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To date, there are many myths surrounding security selection and fundamental analysis due to the notion that all available information is perfectly priced in security. However, fundamental analysis is still very useful in determining the financial health of security, which is much needed for long-term investing. The aim of this study was to perform a valuation analysis of international stock markets so as to recommend buy or sell signals suitable for investment decisions. This study made use of the coefficients of a multiple regression analysis and value drivers for the S&P 500, Nasdaq, JSE, DAX, Nikkei 225, BIST 100, FTSE, and SSE as of January 23, 2023. The findings revealed that the JSE, DAX, Nikkei 225, and FTSE are undervalued, which translates to a buy signal, while the S&P 500, Nasdaq, BIST 100, and SSE are overvalued. These findings imply that investing in the JSE, DAX, Nikkei 225, and FTSE will produce decent capital gains on a risk-adjusted basis.

In the dynamic world of financial markets, the prices of assets can exhibit dramatic fluctuations, sometimes soaring to dizzying heights or plummeting to alarming lows. However, amidst the chaos, a fascinating phenomenon emerges: a tendency for prices to revert back to their long-term average or mean level. This concept known as mean reversion has intrigued traders, investors, and researchers for decades. Understanding mean reversion provides valuable insights into market dynamics, investor behavior, and the potential for profitable trading strategies. The aim of this study was to empirically investigate mean reversion in financial markets. This study employed a Hurst model for a sample of five financial markets from June 1, 2018 to June 1, 2023. The findings revealed that four out of the five sampled financial markets exhibit mean reversion, which challenges the efficient market hypothesis concept. Therefore, portfolio managers and active market participants can utilize long-term memory to optimize asset allocation decisions by considering the persistent effects of past returns and adjusting portfolio weights to take advantage of potential return predictability and manage risk.

Stock return modeling is essential for active investors and market players. Value and risk analysis benefit from these simulations. Despite extensive study on stock price modeling, little is understood about how internal and external shocks affect stock market returns. Therefore, this study sought to fill this gap. A sample of five international financial markets from December 1, 2007, to June 30, 2009 and January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, the 2007-2008 financial crisis and most recent COVID-19 pandemic, were tested using a Cramer-von Mises and Watson test. Research showed that internal market volatility is more damaging than external shocks. During financial instability driven by external shocks, portfolio managers should expect two to three standard deviations of volatility. However, financial system shocks should cause a greater range of volatility. The authors believe this is the first study to predict stock market returns in reaction to regulatory announcements from market shocks.

The year 2020 witnessed a paradigm shift commonly referred to as the "new normal" because to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which had a profound impact on the lives of several students across the globe. The significant transformation posed a perplexing situation for freshmen at higher education institutions. The implementation of COVID-19 limits precipitated an abrupt digital transformation for students, necessitating the surmounting of significant obstacles. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of first-year students enrolled at a private postsecondary institution in the context of online learning. The study additionally aimed to ascertain the difficulties encountered by individuals while accessing online learning amidst the current tumultuous circumstances. The study employed a qualitative methodology in response to its inherent character. A sample size of six students was chosen from a cohort of first-year students, while three lecturers who teach first-year students were picked using random selection techniques. The data was gathered through various methods, including face-to-face interviews, focus group talks, and questionnaires. Subsequently, the data was subjected to analysis utilizing the Nvivo program. The findings derived from the research indicate that it is imperative to comprehend the experiences, computer literacy skills, and perspectives of first-year students in order to offer suitable assistance to forthcoming first-year students engaging in online learning and ultimately enhance lecturers' online instructional methodologies. The findings additionally indicate that students encountered difficulties not only in adapting to online learning but also in dealing with various social and emotional elements that had an impact on their learning experience, hence exacerbating the issues they faced.

Mobile ad hoc networks (MANET) are reflexivity, fast, versatile wireless networks that are particularly useful when traditional radio infrastructure is unavailable, such as during outdoor events, natural disasters, and military operations. Security may be the weakest link in a network due to its dynamic topology, which leaves it susceptible to eavesdropping, rerouting, and application modifications. More security problems with MANET exist than with its service Quality of Service (QoS). Therefore, intrusion detection, which controls the system to find further security issues, is strongly suggested. Keeping an eye out for intrusions is essential to forestall future attacks and beef up security. If a mobile node loses its power supply, it may be unable to continue forwarding packets, which depends on the structure's condition. The proposed study presents a security of trust and optimization that conserves energy methods for MANETs based on integrating the K means algorithm and Bacteria Foraging Optimization Algorithm (KBFOA). This work proposes a method for quickly and accurately determining which nodes should serve as Cluster Heads (CHs) by K means algorithm. This approach aims to choose a node with a high Sustainable Cell (SC) rate as the Header of a Cluster (HC). Each node will calculate its SC according to its unique factors, such as energy consumption, degree, remaining energy, mobility, and distance from the HC and base stations. The security of MANETs is improved by the inclusion of an algorithm in the proposed approach that detects and eliminates rogue nodes. This suggested approach will increase network stability and performance using a high-sustainable cluster head. The proposed approach will be achieved the highest reliability of clustering rate of 97%. The intended research will be accomplished Maximum security measures rate will be accomplished by 96%, the maximum rate of data transmission will be obtained of 96%, and greater efficient detection of malicious nodes ratio will be enhanced by 95%, lower energy consumption rate will be achieved by 0.09 m joules.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has profoundly impacted education systems globally, including in Africa. However, there is a dearth of research on Education 4.0 in Africa. To fill this gap, a bibliometric analysis of Scopus database data was conducted, with VOSviewer used to analyze the data. The study found that African research outputs on Education 4.0 have increased linearly between 2015 and 2022, but most are published outside Africa. Limited collaboration among African institutions and academics was observed, with African authors citing more academics outside Africa than within. E-learning, machine learning, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence were the most frequently researched areas. This study provides crucial information to researchers and policymakers, allowing them to map out future research and policies on Education 4.0.

