Joseph hlongwane | National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) (original) (raw)

Papers by Joseph hlongwane

International journal of research and innovation in social science, 2024

This paper seeks to address the challenges of underdevelopment bedeviling the African continent i... more This paper seeks to address the challenges of underdevelopment bedeviling the African continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. Universities in Africa have over the years produced many graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related learning areas but continue to grapple with underdevelopment both economically and intellectually. Part of the problem has been identified as a lack of quality in the education system that is not able to produce graduates with adequate 21st-century skills for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to fulfil the Global Agenda 2030. Achieving this is possible if Africa moves a step forward and embraces modern technologies like the integration of AI in her education system. A technologically astute graduate would be able to apply their knowledge in achieving the muchneeded sustainable economic development. This article highlights how the implementation of AI in higher education can foster a turnaround in Africa's education systems and lead to industrialisation and innovation. Pivotal aspects of AI like the Turing machine test, cloud computing, big data, and machine learning are explored in an attempt to add value to the current education discourse. This study is situated in the interpretive paradigm, the qualitative approach was employed to gather data using several methods like equestionnaires (open-ended), document analysis, and review of journals and other academic publications. Purposive sampling of STEM educators from a renowned university in Zimbabwe was undertaken to gather information on the ground and the data was thematically analysed. The article argues that Africa has the potential to be a leader in Industrialization and commerce should the continent fully embrace AI in higher education.

The coronavirus disease code-named COVID-19 is a fatal disease that severely affected all facets ... more The coronavirus disease code-named COVID-19 is a fatal disease that severely affected all facets of life globally, without sparing the education sector. This paper used the functional approach, examining the challenges to teaching and learning during and after the COVID-19 era in universities in Zimbabwe. The study assesses how the changes in the teaching and learning processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected learners and lecturers in universities in Zimbabwe and evaluates the measures taken by universities to address the effects of COVID-19 on the learning and teaching processes. A case study was undertaken in a metropolitan city in Zimbabwe. Seven lecturers were purposively sampled from the university's 8 faculties, seventy learners were chosen distributively from each faculty as a sample to represent the learners. Semi-structured interviews with lecturers, focus group interviews with learners, naturalistic observations and document analyses were used as tools for gathering primary and secondary data. The research established that an assortment of online platforms and applications were employed during the COVID-19 era to enhance e-learning, particularly during the lockdown periods. WhatsApp emerged as the most commonly used learning platform probably due to affordability and availability. Challenges faced by many learners included the high cost of data, electricity load-shedding, lack of advanced digital skills and poor internet connectivity among others. The study established that there was a decline in research output at local universities. Opportunities which arose included among others, increased awareness of platforms to share knowledge, opportunity to do business, and exposure to new online teaching and learning technologies which could transform the local education sector into a leading 21 st century status. The study emerged as an important tool for various stakeholders including parents, universities and the government. It unearthed several important aspects of COVID-19 focusing on academia. The study revealed that the hybrid learning approach is likely to continue into the foreseeable future of tertiary education post-COVID-19 era).

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS), 2024

The Wave-particle duality and the Schrodinger cat paradox pose important notions on quantum mecha... more The Wave-particle duality and the Schrodinger cat paradox pose important notions on quantum mechanical systems, in which a quantum system can exist in two physically opposite or distinct states. This motivates scientists from the days of Louis de Broglie to confidently look at matter as having a dual nature, which is a physical particle that can also be visualized as a wave entity. This paper seeks to provide an elegant method of solving the time-independent Schrodinger Equation (TISE) for a quantum simple harmonic oscillator (QSHO).A fully algebraic method is presented, the paper explains in detail how simple algebra, coupled with basic quantum mechanical operator commutation algebra can be employed to solve the TISE without resorting to complicated mathematical methods of solving second-order differential equations. The construction of the Hamiltonian is explained and an analogy between the classical simple harmonic oscillator (CSHO) and the QSHO is drawn to develop the solution method. The action of creation and annihilation operators on wave functions is exploited to generate states with higher and lower energies respectively and to generate a Hamiltonian that can act on a system and generate required quantum states. The aim is to generate the ground state of the QSHO and its associated energy value. From this state, other higher energy states can be generated by the action of the creation operator. The use of algebraic methods has been seen to be versatile as it does not explicitly rely on any particular basis or coordinate system. The method allows operators to be manipulated in different bases for example the momentum operator can be given as ̂= − ℏ in a spatial coordinate basis or as a pure number ̂= in the momentum basis.

