MEDIATING ROLE OF SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP BEHAVIORS AND QUALITY EDUCATION: BASIS FOR A PROPOSED PROGRAM

Quality and excellence are the main objectives of all educational institutions that they endeavor to achieve. It is a school’s target to achieve quality in its educational system to gain excellence and efficiency of product as also mandated by the government. This study explored the mediating role of spiritual well-being to leadership behaviors  and quality education. The investigation used descriptive-correlationdesign and simple random sampling to select the three hundred ninety-five (395) participants of the study in fourteen countries (14) in the territory of Southern Asia-Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The findings verified that transformational and transactional  leadership were behaviors being employed by the principals in which transformational was prevalent. In the aspect of achieving quality education, both behaviors can make it happen, however, transactional can quickly attain it. The role of the spiritual well-being suggested a significant mediating position that makes a sounding effect towards quality  education. Transactional deteriorates its quickness and its strong effect because it was regulated by the spiritual well-being. Quality can be achieved directly through transactional, yet, our educational leaders employed transformational. For that reason, there must be a makeover on the aspect of leadership behaviors. In order to attain quality, and simultaneously maintain the SDA values, relationship and religious beliefs, the fusion of transformational  and transactional can be the best leadership behaviors to quality-driven institutions. Further, a program was proposed to enhance the spiritual well-being in achieving quality education among elementary/primary schools of Southern Asia-Pacific Division

Industry Required Competencies as Predictors of Graduates’ Employability

This study primarily focused on understanding the required competencies of the industry for our graduates and the factors that predict employability of graduates. Itanswered the following objectives: a) determine the competencies required bycompanies in hiring new graduate students and graduates with one-year experience;b) find out difference in competencies that predict employability of graduates whennew and one year graduates were compared. This research utilized descriptivemethods and used purposive sampling in the selections of 32 participants who aresupervisors and human resource managers that were responsible for hiring andselection of employees within the CALABARZON area (Region IV-A). The studyutilized CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, series of 2015 (CMO) and GraduateEmployability Indicators (GEI) Employers Survey by the Australia Learning andTeaching Council as the basis in the development of questionnaire. Theparticipants answered the validated survey questionnaire to generate the findings ofthis study. The data gathered were tallied and interpreted through a statistical tooland utilized mean score, t test and Pearson r. The findings showed that employersexpect new graduates to must have competencies such as: computingprofessionalism & ethics; communication; and individual and team work; workattitude; and work spirit. While competencies that predict employability ofgraduates are working quality; working attitude; working spirit; and workingefficiency. The study implied the necessity to look at the alignment of curriculumthat would produce competencies among graduates. It is recommended to increasethe number of participants and involve more stakeholders in the enhancement ofthe curriculum

Industry Required Competencies as Predictors of Graduates’ Employability

This study primarily focused on understanding the required competencies of the industry for our graduates and the factors that predict employability of graduates. Itanswered the following objectives: a) determine the competencies required bycompanies in hiring new graduate students and graduates with one-year experience;b) find out difference in competencies that predict employability of graduates whennew and one year graduates were compared. This research utilized descriptivemethods and used purposive sampling in the selections of 32 participants who aresupervisors and human resource managers that were responsible for hiring andselection of employees within the CALABARZON area (Region IV-A). The studyutilized CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, series of 2015 (CMO) and GraduateEmployability Indicators (GEI) Employers Survey by the Australia Learning andTeaching Council as the basis in the development of questionnaire. Theparticipants answered the validated survey questionnaire to generate the findings ofthis study. The data gathered were tallied and interpreted through a statistical tooland utilized mean score, t test and Pearson r. The findings showed that employersexpect new graduates to must have competencies such as: computingprofessionalism & ethics; communication; and individual and team work; workattitude; and work spirit. While competencies that predict employability ofgraduates are working quality; working attitude; working spirit; and workingefficiency. The study implied the necessity to look at the alignment of curriculumthat would produce competencies among graduates. It is recommended to increasethe number of participants and involve more stakeholders in the enhancement ofthe curriculum

Organizational Climate and Self-Efficacy as Correlates of Conflict Management in Faith-Based Basic Education Institutions

