Of Mice and Men Essay Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Essay â€Å"The language of friendship is not in words, but in meanings† – Henry David Thoreau While reading the novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader gets a front row view into the relationship of the two main characters, Lennie and George. In every friendship, there are dysfunctional moments, ups and downs, genuine moments and never ending adventures. By definition, a friend is someone to talk to, do things with, be there for each other in time of need and be each other’s crying shoulder. Throughout this novel, Lennie and George display a friendship unlike any other. It is so dysfunctional and rare it makes the reader wonder why these two are friends. For example, the boss says â€Å"Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.† â€Å"I just like to know your interest.† In this quote found on page 25, the boss is trying to make sense of their friendship. Even though this quote highlights the rarity of George and Lennie’s bond, this causes the boss to suspect wrong- doing on George’s part. At the end of the novel, George ends up shooting Lennie. This perfectly displays the dysfunctional and rare qualities in their friendship. There are many ups and downs in Lennie and George’s friendship in addition to it being dysfunctional and rare. Lennie is mentally ill. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind his actions. For instance, without Lennie, George could â€Å"Go get a job an’ work an’ no trouble. No mess at all and at the end of the month I could take my fifty bucks into town and get whatever I want.† This shows Lennie and George’s Relationship being down. Even though Lennie is a huge burden, George ultimately chooses to not be without him. Even though it seems like George is being held down by Lennie, George stays with Lennie because they both want the migrant dream. â€Å"Someday – we’re gonna get the Jack together, have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and we’ll have a big vegetable patch.† Thus, these two cannot live without each other. Lennie and George have a genuine relationship too. George takes really good care of Lennie, almost like in a maternal way. George says, â€Å"Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much, you gonna be sick like you was last night.† This shows he cares about Lennie. In the beginning, Lennie assaults a lady by tearing the front side of her dress  off in their old town Weeds. George could’ve easily left Lennie to fend for himself but he realized that wasn’t the right thing to do. Lennie hears his dead aunt Clara telling him â€Å"When he got a piece of pie you always got half or more’n half.† â€Å"An’ if there was any ketchup, why he’d give it all to you.† As the novel progresses, Lennie’s past catches up with him and the authorities start looking for him. George knows that if it is caught, the officers would throw him in jail and he wouldn’t survive. So George shoots Lennie to basically put him out of his misery. Clearly, they have a genuine friendship. With every friendship, there are many adventures along the way. The novel starts off in a scenic woodsy area by a lake. Lennie and George run away together from their home town of Weed to run from the authorities and start a new life as migrant workers. When they’ve finally reached the barn, they meet new people and build relationships with them. The boss, Curley, Curley’s wife, Slim, Crooks, and Carlson. Lennie is always getting into trouble and George is always looking to get him out of it. Lennie kills a mouse, strangles Curley’s wife and also kills the dog. Although this book had many twist and turns, it was a heart- warming thriller that illustrated what life was like back in the 1930s. it surely wasn’t easy but having a dream meant a lot to the characters and made them strive to live their dream.

Strategic Planning in the Australian Coffee market

Strategic Planning in the Australian Coffee market Industry/Market definition The Australian Coffee Industry comprises all the firms that offer products for sale that are derived from coffee beans. There are pure coffee products, ie whole and ground coffee beans, and instant coffee products. Each kind of product has its own target market. A market is the set of all actual and potential buyers of a product (Kotler et al 1998, p885). The pure coffee market consists of all the actual and potential buyers of whole or ground coffee beans. The instant coffee market consists of all the actual and potential buyers of instant coffee. For the purposes of this assignment, I will focus on the instant coffee market in Australia. Part1 Macroenvironment The marketing environment within which a company operates is dynamic. Its consists of a microenvironment, and a macroenvironment. The microenvironment is the forces close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers. The macroenvironment is the larger societal forces that affect the whole microenvironment, (Kotler et al 1998, pp885-886) The macroenvironment consists of six types of forces: demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. A companys marketing strategy must take into account changes and trends in these environments that can present opportunities or pose threats. A successful firm is one that regularly modifies it marketing mix and strategies to adapt to these changes (Czinkota et al 2000, p17). Below I will outline the six macroenvironmental forces, and how they may affect the instant coffee market in Australia. Demographic environment Demographics are the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupations and other statistics (Kotler et al 1998, p105). The demographic environment consists of all the aforementioned demographic variables, and their ability to affect the Australian instant coffee market. The importance of the demographic environment lies in the fact that all demand for a product derives ultimately from people (Cannon 1998, p41). Kotler et al (1998, p113) noted that demographic developments have transformed the Australian marketplace from a mass market into more fragmented micro-markets differentiated by age, sex, geography, lifestyle, ethic background, education and other factors. Recent demographic trends in Australia are a better-educated and more white-collar population, increasing ethnic diversity, and changing age structures. The implications of such changes are that organisations must now design products and marketing programs for the specific micro-markets they wish to target. While all demographic variables have the potential to affect the instant coffee market in Australia, the area of particular significance is the emergence of ethnic micro-markets. Ethnic communities now make up a significant and growing part of the Australian population, who have clear product and brand preferences (Bradmore et al 1997, p88). Thus, there is now demand for a wider variety of coffee styles to suit ethnic tastes, which requires the development of new products and marketing strategies. For example, since ninety-five percent of all coffee drunk by Italians is espresso, (Barton 2000), many companies have developed instant espresso products. Economic environment The economic environment consists of the factors that affect consumer buying power and spending patterns (Kotler et al 1998, p113). Factor include income and employment levels, inflation levels, savings and credit conditions, the value of the Australian dollar and so on. This aspect of the macroenvironment is important to the Australian instant coffee market, as it is to any market, because consumers must have the purchasing power to back up their desire for the products. However, since non-price factors, such as branding, are a significant basis for competition for coffee products (IBIS World 2000, p8), changes in retail coffee prices will not have a huge effect on the market share of any one manufacturer. Despite that, economic factors that do affect the Australian coffee market include the value of the Australian dollar. Virtually all coffee beans are imported, and their prices vary with changes in the relative exchange rates (IBIS World 2000, p15). A low value of the Australian dollar, as is the present case, drives up input prices for manufacturers, which may be passed onto consumers. Furthermore, the Association of Coffee Producing Countries, which accounts for three quarters of world coffee-bean production, has announced plans to restrict the output of beans, which would mean it could control prices (Crawford 2000, p1). The effect of this possible price control is not yet known, but it could drive smaller manufacturers out of the market if the price increases are too high. Also, another issue is the level of disposable income of Australians. With an increase in income, consumers are increasingly likely to purchase higher quality products rather than to simply purchase more. Thus there is a growing market for higher quality and priced instant coffee. As noted in the IBIS World Report for C2179 Food Manufacturing, higher income facilitated the successful introduction of specialtycoffee products. (IBIS World 2000, p7). The GST is not applicable to coffee products, but GST on pure coffee products served at commercial premises could increase the market potential for instant coffee. Natural environment The natural environment concerns the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities (Kotler et al 1998, p116). Today, there is a growing awareness of the need to preserve our planet, and that includes the need to protect our natural environment from the potentially harmful affects of industrial activities. Since coffee producers make use of the natural environment, there is a potential for this aspect of the macroenvironment to be quite significant to the Australian coffee industry. Consumers, more than ever, are beginning to boycott products that have been manufactured in such a way as to damage the environment. This is putting pressure on manufactures to ensure all procedures are environmentally friendly, or risk losing market share. Such issues that involve coffee manufacturing are the use of pesticides and chemicals, pollution from manufacturing plants, excessive water use in the production stage, and the effect of farming the land in regard to future erosion and depletion of natural minerals. Also, the supply and price of coffee beans to the Australian Coffee market is at the mercy of the natural elements. The IBIS World (2000, p27) Industry Report stated that coffee bean prices are forecast to increase sharply(as)the result of poor seasonal conditions in Central America and low stocks. Technological environment The technological environment is the forces that affect new technologies, creating new product and market opportunities (Kotler et al 1998, p889). Since coffee was discovered in around 1000AD (Nescafà © 2000), the methods used to grow, harvest, process and manufacture coffee products has certainly evolved. The use of irrigation systems, fertilisers, machinery in the harvest process, and the introduction of automated, computer controlled equipment (in Australian processing plants) has raised efficiency and, in many cases, has also improved product quality (IBIS World 2000, p25). However, the most recent influential forces concern advances in manufacturing processes, and developments of new coffee machines for home use. New technologies had made it possible for Australian instant coffee manufacturers to produce a wider range of products, of higher quality. For example, Nescafà © have recently introduced a new instant Cafà © Latte range, and also new instant Espresso. Also, using freeze-dried technology, instant coffee has a significantly longer shelf life than any product in the pure coffee market, which is a significant advantage. However, over the past few decades, the development of inexpensive coffee perculators and plungers has increased the attractiveness of pure coffee products, often at the expense of the instant coffee market. For example, Melitta House of Coffee recently introduced a coffee maker that makes 10-15 cups of coffee as quickly as boiling a jug. Lastly, the advent Internet shopping is allowing consumers to make purchases on-line, and from foreign suppliers, thus posing a threat to the size and profitability of the Australian coffee market. Political environment The political environment consists of the laws, government agencies and pressure groups that influence and limit various organisations and individuals in the society (Kotler et al 1998, p887). Like in all markets, organisations that operate in the Australian instant coffee market are subject to laws that regulate virtually all aspects of their business, including such areas as food and health safety, pollution emissions, and advertising and labelling requirements. However, the political environment does not have large impact on the Australian coffee market. Cultural environment The cultural environment consists of the institutions and forces that affect societys basic values, perceptions and behaviours (Kotler et al 1998, p882). Changes in Australian culture, and the emergence of varied sub-cultures can have a large impact on the instant coffee market in Australia. As Hugh Mackay, chairman of Mackay Research Pty Ltd stated: Anyone who is serious about communicating with contemporary Australiansneeds to understand the most contemporary trends in attitudes and behaviour. (Bradmore et al 1997, p62) Recent trends in Australia that are having a particular affect on the instant coffee market are the redefinition of health and associated anxieties about diet, fitness and stress, and the recent emergence of a young Australian coffee culture. Australians are, more than ever, concerned about their health. There is a wealth of research linking caffeine to many ailments, and thus, this is increasing demand for the healthy alternative decaffeinated products. There is also the threat the consumers could boycott coffee products all together, and switch to another beverage, such as tea, which is well known for its positive health benefits. In addition, the market for all types of coffee is benefiting from an era of coffee in AustraliaA real coffee culture is growing. (Miller 2000, p3) People are not only drinking more coffee, but becoming coffee connoisseurs. Coffee is no longer just a product, but a means of self-expression. As a society we are placing the emphasis on quality, not quantity, and as such consumers are buying more exotic instant coffees (Bannister 2000, p17). There has also been an emergence of many different subcultures. A subculture is a group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences or situations (Kotler et al 1998, p123). Today, there is wide range of subcultures, particularly those based on nationalities, which is leading to demand for a wider variety of products. Part2 The marketing mix: How it is used by two companies to target the australian instant coffee market. There are many organisations that operate within the instant coffee market in Australia. Each company positions themselves with a unique marketing mix that is aimed at specific segments of the market. Kotler et al (1998, p57) defines the marketing mix as the set of controllable marketing variables that the company blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The variables of the marketing mix are the four Ps: Product: the goods-and-service combination the company offers to the target market (Kotler et al 1998, p57). Price: the amount of money customers have to pay to obtain the product (Kotler et al 1998, p58). Place (Distribution): involves company logistics and marketing activities concerned with the making and distributing the final product (Kotler et al 1998, p58). Promotion: the activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade the target customers to buy it (Kotler et al 1998, p58). This includes advertising, publicity, sales promotions, personal selling, direct marketing and sponsorship. I will focus on the marketing mix of Nescafà © and of Robert Timms. Nescafà © Nescafe products are produced by Nestle. Necafe holds a vary large share of the instant coffee market in Australia. Marketing mix outline Product There is a range of Nescafà © products available (see Table 1 below). Price The prices of the Nescafà © products have been listed in Table1: Nescafà © products and price. Place (Distribution) The Nescafà © product range is available in all large supermarket chains (Safeway, Coles etc). Smaller, independent grocers or stockists generally have a smaller range that would include Nescafà © Blend 43. Promotion a variety of promotional techniques. This includes: Large scale advertising They advertise their products in a wide variety of print, broadcast and display media. Their most recent nation wide advertising campaigns were the Open up with Nescafà © series, and the Nescafà © in the morning series. Sales promotions Nescafà © regularly runs contests that coincide with new product launches or advertising campaigns. Recent promotions were * win $1000 every morning for a month * Win the Nescafà © Latte Lounge to promote the new latte range Nescafà © also use point of sale promotions, have cash-back offers, and have give-aways. Eg. a free Nescafà © mug was given away with every purchase of 500g of Blend 43. The mug was the same type as that used in the Nescafà © in the morning advertisement series. Sponsorship: Nescafà © sponsors the * Nescafà © Big Break competition which will give away $180,000 to young people (aged 16-21) with original and achievable ideas. * Nescafà © Short Film Awards which offers a total of A$50,000 in cash awards to short film makers. There is a student category in this competition. Nescafà © also has an Australian website (www.cafe43.com.au) where information on all products, competitions and events can be accessed. Marketing mix analysis Nescafà ©s marketing mix is aimed at a large and varied segment of the instant coffee market. They could be considered the Myer of the instant coffee industry. The most obvious segments of the market they target are: * Young adult cafà © culture segment: They target this segment with their new latte range, along with the advertising, sales promotion and the competition to win the lounge seen in the advertisements. * Upscale, quality driven, higher income consumers: Their Nescafà © Gold range, and exotic tastes such as Alta Rice are aimed towards such consumers, where the price and qaulity are higher than that of the general blends. * Middle-class consumer (no age target): Nescafà © targets such a large segment with their Blend 43, Mild Roast and Espresso products. The consumer gets an economical benefit, as well as a quality product. Furthermore, Nescafà © attempts to tap into the ethnic segment using their Espresso and exotic blends. In