Native American educational traditions passed Essay Example for Free

Native American educational traditions passed Essay Before contact with Europeans, Native Americans developed an effective system of informal education call aboriginal education. The system included transmitting knowledge, values, skills, attitudes, and dispositions to the next generation in real world settings such as the farm, at home, or on the hunting ground. Education was viewed as a way to beautify and sharpen the next generation and prepare them to take over the mantle of leadership. The purpose of education was for an immediate induction of the next generation into society and preparation for adulthood. Education was for introducing society with all its institutions, taboos, mores, and functions to the individual. Also, education was intended for making the individual a part of the totality of the social consciousness. Native American education delineated social responsibility, skill orientation, political participation, and spiritual and moral values. The cardinal goals of Native American education were to develop the individual’s latent physical skills and character, inculcate respect for elders and those in authority in the individual, and help the individual acquire specific vocational training (Franklin, 1979). Native American education was also for developing a healthy attitude toward honest labor, developing a sense of belonging and encouraging active participation in community activities. Both boys and girls had equal access to education. Boys were taught by their fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and other male elders. Girls were instructed by their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, female elders and other members of their families. Sometimes, both boys and girls received instruction at the feet of either male or female elders (Mould, 2004). There were barely any dropouts and the community ensured that every child received a full education. Youth appropriate information and knowledge was not hidden from any child. Several teaching strategies, including storytelling, were utilized to pass on knowledge and culture to the youth. In fact, Mould (2004) believed that storytelling was a sacred and vital part of a Native American youth’s education. Knowledge and culture were passed down orally, â€Å"crafted into stories that would instruct, inspire, provoke, question, challenge, and entertain† (Mould, 2004). Often, the youth would gather together to listen to the elders as they related the knowledge once entrusted to them when they were children (Mould, 2004). The philosophy of education was that of the development of the individual as well as the whole society (Johnson et al. , 2005). Educational philosophy also emphasized the importance of nature. The pursuit of knowledge and happiness were subordinated to a respect for the whole universe. According to Johnson, knowledge was equated with an understanding of one’s place in the natural order of things and educators were encouraged to study and teach the physical and social world by examining the natural relationships that exist among things, animals, and humans. Studying ideas in the abstract or as independent entities was not considered as important as understanding the relationships among ideas and physical reality. The essential components of an educational experience included hands on learning, making connections, holding discussions, taking field trips, and celebrations of the moment (Johnson et al. , 2005). These highly effective teaching methods were utilized by adults to transmit culture to or educate the next generation. The youth learned at their own pace and barely competed against one another. The youth were taught to be supportive and nurturing of one another in the learning process. As a result of the holistic education that all youth were exposed to in the period before their contact with Europeans, there were barely any miseducated Native American children. At the time of European contact with Native Americans (from 1492), an advanced system of informal/aboriginal education had been developed by Native Americans as noted earlier. That system was misunderstood by Europeans who thus made efforts to impose their formal system of education on Native Americans. After contact with Europeans, formal education for Native Americans was initially conducted by missionaries and private individuals until the 1830s. There were increased European government efforts to formally educate Native Americans after the passage of the Indian Removal Act (1830) which forced Native Americans onto reservations (Tozer 2009). The purpose of formal education of Native Americans, as far as Europeans were concerned, was forced acculturation or assimilation to European culture (Tozer 2009). The aim of the European system of education was to â€Å"civilize†, Christianize, and Europeanize the Native Americans in European-controlled schools. To achieve this purpose and aim, many Native American children were forcibly removed from their homes and enrolled in European-controlled schools. By 1887, about 14,300 Native American children were enrolled in 227 schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs or by religious groups (Tozer 2009). The schools were operated based on an Anglo-conformity assimilationist approach. The Anglo-conformity assimilationist approach included the following: 1) Educating the Native Americans away from their culture due to the philosophy of Europeanization or Christianization or â€Å"civilizing† of the Native American through education; 2) Intensive efforts were made to destroy extant Native American cultures by excluding Native American cultures from the school curriculum; 3) Concerted efforts were made to prevent Native American students from following their own culture; and 4) Native American students were punished for speaking their native languages (Feagin Feagin, 2003). This approach motivated European American educators to force Native American students into boarding schools where it was believed that it would be easier and much more effective to Europeanize, Christianize, and â€Å"civilize† them. Students were forced to dress like Europeans, convert to Christianity, and take European names. Students who refused to conform were severely punished. The effects of the Anglo-conformity assimilationist approach on Native Americans cannot be overemphasized. Many of them lost or became confused about their cultural identity. Some tended to know a lot more about European culture, history, philosophy, and languages than about their own culture, history, philosophy, and languages. Europeanization, Christianization and â€Å"civilizing† of Native Americans through formal education seriously undermined the very foundation of Native American cultures and alienated many Native Americans from their own cultures and environment. Formal education forced many Native Americans to absorb European lifestyles and led to individualism as well as serious weakening of traditional authority structure and kin group solidarity. Many Native Americans lost faith in their own cultures and civilizations and absorbed those of Europeans. Some have neither fully adopted European culture nor fully embraced Native American culture and consequently swing between the two in a state of cultural confusion. Eurocentric education has been a miseducation of Native Americans as has been for all minority groups in the United States. These and many other political, social and economic effects of formal education on Native Americans have permeated Native American cultures till today. European American teachers and administrators have blamed Native American educational problems on cultural differences. This is known as cultural deficit theory. According to cultural deficit theorists, disjuncture’s or differences or deficits between the culture of the home and the culture of the school are the reasons for the poor academic achievement of non-European students (Johnson et al. , 2005). European American schools focus only on the dominant culture and expect all students to operate as if they are members of the dominant culture, giving an advantage to students from the dominant group and a disadvantage to those from minority groups (Johnson et al., 2005). What cultural deficit theorists advocate is that students from minority groups, including Native American students, must reject their own cultural patterns and absorb European American cultural patterns in order to be successful in school. Thus, in an effort to assist their students to be high achievers in school, many