AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 position revised outline

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Mrs. Anna Felicia C. Sanchez
English 10 MHW
Position Paper [Revised Outline]

Going With the Flow: Globalization and the Philippines

Thesis Statement: The Filipino must know about their culture and identity as Filipinos first before the country could productively go with the flow of globalization.

I. Globalization will help the Philippines rise from its current state of turmoil
A. The Philippines can benefit economically from the produce of First World countries
B. A more universal sense and agreement about justice will make current judiciary systems more efficient
C. The standard of living in general will significantly increase
D. A current existing example of the benefits of globalization is the European Union
II. Globalization will do the Philippines more harm than good
A. The Filipino people already have a colonial mentality, and globalization will only result to the Filipino losing any recognition of his identity
B. Filipinos have no sense of unity and cultural pride
C. Globalization would not entirely help the Philippine people and their economy
1. The poor will become more marginalized
2. Filipinos will be forced to migrate abroad
3. Local industries will die, while foreign industries would exploit the Philippines
III. The Filipino people should know their identity first before they could effectively go along with the globalization process

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 position final draft

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon

2006-07148

Mrs. Anna Felicia C. Sanchez

English 10 MHW

Position Paper [Final Draft]

Going With the Flow: Globalization and the Philippines

“We the Peoples of the United Nations Determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, And for these Ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, Have Resolved to Combine our Efforts to Accomplish these Aims” (“Charter” pars. 1-11).

Agreed and signed upon by the governments of its member nations, the United Nations Charter was made official at the city of San Francisco on June 26, 1945 (par. 397). From then on, the organization became the largest, most recognized, and most powerful modern-day alliance in our world, aiming to establish unity, peace, and social justice among all nations, after an era marked by bloodshed and regression. Existence of such alliances have marked the world’s integration into a one united society, a trend most aptly called globalization, “a set of processes leading to the integration of economic, cultural, political and social systems across geographical boundaries” (“Globalization”). It is an age-long process, dating back from Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire and the Silk Road to the Dutch East India Company and the United States of America (“History”). Not that it is something new to us Filipinos – we already know about the contributions of China, Spain, Europe, America and Japan in enriching our history and culture; now we have the UN, ASEAN, and APEC as our international partners and friends. Seemingly, globalization (through the aid of these international organizations) is the way to go if we want our country out of its current state of turmoil, a statement I deeply regretted once it came to my attention.

But going over it once more, I think of those words as most appropriate. A quick glance at the Philippines’ current condition would tell one that millions of people go hungry daily and about the same number of them are malnourished, despite claims that its economy is gaining; journalists and activists die in twos everyday, and are simply waved off as threats to national peace; educational facilities are literally rotting to oblivion, though the national literacy rate remains high; major infrastructural developments come only during election campaign periods, mainly because the “elected” government almost always prioritizes the payment of our foreign debt’s interest. However, as stated earlier, globalization apparently has answers for each of these problems.

According to Wikipedia, globalization would allow international free trade and direct foreign investments by highly developed countries into developing countries (par. 11). In a sense, the First World countries become the producers of the needs of the Third World countries, who become the consumers. Such policies could enable governments to push for a better allocation of their country’s resources (“Free Trade”). Meanwhile, these developed countries also keep on developing their own needs, and thus, in quoting World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, “making globalization work for all” (qtd. in “Financing”).

Then there is the issue of unadministered justice. The Philippines’ human rights group KARAPATAN reported that the number of extrajudicial killings have risen to 874 since President Arroyo held office in 2001 (1 par. 6). In response to this alarming rate of deaths, an international forum condemned the Philippine government as guilty of human rights violations, and also accused US President George W. Bush of supporting it. The head of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal, Mr. Francois Houtart, said that “the systematic nature of the violations of the rights of the Philippine people committed by the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, with the support and full awareness of the government of George W. Bush, qualify as the same violation as crimes against humanity" (“Guilty” pars. 1-3). The aforementioned Tribunal was only conceived and formed independently; how much more could an official and international court do?
And that does not end there. Globalization could improve the standard of living of the citizens of the world, to say the least. Pro-globalists have the statistics to back their claims up; surveys and reports collated by Wikipedia tells us that due to the efforts of international organizations in pushing for globalization,

The percentage of people in developing countries living below US $1 (adjusted for inflation and purchasing power) per day has halved in only twenty years, with the greatest improvements coming in economies rapidly reducing barriers to trade and investment... Life expectancy has almost doubled in the developing world since WWII and is starting to close the gap to the developed world where the improvement has been smaller. Infant mortality has decreased in every developing region of the world. Income inequality for the world as a whole is diminishing. Democracy has increased dramatically from almost no nation with universal suffrage in 1900 to 62.5% of all nations in 2000. The proportion of the world's population living in countries where per-capita food supplies are less than 2,200 calories (9,200 kilojoules) per day decreased from 56% in the mid-1960s to below 10% by the 1990s. Between 1950 and 1999, global literacy increased from 52% to 81% of the world. Women made up much of the gap: Female literacy as a percentage of male literacy has increased from 59% in 1970 to 80% in 2000. The percentage of children in the labor force has fallen from 24% in 1960 to 10% in 2000. There are similar increasing trends for electric power, cars, radios, and telephones per capita, as well as the proportion of the population with access to clean water (par. 30).

A preview of the world’s future in globalization could be seen in the existence of the European Union. In Europa’s most recent online database, the numbers posted by each of the 25 member-nations of the EU marked improvement in their citizens’ welfare and standard of living in all major sectors: wealth, education, health, technology, labor and employment, trade and economy, environment, and peace (“Key facts”).

This holds true for the EU and other highly developed states such as the United States because they uphold a rich tradition and history. However, this is not the case for the Philippines, whose people are drowned in colonial mentality. Quoting a Wikipedia article, “Filipino culture is largely a fusion of the indigenous traditions of the Philippines, Hispanic and American cultures. It has also been significantly influenced by Chinese and Indian cultures” (“Philippines” par. 26). History books also say the same thing about the Filipino culture, as if there were no Filipino culture, no original Filipino identity to begin with. It would be easy to think that way; our names came from the Spanish tongue, our country is ninety percent Roman Catholic, we take pride in the afridata, menudo, and pansit canton, we regularly consume food from McDonalds, KFC, and Burger King, basketball is our national sport, Hollywood is shown in our moviehouses, and even our national hero Jose Rizal wrote his obra maestras in Spanish (pars. 27-31).

