Conference Proceedings

Permanent URI for this community

https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/111

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 234

Myocardiology in Africa
(East African Literature Bureau, 1974) Kamunvi, F.; Ojiambo, H. P.; Bajusz, E.
In 1971 the East African Medical Research Council, part of the East African Community Organization, sponsored an international symposium on preventive cardiology and cardiac metabolism. This conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya, and this volume is a record of the papers read there. It is intended to publish a further volume recording the participants' discussions.
Proceedings of the Southern and Eastern African Rabies Group
(International Symposium, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 1993) Rutebarika, Chris; Winyi-Kaboyo, Richard; Barrat, Jacques; King, Arthur
Let me first of all welcome all of you to the 5th SEARG conference. I am particularly pleased that Botswana and Namibia are now represented having missed the last SEARG conference in Nairobi, Kenya in 1997. Further I am happy to report that all the 17 countries of the SEARG have remained committed members throughout the 1997-1999 period. It has been our intention that more countries in this region be invited to join as new SEARG members. Burundi had shown interest but contacts were not made early enough for it to send a delegate to this meeting. We would therefore like to request the in-coming secretariat to follow up these developments which are aimed at expanding the SEARG membership
How to Integrate Statutory and Customary Tenure? The Uganda Case
(International Institute for Environment and Development., 1999) Mwebaza, Rose
The last two decades have witnessed extensive land tenure reform in East and Southern Africa, with almost every country in the region having undergone some kind of reform. The reform process has been accompanied by much discussion on the need to integrate customary and statutory land tenure systems in policy and legislation. Indeed, so much has been said that sometimes it is difficult to draw the line between what is real and what is fiction; the essential concepts have become blurred by the divergent and some times controversial interpretations of these two seemingly irreconcilable concepts.
Capital Inflows and Macroeconomic Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa
(Palgrave Macmillan, 1999) Kasekende, Louis; Kitabire, Damoni; Martin, Matthew
During the last three years, there has been an expanding literature on private capital inflows to developing countries. In 1992 and 1993, attention focused on the rise in such inflows, their causes and nature. Gradually, it moved to their potential macroeconomic impact and the policy implications. In 1994 and 1995, following events in Mexico, it has concentrated on the sustainability of the inflows, and the policy implications of potential reversal. Virtually all of the studies have focused on Latin America, though some authors have also examined East Asian experiences. Analysis of Eastern Europe is extremely rare (Calvo, Sahay and Vegh, 1995; Griffith-Jones, 1995), and that of Mrica is virtually non-existent (with the notable exception of the excellent study by Asea and Reinhart, 1995). Even the most comprehensive recent analysis and survey of the literature (Fernandez-Arias and Montiel, 1995) has concluded that there is only impressionistic evidence of private capital inflows to sub-Saharan Mrica, where 'capital inflows have not materialized'. Mrica has continued to be analysed from the point of view that most of its capital inflows causing 'Dutch Disease' effects are aid inflows (see, for example, Younger, 1992). The key areas examined in the literature have been the scale and composition of private capital inflows, their causes and sustainability, their effects on macroeconomic stability, and their responsiveness to policy measures.
Changes in Breeding Strategy for Needs in a Liberalized Cotton Industry in Uganda
(SAARI, 2000) Serunjogi, L.K.; Mukasa, S.B.; Odeke, W.; Ochola, G.
Commercial cotton (G. hirsutum L.) production has been based on BPA and SATU varieties, grown in two ecological zones. Both have had a strong world market, the stronger, longer and finer fiber BPA finding a different market niche. The collapse of the seed replacement system developed by the Department of Agriculture and liberalization of the cotton industry has resulted in problems of variety deterioration and mixing, leading to non-uniform and poor quality lint. These new challenges necessitated changes in breeding objectives and strategy. In 1993 breeding work was revived at SAARI with the strategy of developing a variety with good adaptation in the two zones for high yield, resistance to pests and high lint quality. Selections were made from existing and purified BPA and SATU stocks, and progenies arising from intraand inter-variety crosses. Variety checks and advanced lines of 9 SATU and 11 BPA stocks were compared, using single and combined analysis of variance over 8 locations and 3 years ordination and cluster analyses. At a three-group level, one group membership was consistent over the three seasons. The members expressed similar response patterns and good yield and constituted the elite entries. G x E interactions were not significant for yield but fiber characteristics of BPA entries were influenced by the environments. SATU and BPA lines performance was comparable except at locations of very low environmental index where SATU was better. Pattern analysis results indicate that the higher quality BPA which is also more bacterial blight resistant, can be grown in a wider range of environments than previously anticipated.
