This research study explored the implementation of School Learning Improvement Plans (SLIP) in one of the highlands districts of Papua New Guinea. A SLIP provides an implementation framework for promoting excellence in students learning and school performance. The rationale for the study was to identify strengths and weaknesses from the viewpoints of people involved in SLIP at the school level. Using mixed methods, data were obtained from selected primary school head teachers, senior teachers and assistant teachers. The study found that SLIPs were a highly effective strategy to get collaboration among stakeholders to plan for school improvement. Benefits to schools were seen to be provision of teaching and learning materials, focus on improved student learning, professional development for staff, infrastructure maintenance, good parent and community support and financial reporting. Responses varied in regard to the extent to which strategies were effective. Effective leadership was seen to be the key to success.

Use of ICT in Government has ability to improve service delivery to its citizens, and yet many developing countries have lagged behind in the implementation of e-Government. Many e-Government initiatives also failed to achieve their objectives in developing countries. This paper therefore aims to identify critical failure or success factors in Kenya, using Heeks’ Factor Model. A survey questionnaire was developed and data were collected and analyzed from officials and interested citizens. The analysis results enabled to highlight seven specific success and failure factors, and their constituent elements in Kenya. The Kenyan overall e-Government implementation score belongs to the Zone of Improvement (3.52 of total 5.0), which means partial success or failure. The enablers of e-Government projects are good strategy formulation, and internal and external drive, whereas main failures of e-Government are weak ICT infrastructure. The areas for improvement are project management, design, competencies and funding. Data analysis highlights both strengths and weaknesses for each factor or variable. In particular, Kenyan government excels at the drive for change by top to bottom government officers as well as external stakeholders, while the government officers who are using e-Government are satisfied with the availability of vision, strategy and plan of e-Government implementation. Both technologies and e-transactions laws were the worst of all the variables in e-Government implementation. Two areas should be improved using immediate corrective action. In-depth study reveals that government officers and citizens can’t fully use their laptop and mobile devices due to the lack of both ICT network and its operating technology, and legal system associated with the transaction of business information. Finally, the study ends up with recommendations for policy makers to shape the future of e-Government system in both developing and developed countries.

This paper will describe a powder and processing method that facilitates single press-single sintered densities approaching 7.5 g/cm³. At this sintered density, mechanical properties of the powder metal (P/M) component are significantly improved over current P/M technologies and begin to approach the performance of wrought steels. High performance gears have the added requirement of rolling contact fatigue durability that is dependent upon localized density and thermal processing. Combining high density processing of engineered P/M materials with selective surface densification enables powder metal components to achieve rolling contact fatigue durability and mechanical property performance that satisfy the performance requirements of many high strength automotive transmission gears. Data will be presented that document P/M part performance in comparison to conventional wrought steel grades.

Bacterial spot of tomato is a disease complex caused by at least four species of Xanthomonas and leads to severe yield and quality losses in humid growing conditions in the world. Five physiological species (T1-T5) have been defined by their virulence on tomato varieties. These races are associated with three species: X. euvesicatoria (T1), X. vesicatoria (T2), and X. perforans (T3-T5). Recent epidemics of X. gardneri has occurred in the Midwest United States. In this study, we developed germplasm with resistance to multiple species of bacterial spot. Six advanced breeding lines with at least three different source of resistance were crossed and their F1 hybrids were inter-mated to produce a complex breeding population consisting over 1,100 progeny. Three lines (OH7663, OH7667 and 2k7-6117-S2) were selected by field evaluations of the population against T1, T2, T3, and X. gardneri. Graphical genotypes demonstrated that these breeding lines contain a QTL and Rx-4/Xv3 in coupling phase on chromosome 11 as well as Rx-3 on chromosome 5. In order to test the combining ability of the lines, we developed hybrids from multiple crosses and conducted replicated field trials to evaluate bacterial spot resistance and yield. As a male parent, OH7663 showed acceptable combining ability for yield and for resistance against multiple species of Xanthomonas. Several hybrids produced yields that were not significantly different from yields of commercial varieties.

Bacterial spot of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is caused by at least four species of Xanthomonas with multiple physiological races. In this study, we developed a mapping population for association analysis of bacterial spot resistance. For this population, six advanced breeding lines with distinct sources of resistance were first crossed in all combinations and their F1 hybrids were intercrossed. The 1,100 segregating progeny from these crosses were evaluated in the field against T1 strains. Based on this individual evaluation, we selected 5% of the most resistant and 5% of the most susceptible progeny for evaluation as plots in two subsequent replicate field trials inoculated with T1 and T3 strains. A total of 461 markers across 12 chromosomes were used for genotyping these selections. Of these markers, an optimized subset of 384 SNPs was derived from the 7,720 SNP Infinium array developed by the Solanaceae Coordinated Agricultural Project (SolCAP). For association analysis to detect known resistance loci and additional novel loci, we used the mixed models with correction for population structure, and found that accounting for kinship appeared to be sufficient. Detection of known loci was not improved by adding a correction for structure using either a Q matrix from model-based clustering or covariate matrix from Principal Component Analysis. Both single-point and haplotype analyses identified strong associations in the region of the genome known to carry Rx-3 (chromosome 5) and Rx-4/Xv3 (chromosome 11). Additional QTL associated with resistance were detected on chromosomes 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 for T1 resistance and chromosomes 2, 4, and 6 for T3 resistance. Haplotype analysis improved our ability to trace the origin of positive alleles. These results demonstrate that both known and novel associations can be identified using complex breeding populations that have experienced directional selection.