Pengaruh kepimpinan pengajaran guru besar ke atas efikasi kendiri guru-guru sekolah rendah di daerah Kapit, Sarawak

This research was to examine the influence of instructional leadership of headmasters on the level of efficacy of primary school teachers in Kapit district, Sarawak. The sample consisted of 121 teachers randomly chosen. Cross-sectional survey method using standardized questionnaires were used in this study. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) developed by Hallinger and Murphy (1985) was utilized to measure the instructional leadership of headmaster while teacher's efficacy scale developed by Ever, Brouwers and Tomic (2002) was used to measure the level of teachers' efficacy. The pilot study showed that all instruments were high reliability to be used in the study. The finding showed that the headmasters in Kapit were high as instructional leaders. The mean score for all dimensions of instructional leadership were between 3.67 and 4.28. The two dimensions with high score were communicating the school goal and promoting professional development of teachers (mean = 4.26 and 4.28 respectively). While the three dimensions with low score were providing incentives for teachers (mean =3.90), supervising and evaluating instruction (mean = 3.79) and maintaining high visibility (mean = 3.67). The research also found that the level of teachers' self-efficacy were high (mean = 4.14). The study found that there was no significant difference of teachers' self-efficacy based on age, position, the length of service, and the category of teachers. The research also found that there were significant relationships between instructional leadership of headmasters and teachers' self-efficacy. Finally, regression analysis revealed that 29.4 percent of teachers' efficacy variance was explained by instructional leadershi

Metric System for Evaluating Off-site Mitigation for Ecosystem Services and Wildlife Habitat in Sagebrush Ecosystems

A fundamental concept of mitigation is that it is possible to compensate for impacts to ecosystem services at one site (the impact site) by replacing or increasing the same services at another site (the mitigation site). A challenge in the use of off-site mitigation is assuring that ecosystem services, including wildlife habitat, produced by off-site mitigation are commensurate with on-site impacts. Recent increases in energy developments within the sagebrush biome have raised concerns about impacts associated with these activities and efforts to mitigate those impacts. To help address these concerns, we developed a metric system to quantify impact losses and mitigation benefits based on a combination of NRCS Ecological Sites, existing vegetation conditions, and habitat assessment conducted at the landscape level for sagebrush-associated wildlife species. Changes to vegetation conditions within sagebrush ecosystems produced by on-the-ground mitigation treatments or by impacts are quantified based on comparison to a reference standard developed from the Ecological Site Description for the specific plant communities associated with either the mitigation or impact site. Wildlife benefits are also evaluated at a landscape scale using models that quantify the gains or losses in habitat quality associated with the mitigation or development activities. This metric system provides a standardized way of quantifying gains and losses of ecosystem services and wildlife habitat associated with impacts and mitigation which will help to ensure that gains associated with mitigation activities are commensurate with losses resulting from development

Dynamics of Western Juniper Woodland Expansion into Sagebrush Communities in Central Oregon

Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) woodlands in Oregon have expanded four-fold from 600,000 ha in 1930 to \u3e 2.6 million ha, often resulting in the reduction and fragmentation of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) communities. We documented dynamics of western juniper across the John Day Ecological Province in central Oregon by recording size class and growth form at 178 sites. We used stratified random sampling, with strata based on vegetation association (sagebrush, juniper, other) and distance from juniper stands. Only 26 percent of sites contained pre-settlement trees (in other words, \u3e 140 years old), and \u3c 5 percent of the 2,254 junipers tallied were pre-settlement trees. Mean densities of pre-settlement trees by stratum ranged from 0 to 18 trees/ha, suggesting that historically, juniper was widely scattered across the landscape. Current densities of post-settlement trees ranged from 75 to 211 trees/ha in non-woodland strata to 457 trees/ha in the juniper stratum. Juniper in non-woodland strata was most abundant in sites adjacent to juniper stands and in sagebrush communities. Mean densities of post-settlement trees were greatest in the \u3e 2.0-m tall size class (82 trees/ha), followed by the 0.3 to 1-m tall size class (52 trees/ha). These densities pose substantial risk to sagebrush communities in central Oregon. Questions remain about the extent of western juniper woodlands across the species’ range that have replaced or are expanding into sagebrush communities versus sites that historically supported woodlands. However, our findings suggest that within sagebrush communities of the John Day province, intensive management through removal of western juniper may be prudent, while retaining pre-settlement trees

Use of Auto-Germ to Model Germination Timing in the Sagebrush-Steppe

Germination timing has a strong influence on direct seeding efforts, and therefore is a closely tracked demographic stage in a wide variety of wildland and agricultural settings. Predictive seed germination models, based on soil moisture and temperature data in the seed zone are an efficient method of estimating germination timing. We utilized Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to create Auto‐Germ, which is an Excel workbook that allows a user to estimate field germination timing based on wet‐thermal accumulation models and field temperature and soil moisture data. To demonstrate the capabilities of Auto‐Germ, we calculated various germination indices and modeled germination timing for 11 different species, across 6 years, and 10 Artemisia‐steppe sites in the Great Basin of North America to identify the planting date required for 50% or more of the simulated population to germinate in spring (1 March or later), which is when conditions are predicted to be more conducive for plant establishment. Both between and within the species, germination models indicated that there was high temporal and spatial variability in the planting date required for spring germination to occur. However, some general trends were identified, with species falling roughly into three categories, where seeds could be planted on average in either fall (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis and Leymus cinereus), early winter (Festuca idahoensis, Poa secunda, Elymus lanceolatus, Elymus elymoides, and Linum lewisii), or mid‐winter (Achillea millefolium, Elymus wawawaiensis, and Pseudoroegneria spicata) and still not run the risk of germination during winter. These predictions made through Auto‐Germ demonstrate that fall may not be an optimal time period for sowing seeds for most non‐dormant species if the desired goal is to have seeds germinate in spring

Going Coastal: Shared Evolutionary History between Coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska Wolves (Canis lupus)

Many coastal species occupying the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest in North America comprise endemic populations genetically and ecologically distinct from interior continental conspecifics. Morphological variation previously identified among wolf populations resulted in recognition of multiple subspecies of wolves in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, separate genetic studies have identified diverged populations of wolves in coastal British Columbia and coastal Southeast Alaska, providing support for hypotheses of distinct coastal subspecies. These two regions are geographically and ecologically contiguous, however, there is no comprehensive analysis across all wolf populations in this coastal rainforest.By combining mitochondrial DNA datasets from throughout the Pacific Northwest, we examined the genetic relationship between coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska wolf populations and compared them with adjacent continental populations. Phylogenetic analysis indicates complete overlap in the genetic diversity of coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska wolves, but these populations are distinct from interior continental wolves. Analyses of molecular variation support the separation of all coastal wolves in a group divergent from continental populations, as predicted based on hypothesized subspecies designations. Two novel haplotypes also were uncovered in a newly assayed continental population of interior Alaska wolves.We found evidence that coastal wolves endemic to these temperate rainforests are diverged from neighbouring, interior continental wolves; a finding that necessitates new international strategies associated with the management of this species

Non-lethal sampling for stable isotope analysis of pike Esox lucius: how mucus, scale and fin tissue compare to muscle.

Stable isotope analysis (SIA) was used to examine the isotopic relationships between dorsal muscle and fin, scale and epidermal mucus in pike Esox lucius. δ13 C and δ15 N varied predictably within each tissue pairing, with conversion factors calculated for the surrogate tissues, enabling their application to the non-lethal sampling of E. lucius for SIA. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved