Kapekonomiya 2.0

                  During my first visit to the University of the Philippines – Diliman Campus, it is an understatement to say that I was shocked. What surprised me was not the architecture of the buildings, nor the abundance of trees and joggers, but rather the number of idle lands on the campus. The sheer land area of the campus is something to take pride in but its inactivity and apparently decorative purpose is an embarrassment. However, as time passed by, the number of idle lands inside the campus shrank. Thanks to the continuous neglect of the government to subsidize tertiary education, the university has been forced to lease its lands to private corporations, like the Ayalas, in order to be self-sufficient.

                  Kapekonomiya 2.0 presented the legality of the UP Technohub and Uptown Center (I know it’s spelled wrong; but even in my paper, I can’t accept that that establishment carries the name of UP). Based on its charter, UP is allowed to lease its land provided it goes through due process via a public bidding and meets the provisions of the UP Charter. Prof. Ruperto Alonzo pointed how projects like the Technohub benefits UP in terms generating funds and providing research facilities – though; the presence of such establishments and whether the students benefit from them are still questionable.

                  On the other hand, Prof. Judy Taguiwalo described how UP is losing its public character. From a university, financed by the people, it is slowly transforming into an income-generating scheme. She quoted, President Aquino’s 2010 Budget Message wherein he mentioned that the government is gradually lowering the subsidy they give to State U in order to make them self-sufficient and prepared for the future. Undoubtedly, education is turning into a commodity for sale. At the end of her talk, she called everyone to join the actions against state abandonment.

                  UP is the national university. As the national university, it should focus mainly on its academic roles (for the students and for the public) for the benefit of Philippine society. But, UP nowadays has a new sideline – to become financially independent from the government. It makes me question the status of the university and its students.

Last year, an Iska killed herself because she couldn’t cope with the high tuition fee. Imagine if UP did not have any IGP, the deficit of the government’s neglect would have to be further shouldered by the students – defeating the purpose of affordable (if not free) and high-quality education.

                  The government always says that it has insufficient money to fund tertiary education. But last year, several whistleblowers exposed that Php 10 billion worth of public funds went to the pockets of our legislators. If the Php 10 billion had been properly , more students could have learned well if it was invested to education.

                  I understand that UP is using the Technohub and Uptown Center to generate funds, but how much? Recently, I learned that such records are not available to the students. I’m not even sure if it’s available to faculty members, which makes me doubtful whether UP’s contract with the Ayalas is really beneficial for the university. Or by entering into such contracts put the university into a bigger trouble, that is, by letting the government think that we can be financially stable on our own.

                  3 months from now, I’ll be leaving the university. It might be impossible for me to determine whether Technohub and Uptown Center will be beneficial to the university and its constituents. But I hope the decline of state subsidy can be remedied without tarnishing the university’s public character. To the Ayalas, “wala kaming utang na loob sa inyo. Nararamdaman kong darating ang araw na ang lupa ng UP ay para sa UP at hindi sa mga makakapitalistang mithiin ninyo.”

The Climax of Erotic Literature (pun intended) – A Cogitation on the Success of the 50 Shades Trilogy

In the name of digital development and contemporary progress, combined with the fast-paced cyber lifespan of media, pop culture trends or hypes are usually short-lived. When I say short, I’m referring to weeks (and sometimes, months).

Late last year, a best-selling fan fiction turned the world of literature and ultimately society upside down. It changed our perception and consumption of erotic literature – a new genre encompassed these books doused with explicitly descriptive words and scenarios. Yes, I’m referring to the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, written by EL James. I shall begin to refer to it as Fifty, because 50 Shades of Grey is a handful to type. In the after shock of its release, it dominated the top spot in the New York Times’ best-sellers list under the category of print and e-book fiction for 30 weeks. It continued to stay in the top 5 for numerous weeks thereafter.

