A Modern Malolos Republic

Pia A. Kasaysayan 1: Philippine History Reflection Paper A Modern â€Å"Malolos Republic†: A Reflection on M. Guerrero's â€Å"The Underside of the Malolos Republic† It’s generally acknowledged among Filipinos and some people around the globe that the Philippines is among one of the most corrupt countries in the world. In 2012, the Philippines ranked 105 with a 3. 4 Corruption Percentage Index in Transparency International’s compilation of data from 176 countries.The CPI score ranks countries from 0-10, with 0 indicating that a country is perceived to be highly corrupt, and 10 means that a country is perceived to be very clean (Transparency International, 2012). Corruption proves to be that longstanding problem that Filipinos and Filipino politicians always face. Of the many means of political corruption in the Philippines today, believed to be among the most rampant are graft, bribery, embezzlement, electoral fraud, backdoor deals, cronyism, and nepotism (Conde, 2007).Just by taking a look at the politicians currently holding office can the last type be evident. One family sometimes holds a seat in office for generations, ranging from barangay captain to the presidency. The political arena in the Philippines is largely comprised of and governed by ruling political dynasties, instead of political parties (Eder ; Vallarta, 2007). Corruption truly remains rampant in the Philippine society. What astounds me is the fact that it has been so rampant for so very long.According to Milagros Guerrero’s â€Å"The Underside of the Malolos Republic,† political corruption has been with the Filipinos since the very establishment of a republic in our country. Emilio Aguinaldo’s term as presidency seemed at-par with that of modern-day Filipino presidents like Joseph â€Å"Erap† Estrada or Gloria Macapagal â€Å"GMA† Arroyo in terms of its cleanliness and transparency. Where Aguinaldo’s term exhibited cronyism , or appointing longstanding friends into positions of authority regardless of their qualifications, so did Erap’s and GMA’s.Erap’s infamous Midnight Cabinet consisted of shady characters with which he would spend the night drinking liquor with. These men were often powerful players in society, both from the public and private sectors. This group of men, from politicians to businessmen, often won favor and other perks from the Estrada administration. Another example of cronyism is GMA’s alleged â€Å"midnight appointment† of former Chief Justice Renato Corona just before she was to step down from office. This mirrors Aguinaldo’s own treatment of his former generals and comrades at arms in the revolution.These men were soon elevated into positions of high rank, taking advantage of the sudden absence of the Spaniards to prey on unsuspecting fellow Filipinos. It was also from cronyism that came graft and embezzlement, manifestations of a politi cian’s greed for more power and personal belongings. Graft is the unscrupulous use of a politician’s authority for personal gain. Embezzlement, in the context of political corruption in the Philippines, is basically taking money for personal use in violation of a trust, such as the tax law.Among Aguinaldo’s cronies and supporters, there were quite a few who used their name and political power to exhort Filipinos into giving up land and money. As governor of Cagayan, Daniel Tirona swindled the town of hundreds of thousands of pesos. This is no different from modern day governors who seek out the favor of the current president in office, in order to gain more power. Embezzlement, when committed by high government officials, becomes an even graver crime against the state. Pres.Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some officials of her government were often suspected of embezzlement. There were a number of notable political scandals during her tenure as president, two of whi ch were the notorious Fertilizer Fund Scam and the NBN-ZTE Deal. Even until today are Erap and his indulgent lifestyle become the stuff of urban legend and stigmatization. While Aguinaldo himself is mostly spared from such a demeaning legacy, as he is often lauded as the hero-president of the Philippine Revolution, his colleagues and supporters simply cannot be awarded the same protection.Jose Ignacio Paua, Aguinaldo’s brother-in-law and general, was not well received in Albay and other Bicol areas where he milked his constituents out of home and land. Mentioned above, the infamous Daniel Tirona was hardly also the symbol for political and financial cleanliness. While it is our politicians’ ongoing promise to eradicate corruption, it’s obvious that with its roots so deep into our history, it will be no easy task. In order to truly have a clean, just government it’s up to the people to vote for whom they think deserves it and for those politicians to serve the people fairly and selflessly.As simple as it is, this conduct is often forgotten due to mostly selfish reasons. While corruption in the time of Aguinaldo and that of past presidents’ leave indelible stains in the history of the Philippines, our only solace is in the hope that future generations will not have to experience the same things. Works Cited Conde, C. H. (2007, March 13). Philippines most corrupt, survey says – The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from The New York Times: http://www. nytimes. com/2007/03/13/business/worldbusiness/13iht-peso. 891792. html? _r=1; Eder, E. , ; Vallarta, A. (2007, April 20). GMA News Research: Political families reign in almost all of RP | News | GMA Online. Retrieved March 3, 2013, from GMA News Online: http://www. gmanetwork. com/news/story/39187/news/specialreports/gma-news-research-political-families-reign-in-almost-all-of-rp Transparency International. (2012). Research – CPI – Overview. Retrieved Ma rch 3, 2013, from Transparency International: http://www. transparency. org/research/cpi/overview