European American teachers have attempted to make their students â€Å"less Native American† by educating them away from their own cultures and imposing Anglo-European culture on them. Many schools and textbooks exclude Native American experiences and their immeasurable contributions to this society and the rest of the world and provide little to nothing to assist Native American children identify with their own cultures. From the 1930s some boarding schools were replaced by day schools closer to reservations and a bilingual policy of educating Native American students in both Native American languages and the English language was discussed (Feagin Feagin, 2003). Since the 1960s, organized protest has led to increased government involvement and aid for primary, adult, and vocational education for Native Americans on and off the reservations. Federal and local governments have focused more attention on local public schools (outside the reservations) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools in the reservations. For greater inclusion of Native Americans in their own education, Native American advisory boards have been organized in mainstream public schools. More Native Americans have been added to school faculty and staff. Native American art, dances, and languages have been included in the school curriculum. The central curriculum taught in both BIA and mainstream schools have remained the same from colonial times until recently. The curriculum indoctrinates Native American children with the same European American values as in the past (Feagin Feagin, 2003). In many reservations today however, there are efforts to reverse this by teaching students in Native American languages and culture from the early years of their education. In the Choctaw Reservation in Choctaw, Mississippi for example, students are taught in the Chahta and English languages in the first three years of formal schooling and in the English language from the fourth grade onwards. Throughout their schooling to the high school level, they are taught and exposed to Choctaw culture and encouraged to speak the Chahta language in and outside of school. One of the essences of the Annual Choctaw Indian Fair is to educate both the youth and adults in Choctaw cultural practices and traditions and to transmit Choctaw culture to the next generation. The author of this article, who happens to be an African and from a continent which has had similar experiences as those of Native Americans, greatly applauds the new forms of formal education among Native Americans on the reservations, which include an integration of the Native American system before their contact with Europeans and aspects of the European system as a way of preserving what is left of Native American cultures, preparing contemporary Native American youth for their real world settings, and meeting the needs of Native Americans. The large scale migration of many Native Americans to the cities since the 1950s has led to a decline in the number of children in BIA schools. By the early 1990s less than ten percent (10%) of Native American children attended BIA schools (Feagin Feagin, 2003). Today, most Native American children attend mainstream local public schools due to the fact that majority of Native Americans live off reservations with their children (United States Census Bureau, 2001). The mainstream educational system has however failed to meet the needs of Native American students. The failure stems from the absence of a Native American perspective in the curricula, the loss of Native American languages, the shift away from Native American spiritual values, and the racist and discriminatory activities of many European American teachers and administrators (Feagin Feagin, 2003; Schaefer, 2004). Perhaps, mainstream educators could borrow the new forms of formal education being practiced on the reservations which seem to much better meet the needs of Native American students rather than continually imposing the Eurocentric system which has not worked for Native Americans. With regard to higher education, since the 1960s, many mainstream colleges have established Native American Studies centers to provide facilities for the study of Native American issues (Feagin Feagin, 2003). By the late 1990s, more than 134,000 Native Americans were enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States (Schaeffer, 2004). Majority of the students attended predominantly European American public colleges and universities. Some of the students were not very successful due to the ingrained racist and discriminatory practices in those institutions. Consequently, many Native American students dropped out of those institutions. In general, Native American formal educational attainment has remained lower than that of the general population due to the Eurocentricity of the educational system. By 1990, less than two-thirds of Native Americans over the age of twenty-five were high school graduates compared to three-fourths of all Americans in that age range. Native American students in mainstream schools are disproportionately placed in special education classrooms. The proportion of Native American students who drop out after tenth-grade is 36%, the highest of any racial or ethnic group and more than twice that of European Americans (Schaeffer, 2004). In view of the aforementioned issues in education among Native Americans, a Department of Education Task Force organized in the late 1990s recommended the following for addressing Native American educational issues: implementation of multicultural curricula that inculcate respect for Native American history and culture, and establishment of programs that guarantee that Native American students learn English well. The task force assumed that if Native American students learn English very well then they will be successful in school, an assumption which is traced to the cultural deficit theory discussed above. Today, many Native American students attend Native American-controlled community colleges. The community colleges integrate Native American history and culture into courses. More attention is given to students and their cultures in the Native American-controlled educational institutions. Native Americans had established an effective educational system which ensured the smooth transmission of their cultures to the next generation before their contact with Europeans. The system included passing on of knowledge, values, attitudes, skills, and dispositions required for successful functioning of every individual in real world settings. Access to education was denied neither to male nor female while all children were taught to support and nurture one another and not necessarily compete against one another in the learning process. Learning was undergirded philosophically by a reverence for nature and a sense of humans’ responsibility to nature (Johnson et al. , 2005). The arrival of Europeans from 1492 onwards led to the imposition of a Eurocentric educational system which was underpinned by an Anglo-conformist assimilationist approach discussed above. This approach included educating Native Americans away from their cultures as a way of rendering them â€Å"less Native American† and more European American. The Anglo-conformist assimilationist approach in the formal education of Native Americans has left many of them miseducated and quite confused about their cultural identity. The political, economic and social impact of the European aim of Europeanizing, Christianizing and â€Å"civilizing† Native Americans through formal education are discussed at length in a paper presented by the author at the National Association of Native American Studies Conference in 2004. Fortunately, today, Native American leaders are successfully making efforts to reverse the adverse effects of the imposed Eurocentric educational system by synthesizing traditional Native American educational practices with European American practices. Works Citied Feagin, J. R. and Feagin, C. B. (2003). Racial and ethnic relations. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice- Hall Johnson, J. A. ; Dupuis, V. L. ; Musial, D. ; Hall, G. E. ; and Gollnick, D. M. (2005). Introduction to the foundations of American education. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Mould, T. (2004). Choctaw tales. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. Schaefer, R. T. (2004). Racial and ethnic groups. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Steven Tozer (2009) School and Society : Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. McGraw- Hil Publishing Company.

