New Beat in Philippine Journalism

In October 2011, I reviewed a new book titled Communication chanllenges and Convergence in Crop Biotechnology, an analysis and synthesis of essays on reportage of crop biotechnology in various countries.  This book was edited by Dr. Chel Navarro, a devcom specialist and science journalist, and Dr. Randy Hautea, a noted plant breeder and former director of UPLB's Institute of Plant Breeding.  Dr. Hautea is the International Coordinator of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), which holds office at the International Rice Research Institute.  Dr. Navarro, on the other hand, is the Network Manager for ISAAA, who has been responsible for the compilation of works explaining how biotechnology is being communicated in various member countries of the Network.  The book is an excellent synthesis of the global experience in communicating scientific information, and should be an excellent reference for science communication in the field of development communication.

My review has yet to appear in the papers, but I'm reproducing it here for the benefit of those early birds who may be interested in it.  I titled the review:  Science: Evolving Major Beat in Philippine Journalism

In the long and eventful history of Philippine journalism, Filipino journalists and media practitioners have played their professional roles ever so seriously particularly in the realm of politics and political development.  Certainly, political journalism is important in the life of the Philippines as a nation, but there are those who believe there may have been too much of it in Philippine media and too little of other fields of endeavor that have as important implications to national development of the country. One such area has just been highlighted by the release in mid-2011 of a significant book that could be refocusing our viewfinders on the field of science journalism or science communication, which is implied as an inflection point in the long history of journalism in the country.  Increasingly, more and more science stories are appearing the Philippine tri-media of the newspapers, radio, and television on regular basis, a clear indication of an increasing interest in science and technology among media consumers.

The book titled Communication Challenges and Convergence in Crop Biotechnology, edited by Dr. Mariechel J. Navarro, a development communication expert, and Dr. Randy A. Hautea, a noted scientist and plant breeder, documents the global experience in the efforts to make the general public understand and accept the tremendous opportunities in improving human living conditions both in the developed and developing world through appropriate application of science and technology.  Navarro and Hautea have painstakingly documented both the pros and cons of science and technology developments as these have affected the daily lives of people in various countries, particularly in relation to the production and consumption of genetically modified crops for food.  In their preface to the book, Navarro and Hautea said that the “debates on crop biotechnology have polarized the stakeholders due to conflicting messages and opinions that span socio-cultural, political and even religious issues.”

These debates, Navarro and Hautea observed, have “elevated biotechnology into a social phenomenon beyond the realm of science,” hence the gap has grown wider between those who believe and those that cast doubts on the safety to humans of the products and practices in the production of food through biotechnological processes. 

The book is divided into five brief parts: Part I focuses on the synthesis of global experiences with biotechnological efforts among scientists as well as global experiences of professional communicators in their efforts to explain science and biotechnology to the general public.  Part II, on the other hand, synthesizes the varied, sometimes dramatic, experiences in testing and commercialization of biotech products in countries considered “biotech countries,” which include the Philippines, India, China, and Australia.  Part III deals with what the editors referred to as “potential biotech countries,” which include Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, where biotech crops are being tested and where there’s strong possibility that genetically modified products shall be adopted.  Part IV, deals extensively with regional (Asian) initiatives in biotechnology and science communication, and, finally, Part V rounds off all these experiences in a synthesis of the global practices in communicating biotechnology to the general public. 

Communication Challenges and Convergence in Crop Biotechnology is not a textbook in science communication, much less a workbook for science journalism.  It is a collection of essays on analyses of varied experiences in communicating science, particularly biotechnology, to the general public around the world.  The case studies in the countries of Asia and Australia that are reported in this book are exemplars of how various countries, both developing and developed, have reflected on specific challenges of how to communicate science, particularly crop biotechnology, to the public.  Through these interesting case studies, the authors have laymanized the divide between science and society,  translated into practical framework and procedures or processes designed to enhance the capacities of science communicators through appropriate training, defined key science publics and champions, and focus on public values about science and technology.

To science communicators worldwide, the book has this reminder: 

Debates surrounding the acceptance and adoption of crop biotechnology have put the focus on the variables beyond science itself.  The polarization of stakeholders due to conflicting and mixed messages, and the presence of divergent information sources, among others, affect public opinion on science in general and biotechnology in particular.  Communication is one of several key variables needed to create an enabling environment for biotechnology. . . . Science communication will, thus, play a contributory role as catalyst for change in making possible an informed public, science-based decision-making, and higher capability, equity, and empowerment among stakeholders.

Navarro’s over-all synthesis of the science communication experience in Asia and Oceania expresses a fundamental principle in science communication, which is that science must be part of public attitude and knowledge based on values more than on mere information.  “These values,” Navarro says, “include high trust in science and the regulatory system, credibility, freedom of choice, and in the belief that humans have control over their environment.”  In other words, it is part of effective and efficient science communication to align science with public values and making that alignment clearly understood by the public.

The book quoted National Scientist, Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, as having said, thus:

Times have changed from a time where technology basically moved itself to farmers’ fields without much effort to one where many publics have emerged.  Stakeholders now assert their rights to know and right to participate in science-related decisions which affect their lives.  In a world of many persuasions, causes, and conflicts, crop biotechnology is one “defining technology which has changed the relationship between science and society.”

In other words, what Dr. Castillo is putting emphasis on, and which the book has appropriately picked up, is that it’s no longer simply a case of just letting the results of scientific endeavor slowly seep into society but that efforts must be taken, particularly by scientists, science communicators, and the general public, to enhance the blending of the fruits of scientific endeavors with the needs of society.  Indeed, such is one of the primary philosophical bases for science communication.

Without doubt, this book provides significant guideposts as well as enough motivation for Filipino science journalists or communicators to be more advocacy-oriented in educating Filipinos about the strengths of science and technology as catalysts for national development.  If one goes by the message of this book, then science is evolving as the new major beat in Philippine journalism.

The book carries in its 300 pages numerous lessons for science communicators, but perhaps the most significant of these are those that deal with making information available and accessible to various publics such as policy makers, scientists themselves, academics, technology regulators, media entities, and the general public

Communication Challenges and Convergence in Crop Biotechnology was jointly published by the New York-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech  Applications (ISAAA) and the Los Baños-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).