Terrorism vs. Revolutionary

Terrorists and revolutionaries are on two sides of a wide, prominent schism. While both a terrorist and a revolutionary wish to create pivotal change, terrorists use violence nondescriptly to influence those around them, whereas revolutionaries value the process of achieving their goal as well as the goal itself. Terrorism is a word that seems to permeate modern media. Not a day goes by that the average American hears of the activities of a terrorist group halfway around the world. It’s easily observed that we dislike terrorists.In the context of American politics, we don’t dislike them so strongly just for their push for religious conservatism, but rather for their violent and random attacks against innocent civilians. They are radically hateful toward their ideological enemies. Which is not a relatively uncommon concept – however, terrorism has the word ‘terror’ at its core for a reason. A terrorist like Osama bin Laden, for whatever motive, wishes to affect the world politically by terrifying people into some sort of action.In the field of political science, this is the definition, and historically it has been used the same way. Terrorists don’t care how many people are injured by their actions. If anything, they encourage it, because that will attract more attention to their cause. And change does occur, too. For example, in pre-9/11 days, there was little security in airports. Now citizens have to submit to government agencies like the TSA searching them for harmful non-regulation items – everything from guns to medium-sized bottles of shampoo.Unlike revolutionaries, there are even different sub-groups of terrorism. Eco-terrorism, a new term come to light, describes someone with environmentalist motives using violent actions to urge the government to be environmentally friendly. Such instances include threats to blow up bridges or dams that cause damage to nearby ecosystems. Environmentalist and eco-friendly views are not out of the ordinary – but threatening to explode a bridge certainly is. Terrorists are otherwise referred to as extremists, because their methods of inciting change are very extreme indeed.News stories of terrorists usually involve attempted harm to civilians through bombs and explosives, whether through the mail, or underneath cars, or within an airplane thousands of feet into the atmosphere. If anyone else wanted to change politics in the US, a responsible citizen might pass around a petition – but not a terrorist. The only want to change the world in ways that harm others and cause needless violence. Revolutionaries, on the other hand, do not believe that the ends justify the means. Thinking of revolutionary figures, people like Isaac Newton, or Ralph W.Emerson come to mind. These are people who desired to change their world and did so – creating pivotal alterations and thereby becoming immortal in their various fields. They aren’t called terrorists because they didn’t behave like terrorists. Their effect on the world was done peaceably and with no violent intent whatsoever. For example, Martin Luther King Jr. is seen as a potent revolutionary in civil rights. In an effort to dispel the injustice he saw toward his people in America, he held famous demonstrations throughout the south.These demonstrations are mot famous because they were violent or destructive; on the contrary, King put an emphasis on non-violent civil protest. He was a revolutionary anti-segregation figure, and not a terrorist, because he did not use extreme and violent methods to get his views across. In conclusion, although both revolutionary figures and terrorist have high ambition to change current policy and perception; however, terrorists use violent and injurious ways to get attention whereas revolutionaries have peaceful means to acquire a goal.

