Updates at My End

Another Book Out

 

I’m extremely pleased to announce that my last book, Writing Your Thesis, is just out of the press.  This book was published by the UPOU Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services (OASIS). It was designed as reference for students (of UPOU and other universities) doing their theses or research projects.  Personally, I would love it if more students from universities in the Philippines other than UP would use it.

This book is a sequel to the first one that I wrote in the early eighties, which saw the publication of three editions, all published by the UPLB College of Agriculture.  When I was asked to do a fourth edition of such book, I thought that any additional material would warrant a new book all together.  Hence, this new volume. 

This current volume has extensive discussions about a number of new topics, such as an extended treatment of how to write the discussion chapter of the thesis, particularly techniques in visualizing research results.  One of the reviewers of the book commented that this was her first time to see a book of this nature providing extended explanation of why research results needed to be visualized other than in textual form.  Normally, she observed, thesis advisers gloss over this very important topic.  Too, there’s discussion about plagiarism, which is something that has become rather frequently discussed in media today.

Well, I’ve been teaching science communication and I feel that even theses could be presented in more understandable form.  One way of achieving this is through visualization of results.  So, in this book there are discussions on how to use statistical tables, graphics and charts, illustrations and drawings, and pictures.

The original book titled How To Write A thesis Proposal, I’m very proud to say, has been cited internationally, even if not frequently.  I hope this current version would be read by more.  I can say it is a vastly improved version.

The UPOU-OASIS is still determining how much it would cost, but certainly it wouldn’t be expensive because our intention is to get as many Filipino students as possible to use it.  Interested parties may link-up with the UPOU-OASIS (oasis@upou.edu.ph), and place your orders.  It’s pretty quick since the book is under UPOU’s print-on-demand program. 

I’m prepared to travel to universities upon invitation to discuss this book and its content in an effort to promote research among students and to share information about the significance of plagiarism as an ethical issue in the academe.

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The second semester is almost in, and there are a lot of things that I need to do before then.  Perhaps I won’t be able to deliver on what I’ve said I’d be doing.   One of the things I had been wanting to do is undertake a content analysis of the electronic discussions in my courses.  Thus far, I’ve produced hard copies of the e-discussions in my following courses: DEVC 263, SCED 250, Comm 320, and Comm 360.  Each course has at least 500 pages of transcriptions.

Of course, I know exactly what transpired in those electronic discussions, but I’d like to be able to present more systematically, perhaps in a journal article, what it means of have electronic discussions ion courses offered online in the Philippines. 

To be sure, there are many problems in electronic discussions in courses delivered online in the Philippines, among which may include small bandwidths, unreliable Internet connections in distant places, and things like that.  I’ve had students reporting to me that they had to take a banca from their places of assignments (that’s where they teach in elementary schools) in island-villages to town and look for Internet Café so they could upload their submissions and read postings from their classmates.  Frequently, these teacher (pursuing their master’s degrees from the UPOU), need to travel untold distances just so they could comply with the online requirements of their courses.  One can only commend such efforts of many UPOU students.

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Here’s a very encouraging event.

For the first time in its 27 years, PhilRice collaborated with the UPLB-CA in organizing the first CALABARZON Region-Wide Farmers’ Field Day, this October 18^th.  Theme of this field day was “Capturing Higher Rice Productivity Potentials.”  The focus was upland rice production, hence the sub-theme, “revitalizing Upland Rice Research.” 

“UPLB is the corporate headquarters of PhilRice, but this is the first time that we did this,” said Dr. Dong Rasco, Executive Director of PhilRice.  Then he turned to me and said, “don’t ask me why.”

The main upland rice variety highlighted in the field day was called “inipot-ibon.”  When I asked one of the researchers why the name, she said, “because the panicle is comprised of grains that look like bird droppings in color.”  This variety originated from Quezon.  This rice variety has smaller grains compared to the modern varieties, but it is aromatic.  Well, most upland race varieties are aromatic, especially when they’re newly harvested.

The Philippines has some 4.5 million hectares of rice land, but only 100,000 hectares are planted to upland varieties.  These numbers alone tell us that upland rice comprises very small proportion of our rice production and food.  But considering the effects of climate change, which could be mostly dry spells, then we could end-up planting more upland varieties.  Unfortunately, these varieties give lower yields because they don’t get enough water.  As the farmers will tell you, rice is one that requires a lot of water.  In fact, to produce one kilogram of milled rice, one needs some 55,000 liters of water.

An interesting sidelight of the field day was the distribution of “bayong” made of pandan leaves, courtesy of Laguna Vice Governor Ceasar Perez.  All farmers, while moving around the demonstration site at the UPLB-CA Experimental Farm, were carrying bayong.  “By and by, all these will have rice panicles in their respective bayongs,” observed Dr. Rasco.  He was, of course, referring to the farmers being very enterprising by collecting matured rice grains which they will eventually plant in their respective farms.