Worse, we Filipinos could not even take pride in our languages. Many people casually dismiss the Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Kapampangan, and other ethnic tongues as dialects, “a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties,” when we know that these ethnic tongues sound way too different from the Tagalog language . But we hail those who could speak in their most construed version of Taglish. The geography of the country would not help either, us being in an archipelago of 7,107 islands. This has been a problem of our ancestors during their series of revolutions against foreign invaders – they just could not establish any semblance of unity. As a result, while the Muslims kept on resisting foreign entry, up north in Luzon the insurgents have succumbed to Western rule (Agoncillo 247-60). One could not expect a country that does not have a sense of itself to survive when the imposing forces of globalization come over.

Furthermore, globalization will not entirely help the Filipino economy and people. In fact, instead of it “working for all,” free trade and foreign investments will only work for the investors, which would be the highly developed countries, making “the rich richer and the poor poorer.” Their economies are the ones which will grow in strength, they will be the ones who will get to use their state-of-the-art technology, and their countries are the ones whose standards of living will dramatically increase. On the other hand, the growth of the economies of Third World countries will remain dependent on those of the First World, resulting to relatively minimal, if any, gains in their economical strength, just like poor-stricken Philippines (“Threat or Opportunity” pars. 9-11). A certain organization of Filipino migrants stressed that after this, Filipinos will then be forced to migrate to other more stable countries because of

extreme poverty, underdevelopment and joblessness in the country, rooted in the uneven distribution of land and wealth that has benefited a handful of rich landlords, big business, cronies, and multinational companies… The Philippines is a country rich in natural resources and has an educated work force, but Filipinos are driven abroad since the government cannot provide jobs. This is not surprising since the Philippine economy is backward, primarily agrarian, and without basic industries. With landlessness and poverty in the countryside, and without basic industries to generate jobs, the Philippines has become a source of cheap raw materials and labour for multinational companies (“Migration” pars. 5-6).

That way Filipinos can contribute to the “betterment” of our economy, as about than one-tenth of the population (8 million) now work outside of their mother country “in search of greener pastures.” The organization said that Filipino migrants remitted about 4.8 billion US dollars every five years (pars. 7-8).

However, that leaves local industries and institutions in big losses because the ones who are able to leave the country are the competent laborers and employees. Add to that the increase in the number of foreign investors in the Philippines, and the local industries are virtually bound to die someday, leaving these foreigners some openings to exploit the nation’s resources. They have been successful, so far – they had Dole Philippines and 124 other agribusiness firms here as of 1985, and I have not mentioned yet the mushroom-like sudden appearnces of McDonalds and Pizza Huts throughout the nation.

After all that, it remains clear that we could not follow pre-modern Japan and declare a closed-door policy towards other nations – we are too dependent on outside influences to do that. But for a good start, we ought to know ourselves as Filipinos first. And we ought to look at ourselves as Filipinos, in a viewpoint that is purely Filipino. Again, we have been miseducated about ourselves, the Western man telling us that we did not have a culture until they helped us; because we do have a culture, and we do have an identity that is very distinct from the Spaniards, the Chinese, the Americans, and from everyone else who told us that we are only a bunch of influences molded together. Our true history can tell us that, as long as we enrich our culture and look through the same perspectives; in doing so, who knows, but we Filipinos could establish a kind of unity that could enable and even empower us as the process of globalization unfolds right in front of our eyes.

List of Works Cited

Agoncillo, Teodoro A. “The Continuing Resistance.” A History of the Filipino People. Quezon City: Garotech, 1990.
“Charter of the United Nations.” Human Rights Web. 25 Jan. 1997. 26 March 2007 <http://www.hrweb.org/legal/unchartr.html>.
“Dialect.” IClasses.org. 27 March 2007 <http://www.iclasses.org/assets/literature/literary_glossary.cfm>.
“Filipino Migration: A Brief History.” Pilipinong Migrante sa Canada. 27 March 2007 .
“Financing the Monterrey Consensus.” The World Bank. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development & International Development Association. 27 March 2007 <http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20169719~menuPK:34472~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html>.
“Foreign Investment.” Country Studies. U.S. Library of Congress. 27 March 2007 .
“Free trade.” Wikipedia. 26 Mar. 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 27 March 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_trade>.
“Globalization.” HSE Web Depot. Global Environment Management Initiative. 26 March 2007 <http://www.hsewebdepot.org/imstool/GEMI.nsf/WEBDocs/Glossary?OpenDocument>.
“Globalization.” Wikipedia. 27 March 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 27 March 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalization>.
“History of Globalization.” Wikipedia. 20 March 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 27 March 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_globalization>.
IMF Staff. “Globalization: Threat or Opportunity?” International Monetary Fund. Jan. 2002. 27 March 2007 .
KARAPATAN. “2005 Human Rights Report.” Stop the Killings in the Philippines. 30 May 2006. 27 March 2007 <http://stopthekillings.org/files/2005_HR_REPORT_FINALE.pdf>.
“Key facts and figures about Europe and the Europeans.” EUROPA. 27 March 2007 <http://europa.eu/abc/keyfigures/index_en.htm>.
“Philippines.” Wikipedia. 27 March 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 27 March 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines>.
“Philippines ‘guilty of violations.’” Australian News Network. 26 Mar. 2007. 27 Mar. 2007 <http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21446232-1702,00.html>.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem Psychology101 3rd long exam

J. Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Psychology 101 TFW-2
Prof. Jose Antonio Clemente
3rd Long Exam

1. Choose only one (1) topic from the last 4 group facilitations we had in class (attraction, sexuality, sleep&dreams, happiness). Answer the following:
a) Is there a need to discuss and study this topic? Why do you think so?
b) Give one (1) unforgettable/most important/most liked piece of information you got from your chosen topic. Why was it memorable for you?

a) Sleep and dreams? Para sa akin mahalaga siya, because the amount of sleep [or lack thereof] accurately defines the kind of day I will have the next morning. So I have to understand why that happens. And my life virtually revolves around a 14-year old dream… =)
b) Yung sinabi nyo po sa amin na “remembering dreams is a skill” or something to that effect. Akala ko kasi normal lang yung may maalala kang 14-year old na panaginip. It seems that I am not normal after all [haha!]...

2. Kindly assess the group facilitation in class by answering the following questions:
a) What group facilitation did you like the most? Why?
b) What group facilitation did you like the least? Why?
c) Do you think I should continue the group facilitation as a requirement in class? Why or why not?

a) Happiness!! Siguro dahil last facilitation na kasi yun, and they really wanted it to be the best, as we [well, I] expected it to be. Perhaps if we had more time, probably natapos yung report flawlessly.
b) Yung sa amin, which was Attraction and Love. Pakiramdam ko nagkalat ako eh, and I seriously thought we could’ve done better.
c) Of course, Sir. If there were no group facilitations marami akong hindi nakilala sa class natin. Hindi naman po kasi maiiwasang merong mga batang sadyang mahiyain-slash-tahimik lang talaga eh, even if they’re really good.

