Beijing Opera Elements in Qigang Chen’s Piano Concerto Er Huang

Beijing opera (known as jingju in Chinese) dates back to 1790 and is the most famous traditional Chinese regional opera of some 335 different styles, combining music, vocal performance, dance, and acrobatics. Originally considered vulgar by the court, Beijing opera became especially popular with the Qing dynasty court in its later days (1884-1910), thus raising its status at the beginning of the twentieth century to a ‘national opera.’ Furthermore, it has become an important nationalistic and traditional element in Chinese contemporary music. Qigang Chen studied and lived in Europe for long time and is proficient in Western compositional techniques. On the other hand, as a Chinese-born composer, he is rooted in Chinese conventions. Through his family upbringing, Chen is intimately familiar with Chinese traditional music and art. He has a strong emotional connection to his national music, especially the art of the Beijing opera. However, in his music, he deliberately fuses both Chinese and Western musical styles; he does not simply adopt Western compositional technique in order to transmit Chinese traditional music via Western instruments. Chen’s music has its own unique style, which is combined with the sonority and sense of Western music and the melody and sensibility of Chinese music. This research explores Qigang Chen’s use of Beijing opera elements in his piano concerto Er Huang while also presenting overviews of Chen, Beijing opera elements in Chinese piano music, Chinese music theory, and Beijing opera in general. This limited research on the piano concerto Er Huang will serve as a scholarly resource that will help introduce the combination of Chinese piano music and Beijing opera elements to Western pianists

A baby-Skyrme model with the anisotropic DM interaction: the compact skyrmions revisited

We consider a baby-Skyrme model with a Dzyaloshinsikii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and two types of potential terms. The model has a close connection with the vacuum functional of fermions coupled with $O(3)$ nonlinear $\bm{n}$-fields and with a constant $SU(2)$ gauge background. It can be derived from the heat-kernel expansion for the fermion determinant. The model possesses normal skyrmions with topological charge $Q=1$. The restricted version of the model also possesses both weak-compacton (at the boundary, not continuously differentiable) and genuine-compacton (continuously differentiable). We also show that the model consists of only the Skyrme term and the DMI provides the soliton solutions, which are so-called \textit{skyrmions without a potential}.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

Robust Fusion Filtering for Multisensor Time-Varying Uncertain Systems: The Finite Horizon Case

The robust H∞ fusion filtering problem is considered for linear time-varying uncertain systems observed by multiple sensors. A performance index function for this problem is defined as an indefinite quadratic inequality which is solved by the projection method in Krein space. On this basis, a robust centralized finite horizon H∞ fusion filtering algorithm is proposed. However, this centralized fusion method is with poor real time property, as the number of sensors increases. To resolve this difficulty, within the sequential fusion framework, the performance index function is described as a set of quadratic inequalities including an indefinite quadratic inequality. And a sequential robust finite horizon H∞ fusion filtering algorithm is given by solving this quadratic inequality group. Finally, two simulation examples for time-varying/time-invariant multisensor systems are exploited to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in the respect of the real time property and filtering accuracy

SECONDARY TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DISTANCE EDUCATION IN SCIENCE: FOCUS ON LEARNER-CENTERED, ACTION-ORIENTED, AND TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING

The shift from conventional, face-to-face classroom teaching to distance education is a complex process that brings various challenges. To better understand the impact of this transition, the researchers examined the perceptions of secondary science teachers (n = 42) and students (n = 137). Specifically, the study focused on evaluating learner-centered, action-oriented, and transformative learning – referred to as LCAOT learning – in science distance education. The researchers developed a 26-item, 4-point Likert scale questionnaire that was distributed online to the target respondents. Additionally, the researchers interviewed teachers and students and analyzed various documents, such as self-learning modules and learners’ activity sheets, to triangulate the survey data. The findings revealed that the principles of LCAOT learning were apparent in science distance education and exemplified through tools such as the Know, Want to Know, and Learned charts and personal journals. The study also revealed that teachers and students faced challenges during the transition to distance education, including inadequate equipment and poor internet connectivity. However, they responded to these challenges by using various means of communication, collaborating with peers, and exploring new roles and identities. The researchers recommend using the developed instrument and continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies employed in distance education in science, as well as further studies on the impact of LCAOT learning on students’ academic achievement

Secondary Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Distance Education in Science: Focus on Learner-Centered, Action-Oriented, and Transformative Learning

The shift from conventional, face-to-face classroom teaching to distance education is a complex process that brings various challenges. To better understand the impact of this transition, the researchers examined the perceptions of secondary science teachers (n = 42) and students (n = 137). Specifically, the study focused on evaluating learner-centered, action-oriented, and transformative learning – referred to as LCAOT learning – in science distance education. The researchers developed a 26-item, 4-point Likert scale questionnaire that was distributed online to the target respondents. Additionally, the researchers interviewed teachers and students and analyzed various documents, such as self-learning modules and learners’ activity sheets, to triangulate the survey data. The findings revealed that the principles of LCAOT learning were apparent in science distance education and exemplified through tools such as the Know, Want to Know, and Learned charts and personal journals. The study also revealed that teachers and students faced challenges during the transition to distance education, including inadequate equipment and poor internet connectivity. However, they responded to these challenges by using various means of communication, collaborating with peers, and exploring new roles and identities. The researchers recommend using the developed instrument and continuing to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies employed in distance education in science, as well as further studies on the impact of LCAOT learning on students’ academic achievement