their advertisements for espresso, they use local Italian actor, Nick Giannopoulos. In general, since Nescafà © has the largest range of instant coffee products in Australia, and has such a powerful brand name, they have a consumer franchise they gain brand recognition and demand consumer loyalty. In particular, their most popular product, Nescafà © Blend 43, is seen as the peoples coffee. In their advertisements, they use actors of varied age, gender, occupations and ethnicity. Robert Timms: Robert Timms is Australias oldest coffee company. It is the leader in the coffee bean market (Bannister 2000, p17), and has only entered the instant coffee market over the last couple of years. Marketing mix outline Product Robert Timms offers coffee bags (which work in the same manner as a tea bag) in four styles: Cafà © Style Espresso Italian Style Espresso Mocha Kenya Style Royal Special The coffee bags are a mix of ground and instant coffee. They also have: * Presmoto: Gourmet Freeze Dried Coffee. * Molto: Gourmet Granulated Coffee Price Robert Timms coffee bags are sold in: * packs of 8 for $2.35, or * packs of 18 for $4.83 I was not able to find the price of Presmoto and Molto soluble coffee as I could not find an outlet that stocks it. Place Robert Timms coffee bags are available in all large supermarket chains, but sporadically in independent stores. I am not aware of where the gourmet soluble coffee can be purchased. It was not available in any large supermarket I have visited. Promotion Robert Timms has only begun extensive promotion since early 2000, after remaining relatively low in profile. They do not promote the coffee bags or gourmet instant coffee specifically, but rather they promote the brand name. Promotional tools used by Robert Timms are: Large scale advertising Robert Timms most recent nation wide advertising campaign was the Think it over with Robert Timms series, which is seen on broadcast, print and display media. Sponsorship Robert Timms is the official coffee supplier to the 2000 Olympic Games. Robert Timms also has a web site (www.reoberttimms.com). It mainly has information on the history of the company and it products. Marketing mix analysis Robert Timms positions itself in the instant coffee market as a provider of the very highest quality coffee products. The company prides itself on its heritage. As it states on its web-site: We are a dedicated group of Australians producing coffee, coffee related products and services that are comparable to the very best in the world. http://www.roberttimms.com/about/index.html Opens in a new window The company has targeted its instant coffee products to the high income, quality driven segment of the instant coffee market. The quality of their products is reflected in the prices, which are expensive, and the packaging, which uses the stylish combination of black and gold. Furthermore, through their role as official coffee supplier to the Olympics, they are also associating themselves with the pursuit of excellence and the Australian spirit. Their promotional campaign Think it Overwith Robert Timmsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ creates a relaxed, yet sophisticated feel about the company and their products. The premise behind the campaign is best summed up on their web-site: Take some time out of your busy day to enjoy our coffee and you too can Think it Overwith Robert Timmsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Reflect on the day, make the right decision at work or just decide to relax. Its up to you. http://www.roberttimms.com/think_it_over/index.html Opens in a new window Thus, while their marketing mix is targeted at high-income consumers who want high quality, they made sure they did not exclude a large share of the market by appearing overly elitist. Nescafà © vs. Robert Timms The marketing mix of Nescafà © and the marketing mix of Robert Timms are quite different. These differences reflect the different positioning of the two companies, and the segments of the market they were aiming to capture. Whereas Nescafe has targeted a larger percentage of the market, with quality but affordable products, Robert Timms has targeted a narrower segment with gourmet, expensive products. Generally, Robert Timms and Nescafà © are no real direct threat to each other. While they do both compete in the high quality, gourmet end of the instant coffee market, Robert Timms is clearly the highest quality product, and consumers must pay for this. What Nescafà © is offering is a more affordable alternative. Conclusion The instant coffee market in Australia is subject to the demographic, economic, political, cultural, natural and technological forces of the wider macroenvironment that it operates within. Each of these forces has the potential to change the marketing environment, and create opportunities and pose threats to the market and those who operate within it. What companies must do is monitor these environments to adapt its marketing mix accordingly. In the Australian instant coffee market, different companies have quite different marketing mixes, as can be seen when comparing Nescafà © and Robert Timms. These differences do not mean that one is more effective than the other, but rather they reflect the different marketing strategies adopted by each company to capture the market segments they feel the company can best serve.

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art

Techniques for Motivating Students in Art SYNOPSIS FOR DISSERTATION Exploration of selected water colour techniques to motivate students in painting. An action Research at Form IV level. INTRODUCTION Learning is an ongoing process that occurs every minute in the field of education. Learning means to gain knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught, or experiencing something. As teacher, our goal is to encourage learning in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to carry out an action research through selected watercolour techniques to improve pupil’s performance. A student comes in class with a certain degree of motivation. But, teacher’s behavior and the way of his teaching, the structure of the course, and interactions with the students all have a broad effect on the student motivation. There are three things to remember about education as per Maher and Meyer’s concept (1997, p 377), â€Å"the first is motivation, the second is motivation and the third is motivation.† Teaching effectively involves not only the use of tools, techniques, and strategies to optimize student learning but an understanding of context, in particular how your students learn, how they process information, what motivates them to learn more, and what impedes the learning process. Its not easy keeping children interested and motivated in classroom instruction. However, several tips and selected techniques can help teachers actively engage students and encourage them to learn and interact positively with others. THE RATIONALE In the course of my teaching of Art and Design at form four level in my college, I have noticed that there are some topics where students meet difficulties. The subject has been introduced since more than 35 years at Hamilton College Girls department, at Mahebourg, students have adopted the teacher centred approach and depend entirely on what the teacher gave them as instructions. Since, the majority of the students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds and they are mostly low achievers, they should be boost up in creating their own learning environment whereby they know what and how they are doing it. At form four levels, students will be having enough time to adapt to the new teaching and learning techniques which will be implemented. Enough time will be given to them for active learning during their practical classes.. Purpose and justification of the study I have been working as a practicing teacher for almost 15 years in a private secondary school, located in a coastal area. I have been teaching art and design both in lower and upper classes. When I started working with Form IV students this year I noticed that pupils at this level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media. They lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. When these pupils undergo the examinations, they come with poor results. These are some of the reason for me to use some selected watercolour techniques to boost up their level, thus ensuring better examination results. Students Profile Usually students who pass the CPE (Standard VI) with C, D, and E are admitted in the school. Very rarely a student is seen to have been admitted with B’s and least often with A’s. Apart from their low intellectual baggage, pupils from this school come from coastal regions like Grand Port, Bois des Amourettes, Grand Sable and other neighboring villages. Their social background is quite poor as there are many girls who have only one parent or who live with grandmothers or aunts- the result of broken homes due to alcoholic parents. The pupils do not have art materials most of the time. The absenteeism rate is quite high. Low ability pupils Low ability pupils are those pupils whose pace of learning is very slow and they exist in all schools. They should be provided more time than the average and high achievers so that it will be easy for them to grasp the basic of the learning activities. These students need special help over a