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The purpose of this study is to ascertain students’ perception on Ka-Agapay Project as basis for project continuity. The findings of the study served as the basis for project sustainability and it aimed at helping the beneficiaries to recover from present crisis particularly but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic to make them empowered members of the community. Students’ perception was along the lines of the Supreme Student Government (SSG) Ka-Agapay Projects’ sustainability or continuity since they are the primary beneficiaries of the program. Total enumeration was used in selecting respondents. There were a total of 122 respondents who were beneficiaries of either Learner’s Support Group, Psychosocial Support Activities, Home Gardenscaping, and FB Page. The weighted mean was used to analyze the students’ responses based from the given questionnaires. The findings revealed that The Psychosocial Support Activities (PSA) were designed to overcome anxieties, fears, and concerns brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The project significantly improved the participants' mental and emotional health through the Psychosocial Support Activities. Furthermore, Ka-Agapay Project participants enjoyed the Home Gardenscaping in their backyards. They viewed the activity as one that promotes a healthy lifestyle, which is one of the project’s objectives. Participants unanimously agreed that backyard gardening taught them the value of indigenous foods. In addition, Learners Support Group or LSG beneficiaries were able to cope the difficulties in answering their modules with the help of the LSG volunteers. To continue the implementation of the program, a sustainability plan was formulated.

We propose an enhancement in the generation of the acceptance zone of the RAMCODES methodology; in this research, the new zone is called “optimum performance zone”. The “optimum performance zone” for a compacted soil was obtained by applying concepts of linear programming to soil mechanics. This novel approach links the mean variables of soil design (resistance and hydration conditions) with the traditional quality control (minimum compaction percentage). The optimum performance zone is a geometric site in the water content–dry unit weight plane, within which any compaction state (defined by specific values of dry unit weight and water content) has a high probability of fulfilling a pre-established value of mechanical response and a minimum compaction percentage, while also satisfying pre-established hydration conditions (minimum and maximum saturation degrees). In order to ascertain the concordance of the mechanical performance of compacted soils in situ with the mechanical performance of compacted soils in the laboratory, a soil that later would be compacted in situ was submitted to mechanical characterization, and a factorial experimental design was developed and performed. A surface response was plotted from experimental data; the resistance map of the soil was obtained using the RAMCODES approach, and the optimum performance zone proposed in this research was also plotted. The response of a compacted soil, predicted by the optimum performance zone, was verified using soil samples from earthwork built with the soil that was previously analyzed, indicating that the optimum performance zone links the mean variables considered in design with the minimum compaction percentage established by past experiences or by soil specifications. These results imply that the optimum performance zone has field applications for quality control and for reception of compacted soils, guaranteeing an optimum mechanical performance that fulfills the minimum compaction percentage and thus improves quality, security, reliability, and efficiency of compacted soils.

This study analyzed the variability in the production of batches of a soil mix prepared from cohesive and granular material, in an improved materials production plant. For soil analysis, a non-dimensional number known as characteristic factor was used, in order to provide a quantitative and continuous classification for the mix; in addition, it was sought to link this non-dimensional number to particle size-analysis and liquid limit of soils obtained from the same geological formation. This study shows that with the use of a quantitative and continuous classification, quality control was optimized not only during production at the production plant but also at the construction site. It is also shown that if the characteristic factor of the soil mixture is close to the predefined characteristic factor, there is a high probability that the mechanical response of the material measured at the production plant will be close to the mechanical response evaluated at the construction site, as long as the conditions of water content and dry unit weight are close to the optimum value of the compaction curve’s laboratory. Keywords: Quality control, RAMCODES, Characteristic factor, Compacted soils, Soil improvement

Unexpected failure of compacted soils was explained using design curves of the Rational Methodology for Compacted Geomaterial’s Density and Strength Analysis (RAMCODES). Forensic geotechnical evaluation, applied to a compacted soil used at a construction site, demonstrated that the bearing capacity of the soil was influenced by the water content and the dry unit weight. At the construction site, the only criterion used for quality control of the compacted soil was the minimum compaction percentage; the maximum dry unit weight (achieved using the standard Proctor test) was used when the soil was compacted with light equipment, and the maximum dry unit weight (achieved using the modified Proctor test) was used when it was compacted with heavy equipment. After changing water content conditions, the soil compacted with heavy equipment and the soil compacted with light equipment exhibited changes in bearing capacity; the soil compacted with light equipment showed a failure, whereas the soil compacted with heavy equipment did not. The causes of failure were evaluated from samples of soil analyzed in the laboratory; analysis was performed using design curves obtained through a factorial experimental design. Our analysis revealed that the criterion of minimum compaction percentage was not adequate to determine the actual mechanical performance of the soil. We sought to determine why the soil compacted with light equipment did not satisfy the bearing capacity expected after compaction, and what other actions should performed at a construction site to avoid failure of soils compacted with light equipment.

In alleging that Bushman et al. (2013) made sensational and unsubstantiated claims, Markey et al. (2015) mistake hypotheses for hyperbole. Moreover, in their effort to show that gun violence in PG-13 movies (for ages 13 and older) is unrelated to trends in population violence, they make unjustified demands on our data, with outcomes that are unconnected to hypothesized effects. Using outcomes in line with our hypotheses, we draw the contrary conclusion that recent trends in gun violence in youth are actually consistent with gun violence trends in PG-13 movies. Nevertheless, because we do not believe those patterns are sufficient to draw causal conclusions, we suggest more adequate tests of the hypothesis that exposure to movie gun violence affects the beliefs and attitudes of youth toward guns.

To determine whether self-reported risk and protective behaviors, expectations, and attitudes are more similar among African-American early adolescents within a community-based friendship group than across groups, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 African-American youth 9 through 15 years of age forming 76 community-based groups of 3 through 10 same-gender friends. Each member of the friendship group reported his/her own past involvement in nine risk behaviors (sexual intercourse, substance abuse, drug-trafficking, and other delinquent activities) and two protective behaviors (high academic performance and regular church attendance) and their expectations and feelings regarding several of these behaviors. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated overall and by gender and age. Members were generally more similar within friendship groups than across groups with regard to several risk behaviors and expectations including sexual intercourse and drug-trafficking. Particularly striking was the similarity among members of "junior" friendship groups (e.g., median age of youth < 11 years) of both risk and protective behaviors and expectations. The finding of enhanced similarity of risk behaviors and expectations among members within groups suggests that intervention delivery through community-based friendship groups may be a useful approach for risk prevention efforts targeting pre-adolescent African-American youth living in low-income settings.