Organizational Behavior at My Company Essay

To understand how the concept of organizational behavior can be applied and described through the work environment of My Company, I will first explore a general definition of what Organizational Behavior is and then relate how the individual components apply. According to Stephen Robbins, author of our Organizational Behavior textbook, â€Å"Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness†(9). The first component of this definition is to see the impact that the individuals have, followed by the impact of the groups, and then finally the impact of the structure. I will expand on each of these areas and relate them to the current practices within My Company. It is probable that the single most prevalent aspect of organizational behavior through the eyes of an employee would be the impact that they personally have on the company. What this implies, is that when I try to describe the impact individuals have to the company, it will be solely from my perspective as a non-managerial employee. Had my perspective been from that of an employee in a management-level position, it would most likely differ. From the experiences that I have had in the two and a half years that I have worked at My Company, it seems to me that individuals are encouraged to take the initiative to make their work as productive as possible. I have been part of many changes that have been initiated by non-management level employees to try and streamline and improve efficiencies within the company. This has led me to believe that one of the ‘in-use’ espoused values is that of empowering all levels of employees with the ability to make changes that will directly affect their particular areas. When evaluating the group component and how that relates to the My Company environment, I am going to make the assumption that a group is the equivalent of a department. These departmental segregations help to increase internal accountability and define what each group will be responsible for. Each group has its own independent structure and operates a little differently depending on the style of the individual manager. Many of these groups (departments) can be broken down into subgroups to further delegate  components of work. The outcome is that within each department or group there is a hierarchy where you will find different forms of leadership. Some of these subgroup leaders lead by being experts in their fields rather than having a title of being a manager. Within my group there is a distinct leader that I work for. I have found that if I am struggling with a project or if I cannot define the scope of a job that I am working on often times I can rely on help from the leader of my group to help achieve the desired results. If for some reason components (individuals) within my subgroup started to perform poorly, the outcome could have serious consequences to the productivity of our entire department. Conversely, if we were able to drastically improve performance metrics for our areas of responsibility, we would then be able to offset some work from other areas within the group. This interdependence of the subgroups has helped our group to have more control of the aspects that will impact how productively the company will continue to be going forward. Through the process of defining the groups within My Company, I have made reference to the internal group structure. Instead of rehashing this same information and tying it back to the structural component mentioned in the definition of organizational behavior, I am going to relate how my manager is able to structure her team to be as effective and productive as possible. Looking through the four essential management functions (Robbins 5) defined in our reading material, (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) I am able to see how my manager struggles to constantly apply these ideas in her day to day responsibilities. Our group organizes weekly meetings where we try to plan what tasks we would like to undertake in the near future. My manager is responsible for keeping these meetings in focus so that overall group objectives are met. Through controlling and delegating within these meetings, she has shown the ability to lead our group and utilize different strengths of individuals to maximize our effectiveness. Being able to take more of an observational role in this situation has helped me to understand the different idiosyncrasies that exist within our company and department. By identifying these ‘quirks’ I feel that I am able to better understand how many of the different internal components and people must work together in order to achieve desired results. This has helped me to recognize, at least  at the group level, how one can utilize many of the resources to maximize efficiencies within My Company. Works Cited Robbins, Stephen. Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Pearson, 2001.

M.L.K and Malcolm X Compare/Contrast

The two most influential civil rights activists in American history were Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. They supported equal rights for every race, but when comparing MLK’s â€Å"I Have a Dream’ and Malcolm X’s â€Å"The Ballot or the Bullet,† one sees the similarities in their rhetorical styles and differences in their tone and message. As seen in â€Å"I Have a Dream,† MLK has a more civilized and peaceful solution to the nation’s problems; whereas in X’s he has a will to do whatever it may take to solve the problems. Martin Luther King Jr. nd Malcolm X use the same rhetorical strategies to enhance their message in their speeches. One device or strategy is repetition. In King’s speech he repeated the phrase â€Å"I have a dream’ in order to emphasize to his audience the importance on their cause and to stimulate the people’s pride furthering civil rights. King wanted everyone to see America’s true potential and beauty and how America could be. Malcolm X also demonstrated the use of repetition when he repeats â€Å"I’m not here. † He illustrates to his audience that he is not there to talk about himself, but of the greater cause, in other words, the fight for civil rights. Though both may have used the same devices and advocated the same goal, both had opposite solutions to the nation’s problem. Another shared quality in their works is the use of antithesis. In Dr. King’s â€Å"I Have a Dream†, he states â€Å"Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. † He depicts that the nation should end all discrimination and come together as one and become a unit of one another harmonizing. X also had great use of this device to amplify compassion for his cause. An excellent example is the phrase and title, â€Å"The ballot or the bullet. † He like King wanted to end all the racial barriers that the nation had, but instead of encouraging the act of nonviolence he told the â€Å"negro† community that they either take â€Å"the ballot† signifying that they wouldn’t do anything or â€Å"the bullet† that symbolizes and provokes the need to take action into their own hands and fight. Both King and X used the same methods to captivate their audiences towards their view, though communicated different messages. King and X employed figurative language in their methods of persuading their audience. In King’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech he conveys the use of similes in the phrase, â€Å"We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,† in order to illustrate the need for justice until all are equal. He stresses the need of discrimination to end and for justice to let all nondiscriminatory in society. He used the negativity of injustice and turned it into a positive of justice being endless water that roars through a mighty stream that will forever be flowing. X also used similes to describe that all â€Å"negroes† are in the same boat and all will get the same treatment from the white man in the phrase, â€Å"†¦you’re going to catch hell just like I am. † He emphasizes that all â€Å"negroes† whether educated or illiterate or wealthy or poor will gain the same result of the hell that is being brought upon the by the same man who happens to be white. Both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X felt the lack of acceptance and the treachery being brought upon them by the white man in their use of similes. Although Martin Luther King and Malcolm X may have used the same rhetorical devices to persuade the same general audience, both broadcasted entirely different messages, with entirely different tones, on what should be done on their problems. King concentrated on a more pacifist approach in his speech with the use of such words as dream, happy, greatest, and freedom. His message was to thwart racism with as much nobility as possible, so that when viewed upon you’d be the light in the darkest of rooms. He wanted people to not give up on their dreams and not lose their self control of humanity even though they were trying to abolish such wrongdoing that was very inhumane. On the other hand, Malcolm X couldn’t have had a more contrasting message and tone in his â€Å"the Ballot or the Bullet† speech. He chose words like hell, suffered, degrading, treachery and false promises to instill the vengeance in the minds of his audience and for them to commend the will to fight for freedom. He wanted to create total chaos and outrage in the souls and mind of his listeners to ensure the quickest way possible for them to hear the core of his motives. He had no intentions in believing that racism would subside or that any of the white men would see the error in their ways and beg for their forgiveness and to live in complete harmony. He thought that the only way for the black community to really get what they deserve is to use the bullet and fight. King had a solution to end the nationwide problem with a more passive and civilized solution, the brought out the goodness in humanity because â€Å"an eye for an eye will make the world blind†; whereas X wanted the use of forces on the enemy no matter how much damaged caused in order for them to give equal rights to all. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X definitely had the same ambition to end segregation and discrimination, but the question as to whose message was more effective and which was a right way to address the cause is still questionable. King sought to spread pacifism and tolerance- the moral right that you should always live by; whereas Malcolm X sought the need of destructiveness in a highly troublesome situation. One must look at the outcome and the current civil rights situations to find an answer to that question to see that without both types of arguments there would be no balance. For every light there is a cast of shadows that follow it.

1. The colonization of the Americas (Read the whole question below) Essay

1. The colonization of the Americas (Read the whole question below) - Essay Example As other European countries realized these possibilities, they  too  went in search for  land  to explore and slaves to do their manual labor bringing about collisions between their cultures (Cobs and Blum, 2). These facts can be well established in the interpretation of the various exchanged items and practices and the various impacts that they had on the items and cultural practices of the different worlds. Though considered as a particularly significant aspect of the American history and culture, the American history itself such as the Columbian exchange began as a disaster. The  collision  and interaction among the new world and the old  world  have been towards the  outcome  for many years before  hand  of the Columbian exchange though along remarkably different  line  patterns from each other.  The West Africans, Indians, and Europeans, differed from each other not only in terms of  language  and physical looks, but also in terms of other social cultural standings such as the roles of women and men in the society, religious beliefs and  government  structures.  While some of the new arrivals in the others lands took this opportunity to observe,  explore  and  learn  others took this  opportunity  as  ground  to justify collisions, wars and savagery behaviors in line with  cultural  and developmental  discrimination  (Cobs and Blum, 2) Collisions during wars and invasions also in turn made cultural exchange able to occur during the earlier times.  Various wars and invasions of  various  com munities by the  different  world was a common issue during these times and such invasions brought the different  world’s  cultured  peoples into contact with each other’s worlds and cultures. The occurrence of wars and invasions was a common occurrence during these time periods and until the times that diplomatic relations  were obtained  between the two worlds. As a community was