lengthy period from the teachers. Some causes of low achievers are poverty, broken family, emotional or personal factors. Aims of the study To apply selected water colour techniques in the class in order to promote learning among students in practical classes. This research has objectives as: To create an interest in painting using watercolour among the pupils and encourage participation in class. To make students aware of different water colour techniques in painting. To promote self-learning. Implement the selected strategies in the class. Analyse and reflect critically whether the use of the strategies have been effective. Improve pupil’s performance Effectively use elements and principles of design while painting with water based paint. Problem statement Aproblem statementis a concise description of the issues that need to be addressed by a problem solving team and should be presented to them (or created by them) before they try to solve the problem. The primary purpose of aproblem statementis to focus the attention of the problem solving team. As I have mentioned above that pupils at Form IV level perform very poorly while using water colour technique in their painting. They had great difficulties in handling this media and they lack confidence and hence they fear to spoil their drawing and painting. So certain questions should be put forward to remedy the situation in art and design classes. Research Questions: What are pupils’ overall perception in painting with watercolour? Why do pupils perform poorly while using watercolour techniques? Can selected watercolour techniques boost up pupil’s performance while painting? LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter highlights the theoretical and empirical literature of this study on the exploration of selected water colour techniques and motivation of students. Many college teachers today want to move from passive learning to active learning, to find better ways of engaging students in the learning process. I have gone through the book â€Å"WATERCOLOUR† by the author Milind Mulick where it is mentioned that watercolour as an independent genre was brought in vogue by Joseph Turner and John Constable, two British painters of the 18th century. John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, William Russell Flint took the art of watercolours to new heights. In this book Milind has mentioned the important features of water colour, techniques and about the materials to be used, such as paper brushes and paints. He has also written about the practice, composition and sketching which is the beginning of drawing. The demonstration part of the book will greatly help students understand the application of water colour throughout the painting of landscape. Exploring Watercoloris to discover new ways to get expressive with colourideas for using natures patterns to inspire enticing designshow to expand your repertoire and unleash your creativity by experimenting with freeform collages, found imagery, and other innovative techniques. Wherever you are as an artist, this hands-on guide (Exploring watercolour Techniques by Elizabeth Grove)will help you master the watercolor medium and develop your individual style, and move beyond a literal rendering of your subject matter. MOTIVATION Motivationis a  psychological  feature that arouses an organism to act towards a desired  goal  and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal-directed behaviors. Motivation involves a constellation of beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions that are all closely related. Motivation is an important factor in learning. Type of motivations Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from within. Intrinsic motivation is motivation that is animated by personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure. Extrinsic motivation means that the individuals motivational stimuli are coming from outside. In other words, our desires to perform a task are controlled by an outside source. Motivation refers to â€Å"the reasons underlying behaviour† (Guay et al., 2010, p. 712). â€Å"Motivation in school learning involves arousing, sustaining and desirable conduct† (Woolfolk, 1988). It depends upon how well a teacher can arouse the interests and motives of student. â€Å"The ultimate goal of schools is to transform its students by providing knowledge and skills and by building character and instilling virtue† (Sergiovanni, 1991). Motivation has been defined as the level of effort an individual is willing to expend toward the achievement of a certain goal. Biehler and Snowman (1993) state that â€Å"motivation is typically defined as the forces that account for the arousal, selection, direction, and continuation of behavior†. responsibility is to create the conditions that will enhance students’ motivation to pursue academic goals actively over a long period of time. MASLOW THEORY OF MOTIVATION â€Å"If you have a hammer, you tend to see any problem as a nail,† meaning, the more tools you have in your toolbox, the better prepared you are to face any challenge that awaits you.† â€Å"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.† â€Å"In you lies something, a passion that makes you truly happy. Find it and don’t let go.† (www.youmotivation.com/-By Abhaham Maslow) Water COLOUR PAINTS Paint is an ideal medium for developing the child’s sensitivity to colour, because it is fluid and its effects are immediate. It is important to explore the expressive and descriptive effects of a variety of colour media and to encourage adventurous use. Colour awareness promotes sensitivity to and enjoyment of colour in the child’s surroundings and is further enhanced when the child has opportunities to look at the work of artists. Watercolor paint is made by mixing pigments with a binder, usually gum Arabic, and then applying it with water to a support such as vellum (fine animal skin) or paper. It also contain glycerin, ox gall and preservative for the durability of the pigment. The water evaporates and the binder fixes the pigment to the support. Watercolor was used long before Prehistoric humans in the Paleolithic ages painted the walls of their caves with mixtures of ochre, charcoal, and other natural pigments. Watercolors were also painted on papyrus and used in Egyptian art forms. In Asia, traditional Chinese painting with watercolors developed around 4,000 B.C., primarily as a decorative medium, and by the 1st century A.D., the art of painting religious murals had taken hold. By the 4th century landscape watercolor painting in Asia had established itself as an independent art form. While early European artists prepared their own watercolor mixtures for fresco wall painting, this was soon applied to paper. Some of the 20th-century artists who produced important works in watercolor are Wassily Kandinsky,  Emil Nolde,  Paul Klee,  Egon Schiele and  Raoul Dufy. Watercolor painting emerged in Europe during the Renaissance period with advancements in papermaking. Modern watercolor paints are now as durable and colorful as oil or acrylic paints, and the interest in drawing and multimedia art has also encouraged demand for fine works in watercolor. Watercolor has been around since painting began, but didn’t really take off until the Renaissance. The German printmaker Albrecht Durer was an early practitioner, and found the medium ideal for small, detailed studies. Many beautiful landscapes, portraits, and other scenes have derived from watercolor paintings. Some of the famous authors of these paintings are Marina Abramoviac, Yaacov Agam, Constantin Alajalov, Henri Matisse, Rene Magritte, and Alfred Maurer. These painters are known for having created some of the most remarkable works of watercolor art.. Clapp’s opinion about water colour,†I would suggest a student just work with one colour, monochromatically, for a while. This will allow seeing more clearly the effects of different brushes and amount of water you are using.† â€Å"If I were to teach a water colour class, there are really only a couple of things I would do that are different from how I would teach any painting in any media. Both of these ideas address the heart of the problem people face when trying to paint in water colour.’ â€Å"Since the amount of water in the brush controls your values, edges, and the kind of marks you can make, you cannot paint well in the medium, until you understand how to control the amount of water in your brush.