Factors Affecting Nigerias Underdevelopment Essay

According to an economist the idea of development is a situation whereby there is an increase in a nations GNP and GDP, leading to an increase in growth .but to a sociologist this is a surface definition as development or rather a country is regarded as developed when such increase is affecting the living condition of its people even to the smallest group in the society. Where we don’t only calculate numbers and figures and structures but can see the positive change of things in the life of the people, both the rich, average and poor. Then such a society would be regarded as developed. For example the living conditions of the USA. Nigeria the most populated country in Africa filled with its endowed natural resources, and according to the â€Å"united nations statistics Nigeria is the 8th most populous county in the world with a population of 2.3%† (UN 2011).but the country still suffers the decay of underdevelopment due to certain avoidable factors that stand as unavoidable. What actually is underdevelopment? W.A Lewis 1963 says that a country may be â€Å"underdeveloped in the sense that its technology is backward when compared with that of other countries or in the sense that its institutions are relatively unfavorable to investment, or in the sense that capital resources per head are low when compared with western Europe or in the sense that output per head is low or in the sense that it has valuable natural resources that has not yet begun use† (extracted by opafola 1996). Agreeing to what Lewis has said so well underdevelopment can be explored from another dimension which in a way he seemed to have ignored, it is a situation whereby the quality of life of the majority of its people is low. The causes or factors of Nigeria’s underdevelopment can be divided into 2 which are both external and internal. â€Å"External includes slavery, colonialism, neo- colonialism and the worldwide recession† (Rodney 1972), with which in my opinion is a fact for our underdevelopment the foundation. Also the internal factors include bribery and corruption, poor leadership, bad patriotism from citizens etc. which actually is avoidable. FACTORS AFFECTING NIGERIA’S UNDERDEVELOPMENT 1. Bribery and Corruption This is the greatest factor that has put Nigeria where it is today, the issue of â€Å"corruption† this is an internal factor. According to the Longman dictionary of contemporary English new edition â€Å"corruption is define as dishonest, illegal or immoral behavior, especially from someone with power†. In Africa as a whole research has seen it that most African leaders are corrupt in nature, leading to their backwardness in development of their economy. Taking a cue from the late Attah Williams of Ghana, he executed all the corrupt leaders in Ghana for the stability of the country, and from recent news Ghana has taking a new turn in its development process (silver bird news 23rd august 2012). The issue of corruption is Nigeria’s biggest challenge that is eating into our economic growth leading to money laundering and looting of public funds meant for the improving living condition of citizens. Corruption now is found in every facets of the Nigerian system especially the political aspect has leaders steal for selfish gain. The transparency international corruption index 2011 ranked Nigeria 143th of 183 counties in the world that is developed, also on the scale of 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt) Nigeria scored 2.4%, between 2010 and 2011 Nigeria’s position declined from 9 places scoring 2.4% from a possible 10 showing the greatest sign that efforts at correcting corruption had been very inadequate in the last year† (business day, Wednesday September 6 2011). This shows the height of corruption in our country, taking the story of the former governor James ibori of delta state who was jailed for 16 years for money laundering in April 2012 by the American judiciary after being discharged by a Nigerian court due to bribe for a case he was still found guilty. Nigeria’s problem is this menace and until there is a stop to it I wonder where we are heading to. 2.Neo-colonialism or imperialism This is an external factor of Nigeria’s underdevelopment; it is the highest form of exploitation from the British countries to their colonies after independence. Nigeria has contributed to its economic backwardness, as it â€Å"promotes the maintenance of foreign domination and enhances neo-colonialism and the flowering of subjugationism† (onimode, 1981). Imperialism has always been an exploitative phenomenon, which was the initial motive for colonization. Nigeria has been seen as a dumping ground for most British counties, making it difficult for us to produce our own goods. Also the fact that we are primary producers with fewer technicalities to produce our raw materials into finished products makes it a means of imperialism as we export our goods at the rate determined by the British colonies and still import back at a higher cost. For example the crude oil, Nigeria is the largest country with the crude oil but the poorest in economic state due lack of technicality in transforming crude oil into petrol which led to the issue of sucidy removal in January 1st 2012, even after which things haven’t changed as fuel scarcity hits most part of the country e.g. Abuja, Lagos etc. as at 19th September 2012. 3.Poor leadership According to john c. Maxwell â€Å"leadership is about influence† and niyi adesonya sees it â€Å"as not just influence but also inspiration†. The idea of Nigeria’s leadership is just based on selfish gain of eating the â€Å"national cake† and leaving the main aim of governance. Research has seen it that Africa is one continent whereby its leaders are older than the country itself and Nigeria is not left out, as most of our past leaders are much older than the country itself. The issue of poor leadership is also a contributing factor whereby due to corruption leaders make laws to favour their actions, as each time a ruler comes in seat we keep on amending the constitution to suite political parties, politicians make empty promise during election campaigns when put office little or nothing is done in such community and citizens keep suffering in squalor and begin to govern themselves providing the necessities for their comfort. Due to poor leadership the recent issue of flood all over most riverine area would have occurred, this is because a developed country would have been prepared to channel the water released from the Cameroonian dam into another dam. But since Nigerian political elites spend time on unnecessary things like the introduction of the 5000 naira note, citizens are homeless. Poor leadership is a contributing factor of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, as the main issues are not critically tacked to solve other things. It has led to flamboyant spending of public funds whereby an average senator in the house of representative is paid unnecessary bills like the seating allowance, wardrobe allowance etc. aside the salary they earn, why won’t people kill to seat on political power? Nigeria is one country whereby the president earns more than the president of United States. As they continue to buy properties that they don’t need instead of investing in profitable business. 4.Bad patriotism This is also a causing factor for our underdevelopment from in my opinion, it is obvious that most Nigerians are aware of our backwardness and they don’t try to help matters instead they add to the problem itself. By disobeying or making difficult certain rules meant to help the country, this is because they believe it is another lie to eat from us. From the AIT news in August Hilary Clinton’s last visit to Nigeria in 2012, she told the president to have the will power of taking certain stringent rules and standing firm for example the handiwork of governor Fashola of Lagos state is termed credible as Lagos with its massive population is actually adjusting to change. This is because even as unpatriotic most Lagosians are governor Fashola still took a stand, Nigeria’s problem is also citizen built as persons no what is right and refuse doing it for no reason. REFERENCES Walter Rodney (1972) â€Å"How Europe Underdeveloped Africa† Dar-Es Salaam. Tanzania Publishing House. Lewis W.A (1963) â€Å"The Theory of Economic Growth† London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. S.O. Opafola (1996) â€Å"The Journal of Philosophy and Development† Vol.2, Ogun State University: Hope Publications. Onimode, B (1981) â€Å"Imperialism and Nigerian Development† In O. Nnoli Edition. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English New Edition. Business Day Newspaper Wednesday September 6 (2011), Nigeria and Corruption Index United Nation Statistics 2011. AIT News august 2012.

