Integration of Environmental Education for Sustainable Agriculture: Status in Tertiary Institutions and Guidelines for Institutional Policies and Curriculum Management

The study aimed to: 1) ascertain the current status of environmental education (EE) for sustainable agriculture (SA) in 12 selected tertiary institutions in Luzon, Philippines, and 2) develop a set of guidelines for institutional policies and curriculum management for the integration of EE into the curriculum for SA. A questionnaire-guided interview of 27 educational administrators and j'4 curriculum planners from the institutions was conducted for data collection. Data were analyzed by frequency counts, percentages, means and standard deviations. The status of the integration of EE into the curriculum for SA was rated by respondents as "medium" level. Tertiary institutions offered EE and SA as separate courses in their curricula and more EE courses were offered than SA courses. Respondents agreed to support the implementation of a clearly defined policy for the integration of EE into the curriculum for SA. All (12) tertiary institutions have good number of qualified and available teaching staff. Teaching materials were available for appropriate teaching processes, although these must be further improved in terms of quantity and quality

STiC -- A multi-atom non-LTE PRD inversion code for full-Stokes solar observations

The inference of the underlying state of the plasma in the solar chromosphere remains extremely challenging because of the nonlocal character of the observed radiation and plasma conditions in this layer. Inversion methods allow us to derive a model atmosphere that can reproduce the observed spectra by undertaking several physical assumptions. The most advanced approaches involve a depth-stratified model atmosphere described by temperature, line-of-sight velocity, turbulent velocity, the three components of the magnetic field vector, and gas and electron pressure. The parameters of the radiative transfer equation are computed from a solid ground of physical principles. To apply these techniques to spectral lines that sample the chromosphere, NLTE effects must be included in the calculations. We developed a new inversion code STiC to study spectral lines that sample the upper chromosphere. The code is based the RH synthetis code, which we modified to make the inversions faster and more stable. For the first time, STiC facilitates the processing of lines from multiple atoms in non-LTE, also including partial redistribution effects. Furthermore, we include a regularization strategy that allows for model atmospheres with a complex stratification, without introducing artifacts in the reconstructed physical parameters, which are usually manifested in the form of oscillatory behavior. This approach takes steps toward a node-less inversion, in which the value of the physical parameters at each grid point can be considered a free parameter. In this paper we discuss the implementation of the aforementioned techniques, the description of the model atmosphere, and the optimizations that we applied to the code. We carry out some numerical experiments to show the performance of the code and the regularization techniques that we implemented. We made STiC publicly available to the community.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

A Multipurpose Collapsible Scaffold for Flat and Irregular Surfaces

The construction industry heavily relies on scaffolding to facilitate work at elevated heights. This study presents a new and innovative design for a collapsible, multifunctional scaffold that is suitable for both flat and irregular surfaces. The design of the scaffold was evaluated using a Likert scale survey, which revealed high acceptability across all evaluated categories. The scaffold was fabricated using a combination of steel and aluminum materials and designed using computer-aided design CAD software. The fabrication process, portability, performance, and safety of a prototype scaffold were thoroughly assessed. The evaluation methodology employed a Likert-scale questionnaire and a descriptive research approach. A total of 30 engineers, architects, and construction laborers participated in the evaluation, assessing four essential aspects of the scaffold. The results indicated a consistently high level of acceptability, with weighted mean scores ranging from 4.69 to 4.94 out of a maximum score of 5.0 in all categories. The design parameters of the scaffold, such as the footing mechanism and working platform design, were determined based on industry standards and the intended usage of the scaffold. However, this study did not include a sensitivity analysis to explore the impact of different parameter values on the scaffold's performance. This study introduces a collapsible, multifunctional scaffold that effectively addresses the limitations of traditional scaffolds by offering enhanced portability, safety, and adaptability to flat and irregular surfaces. The widespread adoption of this scaffold design is expected to have significant implications for the construction industry, improving productivity and safety in construction projects. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-SP2023-09-09 Full Text: PD