† THE SELECTED STRATEGIES It is proposed that strategies promoting active learning be defined as instructional activities involving students in doing things and thinking about what they are doing. The selected ones are: Demonstration Pair and share Guided lecture Class Discussion Peer teaching SELECTED TECHNIQUES I will choose three technique from the following: Wet on wet Wet on dry Sponge wash Splatter Resist Salt texture METHODOLOGY The study necessitate an action research. Action research in classrooms involves the teacher directly. Peer teachers, the Rector, teachers, students and classroom researchers are part of the process. An action research is a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully used techniques of research and it is based on the following assumptions: It involves: a specific problem within a particular classroom Planned action elements of the formal research improvement of classroom practice. Contributes to the self evaluation process I am going to do an action research for the actual problem(difficulty in using watercolour techniques) of the Form IV students. I will look for some new methods to motivate students and to enhance their performance. Sample The study will be targeted at students of form four studying Art and design at Hamilton College Girls Department. A class sample of 10 students will be taken from two different classes. For group work the students will be selected randomly as the class is considered to be a mixed ability one but the number of low achievers is quite high. Interview and observation Interviews will be carried out with the students during the class or after and the feedback of students will be noted. Students will be observed by the teacher during their practical classes and their approaches towards the lesson on a particular topic will be noted. Use of assessment both summative, formative and diagnosis and the use of mark sheets. (ii) Method to be used during class Observation Checklists Formulated questions Cycle 1 Direct teaching – teacher centered – chalk and talk Cycle 2 2 Lesson plans use of selected watercolour techniques Expectation of results above 60% Comparison between cycle 1 and cycle 2 Cycle 3 More lessons on watercolour techniques. (iii)Analysis and Interpretation of data Data will be represented as: Bar chart Pie chart Conclusion I will investigate through the research and come to a conclusion and I hope that this study will be useful to teachers in better creating the conditions that will foster students participation. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barry K King L, (1998), Beginning Teaching and Beyond, 3rd Edition. http://barrycoombs.wordpress.com/tag/watercolor-demonstration/ http://voices.yahoo.com/21-ways-motivate-students-art-class-guide-5440335.html?cat=4 http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/categ.html http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5 http://www.bing.com/search?q=exploring+watercolour+techniquesgo=qs=nform=QBREpq=exploring+watercolour+techniquessc=0-0sp=-1sk=

The Otaku :: essays research papers fc

The Otaku More and more we, as Americans are seeing other cultures intertwine with our own. With the introduction of TV, satellite and Internet it’s easy to find out more about a specific area in the world. Watching and reading about another culture you almost might make you obsessed with it. An Otaku is one such person. Otaku is a term common with people who make a hobby out of watching Japanese animation or anime for short. Most of these people who watch the anime are regular people that go to work or school and need something to relax with. An Otaku, on the other hand is a person that obsesses over anime. â€Å"An otaku is an obsessive fan of any one particular theme, topic, or hobby. Perhaps the most common uses are anime otaku (who sometimes enjoy many days of excessive anime watching with no rest) and manga otaku (Japanese comic books).† (WordIQ par. 3) Anime is like a Drug for them. Otakus just need to watch anime. This However, it doesn’t just stop with watching. One other thing that would define an Otaku is that they have a lot of collectables or even dress up like the characters they watch. "The otaku are an underground (subculture), but they are not opposed to the system per se," observed sociologist and University of Tokyo fellow Volker Grassmuck, who has studied the otaku extensively. "They change, manipulate and subvert ready-made products, but at the same time they are the apotheosis of consumerism and an ideal workforce for contemporary capitalism.† (Cyberpunk Project par. 29) They literally buy everything that has to do with the anime or at least try to make it. It’s amazing to talk to one of these individuals and find out how much time was spent working on their costume or how much money the spent getting a figurine imported from Japan. It’s almost good to have these types of people in a culture to spend the money even if they don’t have it.

Radical Criminology Essay -- Social Inequality Criminal Justice

Criminal law involves prosecution by the state of a person for an act that has been classified as a crime (Criminal law, 2010). But who gets to decide what acts are criminal? It should be no surprise that the individuals with the most power do. For radical criminologists, the problem arises in capitalist societies because it is in these societies where the means of production are owned privately by a small number of people. Based on the writings of Karl Marx, radical criminologists argue that the state works to serve the interests of the capitalist ruling class and that criminal law is merely an instrument of that class to keep all other classes in a disadvantage position (Young et al.,1973; Quinney, 1980). Named the elites, bourgeois, or the ruling class, these powerful people formulate and shape the content of the law to further their interests and at the same time to exploit the poor and the weak. Criminal law protects the powerful by making it look like the most dangerous types o f crime are committed by the poor and consequently by setting the stage for criminal justice officials to go after and punish perpetrators of street crime more harshly than those who commit white collar or corporate crime. On September 13, 1989, a small Kentucky town experienced a powerful tragic mining â€Å"accident,† or so it seemed. The powerful methane explosion left 10 men dead. A federal investigation revealed that the acting foreman at the mine falsified countless safety reports including those that documented methane levels. The foreman failed to comply with safety and regulatory requirements that ultimately lead to the explosion and deaths of 10 men. Accident? Murder? Mass murder? What does the criminal law say? The foreman received the minimum ... ...4). Echo Burning. ABA Journal . Ross, J. (2009). Cutting the Edge: Current Perspectives in Radical/Critical Criminology and Criminal Justice. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. Shukovsky, P. (2007). The FBI's Terrorism Trade-Off. Retrieved from Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://www.seattlepi.com/national/311046_fbiterror11.html Siegel, L. (2004). Criminology Theories Patterns & Typologies. New York: Prentice Hall. Sutherland, E. (1940). White-Collar Criminality. American Sociological Review , 1-12. Valentino, S. (2008). White Collar Criminal Defense. Retrieved from Crime USA: http://www.crimeusa.com/White_Collar_Crime.html Young, J., Taylor, I., & Walton, P. (1975). Critical Criminology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Young, J., Taylor, I., & Walton, P. (1973). The New Criminology: For A Social Theory Of Deviance. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

An Analysis of Miltons On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Thre

An Analysis of Milton's On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Three John Milton is one of the most famous poets of the English language. Even though his works are not many, he is considered the greatest writer in English literature. In John Milton' s works we can see the problems of the English society and his own too. Such a poem is " On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Three" because it shows the concerns that Milton had about his career when he was young and still hadn't chosen his own way in life. In this famous work of his we don't see a celebration of a birthday but a problem that the young gentleman faces as time passes by. The author uses many metaphors and symbols in order to give a more vivid image of his problem, and at the end he gives a solution to this problem. The structure of " On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Three" is typical for John Milton. This is a fourteen-line lyric poem also called Italian sonnet. T is called Italian because it was invented in Italy in the thirteenth century and later English writers began using it. The Italian sonnet consists of an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. In the first eight lines the author introduces a problem and in the sestet he gives a solution to the problem. The poem has a rhyme scheme typical for the Italian sonnet. The octave has a rhyme ABBAABBA and the sestet's rhyme scheme is CDECDE. " On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Three" is a poem whose lines are all with ten syllables and with five beats per line. In this poem John Milton has not used techniques such as parallelism, assonance, and alliteration but even despite of this fact this is considered a great work of his. ... ...thor his fate is in the hands of God, and it is Him that chooses the way Milton has to follow. The author has no other choice except to become a poet. He must not worry about the other poets who till now have produced many works, and the only thing he has to do is to follow God. In the poem " On His Having Arrived At the Age of Twenty-Three" John Milton introduces a problem and gives a solution to this same problem. In fact, this problem is relevant even today, when young people have to decide on a career. Also as time goes by people ask them more often what they have done in their life. The figurative language that the author uses contributes a lot for the building of the image of the problem in the poem. The metaphors and the symbol of time make the poem a really good piece of literature, which discuses problems that we have even today.