3. After 1 semester of Psych101, what was the most important skill and/or knowledge you learned in our class? Briefly explain your answer.

Ever since I took this course I’ve always tried to look at any single event or phenomenon through different perspectives. Siguro mababaw lang ako, but I realized na hindi porket tama ang isa, mali na ang iba. This is the case for Psychology, and is certainly the case for everything else. Each and every truth or assertion is always relative, always highly subjective. At dahil nga nahinuha ko na ganun pala, alam ko na rin ang halaga ng pagbibigay ng respeto sa bawat isang paninindigan o pananaw ng bawat taong nakakasalamuha ko… maging sino man siya [nyak!].

4. Psych101 as a course is a work in progress. Any suggestions how I can improve the class?

Well, first of all you’ll have to actually teach it again, Sir [sabi nyo po kasi hindi na muna kayo magtuturo eh… hehe]. But seriously, personally I think your approach of teaching is near par excellence, especially your rare ability to freely mingle and associate with your students, and of course your conscious effort to make the course as enjoyable as possible. Pero kung pakiramdam nyo po there’s something lacking, perhaps you’ll find that out as you continue teaching this course… [but then, kelangan nga po magturo ulit kayo ng Psych101!] ;)

5. a) Ang mami-miss ko sa Psych101 ay: ____________
b) Ang hindi ko masyado mami-miss sa Psych 101 ay: ____________
c) Ang dapat ipagpatuloy sa Psych 101 ay: ___________

a) everything about Psych 101, but most especially the fact na sa dinami ng air-condition classrooms sa PHAn, yun pa yung napunta sa atin...
b) Psychology 7 by J.W. Santrock dahil babasahin ko rin naman siya over the summer… as visual sleeping pills [kidding!]
c) ang pagtuturo ni Sir Ton nito (“,)

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem Psychology101 experiment paper

J. Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Psychology 101 TFW-2
Prof. Jose Antonio Clemente
Experiment Evaulation

Focus Group Discussion (FGD): Body Image

This two-hour credit experiment was facilitated by Lucil Aguada, a 3rd year Psychology major taking up Psychology 118. The focus-group discussion, held in the CIS Lobby, was about body image, which is what people think of physical stature. For this, the experimenter chose only males as participants. The discussion was basically divided into two parts: first, she asked the participants about their personal views on the current state of their bodies, their level of satisfaction on their current conditions, and any insecurities that they felt or noted regarding their physique. Then, she asked about the participants’ notions of what the ideal body image is, the factors that influenced them to think that way, and the steps, if any, that they took in order to improve their current body image and somehow attain that “ideal” body. While we shared our insights, the facilitator took notes and, at the same time, also recorded our responses through a tape recorder.

I personally think that Miss Aguada did a great job in facilitating the discussion, allowing the smooth influx of insights from the participants, giving her own insights every now and then, especially when the discussion was apparently approaching some sort of dead end. The almost-flawless flow of the discussion could also be owed to the way she outlined and directed her questions in such orderly fashion, add to that her cheerful and encouraging approach that eased up any tensions or hindrances beforehand. However, there were also a few drawbacks one, only two out of her prospective participants were able to attend, dramatically reducing the discussion time and positive group dynamics; and two, I felt that the venue (CIS Lobby) was actually not conducive to open discussions, even if the topic was really that interesting. Regardless, hats off to Ate Lucil for making the most of what was at her disposal back then. (“,)

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 position outline draft

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
English 10 MHW
Position Paper [Outline Draft]

Thesis Statement:

The Filipino culture and identity must be recognized first before the country could productively go with the flow of globalization.

Arguments:

I. The culture of the Philippines has been considered by many as undefined, largely owing to the many influential cultures that have overshadowed its past
A. History has stressed that the Philippines before colonization had no culture, and has shown that the Filipino has acquired a colonial attitude towards itself and his country
B. Up to now there are many unrecognized cultures and languages (guised as dialects)
C. Globalization has caused and will result in the Philippines losing its cultural identity
II. The Filipino has been miseducated about and consequently influenced by globalization, mainly through the media, which has promoted cultural assimilation and “corporate imperialism” through advertisements and programs
III. As First World countries and tiger economies grow, so does the standard of living, thus leaving Third World countries like the Philippines groping for stability
A. The poor will become more marginalized and people’s rights will be more abused
B. Global migration will be encouraged, and more Filipinos will migrate to more stable countries to gain more income
C. Local industries will die while foreign industries enter the Philippines, which could also cause environmental damages and exploitation of the country’s natural resources

Counter-arguments:

I. The standard of living in the Philippines will dramatically increase
A. It will boost the economy, as free trade and open markets will be encouraged
B. Innovations in technology will make life easier and bring people closer to each other, regardless of geographic remoteness
II. Unity and peace worldwide would not be considered impossible anymore
A. The Philippines will experience depending on and to be depended on by other countries in fighting the war against terrorism
B. The Filipino people will have a better and more universal understanding of their rights, justice and freedom
C. Multiculturalism and cultural diversity will be encouraged through the influx of other cultural influences into the Philippines

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 report final draft

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon

2006-07148

Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez

English 10 MHW

Philippine Culture and Advertisements Interact With Each Other

Advertisements that people see daily in the media use Filipino culture as a means of attracting more supporters and consumers, but rarely do people notice that these advertisements have shaped and are continuously molding their ways of life as Filipinos. Filipino culture is seen through what Justine Yapyuco, a student-writer, calls “cultural symbols” – any object, event, trait or idea that have become part of a certain society’s culture and identity (2, 4).

Yapyuco’s paper on “The Link Between Advertising and Culture” presents some of these evident cultural symbols: common traits like respect for the elderly, close family ties and hospitality; events like the heavily Spanish-influenced fiestas; and, according to Wikipedia, even staple foods like sinigang, adobo, and lechon all have been part of the Filipino tradition, and are being used to promote many products like Mister Donut’s pastries and Knorr’s food additives. Yapyuco noted that “advertising works by relating a product with an idea that we can relate to,” and “the better we can relate to an advertisement the better we understand why we need the product or service being advertised” (1-2; “Philippine Culture”).

All these, of course, are made possible through the popular forms of mass media, especially in billboards, radios, TVs, periodicals and the Internet. A study conducted by the Philippines’ National Statistics Office back in 2001 reported that 1.8 percent of the general population was not exposed to any form of media (“Exposure,” par. 31). Thus one could expect that as time progresses and technology develops, this ratio will decrease significantly and would all the more give “advertisers a sturdy foundation for creating product awareness” (Yapyuco, par. 1).

