International Journal of Professional Practice

Church’s Ecological Stewardship and Sustainability

2025-08-14T12:18:46+00:00

Environmental stewardship underscores humanity’s God-given mandate to care for creation, affirming the Church’s moral obligation to safeguard the environment (Genesis 2:15; Psalm 24:1). Scripture emphasizes the interconnectedness of nature and the need for responsible human activity; thereby, positioning the Church as a central actor in fostering environmental sustainability, and mitigating climate change. However, despite biblical clarity on ecological stewardship, the Church globally has largely been passive in stimulating environmental consciousness among the congregants. Most initiatives, whether global, regional, or local, tend to focus on corporate social responsibility rather than inspiring lasting ecological commitment within congregations. A notable dogmatic gap exists in integrating environmental stewardship teachings into sermons, doctrines, and worship practices. This paper explored the dogmatic approach to strengthening the Church’s role in ecological preservation and sustainability, assessing how effectively churches employ theological teachings to inspire behavioural change. Relying on documentary analysis of secondary sources, it examined diverse cases of church-led initiatives, including educational programs, renewable energy adoption, sustainable building designs, conservation projects, support for sustainable agriculture, and advocacy for environmental justice. Findings reveal that while theological beliefs often drive such efforts, the absence of structured doctrinal integration limits their transformative impact. The paper recommends prioritizing congregants’ behavioural change by embedding ecological stewardship within core teachings, sermons, and doctrines. Sensitization sessions for pastoral staff should precede wider congregational rollouts, fostering deeper engagement. Additionally, the Church should strengthen collaborations, expand advocacy, and partner in developing environmental stewardship policies. By embracing a dogmatic approach, the Church can significantly influence attitudes and practices, contributing meaningfully to a more sustainable and just world (Proverbs 12:10; Revelation 11:18).

Hybrid Model Approach for Real-Time Detection of Anomalies in Cloud Virtual Private Network Traffic

2025-09-04T11:15:31+00:00

The rising use of cloud services such as OwnCloud has led organizations to rely heavily on Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for secure remote access. While VPNs encrypt communication channels, traditional anomaly-detection methods are increasingly inadequate, despite the evolving threats. This paper aimed to design and evaluate a hybrid AI-based model for real-time anomaly detection in cloud VPN traffic to improve detection accuracy. A simulated cloud environment was created using three virtual machines, a client, a VPN server, and an OwnCloud server generating both normal and anomalous traffic. The hybrid model combined Isolation Forest, for detecting outliers, with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, for analyzing time-dependent patterns. Real-time data streaming and processing were handled using Apache Kafka and Spark. The results showed that Isolation Forest achieved a precision of 0.86, recall of 0.79, and F1-score of 0.82, while LSTM scored 0.88, 0.83, and 0.85, respectively. The hybrid approach outperformed both models, achieving a precision of 0.93, recall of 0.89, F1-score of 0.91, and the highest AUC at 0.97. It is recommended that organizations using cloud-based VPNs integrate this hybrid AI anomaly detection system. The IT security teams, working with network infrastructure providers, should deploy the model for real-time encrypted traffic monitoring, improving accuracy and reducing false positives. From a policy perspective, regulatory bodies and cybersecurity standards organizations should revise compliance frameworks to encourage the usage of hybrid AI-driven detection methods in encrypted environments, ensuring both performance and privacy compliance. Practically, IT managers and IT leads should prioritize hybrid model deployment and continuous retraining using traffic patterns to boost resilience, reduce detection latency, and enhance incident response. Although validated in a simulated environment, future research should evaluate the hybrid model using real-world VPN traffic to confirm its robustness under diverse operational conditions.