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Let's Hope For The Best

It is said that the most difficult thing in life is to choose which bridge to burn and which to cross. Indeed, the choices we make in life are rarely easy ones.  For every choice we make, there’s one we must forego.  I suppose that everybody does this every day (we simply don’t look at it that way, perhaps), but for some reason I can’t fathom why it becomes a significant thought during times like New Year’s Day.  This year, New Year’s Day, if we look at it from a practical point of view, is just like any other Sunday.  What makes it any different from the rest of the Sundays during the year?  I think it’s a very personal point of view that each of us must deal with privately.  But let me share with you how I look at all this.

Bridges in life, sometimes some called crossroads, are decision points.  The big difference is that in a crossroad you can always return to it to choose a new route if you find the current route wouldn’t lead you to your goal.  A bridge, once burned, is something you can’t cross again.   In the simplistic world of management, these bridges or crossroads would mean decision tress which simply would generally refer to dualistic decisions such as the “yes” and “no” points on a decision tree.  There appear to be only two branches, the “yes” and “no” branches.  In real life, however, the decision points are much more complicated because there usually are more than two branches.  One has to decide which of these to cut and which to climb to reach yet another node where there may be less or more branches to select from.  We find it easy to make decisions when there are less to choose from.

These branches represent our options in our lives.  When we decide to take one option (that is, eliminating other options), our ability to reach our destination through our selected option is focused; when we select more than one option, our efforts may be less focused.  So it is with this thought that I engage in some kind of self reflection as  a new year is born to my life.  In the entire duration of the year that is ending, my tree of life has grown so many branches.  I know very well that I’ll have to cut some so that those that will enrich my life might continue to grow and become healthier. 

Which must I cut and which must I retain?  That is to say, which of the things I have should I part with and which should I continue to hold on to as I move on to the new year ahead?  This, of course, is a very difficult decision to make because everything we have, at some point, have enriched our lives one way or the other.  The question is, should we continue to hold onto them or let go so that we might get another opportunity to enrich our current life? 

I must say, however, that we all differ in the way we look at things; we differ similarly in what things we might choose to part with and what things we choose to live by the rest of our lives.  Since I consider our choices to be extremely personal, I’m not one who would openly describe my choices to others.  I shall keep those choices to myself.  I’ll just live by them.  One thing is certain, though.  Whatever I now have in life that I choose to live by this coming New Year shall most likely influence the way I deal with others around me and the way I look at things coming my way.  Some things will be fine, some will not be too fine (that is to say, I may have either positive or negative influence over others and others on me), but that’s what life is all about.   

Ultimately, it’s hope that really matters.  What we tell others we want to be this coming New Year may not always turn out to be what others expect of us.  The important thing is, what’s our hope for ourselves and how is this hope going to improve ourselves to our own eyes and to the eyes of others?  This is what we mean when we say, let’s hope for the best.

Have a Happy New Year.

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Time to Face the Bar

Fine Christmas For Me This Year

It’s a fine Christmas I’m having this year, Thank God.  My wife, Jegs, and my son Al, and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  We’re all thankful for whatever little things we were blessed with during the year. 

To me, personally, I have a major thing to be thankful for.

My cardiologist, Dr, Noel Lantican, told me in October 2011, “may be you should go for Thallium Scan test at the Philippine Heart Center.”  He said this test would tell us if I had some blocked vessels causing my frequent fatigue and chest discomforts.  So I did have that test and it showed that there were blocked blood vessels but it didn’t indicate exactly where those blocks were.  Dr. Lantican did the next thing which was to ask me to undergo angiogram.  This is the more accurate procedure to determine exactly where the blocks are located, but it’s more expensive than the Thallium Scan.  (The difference: thallium Scan is non-invasive, while the angiogram is.)

Dr. Lantican made the necessary arrangements for me to be admitted to the PHC, but admissions wouldn’t be made after Christmas (for obvious reasons) so I got myself admitted 20 December 2011.   My agreement with Dr. Lantican was to proceed with angioplasty if it was found in the angiogram that this procedure would be necessary.  The angiographer at the PHC was Dr. Ramoncito Tria (who was assisted by “his Fellows” – who are medical doctors undergoing Fellowship Training under the program, I believe, of the Philippine Cardiologists’ Association).  The angiogram was performed Wednesday, 21 December 2011, and there was need to proceed to angioplasty for a couple of blockages.  Two stents were installed to open up my blood vessels at two points that had more than 50% blocks. 

Unfortunately for me, I’m a bleeder.  While Dr. Tria and his assistants were doing the angioplasty there was bleeding, and I even developed hematoma.  When the angioplasty was done, I was wheeled directly to the ICU where I stayed for 24 hours.  Dr. Tria told me that this was a necessary schedule because I had hematoma.  Well, under those circumstances, I wasn’t ready to argue with the doctor.  He’s good, by the way.  I was told earlier on by Dr. Lantican that Dr. Tria is good and he was among the angiographers of the PHC who charge relatively lower professional fees, bless his soul.  I returned to my original room after 24 hours in the ICU.

Why did I have to undergo angiogram, anyway?  Well, a month short of 15 years after my CABG in January 1997, Dr. Lantican believed it was necessary to find out if my heart bypass then was still holding on, and to check where the blockages determined in my Thallium scan were located at exactly.  I had estimated that I would be discharged from the hospital by Thursday morning, but because of the hematoma and 24 hour stay in the ICU, the doctor decided that I should stay one more day in the hospital.  So there.

Thursday afternoon, Jegs had completed all that were required for my discharge.  So I was given discharge order for 22 December, evening, but Dr. Tria ordered that my discharged would be Friday morning, instead, because of fear that I might have some bleeding if I had to exert effort moving around.  That turned out to be wise decision because I was practically unable to move due to muscle aches that evening.  We were set to check out Friday morning.

Good thing Jegs decided to check with the billing section and inquire if we could be discharged by 8:00 am.  It turned out that our discharge order hasn’t been given to the Admitting Section for final check and updating of records and accounts since we stayed one more night in the hospital.  We finally checked out close to noontime Friday.