However, Yapyuco’s paper also suggests another thing: that these ads, in turn, also influence one’s culture. In his own words, he states “one can see advertisements as indirectly being hosts for the spreading of culturally defining trends along with other ideas spread through mass media” (4). Advertisements usually try to tickle the interests of its audience subtly, with the promoters hoping that their audiences would make associations with their personal interests and the product they are showing off, albeit sometimes through desperate means.

A vivid example of this is a BayanTel billboard which, according to its observer, portrayed “a semi-naked woman with a “pleased expression’” coupled with the words “SATISFACTION GUARANTEE,” which gives connotations of sex, yet does not in any way associate with the supposed advertised product, the BayanTel phone service. The woman who commented on the ad even concluded that “sex sells,” therefore its usage in the ad (“Billboard”).

Another example, presented by Yapyuco, is that of “Dove’s campaign for real beauty,” noting beforehand the plethora of beauty ads in shampoo commercials and NLEX billboards, which show white and beautifully curved women models as having the ideal, desirable and perfect bodies. Dove, with their lines of “extra sexy or extra large,” conveyed the message that beauty is “a relative thing,” attacking the Filipino’s modern notion of beauty as the formerly stated (4).
Josefina M. C. Santos, a media and culture analyst, suggests that the Filipino’s overly open attitude towards advertisements is due to an increasing trend towards globalization, saying that this “so-called increasing interdependence of societies and flows in capital, products, people and ideas across national borders has accentuated a global view of societies” (par. 2).

List of Works Cited

“Culture of the Philippines.” Wikipedia. 9 Feb. 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 11 Feb. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Culture>.
“Exposure of Population to Mass Media.” National Statistics Office. 8 Mar. 2001. 4 Feb. 2007 <http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/fl94-expmmedia.html>.
Lardizabal-Dado, Noemi. “Bayantel Ad/Billboard: Sex in Advertising?” Touched by an Angel. 8 July 2006. 11 Feb. 2007 <http://aboutmyrecovery.com/2006/06/06/sex-in-advertising/>.
Santos, Josefina M. C. “Globalisation and tradition: Paradoxes in Philippine television and culture.” World Association for Christian Communication. 15 Feb. 2007 <http://www.wacc.org.uk/wacc/publications/media_development/archive/2001_3/globalisation_and_tradition_paradoxes_in_philippine_television_and_culture>.
Yapyuco, Justine T. “The Link Between Advertising and Culture.” Unpublished. Requirement for English 10: 2nd Semester AY 2006-2007.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 report draft

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
English 10 MHW
Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Report [First Draft]

Philippine Culture and Advertisments Interact With Each Other

Advertisements that people see daily in the media use Filipino culture as a means of attracting more supporters and consumers, but rarely do people notice that these advertisements have shaped and are continuously shaping their ways of life as Filipinos. Filipino culture is seen through what Justine Yapyuco, a student-writer, calls “cultural symbols” – any object, event, trait or idea that have become part of a certain society’s culture and identity (2, 4).

Yapyuco’s paper on “The Link Between Advertising and Culture” presents some of these evident cultural symbols: traits like respect for the elderly, close family ties, hospitality, events like the heavily Spanish-influenced fiestas, and, according to Wikipedia, even staple foods like sinigang, adobo, and lechon all have been part of the Filipino tradition, and are being used to promote many products like Mister Donut’s pastries and Knorr’s food additives. He noted that “Advertising works by relating a product with an idea that we can relate to,” and “The better we can relate to an advertisement the better we understand why we need the product or service being advertised” (1-2; “Philippine Culture”).

All these, of course, are made possible through the popular forms of mass media, especially in billboards, radios, TVs, periodicals and the Internet. A study conducted by the Philippines’ National Statistics Office back in 2001 reported that 1.8 percent of the general population was not exposed to any form of media (“Exposure,” par. 31). Thus one could expect that as time progresses and technology develops, this ratio was expected to decrease significantly and would give “advertisers a sturdy foundation for creating product awareness” (Yapyuco, par. 1).

However, Yapyuco’s paper also suggests another thing: that these ads, in turn, also influence one’s culture. In his own words, he states “one can see advertisements as indirectly being hosts for the spreading of culturally defining trends along with other ideas spread through mass media” (4). Advertisements usually try to tickle the interests of its audience subtly, with the promoters hoping that their audiences would make associations with their personal interests and the product they are showing off, albeit sometimes through desperate means.

A vivid example of this is a BayanTel billboard which, according to its observer, portrayed “a semi-naked woman with a “pleased expression’” coupled with the words “SATISFACTION GUARANTEE,” which gives connotations of sex, yet does not in any way associate with the supposed advertised product, the BayanTel phone service. The woman who commented on the ad even concluded that “Sex sells,” therefore its usage in the ad (“Billboard”).

Another example, presented by Yapyuco, is that of “Dove’s campaign for real beauty,” noting beforehand the plethora of beauty ads in shampoo commercials and NLEX billboards, which show white and beautifully curved women models as having the ideal, desirable and perfect bodies. Dove, with their lines of “extra sexy or extra large,” conveyed the message that beauty is “a relative thing,” attacking the Filipino’s cultural mindset of beauty as the formerly stated (4).

Josefina M. C. Santos, a media and culture analyst, suggests that the Filipino’s overly open attitude towards advertisements is due to an increasing trend towards subtle assimilation, and eventually, globalization (par. 2).

List of Works Cited

“Culture of the Philippines.” Wikipedia. 9 Feb. 2007. GNU Free Documentation License. 11 Feb. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Culture>.
“Exposure of Population to Mass Media.” National Statistics Office. 8 Mar. 2001. 4 Feb. 2007 <http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/fl94-expmmedia.html>.
Lardizabal-Dado, Noemi. “Bayantel Ad/Billboard: Sex in Advertising?” Touched by an Angel. 8 July 2006. 11 Feb. 2007 <http://aboutmyrecovery.com/2006/06/06/sex-in-advertising/>.
Santos, Josefina M. C. “Globalisation and tradition: Paradoxes in Philippine television and culture.” World Association for Christian Communication. 11 Feb. 2007 <http://www.wacc.org.uk/wacc/publications/media_development/archive/2001_3/globalisation_and_tradition_paradoxes_in_philippine_television_and_culture>.
Yapyuco, Justine T. “The Link Between Advertising and Culture.” Unpublished. Requirement for English 10: 2nd Semester AY 2006-2007.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem Psych101 learning paper

J. Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
Psychology 101 TFW-2
Prof. Jose Antonio Clemente
Paper on Learning

“Early to Bed, Early to Rise” Through Operant Conditioning?

It is really hard, waking up early, which according to many, ranges from six to half-past eight in the morning. It might sound crazy, at the least, to others – being a college student just fresh out of high school and its daily seven o’clock schemes, one should have no trouble coping with the lighter schedule college life offers. Yet, up to this day my peers wonder in amazement whenever I arrive at our tambayan one hour before my first class, which starts a half-hour before twelve noon. Not only that, but even my parents laugh hysterically every time I ask of them to wake me up early the next morning, knowing that doing that would all be for naught.

