Posted by: princessnyah on: September 13, 2008
Any self-respecting writer knows what plagiarism is and the damage it can do to his/her career.
Plagiarism is a delicate and complex topic [or at least for me] which needs a thorough understanding.
I would admit that even I, do not understand the technicalities of it. However, I do know what it could do to me.
As a journalism student, we had been trained to cite sources in our articles and everything else we write. I remembered well how one of our instructors would painstakingly search the internet just to ensure that what we have written in our papers are original. I could distinctly remember how we are always reminded about proper citations and if need be, cite every sentence of our article.
A single plagiarized sentence could well mean your expulsion from the department and the end of your career as a writer and a journalist.
I may not be an expert on the subject of plagiarism but I do know that plagiarism is not just a crime, it is a blatant disrespect to another person.
According to Indiana.edu [http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml], plagiarism is when you use :
Copying of another person’s idea or work is not only unethical, it is an insult to yourself and your capability as a writer.
So, why am i writing this now?
Simply because I am quite alarmed by the amount of plagiarism happening in the world wide web. Plagiarism is very common in the internet because it is hard to prove it in the cyberworld. With millions of website in the world, nobody can really be sure from whom or from where an idea originally came. Though anti-plagiarism softwares has already been created, still the problem persists.
Plagiarism is here and as common and widespread as the common colds.
Posted by: princessnyah on: September 13, 2008
Out of boredom, I will attempt to write about one of the most controversial topics in the country: Controlling the rise of population.
First of all, I’ll make it clear that I am in favor for it. I believe that when God said “Go, multiply and replinish the earth…” He did not mean we multiply irresponsibly.
Here is an article I wrote for one of my classes. This was also posted in one of my blogs and the citations were posted there also. The article was entitled, The World in peril: Overpopulation
Years ago, during a Sunday worship service, the senior pastor commented that among God’s commandment, there is only one particular command that people observe the most and that is, “Go, multiply and replenish the earth!”
Scientifically, reproduction—sexual or asexual (for some insects and plants) is an inherent characteristic of every species. From the mightiest beasts to the lowliest insects, creatures have to propagate in order for the species to thrive and avoid extinction. Humans, as well as several species of mammals, have the innate characteristic to bear an offspring and care for it. It is only through reproduction that the population of the species could continue to grow.
In numerous countries, including the Philippines, however, the growth of the human population has reached a level that is beyond the capacity of both the individual and the country’s resources. A U.S based sociologist once commented that the population of the world is growing at a very fast pace, so fast that the world is having a hard time keeping up with it. According to Dr. Efren Padilla, another U.S based sociologist during his Population Development seminar, as of March 2007 the population of the Philippines has reached 90 million and may increase dramatically in the next ten years. As of 2006, the Philippines has an approximate population of 85 million, barely a year after it has reached a tremendous 90 million—a number that is extremely huge, no matter in what angle you look at it.
The primary reason for this continuous increase is the attitude of the people towards population control. For a country where majority of the population is catholic and conservative, population control, particularly the artificial birth control methods, is viewed as taboo- a direct defiance to the commandment of God.
Using the Genesis as a basis for their argument, the church says that God commanded the people to propagate and any deliberate effort to stop it is a sin. However, in one of our Bible classes in high school, my teacher once said that the verse, which can be found in Genesis 1:28, is applicable only to Adam and Eve when they were banished from the Garden of Eden and to Noah, after the flood. This is because at that time they were the only ones of their kind left on earth and if they do not propagate the species will eventually be wiped out from the face of the earth.
In the present situation of the world, there is an apparent need for control over the rapidly increasing population. According to an article in the internet, “species greatly exceeds the earth’s capacity to support its entire possible offspring.1” If this is so, then birth control is absolutely needed.
We are no longer living in a world where the “wealth of the nation constitutes the wealth of the state” (Frederick the Great). That was the world of a bygone era. The world we have now is no longer like the world our ancestors had—pollution free. The world we have today does not speak of a mere thousand population—nor does it speak of a million because as of 2007, the world’s population has already surpassed 6 billion and there are more to come. According to a study conducted by the United Nations, about 3 billion people are projected to be added to the population in the middle of this century.2 What will the world do to 9 billion people?
Aside from famine, disease, war and disaster, the only solution to control the population is birth control. If the People’s Republic of China has succeeded in it through its one child policy then the rest of the world could too.
Judging by the present state of the world’s population, the natural methods of family planning, which unfortunately is the only method accepted by the church, is ineffective. It is quite baffling that the church should take artificial methods of birth control against the word of God because in the first place, the method does not wish to exterminate the human race—it merely aims to minimize the rapid increase in population. Due to over population another U.N study found out that human consumption had far outstripped available resources. 2 Would God want his children starve to death?
The Catholic Church did not take into consideration that the world could no longer support its people. For third world countries like the Philippines, more children mean less food. While the Church maintains that it is a responsibility of a married couple to propagate, they forgot the fact that it is also the parents’ responsibility to feed their children, send them to school and provide for their needs. They forgot the fact that not all countries of the world could support its people economically, that a third world country does not have the resources that highly developed countries have.
While abortion is not an acceptable act—and considered a crime, other methods of birth control should be accepted. It is only through birth control that we could stabilize the ecological imbalance. There is nothing wrong with finding a way to provide a better life to a family. Nowadays, the cliché “the more the merrier” is no longer applicable. If a family has more than two children and could no longer afford to support them, then there is nothing wrong with finding a way to stop the sperm from fertilizing the egg. If a couple cannot control their biological needs then they should do something to avoid producing another life-form.
Natural methods of family planning are inconvenient and are therefore ineffective. Artificial methods are far more promising as birth control agents. However, whichever method one chooses would be better than nothing at all. I believe that the importance of family planning could be better understood if people will understand that as your children increases; you asset decreases. Meaning, as the number of people in a family grows the resources dwindles as more people divide it.
Birth control is absolutely important especially if the parents-or an unmarried couple could not afford to support children because as what Dr. Padilla has said, nowadays (especially for a poor family) children are no longer assets but liabilities.
Posted by: princessnyah on: September 16, 2008
But only in TN.
...and it’s not even everyday, but its better than nothing.
It’s usually after the biweekly meeting, if we have the budget that is. Most of the time, we do have free snack [we even used to have free dinners] but because we are in a state of poverty [yes, even TN experiences this poverty] we sometimes have to go home in an empty stomach.
We also have free snacks of bread and coffee [and milk for those who do not drink coffee] during overnights but, again, only if we have the budget.
Seminars and other official publication activities are worth mentioning also. Its not only the fun and the performance of every member but TN seminars and IPRs are notorious for overflowing food and drinks. Just love it, really.
You can always forget your diet during these seminars. The foods were superbly cooked and always enough for everybody. You have to loosen your belts after though.
Unfortunately, TN is not rich enough to feed us always. It can only treat us from time to time. But then, who cares? Its, surely, better than nothing at all. Besides, for students on a budget, Free meals are always welcome.
LOL!
Posted by: princessnyah on: September 16, 2008
Why is SEX not discussed openly in the Philippines? I always wonder.
Personally, I believe that Sex Education, like everything else, should be started at home. It should be OUR PARENTS who should be EDUCATING us about SEX. They should be the ones who are in a better position to explain to us what it is and all other things the we must and have to learn about it.
Unfortunately, who would dare ask their parents about that three letter word without getting embarrassed?
Especially in the Filipino setting, sex is a topic that is considered private. Something that is absolutely not discussed be it openly or privately.
But why is that so? If education starts at home and parents are the first teachers, then why don’t they educate us about it?
I think the problem is that, Filipinos [being conservative] gets too embarassed discussing these things. Sex is a subject that is discussed only in a Biology and Health classes in high school but never discussed openly at home.
I only learned what its all about in 2nd year HS and I remembered being reprimanded for asking a very simple “how did I get inside your stomach?” when I was in the elementary. Of course, back then I did not know that babies did not really came from the mommy’s stomach.
One thing also, classroom discussions are filled with so many technicalities and words that needs to be looked up in the dictionary plus the endless laughter and teasing of your classmates makes everything unreal. It would be different if its the parents doing the explanation because they know the very things that we have to know.
This topic should not only be discussed inside the classroom but should also be reinforced at home. Believe me, classroom discussions about sex are never taken seriously by the students. It needs to be reinforced at home. A one hour classroom discussion is not enough to get though the hardheadedness of today’s generation [me included]. There is a need to emphasize the importance of this thing.
Of course, sex education does not only talks about how the sperm fertilizes the egg. That is so grade school.
It also focuses on the different methods of birth control. Which brings me to a question, what is the purpose of sex education? To teach us what sex is all about or teach us how to?
Of course I do understand the importance of knowing about birth controls because sooner or later we will all [or at least some of you] get married and will have to. But, does this mean that while they are discouraging pre-marital sex in sex education they are also encouraging it at the same time? Or maybe they are simply realistic enough to admit that the people they are talking to only absorbs 10% of what they are talking about.