The Simplistic View Of Westminster Models

The Simplistic View Of Westminster Models The argument that the Westminster model is a simplistic view of the British policy process could be said to be true as there have been a number of changes in British politics in recent years. This essay will evaluate this argument and to help do this will look at Rhodes differentiated polity model, Marsh, Richards and Smiths asymmetric policy model and use the policy area of tuition fees to help understand the changes and advancements that have taken place within the policy process. The Westminster model does not have one individually conclusive version as many political scientists have differing interpretations of the model. However there are a few key features that are agreed on. It is agreed that the Westminster model has strong centralised cabinet government controlled by the political party in power at the time. Parliamentary sovereignty is also key with power only within government and Westminster (Richards, 2008). The majority party is the party that implements policy and support for the policies are normally supported by their partys backbenchers. A two party system is present under this model and the opposition party is there to indicate faults of the elected partys policies as the opposition partys aim is to look the stronger party with the intention of being elected at a coming election (Garnett Lynch, 2007). It is also a feature that policies are easily accountable as it is only the government involved in the policy process (Richards, 2008), where m inisters elected by the public are representatives of the public and work for their benefit (Kavanagh, Richards, Smith Geddes, 2006). Civil servants are there to implement policy, they are neutral and defend the government and House of Commons (Garnett et al, 2007). The model is regarded as an elitist, hierarchical, top down system and is seen as the traditional British political way of policy making (Richards Smith, 2002). The model sees the Prime Minister exercising control over government ministers, who control the civil servants. The central government also exerts control of local government (Richards, 2002). These characteristics of governing shows that government have the power to dominate or guide society as they see fit (Kavanagh et al, 2006). The Westminster model has shaped government actions over the years and provides guidance on how public policy and government is effectively run. It has become evident over the past few decades that the Westminster model is no longer completely evident in British politics. According to Kavanagh et al (2006) the period from 1945-1970 the model was apparent as state power was at a high level. However the changing governments and Prime Ministers have continuously changed and altered the way policy is made. The model has become limited and no longer helps us understand the policy process. The fact that Britain has an uncodified constitution may generate problems for the sustainability of the Westminster model. The political scientist Ralph Rhodes developed a critique of the Westminster model which he named the Differentiated Polity Model which included a change to governance rather than government, power dependence, policy networks, a segmented executive, intergovernmental relations and a hollowed out state (Kavanagh et al, 2006). All of these characteristics attempt to explain why the Westminster model could now be said to be a s implistic view of the British policy process. It has been argued that there has been a transition of the state from acting as government of the people to governance of the people. This implies that Westminster no longer makes decisions in terms of following official rules and through government organisations within the core executive, but decision making is done by many actors at a number of levels such as local, regional or national level (Garnett et al, 2007). It is seen as a new way in which the public is governed. Making decisions requires cooperation, negotiation and bargaining with a number of actors within and outside government. Under governance the amount of policy actors has grown with the increase in the use of the private sector and out with the core executive it has extended the boundaries of the state. The aim of a coalition between government and the private sector is to increase their possibility of getting the best outcomes in society (Marsh, Richards Smith, 2003). Therefore the policy process has become fragme nted and government has now adopted more of a regulatory role (Garnett et al, 2007). Some institutions such as schools and universities now have a bigger role in how they operate but are regulated through inspections (Garnett et al, 2007). Universities are given grants to fund teaching and resources however financial circumstances have meant public institutions have been handed over to market forces where it is now over to the individual or the private sector to fund higher education. This coincides with the argument that there is no longer government but governance in Britain. The Browne report which reviewed Englandà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s higher education funding system has recommended a number of changes to this system. The report advised that public funding in terms of the teaching grants should be reduced meaning the state will have less power in universities as there will be higher private funding than government funding. The report also recommended that caps shoul d be lifted on tuition fees where there are no limits on what universities can charge (At a Glance: Browne Report) {online}. This would according to Minister David Willets reduce bureaucracy and increase funding for universities through students and effectively improve education (Students face tuition fees rising to  £9,000) {online}. This move from state funding to private funding of universities therefore supports the idea of a change to governance as governing of universities by the state has been reduced and replaced by regulation. The Westminster model has also changed in that government depends on other agencies rather than only those In the political hierarchy (Garnett et al, 2007). These external groups do not have any significant power but can have a say in policy (Dugget, 2009). The term governance implies there has been a shift away from the state control and passed over to individual interests and market forces to influence and enforce policies. There is opinion that inter-governmental relations have weakened the Westminster model. This is the idea that there has been an expansion in the number of governmental organisations involved in policy making and implementation at a number of levels. For instance we have the devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and London. This has in effect made policy making for these nations more direct to the public (Garnett et al, 2007) and has eliminated a level of responsibility from Westminster (Dunleavy, Heffernan, Cowley Hay, 2006). Therefore devolution has removed much of the centralised parliamentary sovereignty feature of the Westminster model. Devolution has meant Scotland has their own policies on education and tuition fees where Scotland believe in a free education to broaden opportunities for everyone regardless of their income. (Students face tuition fees rising to  £9,000) {online}. Also the introduction of the membership of the European Union in 1973 into British politics has meant there has been a transfer of power from Westminster. The European Union can have a large influence on policy making. According to Dunleavy et al (2006) up to 70% of new policies in Britain are developed by the European Union. This shows again power is lost to other actors and the EU membership has reshaped and challenged British politics. Under the Westminster model local government did not have much impact on policy making (Dunleavy et al, 2006). However it is evident politics is moving away from the traditional Westminster model as local service delivery is being handed to external agencies instead (Garnet et al, 2007). Also the purpose and existence of local government has been questioned as it has limited powers. There are many more institutions and public, private and voluntary departments within policy which has become a new method for implementing policy. Within funding bodies there are a number of government agencies which help fund tuition fees such as the student lo ans company (SLC) and Local Education Authorities (LEAs) who are also included in the instalment of tuition fees and grants. This fragmentation can cause confusion in administration. The National Committee of Enquiry into Higher Education also recommended that funding process needs to be simplified as there are currently four higher education funding bodies in the UK (The National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education) {online}. There are also agencies which help to maintain standards such as the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) and the Higher Education Academy (HEA) (Distinction and Diversity in Higher Education) {Online}. Therefore in the tuition fees policy area we can see that there are now a wide range of organisations that are involved in delivering services. A further criticism of the Westminster model is the argument towards a segmented executive. This explains there are divisions of government departments, ministers and civil servants who posses their own resources which are to be exchanged (Marsh et al, 2003). It is argued the core executive works in exchange relationships and these relationships are not said to be zero sum however, as no actor has equal resources (Marsh, Richards, Smith, 2001). Each actor has resources that another actor requires (Marsh et al, 2003). The structure of the executive has become segmented as the civil service has generated what is called policy chimneys. This phrase originates from the idea that policies are developed by a department but they tend not to take into consideration the effects it may have on any other policy area. According to Marsh et al (2001) departments can be unwilling to work with other departments on a policy which overlaps with other policy areas in government. For example raising t he tuition fees may have an effect on employment policies as rising tuition fees could mean more people looking for unskilled jobs