mrs Essays (260 words) - Sustainable Food System, Aquaculture

Fish farming-fishing is sometimes dictated by weather predation and other environmental factors fish farming allowed fishermen to control the growth and lifespan of fish especially salmon so that there is a controlled abundance this is also a conservation method when fish populations are decreased by over fishing. Unfortunately this also increased the likelihood of diseases spread by fish or heavy metal contamination. With many wild fisheries already overharvested throughout the world, aquaculture is an important food source especially for poor countries and has made seafood more abundant and affordable. Crop switching using varieties of a particular plant or other plants to continue using a farm but resupplying the nutrients leached by the original crop. Most countries use this method in modern farming more than fallowing because it allows them to keep a steady cash crops going. Many technologies can increase the yields of crops. These include traditional breeding, production of hybrids, so called marker assisted breeding, and tissue culture methods for propagating virus-free root stocks. All of these could help improve the productivity of crops in the developing world, but currently only limited resources are available for applying them. My concerns are the methods used to make food supplies grow much quicker. These things tend to harm us more than help us. I just think that better methods for productivity could help us. It is stated all the time that you are what you eat and with some of things that I know are used to grow the things I eat I don?t want to be.

The History of Mr. Potato Head

The History of Mr. Potato Head Did you know that the original Mr. Potato Head was missing a head? The original model didnt come with the familiar brown plastic potato. Inventing Mr. Potato Head In 1949, Brooklyn inventor and designer George Lerner (1922–1995) came up with a revolutionary idea: a toy that children could design themselves. His toy came bundled as a set of plastic body parts- noses, mouths, eyes- and accessories- hats, eyeglasses, a pipe- that were attached to pins. Children would then decorate a potato or other vegetable with the pieces, inventing as they went along.   Lerner shopped his toy idea around for a year but met with resistance. During World War II, the U.S. had suffered through food rationing and somehow using a potato as a toy seemed like a waste. So, instead, Lerner sold his idea to a cereal company for US$5,000, who would distribute his plastic parts as prizes in cereal.   Mr. Potato Head Meets Hasbro In 1951, the Rhode Island Hassenfeld Brothers company was primarily a toy manufacturing and distributing company, making modeling clay and doctor and nurse kits. When they met George Lerner, they saw great potential and paid the cereal company to stop production, buying the rights to Mr. Potato Head for $7,000. They gave Lerner $500 in advance and 5 percent royalties for every set sold.   Girl playing with Mr. Potato Head in 1953. Picture Post / Getty Images Those first sets had hands, feet, ears, two mouths, two pairs of eyes, and four noses; three hats, eyeglasses, a pipe, and eight pieces of felt suitable for beards and mustaches. They came with a styrofoam head that children could use, but instructions suggested a potato or other vegetable would do as well.   In 2002, Mr. Potato Head celebrated his 50th birthday, with these retro examples of the old spud. Spencer Platt / Getty Images The First TV Ad for Children The first television advertisement directed to children, rather than adults, was by the Hassenfeld Brothers for Mr. Potato Head, with the toy riding in a wagon and playing with kids; it premiered on April 30, 1952. The kits sold like hotcakes: the Hassenfelds earned more than $1 million in the first year; in 1968, they changed their name to Hasbro, and today they are the third largest toy company in the world.  Ã‚   Mrs. Potato Head and the Kids By 1953, it became clear that Mr. Potato Head needed a family. Mrs. Potato Head, their children Yam and Spud, and the childrens friends Kate the Carrot, Pete the Pepper, Oscar the Orange, and Cookie Cucumber soon joined the family. A Mr. Potato Head car, boat, and kitchen were soon marketed, and eventually, the brand expanded into puzzles, creative play sets, and electronic hand-held board and video games.   Hasbros later successes include Monopoly, Scrabble, Play-Doh, Tonka trucks, G.I. Joe, Tinker Toys, and Lincoln Logs; but the first and most influential was the famous spud.   Safety Issues The United States was changing rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and by the late sixties, the first child safety laws were passed, the Child Protection Act of 1966, and the 1969 Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. The gave the Federal Drug and Safety administration the ability to ban unsafe toys: the Consumer Product Safety Administration wasnt  formed until 1973.   Mr. Potato Heads small pieces of plastic with sharp pins on them were considered unsafe for small children. At the same time, parents complained that they kept finding moldy potatoes under their kids beds. In 1964, Hasbro began making hard plastic bodies, and eventually larger body and part sizes for its plastic potato.   Kylo Ren Mr. Potato Head. Hasbro The Modern Mr. Potato Head Hasbro has developed a reputation for responding to cultural changes, or perhaps taking advantage of them. In 1986, Mr. Potato Head became the official spokespud of the Great American Smokeout, surrendering his pipe to then-surgeon general C. Everett Koop. In 1992, Mr. Potato Head starred in an early Public Service Announcement for the Presidents Council for Physical Fitness, renouncing his role as couch potato.  In 1996, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head joined the League of Women Voters in an advertising campaign to get out the vote, and in 2002 when he turned 50, he joined the AARP.   Mr. Potato Head has become a staple of American culture over the years. In 1985, he received four write-in votes in the mayoral election in the potato hotbed of Boise, Idaho. He also had a starring role in all three Toy Story  movies, where he was voiced by veteran character actor Don Rickles.  Today, Hasbro, Inc. still manufactures Mr. Potato Head, still responding to cultural changes with special Mr. Potato Head kits for Optimash Prime, Tony Starch, Luke Frywalker, Darth Tater, and Taters of the Lost Ark. Sources Everhart, Michelle. Even at 50, Mr. Potato Head still all smiles. Quad City Times. August 22, 2002.   Miller, G. Wayne. Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle between G.I. Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them. New York: Times Books 1998.   Mr. Potato Head. Western Pennsylvania History Spring 2016:10.   Swann, John P. Clacker Balls and the Early Days of Federal Toy Safety. FDA Voice. U.S. Food and Drug Association 2016. Web.