Posted by: princessnyah on: September 16, 2008
I know, someday I’ll see you again…
“…Babalik na kami ng Mindoro, dun na ako mag-aaral ulit…,” she shared as we were trying to draw our dream houses in a piece of primary pad paper. I was concentrating so hard in my “artwork” that I merely glanced at her and never said anything.
I wish I did.
I was in Grade IV when I met Laura. She was a transferee student from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro. With our family names both starting in “G”, she was assigned to sit beside me. We were both skinny, I was only a tinny bit taller than her and a bit bigger. She was a gentle girl who tries so hard to adjust in a new environment, away from her parents and living only with her aunt and her elder sister Ethel [who was then in HS], or at least, this is what I have realized so late.
If I close my eyes I could still picture her out, sitting beside me and singing her favorite song or talking about her crush. Sometimes, she does both. She would sing “Dr. Jones” at the top of her lungs with her arteries bulging in her neck. There are times when she would belt out so much that I would imagine her arteries bursting from too much energy she exerts.
She’s a Baptist just like me and oftentimes, she would give me tracks and leaflets from their church. We would read it together or otherwise, I would stash it in my bag and forget about it. She often talks about her life, and I wish I paid attention.
I could only remember her telling me about their life in Mindoro, her sister, and how much she wanted to be with her parents. I wish I did listen to her though. I wish I did pay attention to what she was saying. She was the first person to make me feel what “losing a friend” means.
Laura Angela is a girl who, sometimes, because of her difficulty with the dialect tend to say things she did not actually mean. One time, she said something that one of our classmates misinterpreted. She was challenged in a catfight and the other girl was bigger than her. Bigger and stronger.
I was there. I saw how she was hurt and insulted by the girl but I did not do anything. One of the many regrets in my life. If only I could turn back the time, I would have helped her. I wanted to, but I opted to stand and watch like what the others did.
I guess it was the reason why Laura was sent back to Mindoro. Laura’s aunt was so angry at her that she was hit by an umbrella in the head in front of the whole class. Again, i merely stood watching while she pleads and cries. I merely gazed at her as her aunt made her gather her things and pushed her with the same umbrella outside the door.
I know she cried all the way home.
The next day, she was full of scratches and her eyes were puffy and reddish. Her aunt might have hit her so hard that she even got scratches and bruises in her eyelids. The next day she brought to school the wip used by her aunt. It looked like a plastic stem for a decorative plant only that, it has a thin wire inside. I pitied her so much but I couldn’t do anything.
Still, days after the incident, Laura started singing her favorite “Dr. Jones” again at the top of her voice. She sings while writing, while working, playing or simply sitting beside me.
Then March came. She told me that she’s going back to Mindoro to live with her dad. I never heard her tell about her mom, it was always her dad. I don’t know how I felt that time but I never stopped thinking about her even when I was on vacation. I was hoping that she would still be my seatmate in Grade V.
She wasn’t there when the school year opens and I found out that her dad took her and her sister back to Mindoro during the summer. I never saw Laura again.
And that was almost 10 years ago when I last saw her. I wonder how she is right now. Will she still remember me? I doubt it…but I still remember her.
If I would see her again, I would tell her how much I enjoyed sitting beside her, playing with her and hearing her sing Dr. Jones at the top of her lungs. Never mind if her arteries are about to break. I would tell her how much I valued her as a person, how much she mean to me.
I tried scouring the World Wide Web for her but I never found anything. I never even had a picture of her.
I hope she is somewhere safe and happy. There is a part of me that still hopes that someday I will see her again and hear her voice again. There is this part of me which keeps on believing that one of these days, the optimistic Laura will find me in cyberworld and we could be friends again.
and of course, I could only hope that somewhere out there exists a Laura Angela Gela who still remembers the seatmate who almost never gave her attention.
I’m sorry Laura, I hope I could make it up to you.
I miss you.
It’s been ten years…
and it’s never easy.
Take care.
Posted by: princessnyah on: October 25, 2008
What a BS!
If you don’t have anything better to do, go kill yourself. Just don’t send me spams or post spams in my comments coz no matter how much I appreciate receiving comments, I am not interested in visiting online porn sites. I am not a pervert and I detest porn sites.
So, please stop posting spam comments in my blog coz I don’t appreciate it. Cleaning my site with those stupid spams takes a lot of time and its not doing anything good to me.