Upland rice is close to my heart.  This is what we used to plant in Batanes, in my younger days.  Years ago, we planted upland rice for home consumption.  We didn’t plant the modern varieties because there’s no irrigation water in Batanes.  Planting rice in Batanes is  a community activity, a cultural phenomenon.  But when the NFA began bringing milled rice to Batanes, this cultural event practically stopped.  Planting rice in Batanes is no longer a significant cultural event.  That part of the culture of the province is practically lost.  And this was really never systematically studied and documented before.  That’s very sad.

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In the just-concluded UPLB-CA Flower and Garden Show (October 7-14) I saw something I’ve never seen before – a completely violet lettuce.  Yes, I’ve seen lettuce with some parts of the leaves violet, but this one is all violet.

By way, the UPLB Flower and Garden Show is always a good show for exciting new varieties of plants developed by our plant breeders.  If you missed this year’s show, do plan to attend in April, during the Flower and Garden Show in time for the UPLB Graduation Exercises.

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Seen Oble at UPLB Lately?

Change, of course, is not a single-aspect phenomenon.  It has component parts.  Some change very fast, but some don’t change fast enough.  Let’s take the case of the Oblation at the UPLB.  That it was put up at UPLB was a great idea; that it was erected in-front of the CAS building is something else.  It could have been better appreciated had it been erected at the Alumni Plaza, near the UPLB Gate, or at least in front of the UPLB Library where it could stand majestically.

Well, that’s water under the bridge now.  What is a bit disappointing at the moment is that the Oblation is standing there  and it doesn’t look like somebody is even thinking of landscaping its surroundings, or at least repainting it.  This was a very clear issue that former Regent Romulo Davide was trying to raise a few years back but which wasn’t even acted upon.  Today, the Oblation has not been cleaned, much less repainted.  Its head and shoulders are full of bird droppings.  Nobody pays attention to it, except some students when they gather at the steps of the CAS to prepare to demonstrate or rally.

Some observers, including former Regent Davide, who have actually inspected the UPLB Oblation have claimed that it isn’t as well taken-cared of compared to its counterpart at the UP Open University grounds.  And the Oble at UPLB isn’t that much older than the one at UPOU.  It’s just that the Oblation at the UPOU, many have commented, is probably the most beautiful among the oblation statues in the different campuses of the UP, including Diliman.  In fact, the Oble’s quadrangle at UP Diliman is so cramped even Oble himself isn’t able to even wriggle.  The Oblation at UPOU stands tall (23 feet in all) on a rotunda in the middle of an open space right along the national highway at the boundary of Los Banos and Bay in Laguna.  It’s a photo-ops area for passers-by.

Point is, the Oble at UPLB deserves better attention that it now gets.  Paging the Landscape Office of UPLB: can’t you at least landscape the base of the Oblation pedestal and repainted Oble itself?  The Oble deserves to be repainted every three years, at least, to maintain a clean statue that reflects the sunshine at various angles.  The Oble enhances more meaningful thoughts when it reflects the sunshine, rather than exhibit bird droppings on its face, head, and shoulders.

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By the way, have you been to the UPLB Campus lately?  You must have observed a new marker alongside the palms on the Royal Palm Avenue, stretching from the UPLB Gate to the CAS (formerly the UPCA Library) building.  There’s marker there proclaiming the Royal Palms as part of the list of century trees on the UPLB campus.  History tells us that the Royal Palms have been there since the presidency of Palma and have become a symbol of UPCA in the olden years and UPLB in recent times. 

The royal palms were planted perhaps during the period that the Palma Bridge was constructed.  I’m not sure about this and I need to be corrected here.  Some alumni should inform us about the year that the palms were plant and the bridge built.  What I’m certain of is that the bridge near the UPLB Auditorium was built in honor of UP President Palma, that’s why it’s called the Palma Bridge.

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I’m not sure, though, if the concrete tower with the traditional symbol of “education”, the torch, atop it is an appropriate part of the landscape in the area near the Gate.  Personally, I’d rather see the UP Oblation there.  It could be more meaningful.  But that’s me, and I’m not the conscience of the UPLB.  Just commenting on the structure (which is something I’ve always wanted to do since that structure was erected some years back, during the time of UPLB Chancellor Willy David).

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Talking of recent developments in Los Baños, at the former site of Agrix is the Los Baños Centtro, a shopping mall.  We’ve written about this sometime last year.  They’re now putting the finishing touches to it.  At the center is the Mall, but on both sides are wings that are probably going to either housing additional stalls or condos.  We’ll see how this goes.

Then, in front of the YMCA Dormitory is now rising the YMCA Condominium building.  For those with the financial base, I believe many units are still available.  I’ve looked at the facility, which I find very beautiful, but I can’t afford it.