Midnights Children of Colonial Empires Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Midnights Children of Colonial Empires - Essay Example The British had lost America in the Revolution and they clung to India with all .their might and cunning. Many of the men in power believed that imperialism was a natural part of human struggle for survival in which the fittest emerged rulers. In other words, they believed that the white Europeans, being endowed with' superior qualities' had all the right to rule others. The European powers had a sense of moral superiority as the Industrial Revolution had brought them previously unheard of prosperity. They also needed a market for the goods they produced. Prosperity had whetted their appetites and they had developed taste for exotic goods .There was a fierce competition between European nations to go ahead of others and conquer farther territories. The hunger for empire building was such that many times they resorted to barbaric means .King Leopold of Belgium unleashed a reign of terror in Congo which he deemed to be his private property. The people in charge, like the clerk Clive of the East India Company, amassed huge fortunes by exploiting the local population. The Europeans brought Christianity to the conquered lands, and tried to root out the old traditions. The British empire was the largest of the European empires, and 'the jewel in the crown' was India .In spite of the might of the greatest empire in history, India gained her independence in 1947, after almost two centuries of British rule, without the use of force or violence, but became the heir to the colonial legacy of division left by the British.. "Midnight's Children" is a seminal work by Salman Rushdie, written in the style of Indian oral story telling, which explores the experiences of various characters in colonial and post - colonial India .It is the story of Saleem Sinai who was born on the midnight of 14th August 1947 exactly at the time when India became independent. The story spans some three generations, beginning with Dr. Aadam Aziz who came to Agra from the Kashmir valley with his family. Of his three daughters , one marries Sinai and another , Zulfikar and emigrates to Pakistan. Beginning with the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre, the story goes on to the frenetic days before the Transfer of Power in India and the days that followed. In a style reminiscent of the Arabian Nights the book recounts the story of some of the children born on that fateful midnight. It touches upon the formation of Bangla Desh. The reader gets a glimmering of the legacy of colonialism. To continue in power, the colonial rulers used every means, even killing without provocation., as in the infamous Jallianwala Bag Massacre. . On the 13th April 1919, a British officer named General Dyer entered an enclosed compound in Amritsar where thousands of Indians had gathered for a peaceful protest against the British ,and opened fire on the unarmed men, killing and maiming hundreds of people. .Rushdie begins his book with this incident. "They have fire a total of one thousand six hundred and fifty rounds into the unarmed crowd. Of these , one thousand five hundred and sixteen have found their mark."(Rushdie 41) Rushdie describes the sound of the gunfire evocatively-"There is a noise like teeth chattering in winter". (Rushdie 41) After the massacre, there was approval for Dyer's action in the House of Lords. This incident rang the death knell for the empire

Week 5 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 5 - Research Paper Example From the output shown above, we can assess the categorical variables. This indicates that how many people gave each response. No mean or standard deviation requirement is appropriate as it does not make any sense for categorical variables, such as sex, marital status etc. From the table we can note that there are total of â€Å"537† with sub groups ranging from ‘0’ to ‘6’ along with frequency, percent, valid percent and cumulative percent. Frequency table for all other variables â€Å"number of persons living in this household, gender (male, female), helper (professional, service support, blue collar, unemployed/ Retired, student, DTS), marital status (Single, married, DTS), number of years in school(1-19yrs), ethnic(Asian, Mexican, Caucasian, black, Hispanic) and income(15000- 50,000 and above)† are similar to the categorical variable of children. The first table illustrates the gender with 325 female respondents and 212 male respondents. While the types of the problem experienced by the gender includes 229 respondents for goal disruptive, 209 relational break, 86 illnesses and 13 catastrophic. Second output elaborates that mean of the helper as dependent variable. The independent variable will be gender (male and female) and the problem experienced. The typical research question of interest is: do males and females differ significantly in experiencing problems, which problem is more among male or females? And is the influence of two variables idiosyncratic i.e gender has one effect in a particular problem, but a different effect in the different problem. There is no significant main effect for the problem as the M= - 0.2738 for Goal Disruptive , M= 0.1729 for relational break, M= 0.2742 for illness and M= 0.2672 for catastrophic. F= 12.187 and p=0.0000, a lot less than

Drugs in sport, I'm looking at the use of EPO in Essay

Drugs in sport, I'm looking at the use of EPO in - Essay Example The paper would also briefly show the picture of what this type of behavior could do in the long run for the sports world as well as on the actions of younger generations. Any state taking part in the Olympics would be familiar with this: ``The important thing in the games is not winning but taking part. the essential thing is not conquering, but fighting well, since this is the creed of the said event (Baron, 54). But could it still be reconciled with the reality of the modern sports world? Sports now after all is not just playing some game, one could discern that it is really more than that. Thats why sports get a separate section in every major daily newspaper, stadiums are filled along with arenas around the world regularly with fans rooting and screaming their lungs out for someone or some group, they receive massive funds from schools and they occupy hours of commercial TV and radio air time (Washigton, 188). This kind of situation leads to a reward system wherein incentives are given not to a job well done or a battle well fought but to winning. Athletes and their coaches know that. Largely, as it could be associated from the above described sp orts world, this is because winning today do not just give you a shining image (if only they could be satisfied with that), but in this time and age, it is absolutely associated with unbelievably huge amount of money. Winning open the doors for athletes as well as the coaches to multimillion dollar contracts, appearance fees, and various international endorsements and exposures. Something nobody except for a few rare souls, could reject. However, the issue is not even about the abnormal financial gains these performers could acquire when they succeed, but what this drive to excel lead them to do. A conspicuous issue that arises from such situation is the use of performance enhancers in

Project management case study e Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Project management case study e - Essay Example The ministry of health and family planning began pursuing a nation with a sustainable population since the year 1990. Implementation of many projects to achieve a reduce fertility rate were carried out, the activities include inauguration of family planning day, the distribution of contraceptives, and public health awareness. The project carried out in the most expected successful way turned ineffective for fifteen years. The reason behind the explanation included, facts that Malagasy women despised the use of family planning with only two percent using the service by 2005 and in Kenya in AIDS testing initiatives (Sylvester n.d). World Bank sponsored a program where the rapid results approach implementation required undertaking by Robinson implementation strategy. The implementation carried out to reduce rice shortage in the country; unfortunately, it spiked riots in the country. The project received less success, but after revision, through a consultation with the rapid result initi ative team the government reached n amicable solution. Lalao or Norolaolao Rakotondrafara known as the director of family planning in Madagascar. Rapid result mainly initiative used in the implementation of the objective, where the san of the project remained at 60-120 days. The projected required implementation in three phases ; phase one include the prelaunch of the project, while phase two consisted of the launching process, lastly, phase three composed of the implementation process. The ideas behind any phase designed to reduce the chances of barriers to optimal performance of the project (Nadim& Morgan, 2011). Pre-Launch, the creation of ownership and engagement According to the progress of the initiative, the citizens of Madagascar were unable to make progress but required assistance from an external source. The reason behind the explanation was that the citizens had a gap in knowledge and techniques as a whole. The people of Madagascar stubbornness to accept change and abilit ies derailed of rapid result initiative. The reason behind the explanation was that the donor provided an explanation where implementation was unachievable or complex. The plan of the implementation of such projects consisted complex processes that encompassed difficult procedures that lacked implementation. The reluctance of public workers to implement the project based on lack of additional pay. The problem of the project implementation received resistance from the managerial staff, as they required credit. The prelaunch of the project faced many controversies. Managerial staff led by Lalao, least believed in the implementation of rapid result initiative. The committee including the rapid initiative result coach and Lalao resulted in rapid result initiative implementation in Madagascar. The implementation received criticism from many, but the two worked for a mutual interactive position (Kleim & Ludin, 2012). Launch: team commitments The implementation of raid initiative approach in Madagascar received attacks from many believing that the objectives lacked sense. The launch of the initiative had two objectives where one required achievement in less than a hundred days. The government emphasis required the support of application of country knowledge and experience as well as identification of opportunities. The government f Madagascar preferred autonomy and

Risk Profiling Of Hazards Due To Operation of Autoplast Ltd Essay

Risk Profiling Of Hazards Due To Operation of Autoplast Ltd - Essay Example This paper illustrates that considering the present scenario of chemical leakage from the storage plant of AutoPlast Ltd. and contamination of water of River Cruze and subsequent outbreak of fire leading to the health problem of the surrounding housing estates, village and fish market, there is a dominant upheaval from the local community against the operation of AutoPlast Ltd. It is evident that there would be political intervention due to mismatch and fulfillment of interest of the political parties leading to several agitations and discussion between the management of AutoPlast Ltd. and the political entities. Political intervention would lead to the demand of hefty compensations for the health-affected people and any disagreement on mutual points would lead to unplanned expenditures of the company that is likely to affect the profit margin of AutoPlast Ltd. Although AutoPlast Ltd. is considered to be a major player in the local economy employing several local people surrounding t he river Cruze, the present scenario of fire outbreak due to the operations of the company leading to respiratory and health issues of local mass would generate a sense of disloyalty and hatred towards the brand of AutoPlast Ltd. and hence they would have a tendency to reject its products leading to the fall in production and price of AutoPlast Ltd. Thus, the economic risk of AutoPlast Ltd. in the present scenario needs to deal with in a strategic manner by the management of the company. Considering the present scenario of AutoPlast Ltd., the society has shown some tolerance to the company as it employs a majority of the workers in the local community. But considering the extent of damage in terms of life and death and the psychological impact on the society due to the presence of stimulants, the extent of risk that AutoPlast Ltd. is going to bear in terms of goodwill and subsequent volume and value of sales is considerable.

