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Mbeya University of Science and Technology Repository (MUST Repository) is an open-access digital platform dedicated to the collection, preservation, management, and dissemination of the University’s official scholarly and institutional resources. Authorized by the University and aligned with national academic and research objectives, the repository ensures that valuable institutional knowledge remains securely preserved and easily accessible to researchers, students, staff, and the wider public.
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Nourishing the peripheries: examining weekly food markets and access to nutritious foods in rapidly growing urban settings – insights from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
(Elsevier, 2025) Kissoly, Luitfred; Ngassa,Claudio; Normana, Fatma; Rutatora, Sabrina; Aluko, Angela
Rapid urbanization and population growth in Sub-Saharan African cities exacerbate challenges in the availability and accessibility of nutritious foods for urban households, particularly in the underserved peripheries of fast-expanding urban areas. Although alternative food retail solutions, such as weekly food markets (WFMs), have emerged to address these issues, their contribution to urban food systems and to food access in rapidly expanding peripheries remains insufficiently examined. This paper examines the role of WFMs in providing nutritious foods, using the case of peripheral wards in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data from 506 buyers and 381 vendors across 31 WFMs in five municipalities are analyzed through spatial, statistical, and qualitative methods. Results reveal adequate food diversity in WFMs in peripheral wards of Dar es Salaam. These markets comprise of a diverse vendor base and operate during convenient hours. Despite constraints in sanitation, waste management, and formal infrastructure, WFMs remain accessible due to their locations along major roads, facilitating access from residential and workplace areas. They also serve as key sources of nutritious foods at prices perceived as affordable, with informal pricing practices supporting low-income households. These findings demonstrate that WFMs function as primary food access points in underserved urban peripheries, while their temporary and informally governed status limits infrastructure investment and integration into formal planning frameworks. Policy efforts should prioritize integrating WFMs into urban planning and strengthening basic market infrastructure.
OPTIMIZING THE DESIGN FOR USER EXPERIENCES IN DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES OF DESKTOP-BASED FREE AND OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE PROJECTS
(Taylor and Francis, 2023-10) NAMAYALA, PHESTO PETER
The popularity of User Experience (UX) is exponentially increasing in every
organization, including the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community. It is
often the predictor of success as it assists in developing products that meet users’
requirements. Although stakeholders in the FOSS community are beginning to
realize the values of UX and gain a shared understanding, many FOSS projects do
not value UX and inconsistently incorporate related activities in their strategic plans,
causing them to have undesirable UX, being complex to use and poorly adopted.
Although server-based FOSS applications enjoy a significant market share, desktop-
based applications are not well-performing compared to their counterpart proprietary
software, mainly due to poor UX. Although examples of desktop-based FOSS
projects with desirable UX exist, such as Mozilla Firefox and Emacs, there is still
potential to improve many others by enhancing processes for incorporating UX-
related tasks.
UX is an organizational endeavor and demands the entire organization’s efforts. As a
result, its assessment must check the organization’s strength to carry out UX-related
operations. However, little research exists on the UX assessment of FOSS projects.
The fundamental contribution of this thesis is a model entitled the Free and Open
Source Software User Experience Maturity Model (FOSS-UXMM) that measures
organizational strengths and weaknesses in implementing UX-related activities. The
model addresses the need to quantify how much FOSS initiatives support UX and
propose initiatives to enhance UX aspects in the development life cycles of desktop-
based FOSS projects.
The FOSS-UXMM mainly investigates the association between FOSS project UX
maturity and UX maturity impacting factors. Its measuring instrument comprises
factors from a completed literature review and experts’ options collected using the
Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM). Before establishing the factors influencing the FOSS
community’s UX maturity that has been adopted to develop FOSS-UXMM, the
study examined the applicability of present User Experience Capability Maturity
Models (UXCMMs) in the FOSS community and identified ten lenses for measuring
the FOSS community’s preparation to achieve higher levels of UX maturity. It also
completed two case studies to validate and verify the proposed FOSS-UXMM.
Finally, the FOSS-UXMM was appraised by comparing it with the selected
UXCMMs. The findings indicate that the FOSS-UXMM is ideal and superior for
assessing the UX maturity of the FOSS community because it contains FOSS-
exclusive UX maturity influencing factors established by involving the right key
stakeholders, it is tested with the the actual projects and provides desirable and
consistent results.