Plagiarism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Plagiarism - Essay Example one else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledg ­ing its source (Council of Writing Program Administrators, 2003). Nelson and Stepchyshyn have defined plagiarism as the use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as ones own original work (Stepchyshyn & Nelson, 2007). Plagiarism is not a new concept, passing off others’ writings and ideas as one’s own existed even before the internet came into existence. However, the easy access of a variety of materials has caused an increase in plagiarism and it has now become a great cause for concern for universities and academic institutions across the world. About two decades back, plagiarism did not have severe punishments or consequences. However, in today’s scenario plagiarism is very serious offence and can have numerous consequences that include expulsion from the academic institution or a job. Apart from that, the most serious consequence is that the loss of credibility of a writer. One key reason why students indulge in plagiarism could be lack of awareness. As Evan (2000) says, everyone seems to know that plagiarism is wrong, including those who commit the offence, but few know how to completely define it. Many students do not understand that even using their own previous works without citation is plagiarism. This increases the instances of unintentional or accidental plagiarism, where students are not aware of what qualifies as plagiarism. For some students, reproducing large chunks of others’ texts is a way of signalling they know of the existence of this information (Ryan, 2000). Therefore, it is clear that lack of proper awareness is one reason why there is an increase in plagiarism. Ensuring proper awareness and making the students familiar with the various aspects of plagiarism can make the students more conscious and thereby reducing the cases of unintentional plagiarism. Teaching appropriate