Disability Assignment Essay Example for Free

Disability Assignment Essay Ageism has been addressed and there have been many solutions made to help stop it. The ADA was established to stop the discrimination of the disabled, which many elderly people are. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was established to protect workers 40 years of age or older from being fired because of their age and replaced with younger workers who presumably would receive lower salaries. None of these have been a miracle, but they have slowed down the discrimination of the elderly. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Meachan v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory stating that employers under ADEA had to prove that laying off older workers wasn’t based on age but â€Å"some reasonable factor† (Schaefer, 2012). Is the number of aging population expected to rise in numbers or decrease? The number of the aging population is expected to rise in numbers. According to  The Demographics Of Aging  (2009), today, one out of every 9 Americans is old—another former youth turns 50 every 8 seconds. Those age 65 and older now exceed 35 million, a number poised to explode. The upcoming aging population will be different from those of past decades. They will live longer, maintain better  health  and have more active life styles than previous generations. With the increase in the elderly population comes the need for more Social Security, disability and medical care. This could affect the economy in a negative way. †¢ What types of legislation may or may not be affected by the aging population? I think Bills will be affected by the aging population because they will need to be enforced more. There are many Bills and laws that have been passed for the equal rights and fair treatment of the elderly. There are many private and public bills that I am sure will be enforced more with the increase in the elderly population. With the rise of the elderly, there will be a rise in voting also. More elderly people vote during an election year than any other age group. These are the only two ways that I can think of that would be affected by the ageing population. How does poverty affect the ageing population? Many elderly people live right at the poverty level because of all the expenses they have. Prescriptions, doctor’s appointments, housing, etc. are all expenses that elderly people have to pay for every month. Most elderly people have insuran ce, such as Medicare, but this doesn’t always pay for all the medical expenses they incur. Poverty can affect the ageing population in negative ways. They can become stressed that they might not be able to pay all their bills, which can lead to health issues. If Social Security benefits did not exist, an estimated 44%  of the elderly would be poor today, assuming no changes in behavior (Cawthorne,  2008). There are many in the ageing population who are still working today because they don’t have the means to retire. With the downfall of the economy, many have to come out of retirement and become employed again because their government benefits aren’t enough. Part III †¢ How have people with disabilities been treated in the past? The disabled population has been treated very unfairly in the past. They are discriminated against and are shown prejudice because of their state. Many were denied employment because of their disabilities and public venues didn’t have the proper means to accommodate a disabled person. Some disabled individuals were treated like they had a disease. They were given dirty looks or were stared at like they were a zoo animal. The disabled were left in institutions or homes to live out the rest of their lives because no one wanted to â€Å"deal† with them. They weren’t given the same treatment as the non-disabled. There were also cases of parents of a disabled child being told they were better off â€Å"putting them out of their misery† because there weren’t very many resources available. All of this treatment led to the passing of laws and the creation of many organizations to help the disabled receive fair treatment. †¢ How has the attitude toward people with disabilities changed over time? The attitude toward and treatment of people with disabilities has changed drastically over time. Since the introduction of the ADA, which is the Americans with Disabilities Act, the disabled have been receiving equal rights and have been able to fight against discrimination. Almost every public venue has the means to accommodate the disabled, such as a wheelchair ramp or automatic opening doors. There are events now made specifically for the disabled so they can still be a part of their community, like the Special Olympics and charity events. My nephew has Down Syndrome and they have a special baseball league every summer that he participates in called the â€Å"Miracle League†. People are embraced more for their disabilities instead of being shunned. There is much more technology available in order to keep the disabled active and social. Also, with the passing of the ADA, there are more disabled individuals gaining employment. Granted, the jobs they acquire aren’t top level executives, but they do provide them with a sense of security and pride. †¢ What are some unique circumstances or issues encountered by people with disabilities? There are quite a few unique circumstances or issues that I can think of encountered by people with disabilities. If the disabled individual is in a wheelchair, they have many obstacles they have to overcome. They are the first to board an airplane since they take the longest to get on the plane. When they go through metal detectors, they have to be wanded afterwards because they go off every time. Disabled individuals with any kind of physical disability have a harder time moving around places and enjoying the same recreational activities as a person without a physical disability. Individuals who are blind have braile on signs and also can’t enjoy the same activities that the seeing population can. Disabilities to me are a unique circumstance in itself that other individuals have to be kind and respectful about. †¢ What is being done to address those issues? The ADA has been passed which prevents the discrimination of the disabled. They cannot be discriminated in the workforce, restaurants, transportation, etc. There have been many disabled individuals who have fought with the basis of the ADA behind them. There are resources that can be used by the disabled in order to make their lives easier, such as wheelchair ramps. These things make the lives of the disabled much easier. There is also Social Security Disability available for those who cannot work and need the income to live. †¢ What types of legislation have been introduced to address issues faced by people with disabilities? There are many types of legislation that have been introduced to help the disabled. The ADA, which I have already discussed in previous answers, protects the disabled from prejudice and discrimination. The Developmental Disabilities Assistance Bill of Rights Act (DD Act) ensures that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have access to community-based services and supports to promote opportunities for independence, productivity and inclusion. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities. The Rehabilitation Act (Rehab Act) authorizes the formula grant programs of vocational rehabilitation, supported employment, independent living, and client assistance. It also authorizes a variety of training and service discretionary grants administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

The Art of Travel Rheotrical Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Art of Travel Rheotrical Analysis Essay To begin with , every day we are surrounded by art. It dates back to ancient times, when primitive men painted on the rocks and made an instrument of labor. Actually, the meaning of this word from the Greek which means skill, ability and crafts. Apart from this, Hegel identified five great arts: architecture, sculpture, painting, music and poetry. Furthermore, along with them in the modern world there are: the theater and circus, pantomime and dance, cinema and music. According to some sources, art performs a variety of functions, but the most important, tÐ ¾ mÃ'Æ' mind, is the artistic function, which is displayed in the sensuous life and influence on the spiritual world of the man. Ð ¢Ã ¾ mÃ'Æ' way of thinking, the art is a creative interpretation of the world by man. The art has a direct relationship to the creation, accumulation and transfer of cultural values from generation to generation. After all, we are constantly learning from art. It trains our ethics, affects our feelings, will and mind. Moreover, without art, in my opinion, person simply can not exist. It seems to mÐ µ that the Art is one of the human needs. Obviously, this beauty reveals to man the path to perfection and harmony. Immortal beautiful creations of ancient sculptors and architects: Raphael, Michelangelo, Dante, Pushkin and Tolstoy, Mozart, Bach and Tchaikovsky. It will be exciting when you try to cover all created intelligence geniuses, preservation and continuation of their descendants and followers. Of course, art plays an important role in the life of human society, it ennobles people, helps people to discover themselves, to realize their dreams and ideas that enrich human life, provides a spiritual gained experience and aesthetic values. Ð ll in Ð °ll, mastering the art works, the person learns his present and future. Rejection of artistic activity can return to the original state of man, can lead to a drop of morality. If people will not appreciate art, the world is doomed to fail. Therefore, mankind must not only preserve the art, but also restore the broken and create something new, because in the words of L. N. Tolstoy: Art is a means of connecting people.