They [my parents] often point out, “Eh pano ka magigising ng maaga kung hindi ka marunong matulog ng maaga?” I could provide many reasons for that – reasons that adolescents usually make so as to get away with an excuse, like homework, tomorrow’s test and the need for cramming, while the teenager is either on the verge of confessing to his love interest thru text, creating an entry about parents for his blog, or simply logging on to Yahoo! Messenger just to see if there are friends who are making the same excuses.

All of these were fun, which makes it real hard for me to just give up on those pastimes. However, compared to my friends who don’t have a problem rising up early for class, I find it difficult to please my parents by waking up early to make them cups of coffee. The good thing, however, is that at least my parents have the nerve to consider this as one of my major concerns, and unwarily gave me an idea how to make them teach me how to wake up early…

One Wednesday morning, my father screamed from the garage, “Gabriel! Kapag di ka pa bumangon dyan hindi ko ibibigay baon at pamasahe mo!” Those were the first words that I heard for that day, and funnily, it kind of scared me a bit, me having that very strong penchant for earning and saving some bucks. A few moments later, I felt like I had that “Eureka!” moment (Finally, a skill that I can learn! *hyena-like laughter*), the same one that old philosopher also had centuries ago. One might seriously doubt the nature of early rising as a skill per se, it being common to many people, but to a person who has been called a “latecomer” half his life, he might as well consider it as such.

Now my proposal is pretty simple; it involves one mode of learning, operant conditioning. This procedure will aim to teach me how to wake up early by reinforcing the said response with a very common reinforcer – money. My definition of “early” would be any time from six to eight-thirty in the morning; the teachers would be my parents, both of them early risers by habit. If I wake up just in time (about 8:30 AM) to see that my parents are about to leave, they would give me my daily allowance. However, if I don’t, no money would be given to me for that day (negative punishment); on the other hand, if I wake up at least 30 minutes earlier than the time they usually leave the house, I get an incentive (positive reinforcement) which hopefully would make me do things that would make me wake up earlier than usual (i.e. tire myself out in order to be able to sleep earlier). Then after two weeks, my parents will evaluate my progress, if there was any; and if the results were positive, the previous time goal will be set earlier by 30 minutes, and the same procedure would be implemented again. My personal goal is to be able to wake up as early as 7 or 7:30 AM, so within one or two months’ time I would realize that waking up early would have its perks, and that I would achieve nothing if I do otherwise. (“,)

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 concept critique

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
English 10 MHW
Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Concept Paper [Critique]

“Cheerleading: Exploring Beyond the Short Skirts”: An Evaluation

Miss Yvette Ruiz’s 10-page paper presents the history and development of the sport of cheerleading. Apparently, the author does this through two perspectives - one, via the general population’s view of the sport, and two, a cheerleader’s point of view. Notably, large sections of the paper seem to be personally expressed by the author (which the critic will cite later), wherein long paragraphs have no citations, which brought the impression that the paper’s author was actually a cheerleader in her own right.

Miss Ruiz starts the paper by clarifying many misconceptions about cheerleaders, then continues to present a brief history of cheerleading, defines it as a sport, presents the processes and preparations behind the actual performances, and gives an insight on the “future of cheerleading in the Philippines”. However, one notable aspect in the author’s style of writing is that every few paragraphs, she occasionally interjects to present some aspects of cheerleading “in Philippine context” (2-3). Though it does not halt the general flow of ideas throughout the paper, it would be more appropriate if a separate section for Philippine cheerleading be reserved to make it more fluid.

The author uses relatively simple terms throughout her work, leading to very few spelling, grammatical and punctuation-related errors, with few exemptions (“Ironically the first ever cheerleader is male”) (par.2, 2). Furthermore, few errors in format were present, like the double-spacing of a quoted yell in page 2, missing parenthetical citations in the last paragraph of page 5, and the single spacing in the Works Cited list. But the most troubling observation the critic found is a glaring lack in in-text citations, particularly from the section “The Responsibilities and Goals of Pep Squads” all the way down to “The Crowning Glory,” especially the latter, where certain dates and events were mentioned and should at least have a cross-reference to a source. Besides that, the critic also suggests that if the author were relating first-hand experiences in the paper, she should at least notify the reader about it, for example, “Having been part of the Squad since…” or in some other manner; this suggestion solely roots out from the impression that the author really is a cheerleader.

On the other hand, there are few 10-page papers which do not feel heavy for the reader, perhaps owing it to the usage of simple language and partly to the interest of the critic in cheerleading, a subject which he could relate to. However, as a last note, Miss Ruiz could expand the coverage of her paper’s audience beyond the University of the Philippines, or even the UAAP for that matter; for one, she could look into the National Colleges’ Athletics Association, another athletic organization that also sponsors cheerleading competitions.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 concept revised outline

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon

2006-07148

English 10 MHW

Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Concept Paper [Revised Outline]

“The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth”: The Value of Objectivity in Modern Media

Thesis Statement: The media, which primarily serves as a tool for information dissemination, can only be as truthful and as objective as the people who gather and interpret the information it presents.

I. Media is any form of mass publication
A. It comes in many forms, i.e. print, electronic, multimedia
B. It has proven itself useful in many aspects of society
C. It has not always been reliable and consistent
II. Many factors have affected the objectivity of presentations in the media
A. Parts of the media are owned by other people who enforce their personal interests on their media subordinates
B. Technology advancements have made it easier to access and pass information
C. Objectivity is not always wanted by the audience and/or the media
III. The media should try to minimize biases as much as possible
IV. The consumer should realize that they have the right to demand and find out the truth from the media

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English10 concept first draft

DE LEON, Juan Gabriel L.

2006-07148

English 10 MHW

Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Concept Paper [First Draft]

“The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth”: The Value of Objectivity in Modern Media

Different sources of media find themselves in bits of conflict every now and then. In recounting the events that happened during the December 15, 2007 Board of Regents meeting regarding the proposed increases in UP’s tuition and miscellaneous fees, the Philippine Daily reported that “[Student regent Raffy Jones] Sanchez, along with faculty regent Roland Simbulan, did not attend the meeting in protest of the sudden change in venue,” thinking that their presence would not hinder the approval of these said proposals (Yap A25). Contrary to that, student activists in UP Diliman claimed that the two regents were barred from entering the said BOR meeting. Interestingly, this is but one of many cases wherein two separate media groups presenting the same event contradict each other, either due to a particular bias or a different point of view. Such cases, especially in a presentation of facts, stain the reputation of the media as a fair and independent sector of society. This in turn will give rise to some questions regarding the primary functions of the media, certain factors that affect information processing within it, its actual contributions to society, and the areas which it could improve on, if any – questions that this paper will attempt to answer.

