Ecological Services of Agroforestry Landscapes in Selected Watershed Areas in the Philippines and Indonesia

This article argues that the practice of agroforestry provides ecological contributions to the smallholder farmers cultivating in the watershed areas. Specifically, this farming system provides contribution to carbon sequestration potential of the woody perennials and the biodiversity conservation of the other components of the system. This argument is based on the research conducted in Molawin-Dampalit Sub-Watershed, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve in the Philippines and Way Betung Watershed in Indonesia. The research involved an interview session of 106 and 261 smallholder farmers and an assessment of 27 and 14 agroforesty plots for carbon stock assessment and biodiversity assessment, respectively. Results indicated that the total carbon found among the crop components was 52.32 MgC/ha in Molawin-Dampalit Sub-Watershed­ and 244.26 MgC/ha in Way Betung Watershed­, which suggested the high carbon sequestration potential of the woody perennials and understory crops in an agroforestry system. The farm lots being cultivated by the smallholder farmers were found to contribute to biodiversity conservation having a moderate biodiversity index of 2.59 and 2.53, respectively. With these findings, promotion of desired agroforestry systems in suitable portions of the watershed areas should be intensified and heightened to contribute to ecological balance across the landscape. Agroforestry should always be an integral part of all initiatives toward ecological restoration with the cultivators/smallholder farmers as potential partners. The agroforestry system should consider all the technical and socioeconomic considerations toward having diverse components and ensure food security among the smallholder farmers throughout the year

A profile for classifying plant operator maintenance proficiency

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A profile for classifying plant operator maintenance proficiency

For plant managers in charge of personnel recruitment (hiring, selection or assessment), selecting the ideal plant operative is a difficult task. The decision to choose a candidate rests upon the manager’s intuitive assessment and judgement of the operator’s proficiency. The thesis presents research that models plant operators’ maintenance proficiency and provides a tool to assist managers select the best operative. Data for this work was collated via a UK nation-wide questionnaire survey that sought to elicit plant professional opinion on the five generic factors that constitute good operator proficiency. These factors include personal, training and education, work situational, motivation and management factors. A total of 105 questionnaires were completed by plant-user. Multivariate Discriminant Analysis (MDA) was then applied to the 75 percent (25 percent as hold-out sample) of a simulated data set to derive models that would accurately classify operator characteristics into one of the three generic categories of ‘good’, ‘average’ and ‘poor’. Three to five models were produced for each generic factor. These models were evaluated in order to ascertain model robustness, efficiency and validity. The most efficient and accurate models for each factor were chosen based upon performance analysis statistics. This result finding provided this study with a profile of a maintenance proficient plant operator which included the following attributes: number of years of experience as plant operator, eye-hand co-ordination, eye-hand-foot coordination, planning skills, pay, work satisfaction, operator responsibilities as defined by management, clear management policies and management pay scheme. The study further recommended that each of these derived variables should be defined and assessed to its exact nature in order to obtain proper scales and measurements for its effective application in the plant-user industry.</p

Impact of blended learning instruction in academic performance of grade 10 students in a selected private high school in San Juan City, Philippines

The study aimed to determine if blended learning instruction positively affected students\u27 academic performance in a specific Science topic. Furthermore, it tried to determine if there was a difference in students\u27 academic performance who were subjected to 20% blended learning instruction and 60% blended learning instruction. The study made use of a pre-test and post-test which were based on standardized tests. After asking permission from Xavier School and upon the approval to conduct the study, the researcher personally conducted the study to a controlled and an experimental group. After which, data were collected, checked and tallied. These were encoded and analyzed using Stata. T-test and ANOVA were used to determine the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the two groups. Evaluation of the blended learning lesson plan was also done through Google forms to verify the results. The study revealed that there is a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the classes. This implied that the BLP helped the students comprehend the lesson. Furthermore, the findings showed that there is a significant difference between the post-test scores of the experimental and controlled group in favor of the experimental group. This implied that 60% blended learning instruction is more effective than 20% blended learning instruction. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Preparedness of [K-12] teachers for the implementation of the senior high curriculum in a selected Philippine private school

The study investigates the preparedness of teachers at a private school for the implementation of the K-12 Senior High School curriculum. To know this, inquiries were made to determine whether the teachers considered themselves ready for the new curriculum and whether they actually possess the eligibilities and competencies required to satisfy the criteria for prepared teachers. Investigations were also conducted to identify the supports that the school provides which the teachers recognize as contributory to their preparedness for the implementation of the new curriculum. Results of the study show that teacher perceptions of preparedness are integral to the success of curriculum implementation. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Diversity of Learners: A Study about how Individual Differences Affect the L2 Learning Process

Individual differences are considered one of the main factors in language learning. This article begins by presenting the definition of individual differences and identifying the possible individual differences that may affect the L2 learning process are. Based on the literature review, shows that there are eight (8) major individual differences to be found as salient features in the L2 learning process. A brief overview of these eight (8) individual differences is provided, supported by the literature review of 20 journal articles. This journal article used grounded theory design as a method in identifying the relationship of the following individual differences in the L2 learning process. According to the results, although there is a growth in the study of individual differences that affects the L2 learning process, there is still much work to be done and much more investigation is required