Communal Riot In India Media Communications Essay

Communal Riot In India Media Communications Essay Communalism is a pervasive phenomenon in the public life of India and communal riots are the ugliest expression (Gopal Krishna, Communal Violence in India1985). Communal riots have become an integral part of communalism in India. An event can be classified as a communal riot on two grounds. Firstly, if there is violence. Secondly, if two or more communally identified groups confront each other or the members of the other group, at some point during the violence (Varshney, 2002). The reason behind such communal riots can be superficial and trivial; though deep within there are political reasons behind such events (Varshney, 2002). India is not new to communal riots; the first recorded riots were in the year 1714, 1715, 1716 and 1750 in Ahmedabad (Rajeshwari, 2004). Bipin Chandra in his book â€Å"Communalism in Modern India† writes that the maximum communal riots in India took place during 1923-26. Communal riots in India are not spontaneous and are rarely due to any religious animosity. They usually arise due to conflicting political interests, which are often linked to economic interests (Rajeshwari, 2004). During the 1960s till the late 1980s, the local political and economic factors played a significant role in instigating the riots in major parts of India (Engineer, 2002). However, since then the emergence of Hindtuva politics, it has been the major cause of communal riots (Engineer, 2002). The role of news media in reportage of communal riots in India is a major area of concern. Everything is reported in the media, so are communal riots. The role of the news media has grown in recent years, perhaps because of the centrality of the news media in communal violence and conflicts (Wolfsfeld, 2007). Even the most casual of observers wont deny the increasing significance of news media under such crisis situations. The influence of the news media in peace processes is more subtle, in part because what is not reported in the media is in some ways more important than what is reported. This paper would look at the way Indian media covered and reported the two most horrific incidents of communal violence in India the 1984 Sikh riots in New Delhi and the 2002 Gujarat (Godhra) riots. On both occasions the media drew criticisms. The paper would discuss if the media has been objective in covering both riots and also as to what should be medias role in coverage of such future communal riots in India, if any. 2.The Changing Face of News Media The global media sphere is changing with each passing second. New communications technologies such as camera enabled mobile phones and laptop computers are giving journalists an opportunity to gather and disseminate information with normal ease. This digitization of the news industry has led to compression of time and space and thus enabled us to see news and images of conflicts as and when they happen. The images broadcasted in our living rooms are not only informing the global audience of the horrific happenings but might also instigate further violence in an existing violent situation. As a result, the medias reporting of a conflict situation has become as central to the unfolding of the conflict itself. With the evolution in technology the tyranny of distance might have reduced but various hidden realities and factors still affect the reporting of conflicts. This is proved by a study done by Virgil Hawkings, who explains that the conflict in Africa which has been in the post-Cold war world responsible for nearly 90% of the worlds war deaths suffered a complete media blackout. Similarly, the coverage of the massive war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which resulted in over one million deaths in the year 2000, was almost insignificant (Hawkins, 2008). Since the media has a powerful ability to reach large number of people. It ignites the opinion building process and impacts the political decisions and audience reactions in the society. This eventually shapes the course of prevalent crises and conflicts (Ballantine, 2003). 3.The Media, Religion and Politics With the planes hitting the Twin Towers on 11 September, 2001 the relationship between media and religion changed forever. Karim (2003) suggested that religion would become an important topic for the media and the way media covers events would be influenced by the religious undertones. It is arguable if the world and its religions have changed or not, but the media coverage of the same surely has. Within India, religion has a large impact on the personal lives of millions of people. The country practices almost every other religion known to the world and this is one of the most important facets of the country, so is politics. The politicians play on the religious issues every now and then, and media is used as the platform. The politicians communicate with the common mass through the mass media. The way in which we know and find about our politicians is through the media. It is the media that serves as the main channel of communication between the politicians and the public. Religion is one of the subjects in India which the politicians intelligently use to their advantage. Academic literature has covered the representation of conflict in religion as well as media and religion but not much has been researched on media, religion and conflict situations in context with each other, especially within an environment like India. It would be difficult to understand the relationship between religion, its construction, presentation and conflict situations covered in the media, without some reference to the broader political context within which it takes place, because in a nation like India, religion is certainly driven by political motives. In order to understand the role media plays and should play during communal clashes in India, let us analyze the two worst communal riots India has ever seen the 1984 Sikh riots and the 2002 Gujarat riots. 4.The 1984 Sikh Riots in New Delhi 4.1 The Events On 31st of October 1984, the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. What followed was a complete mayhem and it led to a lethal anti-Sikh riots in India. Sikh homes were systematically singled out in the capital and brutally destroyed (Tatla, 2006). The Sikhs were hounded, tyres were put around their neck, and petrol doused on their faces and bodies set ablaze to brutal death (Mohanka, 2005). More than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in New Delhi itself. Two hundred Gurudwaras, the place where Sikhs worship, were burnt down and many Sikh owned shops were looted. 1 The situation worsened when the newly elected Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi was quoted, â€Å"When a big tree falls, the ground beneath is sure to rumble†. This gave a sense as if Rajiv Gandhi was giving a boost to the killers who were assassinating hundreds of Sikhs in the streets of New Delhi (Mohanka, 2005). Mrs. Gandhis assassinators were avenging Operation Bluestar. In the June of 1984, Mrs. Gandhi, wanted to flush out few terrorists, led by Jamail Singh Bhindranwale, who were hiding in the precincts of the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs in India. On the 3rd of June, 1984 a 36 hour curfew was imposed in the Sikh dominated state of Punjab. All methods of communication and travel were suspended. Electricity supplies were interrupted, a total black out was created and Punjab was cut off from India and rest of the world (Brar, 1992). On the night of 5th of June, the Indian Army under the command of Major Gen. Kuldeep Singh Brar stormed into the Golden Temple. By the morning of the 7th of June the Indian Army had full control of the temple. The militant leaders were killed in the two day battle but along with it a large number of pilgrims, civilians and children were also killed (Ahmed, 1996). The Sikh community were agitated. Their holiest shrine was turned into a bloody battlefield and innocent lives were lost. Saran Singh, a retired bureaucrat and a famous member of the Sikh community in India quotes â€Å"It was sacrilege to send troops inside, open fire and in the process kill innocent devotees gathered to observe the martyrdom (Mohanka, 2005). From June to September 1984 most members of the Sikh community nursed a festering wound only to blurt out in Indira Gandhis assassination. 4.2 The Indian Medias Coverage of Operation Bluestar and the Sikh Riots Media by its nature plays an extremely important role for any socio-political situation irrespective of the boundary it holds (Mohanka, 2005). The medias role in the riots of 1984 is an interesting case. Scholars believe that media can play a role in focussing on a cause much before it takes an ugly turn. In the case of Punjab in 1984, the local media was not supportive of the Sikh causes. Moreover, since of beginning of the problems in Punjab, the government had a strict control on the media and imposed a heavy censorship. Since independence until the invasion of cable television in India, the electronic media has served as the mouthpiece of the government (Das, 2009). Similar was the role of the electronic media in Punjab during the riots. The Government had such tight control over the media that the foreign correspondents trying to capture the horrific events were not even allowed in the local land. The Indian Government acted as a strict visible gatekeeper and made it impossible to approve journalist visas for foreign correspondents. The events of the 1984 riots thus suffered not only from biased media coverage but also selective coverage which projected one sided selected perspective (Das, 2009). The media blackout during the Operation Bluestar is a prime example of the same. The day before the actual invasion by the Indian Army, the Government ordered all press out of the state and restricted press coverage in Punjab. The press was allowed only a week later on special organised guided tours. The aftermath was later described by the press, as involving a small gang of criminals disliked by the majority of Sikhs and Indians. The press described the militants as petty political agitators, rather than leaders of a movement for a greater Punjab autonomy, as believed by a majority of Sikhs. Similarly, during the reportage of the 1984 riots there were discrepancy between the press release of data and images and the actual severity of the violent situation that prevailed in the streets of New Delhi (Das, 2009). This usage of selective information in the Indian media only contributed to the ambiguous image of Sikhs throughout the nation and failed to bring out their plight in the light. During the Sikh Movement the Government of India had passed the National Secu rity Act (1980), the Punjab Disturbed Areas Ordinance (1983), The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (1983) and the Terrorists Affected Areas (Special Courts Act of 1984). These acts provided the police and army with sweeping powers. They could charge and curtail to the right to life under specific situations. The approach of the media during the crisis had been partisan to take into account all types of multidimensional problem, historical, political, socio-economic and ideological. The media only focussed on special restricted information and ignored a careful examination of all the issues and processes that had led to the mayhem, the riots. During 1984, Indian leaders were free to make up non-existent stories and broadcast through Government controlled radio and television channels. Since there was a major restriction on the foreign press, all foreign news correspondents were left with no choice but to take the twister news of the local government controlled media. The United States of America, The House of Representatives had a view point on the same. It said: â€Å"As a result the outside world receives a biased one side view of what goes on in Punjab because the Indian Government has control over most of the domestic media. This contributes to the stereotype that all Sikhs are extremist radicals who are terrorising the predominantly Hindu nation and that is just not the fact. If the Indian Government has nothing to hide it should remove the news blackout and permit outsiders into Punjab. The free flow of information is essential to the prevention of rights and liberties in a democratic society and India claims to be the worlds largest democracy. So, they should act as the worlds largest democracy. This is the foundation for a democratic nation and is not too much to ask of India to respect the rights of all its people and not just the Hindu majority. It is not right for any government to deny 16 million of its own people the basic political and civil rights. India has a moral obligation to protect the Sikh community† The national newspapers reporting on the Sikhs made no distinction between a regional political party, a handful of militants, and the entire Sikh community. Even the senior editors and columnists of the national newspapers considered all Sikhs accountable for the assassination of Indira Gandhi and provided no sympathy to the community during the riots. Through the critical years of political crisis in Punjab before the horrific riots, the national dailies had not help resolve the issue. The Times of India, one of the leading national dailies and The Hindustan Times did more to incite hostility between Hindus and Sikhs than perhaps any other national English language newspaper (Das, 2009). The media was a part of the misinformation carried out in the public. The best example of the same would be when a national newspaper carried out an article reporting that huge quantities of heroin and drugs had been recovered within the Golden Temple complex and the same had been used by the militants to illegally fund their operations. Since, the foreign press was banned in Punjab; they picked up the story based on the 14th June Press Trust of India (PTI) news report from the government sources. This news was carried out in the major international newspapers. One week into the incident, the government retracted the official report on the grounds that the drugs had been recovered from the India-Pakistan border and not the Golden Temple complex. This retraction by the government was not picked up by most international news agencies and the damage done by the initial report falsely remained amongst the mass. 3 Many scholars believed that the Indian media forgot to prioritize issues and failed to act upon them. Senior Indian journalist, Manoj Mitta along with H. S. Phoolka in the book â€Å"When a Tree Shook Delhi† writes that the media focussed on the assassination of Indira Gandhi and did not care enough about the Sikh murders during the riots. Mitta says: â€Å"The media by and large went by the official line on the carnage. It focused on the happenings at Teen Murti Bhawan, where Indira Gandhis body lay in state and where from people around the world had come to pay respect. So photographers were flocking to that place and the killings that were simultaneously going on in the capital did not get recorded at all. Its bizarre but true.† Not all were pleased by the Indian medias coverage of the riots. 5.The 2002 Gujarat Riots 5.1The Events On the 27th of February 2002, the Ahmedabad bound Sabarmati Express train reached a small town in Gujarat named Godhra (Yeolekar, 2002). Instead of the usual stoppage for 5 minutes the train stopped for 25 minutes and then moved out of the platform. Before the train could run at its normal speed, the alarm chain was pulled to stop the train at Signal Falia, a Muslim inhabited locality. No one clearly knows what really happened but after few minutes the compartment S-6 was on flames. 