At this point, I wish to thank those that provided me assistance at the PHC.  First of all, I am very proud of our own Philippine Heart Center.  I can’t complain about the quality of service provided me.  There were times when I thought I should have been attended more quickly but I must admit that a week before Christmas is, somehow, very “toxic” for our health workers at the PHC.  Those people there need our understanding.  They’re working very hard and very professionally. 

Except perhaps for those with very serious ailments, most of those confined probably preferred to check out during the Christmas break.  I was informed that many, if not all, of those who were being discharged the week before Christmas would be coming back after New Year’s Day.  This has most likely made the work of the PHC Staff more “toxic” because they probably had to double their multitasking tasks.  There were simply too many people to serve.  But the staff of the PHC didn’t complain (at least not in my presence) and simply continued doing what they were doing.   If that’s not good public service, I wouldn’t know what is.

In my room, three nurses took care of me: Jayson, Kay, and Marge.  They were all professional, very good.  At the ICU, Cathy, Bella, and Jep took care of me there.  Very efficient, very professional.  These Nurses at the ICU, I’d like to point out, had very good people skills.  Being a communications person, I’m particularly watchfull of these things.

As I’m taking some rest at home at this time, I’m into self reflection as well.  I must say, I do have many things that I need to improve upon.  But for the most part, I’m particularly thankful for the little blessings that have been showered on me during the last 12 months. 

The one thing that makes me feel proud and well taken cared of is that Jegs has been excellent as a partner.  She loves me, and I love her.  I can’t complain.  I can only be thankful.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

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Another Milestone for Devcom

 

One More Congratulatory Note

On December 13, 2011, Dr. Nora Cruz Quebral, acknowledged “mother” of development communication was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of London, through its London School of Economics and Political Science.  In a fitting tribute to Nora, Chin Saik Yoon, owner of Southbend Publishing Company in Penang, Malaysia,  posted on the Southbend site Nora’s lecture at the LSE.  Southbend also published Nora’s eBook titled Development Communication Primer.  Visit the site: http://www.southbend.my.

You want a copy of Nora’s lecture?  Get one from http://www.southbend.my/downloads/NoraCruzQuebralDec2011Lecture.pdf.  This is a must reading for all devcom researchers, students, professionals, and practitioners.

Nora’s award is long time due, of course.  Those of us who had the opportunity to explore devcom under her tutelage in the 60s to the 70s knew that one day she would be recognized in a big way for her intellectual contributions to devcom.  We simply didn’t know then when and how.  Many of us in devcom have acknowledged in the last year the efforts of the individual who initiated the nomination of Nora to the award, Dr. Linje Manyoso, a young devcom scholar from Malta.

Linje got his PhD in devcom from LaTrobe University in Australia.  His research focused on devcom Los Baños style, so he reviewed the materials that originated from Los Baños, which included Nora’s seminal paper on devcom, her succeeding books, and other references including my first book on community broadcasting published in 1984.  He was probably the first non-Filipino who focused on the historical aspects of devcom in his research.  Anyway, his research report found its way to the Asian Journal of Communication as a major article.

Dr. Linje’s article focused on the role of Dr. Quebral in the conceptualization and development of the concept of development communication.  I knew Linje was completely enamored with devcom.  When he got accepted as faculty in the Communication and Media Department of the London School of Economics, he began working on the possibility of nominating Nora to the prestigious honorary doctorate (honoris causa) in the LSE.  For the less initiated, getting nominated to this award at LSE is extremely competitive, and is a long process.  Nora’s award was in the works for a couple of years, I believe.  I knew that a great number of people, including colleagues from abroad, contributed immensely to the documentation of Nora’s devcom journey.

Nora earned her PhD in communication from the University of Illinois, her MS in agricultural journalism from the University of Wisconsin, and her BA English (magna cum laude) from UP Diliman.  Before joining the then Office of Extension and Publications under the Office of the Dean, UP College of Agriculture (precursor of UPLB), Nora was Editor of the technical journal of UPCA, called the Philippine Agricultrist.  When she joined the OEP, she became part of the triumvirate (with Dr. Tom Flores and Dr. Johnny Jamias) who organized later the Department of Agricultural Information and Communications (which later was renamed to Department of Agricultural Communications, then to Department of Development Communication, and later, again, to the Institute of Development Communication, and later, finally, to the College of Development Communication).  It was in December 1971, during the UPLB symposium with the theme “Breakthroughs in Agricultural Development” in honor of the late Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, that Nora presented her seminal paper titled “Development Communication in the Agricultural Context.”  That opened up a whole new horizon for us who were in agricultural communications.

Indeed, Nora’s award, coming from the University of London’s London School of Economics and Political Science, which I have invariably referred to as the “prince of the social sciences” in some discussions, is a milestone in the field of development communication (Los Baños style).  We in the field of devcom do rejoice for Nora’s award, and at the same time we should look at this as a new challenge for which we must demonstrate higher level expertise and commitment in pushing further development communication as a calling.

Perhaps it’s time that the UPLB College of Development Communication  finalizes its efforts at modernizing its academic programs to follow the modernizing efforts that Dr. Quebral has integrated into her updated definition of what development communication ought to be today and in the future.

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New Initiatives From UPOU

UPOU Student Journal

For quite sometime now we’ve been toying with the idea that there should be an outlet for the outputs of UPOU students.  We’ve observed over the last so many years, students enrolled in the Special Problem (DEVC 290) course under the Master of Development Communication program, for example, have been turning in excellent mini-theses reports, which students submitted in hard-bound form, but since DEVC 290 (Special Problem) is only an ordinary course rather than a thesis, the students are not required to submit bound copies of their report.  Instead, we’ve been asking them to submit reports in publishable form.  Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to publish them as the UPOU didn’t have an existing publication for this purpose.

About a couple of years ago, we submitted a concept paper on the publication of an online journal to serve as an outlet for student outputs.  Of course, like any other proposal,  it took some time for it to be completely discussed, and last month the UPOU Chancellor issued an Administrative Order establishing the UPOU Student Journal, creating its Editorial Board (which shall also serve as the Student Journal Review Board), and appointing its first Issue Editor.  The UPOU Student Journal is an official publication of the UPOU to serve mainly as an outlet for student works, and which shall be published semestrally.   The Editorial Board immediately went to work and came out with a set of guidelines.

