TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES OF SCHOOL HEADS AND PERFORMANCE OF CITY SCHOOLS IN THE DIVISION OFFIRST DISTRICT OF LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES

A study was conducted to determine the transformational practices of school leaders of city schools in the Division of First District of Laguna, Philippines. Further, the research aimed also to determine the extent of transformational leadership practices among public elementary    school heads and teachers  in terms of: Idealized Influence,Inspirational Motivation,Intellectual Stimulation and Individualized Consideration; assessed the performance of public elementary schools  in terms of: Drop Out Rate , Cohort Survival Rate,  Completion Rate, and  Achievement Rate and determined the  significant relationship between transformational leadership practices and the performance of public elementary schools. The descriptive correlational research design was employed and involved 44 school heads and 591 public elementary teachers. All the practices were  assessed by the teacher respondents as highly observed.  The schools’ Drop-out rate andCohort Survival Rate with an average of 2.49 and 84.82% respectively  were  interpreted as Very Satisfactory; and Completion rate of 94.5%  as Outstanding.  The  schools’ National Achievement Test (NAT )is interpreted as Average Proficiency Level.Further studies could be conducted in other districts of Laguna and Region IV-A in order to verify the results as well as to develop a comprehensive training program for teachers as part of the School Improvement Plan.&nbsp

Student’s general attitude in gender-inclusive language

Centered on studies on language and gender, this study generally aimed to assess the students’ general attitude towards Gender-Inclusive It likewise determined difference on attitude when grouped according to sex. The study utilized quantitative research design. Survey questionnaire using the IASNL was the instrument used which assesses beliefs, recognition of sexist language and willingness to use gender-inclusive language. Respondents utilized were randomly selected students of the College of Teacher Education. Results revealed that most of the students were female, displaying a positive attitude towards gender-inclusive language which indicates the students’ openness to gender-inclusive language use. It was found though that women and men did not seem to care strongly one way or another about gender-inclusive language. The result is reflective of the potential positive feedback to the Gender and Development (GAD) mainstreaming programs of the campus on the use of the said language

Airborne Particles in Museums

Presents one in a series of research activities aimed at a better understanding of the origin and fate of air pollution within the built environment

MAKING TECHNOLOGIES WORK IN RURAL COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF FLATBED DRYER APPROPRIATION IN STO. DOMINGO, NUEVA ECIJA, PHILIPPINES

This paper aimed to explain how rice farmers in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija, Philippines managed to properly appropriate flatbed dryers. It also sought to describe the modes of appropriation offlatbed dryers: adoption, adaptation, and peer/group learning.  Data were gathered through a survey among 131 rice farmers and key informant interviews. Findings revealed that the rice farmers experimented and modified the features of flatbed dryers to better adapt the technology to their needs. The rice farmers have encountered problems in using the technology but have managed to employ adaptation strategies to address these problems which resulted to peer/group learning among them

Induced breeding of giant trevally, maliputo (Caranx ignobilis)

Abstract only.The giant trevally, maliputo (Caranx ignobilis), a highly prized and most popular indigenous migratory fish in Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines, was induced to spawn using various hormones (to assess hormone efficacy on spawning performance). Different feeding regimes used in the larval rearing of this species were also evaluated. Sexually mature breeders, 5 to 7 years old with at least 0.5 mm oocyte diameter and 60% of ova at GVM stage were injected intramuscularly, in two doses, with: (a) 1,000 IU/kg BW human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG); (b) 100 µg/kg BW luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analogue (LHRHa); and (c) 5 mg/kg BW carp pituitary extract (CPE), at five breeders per hormone treatment. Uninjected fish served as the control. Treated fish were released and allowed to spawn spontaneously in 40-ton (5m diameter) circular tanks. Successful spawning was achieved during the months of March to July (28-30 ppt salinity; 27.6-29.25°C). Maliputo eggs are pelagic, clear and spherical, with a single oil globule and mean diameter of 0.8 mm. Ovulation period was 24-36.5 hours after 2nd injection in HCG-treated fish and 25-52 hours for LHRHa-injected fish. Only one of the CPE-treated fish spawned after 27 hours but eggs were not fertilized. Uninjected control fish did not spawn. Eggs were hatched in 11-13 hours in HCG treatment and 11-17 hours in LHRHa. Mean number of spawned eggs (3,500-4,000 eggs•gram-1) was higher in HCG treatment (223,068 eggs•kg-1 breeder at 58.27g•kg-1 breeder) than LHRHa (176,524 eggs•kg-1 breeder at 50.44 g•kg-1 breeder). Fertilization and hatching rates were both higher in LHRHa (60.88% and 71.07%, respectively), than HCG treatment (30.53% and 43.06%). Mean number of produced larvae was higher in LHRHa treatment (56,040 larvae•kg-1 breeder) compared to HCG-treated fish (41,547 larvae•kg-1 breeder). Hatched larvae (1.6 mm mean length) reared for 30 days in 3m x 3m concrete tanks using the standard protocol for marine finfish hatchery attained a maximum survival of 4.47%. Complete metamorphosis was observed after 26-28 days (8.1 mm mean length). Successful larval rearing was attained using greenwater (Nannochloropsis sp.) technology fed with live food (Brachionus sp. and Artemia salina). Critical periods were days 1-7 and days 19-22 when heavy mortalities were observed. Being the first recorded spawning in captivity of Caranx ignobilis in the Philippines, the results of this study provides an important baseline data and is a major step towards the development of a hatchery technology for maliputo in the country as well as for seed enhancement of its natural habitat. The project has provided 400,000 maliputo larvae to private hatcheries for larval rearing trials while 100,000 larvae were seeded in Balayan Bay and 5,000 fingerlings released in Taal Lake

