Editor's Note

As the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges-Center for Research and Development (CSPC-CRD) achieves its goal of publishing volumes quarterly with the Editorial Board, we present Volume 2, Issue 1: March 2022 of the Journal of Education, Management and Development Studies (JEMDS). The fourteen articles in this issue span education, the environment and natural resources, health sciences, social and behavioral sciences, public management, business management, entrepreneurship, and gender and development. Also, this includes research on sustainable development from interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary viewpoints at the regional, national, and international levels. We strive for engagement and accessibility; with this, we are still an open-access journal. The journal can be used without asking the publisher or the author's permission and is free to use as a research resource. We make one of the most accessible research procedures available to everyone by doing this. This journal keeps expanding its reach abroad. This achievement is demonstrated by the volume of papers written by foreign authors. We regularly perform a double-blind evaluation of the submitted articles to adhere to the standard as we establish our credibility in this industry.  In the academic world, our standing and exposure are growing. We further reassure our researchers that the editorial process is being conducted, and the papers are reviewed and improved to offer excellent content. The CSPC-CRD promises to develop its operations over time to deliver a high-quality journal that can keep up with modernization

ChatGPT and Academic Research: A Review and Recommendations Based on Practical Examples

In the academic world, academicians, researchers, and students have already employed Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to complete their various academic and non-academic tasks, including essay writing, different formal and informal speech writing, summarising literature, and generating ideas. However,  yet, it is a controversial issue to use ChatGPT in academic research. Recently, its impact on academic research and publication has been scrutinized. The fundamental objective of this study is to highlight the application of ChatGPT in academic research by demonstrating a practical example with some recommendations. Data for this study was gathered using published articles, websites, blogs, and visual and numerical artefacts. We have analyzed, synthesized, and described our gathered data using an "introductory literature review." The findings revealed that for the initial idea generation for academic scientific research, ChatGPT could be an effective tool. However, in the case of literature synthesis, citations, problem statements, research gaps, and data analysis, the researchers might encounter some challenges. Therefore, in these cases, researchers must be cautious about using ChatGPT in academic research. Considering the potential applications and consequences of ChatGPT, it is a must for the academic and scientific community to establish the necessary guidelines for the appropriate use of LLMs, especially ChatGPT,  in research and publishing

From ChatGPT-3 to GPT-4: A Significant Advancement in AI-Driven NLP Tools

Recent improvements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) have led to the creation of powerful language models like Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer (ChatGPT), Google’s BARD, Ernie which has shown to be very good at many different language tasks. But as language tasks get more complicated, having even more advanced NLP tool is essential nowadays. In this study, researchers look at how the latest versions of the GPT language model(GPT-4 & 5) can help with these advancements. The research method for this paper is based on a narrative analysis of the literature, which makes use of secondary data gathered from previously published studies including articles, websites, blogs, and visual and numerical facts etc. Findings of this study revealed that GPT-4 improves the model's training data, the speed with which it can be computed, the flawless answers that it provides with, and its overall performance. This study also shows that GPT-4 does much better than GPT-3.5 at translating languages, answering questions, and figuring out how people feel about things. The study provides a solid basis for building even more advanced NLP tools and programmes like GPT-5. The study will help the AI & LLM researchers, NLP developers and academicians in exploring more into this particular field of study. As this is the first kind of research comparing two NLP tools, therefore researchers suggested going for a quantitative research in the near future to validate the findings of this research

Suitability Mapping of Solar Energy Potential of Selected Areas in Camarines Sur using ArcGIS

Abstract— Solar energy, the most common and scalable renewable energy, has a huge potential to supply the increasing electricity demand. Hence, proper site selection for deploying solar PV systems is required. This paper presents the development of a solar suitability map to identify potential sites for solar PV systems in the selected areas in the Rinconada District of the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. ArcGIS analyzed the annual average solar radiation, weather datasets, and geographical conditions and performed suitability mapping combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify the weights of the nine criteria of suitable site selection. Based on these factors, twenty-seven (27) barangays were found suitable, where the central and eastern parts of Barangay Malawag in Nabua and a massive part of Barangay Causip in Bula are the most suitable locations for large-scale solar PV installation

ALPAS (ALleviating PAndemic Severity) Through Foresight: Capping the Digital Divide

Everyone has lost their footing due to the pandemic. The academic community was unprepared, leaving both professors and students bewildered and without a sense of direction. The goal at the time was to overcome the calamity of educational discontinuity. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 – Education goal aims “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” relative to this SDG and the surge of the pandemic, digital divide become prominent, altering the course of educational landscape in all levels across public and private institutions. In the Bicol region, education was delivered in many various forms and variability, predicting the future through strategic foresight could propel the region to a transformed future. This paper discusses in detail the status of education in the region and the possible scenarios using Jim Dator’s Future Scenario Archetypes, Causal Layered Analysis and through Scenario Planning Plus. Four plausible scenarios have surfaced in this paper: STUG-nation of Education, Unstable and Disarray of Educational elements, Flowing-restrained Education, and ORAGON Education. It requires multiple drivers as examined through the PESTEL that includes political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal aspects. This study proved useful in crafting and anticipating the future scenarios of Bicol Region’s education. Preliminary as it may, this study highlighted important building blocks of future scenarios through foresight methods. Dator’s framework was proved to be very useful in developing the four scenarios, the use of other future study tools will further amplify plausible scenarios for the education of Bicol region and beyond

Exploring the Academic Preparation and Performance to the Comprehensive Examination of First-Year Engineering Students

A comprehensive examination is an academic exercise that aims to determine students’ performance relevant to their achievements in the previous years of their studies. In the old curriculum of the College of Engineering at Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines, a comprehensive examination is given to second-year students of all engineering programs. With the change in curriculum due to the K-12 implementation, this comprehensive examination is being planned to be given to first-year engineering students. This study aims to explore the influence of students’ academic preparation and academic performance on the comprehensive examination of first-year engineering students. The researcher analyzed the data from 468 first-year engineering students for the academic year 2018–2019 to determine the degree of correlation between their academic preparation, academic performance, and comprehensive examination. Findings showed that senior high school (SHS) tracks have no relationship with the academic performance of civil, electronics, and mechanical engineering students. However, for electrical engineering students, there is a relationship between the SHS tracks and their academic performance. Also, the college entrance test (CET) and academic performance showed a relationship with the comprehensive examination. Findings revealed that higher ratings in the CET and academic performance tend to go with higher ratings in the comprehensive examination and vice versa. Thus, a comprehensive examination is an effective way to determine the extent of achievement of students in engineering mathematics and sciences. This study did not consider any other factors that may affect the result of the comprehensive examination