Application of Collegiality in Schools: A Case of Gaborone Private Secondary Schools, Botswana.

The use of collegial models in secondary schools is growing in importance with believes that it is more democratic and liberating to teachers. This study investigated the assumption that collegiality is applied in private secondary schools in Gaborone. Multi-stage cluster sampling strategy under the umbrella of cross-sectional research design was used to select the 8 accessible schools out of a cluster of 15 Gaborone private secondary schools. A twenty itemed questionnaire was given to 75 sampled teachers to react to three different aspects of collegiality. A Cronbach’s alpha index was used to ascertain reliability and it was found to be .84 for all items used. With the analysis of data using paired sample t-test with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), the findings of the study revealed that there was no use of consensus in management; no dialogue and involvement of staff in recruiting and firing of staff; and no involvement of teachers in the making of decisions through staff meetings in the day-to-day running of private secondary schools in Gaborone. Out of the findings, recommendations were made to private secondary schools stake holders, private secondary school managers and the ministry of education. Key Words: Collegiality,Consensus,Private secondary schools, School managemen

Dissecting RNA Silencing Pathways in \u3cem\u3eSclerotinia Sclerotiorum\u3c/em\u3e

RNA silencing, also known as RNA interference, is an essential mechanism in plants, animals and fungi that functions in gene regulation and defense against foreign nucleic acids. In fungi, RNA silencing has been shown to function primarily in defense against invasive nucleic acids. RNA-silencing- deficient fungi show increased susceptibility to virus infection. Plant pathogenic fungi also utilize RNA silencing to silence plant host immunity genes through the delivery of fungal small RNAs into plants. This cross-kingdom RNA silencing facilitates fungal infection of plants. Overall, these findings demonstrate the significant contributions of fungal RNA silencing pathways to fungal virulence and viral defense. This study dissects the RNA silencing pathway in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum by disrupting its key silencing genes using the split-marker recombination method in order to probe the contributions of these genes to fungal virulence and viral defense mechanisms. Following gene disruption, mutants were studied for changes in phenotype, pathogenicity, viral susceptibility, and small RNA processing compared to the wild-type strain, DK3. Results indicated that the double dicer mutant (Δdcl-1/dcl-2) displayed slower growth and reduced pathogenicity before viral infection, and that these symptoms were greatly pronounced following viral infection. Among the argonaute mutants, the Δago-2 mutant had significantly slower growth and virulence prior to and following virus infection. Additional studies indicated that the virus-infected wild-type strain accumulated virus-derived small RNAs (vsiRNAs) with distinct patterns of internal and terminal nucleotide mismatches. These results together indicate that S. sclerotiorum has robust RNA silencing mechanisms that function primarily in antiviral defense but also in endogenous gene regulation processes. This finding expands our overall understanding of S. sclerotiorum and has important implications for any current or future uses of mycoviruses as biological control agents, an emerging area of interest in fungal control research

Human Resources Management and Organizational Performance in Decentralization era in Kenya: A Case of Kisii County

This study examined whether there exists a relationship between the utilization of decentralized Human Resources and Organizational Performance in Kisii County, Kenya. To check this relationship, three variables that is, decentralized human resources management; locally availed managers, and utilization of decentralized human resources as independent variables were compared with a variable on private and government organizational performance in Kisii County.  Cross-sectional research design and stratified random sampling were used with the aid of questionnaires as a tool for data collection. The target population of the study comprised of 38 organizations with a population of 285workers out of which 11(6 Government and 5 private) were selected as accessible population. In this study, a 22 itemed questionnaire was given to an accessible population of 86 participants to react to questions that were based on the three major phenomena against performance of organizations. Reliability of items was tested using Chronbach’s alpha index which was found to be .769 for all items. Data collected from an accessible population were analyzed using paired samples t-test with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Interpretation of results were based on α (.05), 85 degree of freedom (df), probability level (p), observed t-values and t-critical. Results from the t-tests were presented using tables. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant relationship among decentralized human resources and performance of organizations but there was a relationship between utilization of decentralized resources and locally availed managers and performance of organizations in Kisii County. Out of this study, recommendations were made to the National government, Kisii county government and Kisii County Community. Keywords: Organizational Performance, Decentralized Management, Human Resource Management, Decentralized Resources, Rejuvenatio