The UPOU Student Journal shall come out every June and December, and as much as possible shall carry the outputs of students the previous semester.  For example, the contents of the December issue shall be selected from the submissions of students during the first semester, while the June issue shall carry the selected outputs of students during the second semester.

The maiden (first) issue of the UPOU Student Journal is supposed to come out this month, but we ran out of time.  Therefore, the Editorial Board decided that the first issue shall be soft-launched in February 2012, during the Anniversary Celebration of the UPOU.  It shall be fully accessible beginning in June 2012, however.  Each issue shall carry at least six selected student papers.

UPOU students may submit for publication in the UPOU Student Journal their works produced in partial fulfillment of the requirements of their courses (i.e., nini-research reports, essays, critiques, book reviews, literature reviews, etc.) or programs (i.e., theses written in publication format).

The UPOU Student Journal is probably the first academic student journal officially published by a university whose contents shall come primarily from student outputs (we're not certain about this, though).   This is just one way in which the UPOU demonstrates how it values the performance of its students in the realm of critical thinking and creativity.  While for now the contents of the UPOU Student Journal shall be limited to outputs of UPOU students, it is envisioned that ultimately this journal shall accept submissions of students from other universities and higher education institutions in the country, and perhaps elsewhere.

The Issue Editor for the first two issues (both coming out in 2012) is Dr. Baggy Bagarinao, associate professor of education and UPOU’s University Registrar.  The Editorial Board is comprised of the following:  Dr. Lex Librero (Chair), and Drs. Mendie Lumanta, Jun Buot, Sandy Flor, and Celia Adriano (Members).

Watch out for the first issue to be launched in February 2012.  Dr. Bagarinao is now starting work on this first issue.

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New Advocacy Course

My very limited and rather sophomoric analysis and personal perception of the skills being developed by students in various disciplines, even at the graduate level, has led me to conclude that most  academic degree programs offered in various HEIs in the Philippines are essentially training students to be too inward-looking and are, therefore, also wanting in systems thinking.  Let’s take as examples students in two academic programs at UPLB which I have considered two of my favorites.

Students in the management or economics programs at UPLB are trained, and trained very well, in management and economic theories.  Let me cite a simple example.  Students of management, agribusiness, and economics are well-versed with the model of consumer economics, which is sometimes called materials economics.  In general, the consumer economics model looks linear (extraction-production-distribution-consumption-disposal) and is perfectly acceptable to agribusiness, management, and economics people.  Unfortunately, students of environmental science are not familiar with the significance of this model and, therefore, are very critical of it.  Environmentalists claim that the basic activities required in the consumer economics model are actually anti-environment.

Let’s have a closer look.  Here’s an oil company, extracting fossil oil from the oil fields.  From the oil extracted from the earth, comes various products.  One of these would be plastic which is used in the manufacture of plastic bags.  The production of plastic and plastic bags and the distribution of plastic bags requires substantial use of energy to transport these products throughout the globe.  People use these plastic bags for various purposes.  In the developing countries, plastic bags are commonly used as containers for commodities bought from the wet market (like fish, meat, etc.).  People would simply dispose off used plastic bags together with ordinary garbage, even together with bio-degradable trash.  Worse, people, as lazy as they are, simply through these plastic bags on the streets and ultimately these find their way to canals and drainage systems, causing floods even during light rain episodes.  

Rather than simply talk about this phenomenon as is usually done in universities, Dean Jun Buot of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of UPOU is working on developing a course on environmentalism for entrepreneurs and businessmen.  Dean Buot says that environmentalists must understand not only principles and rules about environmentalism but how these would affect business and industry.  In the same vein, entrepreneurs and businessmen must understand the impact of their business activities on the environment and learn to appreciate the fact that they, too, must take care of the environment otherwise they’ll run out of raw materials for their business and industry activities.

The over-all intention of this course, as Dean Buot explains, is for course participants to achieve a certain level of systems thinking that would enhance  their capacity and capability to arrive at mitigating measures that would be acceptable to both the environment and business-industry sectors.

A course titled Environmentalism for Entrepreneurs and Businessmen, indeed, sounds interesting.  Watch out for it.  

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UPOU To Release Book on Thesis Writing

We've written about this in past entries.  Let me give you an update, though.  Just yesterday I signed the contract with the UPOU, which shall publish the book titled Writing Your Thesis.  Within the next few days, Dr. Jean Saludadez, Director of UPOU's Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS), the de facto publishing house of UPOU, will probably hire an expert to review  the book before it goes to the press.  Since the book shall be put under UPOU's Publish-on-Demand Program, I hope it shall be completed quickly to be in time for launching during UPOU's Anniversary Celebrations in February 2012.

Yesterday, too, the Board of Trustees of the UPOU Foundation, Inc. approved a proposal to establish the UPOUFI Bookstore.  When the book, Writing Your Thesis, shall have come off the press, it will likely become available in the UPOUFI Bookstore.  Watch out for the book and the opening of the UPOUFI Bookstore.

Happy Christmas shopping, everybody.  

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Diverse Interests in December 2011

It Has Crossed My Mind

It’s December, and like many others I do engage in some form of reflection toward the end of the year.  I normally don’t bother asking the question, “could my life been better-off had I selected another route?”  No, I’ve not intentionally done such kind of reflection, but this particular time (December, 2011) the idea, indeed, crossed my mind.  I certainly am not wealthy, but luckily I’m not completely poverty-stricken either, although I have more than enough space for a much more comfortable (read: more wealthy) life.  Now, let me rationalize.

In 1981, I earned my PhD from Indiana University.  Coming back to UPLB, I started getting actively involved in academic administration until today (1982-2011), which spans a period of 29 years.  In all those 29 years, I did not take on consultancy assignments because my personal value system and ethical beliefs told me, in no uncertain terms, that I had, on my own volition, accepted positions of responsibility in the university, for which I should never compromise even if it meant not being able to accept consultancy assignments which could have easily bloated my personal financial resources. 

