Browsing by Author "Covenant University Dissertation"

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BUSINESS PROCESS REENGINEERING AND SUSTAINABILITY OF OUTSOURCING ORGANISATION IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA. A STUDY OF HUGO INC
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-03) OKWARAOGOMA REGAN OGADINMA; Covenant University Dissertation
This research focused on the influence of business process reengineering on outsourcing organization: A study of Hugo Inc. Companies need to survive the test of time in business practices and having operational efficiency, so process reengineering can help them in achieving this. Business process reengineering is typically used to boost business agility, responsiveness, and customer satisfaction with improved goods and services. Sustainability is connected to the ability to run a production process over a period of time. Some of the problems BPR is trying to address are client satisfaction, process implementation, operational and resource management. The purpose of this study is to know how process reengineering can lead to sustainability for outsourcing organization. Organization understands the importance of profit and having customer base, and must understand that it is important to design operation to ensure both factors are not affected. The key variables in the study are value creation, process ownership and customer focus connected to business process reengineering, while economic, environmental and social variables are connected to sustainability, these are explored in relation to each other and their connection to the problem. The theory utilized in the study are the triple bottom line and stakeholders’ theory was used in this study to provide the theoretical foundation to this study. A quantitative survey method was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised of 850 employees and questionnaires was administered to a sample size of 272 employees using purposive and simple random sampling technique. Results showed there is a positive relationship between process reengineering and sustainability. The study is to push outsourcing organizations to review their system of operation to constantly overcome challenges and be productive in their operation. Therefore, there is need to constantly review, update, recommend and adjust the process of operation.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTONOMOU AGENT FOR A NUMBER STRATEGY GAME USING DEEP Q-NETWORK
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-03) NKWOR, JANE CHINELO; Covenant University Dissertation
Deep Q-Networks (DQNs) have emerged as a pivotal reinforcement learning algorithm for training autonomous agents in complex decision-making tasks. This study investigates the application of Deep Q-Networks in Numero, a number strategy game that requires logical reasoning and iterative feedback processing. Numero is a number strategy game where players predict an opponent's secret four-digit number in the fewest steps possible by analysing feedback and refining strategies. The study explores Numero's unique challenges, such as sparse reward structures, high-dimensional state-action spaces, and non-deterministic feedback mechanisms. To address these challenges, a Deep Q-Network algorithm augmented with Prioritised Experience Replay(PER) was designed and developed to enhance sample efficiency by prioritising critical experiences during training. The autonomous agent interacts with the custom environment, sampling mini-batches from the replay buffer, performing backpropagation, and updating Q-values to improve decision-making. Hyperparameters, such as learning rate, discount factor, replay buffer and exploration rate, were tuned to optimise the agent's learning efficiency. Comparative analysis was conducted using Reservoir Sampling without Replacement and the Minimax algorithm as a baseline approach. Experimental results show that the algorithm achieved a higher success rate (correctly predicted numbers) and faster convergence than Minimax, reducing the average number of steps required to guess the secret number by more than 100%. Additionally, this algorithm demonstrated superior adaptability in handling dynamic feedback, outperforming Reservoir sampling in long-term decision-making. These findings reveal the effectiveness of Deep Q-Networks in structured feedback-driven environments, suggesting their potential application in logical reasoning and decision-making tasks and that the autonomous agent learns effective decision-making strategies through iterative training and fine-tuning, demonstrating improved performance in predicting the opponent's secret number. Further research directions include extending this approach to multi-agent settings where multiple autonomous agents can compete or collaborate to refine their strategic reasoning and explore its application in real-world scenarios requiring structured feedback processing.
ENHANCEMENT OF FINGERPRINT TEMPLATE PROTECTION AND PRIVACY PRESERVATION USING FULLY HOMOMORPHIC ENCRYPTION
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-03) ITUH NICOL IGNATIUS; Covenant University Dissertation
The transition from conventional or token-based passwords to biometric technologies because of the advantageous characteristics of biometrics traits is increasing daily. Nowadays, biometric technologies are utilised in applications such as border control, e-banking, e-health, etc. Biometric traits comprise biological traits (iris, face, fingerprint, etc) and behavioural traits (keystroke, signature, voice, etc). In contrast to other biometric traits, the fingerprint is the most utilised in most applications. Despite the advantages, biometric technologies have their drawbacks. The biometric data of an individual is unique since no two people have the same biometrics, and compromising this biometric data could have devastating results. This issue was addressed using the implementation of the Paillier cryptosystem, a partial homomorphic encryption scheme which only involves addition operations. This implementation suffers drawbacks when faced with complex computations such as the multiplication of two ciphertexts and faces ciphertext noise growth due to these complex computations. Thus, a need for fully homomorphic encryption which handles complex computation and manages noise growth through several techniques. This research work is aimed at enhancing fingerprint template protection and privacy preservation using fully homomorphic encryption. The proposed system was developed utilising the Brakerski/Fan-Vercauteren fully homomorphic encryption scheme implemented using the OpenFHE-Python library. The system was evaluated using the Neurotechnology CrossMatch dataset according to performance metrics including Accuracy, Genuine Acceptance Rate (GAR) and Equal Error Rate (EER). Results indicated that the Neurotechnology CrossMatch dataset achieved an accuracy of 84%, GAR of 84%, and EER of 16%. Therefore, the implementation of fully homomorphic encryption in biometrics achieves adequate accuracy despite both the encryption and decryption processes, thereby safeguarding the template, and preserving the user’s privacy.
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEES’ ENGAGEMENT IN ADO/ODO OTA LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCIL, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA
(Covenant University Ota, 2025-03) DAVID OLUWABIMPE OMOLAYO; Covenant University Dissertation
Ethical leadership is considered one of the critical determinants of Employees’ engagement, especially within the public sector, where the manifestation of unethical practices erodes trust, reduces motivation, and, in essence, undermines the performance of such organisations. This study explored ethical leadership and Employees’ engagement within Ado/Odo Ota Local Government Council, Ogun State, Nigeria, as it relates to impediments to ethical leadership, strategies for strengthening Employees’ engagement, and environmental drivers that influence ethical leadership adoption. Quantitative data from 189 employees were collected through structured questionnaire, while qualitative insights were gathered from seven key informants who were department heads and senior administrators. Quantitative data analysis was done using SPSS 27, and thematic analysis of qualitative data was performed using ATLAS.ti 25. The results indicate that ethical leadership is significantly and positively related to Employees’ engagement, as evidenced by a correlation coefficient of 0.245, p = 0.001. The study considered political interference, resource constraints, and socio-cultural norms as critical impediments to ethical leadership in Nigerian local governance. In addition, this study identified the need for clearly defined ethics policies, ongoing leadership training, incentive structures, and enhanced transparency mechanisms necessary to establish an ethical organisational culture. This study adds much value to the theory by pushing forward the discussion of ethical leadership in public administration and governance. It thus gave empirical evidence that ethical leadership enhances Employees’ engagement by instilling employee trust, accountability, and professionalism. The findings have implications for policymakers and human resource managers in formulating targeted interventions to mitigate leadership challenges and promote a more engaged workforce in local government settings. This study has established ethical leadership as influencing Employees’ engagement in Ado/Odo Ota LGC. However, considering the geographical focus, the study concludes that future research should be expanded to broader contexts to enhance the generalisability of findings and further explore the nuanced relationship between ethical leadership and Employees’ engagement across diverse institutional settings.