58 passengers including 26 women and 12 children were burnt to death (Yeolekar, 2002). Among the passengers were the Kar Sevaks travelling from Ayodhya. There have been different theories believing that Muslims were behind this barbaric act. If this wasnt barbaric enough, what followed in the days to come shook the entire secular nation of India. During the next three days, from the 28th of February to 2nd of March, 2002 Muslims were butchered, massacred and burnt alive. Out of the 24 districts in Gujarat, 16 were entangled by organized mob attacks in which over 2,000 Muslims were killed, 200 mosques and religious and cultural monuments were sent to rumbles (Sawant et al, 2002). The Muslim community of Gujarat suffered an enormous economic blow with an overall loss of Rs 35 billion. 5.2 The Indian Medias Coverage of the Riots 5.2.1 The Television Coverage For the first time in the history of communal clashes in India, ‘violence was carried live on television (Ninan 2002) as the television cameras brought across the horrific images to viewers home in Gujarat and elsewhere. There was no live coverage of the attacks against the Sikhs back in 1984 or the Babri Masjid fiasco in 1992. Those were the era of print media and television was limited to Doordarshan, a state owned channel. It was only in 1996 when, Rupert Murdoch ventured into India with the STAR network and STAR News happened Indias first 24 hour news channel 4. This addition to the television spectrum of India added a new visual dimension to politics, violence and public sphere in India. In 2005, the television newscape had turned dense with a large number of players entering the market; several 24 hour news channels were launched. This led to intense competitive brand of journalism, which was evident during the Gujarat riots. There were a large consortium of journalists and television crews from various channels on the streets in Gujarat, each trying to outdo each other. When the Gujarat violence happened, the private television in India had been broadcasting for about 8 years and was easily accessible by 40 million amongst the 81.6 million Indians who owned television sets (5 notes). This option offered by the private television gave the Indian viewers unprecedented access to independent broadcasting. When the first pictures of Gujarat riots were telecast on Indian screens on 27 February, the three major news networks in India Star News, Aaj Tak and Zee News did not follow the guidelines formulated by the Press Council of India, a quasi-judicial watchdog organization (Mehta, 2006). The guidelines mentioned not to reveal the identity of victims or attackers in the news reports but all the news networks carried blaring headlines about the killing of the Kar Sevaks 6. The guidelines were against the mentioning of victims or attackers as Hindus or Muslims because they feared it could inflame passions and lead to revenge attacks. The television news networks with its striking visual images made this guideline redundant. While covering the riots in Gujarat, the television journalists openly identified the victims and the attackers. Varadarajan argues for the naming of communities. He states that not naming the communities increases a sense of suspicion and anxiety amongst the ordinary citizens not only in the riot affected area but throughout the nation. Then people tend to assume that the victims are their own while attackers are the other (Varadarajan, 1999). Famous Indian journalists, Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt of STAR News justified their stand of naming the communities. Barkha Dutt stated, â€Å"Naming the community under siege in Gujarat was moot of the story. In fact it was the story, revealing as it did a prejudice administrative and political system that was happy to just stand by and watch.†(Mehta, 2006). The bold and independent media coverage by the television media during the riots invited flak from the political actors in powers who were shown in bad light. Criticizing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and the Hindutva approach in the riots got STAR News and English newspapers like The Times of India and Indian Express bad press (Sonwalkar, 2006?). The BJPwas in power in the state of Gujarat and at the centre in New Delhi. After the initial violence, when the news coverage of the attacks against the Muslims in Gujarat started to reflect badly on the state and central government, the leaders came down heavily on the journalists and media personnel. The Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed the nation a day after the attacks, regretting the ‘disgraceful violence. He later on added that the news media were presenting an ‘exaggerated account of the situation in Gujarat (The Times of India 2002a check book). The BJP and the state government under Narendra Modi singled out STAR News and banned cable operators from showing the channel in the state. The viewers in Ahmedabad, one of the worst affected regions in the riots, were left with blank television screens, unaware from the reality happening on the streets (Mehta, 2006). Cable operators received calls from local officials in Ahmedabad and other cities to completely black out STAR News, Zee News, CNN and Aaj Tak (The Times of India 2002a). Dossiers and ‘hitlists on journalists were reportedly prepared while the channels which dared to reveal the truth and were critical of the Chief Minister and his plan of actions were not invited to the press conferences and hence were denied the basic right to information by the state itself (Sardesai 2004). The main complaint of the BJP and its allies were that the news media did not cover and criticize those who were responsible for the Godhra train tragedy in which 58 Kar Sevaks were victims. This however remains untrue as the every news channels and major newspaper had covered the Godhra train tragedy exclusively, but the follow ups did not remain as ‘the story of the day because the Union Budget followed on 28 February. The budget coverage was pushed aside when the mass killings and large scale retaliation against Muslims started in various parts of the state (Sonwalkar, 2006?). Another criticism was that, the national media ‘inflamed communal passions by providing graphic television coverage of the dreadful events. The journalists and the news professional came out against the criticism and said that the level of violence would have been much worse if only the news media brought out the real picture by the graphic images. The BJP and its allies also christened the media as ‘Marxist-Mullah combine and the ‘Secular Taliban for criticising the attacks against the Muslims. Members of the Editors Guild of India visited the affected regions in Gujarat and were told by a group of Hindutva supporters that the Hindu community has been defamed with the coverage only being from the Muslim perspective: ‘They only listen to Muslims and ignore the Hindus (Patel et al, 2002). Sardesai explains the predicament faced by journalists in covering the riots: â€Å"(If ) any reporter, whether print of television, sees large-scale violence being committed, is the journalist to ignore the hard reality and merely present the facts as seen through the government binoculars? If the Chief Minister says that the situation is returning to normal even while reports are streaming in of continuing violence in several parts of the state, are not the lies to be exposed? And if the government insists that the army is out on the street when the fact is that the army has been kept on stand-by and is waiting for transport trucks, whose version is to be broadcast?† (Sardesai, 2002a) 5.2.21 The National Press Coverage If the graphic coverage by the television channels hit the headlines and created criticisms, the nature of the press coverage also came under the hammer. The coverage by the print media makes an interesting study. There were two different approaches followed by the local and the national media. The local section of the press, including the Gujarati dailies Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar, covered the events from a pro-Hindutva stand and justified the killings of hundreds of Muslims. While the national media, including The Times of India and the Indian Express, were overtly critical of the channelized attacks against the Muslims (Sonwalkar, 2006?). The team of Editors Guild of India met several journalists, correspondents, editors, Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others to conclude that the English-language national press played an exemplary role in coverage of the riots. BJPs allegations of media playing an aggravating role in coverage of the riots have been dismissed by many scholars. Patel argues that the allegation was ‘specious, self-serving and must be dismissed† (Patel et al. 2002). The Editors Guild of Indias team observed that: â€Å"Our finding is that the prompt and extensive portrayal by the national media of the untold horrors visited on innocent people in the wake of the Godhra carnage was a saving grace. The exposure of the supine is not complicit attitude of the State and manifest outpourings of communal hatred, stirred the conscience of the nation, compelled remedial action, howsoever defensively and belatedlyHowever, the role of the sections of the Gujarat media, specially the Gujarat Samachar and more notably Sandesh, was provocative, irresponsible and blatantly violative of all accepted norms of media ethics. This cannot be lightly passed over.† (Patel et al, 2002) 5.2.1 The Regional Press Coverage Gujarat Samachar is the largest selling daily in Gujarat with a circulation of nearly 810,000 followed by Sandesh with 705,000 (Sonwalkar, 2006?). These two newspapers have a large readership and dominate the print market in Gujarat. A study by PUCL in 2002 found that there were several instances of distorted and false reporting in these two newspapers and also the circulation of Sandesh rose by 150,000 due to its pro-Hindutva stand. The coverage analysis found that when Muslims were at fault, their names were clearly mentioned and the perpetrators identified. However, when the Muslims were the victims of murders, loots, arsons, and other heinous crimes the attackers were unnamed. The study concluded: â€Å"No sources were quoted for headlines, even when they were simply lifted from speeches by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (one of the Hindutva polical parties in the state). Headlines were also misleading, and often followed up by reports that did not substantiate, and even negated the headlines completelyThe anti-minority stand was obvious in the slant in news reporting.† (PUCL, 2002). Sandesh was extremely provocative in its reporting. PUCL states Sandeshs usage of headlines was to ‘provoke, communalize and terrorise people (PUCL 2002). On the 28th of Februrary, Sandesh carried a headline saying, â€Å"70 Hindus Burnt Alive in Godhra†. Another report on the front page read, â€Å"Avenge Blood with Blood†, which was a quote from a statement made by one of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders, but the newspaper used the words as a headline without mentioning the leader (Sonwalkar, 2006?). On the 6th of March, the headline read, â€Å"Hindus Beware: Haj Pilgrims return with a Deadly Conspiracy†, when the fact remains that hundreds of Haj pilgrims were terrified by the happenings in the state and had retuned under police protection. PUCL emphasized in its study that most news in Sandesh post-Godhra violence began with the sentence, â€Å"In continuing spiral of communal rioting that broke out as a reaction to the ‘demonic/barbaric, etc Godhra incident.† The comminatory adjectives used in describing the Godhra incident were strikingly absent when covering the post Godhra Muslim annihilation (PUCL 2002). One of the reports mentioned that the breasts of two Hindu women had been chopped off by Muslim mobs during the crisis. This report turned out be false and the editor countered by saying that the information had been provided by the police. The papers editor told that it was against the policy of the newspaper to carry out corrections and clarifications for previously published articles (Patel et al, 2002). The Press Council of India later censured the newspaper for the fault (Prerna 2003). Gujarat Samachar also heightened the tension through its pro-Hindutva stand in coverage of the events. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi openly praised Sandesh for its work, which was publishing false and rumoured reports with a pronounced pro-Hindutva and an anti-Muslim stance. In a letter to the newspapers editor, Modi writes: â€Å"The newspapers of the state played a decisive role as a link between the people and the government. You have served humanity in a big way. It is the state governments primary duty to restore peace and security.It is noteworthy that the newspapers of Gujarat gave their full support to the state government in undertaking this difficult task.I am grateful to you.† (Varadarajan, 2002: 286) The one regional newspaper that stood out amidst the Hindutva ideology was the Gujarat Today, notably started by few liberal Muslims in the state. The report suggested Gujarat Today regularly carried out positive news items highlighting interdependence of the communities involved (PUCL 2002). The two English-language national newspapers in India, The Times of India and the Indian Express were critical of the state government in their articles. However, these two newspapers also publish editions from Gujarat and a clear divide was evident between the two English-language dailies and the two regional editions (Sonwalkar, 2006?). While the English-language version was sharp in its criticisms of Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his policies, the two Gujarati dailies propagated the need of Hindutva. Desai, an Ahmedabad-based correspondent of the Indian Express writes: â€Å"Today, all the people who once used to look at me with respect question me and abuse me. They do this because I represented a publication whose medium is English and because I reported human misery in its right perspective.A friend said: ‘All of you from the English language media have tarnished the image of Gujarat. Today, the ‘common man in Gujarat hates the English language media. Even a section of the English language media hates the English language media.† (Desai 2004: 228) (Need to conclude) 6.The Role of the Media During Communal Riots: An Analysis The result of multiple and complex interests of regions, states and/or various types of groups within them leads to economic, social and political crisesconflicts. Such crises conflicts are difficult to handle and requires negotiations between the parties involved and in this amorphous age of media the governments are finding extremely difficult to handle such situations (Terzis, 2008?). Despite the increased importance of communication, very few governments can speak about successful communication during conflicts and crises because they fail to take into consideration the perception of the conflict or the crises in the minds of the common mass, the scientific analysis of the causable factors, the agendas of the parties involved and the changing nature of the conflict itself (Ballantine, 2003). The role of mass media in covering and resolving conflicts, especially those involving religious differences that leads to frequent communal riots in India, is extre