Challenges of Being an Advocate and Neutral Facilitator Essay Example for Free

Challenges of Being an Advocate and Neutral Facilitator Essay Dual Relationship Challenges A mediator is an impartial third party who meets with two or more people to encourage and facilitate communication in order to reach an agreement or conclusion over a conflict that exists between the two parties. The mediator is not the decision maker. The two parties and not the mediator will make the final decision. It is the legal and ethical job of the mediator to keep all communication confidential unless otherwise specified (The Association of Attorney-Mediators, 2001). The mediator should never choice anyone side or force one party to agree with the other. Because mediators are neutral, their personal beliefs and values can be a challenge. There are legal, moral, and ethical issues that mediators have to tackle when they deal with the parties conflicts. The mediator has to assure that each party is comfortable and know that their issues and thoughts are heard. It is important the mediator remain bias. Personal Perception Mediators and advocates are the vital to the human services field. Their clients depend on the mediator to inform them of their rights. They do not know the laws and the procedures that protect them. That is why mediators and advocates there to assist them. Personal Philosophy and Approach The services that are provided at the Planned Parenthood Agencies, I feel are important. Most soon to be, parents are teen who have no idea on how to tell their parents or guardians that they are expecting. The mediator at Planned Parenthood (the counselor) will be the one that will assist them on informing their parents or guardians and be the neutral party that will help them to determine the next step. Whether it be abortion, adoption or to keep the baby. The mediator is has no personal interest in the family but they do have to accept the decision of the family no matter what their personal beliefs are. Planned Parenthood is trusted health care providers, informed educators, passionate advocates, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world. Planned Parenthood delivers vital sex education and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide (Parenthood) . They are mediators must remain neutral if they really want to help the families through their difficult ordeal because it takes a person who can help the two parties come to a civilized decision about their issues. Conclusion It is important that human service professionals who are mediators and advocates remain neutral when assisting parties with their issues. Challenges of Being an Advocate and Neutral Facilitator. (2018, Oct 14).

Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility Essay

Corporate Governance and Ethical Responsibility - Essay Example Internal stakeholders in a hospital include the patients, the medical staff and management of the hospital and the board of governors or trustees. External stakeholders are those parties that have minimal often indirect influence on the management of the hospital. External stakeholders may include the relatives of the patients and other potential patients to the hospital. Other external stakeholders include the federal government and other hospital of the same class and category (Lebeer, 2002). The most basic function a medical executive should perform in regard to satisfying al stakeholders is controlling, directing staffing and organizing. For the patients, however, Doctor DoRight has the role of democratizing medical services so that all the patients get equal treatment. Equal treatment encompasses equitable distribution of the hospitals resources. For instance, in the case of organ transplant, hospitals can device methods such as receiving an organ in regard to the severity of th e situation. The board of trustees expects that the medical executive prevents the occurrence of law suits, which may tarnish the name of the hospital and cost it a lot of money, that result from the action of hospital employees. Trustees also expect that the president maintains low labor turnover and an excellent cooperate image is paramount. The staff of the hospital expects respect from patients and fellow staff despite their position. Also, the staff expects fairness in remunerated, and adequate timely pay and a safe, conducive working environment (Lebeer, 2002). Potential customers need to feel welcomed to the hospital hence the need for an operational call centre and an efficient customer service. Recently hospitals have also taken on the craze of advertising their products to potential customers. Though an external stakeholder, the federal government, has a strong influence on the running of hospitals. The governments influence is greater when it comes to the legal obligation s of the hospital. For instance, the government may insist that a hospital only use FDA approved drugs. The government, in America, may also specify the types of procedures that a hospital cannot carry out for instance euthanasia is illegal in most states. Competition between rival hospitals is inevitable, with their current status as potential business entities. However, there are certain procedures that must remain intact so as to maintain peaceful coexistence. For instance, a hospital can seek transfer of a patient to another hospital even if they are competing. Doctor DoRight should ensure that there is no slandering of another hospital by his staff through words or actions (Lebeer, 2002). There are six guiding principles that doctor should adhere to in their disbursement of services. These principles include a) Honesty and truthfulness b) Respect for persons c) Justice d) Autonomy e) Beneficence and f) Non-maleficence. These principles mostly guide doctor patient relationships but can also act as a basis for the actions of medical executives. In trying to satisfy the various stakeholders, the manager of the hospital, may experience conflict of interest when the needs of the two stakeholders clash. A good example of a clash of interest is on the issue of euthanasia. The reality of the effects of diseases such as Alzheimer’s is real and devastating. Most patients and families prefer