The word media stands for the plural term of the word “medium,” which basically defines the media: any medium or form of publication, i.e. books, pictures, newspapers, radio and television, and others. However, there is a modern definition of the media, as offered by Global Distance EducatioNet, which describes the media as “messages that are distributed through the technologies,” showing that the progress and success of the media came along with advances in present technology (“Media”).

Like mentioned in this paper’s definition, media come in many forms. Wikipedia.com disambiguates the forms of media into three: print media (through paper), electronic media (through electronic devices), and published media, better known as mass media (information “made available to the public”), though arguably the first two forms could also fall under published media, credited to the increased development and use of “multimedia,” which incorporates many forms of information processing (“Media”). Modern media operates in many parts essential to society; it has proven itself useful in practically anything, ranging from the sciences and education to politics, news, business and entertainment. However, being the human who was naturally blessed with curiosity and skepticism, some cannot help but ask, evaluate, or even criticize anything that comes out of the press, especially those with doubtful sources based on the consumer’s judgment.

But as stated by Sharon Beder, a professor-writer, people who are part of the media “often claim that their own biases and the pressures from advertisers and media owners do not affect their work because of their professional norm of 'objectivity.'” Here he presents the concept of objectivity, “the ability to view something without influence of feelings or emotions,” and also gives two main components of objectivity, “the first is 'depersonalisation' which means that journalists should not overtly express their own views, evaluations, or beliefs. The second is 'balance' which involves presenting the views of representatives of both sides of a controversy without favouring one side,” (par. 1). But is it really possible? John Swinton, a former Chief of Staff of the New York Times, was once quoted to have said in a New York Press Club congregation that

There is no such thing, at this date of the world's history, in America, as independent press. You know it and I know it. There is not one of you who dares[sic] to write your honest opinions, and if you did, you know beforehand that it would never appear in print. I am paid weekly for keeping my honest opinion out of the paper I am connected with. Others of you are paid similar salaries for similar things, and any of you who would be so foolish as to write honest opinions would be out on the streets looking for another job.
If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before twenty-four hours my occupation would be gone. The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes. (pars. 2-3).

Swinton pointed out the influence of the higher authorities on the media. He was not referring to his opinion as “the truth,” nor was his statement an objective one; but the fact remains that those who have the money and power have control over its domain. Businessmen, tycoons, and in some cases, the government, virtually own parts of the media sector – people who have their own interests and loyalties, who in turn influence or force their subordinates to follow suit (qtd. in “Blackout”).

Furthermore, he issued that statement back in 1953, a time when black and white television, ENIAC, and the analog radio were the most prominent advances in technology. Fast forward by half a decade, and the Fifth Estate, the so-called bloggers, add tons of information daily to the world’s largest info database, the information superhighway called the Internet (Zuckerman, pars. 2-4) More people get to speak their own versions of what they think the truth is, leading to the famous saying “truth is relative.”

Somewhat similar to Swinton’s statement but a bit more judgmental and harsher is Karl Loren’s analysis of the media’s primary purpose:

It creats[sic] chaos in many ways, chief of which is to create conflict where none had existed. Or to increase artifically[sic] a small conflict into a much larger conflict. It does this, in turn, by reporting manipulations of the truth -- where, for instance, it reports some truth in such a way as to leave a false impression, therefore create conflict, and thus create chaos.
Why does it want to create chaos? Because the media is a tool in the hands of the truly evil men who have, for so long, tried to rule the world.
The media always "aim" their news coverage "below" the standards of common morality -- in order to appeal to the least moral in our society. They do this naturally by saying that the only way they can sell their stuff is to put into their reports "what people want to hear."
They aim a bit BELOW what people want to hear -- but it is close enough to appeal to the lower fringes of the group (pars. 3-4, 8-9).

Loren’s statement makes the reader think if objectivity is really wanted in the media or even by its audience. Michael Kinsley of Slate Magazine gives a concrete example involving this dilemma, citing the stand of the American press on the September 11, 2001 tragedy perpetuated by Osama bin Laden. He notes that in light of the presented situation “pro-Osama sentiments are just not a plausible motive. The notion that journalists covertly sympathize with a mass murderer who may well be targeting journalists specifically is too far-fetched,” and that any person who would dare to do such will be openly “accused of betraying,” (par. 3). Furthermore, he adds:

No one who watches, reads, or listens could have any doubt that the American media are flagrantly biased. They are pro-America and anti-Bin Laden. On a few occasions when media outlets have allowed neutral, objective standards of newsworthiness to trump overt support for the cause—for example, on the issue of broadcasting Bin Laden's propaganda tapes—the journalists have backed down quickly when criticized (par. 4).

Kinsley’s remarks also pointed out the wide “spectrum” between opinions and facts in these instances - their national press would consider the statement “it's wrong to hijack a plane and crash it into the Pentagon” as more of fact than opinion,” (par. 6-7). He concludes his article with

This is not the familiar point that objectivity is impossible because objective reality is an ever-receding mirage or because human beings can never purge themselves of bias. These things may or may not be true, but a newspaper or TV reporter can still try to perceive and convey the facts as neutrally as possible. The point here is that even where objectivity, balance, and all those good things are possible, they're not always wanted—even by those who preach about them the most (par. 8).

Due to all these complications, the media became a molder of public opinion. But it still is imperative for the media to keep their works unblemished from bias as much as possible, to hear both sides of any conflict; Rabbi Shraga Simmons uses the Middle East conflict between Israel and the Arab nations to explain his point, showing repeatedly that the media has been particularly biased against Israel, and gives a list of what to avoid to establish a more objective report or paper, and what media consumers should be beware of so as to “avoid becoming a pawn in the media war,” citing “7 Violations of Media Objectivity” (par. 7):

Misleading definitions and terminology.
Imbalanced reporting.
Opinions disguised as news.
Lack of context.
Selective omission.
Using true facts to draw false conclusions.
Distortion of facts. (par. 8).

FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), America’s national watchdogs and advocates for media objectivity, also gives the audiences of the media some guidelines in detecting bias in the presentations of the media. It challenges the viewer and the press to “be aware of the political perspective of the sources used in a story… demand that the media reflect the diversity of the public they serve… expose the use of double standards… avoid generalizing through use of stereotypes… and provide a proper context for the presented information,” (“Bias”).