Philippine Party-List System: A Failure or a Success? Essay

The country’s population is about 90 million; about 70 percent of which is in poverty. It is not farfetched to say that majority of the country’s population is underserved and marginalized ― our farmers, fisher folks, the youth and the women among others ―and are in need of government’s attention. In a developing country like the Philippines, decision-making or policy-making must gear towards development of these underserved sectors of the Philippine society. The population elects its legislators ― congressional and party-list representatives, senators and the rest of the elective members of the bureaucracy. But what assurance do the Filipino people get that the underserved are represented in the policy-making body of the country? It is the party-list system. As defined by Republic Act No. 7941 also known as the Philippine Party-list Act, â€Å"the party-list system is a mechanism of proportional representation in the election of representat ives to the House of Representatives from national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations or coalitions thereof registered with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).† The rationale behind the emergence of the Philippine party-list system in the Philippine party politics is to provide representation to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of the society ― a ‘democratizing agent’ to the elite-oriented Congress. Nonetheless, it attempts to challenge the status quo and truly serve the underserved masses (Rivera, 2007). The emergence of the party-list system is not an event which transpired â€Å"out of the blue† rather an attempt to redress an insufficiently undemocratic growing elite party politics in the country. Tracing history backwards, the domination of the elite-oriented party politics can clearly be seen since its beginning up to its continuing ascendancy in the Philippine politics today. When the American rule in the Philippines instigated, they were faced with Filipino armed resistance. To resist such â€Å"insurgencies† and to install its complete control over the Philippines, the Americans painsta kingly deceived the Filipinos thru the Filipinization it proposed ― a venue for Filipino participation in the realm of governance and politics. To achieve such purpose, they â€Å"recruited† the elites to join the Filipinization (Gealogo, 2007). Why the elites? For one, they have their own interest to protect. They have much and more to lose than to gain if they won’t yield and collaborate with the colonizers. And they do not trust their fellow Filipinos for they themselves have branded their fellowmen as ‘thieves’. Simply put, they try to maintain political power. And political power resides in property: in their wealth. It is interesting to note, they have collaborated not with the Americans only but with all the other colonizers who came to our land and they successfully maintained a stronghold in the political arena ― in the arena of influence and the influential ― and so begins the reign of the elites. Dante Simbulan (2005) sites that â€Å"the political parties or factions that developed [today] had one common beginning: the principalia group which . . . was composed of the native ruling elites under the Spaniards [emphasis added].† The elites of today are in fact the elites of the colonial Phi lippines. Surprisingly, the entire Philippine party system in today’s time is dominated only by less than a hundred to a hundred wealthy families, and they exist as political clans and dynasties (Simbulan, R., 2007). Does one expect an elite-oriented Congress to legislate against its own interests and genuinely serve the greater masses ― the marginalized and the underrepresented? Prior to the party-list system, minority parties that represent the interest of the same sectors that the party-lists represent today have existed. They tried to forward the interest of the underserved and the marginalized, but eventually, â€Å"no working class (or counter elite) political group or party was able to prosper [emphasis added] (Simbulan, D., 2005).† Former minority parties did not thrive. Now that the Philippine Party-list Act provides the establishment of the party-list system, the question is: Will it, too, vanish like the minority parties which used to assume the same role it does today? This paper seeks to assess the efficacy of the party-list system while pointing out loopholes and lapses in the system. As Section 2 of Republic Act No 7941 or the â€Å"Party-list System Act† states, the Party-list System has three basic elements: (1) to include the â€Å"marginalized† and â€Å"underrepresented† sectors of the country in the legislative processes of the House of Representatives ― democratize the Congress; (2) to pluralize the party system by encouraging multi-parties and (3) to simplify the electoral system. Let us examine the first element of the party-list system by finding out whether it complies with its most basic purpose or not ― that is to democratize the Congress. Based on RA 7941 and the 1987 Constitution, the party-list (originally) has the following basic features: 1. Twenty percent allocation. The party-list representatives constitute 20% of the total number of representatives including those under the party-list. 2. Two percent threshold. A party or organization must obtain at least two percent of the total votes obtained by the party-list system in order to get one seat. 3. Three-seat limit. Section 11 of RA 7941 specifies that a qualified party would be entitled to a maximum of three seats. 4. Proportional representation. The additional seats that the party is entitled to are computed in proportion to its total number of votes. Over the years, there have been debates on these basic features of the party-list system― the structure per se is said to be a â€Å"counter-productive† structure and is in contrast to the very purpose of the party-list system. To show this, let us take a look at the 14 years of the party-list system. The first ever party-list election in 1998 was accepted with enthusiasm. A total of 123 parties participated in the election. The first party-list election was not free of controversies. Right after the election, a certain party-list (PAG-ASA) filed a petition wanting the filling up of the complete 20 percent membership of the party-list to the House of Representatives― they argued it is mandatory. This petition gathered support from nine other organizations which also filed. Eventually, the COMELEC declared all the other 38 organizations in addition to the already declared 14 winners. In declaring the other 38 organizations the COMELEC clearly disregarded the 2 percent threshold and it reasoned out that their decision was based on the following justifications: (1) ‘the marginalized and the underrepresented sectors must be represented in the House of Representatives, (2) the party-list system must represent the broadest sectors of the society and; (3) it would encourage multi-party system.’ However, 12 of the parties which were initially declared by the COMELEC objected to the proclamation of the other 38 organizations arguing that only them (the 14 initially declared winners) are entitled to the seat in the lower house because the other 38 organizations failed to attain the 2 percent vote threshold. Eventually, the dispute was resolved in the Supreme Court. In an en banc session of the Supreme Court in October 1998 it ruled that the 20 percent seat allocation as prescribed by Section 5 (2) of the Constitution is not mandatory. Furthermore, it ruled that the 2 percent threshold is constitutional thus required to obtain a seat in the House of Representatives. So the COMELEC had to recall the proclamation of the other 38 organizations. Given the basic features of the party-list system, one important question needs to be answered: â€Å"How does the party-list system enhance the chances of marginalized or underrepresented parties of winning seats in the House of Representatives?