Constitutional and Administrative Law of UK Essay

Constitutional and Administrative Law of UK - Essay Example The researcher states that Constitutional Conventions are similar in nature to Customs. They are followed by the State but there is no such mandate which specifically allows for their implementation. However, even though there is no specific law which demands their implementation, they are considered to be an integral part of the idea of Constitution, and through such believes they are practised by the people of the State. â€Å"Dicey defined Constitutional Conventions as Ê ºÃ¢â‚¬ ¦. rules for determining the mode in which the discretionary powers of the Crown (or ministers or servants of the Crown) ought to be exercised. Furthermore, he stated that conventions are constitutional rules, which are not laws in the strict sense which are designed to control the use of discretionary power by the Crown.† Such conventions form an integral part of the State machinery along with the practise of the Constitution. â€Å"A convention is an accepted way in which things are done. They ar e not written down in law but tend to be old, established practices – the way they have always been done. Though these conventions are not set in legal stone, their very existence over the years has invariably lead to the smooth operation of government.† Conventions are distinct from law as they are positive political morality and should be put to place in order to secure the verdict of the electorate. â€Å"It is a convention that if something in government goes wrong, the cabinet will all sing the same song and support the minister who may be receiving all manner of criticism from the media.†... the Constitution about the way a State is supposed to divide its powers between the three organs namely the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive. The Legislature is designed to frame laws which have to be implemented by the Executive in full force. The legislation exercises its right through the implementation of the policies of the conventions. The executive has the responsibility of executing the policies which have been created by the Legislature in lieu of the will of the people. â€Å"It is a convention that the queen will accept the legislation passed by the government. In the past, the fear of what happened to Charles I has usually ensured a harmonious relationship between monarch and Parliament! When Charles II became king in 1660, the rule of thumb was for Parliament to give the king enough money per year to maintain a royal lifestyle but for him not to get involved in politics. This worked tolerably well and monarchs and Parliament had usually worked well since the n especially as Parliament held the monarch’s purse. Now in the C21st, it is just accepted that the queen will give parliamentary legislation the Royal Assent. It is almost beyond belief that she would not do so – the constitutional crisis this would create would be huge.† Deriving from the above point of view, all the actions in the exercise of sovereignty are defined within the realms of constitutional conventions. By not having a written Constitution, the State of England has always been in the situation to exercise the fundamentals of the Constitution through these conventions. Through this method the conventions are the main link which connects the will of the people with the Constitutional mandate. The will of the electorate has to be upheld and followed in strict measures and the

Understanding Experiences Blows Away Misconceptions Essay Example for Free

Understanding Experiences Blows Away Misconceptions Essay Grades do not always determine a true understanding of academic concepts. As shown in our discussion, children who seem to have learned their lesson in math well may only have understood the technique in solving a mathematical problem but not the true concepts involved. I, myself, took another sample test and although I scored perfectly, the challenge of seeing through what might be traps for misconceptions was there to help me get a nice score. Misconceptions are easy to assimilate and yet be difficult to detect and even harder to correct. To help others clarify misconceptions, it is important to find out where the error is coming from. In a study conducted over middle school students by the Arizona State University incoming teachers, interviewers realized that children tend to think they know that the mathematical concepts they learned are true because of the credibility of the teacher. However, their memory of what the teacher has taught can be erroneous (Flores, 2006, par. 1-4). One way to help overcome misconceptions is by guiding the person in identifying his or her mistake. In an interview, a researcher had to make a Year 7 student explain her idea of a â€Å"oneths† column in her notion of decimal places. To correct the misconception, the teacher simply guided the student in finding out through her own efforts how it is impossible to have a â€Å"oneths† place in the decimal system (MacDonald, 2008, par. 1-13). True learning involves grasping a concept and using it practically in one’s life. Guidance in understanding the implications of what one experiences can help clarify misconceptions. Teaching techniques or â€Å"spoon feeding† makes learning shallow for people. Identifying the concepts that need to be learned and how they are applicable or happening in one’s life is more effective. References Flores, A. (2006). How do students know what they learn in middle school mathematics is true? School Science and Mathematics. Retrieved 24 May, 2010, from http://www. thefree library. com/How+do+students+know+what+they+learn+in+middle+school+mathematics +is -a0144150616. MacDonald, Amy. (2008). But what about the oneths? A year 7 students misconception about decimal place value. Australian Mathematics Teacher. Retrieved 24 May, 2010 from http://www. thefreelibrary. com/%22But+what+about+the+oneths%3F%22+A+year+7+st udents+misconception+about+ -a0188952628.