Anti-Depressants and Teen Suicide Essay -- Teenage Suicide Essays

Abstract Two percent of preteens and five percent of adolescents suffer from depression (www.about-teen-depression.com 2014). There are specific signs and symptoms associated with depression, which are helpful in detection of the illness. There are various ways to treat depression, such as medication, group therapy, and/or herbal supplements. There are pros and cons with each treatment, but the worst coincides with the medication –suicide. Much research has been conducted, which will be discussed in the paper that has shown a link to antidepressants and suicide. However, there is also evidence that the suicide rate could be decreased with proper diagnosis and early, supervised treatment for depression, especially when dealing with children and adolescents. Introduction Depression is the newest epidemic sweeping across the world, affecting adults, teenagers, and even children. In fact, surveys have indicated that one in every five teenagers suffer from clinical depression (NMHA 2004). The illness can be found anywhere and appears to make the news each and every day. Depression is a condition that has no preference in its victims, meaning that it will strike people of all ages, races, and backgrounds. However, research has indicated that the onset of depression is now occurring earlier in life compared to past decades (Klerman and Weissman 1989). Knowing this, depression is a condition that needs to be cured immediately. There are many signs and symptoms commonly associated with depression, although most do vary with each individual. Most symptoms include frequent sadness, feelings of hopelessness, decreased activity, persistent boredom and low energy, social isolation, low self esteem, extreme sensitivity, frequents complaints of illness, poor concentration, and thoughts or expression of suicide (www.focusas.com). In order to be diagnosed as suffering from depression, patients must have 2 or more of the above symptoms for at least two weeks that cause severe distress or interfere with daily life (Zoloft 2001). The specific causes of depression are not known. It is suggested that depression is actually a result of a combination of certain factors, such as biological and psychosocial factors (Kendler 1995, www.surgeongeneral.gov 2004). Most likely, depression is the result of a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain (NYU 2004). Thes... ...ent of pharmacotherapies for clinical depression in children and adolescents. Drug Safety. Jan; 20 (1):59-75. Shaffer D, Craft L. 1999. Methods of Adolescent Suicide Prevention. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 60: 70-74. Simon H and Stern T. 2003 – Review. Harvard Medical School. Strober M, Schmidt-Lackner S, Freeman R et al. 1995. Recovery and relapse in adolescents with bipolar affective illness: a five-year naturalistic, prospective follow-up. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34(6):724-731. Sullivan, P., Neale, M. C. & Kendler, K. S. 2000. Genetic epidemiology of major depression: review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Psychiatry. 157: 1552-1562. Vanderkooy JD, Kennedy SH, Bagby RM. 2002. Antidepressant side effects in depression patients treated in a naturalistic setting. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. 47: 174-180. Wagner KD, Ambrosini P, Rynn M, et al. 2003. Efficacy of sertraline in the treatment of children and adolescents with major depressive disorder. JAMA. 290: 1033-1041. Whittington CJ et al. 2004. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in childhood depression. Lancel. 363: 1341-1345. Zoloft. 2004. . [accessed 21 September 2004].

Critical Analysis of Poes The Tell Tale Heart Essay -- Poe Tell Tale

Critical Analysis of Poe's The Tell Tale Heart The Tell Tale Heart is a story, on the most basic level, of conflict. There is a mental conflict within the narrator himself (assuming the narrator is male). Through obvious clues and statements, Poe alerts the reader to the mental state of the narrator, which is insanity. The insanity is described as an obsession (with the old man's eye), which in turn leads to loss of control and eventually results in violence. Ultimately, the narrator tells his story of killing his housemate. Although the narrator seems to be blatantly insane, and thinks he has freedom from guilt, the feeling of guilt over the murder is too overwhelming to bear. The narrator cannot tolerate it and eventually confesses his supposed 'perfect'; crime. People tend to think that insane persons are beyond the normal realm of reason shared by those who are in their right mind. This is not so; guilt is an emotion shared by all humans. The most demented individuals are not above the feeling of guilt and the havoc it causes to the psyche. Poe's use of setting, character, and language reveal that even an insane person feels guilt. Therein lies the theme to The Tell Tale Heart: The emotion of guilt easily, if not eventually, crashes through the seemingly unbreakable walls of insanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the surface, the physical setting of The Tell Tale Heart is typical of the period and exceedingly typical of Poe. The narrator and the old man live in an old, dark house: '(for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers)'; (Poe 778). Most of the story takes place at night: 'And this I did for seven long nights-every night just at midnight?'; (778). The physical aspect is not the most important component of setting for this analysis. More important are the mental and emotional settings. This clearly explains the personality of the narrator. One can assume the narrator is insane. He freely admits to his listener that he is '?-nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous?'; (777). But he then asks, '?but why will you say that I am mad?'; (777). He also admits that, 'The disease had sharpened my senses?'; (777). If not insanity, what disease does he speak of? The reason for his actions was one of the old man's eyes: '?-a pale blue eye, with a film over it'; (777). This is easily recognizable to the reader as an eye with cataract on it. This is nothin... ...ust scream or die! -and now-again! -hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!-? 'Villains!' I shrieked, 'dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - tear up the planks! -here, here!- it is the beating of his hideous heart!';(780). These final two lines in the story beautifully demonstrate how language was used to show insanity being overturned by guilt.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Three elements of literary work that truly sum up the theme of The Tell Tale Heart are setting, character, and language. Through these elements we can easily see how guilt, an emotion, can be more powerful than insanity. Even the most demented criminal has feelings of guilt, if not remorse, for what he has done. This is shown exquisitely in Poe's writing. All three elements were used to their extreme to convey the theme. The balance of the elements is such that some flow into others. It is sometimes hard to distinguish one from another. Poe's usage of these elements shows his mastery not only over the pen, but over the mind as well. Works Cited: Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York: Longman, 1999. 33-37.