rather than furthering their education to fill jobs that require more skill. However Rhodes points out that the Prime Minister for example can not be concerned with every policy area (Marsh et al, 2003). As the core executive has become segmented the 1997 Blair government wanted to coordinate and control what was going on in the policy arena as there was a lack of direction. However it is believed that this could lead to further fragmentation and ineffective policy making (Garnett et al, 2007). Power has moved away from the centre and into policy networks involving negotiation and bargaining (Dunleavy et al, 2006) where power is shared and making decisions is not solely reserved for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (Garnett et al, 2007). However although there are many actors involved in the policy process the Prime Minister still remains a key actor. Departments are also a key actor within the exchange relationships as a large part of policies are made at the departmental level (Marsh et al, 2003). Evidence that the core executive is segmented is the fact that there have been attempts to bring back control of the centre by labour. The policy network approach is also useful to use as a criticism of the Westminster model. Policy networks have grown along with the need for state intervention. Policy networks have been a simplifying device in the policy process as they can effectively deny access to groups who do not abide by the rules of the game in the policy process. Policy networks examine an individual policy area. Around the policy area networks are present where a variety of actors are included. This emphasises that it is not only government that is involved in policy formation but other actors such as pressure groups used for information on the policy area. The network approach breaks down policy to a number of actors to provide the best advice for better policy delivery and better policies for the public. Government depends greatly on organisations in networks for service delivery (Marsh et al, 2001). There are different kinds of policy networks; the first being policy communities where there are limited and consistent members as too many groups to consult is undesirable in the network, power of the members is equal, interaction is frequent and of a high standard. Members are dependent on each other as all have resources and therefore exchange relationships as all have resources. Additionally bargaining and negotiation is involved in the exchange of resources. Another form of policy network is an issue network which are the opposite of policy communities. There are a number of participants, membership changes and is more open. There can be conflict and negotiation deriving from consultation rather than negotiation of resources. Power is said to be a zero sum game as members have differing levels of power and resources (Kavanagh et al, 2006). Within policy networks government tends to be the key actor as they usually have considerably more resources (Marsh et al, 2001). As the policy networks involve exchange relationships, the more resources external groups have to exchange the tigh ter the relationships tend to be. These groups also depend on government as government has better resources which these groups cannot access (Marsh et al, 2001). Furthermore the features of policy networks do change over time because governments opinions on policy networks differ. For example the Conservative government was ideologically against consultation with others as it believed this was a sign of weak government. Thatcher used the market to implement services which fragmented the policy process (Rhodes, 2007). This decreased government power and limited their role as the negotiator. These changed again under the Labour government as Labour approved of policy networks and were revived under Blair (Marsh et al, 2003). This contrasts the Westminster model as resources have moved away from the core executive to different actors and therefore it seems governing is not as straightforward as the Westminster model implies (Marsh et al, 2003). Furthermore although the policy process h as changed, central government does continue to have a large impact on which policies are implemented (Marsh et al, 2003). Policy networks determine who they wish to be involved in the policy process. It is very rare for the government to deliver policy on its own therefore government is very much dependent on other interest groups and there are strong dependency relationships in the policy process. Policy networks relating to tuition fees include a number of groups who try to influence policies through the network process. The private report by Lord Browne has managed to influence government into changing how education is funded. The key actors in the policy network would be the Prime Minister, the current deputy Prime Minister and education ministers. Negotiations had to be made between these two actors as Nick Clegg had previously signed an agreement which agreed to no increases in tuition fees. However with much negotiation and bargaining it was agreed the deal for increases wer e better than the previous funding system. (Nick Clegg regrets signing anti-tuition fees pledge) {online}. Ministers depend on agencies for resources such as the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA). Pressure groups such as the National Union of Students have also played a key role recently in attempting to influence the stop to the rise of tuition fees policy using mass demonstrations to get their views heard that they are against the public funding cuts. The government also depends on students for information. The Browne report recommends students are used more and will therefore have more of a say in how their future is shaped (Independent Review of Higher Education Funding Student Finance in England). Teachers Unions are also against the rise in tuition fees and believe it will result in poorer people being denied access to universities and result in damages within society (NUT) {online}. Another move away from the Westminster model is the idea of Rhodes hollowing out of the state. It is claimed the British state has been hollowed out as of the changes in government which have arguably reduced central governments authority, autonomy and power (Kavanagh et al, 2006). It is described as the most radical aspect of the differentiated polity model as the boundaries of the state have changed (Marsh et al, 2003). According to Rhodes (cited in Marsh et al, 2003) the policy networks approach has been the most influential aspect of hollowing out of the state in what he terms sideways, and also intergovernmental relations has led to hollowing out downwards. Additionally the Rhodes model believes power has adjusted upwards to international organisations as a result of joining the EU and globalization as it has meant these institutions have more of a say on British policies and British government is restricted (Marsh et al, 2003). The European Parliament and the European Courts po wers have increased meaning many British policies have become Europeanized (Marsh et al, 2003). However there are many who are against the hollowing out of the state argument such as Holliday (2000, cited in Marsh et al 2003) who believed the centre were more able to control policy outcomes it tried to obtain in the twenty first century (Marsh et al, 2003). The recent further use of policy networks has meant the increase in the private sector and market testing (Kavanagh et al, 2006). Privatisation has meant that government has lost power and exists more as regulatory body as the private sector now has a bigger role in providing public services. (tuition fee;s) The number of quangos, non departmental public bodies and Next Step agencies have grown and hollowed out the state and given power below the core executive. This has led to fragmentation in the policy process as power has moved from the centre. Quangos and agencies help deliver policy as they have specialist knowledge of spec ific policy areas as different policies have to be approached differently (Kavanagh et al, 2006). These changes within the British political system have meant accountability for policies has become more difficult as there are many more actors involved in implementation than previously. This goes against the Westminster models assumption of parliamentary sovereignty where the executive are the main political actors (Marsh et al, 2003). The argument that the state has been hollowed out can be seen in relation to tuition fees. The number of external agencies that fund university fees has grown as there are four regulatory bodies; the higher education funding council for England (HEFCE), the Scottish funding council (SFC), Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) and the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland (DEL). Under Lord Brownes report these would be scrapped and replaced by one Higher Education Council which would regulate standards, students and the i nstitutions (Politics) {online}. Globalisation has also had an impact on tuition fees as institutions now need more funding to keep up their status as one of the worlds best for higher education. The removal of the caps on tuition fees would mean more funding for universities as the government have to reduce the public contributions as of the current economic climate and therefore institutions would depend more so on student contributions. It is claimed the rise in tuition fees would improve education and increase choice (Students face tuition fees rising to  £9000) {online}. Marsh, Richards and Smith criticised Rhodes differentiated polity model and came up with their own angle on the changes of the Westminster model that Rhodes assessed called the Asymmetric power model. Key features were structured inequality, the British political tradition, asymmetric power, a pattern of exchange relationships, a strong segmented executive and a limited pattern of external constraints. In sum the asymmetric power model marginally agrees with Rhodes model to an extent. However Marsh et al believe the idea of pluralism is over pronounced. The asymmetric model believed more in the direction of the Westminster model and argue the dominant actors in the policy process are the core executive. Their main argument and focus is the asymmetries in the exchange relationship (Marsh et al, 2003).