Ron Howard :: essays research papers

Ronald William Howard was born March 1st, 1954 in Duncan, Oklahoma. He is the older of two brothers. His parents, Rance Howard his father was an actor, director and writer, his mother Jean Howard was an actress, in 1959 his family relocated to Hollywood. Young Ron quickly joined the family business and his first television role was on an episode of "Playhouse 90" and was followed by an appearance on "The Red Skelton Show." He also was in four episodes of "Denis the Menace" and five shows of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." (Encarta) Ron has the face that refused to age. No matter how much of his hair he looses, or how much of a beard he grows, he continues to have a boyish charm. For some viewers he is always remembered as Opie Taylor and to others as Richie Cunningham, while the more populated group of the confused he is know as Opie Cunningham. (sitcomsonline) The television producer Sheldon Leonard, who had seen Howard’s performance in Barnaby and Mr. O’Mally, cast the actor in the "Andy Griffith Show" which began its eight years on CBS on October 3, 1960. The gentle and subtle comedy of the show was set in the sleepy town of Mayberry, North Carolina, and was centered on the daily lives of sheriff Andy Taylor (Griffith), his young son, Opie (Howard), Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), who was the live in housekeeper and Opei’s surrogate mother, and Barney Fife (Don Knotts), Andy’s deputy. The scenes between Andy and Opie were sensitively written by Ron’s father with similarities of their relationship, some of Opeis lines were also written by his father. Howard’s parents intervened in certain ways in his life since he was a child star like making sure certain aspects of contracts said didn’t say that he had to do promotional tours. When he was not working he was enrolled in public schools so he could interact with other kids his age. "In school I was a novelty at first," Howard told Edwin Miller. "People got very jazzed up about the idea of having a kid actor in class. That would blow over in a couple of weeks, and then I was able to blend right in." Howard later made the basketball team at Burroughs High School in Burbank; Howard then had to turn down acting assignments so he wouldn’t miss any basketball games.