List of Works Cited

Beder, Sharon. “Objectivity.” The Media. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/envcrisis/media/objectivity.html>.
Global Distance EducatioNet. “Media.” Distance Learning Resources. The World Bank Group. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/glossary.html>.
“How to Detect Bias in News Media.” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. 2000. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/envcrisis/media/objectivity.html>.
Kinsley, Michael. “Osama Done Told Me: So How Come Media Objectivity is Suddenly a Bad Thing?” Slate Magazine. 8 Nov. 2001. 28 Jan. 2007 .
Loren, Karl. “The True Purpose of Media on the Planet.” Moral Group Discussion. 9 May 2003. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://www.moralgroup.com/moraldiscus/messages/42/44.html>.
“Media.” Wikipedia. 26 Jan. 2007. GNU Free License Documentation. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media>.
“Media Blacks Out the Truth.” Does Media Blackout The Truth. Health Education Alliance for Life and Longevity. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://www.heall.com/medicalfreedom/mediablackout.html>.
Simmons, Shraga. “7 Principles of Media Objectivity.” Objectivity and the Media. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://www.aish.com/Israel/articles/7_principles_of_media_objectivity.asp>.
Yap, DJ. “UP regents vote 7-0 for tuition hike.” Philippine Daily Inquirer 16 Dec. 2006: A25.
Zuckerman, Mortimer B. “The Wild, Wild Web.” USNews.com. 5 Dec. 2005. 28 Jan. 2007 <http://www.usnews.com/usnews/opinion/articles/051205/5edit.htm>.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem PanPil 17 current events paper

Ang mga Barbie sa PEP.ph

Nagpa-lipo daw ng pwet si Yasmien.

Argh. Sabi ni Ma’am maraming artik na maikokonek sa “Unbearable Heaviness” ni Roselle Pineda. Pero si Yasmien pa lang at ang pwet nya ang nahagilap ko.

Hmmm… bakit yung pwet? Hindi ba “ass-et” dapat yun pag medyo malaki yung buttocks mo? Akala ko pa naman 36-24-36 ang ideal woman? Weird.

Pero teka, ano nga ba itsura ni Barbie? Maliit ba buttocks nya? Ah, siguro tama nga si miss roselle… karamihan ng babae, or siguro ilan sa mga na-feature sa PEP.ph, ay nangangarap na magkaron ng Barbie-like na katawan. Hindi naman malaki pwet ni Barbie eh. Pero relatively, malaki boobs nya, compared sa framework ng katawan nya. Siguro hindi maaabot ng mga artistang pinoy ang projected height ni Barbie, pero binabawi nila sa boobs nila. And as if that’s not enough, yung iba [especially yung mga young prospects], they proceed to baring their flesh to the press. Para ma-emphasize yung laki ng mga dibdib nila.

Hayun, tsaka ako nakarating sa isang video na may captions na “Ilan sa mga baguhang young stars ngayon ay lumalabas sa mga sexy pictorials ng men's magazines. Dapat ba nilang gawin ito para sumikat?”. Sa ibaba nun may isang comment, galing sa isang nagngangalang “Veronica”:

Kung wala kang talent, magpa-sexy ka. Kung me talent ka, hindi mo na kailangang maghubad pa lang magkaroon ng fans. Physical aspects fades[sic]. Talent lasts.

Natuwa naman ako. Kasi naisip ko, ano nga ba yung mga talent ni Barbie? Pwera sa magpa-cute, magdamit na pang-model, ano pa ba? Hindi naman yata talent ang pagiging maganda. In short, walang talent si Barbie. Totoo rin kaya yun para sa mga ate namin na nagdesisyon na magpalitrato ng hubad para sa mga magasin para sumikat (Exception nga pala si Yasmien, ayaw nyang mag-pose for men’s ogle catalogs…)? Tingin ba nila matatawag nang talent ang pagpapa-sexy at ang pag-uudyok sa mga lalaki na magpantasya o magkasala dahil sa mga curves at bulges ng kanilang katawan, ayon kay Rica Peralejo (na ironically, isang sexy star din dati)?

Viva Hot Babes. Sexbomb. Katrina Halili. Iwa Moto. Yasmien Kurdi? I refuse to believe na ang mga Pilipinang ito ay walang talent kaya sila nagpapakita ng kalamnan. Bakit, marunong naman kumanta at sumayaw yang mga yan ah. Baka may mga hidden ingenuities pa, who knows.

But then, they dreamt and chose to be living Barbies - to be maliciously looked at by men, and yet to be looked up to by young and not-so-young women. And so the cycle goes on, but one of the aspects of a stereotyped Filipina will remain unchanged, if not worsen: the prostitute - ang babaeng pagpapalit ang lahat, pati ang dangal, upang mapabilis ang proseso ng paghahanap ng kabuluhan at saysay sa buhay… as if may sense yun.

Syemay. Ang incoherent yata nung mga pinagsususulat ko. Gisado na naman ako kay Ma’am. Sheesh. (“,)

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem PanPil 17 skit schematics

balangkas ng skit sa panpil17: ideal shampoo commercial

mga tauhan: narrator, prinsesa, bruha na witch, 3 prinsipe, 2 fairies, fairy godmother, ideal prince
storyline: rapunzel?

-narrator: intro
-sa isang pagkalayo-layong kaharian, may isang prinsesa na ubod ng ganda
-mayroon ring isang bruhang salamangkera na ubod ng pangit at sobrang gulo ng buhok
-nainggit ang witch sa magandang buhok ng prinsesa, sinumpa ang prinsesa na makukulong sa mataas na tower ang prinsesa hanggang sa may isang lalaki na magsasabing maganda ang buhok nya
-pinapangit nya ang buhok ni prinsesa at kinulong sa tower
-iiyak si prinsesa
-dadating si prinsipe1 at susubukang i-rescue si prinsesa by climbing the tower using the prinsesa’s hair as rope
-malalaglag ang dandruff ni prinsesa at dahil doon ay mapupuing si prinsipe1
-aalis si prinsipe1, iiyak ulit si prinsesa
-darating si fairy1, tatanggalin ang dandruff ni prinsesa thru magic
-darating si prinsipe2 at susubukang i-rescue si prinsesa by climbing the tower using the prinsesa’s hair as rope
-mapuputol ang hair ni prinsesa, malalaglag si prinsipe2
-iiyak ulit si prinsesa at darating si fairy2
-aayusin ni fairy2 ang breakable hair ni prinsesa thru magic
-darating si prinsipe3, at susubukang i-rescue si prinsesa by climbing the tower using the prinsesa’s hair as rope
-masusugatan ang kamay ni prinsipe3 dahil sa roughness ng hair ni prinsesa, at malalaglag siya
-iiyak ulit si prinsesa, darating si fairy godmother at ipapaliwanag na walang magagawa ang magic sa paglutas ng kanyang problema
-bibigay ni fairy godmother ang ideal shampoo
-darating si ideal prince, mabibighani sa ideal hair ni prinsesa
-guguho ang tower at makakawala sa curse si prinsesa
-maiinlove si prinsipe kay prinsesa
-ipagmamalaki ni prinsesa ang miracles ng pagkakaron ng ideal hair