Financial Preparedness for the Implementation of CBET Curriculum in Public Technical Institutions in Mt. Kenya East Region, Kenya

2025-08-14T17:30:43+00:00

The implementation of Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) in public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions is vital for aligning curricula with industry-required skills. Despite government funding, there is no structured financial support for execution of CBET. This study evaluated the adequacy of funding and infrastructure in preparation for CBET curriculum implementation. An exploratory research design grounded on mixed-method approach was espoused. The study targeted a population of 70,591 respondents, including 21 principals, 21 Board of Governors chairpersons, 1,263 trainers, and 69,158 trainees, drawn from Technical and Vocational Colleges, Technical Training Institutes, and National Polytechnics. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 19 principals, 19 Board of Governors chairpersons, and 19 class representatives, while proportionate sampling was employed in selecting 154 trainers from 19 TVET institutions with functional Building and Civil Engineering departments. Data were collected via questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis. Validity of the research instruments was ascertained for reliability. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively (mean, standard deviation) and inferentially (correlation), while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Data was presented in tables and themes, and findings revealed inadequate CBET funding. The study concluded that inadequate funding of CBET significantly affects its implementation. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education establishes timely capitation disbursement mechanisms to address budgetary shortfalls, and set standardized minimum funding benchmarks for successful CBET implementation.

Assessing how Dropping-Out of School due to FGM Influences Girls’ Transition from Primary to Secondary Schools in Narok South Sub-County, Narok County

2025-09-15T05:23:14+00:00

Girls’ transition from primary to secondary schools is essential for their socioeconomic development and achievement in education for all. However, public primary schools report low transition rates (40% in 2024) of girls from primary to secondary schools, leading to their exclusion. Despite the presence of 100% transition guidelines and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) goal two that requires all children to complete full course of primary education and transit to secondary schools, challenges persist in achieving this. This study investigated how drop-outs resulting from female genital mutilation impacts girls’ transition to secondary schools in Narok South Sub-County, Narok County. The study drew upon liberal feminism theory. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, utilizing a descriptive survey design. The target population included 179 head-teachers, 1,288 teachers and 6,998 girls. Krejcie and Morgan 1970 table was used to get a sample size of 118 head-teachers, 291 teachers and 361 girls that were proportionately stratified and randomly selected. Head-teachers were purposefully selected. Data collection tools included questionnaires for teachers and learners; and focus group discussions head-teachers, with validity and reliability assessed for all of them. The quantitative results were presented descriptively using tables and figures, while qualitative ones were presented thematically. The study confirmed that FGM practices negatively affected girls’ transition to secondary schools. Consequently, the study concludes that high dropout rates among girls caused by early marriages, teenage pregnancies, hemorrhage, prolonged healing process, psychosocial and psychological effects significantly impact the transition to secondary schools. The study recommends that Teachers Service Commission prioritize recruiting highly qualified and experienced guidance and counselling teachers in schools, and to fund sanitary kits. The ministry of education should come up with back-to-school policies, implement early drop-out detection guidelines, and build boarding facilities and girl conducive toiletries with water to ensure girls retention for improved transition.

A Chatbot Model for Enhancing Mental Health-Seeking Behavior

2025-06-27T20:15:55+00:00

Mental health disorders remain significantly under-addressed among women in low-resource settings due to stigma, lack of awareness, limited access, and high treatment costs. To address this gap, this study proposes an AI-powered chatbot model designed to support mental health-seeking behavior. The solution integrates a rule-based natural language processing (NLP) system, with machine learning (ML) algorithms for mood classification and adaptive response delivery. The model was developed using two publicly available mental health datasets sourced from Kaggle and tested with 71 pregnant and lactating women at Mandera County, Kenya. Natural language features were processed using TF-IDF, and user moods were predicted using the HistGradientBoostingClassifier. The chatbot's modular architecture includes an emotional intelligence layer, a behavioral intervention engine, and a triage and referral system. Evaluation results showed high classification accuracy of 0.99 and strong user engagement and satisfaction. Furthermore, a key innovation in the model is its two-tiered web user interface, which includes both text-based interaction and appointment booking functionality. This integration not only facilitates access to mental health resources and referrals but also plays a critical role in reducing stigma and enhancing confidentiality. By allowing users to engage anonymously and schedule appointments discreetly, the system fosters a sense of safety and comfort, encouraging individuals who might otherwise avoid seeking help due to societal judgment. These findings highlight the role of digital AI tools in expanding mental health access in underserved populations. Collaboration with psychologists further validated the model's clinical relevance. These findings imply that policymakers, healthcare providers, and community health workers should adopt and integrate AI-powered chatbots into maternal health services to expand access, reduce stigma, and strengthen mental health-seeking behaviour in underserved populations.