Conflict management has been an issue in higher education institutions (HEIs), howeverlimited studies were conducted specifically among faith-based basic education institutions. The aim of this research was to determine what correlates to conflict management in faith-based basic institutions. This study answered the following objectives: (a) to determine the extent of organizational climate, self-efficacy, and conflict management of teachers; (b) tofind out the significant relationship of the three variables; (c) to determine the moderatorvariables that affect conflict management. This descriptive correlation design and usedrandom sampling and ratio and proportion techniques in the selection of 320 teachers asrespondents in selected faith-based basic education institutions in the Philippines. Usingdescriptive and inferential statistics the study found that the organizational climates of therespondents were highly favorable and their self-efficacy is interpreted as high. All of theconflict management practices were highly practiced. The most practiced conflictmanagement were integrating, compromising, and obliging. Correlation analysis revealed thatorganizational climate and self-efficacy were significant related to integrating,compromising, obliging and/or avoiding. Furthermore, Teachers between 41-50 years oldchoose integrating of conflict management practices and teachers with post-graduate degreestend to use integrating and compromising conflict management. The findings showed that afurther study can be made in faith-based HEI’s to see other implication it can bring tomanagement, program and policy of the organization

Influence of Organizational Culture on TQM in Tertiary Institutions in Asia

Total Quality management (TQM) approach has been proven to enhance quality in the educational field.TQM is a vision for continuous improvement, which tertiaryinstitutions can easily achieve through school administrators’ full commitment.However, several studies show the demand for a supportive organizational culturethat could function as a kind of control for administrators to influence the kind ofvalues that an institution develops for a successful TQM implementation. Thepurpose of the study is to determine the influence of organizational culture on totalquality management among school administrators in seven selected tertiaryinstitutions in Asia. This paper presents how Organizational Culture can influenceTQM and highlights the relationship between these two factors. The respondentswere 295 school administrators in 12 colleges and universities in seven selectedcountries in Asia. The study used a quantitative approach using descriptive-correlation. Survey findings suggest that four OC elements can influence thesuccessful implementation of TQM in education namely; “involvement,”“consistency,” adaptability,” and “mission.”. School administrators mustcontinuously practice positive organizational culture traits as evidenced by thisstudy. These traits have strong influence to attain total quality management ineducation. Further, they must provide clear and transparent avenues to consultsubordinates and colleagues on whatever decisions they may undertake

Transformational and Transactional Behaviors as Predictors of Quality Education

This study determined the leadership behaviors that predict quality education as perceived by teachers in elementary Southern Asia with at least three years of teaching experience. Quality education utilized the dimensions: strategic planning, customer focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, workforce focus, operation focus, and results. The investigation used correlation design utilizing a random sample of 395 respondents. The respondents answered the validated survey questionnaire generate the findings of this study. The descriptive results revealed that the prevalent leadership behavior used by the principals was transformational and transactional. The respondents perceived that high quality education was also observed in their institution. Moreover, the study found that the dimensions of leadership behavior: inspirational motivation, contingent reward, intellectual stimulation, idealized influence, individualized consideration, and management-by-exemption were significant predictors of quality education. The study proffered a number of recommendations to maintain and improve the quality of education among Adventist Institutions in the Southern Asia pacific region

Registro de predação de espécies de répteis por Guira guira (Aves: Cuculidae)

Although we have a good understanding of how predation can influence community structure, we still have little information about how predation by visually oriented birds can be a significant source of mortality for reptiles. We observed adults of Guira guira feeding their offspring with four different species of reptiles, namely Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, Iguana iguana and Tropidurus torquatus. It is the first report of G. guira predation on A. vermicularis and C. nigropunctatum. Although G. guira has been recognized as insectivorous, we believe that predation of small cryptozoic reptiles is a common event during bird breeding season.Keywords: Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, cryptozoic reptiles, predation strategy, Pantanal.Embora tenhamos um bom entendimento de como a predação pode influenciar a estrutura de uma comunidade, ainda há carência de informações sobre como a predação por aves pode ser uma causa significativa de mortalidade de répteis. Observamos adultos da espécie Guira guira alimentando seus filhotes com quatro espécies de répteis (Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, Iguana iguana e Tropidurus torquatus). Este é o primeiro registro de G. guira predando A. vermicularis e C. nigropunctatum. Apesar de G. guira ser reconhecido como insetívoro, acreditamos que a predação de pequenos répteis criptozóicos seja um evento frequente durante a época de reprodução da espécie.Palavras-chave: Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, répteis criptozoicos, estratégia de predação, Pantanal

Discrepancy Evaluation of Track Choices and School Resources for Senior High School Curriculum Enhancement