Genetic viability of Nabugabo lakes (LVR satellite lakes) fish species
(Wetlands Inspection Division, 2001) Waiswa Mwanja, Wilson
Natural populations of fish species in Lake Victoria Region (LVR) have under gone dramatic changes including severe reduction in sizes, division of original stocks into disjunct subunits, and segregation into several isolated population units either within a single water body or even worse into separate waters. In addition, these changes have been either preceded or precipitated by introductions of non-indigenous species that outcompeted the native forms and in case of closely related species genetically swamped them through hybridisation. The latter is especially the case in Nabugabo Jakes. Such events lead to fragmentation of populations, which results in reduction in genetic diversity due to genetic drift, inbreeding and reduced or lack of gene flow among independent units. Such phenomena make the continued existence of fisheries stocks in the wild precarious, more so in the face of the competition from exotic species. Species introductions coupled with growing exploitation pressure of the fisheries ofthese lakes have put the native stocks at risk. Nabugabo lakes harbour cichlid species that are unique to these lakes more so species of the cichlid complex. In this paper the ecological status and genetic viability of key Nabugabo lakes fish species is examined and management options are discussed.
Geothermal Energy in Uganda, Country Update
(In International Geothermal Conference, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2003) Bahati, Godfrey; Natukunda, James Francis; Tuhumwire, Joshua
Exploration for geothermal energy in Uganda has been in progress since 1993. The studies have focused on three major geothermal areas namely Katwe, Buranga and Kibiro.The three areas are in advanced stages of surface exploration and will soon be subjected to exploratory drilling that will pave the way for a feasibility study. The overall objective of the study is to develop geothermal energy to complement hydro and other sources of power to meet the energy demand of rural areas in sound environment. The current study has focused on geology, geochemistry, hydrology and geophysics with the aim of elucidating subsurface temperatures and the spatial extent of the geothermal systems. The results indicate that the geothermal activity in the three areas is related to the volcanic and tectonic activities of the Rift Valley, which has a higher heat flow than the surrounding Precambrian crust. Subsurface temperatures of approximately 140-200˚C for Katwe, 120- 150˚C for Buranga, and 200-220˚C for Kibiro have been predicted by geothermometry and mixing models. Anomalous areas have been delineated in Katwe and Kibiro prospects using geophysical methods. Drilling of shallow boreholes to a depth of 200-300m for temperature gradient measurement has been completed and the temperatures measured (30-36˚C/km) are slightly above the global average of 30˚C/km, which suggests deep reservoirs in Katwe and Kibiro or geothermal reservoirs offset from the drilled areas. Additional geophysical measurements to locate the deep reservoirs and drill sites in the two areas are recommended. The results will then be used to update the geothermal models that will be a basis for the drilling of deep geothermal wells. The Buranga area still needs detailed geophysical surveys to delineate anomalous areas that could be targets for drilling. The results of the preliminary geothermal investigations on other areas predict subsurface temperatures of 100 - 160˚C suitable for small scale electricity production and direct uses. These areas have been ranked based on predicted subsurface temperatures and other geothermal features for further exploration and development.