When I returned to UPLB after my graduate work in the US, I served the university successively as Office Head (Educational Communication Office, Department of Development Communication), Department Chair (Department of Development Communication), Institute Director (Institute of Development Communication), Associate Dean (UPLB College of Agriculture), Dean (School for Distance Education, UPOU), Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (UPOU), and finally as Chancellor of UPOU.  Then I was Faculty Regent of UP in 2008.  Today, I’m serving as Program Chair, Doctor of Communication Program, UPOU.  Through the 29 years after I earned my PhD, I intentionally didn’t accept no less than 20 consultancy assignments, about half requiring assignments in other countries.  Those opportunities could have easily fetched me material things beyond my needs.  Indeed, if I chose to have amassed wealth, which I could have easily done, would I have achieved the same professional, intellectual and attitudinal satisfaction that I now proudly posses?  Perhaps not.

If I get a chance to relive my life, would I live it differently?  Probably not, but I certainly would appreciate getting the opportunity to gain a little more wealth without having to be guilty about it.  But since that’s not going to happen, I am satisfied with what I have and with what I have achieved for myself.

Recipient of the 2007 UPAA Professional Award for Education. (L-R: UPAA 

Chito Pineda; UP President Emer Roman; myself; UP Regent Gary Tiongco.

I've learned to live with my financial inadequacy, and have succeeded in looking like I have more than enough resources.  None of my colleagues and classmates believe I'm financially inadequate.  How did I do it?  Well, I never complain about finances.  I take things in stride.  My personal motto has always been: money will come when you need it most.  In any case, I don't discuss money matters.  After all, my salary won't increase if I complained all the time that I'm underpaid.   Still, it's humiliating when you find yourself, a UP Professor (very significant position of academic prestige), trying to explain to friends your unexplainable poverty.

Hey, enjoy while you can.  Merry Christmas, everyone.    

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Tibok ng Kalikasan at the NCC

 Opened on 28 November 2011 at the Lobby of the National Computer Center in Diliman, QC was the 8^th Solo Art Exhibit of reknown artist Grace “Gigi” Javier-Alfonso, aka UPOU Chancellor.  This same art exhibit shall open on 9 December 2011 at the Open University of Kaoshiung in Southern Taiwan.  The theme of the art exhibit is Tibok ng Kalikasan (Rhythms of Nature).

Describing the art exhibit, Dr. Prime Garcia, UPOU Cultural Committee Chair, says:

In 50 acrylic paintings, artist Gigi Javier Alfonso interprets the rhythms that underpin the lushness and vitality of nature.  With tropical foliage as the primary subject, the art works capture the nature’s movement, impermanence, and cycles through the interplay of opcacity and translucency, tonal contrasts, and layering.  It is a visual exploration into the beguiling cadence that puts nature into motion.

All paintings are executed on canvass and measure 24x36 inches. The previous solo art exhibits of Chancellor Gigi were: Sulyap (1982) at the Gallery One, Gigi Alfonso’s Latest Works (1984) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines,  Bartolina, Preso, Hawla, at Iba Pa (1985) at the Pinaglabanan Galleries, Third Image (1986) at the Vargas Museum, Dahon at Damo (2000) at UP Diliman, Babae sa Tag-ulan at Tag-araw (2002) at the Vargas Museum in UP Diliman, Kababaihan at Kalikasan: Pagpapalawak ng Puwang (2004) at the GSIS Gallery. 

Artist Gigi has done various versions of the UP Oblation, which now stand at the UPOU (2005), UP Manila (2008), and the UP Manila School of Health Sciences in Palo, Leyte (2010), and that one in Koronadal, South Cotabato (2011).  She’s also writer and director of many TV dramas, documentaries, as well as educational videos.

Gigi is a multi-awarded artist and academic, having been recipient of: UP Arts Productivity Award with the rank of UP Artist I (2009-2011), second grand prize winner as director at the Tamtam Video Festival in Turin, Italy (1988) for the popular late night TV show “Nightline Manila,” and winner of the Shell On-The-Spot Painting Competition in 1971.

Indeed, one expects nothing less from one who has a PhD in communication (1990), MA in humanities, major in art history (1980), and BFA (1972), all from the University of the Philippines.

The 8^th Solo Art Exhibit of Gigi Alfonso is organized by the U.P. Open University, the UPOU Foundation, Inc., and the Open University of Kaoshiung, Taiwan.

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UPLB’s Giant Christmas Tree is Switched On

For visitors of UPLB, you’ll once more witness the giant Christmas Tree just outside the UPLB Administration Building along Kanluran Street.  The Christmas tree was lighted the other evening.  As usual, there are always many visitors in the evening because the Christmas Tree is, indeed, nice to look at.  It’s also well-lighted in the area.

Each year, one would see certain new things about the Christmas Tree.  For example, last year it was made principally of twigs painted white.  The previous year, the décor consisted of coconut leaves.  This year, it’s made up of twigs again, but colored yellow.  One wonders why a Christmas Tree, which is supposed to be covered with snow, is colored yellow.  I thought snow is white.

I ran into old friends who were there to view this year’s Christmas tree, and so we talked about the Christmas Tree.  As would be expected, I asked them why a Christmas Tree should be colored yellow.  Their answer was swift and rather confident: “it must have been affected by climate change.”   

Speaking of climate change . . . People in North America and Europe have been undertaking projects to mitigate the effects of climate change for decades now, and we in the Philippines are only starting to talk about it.  And it couldn’t have become an issue had Ondoy didn’t happen three years ago.

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Markers Connect Us With the Past

 

I was doing my daily morning routine (brisk walking around the UPLB Library Building—which is becoming more necessary as I age) the other day when my attention simply automatically focused on the Library Marker beside the building door.  The building has been there since 1973 (38 years) but I’ve never really paid close attention to its marker.  I’ve always believed that this building was really UPLB’s Library Building, and the marker confirms this.

This is what’s on that marker: This Library building is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and relevance in higher education and research in agriculture and related sciences and technologies in Southeast Asia, to the end that the peoples of the region, as well as the rest of the world, will live in dignity, peace and prosperity.