The effects of π-spacer on electronic properties, charge transfer, and chemical reactivity in D-A′-π-A configured molecules: Computational approach
(Journal of chemical research, 2026) Abubakari, Ismail Sanama,; Michael Kennedy Tsere,; Melkizedeck Hiiti
In this work, a systematic modification of the π-spacer was carried out to evaluate its influence on molecular geometry,
electronic structure, charge transport properties, and global chemical reactivity descriptors in a series of D-A′-π-A
organic molecules (M1–M4). Density functional theory was employed to analyze key parameters including dihedral angles,
highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energies, natural bond orbital interactions,
reorganization energies, ionization potential, electron affinity, chemical hardness, chemical potential, electronegativity,
and electrophilicity index. The results reveal that M4 demonstrates the most favorable combination of properties,
exhibiting the energy gap, reorganization energy, ionization potential, and chemical hardness of 1.4896, 0.4580, 4.8300,
and 0.7127 eV, respectively. M4 also shows the highest chemical potential, electronegativity, and electrophilicity index
of −4.1174, 4.1174, and 11.8938 eV, respectively. These results demonstrate the critical role of π-spacer engineering in
adjusting the electronic behavior of D-A′-π-A systems and suggest that M4 is a promising candidate for high-performance
organic semiconducting and optoelectronic uses.
Investigation of some fixed point theorems for Various types of mappings in abstract spaces
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2022-03-01) Wangwe, Lucas
Fixed point theory is a fundamental tool in nonlinear functional analysis. It has many
applications e.g. in Approximation theory, Optimisation theory, Variation inequalities,
Game theory and Economics etc. The fixed point theory is a powerful tool to determine
existence and uniqueness of the solutions of Differential equations, Integral equations,
Partial differential equations, Fractional differential equations, Matrix equations and
Functional equations. A fixed point problem can be stated as follows: Let X be a
non-empty set and T : X !X be a mapping. A point x 2 X is a fixed point or invariant
point of the mapping T if Tx = x. Does a fixed point exist for every map? Moreover,
if such a point exists, is it unique, and how can we find it? We can distinguish three
major approaches in fixed point theory: metric approach, topological approach, and
discrete approach. Historically, these approaches were initiated by the discovery of
major theorems: Brouwer fixed point theorem, Banach fixed point theorem, and Tarski
fixed point theorem. In this thesis, we are concerned with the second approach, the
metric fixed point theory. Fixed point theory and Banach contraction principle have
been studied and generalised in different spaces, and various fixed-point theories were
developed. Hence, this study investigated the fixed point theorems for various types
of constructive mappings in various abstract spaces. The Banach contraction method
has been used to obtain the fixed point theorems and their applications to ordinary and
fractional differential equations. This study showed several ways to construct, extend,
formulate, prove, and generalise fixed point theorems in abstract spaces using various
maps, i.e., single valued maps, multivalued maps, hybrid maps and implicit maps. Also,
the generalisation is done by considering relatively large classes of abstract spaces;
Cone metric space, b-metric space, partial b-metric spaces, metric-like spaces, partial
metric spaces, quasi partial Sb-metric-like spaces, and G-metric spaces. Finally, the
proofs of the results are established by finding coincidence points or common fixed
points.
A Model For Undertaking Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) To Improve Construction Project Performance In Tanzania
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2019-03-01) Mwishwa, Yazidi Hassan Bakari
The performance of construction projects in Tanzania is commonly plagued with time overrun, cost overrun and poor quality. These problems are deeply rooted in weaknesses of project processes. This thesis improves the project processes and project performance through BPR philosophy. The BPR model was developed based on the concepts of process performance measurement and BPR philosophy.
Data used to develop the model was obtained through interviews and questionnaire surveys from 33 selected organizations. Data from a case study of a road construction project together with the critical comparative analysis of a BPR model against other models were used to validate the model. The dimensions of the developed model include: BPR foundation; Understand Current Process; Weaknesses of Current Processes; Desired (To-Be) Processes and Continuous Improvement. The model considers design, procurement and construction management as core project processes. The Model also analyzed indicators for identifying weaknesses and for driving improvement. The thesis has established forty (40) indicators to identify process weaknesses and fourteen measures to identify desired project process. With regard to strategies to enable continuous improvement, the study proposes continuous learning, benchmarking, use of IT technology, plan resources and adopt Capability Maturity Model. Model was validated to identify weaknesses, identify desired (To-Be) process, enable improved project processes, identified weaknesses of traditional processes and compared with the other models.
The study concludes that forty established indicators are appropriate to identify process weaknesses; fourteen measures are useful to design To-Be process. They can be deployed through using of the proposed strategies for improvement. Suggestion is made for each contracting party in the country to use the model to undertake BPR to improve