Imagination Is More Important Than Knowledge Essay

The sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered or learned is what every dictionary or scientist would answer when one would ask them to define knowledge. Imagination, is what these scientists and dictionaries would answer when they were given the question to state one word on the following: ‘The faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses. ’ In 1929, Albert Einstein was brave enough to compare these two to each other after which he came to the conclusion that imagination would be more important in life than knowledge, for knowledge is limited. But when one were to consult anyone or anything on this statement, he would find there is no clear support to take Einstein’s words for granted. Nor is there any clear opposition to question the above said. However, when one would be served with this statement after having read Lagemaat’s book he would immediately start doubting Einstein and his views generating some thought-worthy knowledge issues. For I am too, a reader of Lagemaat’s book, I cannot completely agree or deny his views asking myself how we can possibly rely on our imagination without knowledge as a medium to support it. Or to what extent we, without any knowledge, would take our imagination for granted and thus consider our own imagination knowledge in one way or another. As stated above, even a claim made by one of the most talented mathematicians, can have its validity taking into consideration. By stating that imagination is more important in social life than knowledge, solely by saying that our grounds for knowledge are limited would not suffice. The main question Lagemaat and many of his followers would ask Einstein is in what way we can rely on our imagination in daily life without knowledge as a medium to support it or to what extent imagination makes us blind to knowledge and thus holds us back in real life. For years people used to think the earth was flat. This was due to everyone imagining the earth as a flat square of which you could fall off. ‘How else can we stay on the earth if it wouldn’t be flat? ’ would have been the common thing to think at the time. Humanity did not know what shape the earth had as they had no tools to either go to outer space or observe other planets and the force of gravity. Due to this lack of knowledge the only tool they had was their imagination. People at that time came to a widely accepted conclusion of the earth being flat and you being able to fall off it into the everlasting darkness there being no life whatsoever. By saying imagination is more important that knowledge Einstein suggests we go back to these times of unleashed imagination and forget our search for the absolute truth. In my point of view, this would be a major setback in our current progress. For example, people that thought the earth was flat, also thought you could fall off it and therefore always had set boundaries and did not have the guts to explore more of the world solely driven by the fear of falling off. This led to the exploration of other continents being delayed by a huge amount of time. Going back to the times of our imagination playing a role in our daily decisions would quite frankly mean the same as us evolving back into the animals we once were as there would be nothing that distinguishes us from them. So can we trust our imagination if we do not have any knowledge to support it? No we cannot, we are humans and that is what separates us from any ordinary predator, we have knowledge. Another major loophole in Einstein’s reasoning is that in a world where we would not have any knowledge, and where we were left with imagination, our points of view would automatically be widely accepted and according to Lagemaat’s book, our imagination could then be seen as knowledge although this knowledge not being necessarily true. This completely neglects Einstein’s words in the way that he states we do not need knowledge when we have imagination, but as I said before, all imagination does in that case is take up the position of knowledge neglecting the whole purpose of imagination. An idea I used earlier on, the thought of the earth being flat. Not only did the wrong view on the earth being flat contribute to human kind thinking they could fall off and thus uphold important developments for many years, it also filled up the place of our lacking knowledge. What I’m trying to say is that because of our lack of knowledge we assumed something to be true solely based on our imagination. Thus considering it as knowledge. This type of thinking does not contribute to imagination being the way it was supposed to be: ‘The faculty of imagining, or of forming mental images or concepts of what is not actually present to the senses. ’ In basic mathematics which even Einstein should be able to follow, when A equals B and B equals C, A is equal to C. When imagination and knowledge are both said to lead to the view of the earth being round, knowledge and imagination are equal to each other. Thus stating that something is more important than its equal, is something ridiculous and only possible in the play ‘Animal farm’. Writing this essay made me, as an ordinary human, start to question the vast amount of knowledge I get served every day at school. If there was a way for me to actually find out whether something is really true, I would do it. Sadly I do not have these capabilities and all I can do is rely on the teacher’s words. But as I said before, these could very well be based on nothing but mere imagination and be completely wrong. It is only now that I start to see in what ways Lagemaat is right when he says how knowledge can be interpreted and should be questioned at the same time. It was said that stating imagination was more important than knowledge eventually would lead into us making very false assumptions and decisions in daily due to our knowledge of what is said to be true and what is not, would be lost completely and we would only base our decisions on our own insight and imagination. It was also said that Einstein was very wrong in saying that imagination was more important than knowledge as all imagination would do in that case was to replace knowledge, neglecting the whole purpose of imagination. Abstract The subject on this essay is related to Einstein’s interview in 1929 in which he stated that imagination was more important than knowledge. in the essay itself I will be trying to argue why Einstein was in the wrong by saying the above said. By saying imagination is more important than knowledge, Einstein is basically saying that we as humans would be better off living in a world where we did not keep ourselves busy with our everlasting hunger towards knowledge, but in a world where we would use our imagination instead of knowledge to reason for our decisions in daily life. I will try to disprove this by saying that in world without any knowledge, all imagination essentially would do, was to take up the space of knowledge because our imagination could then be argued to be knowledge as it is widely accepted amongst a large group of people in society. Furthermore there is the argument of human kind not being able to solely base their ideas and thoughts on imagination as this would only lead wrong insight as to how someone can deal with a certain situation and will with no doubt hold us up in our search for progress. This has been backed up by an example on human kind in the time they thought the earth was flat and as George Santayana said: ‘those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it’.