The building was launched and turned over to UPLB on October 9, 1973, with then President Ferdinand Marcos presiding.  The building was constructed for the Southeast Asian Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) with funding from the governments of the Philippines and the United States.  The UPLB was (and still is) the host institution of SEARCA.  For many years, the building served as the headquarters of SEARCA.  During that time SEARCA constructed its own headquarters building on the UPLB Campus, on the spot where the original Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics was located.  SEARCA turned over the building to UPLB on October 16, 1991, and then the UPCA Library, which was renamed UPLB Library, finally transferred to its new house.  

What really caught my attention was the smaller brass plate below the main marker.  It contained information as to when it was turned over to UPLB (see picture).  the marker is full of graffitti, a form of expression of freedom of speech for students.  Other exemplars of graffitti can be seen as “writings on the wall” in various areas, including the toilets.

Incidentally . . . Where the UPLB Library Building now stands used to be where the UPCA Administration Building was.  Us UPCA students in those years used to call the place The Hill.  It was a popular place because it was in that building where the UPCA’s CASELF (College of Agriculture Students’ Emergency Loan Fund) Office was housed.  To us students, CASELF was the link to life in college.  We could take a loan from the CASELF for tuition fees or simply emergency funding for the month while waiting for money from home.  Most of the time, students took out loans of P10 on the average.  We had until the end of the semester to pay back.  Well, in those years, many of us UPCA students then survived on monthly allowances of about P50 or less on the average. 

The old UPCA Library Building is the current headquarters of the UPLB College of Arts and Sciences. 

It was in that old UPCA Library where I did my research for my first journalism project – a feature article on library vandalism – in a feature writing course in the then Department of Agricultural Information and Communications (which is now known as the College of Development Communication). 

That article was published in the then UPCA Monthly Newsletter. Yes, even in those years, students already committed vandalism in the library.  Still, in our time, we never touched building markers because we considered them off-limits to vandalism.  Even vandals in those days used to have some kind of ethical standards.

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Unsolicited Advice Galore

As everybody knows, UPLB is now under a two-week old administration under the leadership of Chancellor Rex Victor Cruz, former Dean of the College of Forestry and Natural Resources.  As a result, academics who think as the new leadership does have been given new assignments and responsibilities.  For example, Graduate School Dean Oscar Zamora is now Vice Chancellor for Instruction, CAS Dean Asuncion Raymundo has retired, CFNR Dean Rex Victor Cruz, of course, is the new Chancellor, and Dean Victoria Espaldon of SESAM is now Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension.  There are more who have taken on new assignments and responsibilities.

Preparations are afoot now to select new officials to take over the positions and responsibilities of those assigned to new and higher posts at UPLB, like the Deans of the Graduate School (GS), College of Arts and Science (CAS), College of Forestry and Natural Resources (CFNR), and the School of Environmental Science and Management (SESAM). 

As I’m always fond of doing, I’d like to offer unsolicited advice to those who’ll head two of my favorite institutions: Graduate School and SESAM.

First, let me deal with the Graduate School.  As early as the late 1980’s I’ve written to the GS Dean suggesting the offering of two courses.  If there are GE courses at the undergraduate level, I have been suggesting that perhaps it would be logical as well to have some kind of GE courses at the graduate level.  I’m referring to two very basic graduate courses.  A course on the history and sociology of science should be required of all Master’s degree students.  UPLB is awarding “master of science” degrees, so it’s logical to expect that these MS graduates have excellent understanding of what science is. 

Then, of course, UPLB is graduating PhDs – Doctor of Philosophy, which is a doctorate degree that focuses on the generation of new knowledge through scientific research.  The question is, how familiar are the PhD students and graduates with the subject matter, philosophy of science?  A course on the philosophy of science is necessary and should be required of all doctorate students.

There has been an effort to look into this issue, but these courses, or similar ones, have not been offered at the graduate level so far.

Will this be part of the concern of the next Dean of the UPLB Graduate School?  In my previous unsolicited advise for the new Chancellor, I suggested that UPLB might consider reviewing its academic degree programs in response to new expectations from society.  New concerns for graduate education should be part of this review.

Second, let’s consider the case of SESAM.  Environmental science is both a multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary field – it cuts across disciplines in terms of application, and it affects (and is affected by) other disciplines in terms of it being an applied science.  In the past, students of environmental science (both MS and PhD levels) have done their theses with leanings towards management and policies.  Currently, it appears that there’s a perceptible bias towards the science aspect.  For example, I understand that many theses are now oriented towards technical aspects of climate change, geo-morphological concerns of environmental science, even the technical aspects of environmental impact assessments. 

I find nothing wrong with such direction, although it doesn't really enhance the multidisciplinariness of environmental science.  If anything, it's directing students back to their disciplines.  Such orientation to pure or other applied disciplines that are sufficiently more technical is probably encroaching into other disciplines.  Still, it's not absolutely bad to strengthen the technical competence of environmental science students if that's where their research interests might be focused.  Certainly, however, interest in the non-technical aspects (management and policy studies orientation) ought to remain.   I'd also love to see environmental science theses that would tend to synthesize new disciplinary knowledge and procedures in a manner that would enhance better understanding of the environment.  

But, then again, who am I to say what should and shouldn't be done in environmental science?  I'm only voicing out my own personal biases and perceptions as a science communicator who has been watching the field of environmental science since it started out in Los Banos in the 1980s.

If students are encouraged to do technically oriented theses, then I do have a concern regarding the ability of SESAM to backstop the thesis work of its students. 

For example, I believe there are students now doing research that require laboratory tests.  This becomes necessary particularly if the student’s thesis deals, for instance, with analysis of carbon footprints of industries or even agricultural production programs.  The question is, does SESAM have appropriate laboratories to provide support to their student researchers?  Simple chemical analysis of soil samples, or plant samples, or animal samples are expensive and most graduate students do not have the financial resources to support such studies.  Part of the university’s student support system should be making sure that student researchers have access to laboratory facilities that will help them undertake their research projects. 

