This study aimed to determine the acceptability of the big book alphabet primer in Sinama for Kindergarten pupils. The measurement of acceptability includes the suitability or appropriateness of the materials to the learners, physical or visual appeal, and standard of the content to serve as inputs for the improvement and revision of the big book alphabet primer. It utilized descriptive at the same time evaluative method wherein the primary instrument employed was a questionnaire full of exercises from the developed big book. Sixty-six (66) participant evaluators were involved in the study. Results show that suitability/appropriateness of the instructional material to the pupils is ranked 1st followed by quality of the content, and lastly, physical aspect or visual appeal. A further look at the data revealed that the teacher evaluators gave the highest mean score followed by the other stakeholders in the community and lastly, the principals. However, no significant difference exists in the acceptability of the big workbook according to the three types of participant evaluators. The researcher recommends that more local instructional materials such as big books be developed and tested by the teachers. The utilization of the big books could assist in the reading comprehension, spelling, necessary decoding skills, and phonemic awareness of pupils. Future studies should also include the learners as participants for the acceptability of the instructional materials on the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and intention to use. Keywords: Big Book, Acceptability, Suitability, Quality of Content, Physical Aspect, Sinama.

This research aimed to determine the ICT status of an elementary school in Negros Occidental Philippines in terms of ICT access, skills and utilization, in relation to selected variables namely, age, civil status, educational qualification, and subject taught. Descriptive type of research methodology was used and data were obtained using the researcher-made survey questionnaire. The respondents were the 37 elementary teachers of Efigenio Enrica Lizares Memorial School (EELMS), Talisay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. The results revealed that the teachers manifested a low level of ICT access and skill and very low level of ICT utilization. A significant difference in the ICT status was noted when teachers were grouped according to age. When these results were compared with the ICT roadmap of the Department of Education, EELMS is on the poor side of the digital divide. The outcome of the study somehow scratched the surface of the prevailing digital divide in the public elementary education in the Philippines, thus, inviting deeper and further studies on a larger scale. It can be used as the basis for reformulating ICT policies and designing development programs for public elementary schools to narrow the digital gap caused by the prevailing factors identified in this pilot study. Keywords: Computer, Digital Divide, Information, and Communication Technology (ICT) ICT Status, Level of Access, ICT Skills, ICT Utilization, Internet, Multimedia.

Sustainable development (SD) is the harmonic coexistence of humans & nature, balanced development, sustainable prosperity. The nature ideology of integral harmony of the Chinese minority nations, and their ideology of equality of admiring life and the ideology of production of simple circulation are identical to the central ideology of SD. This paper presents a three-dimension model of regional sustainable development; the model includes the harmonious development of economy, society, resources and environment, it discusses culture advantages of sustainable development in Chinese ethnic regions, and the important work is to explore the SD strategies for Chinese ethnic regions and provides guidance for achieving sustainable development, such as the development of the eco-ethics of the minorities, and educating the sense of eco-citizen, perfection of the policies and regulations to protect the ecological environment of the ethnic regions, and promoting construction of industrial ecosystem as well as developing the no-carbon or low-carbon industry in Chinese ethnic regions, etc. Keywords: Sustainable Development, Ecological Ethics, Ecological Industry, Pro-poor.

The so-called ‘Lahad Datu Standoff’ was a brief security crisis from early February 2013, when a group of several hundred rag-tag militiamen from Simunul and Tawi-Tawi islands in the neighboring southern Philippines who arrived by boats in Sabah and began occupying several villages. Proclaiming themselves as the ‘Royal Army of the Sulu Sultanate’, the gunmen represented the heirs of a long-defunct kingdom, which once controlled the territory until the late nineteenth century. The self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram III, who was directing the militant incursion, insisted that Sabah was rightfully part of his kingdom. While engaging police in several firefights, the insurgents beheaded and mutilated several captured Malaysian security personnel, prompting Malaysian forces to deploy fighter jets in a successful operation to flush out the intruders. According to media reports, individuals in the highest levels of the Malaysian government were suspicious of a conspiracy, especially considering the highly unusual timing of the Sulu operation, which was so close to elections in both Malaysia and the Philippines. Najib Razak, the Malaysian Prime Minister, expressed concern that the Lahad Datu crisis would negatively affect the ongoing status of Sabah as a Barisan Nasional (BN) ‘fixed-deposit’ state for votes. Meanwhile, the opposition leaders had been increasingly successful in highlighting local issues such as marginalisation in national development initiatives, Sabah’s oil royalty, corruption among local UMNO leaders, illegal immigrants, dissatisfaction on federal-states relations and the integrity of election process. Nevertheless, despite the crisis in Lahad Datu and the success of opposition leaders in highlighting local issues, Sabah (and Sarawak) once again became the key determinants of who forms the majority in the Malaysian parliament. Specifically, BN won 22 of 25 parliamentary seats in Sabah (and 25 of 31 parliamentary seats in Sarawak). Analysing various sources such as books, journals, newspapers and blogs, this paper will argue that the Lahad Datu standoff was the Barisan Nasional’s ‘lifesaver’ in Sabah. Keywords: Lahad Datu Standoff, GE13, Sabah.

Globalization; a multi-dimensional process, allowing inter-continental flow of goods and services, technology, production and investment, has significant impacts in lives and in working conditions of people all around the world and especially in developing nations. As a developing country, Turkey is the one of the most affected countries from this process. In this study, impacts of globalization on female labour in the world and in Turkey are tried to be investigated. The sources of data are Key Indicators of Labour Market (KILM) of International Labour Office (ILO) and Turkish Statistic Institute Statistics (TURKSTAT). Related literature is also utilized. It is revealed with the study that women are negatively affected by the impacts of globalization worldwide and in Turkey throughout the last decades. Detrimental consequences like flexibility, unemployment, informality and occupational segregation disadvantage women in Turkish labour market. Keywords: Globalization, Female Labour, Flexible and Informal Employment, Turkey.