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Remember the old Los Baños Municipal Hall?  It’s an old building on the shores of Laguna de Bay.  It’s a small building thaty has been unable to accommodate even the small government offices in Los Baños. Well, employees of the Los Baños Municipal Hall will soon have brand new offices. 

Right now, the finishing touches to a new Los Baños Municipal Hall are being made.  The new edifice is located on a space in the BPI Economic Garden Compound at the corner of the National Highway and the PCARRD Road.  It’s a beautiful building, and large enough to accommodate most of the government offices in Los Baños.

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I’ve commented about the elevated bridge at Calamba Crossing a couple of times in the past and I’d like to make another comment again.

The bridge was supposed to have been constructed to provide appropriate covered walk for people moving around the Crossing area, especially those going to SM or other parts of the Crossing Area, and to free the ground area of pedestrians so that vehicles could freely move relatively quickly.  As for this second idea, it’s clear that such was the purpose because there are signages on the posts of the bridge saying “No Jaywalking”.

The other day, I was driving through the intersection in front of the jeepney station across from SM when I saw a policeman stopping the traffic just so a woman could cross the street.  I shouted at the policeman, “That person should use the bridge” (they were standing at the foot of the bridge beside the sign “No Jaywalkiing”).  Of course they didn’t hear me, but the nerve!

So there’s an ordinance prohibiting jaywalking in the area, but if the police force doesn’t enforce it, then the ordinance is utterly useless and no problem is solved.

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When Good Karma Strikes

19 September, Jegs and I took our lunch at this eatery in Lecheria, Calamba City, known as Lutong Pilipino ni Aling Ely.   They serve a variety of food, like  lechon, various sea foods like ginataang tilapia, sinigang na karpa, laing, bbq, and many more.  We enjoyed eating there.  From Aling Ely’s, we proceeded to SM Calamba City, and then home.

At SM Calamba City, Jegs first got to the car at the SM parking lot to find the door on the driver’s side open.  Immediately, she said, she checked if her laptop was still in the car’s back seat, and it was.  How it got opened and thieves didn’t ransack it was really beyond us.  I also left my laptop in the car it was there when Jegs got to it.  Until now, we couldn’t explain why the car was open and why our valuables had not been stolen before we got back.

Then at home, in the evening, when I was preparing to go to bed I was shocked to find that my “card holder” which contains my two credit cards and three ATM cards, as well as other cards and important pieces of paper, was missing from my pant’s back pockets.  I told myself that it probably fell off in the car but didn’t bother to check as I was already sleepy.

The following morning, while preparing to go to the office, I inspected the car and didn’t find my card holder.  I told myself that it probably fell off from my pockets on my chair in the office, so I wasn’t bothered at all.  We had decided to take our breakfast at the IRRI canteen and while on our way to it  Jegs was practically lecturing me on how to be careful with cards like those in my card holder.  Of course, she had a very good point and I knew all of what she was telling me, and she meant well.

After breakfast, I dropped Jegs off at the IRRI Library then proceeded to the UPOU where I hold office.  When I got to my office, I was stunned to find that my cardholder wasn’t on my chair.  When I tried to reconstruct where I was the day before, it dawned on me that my card holder must have fallen off from my pockets when we took our lunch at Aling Ely’s.  I thought that was really the end of those cards.

Then I began doing what Jegs was telling me to do.  First, I informed our UPOU’s Cash Division that I lost my ATM card to which account the university deposits my salary.  I was relieved when I was told that they would do the necessary legwork with the bank.  I went back to my office and retrieved my credit card files.  Then I called the hotline of CitiBank.  Rather quickly, the guy I was talking to on the phone right away checked if there were some transactions since yesterday afternoon and I was relieved to find that there was none, so he proceeded to block off my account and report the loss of my card.  He informed me that I would get a replacement card in three days.

Then I called the hotline of BPI, but I couldn’t get through because I was calling from my office, through a PABX service, not a PLDY direct line. I decided to personally go to the bank to report my lost credit card and I was told that I really had to do the reporting through the hotline.  When I was told that, I went back to UPOU and used the direct line in the Office of the Chancellor to contact BPI.  I was able to transact my business and I’d be getting a replacement card in three day’s time.

I had decided to go personally to the Land Bank to report the loss of my two other ATM cards issued by the Land Bank, but before I could leave for the bank my cellphone rang.  When I answered, a female voice on the other end said, “may I speak with Dr. Librero?”  Immediately, it occurred to me that this was probably regarding my cardholder that most likely fell off from my pockets when we had lunch at Aling Ely’s the previous day.  I.answered, “yes, this is Dr. Librero speaking.”    Then the voice said, “this is from Aling Ely’s.  You left your cards here yesterday.”  I said, “yes, my cardholder fell from my pocket yesterday when we took our lunch there.  I’m coming over to pick it up.”