† The COMELEC says that with the three- seat cap for the party-lists, major political parties or the bigger parties which usually dominates the elections will not have the chance to â€Å"corner all the seats† in the House of Representatives and â€Å"crowd out† minority parties. This, th ey argue, will encourage the party-lists to win seat in the House of Representatives. Granted this to be true and the desired or expected consequence to be existent, the party-list is indeed a potential counter-foil to the elite-dominated Congress. However, given this features, particularly the three-seat cap, Felix Muga (2007c) argues―in contrast with what the COMELEC declares―that this features of the party-list system particularly the three-seat cap is a â€Å"counter-productive† structure for â€Å"it promotes the break-up of a strong party into smaller ones and discourages parties to form bigger coalitions† (Para. 4). To illustrate this, let us consider the events after the 2001 Party-list Elections. After the Supreme Court disqualified some parties during the 2001 Elections, Bayan Muna’s percentage share of total party-list votes reached 26.82 percent (Party-List Canvass Report Number 26 as September 7, 2001). Sadly, they were just given three seats. Consequently, in the 2004 party-list election, Bayan Muna broke up into smalle r parties and obtained 6 seats in the House of Representatives. Note that not only Bayan Muna resorted to this break up; there are also several of other party-lists like the Sanlakas. Thus, Muga further claims that â€Å"it [3-seat cap] does not pave the way for smaller parties to win seats in the House of Representatives. Together with the 2% informal threshold in the simplified Comelec Formula or with the first party-rule of the Panganiban Formula, it cannot fill up the available number of party-list seats and causes the Formula used to contradict the principle of proportional representation [emphasis added].† The party-list as defined is a ‘mechanism for proportional representation’ (RA 7941). Thus, for instance, if a party gets 50 percent of the total party-list votes, it shall get the 50 percent of the total number of seats allocated for the party-lists (principle of proportionality). RA 7941 requires a vote threshold. The two (2) percent vote threshold means that the party which obtained at least 2 percent of the party-list votes will be allotted the seat. Mathematically, this can be represented by total number of votes of all parties divided by the total number of available seats (Hare Quota). In the 2007 Party-list election, the total number of party-list votes reached 8,416,421; the 20 percent seat allocation for that particular Party-List Election translated to 55 seats. Therefore, following the above-mentioned formula, we arrive at â€Å"8,416,421 divided by 55 seats, equals 153,025† (Hare Quota). Following the principle of proportionality, we now compute the ideal seat for BUHAY party-list, the top-notch party-list group in the 2007 Party-List Election. BUHAY attained a total number of votes of 1,169,234; we divide it with the Hare Quota for the 2007 Party-list Election computed earlier which is 153,025 (1,169,234/153,025). Thus, the ideal seat for BUHAY is 7.64. However, the ideal seat is not the actual seat given to the winning party-list groups. Muga (2005) came up with the idea of â€Å"seat allocation error† to illustrate the difference between the ideal seat and the actual seat given (ideal seat – actual seat given). BUHAY party-list’s ideal seat is 7.64, but it was granted with only 3 seats. Thus, the â€Å"seat allocation error† is 4.64 seats. They were deprived of 4 more seats in the Congress and were only given 3. Muga also provided a formula in computing the disenfranchised votes which can be expressed as: Degree of Negation X Hare Quota = Number of votes disenfranchised To a certain extent, the basic features ― the three-seat cap, the 2 percent vote threshold and the First Party Rule ― of the party-list system’s structure caused the negation of proportional representation. This structure is indeed â€Å"counter-productive† on the part of the party-lists and most of all, the entire marginalized sector they represent. The party-list system seeks to democratize the Congress. Ironically, the structure itself does not provide any clear means for a genuine â€Å"democratization† of the Congress. Given this restrictions, ‘no party can really grow in the Congress.’ In the latter part of this paper, performance of the party-lists (in terms of legislation) shall be assessed and we will found out if the current party-list structure has something to do with the party-lists’ performance. Also, major concerns of the party-list system are issues on accreditation, membership and legislation. The accreditation p rocess employed by the Commission on Elections is very loose ― there is lack of prohibition against party-lists with links to the government (irrespective whether direct or indirect), lack of strict imposition of prohibition on party-lists receiving foreign support, lack of strictness in following the rules set by the law on who shall become the party-list’s nominee among others. To illustrate this, let us consider the party-list Aksyon Sambayanan or AKSA. It is very clear in the Supreme Court ruling that a party-list shall be disqualified if â€Å"It is receiving foreign support from any foreign government, foreign political party, foundation, organization, whether directly or through any of its officers or members, or indirectly through third parties for partisan election purposes† (Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 147589, June 26, 2001, En Banc). Despite that, after known to be supported by Socialist International, AKSA still was accredited, allowed to join the election and was given seat in the House of Representatives (Manalansan, 2007). It may be safe to say that the Supreme Court ruling has not been proven insurmountable because such lapses occur. Also is the nominee Catalina Bagasina ― a provincial board member and a business woman ― of the Pilipino Association for Country or Urban Poor Youth Advancement Wel fare (Pacyaw). The Ang Galing Pinoy party-list is a group representing the security guards. Its representative to the Congress is the former first son―the son of the former President now Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo― Rep. Juan Miguel â€Å"Mikey† Arroyo. What is troubling about this is that Rep. Arroyo is not and has never been a security guard. In short, he doesn’t belong to the sector he represents. Logically, how can he truly understand the plight of the security guards if he himself is not one of them? The Supreme Court ruling states that â€Å"not only the candidate party or organization must represent marginalized and underrepresented sectors, so also must its nominees. The nominees must be Filipino citizen ‘who belong to marginalized and underrepresented sectors, organizations and parties [he/she represents]’† (Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 147589, June 26, 2001, En Banc, para. 8). Surprisingly, Ang Galing Pin oy which is in clear defiance to this rule is still in position in Congress. Still surprisingly, there are other party-lists in defiance to this. 1-UTAK party-list ― a group representing PUV drivers, operators and commuters ― had the late former Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes as its representative. It is interesting to note that former Sec. Reyes is a stalwart defender of the oil deregulation law, which this group he tried to represent, strongly opposes. Another point the Supreme Court ruling raised was that â€Å"the political party, sector, organization or coalition must represent the marginalized and underrepresented groups identified in Section 5 or R.A. 7941† (Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 147589, June 26, 2001, En Banc). However, APEC or the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives is not a marginalized group yet it is granted the chance to join the election and win seats. Manalansan (2007) further points out other party-lists which are not considered marginalized. They are BUHAY, Veterans Federation of the Philippines and Cooperative-National Confederation of Cooperat ives (Coop-NATCCO) among others. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruled that â€Å"the party or organization must not be an adjunct of, or a project organized or entry funded or assisted by, the government. . . . The participation of the government or its official in the affairs of a party-list candidate is not only illegal and unfair to other parties, but also deleterious to the objective of the law† (Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW Labor Party vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 147589, June 26, 2001, En Banc). However, the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) is a government-funded group. It is in fact a creation of R.A. 2640 (Manalansan, 2007). Clearly, there are lots of loopholes in the current party-list system ― not only the structure which makes it ineffective but also the very process of filtrating or accrediting the party-lists-to-be and the nominees. In its 14 years of existence, how well did the party-lists performed in the Philippine legislature? In the 11th Congress, the party-list representatives filed a total of 3, 698 bills and resolutions. Only 20 bills reached Second Reading. In the 12th and 13th Congress, party-lists representatives filed a total of 5, 706 bills and resolutio ns, but majority of which are still pending (Manalansan, 2007). In the 14th Congress, there were 19 bills which reached the Third Reading but disappointingly, none became a law. One may remember the approval of the 125 pesos daily minimum wage increase in the 13th Congress. It was filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Crispin Beltran (12th Congress) and refilled by him again in the 13th Congress (this time as Anakpawis representative). It was approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, it was later on recalled. At the brighter side, laws on Abolition of the Death Penalty, Protection to Children in Conflict with the Law, Anti-Trafficking in Persons, Anti-Violence against Women and Overseas Absentee Voting have been passed with party-list representatives as forwarders and/or consultants. The progressive party-list representatives are diligent enough to file and re-file bills and resolutions that would serve the greater mass. These are bills to amend the Labor Code, to repeal the Automatic Appropriations law, Mining Act, National Government Center Land Utilization Act and Oil Deregulation Act among others. On the contrary, a number of bills have been passed within a short period of deliberations only. These bills are alleged as â€Å"Malacaňang-certified† legislations. Examples of this are the Expanded Value Added Tax, Lateral Attrition Law and the infamous Anti-terrorism bill or the Human Security Act of 2007. Since the beginning of the party-list system there were assumptions that the party-list, originating from elite politics, shall only prolong elite politics in the country (Simbulan, 2007). Some believe that this is just a make-believe measure to make it appear that the Philippine society is well-represented in the legislature. At this point, we will try to assess whether this assumption is true or not. It is a fact that the Philippine congress is a congress of the elite or the wealthy oligarchs of the nation. As a matter of fact, in a study conducted by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), it found out that ‘60 to 100 wealthy families (political clans) â€Å"dominate† and â€Å"determine† the entire Philippine legislature or politics’ (Simbulan, 2007). The PCIJ studied political clans from 2001 to 2004 and found out that political parties in the country are really â€Å"clan alliances†. In a Congress like this ―dominated by traditional parties and wealthy political clans, where number matters ― what can the very few party-list representatives do to forward the interest of the masses when it conflicts with the elites? Proponents of the party-list system admit that the party-lists have been absorbed by the traditional parties in the Congress. In news article from GMA News TV on April 6, 2010, former Marikina Rep. Romeo Candazo ― one of the main authors of the RA 7941 ― said that ‘majority of the party-list representatives have been co-opted by traditional politics. As such, it is very difficult for this minority party-list to resist the domination of these ruling elites. These political clans coalesce with other clans or political parties to uphold and protect the status quo and to maintain a stronghold on the legislature. This sufficiently explains why the party-lists get co-opted by these traditional parties. Clearly, the party-list is to the disadvantage as compared to the traditional parties in the Congress. First, the party-list lacks the number or a stronghold in the Congress due to the seat allocation restrictions of the Party-List System Act. Also, the party-list lacks the machinery during elections. The very low voters’ turnout on party-list election testifies to the ignorance of the people on this system. This may be attributed to the lack of machinery of the party-lists system. The party-lists lack the financial prowess to air political ads on televisions and other media of information. In a Pulse Asia Survey (March 27 to April 4, 2004), television is the leading primary source of election-related information (71%), followed by radio at 20 percent and newspapers by 4 percent (Arao, 2007). As such, how would the people know about the party-list if these media of information is not maximized by the party-list? However, we cannot deny the fact that the party-list has two faces: the rich and the poor. Some party-list representatives are found at the bottom 10 percent poorest Representatives, but there are party-list representatives who are millionaires. In the 12th Congress, APEC representatives were all multi-millionaires. There are many other millionaire party-list representatives like Alagad’s Rodante Macoleto, AVE’s Eulogio Magsaysay, and Coop-NATCCO’s Guillermo Cua among others. Note that in the 13th Congress, the richest party-list representative was VFP’s Gidaya with a net worth of 34.66 million pesos and the poorest was Anakpawis’ Rep. Rafael Mariano with a net worth of 18,000 pesos (Manalansan, 2007). It is not farfetched that one day the party-list is no longer of difference with the traditional parties in the Congress. What future awaits the Party-List System? Will it too vanish or survive the test of traditional politics? In conclusion, this paper does not undermine the potential of the party-list system for it has forwarded a significant number of bills and resolutions since 1998 up to this present Congress. It is a clear sign that the party-lists system, somehow, is working in the Philippines. They have provided the underserved and the marginalized a voice in the congress. They tried to strike a balance in an elite Congress. The party-list per se is a great chance for the masses to be represented. But it is undeniable that the party-li st system is failing. It might just be a matter of less than a decade that the â€Å"narrow alley constitutionally reserved for the representation of marginal sectors in Congress† be permanently closed by traditional politics (Tuazon, 2007). It is quite not hard to conclude that the Philippine party-list system is more of a failure than a success. First and for most, its goal to democratize the Philippine Congress is at the onset defeated for the structure itself limits the growth of this party-list groups in the Congress and even encouraged break ups among the party-lists. Secondly, the issue of accreditation weakens the chance of the party-list system to genuinely fulfill its promising purpose ― to serve the marginalized and the underrepresented sectors of the society. Moreover, the party-lists are co-opted by traditional politics. The party-list legislation has not resulted to any concrete law that would directly benefit the underserved sectors of the Philippine society. Nonetheless, the future for the party-list system is still bright despite such failures. As Dr. Florangel Rosario Braid of the Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma Foundation said: Those who argue that it [the party-list system] should be retained, and in fact strengthened, point to how it has been able to balance our â€Å"elite† democracy by providing representation to sectors which otherwise would have been excluded under our present political system. But how do we deal with blatant abuses like having individuals who had never been a part of the group that they are expected to represent? . . . It is about time that the system should be examined by groups from various sectors of society [emphasis added]. The party-list system as the sole legal or constitutional means by which the underrepresented and the marginalized sectors of the Philippine society assert their rights and be part of the Philippine legislature, despite its failure, should be braced and strengthened so as to serve its purpose truly.