Out of School Youth Essay

ASEM Trust Fund for the Asian Financial Crisis Implementation Completion Memorandum Philippine Out-of-School Children and Youth Development (POSCYD) Project ASEM Trust Fund No. 023514 Background and Objectives: In the Philippines, the trend for the past ten years show that for every 10 pupils who enroll in grade school, only 7 graduate. The same ratio is experienced among the high school students. Main reasons cited for dropping-out are mostly poverty related. While basic education is free, many poor families are unable to finance the ancillary school needs of their children. Deprived of completing high school education, the out-of-school youth are further marginalized from acquiring technical skills. As mandated by the law, technical education in the Philippines is a post secondary course. The continuing inability of many poor young people to complete basic education and/or undertake technical education, consign them to the vicious cycle of poverty. Their lack of education constrains their access to better-paying jobs or ability to succeed in entrepreneurial pursuits, all of which require higher degree of literacy. Workers with solid foundation in technical education, have better chances of landing jobs. Amidst increasing incidence of out of school youth exacerbated by political and economic crises, the project seeks to: 1. develop and test mechanisms that will enable children in the age group 7 to 14 to be schooled or remain in school; and 2. pilot the implementation of an employment and entrepreneurship program for youth in the 15 to 24 year age group, integrating technical skills development with life skills development. TF no. 023514 was implemented in conjunction with TF no. 023513, which is bank managed. Achievement of Trust Fund Objectives1 Under TF no. 023514, a total of 16 sub-projects were funded from ASEM World Bank grant to the POSCYD Project. Of the 16, two (2) sub-projects focused on bringing back out-of-school children and youth back to formal in-school and another two (2) through alternative learning system for their basic education. Eleven (11) sub-projects provided integrated technical education and one (1) provided formal in-school basic education and integrated technical education to different sets of beneficiaries. In addition to the 16, a youth summit held in the 16 regions in the country led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development was also funded. Please see attachment for list and briefs of the 16 sub-projects funded under TF023514 1 A total of 566 poor out-of-school children and youth went back to formal primary or secondary school through three (3) sub-projects. They were provided with ancillary school needs such as uniforms, shoes, bags, notebooks and subsidy for school fees, transportation expenses, school projects and field trips. For those who have no access or cannot attend regular classes, alternative learning systems in basic education were provided. The Accreditation and Equivalency (A & E) Program of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education, Department of Education (DepEd), was offered to a total of 753 out-of-school youth who wanted to achieve an equivalency of high school education and another 300 participated in the Angelicum College Home Study Program, a private initiative. A total of 1,290 high school dropouts were enrolled in integrated technical education . All of the technical education courses undertaken by the target beneficiaries are tied up with skills that are in demand by different industries and provide for on-the-job training and employment assistance. Alternative learning system, to resolve deficiencies in basic education and life skills training, to enable the youth to cope with personal and interpersonal conflicts are incorporated in these courses. A â€Å"Skills for Life† Program, specially designed for the Filipino Youth, was developed with assistance from the International Youth Foundation (IYF). Except for one (1), all sub-project proponents sent participants to the teacher’s training course conducted in May and November/December 2001 by a consultant of IYF. In cooperation with the DepEd, training for Non-formal Education A & E Program instructional managers was provided to teachers from 11 integrated technical education sub-project proponents. The Youth Labor Demand Study was completed and now serves as reference material for the POSCYD Project Team and is made available to other interested parties. The 16 sub-projects funded were implemented with counterpart resources from government, business sector and civil society organizations. Concerted resource generation and complementation has, however, not been achieved at the national level and to a limited extent at the local level. The POSCYD Project has an Oversight Board that provides direction and general policies and does the final review of sub-project proposals for funding through its Executive Committee. There is also a Technical Working Committee that recommends to the Oversight Board general directions to take and sub-project proposals for approval. Together with direct beneficiaries of the TF # 23513, the POSCYD Project exceeded its target of 3,000 by 1,872 for a total of 4, 872. With the average trend of about 15% dropout rate, the resulting net direct beneficiaries is 4,119, exceeding the 3,000 target by about 37%. It must be noted, however, that one integrated technical education proponent, the Laguna State Polytechnic College, a government school (funded under TF #23513), offered the curriculum it developed under its POSCYD Project funded subproject, as a subject to high school graduates taking information/communication technology courses. The said sub-project has total of 553 students who finished or are still undertaking the subject. Execution Experience and Results The formal start of the Project was delayed by about eight (8) months due to the need to design a working arrangement, as articulated in the memorandum of agreement, acceptable to both the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Children and Youth Foundation of the Philippines (CYFP). Both institutions, DSWD (representing government) and CYFP (representing civil society) were new to the working and funding arrangements that involved financial and technical support from a multilateral organization like World Bank. Furthermore, there were no precedents to use as references. 2 Most competency building programs in the country for the out-of-school children and youth are addressed to those in especially difficult circumstances or are of above average intelligence and diligence. Furthermore, technical education is a post secondary course in the Philippines. Except for one, it was the first time for all the sub-project proponents in integrated technical education to accept substantial numbers of high school dropouts as trainees. Given the opportunity, most poor out-of-school children and youth, are interested to undertake basic and/or technical education. Among those who took advantage of the initiatives of the POSCYD Project, however, many were forced to dropout again. They are usually the ones who have to help augment family income, regularly perform household chores and/or take care of their younger siblings. Others could simply not afford out-of-pocket expenses such as transportation expenses despite the subsidy that some of the sub-project proponents provided. Among the estimated 15% of the out-of-school children and youth who were assisted to enroll in formal/non-formal basic education and integrated technical education that once more discontinued their studies, poverty is still the most prevalent reason. They are said to come from the poorest of the poor who sometimes go to school without breakfast, would eat candies for lunch and hardly have any transportation money. Money they spend is usually money that is taken away from the daily food needs of their families, thus they opt to work if jobs are available. Among the out-of-school children and youth who were brought back to formal school for their basic education, the dropout rate is 13%. If compared to the estimated national average dropout rate in school year 1997-98 of 7. 42% for grade school and 10. 76% in high school, the experience of the POSCYD Project would seem high. It must, however, be noted that the base used in the computation that resulted to 7% national drop out rate included all students, not just the poor ones. Without the initiative of the POSCYD Project, its total of 870 beneficiaries (TF 23513 & TF 23514) in formal in-school basic education would have remained out-of-school. Home based alternative learning system is an answer to the basic education needs of those not willing or could not go back to formal school for different reasons. About 12% of those who enrolled in the A & E program of Department of Education implemented by a proponent, discontinued their studies. Finishers of this system who pass the Department Education testing can work with the government and/or enroll in specific universities for their college education. Demand for this type of basic education is relatively high in places like Maguindanao and Cotabato City where there is serious peace and order problem and suffering from lack of secondary high schools. The A & E sub-project based in these areas and funded under TF no. 023513, requested to increase their target beneficiaries from 300 to 400. The proponent eventually had a total of 433 A & E enrollees. It is noteworthy to mention that among the 1,156 who finished the A & E Program, 82, pursued higher A & E lessons, 111 attended vocational education, 124 enrolled back in formal school to finish basic education, 38 went on to college and 98 found employment/self-employment. Another alternative learning system in basic education is the Home Study Program of Angelicum College. It follows its regular curricula for elementary and high school, but specially designed for those who could not attend regular classes in a formal school due to poverty, distance from school, need to work or illness. Students study at their own paces and are assisted by any tutor who has had higher education. Some of its clients are young prisoners. Out of the total 300 enrollees from different areas, 19. 7% dropped out. Main reasons cited are inability of tutors to reach participants from far-flung areas, transfer of residences and lost of interest. Among the enrollees in integrated technical education, those prone to dropping out again are the ones in especially difficult circumstances and those undertaking courses with more than six (6) month time frames. If the beneficiaries of the Laguna State Polytechnic College (who catered to high school graduates and offered curricula developed as a subje ct in tertiary education) were to be deducted from the total 3 integrated technical education beneficiaries of the POSCYD Project, the dropout rate would increase from 15% to 17%. This is high compared to the national average, which is said to be below 10%. 2 Inspite of the attempt of several sub-project proponents to provide additional subsidy such as transportation money and meals, dropout rates continue to be high. Since they are considered of age (16 to 24 years old), often, there is pressure from their own selves and/or their parents to earn to help augment family income. Among the poor Filipino families, it is not unusual for the elder children to sacrifice opportunities for higher education to help send their siblings to school or provide for their basic needs. To minimize a repeat of their dropping out of school or alternative learning systems, sub-project proponents intensified their support services by the providing the beneficiaries with support activities such as tutoring/remedial classes, mentoring, counseling and student and parent participation. The sub-project proponents of the Project are all well experienced in the implementation of basic education and/or technical education programs. Most of them, as mentioned earlier in this report, had no previous program for the out-of-school youth or high school undergraduates. The sub-project proponents had to beef up and intensify certain support services which they normally do not offer to their target beneficiaries. It was further observed that many of them tend to lack skills in planning, monitoring and evaluation. Thus, they were provided with technical assistance and training in these functions of project management to improve the effectiveness of their education programs. To further improve their effectiveness, selected proponents were provided with training in the implementation of the NFE A & E Program of the DepEd, Skills for Life Program for Filipino Youth and the first phase of Building Local Tri-Sector Partnerships. To maximize the employment of graduates of technical education graduates, priority in the selection of sub-projects, was given to institutions with existing industry tie -ups or are willing to tie -up courses offered with industries. These tie -ups include not only providing opportunities for apprenticeship and employment of graduates, but in the revision of curricula to suit the specific labor needs of the industries that are in demand. The worsening economic situation is negatively affecting these industry tie -ups. Some companies that used to offer allowances to technical education students undergoing apprenticeship can no longer afford to do so. Many of those who considered employment of technical education graduates have served notice that they cannot absorb new workers. An assessment done by an outside agency showed that despite the bad economic situation in the country, the trend in employment/selfemployment rate of technical education beneficiaries of the POSCYD Project is 70%, compared to the national average of 44% In terms of partnerships, sub-project proponents were able to tap resources from more than 200 different institutions that belong to the government, civil society and/or business sector. Among the contributed resources are technical assistance, training, tools/equipment, materials, use of facilities, community participation and to a limited extent, allowances of students. Of the overall estimated value of counterpart resources infused into the POSCYD Project from the three (3) sectors, about 9% each came from government and business sector, 18% from civil society and 27% from the sub-project proponents. About 39% of the resources of the POSCYD Project came from the ASEM Fund financial grant. Based on this experience, it is obvious that there is a greater need to find more strategies on how to tap resources from government and business sector. The planned building of local tri-sector partnerships did not materialize as projected. The initial attempt to organize regional consortia was rejected by institutions from the three (3) sectors consulted in the five (5) target regions. They advised that with limited resources, the POSCYD Project must focus on 2 Estimated national dropout rate of less than 10% is based on experience of technical schools that offer courses to high school graduates and which do not necessarily focus on poor out-of-school youth. 4 localized tri-sector partnerships. Thus, the Project is now focusing on assisting proponents in the development of local tri-sector partnerships that will revolve around the out-of-school youth and the specific education services offered. Only two (2) of the five (5) planned local tri-sector partnerships were organized. The Philippine Peso steadily devaluated from P38 to P50 per US$1 resulting to shortfall in the usage of the US$780,000 ASEM Grant from World Bank. In Philippine Peso term, however, the Project was able to spend more than the original budget with concurrence from World Bank. Emerging Lessons The experience in the initial pilot phase of the POSCYD Project points to the following emerging lessons in building the competencies of the out-of-school children and youth: 1. Government, civil society and business organizations come from different cultures, but with patience and openness, these three (3) sectors can closely work together to maximize Project benefits. 2. The ordinary poor out-of-school children and youth who are basic education dropouts is a relatively neglected sub-sector. 