Category: Bacolod News

Key people of the JBLCF-Bacolod Unit Research Committee (JB-URC) joined their heads together in formulating the Unit Research Agenda for the next three years on July 28, 2022, at the campus Main Library. The activity was spearheaded by Dr. Emeliza T. Estimo, Research Coordinator of the Bacolod campus.

With the JBLFMU Integrated Management System Policy and the JBLFMU Ten-Point Agenda as the main points of reference, the URC identified key topics/areas for research and aligned them with the National Higher Education Research Agenda (NHERA), the Philippine Association of Maritime Universities National Research Agenda (PAMI-NRA), and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG). The initiative of aligning the Research Agenda of the University with the research priorities in the national and international landscape is meant to ensure that the studies being conducted are relevant and responsive to the institution’s needs and the global community.

Other ideas for research were also derived from problems identified during the previous year’s Management Review; findings, observations, and OFIs from previous audits; topics suggested for further research by studies previously conducted; institutional problems needing solutions; and feedback gathered from various groups of stakeholders composed of the employees, students, parents, alumni, and shipping companies/industry partners who participated in identifying the pressing issues for further exploration and research.

For each identified research topic or key research area, suggested research titles were proposed by the committee members, who were divided into six working groups. The interactive workshop was done face-to-face, aided by Teams, one of the applications included in the Microsoft Office Software Packages. Using this application, all groups could simultaneously encode their ideas on the e-spaces. The application has editing features; hence, the Research Coordinator could automatically review, edit, and improve their inputs as the workshop progressed, making the entire work ready for presentation when the allotted time for the workshop ended.

This best practice has worked well for the RDC of JBLCF-Bacolod since 2013. The activity was another remarkable experience for the members of the Unit Research Committee, who were driven by their sheer commitment and sense of volunteerism in sharing their ideas as they worked collaboratively to complete the task.

Sincere appreciation is accorded to the significant contribution of all the URC members who actively participated in the process. Thank you also to Engr. Roberto Neal S. Sobrejuanite, Administrator of JBLCF-Bacolod, for the gentle push and encouraging words that warmed the hearts of the participants.

Two more paper presentations from JBLCF-Bacolod made it to the national and international levels for the school year 2021-2022. These are the papers authored by Mrs. Irene C. Mamon, a faculty member of the College of Maritime Education, and Dr. Elisa V. Garcia, Chief Librarian of JBLCF-Bacolod.

Mrs. Mamon’s paper entitled “Note-Taking Behaviors of Top-Performing Junior High School Students” was presented at the 7^th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Research held on March 24-26, 2022, via Zoom. This qualitative study descr ibes the students’ practices and experiences in note-taking, which can provide information that can aid the administrators, teachers, and students in organizing classroom activities to promote productivity and self-regulated learning. In her paper, she writes, “I have envisioned myself championing and empowering my students in facilitating their own learning.  With many studies such as this, I hope everyone gets to appreciate the efforts of the teachers in putting things in order, in trusting that students perform their initiatives in participating in the processes of learning.”

The second paper, entitled “Information and Communication Technology Capability, Service Quality, and Client Satisfaction of Libraries in the Online Distance Learning during Pandemic,” was presented by Dr. Elisa V. Garcia, Chief Librarian of JBLCF-Bacolod, at the 29^th PSERE Annual Conference held on May 19-20, 2022, also via Zoom. Dr. Garcia’s paper aims to determine the ICT capability, service quality, and client satisfaction of selected libraries of HEIs in Negros Occidental during the school year 2020-2021 as the foundation for the proposed enhancement program to improve the ICT capability, service quality, and client satisfaction. The paper proposes redesigning the libraries’ daily operation by integrating technology in its processes, acquiring recent and updated books, subscribing to electronic databases and e-books, building digital libraries with access to open access educational resources, and capability training of the library staff on automation and content management systems to automate the libraries and develop their digital libraries/repositories.

Dr. Emeliza Estimo, the Research Coordinator of JBLCF-Bacolod, has been reelected as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Society for Education Research and Evaluation (PSERE), Inc. for which she had previously served from 2017 to 2021. She had been voted in during the 29^th PSERE Annual Conference held on May 19-20, 2022, via Zoom.

Being an officer of a research organization outside the walls of John B is both an opportunity and a responsibility. While it establishes a strong linkage between the institution that you represent and the external community, it also demands your time and capability as you are compelled by the situation to perform beyond your routine and, sometimes, beyond your limits. It is a call to get out of your comfort zone and represent the school to the best that you can because you cannot afford to jeopardize what it stands for.

“Being an active member of the Board of Directors is a challenging experience as it entails another set of responsibilities apart from my current functions. This means going the extra mile, but I consider it as a good avenue for JBLCF-Bacolod and JBLFMU as a whole to establish active linkages with other research institutions and organizations who are members of the society at the national level,” Dr. Estimo said. “More than a responsibility, being an officer in prestigious research organizations like PSERE is an opportunity to serve for a greater cause, to be able to share whatever intellectual blessing you have as you work with others for a noble objective.”

To further enhance the research capability of faculty members and students, the System Research Team had identified webinars for inclusion in the University Annual Operations Plan for Research for the school year 2021-2022 (Reference: AOP Strategic Objective 3- Improve the research capability and motivation of faculty, staff, and student researchers). First in the series are the webinars on (1) Reference Management Software & Utilizing Various Search Engines for Research and (2) Research Ethics: Establishing an Institutional Research Ethics Review Board and Ethical Considerations in Research, both hosted by JBLCF-Bacolod.

The webinar on Reference Management Software & Utilizing Various Search Engines for Research was held on October 18, 2021, 8:30-11:30 A.M., with Ms. Elisa V. Garcia, the Chief Librarian of JBLCF-Bacolod and an active researcher and member of the Unit Research Committee, as the Resource Speaker. This webinar aimed to familiarize the faculty and student researchers with how to manage their references in research writing and the proper way of citing and listing various types of sources. It also aimed to acquaint them with various search engines to source their references. This event was graced by the attendance of people from all the three academic units of JBLFMU, including the Graduate School.

The webinar on Research Ethics: Establishing an Institutional Research Ethics Review Board and Ethical Considerations, on the other hand, aimed to acquaint the JBLFMU Research Team and other research enthusiasts of the University with the process of establishing an Institutional Research Ethics Review Board, which is now one of the major requirements of CHED. On the part of the faculty and staff researchers, the webinar was organized to educate them about some ethical issues that should be considered in research writing. This event was held on November 12, 2021, 9:00-12:00 P.M. It was graced by Dr. Anabelle D. Magbanua, Director for Research Ethics Review Office of the University of St. La Salle, who shared her expertise and experience as the event’s Resource Speaker. Ninety-two regular participants and Department Heads from the three academic units of the University have joined this webinar.

Much appreciation is expressed for the united efforts of the Unit Research Coordinators, Dr. Brian Gil S. Sarinas of JBLFMU-Arevalo, Dr. Rolando A. Alimen of JBLFMU-Molo, and Dr. Emeliza T. Estimo of the host unit (JBLCF-Bacolod), under the leadership of Dr. Melchor M. Magramo, Research Director of the University, for the success of these activities.