Abstract In this thesis, I investigate the application of various statistical methods towards analysing GPS tracking data collected using GPS collars placed on large mammals in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Animal movement tracking is a rapidly advancing area of ecological research and large amount of data is being collected, with short sampling intervals between successive locations. A statistical challenge is to determine appropriate methods that capture most properties of the data is...
Abstract This study set out to examine and map the spatial variation of infant mortality in Kenya. We used data from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) database to explore spatial variation. Generalized linear mixed inodel(GLMM) with Enumeration Areas (EA) specific random effects was used to assess the effects of geographical heterogeneity and other covariates. The model based Geostatistical methods were used to quantify the spatial variations of the observations using the variograms and fit...
ABSTRACT Contraception allows women and couples to have the number of children they want, when they want them. This is everybody’s right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Use of Contraceptive also reduces the need for abortion by preventing unwanted pregnancies. It therefore reduces cases of unsafe abortion,one of the leading causes of maternal death worldwide.According to Mohammed ,in 2012 an estimated 464,000 induced abortions occurred in Kenya. This translates ...
ABSTRACT Tea production is the mainstay of many people in Kenya. The contribution of tea sector to the Kenyan economy is enormous as it accounts for about 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Favourable product prices act as a trigger for any commercial activity over time and also suggest sustainability of the activity. Tea is a very significant crop in Kenya and it is one of the major agricultural exports of the country. However, the industry has experienced many challenges such as stiff comp...
ABSTRACT Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis infection in infants and young children, occurring even with very high standard of hygiene. The disease spreads by contact with infected faeces and might also be transmitted through faecally-contaminated: food, water and respiratory droplets. Rota teq and Rotarix are the two licensed oral vaccine intervention for rotavirus. However, it takes time for the development of vaccineinduced immunity to complete, hence the need to ...
Abstract A nonlinear Black-Scholes Partial Dierential Equation whose nonlinearity is as a result of transaction costs and a price slippage impact that lead to market illiquidity with feedback eects was studied. Most of the solutions obtained in option pricing especially using nonlinear equations are numerical which gives approximate option values. To get exact option values, analytic solutions for these equations have to be obtained. Analytic solutions to the nonlinear Black-Scholes Partial D...
ABSTRACT Hospital is an essential welfare of society. It provides management of illnesses through treatment and prevention interventions by medical and health professionals. Due to growing population and rise in chronic diseases, there is an increased demand for health care services. This causes congestion and overcrowding in most hospitals. Hospital overcrowding is a major problem to patients, hospital administration and to the general health workers. Hospitals in many jurisdictions struggle...
ABSTRACT This thesis reports on a statistical analysis on risk factors associated with under-five mortality in Namibia. Secondary data were obtained from the 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey data. Children survival was measured by age at death and the event variable was whether the children were still alive or dead after the first five (years) of their lives. Variables included were maternal education, mother’s marital status, the age of the mother at first birth, preceding birth ...
ABSTRACT This work suggests an exact and systematic model identification approach which is entirely new and addresses most of the challenges of existing methods. We developed quadratic discriminant functions for various orders of autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models. An Algorithm that is to be used alongside our functions was also developed. In achieving this, three hundred sets of time series data were simulated for the development of our functions. Another twenty five sets of simulat...
ABSTRACT Much research has been advanced in the development of Monte Carlo methods for stochastic processes. A particular focus is on sequential Monte Carlo methods (particle filters and particle smoothers) and the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm which allows the estimation of a class of Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) with nonlinear, non-Gaussian state-space models. The Stochastic Volatility (SV) model can be regarded as a nonlinear state space model. SV model has become increasingly pop...
ABSTRACT Maternal mortality is a major health concern in Namibia as it is the case in most countries. The rate at which women are dying due to pregnancy related causes is high and the cause as well as risk factors are not well explored. The main objective of this research was to identify the causes and risk factors associated with maternal mortality in Namibia and thus the study described the socio-demographic characteristics and three delays that lead to maternal deaths in Namibia. The paper...
ABSTRACT Spatial modelling is one approach that can serve as a basic tool in identifying areas that need intervention. Understanding the spatial distribution of indicators is of vital importance, as it help with national planning and decision-making. Different models such as Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) can be used in spatial modelling. However, these models pose analytic and statistical inferential challenges especially when non-continuous and multivariate response are involved. Therefor...
ABSTRACT Namibia is experiencing an increase in its population living in urban areas due to rapid urbanisation. However, this growth has not been the same in all parts of the country. Currently the biggest growth rate is experienced in Windhoek, which is home to about 16% of the total population. Due to rapid population growth, Windhoek has been facing a number of challenges such as high unemployment rate, illegal land occupation, and development of informal settlements among others. As a res...
Abstract Fatalities caused by road traffic accidents have become a major concern worldwide and road traffic accidents happen almost every day on Namibian national roads claiming lives of many road users. It is predicted that by 2030, road crash fatalities would be the fifth most frequent cause of death worldwide. Many efforts have been made to prevent loss of lives and to curb down the MVA expenses on compensations due to road traffic accident; however, road traffic fatalities are still on th...
Abstract The main objective of the study was to examine gender-specific and shared spatial variation in HIV testing and condom use in Namibia for targeted health promotion interventions. The study used data from the Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) carried out between 2006 and 2007. Bayesian hierarchical spatial mapping techniques were applied to generate specific and shared spatial patterns in HIV testing and condom use. Particularly, a number of Bayesian Structured Additive Regr...