Evaluated in the study, using the discrepancy evaluation model (DEM) were students’ track choices, and school resources for the Senior High School (SHS)program of selected Philippine Adventist denominational schools. The Departmentof Education (DepEd) and Adventist denominational goals and standards alignedwith 21st century skills were the basis for the discrepancies. Purposive samplingwas employed wherein 668 students, 102 teachers and 17 high school principalsfrom 20 schools participated. The results revealed Very High discrepancy above thestandard in the choice of the academic track; and High on Technical-Vocational,livelihood (TVL), Sports, and Arts-Design tracks. Among the academicstrands, Moderatediscrepancy above the standard was found in the choice ofScience, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) while theAccountancy, Business, and Management (ABM), General Academic Strand(GAS) and Humanities and Social Science (HUMMS) had a ratingof Low, Moderate and Moderate, respectively. Discrepancies on Senior HighSchool (SHS) program design, installation, process, and perceived cost imbeddedin the evaluation of the school resources were found. The study recommends thatAdventist senior high schools maintain programs for variables with VeryHigh (above the standard) to Low discrepancies, and apply enhancement programsfor variables with Moderate to Very High discrepancies. Furthermore, strongrecommendations emphasized that schools collaborate with each other not tocompete for students but to refer them to the schools that offer their track or strandchoices and to integrate AY/Pathfinder modules into course outlines and classroomteaching as enhancement for a distinctly Adventist SHS curriculum

Supplementary File for Capturing wheat phenotypes at the genome level

Supplementary S1: Yield and related traits in bread wheat. Table S1: Examples of genomic regions, candidate and cloned genes for yield and related traits in bread wheat. Supplementary S2: Drought tolerance. Table S2: Examples of genomic regions and candidate genes for drought tolerance. Supplementary S3: Heat tolerance. Table S3. Examples of genomic regions and candidate genes for heat tolerance. Supplementary S4: salinity tolerance in bread wheat. Table S4. Examples of genomic regions and candidate genes for salinity tolerance in bread wheat. Supplementary S5: Frost tolerance. Supplementary S6: Disease resistance. Table S5. Examples of genomic regions, candidate and cloned genes mapped for disease resistance in wheat species. Supplementary S7 insect and mite resistance. Table S6. Examples of genomic regions and candidate genes mapped for insect and mite resistance. Supplementary S8: Quality traits. Table S7. Examples of genomic regions, candidate and cloned genes for quality traits.Recent technological advances in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have dramatically reduced the cost of DNA sequencing, allowing species with large and complex genomes to be sequenced. Although bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the world’s most important food crops, efficient exploitation of molecular marker-assisted breeding approaches has lagged behind that achieved in other crop species, due to its large polyploid genome. However, an international public–private effort spanning 9 years reported over 65% draft genome of bread wheat in 2014, and finally, after more than a decade culminated in the release of a gold-standard, fully annotated reference wheat-genome assembly in 2018. Shortly thereafter, in 2020, the genome of assemblies of additional 15 global wheat accessions was released. As a result, wheat has now entered into the pan-genomic era, where basic resources can be efficiently exploited. Wheat genotyping with a few hundred markers has been replaced by genotyping arrays, capable of characterizing hundreds of wheat lines, using thousands of markers, providing fast, relatively inexpensive, and reliable data for exploitation in wheat breeding. These advances have opened up new opportunities for marker-assisted selection (MAS) and genomic selection (GS) in wheat. Herein, we review the advances and perspectives in wheat genetics and genomics, with a focus on key traits, including grain yield, yield-related traits, end-use quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. We also focus on reported candidate genes cloned and linked to traits of interest. Furthermore, we report on the improvement in the aforementioned quantitative traits, through the use of (i) clustered regularly interspaced short-palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9)-mediated gene-editing and (ii) positional cloning methods, and of genomic selection. Finally, we examine the utilization of genomics for the next-generation wheat breeding, providing a practical example of using in silico bioinformatics tools that are based on the wheat reference-genome sequence.Peer reviewe

Register of predation upon species of reptiles by Guira guira (Aves: Cuculidae)

Although we have a good understanding of how predation can influence community structure, we still have little information about how predation by visually oriented birds can be a significant source of mortality for reptiles. We observed adults of Guira guira feeding their offspring with four different species of reptiles, namely Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, Iguana iguana and Tropidurus torquatus. It is the first report of G. guira predation on A. vermicularis and C. nigropunctatum. Although G. guira has been recognized as insectivorous, we believe that predation of small cryptozoic reptiles is a common event during bird breeding season.Keywords: Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, cryptozoic reptiles, predation strategy, Pantanal.Embora tenhamos um bom entendimento de como a predação pode influenciar a estrutura de uma comunidade, ainda há carência de informações sobre como a predação por aves pode ser uma causa significativa de mortalidade de répteis. Observamos adultos da espécie Guira guira alimentando seus filhotes com quatro espécies de répteis (Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, Iguana iguana e Tropidurus torquatus). Este é o primeiro registro de G. guira predando A. vermicularis e C. nigropunctatum. Apesar de G. guira ser reconhecido como insetívoro, acreditamos que a predação de pequenos répteis criptozóicos seja um evento frequente durante a época de reprodução da espécie.Palavras-chave: Amphisbaena vermicularis, Copeoglossum nigropunctatum, répteis criptozoicos, estratégia de predação, Pantanal