Conservation of Genetic Resources of Non-Timber Forest Products in Ethiopia
(National Workshop on Non-Timber Forest Products, 2004) Tadesse, Wubalem; Mbogga, Michael
During the last 10–20 years, human interest in non-timber forest products (NTFPs) that appeared relevant to the growing focus on rural development and conservation of natural resources has grown (Arnold and Perez, 2001). Indeed, NTFPs seemed to offer hope that their presence in the forest would act as an incentive to conserve the forest (Lawrence, 2003), at the same time contributing to community development. This was based on the perception that these products are more accessible to rural populations and especially to the rural poor (Saxena, 1995), and that their exploitation is more benign than timber harvesting (Myers, 1988). Moreover, there is an assumption, often implicit, that making forests more valuable to local users can encourage forest conservation (Plotkin and Famolare, 1992; Evans 1993). It is now widely accepted that this has not been the case in many situations, calling for a redress in our approach to NTFPs conservation and use. Despite the fact that NTFPs contribute to tropical forest conservation and poverty alleviation was regarded as very promising, recent studies have cleared, however, that the alleged commercialization-conservation/development link in the NTFPs debate needs reconsideration (Ros-Tonen and Wiersum, 2004). The exploitation of forest resources has a differentiated effect, depending on the type of species and the parts being harvested (Arnold and Perez, 2001). The effect of uncontrolled exploitation of NTFPs from natural population can also have adverse effects not only on the species exploited but also on other associated species. This is why approaches to conservation of NTFPs source species that are sources of non–timber forest products need to be tailored to individual species and areas. Although some NTFPs play a role in rural livelihood strategies and can contribute to sustain forested landscapes in various tropical forest areas, there is no uniform picture as regards the actual importance of NTFPs to rural livelihoods (Ros-Tonen and Wiersum, 2004).
Factors Influencing Equitable Distribution of Water Supply and Sanitation Services in Uganda
(WaterAid., 2005) Asingwire, Narathius; Muhangi, Dennis; Odolon, John
Inequitable distribution of water and sanitation services has received national recognition and equity has been adopted as a key theme that should be monitored and measured every year as part of the sector’s performance review. The study revealed that existing policy prescriptions, strategies and guidelines are largely inclusive of equity provisions. The problem is more of policy translations and application at the district and lower levels. The study concluded that, whereas other factor such as natural occurrence of water, hydro-geological factors and availability of funds combine to dictate the choice of technology for water service delivery, political influence seems to be decisive in actual allocation of water points to be constructed especially where there is no accurate information and uncertainty about the technical criteria to use.
Cyber Crime in Uganda: Myth or Reality?
(World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 2005) Tushabe, Florence; Baryamureeba, Venansius
There is a general feeling that Internet crime is an advanced type of crime that has not yet infiltrated developing countries like Uganda. The carefree nature of the Internet in which anybody publishes anything at anytime poses a serious security threat for any nation. Unfortunately, there are no formal records about this type of crime for Uganda. Could this mean that it does not exist there? The author conducted an independent research to ascertain whether cyber crimes have affected people in Uganda and if so, to discover where they are reported. This paper highlights the findings.
Utilizing evidence to drive program implementation: How Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) surveys help districts to target underserved areas in Uganda
(USAID, 2006) Kironde, Samson; Mabirizi, Joseph; Businge, Denis; Ssimbwa, Stephen; Orobaton, Nosa
For e ective implementation of decentralized health systems at the local level, districts need to have accurate, up-to-date and representative information to guide decisions about where to focus resources in order to achieve maximum impact with the often limited resources at their disposal. However, many local government entities in Uganda have limited capacity and resources to measure outputs and outcomes in order to e ectively tailor interventions. Use of regular low cost Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) surveys can help achieve this.
The East Africa Conference on Intellectual Property Rights and Development
(ACODE, 2006) Tumushabe, Godber; Naluwairo, Ronald
This i s a synthesis report of the proceedings of the E ast Africa Conference on Intellectual Property Ri ghts and Development which took place i n Jinja-Uganda from the 28th -29th June 2006. The Conference brought together senior level officials from the national IPR offices, research and academic i nstitutions, national planning and i nvestment authorities and practicing IPR lawyers. T heoverarchingobjective of the Conference was to provide a platform for stakeholders to engage i n a mutual dialogue on the role of i ntellectual property rights i n stimulating science and technology i nnovation, technology development and technology transfer within the E ast African Community (EAC). T he Conference also provided a rare opportunity for IPR practitioners from the three E AC States to engage i n a dialogue on practical steps necessary for operationalizing the relevant provisions of the T reaty Establishing the EAC.
