyeri County, Kenya
(Chuka University, 2015) Kamweru Esther Waithira
The emergence of AirBnB has transformed the accommodation industry around the world by providing an accessible, affordable, and authentic local experience, making it a preferred alternative to traditional hotels. Nevertheless, its expansion in other areas like the Nyeri County in Kenya is minimal, and there has been a lack of empirical information on the impact of customer brand perception, preferences and satisfaction on the performance of AirBnB facilities. The objective of this research was to determine how these customer-related factors influence the performance of the AirBnB facilities within Nyeri County. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of brandperception on the performance of AirBnB facilities, to evaluate the influence of the customers’ preferences on the performance of AirBnB facilities and the influence of customer satisfaction on the performance of AirBnB facilities in Nyeri County. The study used mixed research design. The target population was 1600 AirBnB customers and 102 AirBnB hosts in Nyeri-county. The sample size was 200 for the guests and 41 for AirBnB owners was calculated using Cochran (1977) formula. The study employed purposive sampling to select sub-counties with AirBnB facilities, stratified random sampling to select facilities, a quota sampling for guests and purposive sampling for AirBnB owners. Structured questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data from customers and managers, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted at a 5% significance level to test three null hypotheses. The regression analysis revealed a strong positive correlation (R = 0.907) between customer satisfaction, preferences, and brand perception, explaining 82.2% of the variance in facility performance (R² = 0.822). Brand perception showed the highest influence (β = 0.533), followed by customer preferences (β = 0.378) and satisfaction (β = 0.313). All variables were statistically significant with p-values less than 0.05, leading to the rejection of the null hypotheses. The ANOVA test confirmed the model’s overall significance with an F-statistic of 249.565 (p < 0.000), supporting the claim that these customer-related factors are integral to performance outcomes. Interviews with AirBnB managers in Nyeri County reinforced the quantitative findings, with managers emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong brand reputation, offering competitive pricing, and providing personalized services to meet customer preferences. These qualitative insights aligned with the regression results, highlighting that customer satisfaction directly influences performance. The study underscores the critical role of aligning services with customer expectations to drive success in the AirBnB market. The findings provide actionable recommendations for AirBnB hosts, property managers, and stakeholders, suggesting that improving brand perception, catering to customer preferences, and ensuring high levels of satisfaction can significantly enhance performance and foster long-term competitiveness in Nyeri County’s hospitality industry.