If SESAM or any other Department at UPLB cannot afford to have its own laboratory facilities, it should perhaps seek to network with institutions that have the resource or enter into some kind of an agreement with other institutions for the purpose of sharing the resources needed in the purchase, installation, and maintenance of such laboratories.  Graduate students, I’m sure, would be willing to pay reasonable fees for use of such facilities if the university really can’t afford to provide such service free of charge.

I know there have been some efforts toward this end sometime in the late 80s or 90s.  I wonder whatever happened to those efforts.

These two are worth re-visiting.  Perhaps the future Deans of the GS and SESAM might look into these?  Well, I can only suggest.

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Michael Nielsen: Open science now! | Video on TED.com

Michael Nielsen: Open science now! | Video on TED.com

To my Students of EDSC 250. What can you say about the ideas of Nielsen?

Roger McNamee: Six ways to save the internet | Video on TED.com

Roger McNamee: Six ways to save the internet | Video on TED.com

Looks like I've been obsolete a long time now. Look at this.

Two Unrelated Experiences at a Time is Enough

Is CHED Now Serious?

Recently, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has ordered the closure of some degree programs offered in two higher education institutions (HEIs).  

A week ago CHED reported having ordered the closure of two programs of the Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI) for continuous non-compliance with quality standards set by the CHED.  These programs were: BS Marine Transportation and BS Marine Engineering, both offered by the Manila and Quezon City campuses of PMI.  The closure order means effective the first semester (2012-2013) PMI cannot offer these programs anymore.  Students enrolled in these two programs will have to transfer to other institutions offering said programs. 

The other day, CHED ordered the closure of six more programs, all offered by the Harvardian College in San Fernando City in Pampanga.  The programs ordered closed were: BS in Education; BS in Elementary Education;  BA Political Science; BA English; BS Commerce, Accounting, Management, and Finance; and Master of Education-Administration, Supervision, Guidance and Counseling.

According to CHED, these programs were ordered closed due to “gross and serious violations and continuous defiance of the Commission’s policies, standards and guidelines.”  The closure order, according to the CHED, was served on 25 October 2011.  Like the programs of the PMI, these six degree programs must be discontinued beginning the first semester of the coming school year.

This is a laudable effort of the CHED, to maintain the standards of quality that could make degree programs offered anywhere in the Philippines competitive worldwide.  This is long time in coming.  If the CHED looks closer, however, there are still very many programs out there that should be ordered closed.  Many of these programs are being offered without permit from the CHED.  They are illegal programs, and yet the HEIs offering them are raking in money without offering in return quality educational services.  We’ve known this long, long time ago, but our government has, until now, refused to listen.  Therefore, I find it comforting to see that CHED may mean business, finally.

The students of PMI have been reported to be complaining about the closure order for the two degree programs offered by PMI, claiming that they’d be forced to transfer to institutions charging higher fees.  This is unfortunate, indeed.  However, logic tells us that spending a little more for one’s education and training and getting in return the right quality of skills required by the highly competitive market is better than graduating from a substandard program and later found unqualified for job open to other graduates from other countries.  Clearly, the intention of CHED is to improve the global competitiveness of our graduates from our HEIs.

Now, there are almost 2,000 HEIs in the Philippines.  Of these, less than 200 are state universities and colleges or institutions supervised by CHED.  Hence, the greater bulk of HEIs in the country are private institutions.  I can hazard a guess that at least half of these institutions are substandard HEIs, offering degree programs for which they do not have enough qualified faculty to teach.  And they charge exhorbitant fees on top of these shortcomings.  Top that with the fact that these institutions complain the loudest when it comes to implementing rules and regulations designed to greatly improve educational standards in this country.

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Another Specialty Resto Nearby

A couple of weeks ago, this floating resto-park called Isdaan opened for business.  It’s located along the Bay-to-Pila bypass road within the boundaries of Calauan.  On the same stretch of the national road are similar eating places: Kainan sa Palaisdaan and Samaral.  Lucidel, the first such kind of resto opened way ahead of the others.  Isdaan, however, is the largest and most spectacular.  It’s a theme park of sorts, a branch of what has become a popular resto-park in Gerona, Tarlac.

The resto-park isn’t complete yet, but when it’s finished many children would enjoy running around the place, including a free boat ride around the 4-ha. facility.  Life size statues, like those in Gerona, are present but the difference is that in the facility in Calauan there are new personalities like Obama, crocs, and the Angry Birds.

 
You know, Pareng Obama and I were enjoying the performance of the Singing Cooks and Waitresses.

Jegs and I had lunch in the place the other day.  Not a bad place to dine, though.  Travelers plying the this route would enjoy such a stop-over for an interesting lunch.  I do have bad taste buds, and I’m not interested in all that’s served there.  There those that I like, though.

Well, that’s all I’ll say since I’m not a the drum beater for Isdaan. 

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What we learned from 5 million books | Video on TED.com

What we learned from 5 million books | Video on TED.com

Have you seen this? There's a lot here most of us don't know.  For example, have you ever thought of reading books with collective number of 500 billion words (which is what the number of words in 5 million books published so far)?  Well, it is highly impractical to read 5 million books.  But there's a way of doing this, using Google Lab's Ngram Viewer.  I don't know what this is, but here are Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel, Harvard University Researchers, to explain how this works, citing their work at Harvard as a means of explaining this methodology.  View this TED.com lecture.  Enjoy.

Changing Times or Changing Mores?

Lowering of Ambitions?

No more than a month ago, I overheard from an AM radio program a certain government official encouraging Filipinos to train as hilots rather than nurses because at this time hilots appear to be earning more.  Obviously, this has something to do with increasing number of tourists wanting to try hilot, the Philippine style massage that is believed to be a healing procedure.

Of course, the idea of Filipinos earning more isn’t a bad idea at all.  What is disturbing in this suggestion from a government official is that his statements were directed at the youth, as in “wag na kayong mag-nursing kasi mahal pa yun.  Mag-train na lang kayong maging hilot, tutal kumikita ngayon ng mas malaki ang mga hilot.”    Now, what kind of message does  the government wants to send to the Filipino youth?  This suggestion, as far as I’m personally concerned, is really devaluing the worth of our young citizens who deserve to be more educated individuals and become real professionals.