And if you still can’t understand this, you’d better grab that rope and hang yourself.
Posted by: princessnyah on: April 20, 2009
It is an undeniable fact that the world was never meant to be fair and the world was never really fair. It is also an accepted fact that in this unfair world you have to, inevitably, deal with the injustices brought about by this unfairness; with the insecurities of the people around you and even your very own, with the shallow-mindedness of people with which this unfairness sprung and of course, the favoritism.
Favoritism, also known as partiality or prejudice, is the apparent show of affection in favor of an individual or a group more than the other. Or at least that is how I would describe it.
In reality, you can’t really do anything about it. All of us are bias about something at one point or another. All of us have favorites. And deep inside all of us, nobody really expects people to be fair.
So I guess, though I am always seething with anger for the apparent favoritism, I will not even cry “unfair” or demand fairness from anybody. I guess what I really want to do now and probably the sole purpose of this writing is that, I just want to express my outrage or at least my present feeling on this matter.
Though I wanted so much to cry out unfair in bold letters, I know that it would all be in vain. I mean, it is of course unfair, a lot of things has been unfair for so long now and for so long I had kept my silence. For sometime now I prefer to close my eyes and pretend that I am not affected by the unfairness of it all. For sometime now I chose to be silent instead of heaping a plateful of condemnation to all the injustices that has been happening around me. But at some point we have to vent out what we feel and hope to God that the people concerned has the common sense enough to realize that they have been unfair.
Why don’t I just tell them directly? You might ask. I want to do it of course and nobody will be shock if I do because anyway, people always know I am one tactless, insensitive bitch who often speak words without thinking if it would hurt others or not. Well, maybe I really am like that but I guess its better that I am, at last I don’t have to force myself to smile at people I don’t like.
But anyway, back to what I am saying.
I prefer to keep silent because, tact and sensitivity may not be my strongest suit but I still have the common sense to know what will happen if I do so. I am not really concerned with my self; I am more concerned with the others.
But what I really want to say is that, if you favor somebody over the other you may at least try to be a little bit subtle about it. You don’t need to be blatant about how you feel because the people around you are not blind or made of stone not to feel the discrimination. And by the way, favoritism shows even if you don’t say it. I guess its one of the best examples of the line, “Action speaks louder than words”.
Posted by: princessnyah on: April 20, 2009
It is an undeniable fact that the world was never meant to be fair and the world was never really fair. It is also an accepted fact that in this unfair world you have to, inevitably, deal with the injustices brought about by this unfairness; with the insecurities of the people around you and even your very own, with the shallow-mindedness of people with which this unfairness sprung and of course, the favoritism.
Favoritism, also known as partiality or prejudice, is the apparent show of affection in favor of an individual or a group more than the other. Or at least that is how I would describe it.
In reality, you can’t really do anything about it. All of us are bias about something at one point or another. All of us have favorites. And deep inside all of us, nobody really expects people to be fair.
So I guess, though I am always seething with anger for the apparent favoritism, I will not even cry “unfair” or demand fairness from anybody. I guess what I really want to do now and probably the sole purpose of this writing is that, I just want to express my outrage or at least my present feeling on this matter.
Though I wanted so much to cry out unfair in bold letters, I know that it would all be in vain. I mean, it is of course unfair, a lot of things has been unfair for so long now and for so long I had kept my silence. For sometime now I prefer to close my eyes and pretend that I am not affected by the unfairness of it all. For sometime now I chose to be silent instead of heaping a plateful of condemnation to all the injustices that has been happening around me. But at some point we have to vent out what we feel and hope to God that the people concerned has the common sense enough to realize that they have been unfair.
Why don’t I just tell them directly? You might ask. I want to do it of course and nobody will be shock if I do because anyway, people always know I am one tactless, insensitive bitch who often speak words without thinking if it would hurt others or not. Well, maybe I really am like that but I guess its better that I am, at last I don’t have to force myself to smile at people I don’t like.
But anyway, back to what I am saying.
I prefer to keep silent because, tact and sensitivity may not be my strongest suit but I still have the common sense to know what will happen if I do so. I am not really concerned with my self; I am more concerned with the others.
But what I really want to say is that, if you favor somebody over the other you may at least try to be a little bit subtle about it. You don’t need to be blatant about how you feel because the people around you are not blind or made of stone not to feel the discrimination. And by the way, favoritism shows even if you don’t say it. I guess its one of the best examples of the line, “Action speaks louder than words”.
Whachasay?