As of December 2013, Fifty has sold more than 70 million copies in paperback in the U.S. alone and broke a record, according to The Guardian, for the highest paperback novel sales record in a week in the U.S. alone – selling 205,130 copies. Fifty will be adapted into a film and Universal Studios paid $5 million for film rights, beating out 10 big names in the industry such as Fox Studios, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Paramount.

But what exactly is Fifty? Are there really 50 different shades of gray in the color chart? Upon browsing a reliable source of information (the internet), apparently there are more.

As a book enthusiast and an adventurer with a nose for sarcasm and controversy, let’s analyze this cultured piece of published gold. Many have called out on its apparent plagiarism. If you were to search for BDSM under Wikipedia, the content is almost identical to that of the contract featured in the first book. As this started as a fan-fiction based on the hit series Twilight, grounds on plagiarism are vague because it was first released online and the author was open about how it was based on Twilight and how the plots were similar. In terms of plot, it contains the romance standard we see in existing trashy novels (think Harlequin or Mills & Boon) – the mature, experienced and imperfect man meets the innocent and naïve girl. What sets Fifty apart from the already marketable romance stories is the open acceptance of BDSM and kink – giving consumers a thrill and fresh perspective.

Enough criticism, let’s move on to how it reached its international stardom. The commerciality of Fifty has affected how we consume sexually-empowering (though this concept can be debatable) material. It’s become a common sight to see readers engrossed in a smutty and pseudo-erotic novel in the public sphere. Before, pocketbooks resided in your bedside table or in your closet but now, they’re being read on the jeep, in the café, at school – everywhere. If you aren’t brave enough to face the glares and judgmental stares of passers-by as you indulge yourself in your titillating hard copy book, the kindle or other electronic readers have made it easier for you to do so discreetly.

In a Yahoo! News article last December, firefighters in Britain have complained of the number of calls they’ve been receiving of people who’ve accidentally handcuffed their partners in compromising positions and can’t set them free. There’ve been a noticeable number of hotel packages, which offer the complete package – handcuffs and whips – to cater to their customers who have specific eclectic tastes.

Fifty has been translated into at least 50 different languages (including Filipino) to widen its reach and make it more accessible. It became a common conversation starter in the bookstore and rekindled the issue of banned literature in more conservative countries (not that banning literature in the era of the internet is feasible).

Not that it ends there – new books to grace the shelves of the Romance section at your local bookstore (because for some people, BDSM is romantic, and you can’t exactly label these books as erotic in a place where children can see them) include classics garnished with sexual detail such as “Jane Eyre Laid Bare” (Austen’s classic novel with an interesting twist), “Erotica for the Not-too-modern Male”, a supposed memoir of Louisa May Alcott and retellings of fairytales to oblige its mature audience.  The names “Grey”, “Ana” and “Anastasia” were featured at the top of suggested baby-name lists online. Not to mention, there isn’t a specific profile in terms of age for Fifty readers – women as old as 60 years to teens as young as 13.

Aside from the fact that Fifty has been translated into Filipino and made available at most local bookstores, the demure Philippines has had its curiosity piqued since the book came out. Threads on PinoyExchange.com featured questions such as “are there BDSM classes offered in the Philippines?” to “most popular kinky shops” and “is it possible [to perform the scenes enacted in Fifty]?”.

             

              Pop culture trends undoubtedly have an impact on our taste, product consumption and lifestyles. The 50 Shades of Grey phenomenon is a perfect example of that and its long lasting affects can still be found everywhere. An understatement would be how the popular phrase from the novel, “up and down like whore’s drawers” has been translated into 30 different languages – now that’s international vocabulary.

A City in Crisis: Zamboanga City

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UP LAND USE

Public or Private?

I say Private.

It’s time to shift our attention elsewhere. I believe that we should move on from the controversial topic of UP land use and focus on increasing the productivity of such land. For me the problem about UP land being a publicly owned and used by the private sector (Private Sector Participation or PSP) should no longer be an issue but rather a reality that we have to accept. Times have changed and now is the right time for UP to open up to opportunities that will promote the utilization of idle lands. The UP administration has to understand that the idle lands are white elephants that yield no benefit for the UP community. It’s no longer a matter of mandates, tradition or the preservation of assets at this point. We have to be practical about this and get something out of the land UP owns.