Relationship Between Piggy And Ralph :: essays research papers

Growing relationship between Piggy and Ralph In order to complete this assignment one must look at too distinct characters. One is Piggy. Piggy represents the law and order of the adult world. He is the superego, the part of man’s personality, which attempts to act according to an absolute set of standards. Throughout the novel, Piggy attempts to condition the island society to mirror the society they all lived in when they were in England. Piggy’s continual references to his auntie demonstrate this philosophy. He tries to pull Ralph towards the reason-oriented side of human nature. The Other Character in the combination is Ralph. Ralph, a tall, blond, twelve-year-old boy, establishes himself as the leader of the boys when he blows the conch shell to call the first assembly. Throughout the story, he struggles to maintain order, forced to compete with Jack for respect. The relationship between Ralph in Piggy is somewhat complicated. Lord of the Flies a novel by William Golding begins with these two characters. One the first several pages the initial interaction between piggy and Ralph is described. At first Piggy is very eager to see that another boy beside himself has survived the plane crash. Piggy is very enthusiastic to introduce himself and get to know Ralph. In fact he is too enthused. This introduction partially alienates Piggy. However Ralph notices that Piggy is a competent individual and may be of value.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book Ralph is mean to Piggy. This comes in part from his security with him. Ralph knows that he is Piggy’s only defense. Piggy is described as an outsider on page 21 when the narrator says â€Å"For a moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy on the outside...† Ralph, nonetheless, does start relying on Piggy’s policies. One of these policies is building shelters so that they would be protected. Ralph also likes Piggy’s idea of using the conch shell to call meetings. Ralph and Piggy are also exposed to the dark side together this brings them closer. This is portrayed on page 152, â€Å"Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable.

Essays --

Recently, one little girl managed to light up national news and melt the heart of the public. A video of a kindergarten Christmas program has gone viral due to 5 year old Claire Koch of Clearwater, Florida. Instead of just singing along with the other kids, Claire did something else; she also signed the entire program in American Sign Language so her parents, who are deaf, could enjoy the program as well. Claire is a CODA, or child of deaf adult. Her parents have used ASL in the home since before she was born, and the little girl can now sign fluently. (Jernigan) As we learned in class, CODA is a term used in the hearing community; in the Deaf community, they are more likely to be referred to as â€Å"Mother Father Deaf.† 90% of deaf parents have hearing children (Moore & Levitan). A large percentage of CODAs have both deaf parents, because approximately 90% of Deaf people marry another Deaf person. (Filer, and Filer) When a hearing child is born to deaf parents, they are considered to be part of both hearing culture and deaf culture. They also are viewed as bilingual usually (if the deaf parents indeed use sign language). However, there are times where Deaf parents will not sign with their child. The reasons vary; some do it so they will not rely on their child later in life to be an interpreter for them, others may actually view sign language negatively. (Singleton & Tittle) Deaf parents raising hearing children can sometimes be thought of as them raising "foreign" children. The idea behind this is the fact that just because they were born to Deaf parents does not mean they will automatically inherit the Deaf culture. The children will grow up to know that, technically speaking, they would be share more with the hearing world. T... ...unity. (Preston) To those who were not previously fully immersed to a large degree in the hearing community, it can be a real shock. Being a child of Deaf adults is by no means easy. From the short time I spent talking to Jeremy back in October, I can tell that there is some definite frustrations sometimes. The idea that young children are sometimes the one link that Deaf parents have to the hearing world can be challenging to grasp. I myself probably would have gone along with having a child interpret for me if a situation warranted. Now that I have looked into the life of CODAs and know enough American Sign Language to have basic conversations, hopefully it will never come to that. I think if there was a little more effort by both the hearing community and Deaf community to come to a better understanding of the other, there might be less strain on these children.