3. Poor out-of-school children and youth have special learning needs brought about by their deficient cognitive experiences and lack of psycho-social skills that must be understood by all those who will be involved in their education. In addition to meeting their ancillary education expenses, they need to be provided with support services such as mentoring/tutoring, counseling and life skills training. 4. Youth and parent participation have also been determined as important factors in minimizing discontinuance in the education of former out-of-school children and youth. 5. The dropout rate becomes even higher for students in especially difficult circumstances such as extreme poverty, victims of abuse and those coming from dysfunctional families. These types of students would need a lot of financial and intensified support services for them to sustain their education. 6. There is a big demand for alternative learning systems in basic education, specially in areas where there is prevalence of abject poverty (slum areas), critical peace and order situation and/or lack of access to elementary and high schools. Government should encourage, cultivate and recognize the private sector’s initiative to develop innovative learning systems to meet varying demands of the youth. 7. Direct tie -ups with industries for curriculum development/revision, apprenticeship of students and employment of graduates are important to ensuring high employment rates of beneficiaries. 8. One-on-one partnerships with different organizations from government, civil soci ty and business e sector can be successful. However, partnership with government is affected by patronage politics and with business sector, by the economic situation in the country. 9. Building organized local tri-sector partnership can be realized, but difficult to start and even more difficult to maintain. There is a need to identify and work with â€Å"champions† from the target sectors and a point person within the organization who can devote time to crucial activities. 10. Institutions providing competency build ing opportunities to the youth can be good in implementation, but usually need strengthening in terms of project planning, monitoring and evaluation and adaptation of support mechanisms necessary for out-of-school children and youth beneficiaries. Activity Sustainability At the local level, sub-project proponents are being assisted in the building of tri-sector partnerships that will take the lead in generating and complementing resources for out-of-school children and youth concerns in general, and the education services offered to them in particular. It is envisioned that to large 5 extent, organized tri-sector partnerships shall enable the sub-project proponents to maximize generation of resources and not become entirely dependent on funding agencies. It is, however, a reality that generation of local resources can be limited, especially in small cities and towns and poorer provinces. Thus, sub-project proponents must be referred to other funding agencies At the national level, there is a need to promote actively out-of-school children and youth concerns and strategies that will enable them to go back to school or undertake technical education. In this way, more institutions from the different sectors of society will hopefully put more focus in allevia ting the situation. The large number of out-of –school children and youth underscores the need for government, civil society and business sector to jointly remedy the situation. Overall Assessment Over-all, we believe that the project was successful in meeting its objectives. The results show that it has exceeded its physical targets. Long-term benefits are expected to be felt by the recipients and important lessons have been generated which will assist the various stakeholders in designing future interventions for OSY. Data Sheet Trust Fund No: TF23514 Project ID No. : P065823 Project Title: PILOT PROJECT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUT OF SCHOOL YOUTH Recipient Country: Philippines Project Executed by: Recipient Sector: Education Task Team Leader: Teresa J. Ho Managing Unit: EASHD Grant Approval Date: Grant Amount: (in US$) Grant Agreement Date: Closing Date: April 29, 1999 US$780,000 June 7, 2000 October 31, 2001 FY Disbursements (actuals in US$) (as of reporting date) 2000 Amount US$ 78,000. 00 FY 2001 Amount US$ 521,285. 95 FY 2002 Amount US$ 26,665. 70 6 1. Lists of consultant contracts awarded: 1. 1 Erda Tech Foundation, Inc. 1. 2 Mary Help of Christians – 1st sub-project – 2nd sub-project 1. 3 Phil. NGO Council on Population Health & Welfare 1. 4 Angelicum College, Inc. 1. 5 Ayala Foundation, Inc. 1. 6 Pearl S. Buck International, Inc. 1. 7 Valenzuela City Gov’t. 1. 8 Paranaque Dev’t. Foundation, Inc. 1. 9 Center for Social Research-VISCA 1. 10 National Training School for Boys 1. 11 Salesian Society of St. John Bosco-Borongan 1. 12 Department of Social Welfare & Development (Youth Summit) 1. 13 Taguig Jewelry Producers, Inc 1. 14 Meralco Foundation, Inc. 1. 15 Holy Trinity College 1. 16 Don Bosco Technical Institute-Makati( 2nd subproject) 1. 17 Phil. Business for Social Progress-Evaluation of Sub-projects 1. 18 Center for Labor Education, Advocacy, and Research Development Foundation, Inc. 2. Visibility (mention of funding sources in Contracts, publications, seminars, etc. ) -Partners Orientation & Planning workshops -Accreditation & Equivalency -Building Local Tri-Sectoral Partnership -Sub-Project Assessment -Post Project Evaluation 3. Incremental Operating Costs-CYFP Amount: (in US$) 46,796. 91 25,833. 86 22,108. 50 35,484. 06 17,158. 54 42,094. 84 15,917. 21 6,994. 66 31,830. 23 17,313. 81 14,359. 84 16,686. 42 39,153. 70 20,277. 63 36,713. 63 27,462. 82 52,491. 02 16,634. 10 8,867. 61 19,913. 01 Nationality: Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino American Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino Filipino 111,963. 36 Filipino _________ TOTAL $ 626,055. 76 1. Compliance with visibility provision (as notified to you upon internal approval of the proposed grant) Proponents of sub-projects were oriented that funding for the POSCYD Project came from ASEM-World Bank. In documents that specify grants received, ASEM-World Bank is always acknowledged as the source of funding. In the POSCYD Project Orientation meetings held in the five (5) target regions and for different interest groups, ASEM was always mentioned as the source of the World Bank Grant for the Project. The same holds true for workshops conducted. In the mid-term Project assessment review attended by the President Gloria MacapagalArroyo and leaders from government, civil society and business sector, the affair was labeled as the POSCYD Project ASEM Grant Mid-Term Review. The ASEM Grant to the POSCYD Project is always acknowledged in all reports prepared. 7 BRIEF PROFILES OF ASSISTED PROJECTS under the ASEM $780,000. 00 GRANT Formal Basic Education Project Title and Brief Basic Education Project for Out of School Children and Youth or Children and Youth at Risk of Dropping Out of School (Subic, Zambales and San Jose del Monte Bulacan – Region 3) A replication of the on-going sponsorship project in Ormoc City, aimed at bringing back out-of-school children and youth to formal school in elementary and high school. The project shoulders the basic education of 300 OSCY and CYRDOS. Proponent’s Profile Pearl S. Buck International, Inc. Pearl S. Buck International was founded in 1968 by the late Nobel and Pulitzer-prize winning author Pearl S. Buck. It has set up various offices around the country including one in Ormoc City. Among PSBI’s educational activities include: early childhood care and development, enhancing families ability to manage and sustain their children’s education, school attendance support, and a study now pay later assistance to vocational and college students. It also offers livelihood skills training, micro-credit assistance and savings mobilization, and job placement services. Paranaque Development Foundation, Inc. Paranaque Development Foundation, Inc. (PDFI) was organized and registered in the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 28, 1968. The organization is focused on the organization of grassroots groups as well as the integration and synchronization of the various social service organizations. PDFI aims to mobilize the different sectors in creating a mutually loving, caring, and sharing community that will provide the poor the capabilities to be self-reliant. Inputs of Partners Rustan Corp. and Little Caesar’s Corp. have pledged sponsorship assistance for beneficiaries who intend to pursue vocational courses. These companies have also promised to provide financial support for the life skills training of the learners. Integrated Project for Marginalized OSCY (Paranaque City – NCR) A formal education project aimed at bringing back out-of-school children and youth to formal school in elementary and high school. The project sponsors the basic education of 300 Paranaque-based OSCY . Parent volunteers have committed to assist PDFI in recruiting beneficiaries, assessing project implementation, and monitoring of project accomplishments. Save the Children – US and Terre des Hommes have expressed willingness to fund the training on peer counseling and life skills, and family/community support respectively. The local barangay council has been tapped to provide assistance to the health seminars. The Japanese Embassy has committed to provide sewing machines and other equipment for the training of adult members of the trainees’ families. The Rotary Club of Paranaque shall be tapped to fund the training. Accreditation and Equivalency (A & E) – ALS Non-Formal Education – Accreditation and Equivalency for the Out of School Youth (Bacoor, Cavite – Region 4) A facilitation and conduct of the Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) Program of the Bureau of Non-Formal Education–Department of Education, Culture and Sports, aimed at preparing OSCY in Bacoor, Cavite in attaining equivalency for their educational level. The project facilitates the A&E education of 700 OSCY clients. Philippine NGO Council on Population, Health and Welfare, Inc. PNGOC is a registered private voluntary organization founded in 1987 by 17 national and local population NGOs. The organization was envisioned to create self-reliant and socially responsible Filipino families. PNGOC embraces five program thrusts namely: networking, advocacy, organizational development, human resource development, and provision of technical and financial assistance to small NGOs in the countryside. The DECS-BNFE provided the framework of the Non-Formal Education – Accreditation and Equivalency and facilitated the training of the PNGOC instructional managers (IMs). The local government of Bacoor, Cavite provided the learning centers being utilized by the learners as well as developed and disseminated the advocacy information on the project. 8 Home Study Program – ALS The Home Study Program (Palawan, Leyte and Occidental Mindoro) A formal alternative learning system that shall enable OSY to graduate from elementary and high school with an Angelicum Diploma without hav ing to attend school every day —they can attend to schoolwork within their homes. Selflearning modules based on a formal education curriculum are provided the learners. The project assists 300 OSCY in pursuing their basic education through formal ALS. Angelicum College Angelicum College was founded on July 5, 1972 as an alternative school that veers away from the traditional educational system. Through the efforts of Fr. Rogelio Alarcon, proponent of the Home Study Program, the school was able to solicit funding from former President Joseph Estrada’s Social Fund. Consequently, the school was able to offer the Program, for free, to out of school youth. From July to August 2000, the total OSY enrolled in the Program has reached about 2000 in 50 different areas throughout the country. Three partner implementors, Runggiyan Foundation (Leyte), Plan International (Mindoro), and Holy Trinity College (Palawan) are managing and coordinating the operations of the Home Study Program in their respective areas. With support from the LGUs, Sangguniang Kabataan, and community elders, the partner implementors identified, recruited, screened, and selected the OSY beneficiaries, and identified, recruited and deployed the volunteer coordinators and volunteer tutors. The LGUs pledged to assist the partner implementors follow up and monitor the Volunteers. Technical Education PALIHAN III: Technical and Vocational Skills Training for OSYs (Metro Manila, NCR) A technical skills training and placement for urban poor out-of-school youth in Metro Manila. â€Å"Palihan† means anvil or mould. Hence, it embodies the ideal of molding the OSY to become productive and responsible citizens. Technical courses offered include: Food Processing, Food Service, Leather Craft, Cons truction Work, and Glass Etching. The project intends to assist the non-formal technical education of 200 OSY. Empowering Disadvantaged Women in Pampanga (Mabalacat, Pampanga, Region 3) A technical skills training in industrial electronics for sexually abused and prostituted young women in the province of Pampanga and their placement in electronics firms at the special economic zone. The project purposes to benefit 80 female OSY who are enrolled in formal technical education. ERDA TECH Foundation ERDA TECH Foundation, established in 1996, is a non-stock, not for profit foundation dedicated to assisting children and youth age 12 to 18 years old who are disadvantaged by poverty. The Foundation’s main goal is to get children and youth, from the streets and from poor communities, who are interested in pursuing a secondary education with a vocational program that will train and nurture them into becoming productive members of society — meaning, being able to earn a living, becoming physically and emotionally stable and prepared to start a decent family life. Mary Help of Christians-Technology Center for Women The Mary Help of Christians – Technology Center for Women was established in 1993 to provide a home and school for disadvantaged young women where they can learn various employable technical skills. In hopes of molding trainees to become good and productive Christians, the Center has integrated the technical education course with values education, ethics and Christian Living. The Center has a 100% placement rate and has since graduated 120 young women who are now regular employees in various companies. Jewelry Skills Training and Placement Project for OSY in Taguig (Taguig, National Capital Region) Taguig Jewelry Producers’ Cooperative The TJPC is the pioneering group of skilled jewelry makers in Metro Manila, having been TJPC was assisted by TESDA, which arranged for the use of the training venue and other training facilities. Congessional funds shall help cover the administrative cost of the The technical education of the trainees is a collaborative effort between ERDA TECH and the Marikina Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). MIST provided training facilities and equipment needed for the training. Jollibee Foods Corp. has committed to accept the trainees for the in-plant training as well as their job placement. Enzio, Corp. has also agreed to employ the graduates of the training course. Spencer & Co. shall help shoulder the transportation and meal allowances of the trainees in the in-plant training. As part of the business sector’s contribution to the project, the post-training employment of the young women will be at the follow ing semicon companies: American Power Conversion, National Electronic Corporation, Amertron, Inc. , Sanyo Semiconductors, Luen Thai, and Computer Data Center, Inc. The Municipal Mayor of Mabalacat town in Pampanga provided the transport allowances of the trainees. 9 A technical skills training in jewelry making for OSY in Taguig and their placement in jewelry firms in Metro Manila. For its initial batch, the project aims to graduate 35 OSY trainees in jewelry making. registered as a cooperative in July 1994. TJPC is composed of 28 members/ shareholders and boasts of a strong network of 3,337 cooperatives in the Metro Manila area where it can draw support in terms of dealership or marketing of jewelry products.