Ayala has its Technohub and UP Town Center already in place and that’s the start we need. As an Industrial Engineering major, I put a lot of emphasis and importance on productivity which is basically output over input. If we consider the productivity of UP’s land then I think that productivity is low given the vast idle lands that UP has. UP has to increase its productivity and land use is one specific area to start with. Who knows once UP lands become productive through PSP, then funding of quality education might no longer be as much of a problem as it is at present. The utilization and increase in productivity of UP land might just be the key to a better UP.

Again, I say yes to PSP! Let’s put our resources to good use!

CERN School Philippines 2014

            It was on July 4, 2012 ^[1] when physicists all over the world celebrated for finding the “god particle.” It was confirmed that the new particle discovered at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is indeed the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is an elementary particle said to be responsible for all the mass in the universe ^[2].  The video below (from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_HrQVhgbeo) gives a brief description of the Higgs mechanism.

             If you are a physics enthusiast or simply someone who does not want to get behind the unraveling of the mysteries of the universe, the fuss about the Higgs boson has probably made you wish to see the Large Hadron Collider, world’s largest, most expensive and most powerful particle collider.  However, if you’re in the Philippines, it’s pretty much expensive to go to Switzerland.  That’s why, we, Filipinos are lucky enough because scientists from CERN, along with other local and international physicists, are coming to the Philippines to conduct the first CERN School Philippines 2014 ^[3]. 

Photo taken from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202630923070835&set=a.1244435147576.39893.1130293008&type=1

So what is this CERN School Philippines all about?

         It mainly caters to physics students, both graduate and undergraduate.  Quoted from CERN’s announcement, “the CERN School Philippines 2014 aims to strengthen the Philippines capability in experimental as well as theoretical high-energy physics by bringing together local, regional and international high-energy physics experts to share their expertise with undergraduate and graduate students in lectures and seminars.” It is a series of lectures from 31 March to 8 April 8 2014 at the National Institute of Physics, UP Diliman, Quezon City.  The lectures include topics in Standard Model Theory, Quantum Field Theory, Astrophysics, and many more theoretical and experimental topics in particle physics.

              Registration fee is Php 300 for students while Php 3,000 for non-students.

Not a physics major? Don’t know anything about theoretical physics?

             No worries! The general public will also be addressed in a session on April 2, 2014 and you don’t need to pay or register.

              We may not be able to see the Large Hadron Collider, but having the opportunity to discuss with scientists working there as well as other local and international physicists is still a great thing! 

References:
[1] The Higgs boson. http://home.web.cern.ch/topics/higgs-boson
[2] What exactly is the Higgs boson? http://science.howstuffworks.com/higgs-boson.htm
[3] The first CERN School Philippines. https://indico.cern.ch/event/304057/

Passed On Memory

Why are we afraid? Why can't we overcome our fears? How do we know that what we feel is actually fear?
My anthropology professor, who also happened to be one of our speakers, said something about memory being passed on from mother to child. This memory is particularly that of fear and may be passed even the mother experienced the fear before conception.

Phobias can possibly passed on through DNA.A group of researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta conducted a study on mice to prove the possibility of the aforementioned hypothesis. Although they have proven the hypothesis to correct, they would also want to know if it is applicable to humans.

Our belief in the past was, phobias are developed when a person undergo a traumatic experience. Now, there is yet another explanation on why some have irrational fears. For me, it is an interaction between social and scientific explanations, another example that the two sciences can work hand-in-hand for us to somehow have a better grasp on things. As humans we always would want to find answers in things we don't understand. This research may help us understand why some people have irrational fears of seemingly pleasant things.

Attached is the link of the article, you might want to check it. I think, there are a lot of things to expect from biology in the future.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10486479/Phobias-may-be-memories-passed-down-in-genes-from-ancestors.html