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem SocSci1 group task research

Research Methods in Social Science

Ø a science is characterized by its systematic and empirical approach in answering questions, not by its topic of study
Ø a systematic and empirical approach requires from the scientist…
o …curiosity: making inquiries based on observations
o …skepticism: requiring sufficient evidence before accepting any claim
o …objectivity: ensuring the integrity, fairness, and accuracy of a study
o …critical thinking: thoroughly evaluating and testing generally accepted conventions or facts
Ø it employs the scientific method, which basically tests and/or challenges theories by formulating hypotheses
o conceptualization of a problem: (gives an operational definition which presents how the study should be conducted)
o collection of research information or data (ex. psychology uses random and representative sampling in a population for relevant results)
o analysis of data (i.e. statistical analysis)
o drawing conclusions based from the analyzed data
Ø by using a scientific approach, social scientists try to minimize any personal, gender and racial biases, and keep themselves aware of any ethical complications

Ø types of research:
o descriptive (reliance on observation and recording of events, i.e. case studies, surveys and interviews)
§ ex. (psychology) standardized tests, IQ tests [What is your IQ?]
o correlational (description of the strength of relationship between two or more events or characteristics)
§ ex. (psychology) What is the relationship between male effeminacy and their socio-economic status?
o experimental (regulated procedure wherein certain factors are manipulated or controlled, depending on the topic of interest)
§ ex. (psychology) James Pennebaker’s study on the effect of writing about one’s emotions to their physical health

Source:

Santrock, J. W. (2005). Psychology 7 (pp. 40-67). New York: McGraw-Hill.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English 10 concept annotated bibliography

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148

English 10 MHW

Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Concept Paper [Annotated Bibliography]

Annotated List of Works Cited

Beder, Sharon. “Sphere of Objectivity.” The Media. 17 Jan. 2007 <http://homepage.mac.com/herinst/envcrisis/media/objectivity/sphere.html>.

Beder presents an in-depth analysis of what the limits of objectivity are, that objectivity should only be applied “to a recognized sphere of controversy”; that is, balance is not needed if not two sides are considered. He pointed out that “journalists are free to write what they like if they produce well written stories… if what they write fits the ideology of those above them in the hierarchy.” Furthermore, he also noted that generally, the media thinks of the “status quo” as the norm, and that adhering to it is part of being objective.
This is one of the primary sources of the paper; the definition of objectivity and the paper’s scope and limitations revolve around the main points of Beder’s article.

“How to Detect Bias in News Media.” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. 2000. FAIR. 17 Jan. 2007 <http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=121>.

This article published by the United States’ media watchdog, FAIR, discusses in short detail how the media’s audience could evaluate and challenge the fairness and accuracy of news media institutions, knowing that the media has “tremendous power in setting cultural guidelines and in shaping political discourse.” Specifically it points out how the media’s primary sources, race and gender diversity, stereotypes and assumptions tend to stain the truth values of the information presented for its consumers.
A chunk of the paper’s conclusions and recommendations come from FAIR’s analysis of media biases in general.

Kinsley, Michael. “Osama Done Told Me.” Slate Magazine. 8 Nov. 2001. 16 Jan. 2007 <http://www.slate.com/id/2058456>.

Michael Kinsley, a journalist, uses Osama bin Laden as one of the major causes of the decline of media objectivity in America. He noted that after the September 11 tragedy, American media strongly believed that the statement “it’s wrong to hijack a plane and crash it into the Pentagon is closer to being a fact than an opinion.” He also acknowledges that though the media has become “flagrantly pro-American” and has slanted to more liberal approaches, being American is not an excuse for being excessively biased; yet as a result of these past events, objectivity is not wanted from the press anymore.
This essay contributed greatly to the approach used in analyzing the paper’s main problem, aided with concrete examples provided by Kinsley.

Loren, Karl. “The True Purpose of Media in the Planet.” Online posting. 9 May 2003. Moral Group. 12 Jan. 2007 <http://www.moralgroup.com/moraldiscus/messages/42/44.html>.

Loren gives more of a critical view against the media and less of his topic’s title, which asks what the true “purpose” of the media is. His article presents the media as “the “harbingers of bad news” who in turn “creates chaos in many ways, chief of which is to create conflict where none had existed”. He strongly stressed that the media is a “tool in the hands of truly evil men who… tried to rule the world. The author backs up his opinion with statements of confession from “disgraced” journalists and newspapers.
Loren’s position represents a radical view of the media; yet his position only exaggerated the actual influence of the people who control the media.

Simmons, Shraga. “7 Principles of Media Objectivity.” Objectivity and the Media. Aish HaTorah. 16 Jan. 2007 <http://www.aish.com/Israel/articles/7_principles_of_media_objectivity.asp>.

Rabbi Simmons tackles some of the basic principles of media objectivity and how they are usually violated, citing various media interpretations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which, according to Simmons’ examples, tend to influence public opinion and invoke sympathy for the Palestinians because of many misleading or deliberate errors like “selective omission”, “distortion of facts” and disguising opinions as news.
The rabbi summed up the violations of the very values the media claim to adhere and follow, and seriously stressed that such errors must be corrected.

AY '06-'07 2nd Sem English 10 draft concept outline 1st revision

Juan Gabriel L. de Leon
2006-07148
English 10 MHW
Mrs. Anna F. Sanchez
Concept Paper [Outline Draft]

“The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth”: The Value of Objectivity in Modern Media

Thesis Statement: The media, which primarily serves as a tool for information dissemination, can only be as truthful and as objective as the people who gather and interpret the information it presents.

I. The media functions as a transmitter of information to any given audience, and can come in many forms.
A. Some are printed in books and journals.
B. Some are made available via news and broadcasts.
C. Some are delivered through electronic devices.
D. Some incorporate and integrate different many forms of processing information.
II. Today's media has become the leading shaper of public opinion and of culture.
A. The people behind the media are driven to earn large profits.
B. Liberal media personalities feel the need to air their personal opinions like in…
1. …Political positions.
2. …Religious preferences.
3. …Gender roles.
4. …Racial issues.
III. The media can never present the absolute truth and can never be truly objective.
A. Truth is relative.
1. As information is passed from one point to another, the interpretation of it varies.
2. Numerous innovations in technology have made information easier to access and to pass forward to others.
B. The media is a tool "made by humans for humans," and humans can never become fully objective.
IV. The media is not always correct; it is not infallible.
A. It can be fair and accurate, but only to a certain extent.
B. A study in search for what could be the most fair and accurate mode of information transfer should be conducted.