Consumer Bahviour class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Bahviour class - Essay Example xists at IKEA is the fact that the consumers will have a wide range of products that they should choose from and that become a problem (Youngme 8).The store has many products that are attractive and that will make it difficult for the consumer to choose from the wide variety. The other consumer behavior problem that exists is the availability of information that regards the products that are found in an IKEA store (Youngme 9). The other problem that is available is the lack of a platform that can be used by the consumers in the comparison of the products found in the store and their competitors (Youngme 13).The other consumer behavior problem that is considered is the availability of quality services that any store provides (Youngme 9). As a manager at IKEA, it would be good to place products of the same kind and those that are complimentary in one area. That will help solve the issue of not being able to choose from a wide variety of products that are available in the store. As a manager, it would be proper to give a wide detail of information about the products that are found in the store. That will help in resolving the consumer behavior problem that is in place. Consumers usually prefer searching information on the products that are availability. That includes the durability of the products and the way in which the products can be used. Therefore, the management should provide information on the products by physical training and provide information on the products via the stores website. The information search analysis will involve both external and internal search. The internal search will involve the recognition of the items that the consumer actually wants while the external search involves using information available about the items. The information may be available from publications and friends. In the case of IKEA, the consumers will consider if the furniture that they choose will be satisfactory according to their desires and according to the social

Usability study of software lifecycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Usability study of software lifecycle - Essay Example The main emphasis of the book is on practical methods rather than a theoretical one. The author highlights relevant information; skills and techniques needed in the process of designing of an attractive and efficient interface. Several factors affecting the design, efficiency and usability of User interfaces including common errors made are highlighted throughout the book. By dividing the book into five (5) chapters, the author is able to clearly examine Graphic User Interface’s (GUIs). All the chapters of the book are coherent and not isolated or independent in topic content. He proposes incorporating fundamental principles for industrial and domestic designs and their concept to the Graphic user interface design. These principles are broadened through levels increasing from the most theoretical to practical using examples of various graphic user interface implementation on a windowing platform such as in Windows; the Apple Mackintosh (Mac), Motif and other X-Windows based systems. A GUI designer team should possess relevant skills such as Graphics design, System Analysis, Cognitive and Task Engineering skills. I. Fundamental principles of design: the first principle states ‘simple tasks deserve simple interfaces’ while the second principles similarly states that ‘complex tasks demand guidance and elucidation’. The ability to differentiate between complex and simple task is easily acquired by learning from feedbacks or experiences of users. Using the Microsoft Word version 6.0 which has undergone considerable revision as a case study, the author concludes that the certain factors such as Visibility, Feedback, and Mapping & Affordances as not totally disjoint components of design but highlights them as the elements of design. He states that the absence of these factors leads to many errors in design. A good User Interface supports cognitive processes such as memory and learning while avoiding overloading shift memory. A combination of

How to Create a Successful Healthcare Policy and Get It Implemented Assignment

How to Create a Successful Healthcare Policy and Get It Implemented - Assignment Example In creating or reforming the health sector, creating health policies is just one of the process towards ensuring its effectiveness and efficiency in tackling peoples’ health care problems and challenges. The second step is assessing the availability of resources necessary in the implementation of the health care policy; this is an essential process because it allows for planning on ways of acquiring other resources that are critical to the success of the process. Resources include both human and non-human; it is important to ensure that successful implementation of the policy requires qualified personnel in the healthcare sector, sufficient funding and reliable infrastructure. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the policy is important in making necessary adjustments to ensure that set goals and objectives are met as stipulated in the policy. Stakeholders play an important role in the successful implementation of the health policy; they play an oversight role, guiding in the implementation of steps planned. Stakeholders are also important in creating resources needed for implementing the set goals and objectives in the policy; the source of funds, create partnerships with the government and other interested agencies. At the same time, they are essential in setting policy benchmarks as well as help in the process of creating human capital required in the successful implementation of the plan. Every policy is set with the aim of achieving its documented objectives, however, failure to stick to the plan as outlined in the process can contribute to its failure. It is expected that there will be collaboration and consultations in the implementation process. When these processes are not present, the policy is always bound to fail (Mason 2012), when there is no line of command and authority control, the implementation lacks direction and hence fails to achieve its set objectives.  Ã‚   In addition, when there is a lack of resources and commitment from the government and other stakeholders, policy creation and successful implementation is always destined for failure.