Livelihood and vulnerability in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda: lessons of community and resilience

Livelihood strategies that are crafted in ‘extra-ordinary’ post-disaster conditions should also be able to function once some semblance of normalcy has resumed. This article aims to show that the vulnerability experienced in relation to Typhoon Yolanda was, and continues to be, directly linked to inadequate livelihood assets and opportunities. We examine the extent to which various livelihood strategies lessened vulnerability post-Typhoon Yolanda and argue that creating conditions under which disaster survivors have the freedom to pursue sustainable livelihood is essential in order to foster resilience and reduce vulnerability against future disasters. We offer suggestions to improve future relief efforts, including suggestions made by the survivors themselves. We caution against rehabilitation strategies that knowingly or unknowingly, resurrect pre-disaster vulnerability. Strategies that foster dependency, fail to appreciate local political or ecological conditions or undermine cooperation and cohesion in already vulnerable communities will be bound to fail. Some of the livelihood strategies that we observed post-Typhoon Yolanda failed on some or all of these points. It is important for future policy that these failings are addressed

Female gamers’ experience of online harassment and social support in online gaming: a qualitative study

Female gaming is a relatively under-researched area, and female gamers often report experiencing harassment whilst playing online. The present study explored female experiences of social support while playing online video games, because of the previous research suggesting that females often experience harassment and negative interactions during game play. Data were collected from an online discussion forum, and comprised posts drawn from 271 female gamers. Thematic analysis of the discussions suggested that a lack of social support and harassment frequently led to female gamers playing alone, playing anonymously, and moving groups regularly. The female gamers reported experiencing anxiety and loneliness due to this lack of social support, and for many, this was mirrored in their experiences of social support outside of gaming. The female gamers frequently accepted the incorporation into their gaming of specific coping strategies to mitigate online harassment, including actively hiding their identity and avoiding all forms of verbal communication with other players. These themes are discussed in relation to relevant research in the area, along with recommendations for future research and consideration of possible explanations for the themes observed

ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM (ALS) PROGRAM’S IMPLEMENTATION IN THE CITY DIVISION OF PUERTO PRINCESA, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

This study was conducted among implementers, stakeholders, and Accreditation and Equivalency Secondary learners to determine the implementation of Alternative Learning System (ALS) Programs as basis for development of literacy intervention program. Descriptive statistics, frequency counts, percentage, means, Pearson and t-test were used to determine the significant relationship and difference of the respondents’ perception. There was a significant difference on implementers and stakeholders’ perception on implementers’ performance indicators on the learning delivery of ALS in terms of instructional competence, impact on learners, delivery of programs, advocacy and social mobilization on the implementation of Alternative Learning System (ALS), while there was no significant difference on functional networking system. In terms of governance, the implementers and stakeholders’ perception had significant difference on leadership and effectiveness while no significant difference was noted on management, commitment and capability building. However, implementers and learners’ level of perception has no significant difference on the learning delivery of programs in terms of literacy and skills development, impact on learners and on advocacy and social

A Study on liquidity as a determinant of the overall profitability of listed industrial subsectors in the Philippines

This paper is about the relationship between liquidity and profitability in the Philippine listed Industrial Subsector of the Philippines. Liquidity and profitability are important factors for a company to be able to manage its working capital. Through working capital management, the company will then be able to make sound judgment regarding decisions in its day to day operation. Liquidity as profitability determinants uses the financial ratios of liquidity and profitability in order to arrive and determine relationship significance for liquidity which is the dependent variable of the study are current ratio, quick ratio while the dependent variable which is the profitability consists of net profit, return on asset and return on equity ratios. Statistical tools used to arrive the conclusion and recommendations of the study are the correlation and panel regression. This study will form and provide significance to the management of companies on the Industrial Sector, to the general public and the academe as well

Uromycladium falcatarium sp. nov., the cause of gall rust on Paraserianthes falcataria in south-east Asia

The gall rusts on Acacia spp. and Paraserianthes falcataria are caused by species of Uromycladium. Morphology and a phylogenetic analysis of four loci from ribosomal (SSU, ITS, LSU) and mitochondrial (CO3) DNA, showed that the rust on P. falcataria differed from U. tepperianum. Uromycladium falcatarium sp. nov. is described to accommodate this taxon, which can be differentiated from other species of Uromycladium by teliospore wall morphology, host genus and DNA sequence data