Prediction of cutting force for self-propelled rotary tool using artificial neural networks
(Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2006) Hao, Wangshen; Zhu, Xunsheng; Li, Xifeng; Turyagyenda, Gelvis
In this paper, a cutting force model for self-propelled rotary tool (SPRT) cutting force prediction using artificial neural networks (ANN) has been introduced. The basis of this approach is to train and test the ANN model with cutting force samples of SPRT, from which their neurons relations are gradually extracted out. Then, ANN cutting force model is achieved by obtaining all weights for each layer. The inputs to the model consist of cutting velocity V, feed rate f, depth of cut ap and tool inclination angle λ, while the outputs are composed of thrust force Fx, radial force Fy and main cutting force Fz. It significantly reduces the complexity of modeling for SPRT cutting force, and employs non-structure operator parameters more conveniently. Considering the disadvantages of back propagation (BP) such as the convergence to local minima in the error space, developments have been achieved by applying hybrid of genetic algorithm (GA) and BP algorithm hence improve the performance of the ANN model. Validity and efficiency of the model were verified through a variety of SPRT cutting samples from our experiment tested in the cutting force model. The performance of the hybrid of GA–BP cutting force model is fairly satisfactory.
Image Classification Using SVMs: One-against-One Vs One-against-All
(arXiv preprint arXiv, 2007) Gidudu, Anthony,; Hulley, Gregg; Marwala, Tshilidzi
Support Vector Machines (SVMs) are a relatively new supervised classification technique to the land cover mapping community. They have their roots in Statistical Learning Theory and have gained prominence because they are robust, accurate and are effective even when using a small training sample. By their nature SVMs are essentially binary classifiers, however, they can be adopted to handle the multiple classification tasks common in remote sensing studies. The two approaches commonly used are the One-Against-One (1A1) and One-Against-All (1AA) techniques. In this paper, these approaches are evaluated in as far as their impact and implication for land cover mapping. The main finding from this research is that whereas the 1AA technique is more predisposed to yielding unclassified and mixed pixels, the resulting classification accuracy is not significantly different from 1A1 approach. It is the authors conclusion therefore that ultimately the choice of technique adopted boils down to personal preference and the uniqueness of the dataset at hand.
Indigenous Knowledge in Agriculture: A case study of the challenges in sharing knowledge of past generations in a globalized context in Uganda.
(IFLA General Conference and Council, 2007) Akullo, Diana; Kanzikwera, Rogers; Birungi, Pauline; Alum, Winnie; Aliguma, Lucy; Barwogeza, Margaret
For centuries, farmers have planned agricultural production and conserved natural resources by adopting indigenous knowledge. The development of indigenous knowledge systems, including management of natural environment, has been a matter of survival to the people who generated these systems. A study was conducted in western Uganda to investigate indigenous agricultural practices using local knowledge by researchers. The challenges from the study include; integration of conventional research with indigenous knowledge, storage and selective sharing of knowledge by farmers. The study determined a positive correlation between improved technologies and assets and access to extension services. It revealed that indigenous knowledge are used by all farmer categories, its dominant, easily accessible, safe for man, animals and promotes social cohesion due to the mechanism of dissemination. It showed inefficiency of some indigenous knowledge methods. The study concludes by recommending that indigenous knowledge and practices are useful, must be integrated with contemporary research agenda to enable farmers compete and respond to global opportunities and challenges respectively.
Relating Visual Disability and the Web
(ITA, 2007) Baguma, Rehema; Bommel, Patrick van; Wanyama, Tom; Patrick, Ogao
Despite the fact that the proportion of people with disabilities in society has been increasing, many critical online public activities are not readily available to them. Much as a large body of literature has examined the overall impact of visual disability on functional status and quality of life including Web usage, few published studies have explicitly investigated the relationship between visual disability and Web-based tasks. Moreover, the available Web Accessibility guidelines to-date lack coherence and simplicity for easy comprehension and application in Web application design for different disability groups. For example the primary reference guidelines – that is the Web Content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) is organized arbitrarily with no distinct sections according to types of disabilities covered. This makes such guidelines hard to understand and apply by Web content developers. This paper examines how properties of Web applications affect users with various visual disabilities. The goal of this study was to understand the problems faced by Web users with visual disabilities and how the problems can be addressed in Web development tasks. Understanding the relationship between visual disability and Web applications is an important foundation for further research considerations on how to make the Web more accessible to people with visual disabilities. Such considerations may include but not limited to: development of concise visual accessibility indicators and associated design techniques. The paper is organized into six sections namely: introduction; methodology; related work, properties of Visual disability and Web applications, the relationship between visual disability and properties of Web applications; Conclusion and future Work.