I felt so relieved that my cards didn’t fall into unscrupulous hands.  Through this entry in this blog, I wish to thank the staff of Aling Ely’s for taking care of my cardholder, informing me about it, and returning it to me.  Indeed, we still have good people around.  Well, you can find some of them at Lutong Pilipino ni Aling Ely.  You find this place along the national highway in Lecheria, Calamba City.  Do visit the place, you’ll like the food there.  And you can probably feel safe there, too.

Now that we’re into the “ber” months which is a signal that we’re quickly heading to the Christmas Season, more people are becoming active in various means of obtaining more money through less scrupulous means.  Let’s all be much more careful.

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Plagiarism Normal in the Senate?

About a couple of weeks ago, Senator Tito Sotto got perhaps the most extensive media coverage of his political career.  He was reported by all Philippine media, including and most especially the social media, to have plagiarized the content of a foreigner’s blog which he included as part of his speech against the RH Bill now pending before the Senate.  There was also Part II of his speech on the same topic and he was accused of having simply translated into Tagalog portions of the speech of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy. 

Philippine media also reported that members of the staff of the Senator (including perhaps the speech writer) had claimed that it was normal practice in the Senate to plagiarize when they prepare speeches of the senators.  Well, it could be true that they (in the Senate) have practiced plagiarism regularly because sometime back two senators were reported to have filed similar bills using the same words.  Still, this doesn’t make the act of plagiarism a correct act.  That it was made in the Senate by a Senator makes it even much more worse. 

In the Philippines, plagiarism isn’t a criminal offense because there’s no law criminalizing plagiarism.  However, in the academe, plagiarism is a very serious ethical offense.   I’ve written about it sometime in the past in this blogsite.  I’ve discussed it in more detail in a forthcoming book, Writing Your Thesis Manuscript, which should be off the press in the next few days. 

Academic institutions take plagiarism very seriously.  In fact, many students who have been found to have plagiarized their submissions in courses taken in the university have been severely penalized.  At least at the University of the Philippines, many years ago, a foreign student who graduated with a PhD degree, when it was found by the University that he/she plagiarized his/her dissertation, was stripped of his/her academic degree by the UP Board of Regents. 

Routinely, we keep reminding our students to always cite their sources but there are still many caught plagiarizing, which has become much easier to do today with the new technology of “cut-and-paste.”   

 Now, back to the issue against the senator.  I have made it clear in the past that I’d stay clear of political issues, including non-political issues involving political personalities because I don’t consider it constructive to write about such issues.  However, in the particular case of the plagiarism issue, I’d like to simply make a point.  Perhaps the best way to do this is to quote the columnist, Babe Romualdez, who wrote on September 9^th (Philippine Star, Sept. 9, p. 16), thus:

The desire to sound profound is admirable, and there really are people who have the natural ability – or are born with the gift – to convey their thoughts into reflective statements that hit a chord with readers/listeners.  While there is no such thing as a crime of plagiarism in this country, it can be a big offense – not to mention an embarrassment –for one to try to sound profound and intelligent (or if you’re a speech writer, make some one else sound profound and intelligent) when you know that you are deliberately deceiving people by borrowing words and passing them off as original – something which I can only surmise probably happened to Tito’s writers who knew this right from the start.

Babe Romualdez is absolutely right.

There’s nothing wrong with borrowing words and ideas from others as long as you provide appropriate attribution.  What is offensive is when you borrow words, phrases, ideas, etc. and pass them off as your own.  That is stealing, pure and simple.  Sometimes, to me at least, it is more profound to deliver your arguments by quoting others.  For example, in the case of the Senator, he could have said, “I do have profound arguments against this bill and to present such argument let me quote some else who said the same thing in the past,” then proceeded to deliver the quote.  This manner of delivery would have told his listeners that he, indeed, has studied the issues very well and has discovered that others have spoken so profoundly as well on the issue in the past.  People who wish to sound original don’t normally do this, but it’s far better to quote your source than be accused of having stolen some one else’s work and passed it off as yours.   

In all fairness to Senator Sotto, I don’t think it was all his fault.  His speech writer is the culprit.  Speech writers must know how to write good speeches without getting their bosses in trouble.  A speech full of plagiarized (or stolen) statements is not a good speech at all.  Incidentally, would this not affect the Senator’s influence on how others might vote on the RH Bill (which he opposes) now pending before the Senate?  I wonder. 

In this country, the only law close enough to plagiarism in terms of coverage is the IPR law.  Some lawyers say that plagiarists can be prosecuted under the IPR law.  Fine, but if you ask me, I’d like to see a test case filed in court.   Who could be the sample accused?   Start with the politicians, did I hear some one say?

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