No abstract

No abstract

Globally, groundwater is the largest distributed storage of freshwater that plays an important role in an ecosystem’s sustainability in addition to aiding human adaptation to both climatic change and variability. However, this resource is not unlimited and its sustainability is highly dependent on its prudent use. Thus, efficient management of groundwater resources to prevent overexploitation, scarcity and drought has become a major challenge for researchers as well as water managers. To solve these challenges, many solutions such as simulation and optimisation models have been proffered through the use of historical data. Therefore, this has made efficient data gathering essential to maintain data-driven groundwater level resource management models from the observation site. The global evolution of the Internet of Things (IoTs), has increased the nature of data gathering for the management of groundwater resources. Recently, a number of research challenges such as the lack of computational efficiency and scalability due to uncertainties from input parameters to the groundwater level resource model have been revealed in the management of groundwater level resources. In addition, efficient data-driven groundwater level resource management relies hugely on information relating to changes in groundwater resource levels as well as its availability. At the moment, the groundwater managers lack an efficient and scalable groundwater management system to gather the required data. The literature revealed that the existing methods of collecting data lack efficiency to meet computational model requirements and meet management objectives. Although the IoTs enabled automated data processing systems are in existence by transmitting the generated data from IoT enabled devices into the cloud through the Internet. However, traditional IoT Internet is not scalable and efficient enough to process the generated vast IoT data. Thus, it is necessary to have an efficient and scalable IoT system to extract valuable information in real-time for groundwater level resource management. Unlike previous surveys which solely focussed on particular groundwater issues related to simulation and optimisation management models, nonetheless, this paper seeks to highlight the current groundwater level resources management models as well as the IoT contributions.

No abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine determinants of infant immunization coverage in Migori County; Nyanza. Migori-Nyanza is the regions of disparities that continue to register low rates of immunization coverage in Kenya. The coverage rate was measured against Kenya's and World Health Organization target percent for achieving herd immunity and improved child survival. Immunization coverage rates are accepted as an indicator of the performance and adequacy of a Country's Health Service Systems. A descriptive study of 446 households sampling units was conducted in January 2013. The households were randomly selected from four demand areas. Methods of data collection were: interviewer administered questionnaires, key informant interviews and homogeneous focus group discussions. Respondents were mothers aged 19-45 years with a child less than five years of age. The results indicated that fully immunized infants were 70%; a fully immunized infant was one who received one dose of BCG, four doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), three pentavalents, and one dose of measles vaccine before reaching one year of age. The results further indicated that:-80% of infants had their birth polio and Bacillus-Calmette Guerin (BCG) within the first two weeks of life, 78% 3 rd pentavalent and 4 th polio at 14 weeks of life and 77% measles at 9 months. Measles and third dose of pentavalent immunizations are used as indicators of a fully immunized child. The determinants of immunization coverage that were identified from the study included: means of transport to health facilities, religious affiliation, home delivery and not attending postnatal clinics, mothers' lack of knowledge on dangers of childhood diseases and hostile attitudes shown by service providers to the mothers. In conclusion there was under coverage of immunization in the region. The recommendation was that the health service providers need to in-cooperate both outreach and mobile immunization services into their current static module.