International journal of research and innovation in social science, 2024

This paper seeks to address the challenges of underdevelopment bedeviling the African continent i... more This paper seeks to address the challenges of underdevelopment bedeviling the African continent in general and Zimbabwe in particular on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. Universities in Africa have over the years produced many graduates in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related learning areas but continue to grapple with underdevelopment both economically and intellectually. Part of the problem has been identified as a lack of quality in the education system that is not able to produce graduates with adequate 21st-century skills for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to fulfil the Global Agenda 2030. Achieving this is possible if Africa moves a step forward and embraces modern technologies like the integration of AI in her education system. A technologically astute graduate would be able to apply their knowledge in achieving the muchneeded sustainable economic development. This article highlights how the implementation of AI in higher education can foster a turnaround in Africa's education systems and lead to industrialisation and innovation. Pivotal aspects of AI like the Turing machine test, cloud computing, big data, and machine learning are explored in an attempt to add value to the current education discourse. This study is situated in the interpretive paradigm, the qualitative approach was employed to gather data using several methods like equestionnaires (open-ended), document analysis, and review of journals and other academic publications. Purposive sampling of STEM educators from a renowned university in Zimbabwe was undertaken to gather information on the ground and the data was thematically analysed. The article argues that Africa has the potential to be a leader in Industrialization and commerce should the continent fully embrace AI in higher education.

The coronavirus disease code-named COVID-19 is a fatal disease that severely affected all facets ... more The coronavirus disease code-named COVID-19 is a fatal disease that severely affected all facets of life globally, without sparing the education sector. This paper used the functional approach, examining the challenges to teaching and learning during and after the COVID-19 era in universities in Zimbabwe. The study assesses how the changes in the teaching and learning processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected learners and lecturers in universities in Zimbabwe and evaluates the measures taken by universities to address the effects of COVID-19 on the learning and teaching processes. A case study was undertaken in a metropolitan city in Zimbabwe. Seven lecturers were purposively sampled from the university's 8 faculties, seventy learners were chosen distributively from each faculty as a sample to represent the learners. Semi-structured interviews with lecturers, focus group interviews with learners, naturalistic observations and document analyses were used as tools for gathering primary and secondary data. The research established that an assortment of online platforms and applications were employed during the COVID-19 era to enhance e-learning, particularly during the lockdown periods. WhatsApp emerged as the most commonly used learning platform probably due to affordability and availability. Challenges faced by many learners included the high cost of data, electricity load-shedding, lack of advanced digital skills and poor internet connectivity among others. The study established that there was a decline in research output at local universities. Opportunities which arose included among others, increased awareness of platforms to share knowledge, opportunity to do business, and exposure to new online teaching and learning technologies which could transform the local education sector into a leading 21 st century status. The study emerged as an important tool for various stakeholders including parents, universities and the government. It unearthed several important aspects of COVID-19 focusing on academia. The study revealed that the hybrid learning approach is likely to continue into the foreseeable future of tertiary education post-COVID-19 era).

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS), 2024

The Wave-particle duality and the Schrodinger cat paradox pose important notions on quantum mecha... more The Wave-particle duality and the Schrodinger cat paradox pose important notions on quantum mechanical systems, in which a quantum system can exist in two physically opposite or distinct states. This motivates scientists from the days of Louis de Broglie to confidently look at matter as having a dual nature, which is a physical particle that can also be visualized as a wave entity. This paper seeks to provide an elegant method of solving the time-independent Schrodinger Equation (TISE) for a quantum simple harmonic oscillator (QSHO).A fully algebraic method is presented, the paper explains in detail how simple algebra, coupled with basic quantum mechanical operator commutation algebra can be employed to solve the TISE without resorting to complicated mathematical methods of solving second-order differential equations. The construction of the Hamiltonian is explained and an analogy between the classical simple harmonic oscillator (CSHO) and the QSHO is drawn to develop the solution method. The action of creation and annihilation operators on wave functions is exploited to generate states with higher and lower energies respectively and to generate a Hamiltonian that can act on a system and generate required quantum states. The aim is to generate the ground state of the QSHO and its associated energy value. From this state, other higher energy states can be generated by the action of the creation operator. The use of algebraic methods has been seen to be versatile as it does not explicitly rely on any particular basis or coordinate system. The method allows operators to be manipulated in different bases for example the momentum operator can be given as ̂= − ℏ in a spatial coordinate basis or as a pure number ̂= in the momentum basis.