Those in government are enticing the Filipino youth to train as hilots rather than nurses because the hilots seem to be earning more these days.  The intention, no doubt, is good (we all want Filipinos to earn more) but the message is also telling our youth to lower their ambition in life – which is really lowering their self worth, self esteem. And degrading our values as Filipinos, as well.   

The world will continue to need the services of trained nurses, and this is reason enough for Filipinos to continue training as professional nurses.  The demand for Filipino hilots will not always be high.  In fact, before long this service will eventually wane and the pay will decrease accordingly.

The whims of the labor market change quickly, even within months.  Those who train to be hilots now could find themselves unemployed within one year.  By then, will government tell them to train as rocket engineers because by that time rocket engineers will be in demand and will be earning much more? 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying we should forget about being hilots.  The hilot massage is a tradition that we should sustain, even strengthen (bring it up to the level of a science with its own standards of practice).  Those who wish to master the art of being Hilot should train to be good hilots.  TESDA, I believe, has a complete course on this.  But those who wish to train in other fields must be encouraged and given opportunities to train in those fields they’re interested in.  Those who want to be nurses should train to be professional nurses.  And be good at it.  You want to be hilot?   Train to be one, and be good at it, too.

And, you, government official?  Push our citizens to become the best they can be and become globally competitive in their chosen professions.  Don’t ask them to lower their ambition in life.

To you, Filipinos, aim high and hit the mark!

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Any Emergency Services in Our Malls?

I suppose you’ve been frequenting the large malls either in Metro-Manila or in the provinces.  I won’t be surprised if in each of the large malls, on the average there, are at least 10,000 mall goers on a daily basis.  That’s quite a number of people.  Would all these be spending large amounts of money while visiting the malls?  I doubt it.  I believe they go malling to cool themselves especially when the day is sticky and humid and hot.  But, what proportion of this number would need medical attention while they’re in the malls?  For example, the senior citizens would certainly appreciate having some place to sit and rest every now and then as walking the Malls does require stamina.  How about medical emergencies?  Do these things happen frequently?

Do the Malls have clinics to attend to the medical needs of mall goers?  Do they have ambulances for emergency purposes?  Are those security guards, with their belt bags of medical kit, ready and able to provide medical emergency assistance?  Do they know how to perform CPR, for example?  Just asking.

But I’m afraid that the answers to most of these simple questions might be “no” or perhaps "not enough."  Should the owners and managers of these Malls not provide these services to people frequenting their malls?

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Some are Sacrificial Lambs 

The senseless killing of 19-year old  BS Computer Science student Given Grace Cebanico of UPLB has been appropriately covered by media these past few days.  Details of the crime have been reported, and the two suspects caught and charged before the Laguna Prosecutor’s Office.  The PNP has announced the case closed with the arrest of the suspects.  But that’s from the point of view of the law enforcement system.  We’ve not even gone into the criminal prosecution system.

Thing is, why did this crime have to happen?  The suspects took the victim’s cell phone, laptop, and wallet, indicators that the suspects intended to rob the victim.  Why did they kill her?  The suspected mastermind (security guard) was reported to have raped the victim so killing her would be one way of keeping her from reporting this senseless act to the police.  Were the suspects on drugs? 

Another issue to consider is that the victim was said to be going home from a late meeting (some say on the UPLB Campus, others say within the subdivision she was living in).  Already near the gate of where she was staying-in, the 5^th of September Mansion, in Bgy. Batong Malake in Los Baños, she was snatched by crime suspects Lester Ivan Lopez Rivera (security guard of a small bank in Los Banos) and Percival dela Cruz (tricycle driver), who loaded her in Percival’s tricycle and brought her elsewhere.  The victim, Given Grace Cebanico, was gagged with handkerchief and her hands handcuffed behind her.  Somewhere, she was raped by Rivera.  Perhaps both suspects raped her.

Near the gate of the 5th of September Mansion on Diamond Street in Umali Subdivision, filled with plants and trees, is a very dark area because there are no street lights there anywhere within 30 meters (one wonders why not even at the gate of the 5^th of September Mansion was there light – and the place is called a “mansion”). That’s where Given was snatched. 

This was the second incident in the same place.  A few months back, another lady student was stabbed there.  She was lucky to have survived the attacked (well, apparently, she was able to at least partially defend herself having learned some Aikido techniques in her PE class).  Are UPLB students, the future leaders of this country, sacrificial lambs?

I’m not surprised at all that crimes happen in that part of the subdivision because that place is dark, unlighted, and sufficiently far from view by other individuals on the main streets.

It’s about time that authorities of Barangay Batong Malake look into security matters within the subdivision. 

Now, UPLB should enter into a security agreement with its neighboring barangays, particularly Batong Malake where most of the private dormitories are located.  True, there may be curfew inside the UPLB Campus, but since most students live outside campus they are subject to unsafe conditions outside the UPLB gates.  Many incidents have happened in the past and not much has been done to prevent similar ones from happening again.  Would the authorities, both of UPLB and Los Baños, now do something about physical conditions in the area that could help prevent crimes from happening?  How about police or even Barangay Tanod visibility?

The other day, UPLB Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs, Virginia Cardenas, told media that UPLB was preparing to collaborate with the surrounding barangays regarding security outside the UPLB Campus.  Does this mean this hasn't been done even after the brutal murders of Eileen Sarmenta and Allan Gomez more than 15 years ago?  How many more Sarmenta's and Cebanico's will have to go before this issue of security in and outside the UPLB campus is finally resolved?  Better still, how many more Sarmentas and Cebanicos will have to go before there is an end to UPLB students being sacrificial lambs?

Something’s got to be done, and quickly.  More and more people in Batong Malake, and the entire town of Los Baños, are becoming very concerned about their safety.  Los Baños, indeed, has changed over the years from a sleepy university town to an urbanizing center, with all the ingredients of urbanization such as increasing criminality, increasing number of street children, increasing number of informal settlers, increasing number of transcients, many of whom are perhaps part of the bad elements of society who have been resettled from the metropolis to nearby rural towns.  

 Los Baños is fast becoming a troubled town.  

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