Collaborative Framework for Supporting Indigenous Knowledge Management
(Makerere University, 2007) Mondo, Theodora Mwebesa T.; Baryamureeba, Venansius; Williams, D.
Indigenous knowledge (IK) is an integral part of the culture and history of local communities. We need to learn from local communities to enrich the development process. IK systems are also dynamic; new knowledge is continuously added. IK is stored in people’s memories, activities and is expressed and communicated orally and this posses a serious threat to its preservation and development. However this depicts Indigenous knowledge Management (IKM) as a complex, global and dynamic issue and hence a need for a collaborative framework that will enhance information exchange. Utilization of collaborative frameworks, are increasingly being used in solving problems whose efficiency depends on an interactive nature. Networking or collaboration allows for a more effective pooling of resources and sharing of experiences and information on indigenous knowledge, both among various individuals and organizations.
Global Imbalances and the Implications for Africa
(The Hague, 2007) Kasekende, Louis
indicated by D’Arista and Griffith-Jones (2006), the United States has for most of the past twenty five years carried current account deficits. In large part, the deficit has been sustained by a gradual depreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis other major currencies, high growth rates in other parts of the world, and a willingness of non- US residents to increase their holdings of US dollars. The phenomenon of large and growing current account deficits of the United States (amounting to $869.1 billion in 2006, or 6.5 percent of GDP) and the associated large positions that foreigners (especially emerging economies) are amassing in US securities have become a central feature of the global economy, particularly in recent years. It has predictably garnered much attention from the financial press, policymakers, practitioners and, of course, academics. The three chapters by Barry Eichengreen and Yung Chul Park (2006), Jane D’Arista and Stephany Griffith-Jones (2006) and Fan Gang (2006) in the previous volume1 present an excellent discussion of many of the key issues and the way forward. My comments highlight some key issues to stimulate further discussion and then dwell briefly on the neglected region in the discourse – Africa.
Visualizing Object Oriented Software: Towards a Point of Reference for Developing Tools for Industry
(IEEE, 2007) Sensalire, Mariam; Ogao, Patrick
Developing a software visualization tool that gets high acceptability in the industry or research community would imply success for that particular tool. In the past, many tools have been developed within the academic arena with many more currently being developed. The rate of commercial success for the developed tools however does not match their development rate. In this paper the views of expert programmers are sought on what should be incorporated in a software visualization tool. These views are sought after exposing the programmers to three tools and allowing them to use the tools for a period of time. The results from the observations show that many of the desires of the expert programmers are not catered for in the currently existing tools. The potential need for a point of reference for developing tools for Industry is also discussed.
Comparison of Feature Selection Techniques for SVM Classification
(International Symposium on Physical Measurements and Signatures in Remote Sensing, 2007) Gidudu, Anthony; Ruther, Heinz
The use of satellite imagery in the derivation of land cover information has yielded immense dividends to numerous application fields such as environmental monitoring and modeling, map making and revision and urban studies. The extraction of this information from images is made possible by various classification algorithms each with different advantages and disadvantages. Support Vector machines (SVMs) are a new classifier with roots in statistical learning theory and their success in fields like machine vision have drawn the attention of the remote sensing community. Previous studies have focused on how SVMs compare with traditional classifiers such as maximum likelihood and minimum distance to means classifiers. They have also been compared to newer generation classifiers such as decision trees and artificial neural networks. In this research the understanding of the application of SVMs to image classification is furthered by proposing feature selection as a way in which remote sensing data can be optimized. Feature selection involves selecting a subset of features (e.g. bands) from the original set of bands that captures the relevant properties of the data to enable adequate classification. Two feature selection techniques are explored namely exhaustive search and population based incremental learning. Of critical importance to any feature selection technique is the choice of criterion function. In this research a new criterion function called Thornton’s separability index has been successfully deployed for the optimization of remote sensing data for SVM classification.

Browse

Browsing Conference Proceedings by Issue Date

Results Per Page

Sort Options