The dynamics of investing in stock markets have changed considerably over the past twenty years. The value and growth investing concept has drawn much attention and continues to dominate portfolio management. Factor investing is an approach that aims at quantifying particular characteristics through matrixes of quality, value, momentum, and growth to improve the returns of a portfolio. Although the three-factor style of investing has gained widespread acceptance, the five-factor continues to be a source of disagreement among academics and industry practitioners. This study aimed to review the merits of five-factor investing critically. A critical literature review was used to review prior literature. The narratives from the literature reveal that the five-factor investing style will result in multiple sources of expected return. Hence, using five factors in portfolio formation has merits and will significantly improve the returns and most likely outperform the market portfolio. Factor premiums have proven to be drivers of asset return. Therefore, market participants and investment managers can intentionally assume additional exposures to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns compared to the market with the five-factor investing style. According to the author's knowledge, this is the first study to objectively analyze the literature on five-factor investing and propose that active managers can earn positive alphas on a risk-adjusted basis through factor exposures.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused teachers and learners to be removed from their school communities, negatively impacting school culture, and limiting teacher professional development (PD). Online PD programmes emerged to meet these needs. This study investigated how schools implemented teacher PD and mechanisms for teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was necessary to understand the complex interplay between school culture and teacher PD, and Wenger's social learning theory was used to prescribe the empirical prescription. This study examined the influence of school culture on Mathematics and Science teacher development during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative approach was used to compare three independent schools in the same Educational Trust in Gauteng. The empirical findings of this study revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant influence on the school culture, consequently giving rise to explicit professional learning communities (PLCs), which in turn influenced the teachers’ pedagogical repertoires for curriculum delivery during a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of schools transforming their practices and adapting their school cultures. Results showed that school culture is not static, and individuals had to reflect collectively to develop ideas to transform learning. Schools need to learn from the pandemic, adjust their values, and use their newfound insights and beliefs to work towards a new learning culture. Future research must evaluate unfolding PLC practices, strategies, and implementations during a crisis.

The debate on whether stock prices follow a random walk continues, becoming the foundation of modern portfolio theory. Supporters of the random walk theory still believe that modeling stock prices is a wasteful exercise. However, evidence from momentum pricing strategy and price reversals suggests otherwise. This study aimed to empirically explore the random walk theory in five international stock markets before and during the Covid-19 pandemic from June 30, 2017, to June 30, 2019, and January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. A multivariate runs test and a generalised distribution function was applied to investigate the theory. The results revealed no significant difference between the observed S-statistics runs and the expected ones, concluding that it is not common to observe random walks in financial markets consistently. Hence price changes in financial markets are significantly affected not only based on new information and investors’ expectations but also by irrationalities that exist among market participants. These irrationalities can be modeled using a generalised distribution function to produce price patterns.

Modelling volatility using asset price returns has always been at the forefront of financial economics and option pricing. Observing the conditional variance properties in these asset returns, can be very useful for trend analysis and volatility predictions which are ever needed for trading, portfolio management and financial decision making. The aim of the study was to model and forecast volatility in stock markets. Six financial markets namely the Nasdaq, JSE, the DAX, the CAC 40 and the Nikkei 225 were used as samples with a sampling frame from January 29, 2018 to January 29, 2023. The findings of this study revealed that the variance for all the financial markets under consideration changes significantly with the passage of time. Also, volatility in the JSE, DAX & CAC 40 display fat tail distributions and it is expected to move by three standard deviations. Accordingly, volatility will persist in the Nasdaq, DAX and CAC 40 at an increasing rate but will persist at a decreasing rate in the JSE and Nikkei 225. Considering the peril involved in stock market investing, this study makes a notable contribution to estimating market volatility which is an integral component of asset pricing. With this knowledge, analyst and market traders will have a better understanding of the error distribution in stock markets which will assist in specifying predictive asset prices.

Controlling a swarm of bee-like nanorobots in search of a target in a human body-like environment is a challenge. The challenge lies in the causal factors of emergence. This research focused on designing and developing a bee-inspired algorithm to provide instructions to coordinate simple and naïve nanorobots in search of a target. Experiments were conducted through simulations to determine the rate at which myriads of agents converge at a target. A maze environment depicting human blood vessels was used to deploy the nanorobots. Different sample population sizes were used, and the results indicate that the bigger the sample size, the higher the convergence speed. Compared with a single complicated robot, the swarm of intelligently controlled nanorobots proved efficient and effective in finding a target in a human-like environment.