An Evaluation of the Impacts of Decentralized Resources Allocation by the Community on the Performance of Secondary Schools in Gucha District, Kenya.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there exists a relationship between decentralized resources allocation by the community to secondary schools and academic performance in Gucha. Cross-sectional design was used in Gucha where quantitative research strategy was used for the collection of data using questionnaires. The target population comprised of 138 secondary schools. Stratified random sampling strategy was used to select the 3 strata from which 41 schools and 164 teachers were selected as accessible population.  A Cronbach’s alpha index was used to ascertain reliability and it was found to be .815 for all items. Data collected by questionnaires from 145 teachers were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the analysis revealed that there exists a relationship between resources allocated to schools by the community and academic performance of secondary schools in Gucha. From the findings, it was concluded that resource allocation to schools by the community was vital for school performance with implications that there exists inefficiency in decentralized resources allocation to schools. Out of this study, recommendations were made to the Gucha community, the County and National Governments and education stake holders in Kenya. Key words: District Focus for Rural Development, Community, Resources, Cost-  sharing, Harambe

Relationship between Quality of Library and Accommodation Services and Students’ Satisfaction in Public Primary Teacher Training Colleges in Kenya

Students’ dissatisfaction in public primary teacher training colleges (PPTTCs) in Kenya has been expressed through various forms of indiscipline which have become rampant in the recent past. Library and accommodation services are seldom considered as critical factors in enhancing students’ satisfaction in PPTTCs. The objectives of the study were to establish the relationship between quality of library services and quality of accommodation services and students’ satisfaction in PPTTCs in Kenya. Cross sectional research design was used in the study. The target population was 3761 second year students in 21 public PPTTCs in Kenya. Random sampling was used to select 7 PPTTCs and 383 second year students as the accessible population for this study. Data collection was done using questionnaires. Validity was ascertained by appraising the instruments and with the aid of experts. The reliability of tools was calculated using Cronbach’s Alpha index and was found to be .83. Hypotheses were tested at an alpha level of 0.05. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson r. The study established that that there was a significant relationship between library and accommodation services and students’ satisfaction in PPTTCs in Kenya. The findings of the study are expected to inform the management of PPTTCs on the need to improve library and accommodation services for the enhancement of students’ satisfaction. Key words: Quality service, Students’ Satisfaction, Library services, Accommodation service

An Assessment of Influence of Teachers’ Discipline Management Strategies on Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination in Public Secondary Schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya

Discipline in schools is about positive behavior change in order to create conducive environment for learning. When discipline is achieved in secondary schools, it becomes instrumental in students academic performance. This study focused on assessment of the influence of teachers’ discipline management strategies on KCSE performance in public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to establish the influence of school rules on KCSE performance. The county has had a trend of grade wastage from KCPE to KCSE. The study adopted descriptive survey research design which used mixed method approach. The study targeted 104 public secondary schools in Tharaka Nithi County, with 10 boys schools, 17 girls schools and 77 mixed schools. Stratified random, purposive sampling method and Krejcie & Morgan population sample table was used to determine the sample size. Principals and teachers were the respondents in this study. Interview schedule for 21 principals and 346 questionnaires for teachers were used as tools for data collection. The study sampled 42 schools, which constituted 40% of the total population size. The researcher prepared the instruments with expert judgment by supervisors. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient (α) was employed in determining the reliability of the instruments. A pilot study of 10% of the sample schools and respondents was carried out from each of school category. Alpha index of 0.869 was obtained for the teachers’ questionnaires. The reliability of the interview schedule was ensured by the consistency of the questions and the order in which they were administered. The study used descriptive statistics which included frequencies, measures of central tendencies (mean) and measures of dispersion (standard deviation). Inferential statistics Pearson r was used to test the relationships of the hypotheses with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) in analyzing the data. The data from the interview guide was arranged thematically, transcribed and then presented verbatim in order to triangulate the results. The results revealed that school rules did not influence KCSE performance positively. The findings of this study are expected to be of benefit to different stake holders, who are sensitized with new information on alternative disciplinary strategies to be used on students’ discipline in schools, the policy makers are assisted to come up with a new policy on use of alternative disciplinary methods in schools. KEYWORDS: Management strategies,academic performance, secondary schools, Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-11-12 Publication date: April 30th 201