Influenza Essay -- essays research papers

Influenza   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Influenza, normally called â€Å"the flu†, the influenza virus causes an infection in the respiration tract. Even though the influenza virus can sometimes be compared with the common cold. It also can cause a more severe illness or death. During this past century, pandemics took place in 1918, 1957, and 1968, in all of these cases there where unfortunately many deaths. The â€Å"Spanish flu† in 1918, killed approximately half a million people in the United States alone. It killed around 20 million worldwide. The â€Å"Asian flu† in 1957, in the United States their 70,000 people died. In 1968 the â€Å"Hong-Kong flu† There where 34,000 deaths in the United States. The emergence of the â€Å"Hong-Kong flu† marked the beginning of the of the strand type A (H3N2) era Different strands of the same virus caused all these outbreaks of influenza. When this virus first emerged. It was associated with fewer deaths than caused by the two previous pandemic viruses that I mentioned. There are a few reasons for the hemagglutinin changed from the â€Å"Asian flu† strain. The neuraminidase stayed the same. Well the only explanation would be that people affected with the A (H2N2) strain (â€Å"Asian flu†), Built up immunity to the â€Å"Hong-Kong flu†. The influenza virus depending on the severity usually includes: fever (around 100 F to 103 F), cough, sore throat, headache, stuffy and running nose, muscle soreness and fatigue....

The Workforce

The workforce is contingent with the teamwork of personnel and state. The workforce remain the main concern of employers everywhere. All areas of employment are touched by economics and its affected by births, plus the quality of training each person receives. 100 years ago, jobs were manufacturing in nature, what I mean is that individuals worked in factories or on an assembly lines. These types of positions weren't very challenging because it's a situation that was repetitious as the worker repeat steps. Subsequently new technology happens to be more demanding, very aggressive and creative. Women are employed within position that once was considered â€Å"only men were productive in. Work shifts are divided into three shifts for several organizations. They're basically eight hours a shift and the employee usually work forty hours a week. Over the years the workforce has added four generation of workers. This has caused a distinctive effect on the workforce causing them to face the age differences. The HR knows that the workforce of the past consequencely will impact the future status of many organizations. They know that achieving their goal depends on how they hire workers. Also, the facts show that countless people are not retiring but are carrying on working well past the age of 65. HR specialists find that they're having to formulate additional resolutions to link the demands relating to the workforce with the aging workers. Which requires HR specialists to understand and be able to execute ways to create jobs and to fill them with acceptable workers. Meanwhile workers and jobs are always transforming so organizations realize that they have diversity and the skill to maintain a balanced workforce being competent to accomplish their goals for the future of the organization. Also, companies have moved to global level with improved technology and communication. Besides more women employees entered the workforce which was not the state 100 years ago where women lives tended to be centered around their families. During World War I changed who the workforce would use once the men were either volunteering or being drafted to serve in the military which resulted in there was no one to fill the positions. So businesses hired the women to work in the men's place. After showing the factories that the women were capable to carry out the duties that the men could do, but they were paid less for the same job. Since then women have demanded rights for equal pay and equal treatment. Because the workforce have become more diverse with gender, age, and culture it has caused organizations to change how they attain workers and maintain their numbers. The older workers are still present in the workforce is making HR to consider alternative ways for hiring, training, and what type of benefits plans to offer as enticements.Today HR managers needs to spend considerable time and money in training in new technology and keep them updated. The future US workforce groups in 2025 would be mostly aged population over 60 years. The workforce I filled with many kinds of technology such as computers, internet, smart phones and many mobile devices that has opened communication where everything seems to move at the speed of light. Therefore, HR will need to be on their toes to meet every task in the future.

The Situation of Filipino Children and Young People

Almost half of the population in the Philippines are children. With a fast population growth a year, the government has a difficult task in providing children with enough resources to ensure their rights. For many adults and children, a 15-year-old who bears a child willingly or unwillingly ceases to be a girl-child but a young mother. An 11-year-old who takes on the task of tilling the ?elds ceases to be a boy but a labouring farmhand. A 16-year-old who spends most of his time at a wage-factory ceases to be a young adolescent but a breadwinner. A 9-year-old girl made to peddle her body on the streets becomes a commodity. An 8-year-old boy on the street stealing someone’s money for food is a criminal. Boys and girls loitering in the streets sniffing rugby are considered dregs of society. Seldom are their situations seen in the context of poverty and lack of parental guidance and societal responsibility. As dictated by social practice, a child may be considered an adult when he or she becomes part of social production and reproduction, or when the child performs responsibilities such as making a living or having his or her own family. While children are not distinguished simply by chronological age, physical and psychological development identifies an age range that sets a general definition of who are children, that is, (also as de?ned by law) individuals below 18 years old. On the other hand, different socio-cultural contexts characterize children and their childhoods. Children have become more vulnerable as they give in to their families’ insecurities, society’s inadequacies and social exclusion as the marginalisation of the poor heightens. Despite the circumstances they find themselves in, children, youth, and young people are still developing individuals who have particular needs and rights. They have both vulnerabilities and competencies. They are not simply â€Å"adults-to-be† who need to be moulded or â€Å"just children† who are to be taken for granted. Children are social actors and can be active participants in social change. The Philippines is making significant progress in the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Still, poverty coupled with political violence pose serious challenges to children. The total number of poor Filipino families is estimated at 4. 7 million. The fast-growing population and the failure of household incomes to rise as fast as commodity prices have resulted in more poor Filipino families. Poor refers to those whose incomes fall below the threshold determined by the government, or those who cannot afford to provide in a sustained manner for their minimum basic needs for food, health, education, housing and other social amenities in life. In the Philippines, children who are victims of violence are categorized as children needing special protection (CNSP). CNSP includes child labour; children-victims of sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation; abandoned and neglected or children without primary caregivers; children of indigenous cultural groups; child-victims of disasters; children in situations of armed conflict; street children; and, children in conflict with the law. Violence against Filipino children are committed through physical and psychological abuse/deprivation that manifest in the worst forms of child labour, child prostitution, begging in the streets, abandonment, trafficking and /or recruitment as soldiers or couriers in areas of armed conflict. Most instances or forms of violence against Filipino children are attributed to poverty. The increasing reported cases of violence against children are the social manifestations of a long history of poverty, characterized by a chronic or cyclical condition of deprivation of basic services that include basic education, health and nutrition