The status of Sardinella tawilis in Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines

Abstract only.The status of the world s only freshwater sardine, Sardinella tawilis, is presented by its population dynamics, related aspects of biology, and production trends. A policy matrix was designed to show strategies on how to conserve and manage tawilis in Taal Lake. Fish landed catch survey was conducted for five years in eight landing centers around the lake. Hired enumerators used questionnaires to record daily catch, fishing effort and length measurements. Population parameters were analyzed using the Food and Agriculture Organization-International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (FAO-ICLARM) Stock Assessment Tools (FISAT). Production of tawilis over the years has slowly declined, from 744 MT in 1996 to 637 MT in 1999. Operation of prohibited active gears like the motorized push net (suro) and ring net (basing) has threatened fish production in the lake. High exploitation rate of 0.59 caused by increased fishing pressure has exceeded the optimum 0.3-0.5 range. Proper management and regulatory interventions are required to help resolve the existing problems affecting the sustainability of the lake. To improve the production of tawilis, a stock enhancement scheme in the Lake is recommended

CVD-Grown CNTs on Basalt Fiber Surfaces for Multifunctional Composite Interphases

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is used as a method for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on substrates, most commonly pre-treated by a metal-catalyst. In this work, the capability of basalt fiber surfaces was investigated in order to stimulate catalyst-free growth of carbon nanotubes. We have carried out CVD experiments on unsized, sized, and NaOH-treated basalt fibers modified by growth temperature and a process gas mixture. Subsequently, we investigated the fiber surfaces by SEM, AFM, XPS and carried out single fiber tensile tests. Growth temperatures of 700 °C as well as 800 °C may induce CNT growth, but depending on the basalt fiber surface, the growth process was differently affected. The XPS results suggest surficial iron is not crucial for the CNT growth. We demonstrate that the formation of a corrosion shell is able to support CNT networks. However, our investigations do not expose distinctively the mechanisms by which unsized basalt fibers sometimes induce vertically aligned CNT carpets, isotropically arranged CNTs or no CNT growth. Considering data from the literature and our AFM results, it is assumed that the nano-roughness of surfaces could be a critical parameter for CNT growth. These findings will motivate the design of future experiments to discover the role of surface roughness as well as surface defects on the formation of hierarchical interphases

Mixtures of Regression Models for Time-Course Gene Expression Data: Evaluation of Initialization and Random Effects

Finite mixture models are routinely applied to time course microarray data. Due to the complexity and size of this type of data the choice of good starting values plays an important role. So far initialization strategies have only been investigated for data from a mixture of multivariate normal distributions. In this work several initialization procedures are evaluated for mixtures of regression models with and without random effects in an extensive simulation study on different artificial datasets. Finally these procedures are also applied to a real dataset from E. coli

Perception of Students on Online Homework in Integral Calculus and Its Relation on Their Motivation and Performance

Teachers are always in the search of better teaching and learning techniques to keep students engaged and motivated in class. One emerging technology is the use of online homework whereby students may be given unlimited chances of working on a set of problems that vary in their every attempt for self-practice. These are presented in a set-up perceived as more engaging and appropriate to today’s type of learners. This study explored the perception of Integral Calculus students on taking online homework particularly on the topic integration techniques. DLSU-D Schoolbook, the learning management system of the university was utilized to administer the online exercises and learning modules to students. A total of 127 students became part of the study and were asked to answer questionnaires that determined their perception of online homework as well as their motivation level towards engaging in math activities. Their performance was also determined through a comprehensive test. Results showed they had a high positive perception of online homework and they found it useful in studying lessons and in their preparation for exams. It was also found through correlation analysis that perception is significantly correlated with the motivation level of students but not with their performance