Privatization of State-Owned Enterprises and its Effects on the Performance of the Kenyan Economy

This study examined privatization in Kenyan with reference to whether there existed relationships between privatisation of SOEs, criteria used to select SOEs for privatisation; management of SOEs and their performance in the Kenyan economy. The target population comprised of 275 employees of Kenya pipe line. Survey research design and simple random sampling were used in this study. The researchers used 30% of the target population to arrive at an accessible population of 75 employees as respondents for this study. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was analyzed using paired samples t-test with the help of SPSS and results were presented using Tables. Interpretation of results were based on α (.05), df, p value, t-values and t-critical. The findings of the study revealed that there were relationships between privatisation of SOEs, criteria used to select SOEs for privatisation, and management of SOEs and their performance on the Kenyan economy. The results were significant and out of this study, recommendations were made to the Kenyan government and state owned enterprises in Kenya

Influence of Teachers Pedagogical ICT Training on The Integration of ICT in Teaching the English Language in Secondary Schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya

The learning environment has changed where ICT enhances mastery of the content, provides wide-ranging information, and also provides teachers with a variety in the presentation of content. The purpose of this study was to determine the integration of ICT in teaching the English Language in secondary schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of teachers' pedagogical ICT training on the integration of ICT in teaching the English language in secondary schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya. The study used the Constructivism theory by Vygotsky and Piaget. A survey research design was used. The study population was 168 public secondary schools and 392 teachers of English Language in Nyandarua County. Using 30% the researcher arrived at a sample of 50.4 and 117.6 respectively. Hence, a total number of 118 teachers of 50 public schools were sampled using a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a checklist and questionnaires. By conducting test-retest reliability of the questionnaire using SPSS version 22, an index of .782 was realized. The obtained data were analyzed systematically using descriptive statistics and presented using frequency tables, and percentages. The study findings from the questionnaire revealed that pedagogical skills affected ICT integration in teaching the English Language. The results of this study were expected to provide insights to the Ministry of Education in Kenya to improve the low use of ICT in teaching English language skills and help in formulating strategies of making teachers blend the traditional method of teaching with ICT which will consequently enhance students mastery of content

Mycoviruses as Triggers and Targets of RNA Silencing in White Mold Fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

This study aimed to demonstrate the existence of antiviral RNA silencing mechanisms in Sclerotinia sclerotiorum by infecting wild-type and RNA-silencing-deficient strains of the fungus with an RNA virus and a DNA virus. Key silencing-related genes were disrupted to dissect the RNA silencing pathway. Specifically, dicer genes (dcl-1, dcl-2, and both dcl-1/dcl-2) were displaced by selective marker(s). Disruption mutants were then compared for changes in phenotype, virulence, and susceptibility to virus infections. Wild-type and mutant strains were transfected with a single-stranded RNA virus, SsHV2-L, and copies of a single-stranded DNA mycovirus, SsHADV-1, as a synthetic virus constructed in this study. Disruption of dcl-1 or dcl-2 resulted in no changes in phenotype compared to wild-type S. sclerotiorum; however, the double dicer mutant strain exhibited significantly slower growth. Furthermore, the Δdcl-1/dcl-2 double mutant, which was slow growing without virus infection, exhibited much more severe debilitation following virus infections including phenotypic changes such as slower growth, reduced pigmentation, and delayed sclerotial formation. These phenotypic changes were absent in the single mutants, Δdcl-1 and Δdcl-2. Complementation of a single dicer in the double disruption mutant reversed viral susceptibility to the wild-type state. Virus-derived small RNAs were accumulated from virus-infected wild-type strains with strand bias towards the negative sense. The findings of these studies indicate that S. sclerotiorum has robust RNA silencing mechanisms that process both DNA and RNA mycoviruses and that, when both dicers are silenced, invasive nucleic acids can greatly debilitate the virulence of this fungus