services, livelihood or employment opportunities, durable housing and clothing. Poverty has affected several generations of a lot of Filipino families that has resulted in inadequate parental capabilities, strained family relationship and corrupted values. Children are products of their environments. Their situation mirrors the realities of their families, community and society. While the Filipino family puts much premium on the welfare of its children, families are increasingly breaking down in the midst of the struggle for survival. In the process, children are inadvertently sacrificed. The paragraphs on the next pages are studies of the situation of Filipino children and young people. Poverty and Luck of Education If you have an education, you won’t go hungry and you live with comforts of a house. You are living a good life. There is Michelle 16 year olds. She lives in Payatas. Life is hard in a garbage town. At such young age children collect and sell garbage. Despite the danger they are forced to work. Many have had accidents and died. When typhoon Ketsana came, her house was destroyed. Her mom lost her job. With no house and no money for food, Michelle and her siblings could not go to school anymore. Twelve-year-old Marian is one of the millions of Filipino children whose education has taken a backseat due to poverty. The fifth of eight children, she fled her home when she was 10 because she said her jobless parents hurt her. Marian is supposed to be in the sixth grade this year, but she’s currently enrolled as a Grade 1 pupil, learning basic language lessons and math skills in a public elementary school in Cainta, Rizal. A certain â€Å"Ate Rowena† took her in and convinced her to go back to school. Marian has to face challenges in school. â€Å"Other children tease me because I’m still in Grade 1†¦but I don’t mind them because this is my chance to continue and finish my studies†, she said. Despite the challenges, Marian is lucky compare to thousands of other Filipino children. Education is a right, however today; 121 million people cannot go to school because of poverty. The poor would choose to feed the body instead of feeding the mind. They would choose to work in jobs before working for a better future in school. Poverty has deprived them from their right to education. Billions of children are experiencing the nightmare of poverty. What does the future hold for them, and for the whole world? Poverty, hungers prevent Filipino kids from getting basic education. Despite the annual increase in the budget for basic education, fewer children are enrolling in schools. Poverty is one of the main causes of the country’s poor education record and has affected participation in education in more ways than one. Lack of personal interest came in second at 22 percent, while the high cost of education came in a close third at 19. 9 percent. Other reasons include, among others, housekeeping, illness or disability, failure to cope with school work, and distance from school. The lack of interest among school children indicates a weakness on the part of the school system to make education interesting for the students. This may be due to poor teaching quality, inadequate facilities and supplies and poor infrastructure. Poverty, social exclusion, school distance and poor health care, are factors that weigh heavily on children and dampen their interest to pursue schooling. The challenge, therefore, is how to make the school interesting and encouraging rather than intimidating; how to make it inclusive, non-discriminatory and poor-sensitive rather than exclusive and elite-oriented; and how to make it accommodating rather than restricting. Finally, the education content, process and experience should be made more meaningful to the children’s life experiences by ensuring appropriate, culture-sensitive and values-based interventions. The Education department said hunger and malnutrition are also barriers to participation in education. DepEd started implementing the Food for School Program under the Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Plan. It was done with the Health, Social Welfare departments, the National Food Authority and local government units. As a motivation to go to school, it sends the wrong message to poor children: go to school to get one kilo of rice instead of the value of learning; it is also an added burden for children as poor parents encourage their children to attend classes to be able to avail of the daily ration†. Street Children There is an estimated 1. 5 million street children in the Philippines. They survive each day by begging, selling or by taking drugs. Would you care to give them a fut ure? The country has a high number of street children. Street children are susceptible to malnutrition, vehicular accidents, injuries illnesses, drug or substance abuse, sexual exploitation, gambling and harassment by police or other extortionists. They also tend to join gangs as a form of protection. A lot of children are also involved in drug trading in their communities by serving as runners, lookouts, barkers or by doing repacking and cleaning up of paraphernalia. Drug pushers prefer to hire children, because they are obedient and not easily detected. Cebu City is a booming centre of trade and tourism in the Visayan region of the Philippines. In Cebu City alone, it was estimated that about 1,300 children were engaged in such activities. Respondents in the said study entitled â€Å"Children’s Involvement in the Production, Sales and Trafficking of Drugs in Cebu City† reported that their environment was conducive for their involvement in drug trading particularly since their barangay officials were also involved in said illegal activities. The need for money was the major reason that drove them to work in drug trading. Most of the children-respondents were drug users themselves and about one-third of them had parents also involved in drug trading. Some children got physically or verbally abused both by the drug leader and law. Street children are generally thin, untidy, undernourished, and hardly equipped to survive the hazards of everyday living and working on the streets. Some of the hazards they face include sickness, physical injuries from motor accidents, street fights, harassment from extortionists and police, sexual exploitation by pedophiles and pimps, exposure to substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases. The most common substances street children used are inhalants, such as solvents, rugby and cough syrups, followed by marijuana and shabu. Marijuana and shabu in particular are shared with friends whenever one of the groups has enough money to buy them. Some street children take drugs as often as once a day. Malnourishment More than half million Pinoy kids suffer from severe malnutrition. The next generation of Filipinos will probably be shorter and lighter if the incidence of malnutrition in the country remains unchecked. According to the latest study by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, three in every 10 Filipino children aged 5 and below are stunted or too short for their age while two in every 10 children also in the same age range are underweight. Four million Filipino children are malnourished and the number is expected to grow. FNRI revealed that the prevalence of malnutrition is highest in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Southern Tagalog, Southern Mindanao, and Eastern Visayas regions, where up to one-third of children under the age of 10 are either underweight or short for their age. But malnutrition is not just prevalent in rural regions, FNRI said. In Metro Manila, 4 out of every 100 children are underweight and two out of every 100 preschoolers are overweight. Increasing food prices would only worsen the malnutrition in the country. UNICEF demonstrates that the underlying causes of malnutrition are multifaceted, including economic, social, and political factors. Poverty is recognized as both a cause and consequence of malnutrition. Child Trafficking Human trafficking is a serious problem in the Philippines. Aside from being a source country for human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, it is also a transit and destination country. Between 60 000 and 100 000 children are trafficked annually, most of them girls. Children are recruited by agents from poor families in rural areas, who send their daughters to the city to earn money. The Philippines has a serious trafficking problem of children illegally recruited into the tourist industry for sexual exploitation. Destinations within the country are Metro Manila, Angeles City, Olongapo City, towns in Bulacan, Batangas, Cebu City, Davao and Cagayan de Oro