Developing Gamified Instructional Materials in Genetics for Grade 12 STEM

As technology advances, the demand for innovative instructional materials also increases. As a result, the Department of Education urges teachers to develop instructional materials. This study was conducted at Bulusan National High School, Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines SY 2018-2019 which was aimed to develop gamified instructional materials in genetics that would aid in teaching and learning process of grade 12 STEM students. The developed gamified materials were collectively called the GIM in Genetics which is comprised of two parts; namely, Student’s Portfolio and Gamified Lesson Plans. The GIM was anchored on the Teacher’s Guide provided by DepEd. Further, it utilized different game elements, to wit: game mechanics, badges, power cards, scoring system, levels, and leaderboards to deliver innovative teaching strategy and quality education. This paper suggests the development of various innovative teaching strategies and instructional materials as well as its utilization across different fields and subject areas

Prediksi Pendapatan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor Menggunakan Metode Exponential Smoothing pada Samsat UP3AD Kabupaten Pekalongan

Adanya penurunan pendapatan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB) tentu menjadi masalah karena mengurangi Pendapatan Asli Daerah (PAD). Hal ini disebabkan karena tidak adanya rumus untuk menghitung potensi penerimaan pajak secara akurat sehingga menyebabkan kurangnya strategi pengelolaan dan pengembangan sumber-sumber keuangan daerah bagi peningkatan Pendapatan Asli Daerah (PAD). Maka dari itu diperlukan adanya proses datamining untuk menghitung prediksi Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB) agar dapat meminimalisasi penurunan pajak. Metode yang digunakan adalah metode exponential smoothing dengan bahasa pemograman PHP dan mySQL sebagai manajemen database. Penelitian ini menghasilkan prediksi total pendapatan Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor (PKB) tahun 2016 yang mana pada bulan Februari akan mengalami peningkatan nilai PKB sekitar 30%,  antara bulan Maret sampai dengan bulan Oktober akan mengalami penurunan nilai PKB sekitar 2 hingga 17%, serta pada Bulan November dan Desember akan mengalami peningkatan nilai PKB sekitar 2 hingga 7%. Dengan ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa pendapatan pajak kendaraan bermotor menggunakan metode exponential smoothing pada Samsat UP3AD Kabupaten Pekalongan dapat digunakan untuk menghitung potensi penerimaan pajak secara akurat dalam menetapkan target penerimaan pajak pada tahun yang akan datang. Kata kunci—datamining,prediksi, analisa trend pajak kendaraan bermotor, samsat   Revenue decline of vehicle tax is a problem because it reduces revenue. This is due to the absence of a formula that calculates potential tax revenue accurately, causing a lack of strategic management and development of the financial resources for the improvement of local revenue. Thus it is necessary to datamining process for calculating prediction Motor Vehicle Tax in order to minimize the tax reduction. The method used is the method of exponential smoothing with the programming language PHP and mySQL as database management. This research resulted in prediction of total revenues motor vehicle tax in 2016 which in February will increase the value of motor vehicle tax of about 30%, between March to October would be impaired motor vehicle tax of about 2 to 17%, as well as in November and December will increase vehicle tax value of about 2 to 7%. By this it can be concluded that the motor vehicle tax revenue using exponential smoothing method in SAMSAT UP3AD Pekalongan can be used to calculate potential tax revenue accurately in setting targets for tax revenues in the coming year. Keywords—datamining, forecasting, trend analysis motor vehicle tax, samsa

Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning on Secondary Students’ Achievement in Science: A Meta-Analysis

Preparing students for the real challenges in life is one of the most important goals in education. Constructivism is an approach that uses real-life experiences to construct knowledge. Problem-Based Learning (PBL), for almost five decades now, has been the most innovative constructivist pedagogy used worldwide. However, with the rising popularity, there is a need to revisit empirical studies regarding PBL to serve as a guide and basis for designing new studies, making institutional policies, and evaluating educational curricula. This need has led the researchers to do a meta-analysis to analyse the effectiveness of PBL on secondary students’ achievement in different scientific disciplines. Following the set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 11 studies in Eurasia, Africa, and America conducted from 2016 to 2020 have qualified for this study. Six of which focused on JHS (n = 1047) and five on SHS (n = 375). Studies were obtained from various meta-search engines including Google, ERIC, and JSTOR. Further, the researchers used Harzing’s Publish and Perish software to exhaust the search process. Sample size, mean, and standard deviation were analysed using the Comprehensive MetaAnalysis version 3 to determine the effect sizes (Hedge’s g) and the results of moderator analysis, forest plot, funnel plot, and Begg-Mazumdar test. Findings have shown that PBL, as an approach to teaching science, had a large and positive effect (ES = .871) on the achievement of secondary students. However, grade levels and various scientific disciplines did not influence students’ learning achievement. The conduct of more studies on the different factors affecting PBL implementation and specific effects of PBL on various student domains is recommended to facilitate comparative educational research in the future

Validation of Gamified Instructional Materials in Genetics for Grade 12 STEM Students

Instructional material is an integral part of teaching and learning process. Validating instructional materials is imperative to ensure quality before widespread utilization. This study validated the developed Gamified Instructional Material (GIM) in genetics for grade 12 STEM students. It employed the descriptive-developmental research design involving 41 STEM students and 11 Biology education experts chosen through purposive sampling. Findings revealed that students and experts strongly agreed that the GIM satisfied the criteria for a sound and valid instructional material. Further, the significant change in the pretest and posttest scores of students indicated an improvement of their knowledge in genetics. It is recommended that the GIM be used as supplementary instructional material in teaching genetics