The State-Moro Armed Conflict in the Philippines: Unresolved national question or question of governance?

The continuing struggle of the Moro secessionist movement in the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia’s longest armed conflicts. The tenacity of the conflict lies in two competing concerns: the assertion of self-determination rights of the Moro separatist movement; and the affirmation of the Philippines’ sovereign right to territorial integrity. However, beneath these rights are crucial issues that remain unanswered both by the contending forces—problems where internecine violence and conflict emanate from. This article argues that self-determination rights can be adequately exercised by people who have clearly defined their national identity and concept of a nation. Unfortunately, the Moro multi-ethnic national identity has yet to be crystallised while the idea of a Bangsamoro (Bangsa Nation) remains weak. On the other hand, the state has yet to address the Moros’ legitimate demands of political autonomy, socio-economic development, and social justice and discrimination. Without underestimating the ethnic component of secessionism, the article concludes that poor governance has prolonged, complicated, and further justified the Moros’ quest to secede from the Republic

ASEAN's unchanged melody? The theory and practice of 'non-interference' in Southeast Asia

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published as Jones, Lee. (2010). ASEAN's unchanged melody? The theory and practice of 'non-interference' in Southeast Asia. Pacific Review 23:4, 479-502 as published in PACIFIC REVIEW 2010 © Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09512748.2010.49599

The experiences of radiologic technologists in handling mentally challenged persons during x-ray procedures.

Qualitative research design was utilized in this study. The participants were licensed radiologic technologists who have handled mentally persons regardless of the number of times. The participants were chosen through expert sampling in which the participants demonstrate their experience and expertise. The researchers had a face-to-face interview with each participant in order to express their experiences that answered the grand tour question, “What are your experiences in handling mentally challenged persons during x-ray procedures?.” Audio recording of the interview was used to transcribe and generate significant statements of each participant. Creswell’s approach was used for the qualitative research for data analysis to interpret the data gathered. Based on the results, 1) it opens the floors of conversation into a path of sadness and awkwardness; 2) knowing what is really the condition of the patient, some of the participants already made their judgments about the patients even though they themselves did not go through that situation yet; 3) the unpredictability of the patients\u27 behavior is the reason that the procedure is sometimes intimidating for the participants because they are not familiar with the different sides of mentally challenged individuals; 4) the participants saw hardship and sadness through the patients\u27 and their family\u27s eyes; 5) human spirit is about having hope that with every bad day that they encounter, a person still clings on the notion that tomorrow will be a better day as long as they are with the ones they love and that they will support each other until the end