City and other sex tourist resorts such as Puerto Galera, which is notorious, Pagsanjan, Laguna, San Fernando Pampanga, and many beach resorts throughout the country. The promise of recruiters offers the parents and children attractive jobs in the country or abroad, and instead they are persuade and forced and controlled into the sex industry for tourists. Child Abuse Over 200,000 Filipino children have experienced abuse. The DSWD classifies child abuse cases as abandoned, neglected, sexually abused, sexually exploited, physically abused/maltreated, victims of child labor, victims of illegal recruitment, victims of child trafficking, victims of armed conflict, and others (emotionally abused, etc. ). The regions with the most number of child abuse cases served are NCR, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, and Zamboanga Peninsula. The reduction in the number of cases served came mainly from Zamboanga Peninsula. More than half of the child abuse victims are aged 10 to below 18 years old. Revolting is the fact that about one out of four victims is aged below five years old. By category, more than one-half of abused children served by the DSWD have either been abandoned or neglected, comprising the most common cases. Why are they abandoned and/or neglected? Are these innocent children victims of unwanted pregnancies, or of abject poverty? After abandoned/neglected children, sexually abused children are the second most common cases. And despite the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 (Republic Act (RA) No. 353), the most common sexual abuse is rape, followed by incest and acts of lasciviousness. Rape victims are predominantly female. One wonders whether the prohibition under RA 9346 in 2006 of the death penalty originally possible for convicted rape offenders under certain conditions has contributed to this social problem. And quite worrisome is the relatively large number of incest cases, calling attention to the breakdown of the family as a social institution. Does the CWC have a program to address this sensitive social issue? Some victims of child labor are only 5 to below 10 years old. While child labour—de?ned by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as the â€Å"employment of children below 15 years of age and the employment of those below 18 years in hazardous or deleterious work†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is declared illegal, the government di?erentiate it from child work, which is considered an â€Å"acceptable vocation for children. † In reality though, the distinction is not clear. Even the exemption provided for when parents give consent for their child’s engaging in labour validates the reality that a family’s economic status decides whether or not a child is forced to work. Victims of paedophilia have been reported in Eastern Visayas, NCR, and MIMAROPA. Most of the sexually-exploited children are either victim of prostitution or of cyber pornography. The child prostitution cases went up slightly. Cyber pornography victims are served in NCR, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Ilocos Region. And while the absolute number of cyber pornography cases may be small, there could possibly be many more, as is probably the case with child prostitution, who have not sought help from the DSWD. This should serve as a stern warning about the danger of allowing children unguided access to the Internet. Situation of Education in the Philippines In spite of a constitutional mandate, the budget allocation on education is far lower than required in the Philippines. The impact of economic crisis and the pressures of increasing population are forcing parents to send their wards to overcrowded and ill-equipped public schools. And the school itself is not unusual in a country whose population of 92 million is exploding so fast, and whose education budget is so small, that it cannot find space to teach its children. More children are also coming into the public schools as the economy tightens and families cannot afford the haven of private schools, with their smaller classes. Many children, lesser classrooms – This school year opened with a nationwide enrolment of millions of students from elementary through high school, almost exactly a million more than in the previous year. Although the government began a classroom-building program, the schools are still classrooms short, according to Juan Miguel Luz, a former under secretary of education who works with the National Institute of Policy Study, which advocates better education policies. To squeeze in all the students, many classrooms have been divided into two by partitions. Stairwells and corridors have been converted into miniature classrooms. In the capital, Manila, Education Department figures show an average of one toilet for every 143 high school students and one for every 114 elementary school students. At Munoz-Palma High School, some lavatories have been converted into claustrophobic faculty lounges, while the lounges have been put to use as classrooms. â€Å"I have 106 students in my class and 90 seats,† said Rico Encinares, 34, a chemistry teacher. Everybody has seats if some of them are absent. But if they all come, there are not enough seats. They have to share seats. † –Teacher- Missing on quality education – Only about 10% of his students – the truly motivated ones – get a quality education, he said. Individual attention is almost impossible. â€Å"I don’t know the names of all my students, even at the end of the school year,† he said. â€Å"You only remember the ones who are very noisy or very good. But the silent ones who just sit there listening, you can’t recall their names. -Teacher- Children in conflict The political violence continues to affect children in the country. Local authorities have been involved in death-squad operations targeting children. There are also reports of children being used by government linked paramilitaries and armed opposition. Children, sometimes as young as 11 years old, have been recruited by armed rebel movements, such as the New People’s Army, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Abu Sayyaf Group, to serve as combatants, spies, guards, cooks or medics. According to 2005 estimates, up to 13 per cent of the armed group MILF’s 10,000 members were children. According to existing studies, usually males between the ages of 11 and 17 who have low educational attainment, mostly reaching only the elementary level. They are usually middle or in-between children in very large low-income families. Various studies have established that many of these children are either on the streets or of the streets when they were apprehended. While a signi?cant number still live with parents or a relative, they are usually out on the streets to eke out a living or are involved in peer groups or gangs, which are usually associated with vices and illegal activities. Justice The age of criminal responsibility is 9 years. Despite legislative and procedural safeguards put in place in 2006 with the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, children in detention are imprisoned together with adults in poor detention conditions, increasing the risk of physical or sexual abuse. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is alarmed over the increasing reports of cases of child abuse and neglect and the notable deficiencies in domestic legislation as regards penalizing all forms of abuse, neglect and mistreatment, including sexual abuse. This includes alleged cases of sexual abuse of children in the framework of religious institutions. There are also a number of reported cases of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment of children, particularly of children in detention. Many children below the age of 18 are placed with adults in detention. References: * http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/start/countries/philippines * http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/111257/news/specialreports/poverty-hunger-prevent-filipino-kids-from-getting-basic-education * http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080705-146662/4M-malnourished-Filipino-children *   http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/232299/more-filipino-children-stunted-due-to-malnutrition#ixzz2YSsYkc6e   * http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20100204-251263/Over-200000-Filipino-children-are-victims-of-abuse-says-group * http://www.nscb.gov.ph/headlines/StatsSpeak/2011/101011_rav.asp * http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/publications/violence.pdf * http://southasia.oneworld.net/archive/globalheadlines/school-education-faces-worst-ever-crisis-in-philippines