Effectiveness of 4p’s in Terms of Mch and Education Essay

Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are among the most popular social protection schemes today. Promoted by multilateral institutions, notably the World Bank, CCTs have been adopted in at least 30 countries as of 2008, with further ones expected to follow suit in the coming years (WB‘s CCT Webpage). The map below shows these country-adopters. CCTs are grounded on the principle that human capital accumulation is a development vehicle which can be achieved by providing money to poor households, often to women, on conditions that they ensure children‘s regular attendance in school, accompany them to health clinics, and participate in classes and workshops on topics related to health, nutrition, and sanitation (St. Claire 2009: 177; Bradshaw 2008: 188; Hall 2006: 691). Citing the experiences of Latin American countries, particularly Mexico and Brazil, advocates have repeatedly claimed that CCTs are an effective and efficient means of reducing poverty and hunger, keeping childre n in school, enhancing the use of preventive healthcare, empowering women, and increasing the freedom of poor households to invest in their varied needs (WB‘s CCT Webpage; ECLAC 2004). No wonder, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) deadline getting near, CCTs have been in vogue in a number of countries, including that archipelagic country in the east—the Philippines. In view of the worsening poverty situation and the MDG targets, the Philippine government ran a pilot CCT project in 2007, targeting 6,000 poor households in two provinces and two cities. It proceeded to implementing a full-scale program in 2008, calling it Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and targeting 320,000 additional households. When Benigno Aquino III was elected president in 2010, he decided to sustain his predecessor‘s 4Ps, and further expand its coverage so that when he bows out of the presidency in 2016, it will have reached a total of 4.3 million households (PCIJ 2011). Quoting the Philippine Development Plan 2011–2016, CCTs are the ―cornerstoneâ€â€" upon which the government ―has anchored [the] epic battle against poverty in the landâ€â€" (ibid.). This research has avoided the usual route of scrutinizing the implementation and (non)impact of CCTs in particular, and of development programs in general. It has taken one step back, and examined the factors that influenced or helped shape the government‘s decision to adopt CCTs in a country marked by a long history of poverty and inequality, and was once described as the Latin America in Asia1. The interest on this topic grew out of the observation of the government‘s continued adherence to the so-called residual type of social policy and social provision despite the lessons learned from and the criticisms hurled at past and on-going initiatives. It is in fact worth noting that the 4Ps which of late is called Pantawid Pamilya, is just one of the targeted and pallia tive poverty reduction measures pursued in the country. An earlier one, and internationally acclaimed at that, is the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Linking Arms Against Poverty) or KALAHI which has been the flagship poverty reduction program since 2003. A critical review of the KALAHI program reveals that its overall intervention does not offer a more permanent and effective way out of poverty because it lacks coherent plans and mutually supporting projects; and that its social protection component is neither broadly implemented nor viewed to provide permanent economic opportunities for the poor to accumulate assets and to engage in permanent income generating activities (Lim 2009: 29). An assessment of the Philippines‘ performance vis-à  -vis the MDGs supports this analysis. It stresses that†¦ Social protection in the Philippines is not universal; it is simply a bundle of safety net measures targeted at the poorest of the poor. It is [neither] a rights-based entitlement for all citizens†¦[nor a determined effort to] address the structural causes of poverty†¦Since it only targets the ―poorest of the poorâ€â€", many poor remained excluded from the government‘s anti-poverty programs. (Serrano in S ocial Watch Philippines 2010: 23) The analytical position adopted here is that ―policy choices are very politicalâ€â€" no matter how they are couched in technocratic jargon and touted as neutral (Fischer 2010: 40). As further explained, ―social policies are the outcomes of political bargains and conflicts since they touch upon power in society—its distribution and accessibility to different political actorsâ€â€" (Mkandawire 2004: 11 and 12). It is therefore imperative to unravel the interplay of different political processes, institutions, and actors, along with their diverse agenda and ideological persuasions in order to gain a better understanding of social policy choices. This research posits that the Philippine government‘s decision to adopt CCTs reflects the unchanged social policy trajectory marked by the tendency towards targeted, palliative, and supposedly apolitical social provision, not to mention externally-influenced, drawing ―encouragementâ€â€" and support from multilateral institutions, all at the expense of structural reform and redistribution (i.e., asset reform, employment creation, recall of unfair international trade rules and agreements). This trajectory has been defined by the interaction of various political institutions, also called ―the rules of the gameâ€â€", as well as actors, notably the elites whose longstanding dominance in the political and economic arenas has compelled and enabled them to suppress or overturn reform efforts that threaten their position and hold of power. That being said, CCTs paint a bleak picture for the long-term solution to poverty and inequality in the country mainly because like many other World Bank/multilateral donor-backed initiatives, they preclude rationalizing and confronting the structural roots of these problems. Framed in a way that appeals to the elites, middle class, masses, policymakers, bureaucrats, academics, and even a number of progressives—a program that addresses the laziness of the poor by requiring them to do something in exchange for some amount; a program that invests in the well-being of children; a program that efficiently uses the limited resources of government; a program that is supposedly ―apoliticalâ€â€", ―neutralâ€â€", or ―non-partisanâ€â€" and thus effectively reduces the likelihood of manipulation by politicos—a broad agreement of outright support for Pantawid Pamilya has been created despite warnings that it may only serve the Washington Consensus agenda of limiting the state, leaving the market to take care of income and welfare distribution, and granting mere safety nets to people who lose out in the process. Pantawid Pamilya is nothing but a continuation of the purportedly apolitical social policy of the country, and as such, runs the risk of obstructing government and society from going beyond palliatives and undertaking the untidy process of structural reform and distribution. With a situation like this, it is not to be expected that the program will catalyze the shift towards a redistributive and/or universal social provision. UNDP‘s Human Development Reports Webpage The Philippines is a country in the Southeast Asia in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Its population based on the 2007 census is 88.5 million, of which 44.8 are males and 43.8 are females. Its average population growth rate as of that same year is 2.04 which registers a .32 decrease from 2000‘s 2.36. (NSO Website) Based on World Bank records, the growth in the country has been averaging around five percent over the last 10 years, except in 2010, where it has reached 7.6 percent, the highest in 30 years. Despite this positive picture, however, poverty continues to plague the country, while inequality remains a huge obstacle in achieving major strides in poverty reduction. The 2009 Official Poverty Statistics, the latest poverty report of the National Statistical Coordination Board, reveals that poverty incidence among the population has declined from 33.1 percent in 1991 to 24.9 percent in 2003, 26.4 in 2006, and 26.5 in 2009. Nevertheless, there still remains more than a quarter of the population, or roughly 23.14 million Filipinos livening in poverty. As for subsistence incidence among the population, the figures have decreased from 16.5 percent in 1991 to 11.1 in 2003, 11.7 in 2006, and 10.8 in 2006. As often the case, the official report differs from the unofficial report, especially if the bases are the perceptions of the poor themselves. Based on the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, self-rated poverty has ranged from 46 to 72 percent between 1991 and 2009. These numbers are obviously way about the official estimates. Within that period, overall self-rated hunger has averaged at 13.3 percent, of which moderate hunger has roughly been 9.8 percent, and severe hunger, 3.4 percent. Moderate hunger is when a family went hungry at least once in the last three months, while severe hunger is when a family often went hungry in the last three months. (SWS‘ Social Weather Indicators Webpage ) Inequality has shown a downward trend, but despite this decreasing gini ratio—from 0.4605 in 2003 to 0.4580 in 2006 to 0.4484 in 2009—it is still highest among the members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (UNDP as cited in NSCB 2011: 8). For instance, for the year 2009, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam recorded a gini ratio of 0.394, 0.425, and 0.378, respectively (ibid.). In terms of the Human Development Indicators, on one hand, the country‘s performance has been promising. Its score has consistently increased from 0.550 in 1980 to 0.571 in 1990, 0.602 in 2000, 0.641 in 2010, and 0.644 in 2011, although these are still below the global and the East Asia and the Pacific averages (UNDP‘s Human Development Reports Webpage). – 5 – It is also important to take into account the spatial dimension of poverty. The regions with highest poverty incidence by families are the Caraga Region (39.8%) and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (38.1%), while those with highest number of poor families are Central Visayas (415,303) and Bicol (385,338). The regions with highest subsistence incidence are the Zamboanga Peninsula (18.6%) and Northern Mindanao (15.6%), while those with the highest number of subsistence poor families are Central Visayas (181,649) and Bicol (137,527). Almost 40% of the income poor families are in Luzon, and 40% of the subsistence poor families are in Mindanao. (NSCB‘s 2009 Poverty Statistics Webpage) Moreover, majority of the poor are still located in the rural area with figures that have remained in the 70-percent-mark since 1985 based on the estimates of Balisacan (2006). (Emma_s_RP_Final_Draft_Nov_2011)

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