The Development Think Piece

[nicolemasagca]

Quiz Time - B99 Edition! What kind of Logical Fallacies are these statements?

Capt. Holt vs John Kelly

When John Kelly asks people to vote for him as Police Commissioner instead of Captain Holt, he tells them that they are either on his side in making streets safer or on the side of letting crime and wrongdoing prevail.

Lt. Terry Jeffords and the Leaked Crime Statistics

After Gina Linetti posits that nobody could have leaked the data because they were kept in the archives, Lt. Jeffords points out that Gina may have leaked the crime statistics herself by accident because she didn't take her work seriously.

Overcrowding

Detective Rosa Diaz says that ever since the uniformed officers moved up to the bullpen, the elevator smells terrible and the kitchen and bathroom are incredibly nasty. She says that the "downstairs" people have ruined their lives ever since they moved.

Detective Jake Peralta and Desk Duty

Detective Jake Peralta asks Capt. Holt to take him off desk duty because he's ready to get back to work. Capt. Holt tells him that such is the protocol for anyone experiencing a traumatizing work lapse and Detective Rosa Diaz had no qualms about taking a break from field work especially after being wrongfully imprisoned like Jake. Jake responds saying, "So what? Am I supposed to follow everything that Rosa does? What if Rosa jumps off a cliff?"

Detective my Santiago and the Sergeant Exam

Amy was spiralling. She says that if she doesn't pass the sergeant exam, she won't be able to take it for another five years which means her entire life calendar will be disrupted and everything will fall apart so she won't be able to have the right time to get married, have kids, and her parents will never be proud of her and she will never be the youngest detective to become a sergeant in NYPD history ever again. Her life is ruined.

What are your guesses? Drop them down in the comments below!

[mangograhamm]

1. False Dilemmas

2. Ad Hominem

3. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

4. Straw Man

5. Slippery Slope

[kriziazulueta108]

Guess the fallacy!

1.  We can either agree with Kim’s plan, or just let the project fail. There is no other option.

2. Justine: I don’t think Ivee would be a good fit to manage this project, because she doesn’t have a lot of experience with project management.

Carlos: But you don’t have a lot of experience with project management either!

3.  Rafa is not a great athlete, he’s a fraud and a liar.

4. A: Did you eat my chocolate cake in the ref?

B: Mom just bought some ice cream! 

5. If you’ll start eating french fries, you’ll start eating unhealthy food, and then before you know it you will be diagnosed with obesity.

[mangograhamm]

1. False Dilemmas

2. Tu Quoque

3. Ad Hominem

4.  Red Herring

5. Slippery Slope

[jujudichaves]

Guess that Fallacy

Scenario 1: Dogs come from the same family line as wolves. Dogs are dangerous and should stay in the wild.

Scenario 2: Zoe wished for an oven when she saw a shooting star last night. Zoe got an oven today. Shooting stars make wishes come true.

Scenario 3: Sam told Zoe that she shouldn’t be exercising every single day because it is bad for the health. Zoe responds with telling Sam that she, too also exercises everyday so it shouldn’t be bad.

Scenario 4: Sam told Charly that their friend Max is bad because he is too secretive.

Scenario 5: Charly and Mikey get high grades even if they always cram. Therefore, cramming is not bad.  

[mangograhamm]

1. Slippery Slope

2. Post hoc ergo propter hoc

3. Tu Quoque

4. Appeal to Ignorance

5. Overgeneralization

[kamillaestanislao]

Guess That Fallacy

If she fails this quiz, she will receive an F in this class, then she’s going to have to repeat the entire semester and her graduation will be delayed.

Alexa said she’s going to take the Economics class under sir Joseph along with her other block mates. I should enlist in that class also since they’re all taking him.

The new student from Australia is smart, she even aced the exam! Everyone from Australia is smart.

If you want people to love you, then you must have the same music taste.

Karen threw a coin in the fountain before her job interview and she received a phone call saying she got the job a day after. Throwing coins in a fountain employs people.

[mangograhamm]

1. Slippery Slope 2. Circular Reasoning 3. Overgeneralization

4. False Dilemmas 

5. Post hoc ergo propter hoc

[mangograhamm]

The Wonderful World of Twitter

So, I just found out that Teddy Boy Locsin Jr. tweeted something about Sabah, Malaysia.  I found his tweet to be offensive and arrogant. Personally, I’m with Malaysia on this one. If I saw this tweet when it was still new, I probably would have quote tweeted it with “ok boomer”

[mangograhamm]

Social Media Mores: Think Before You Click!

Fake News. As much as it makes me laugh sometimes, it’s saddening that it has become so normal in our society today. For this article, I’m going to share some practices that I do to distinguish real news from fake news, or to simply choose your news.

Whenever I encounter an article online or when I’m doing research for any subject, I do a thorough fact check through checking the credentials of the author, reading the about us page of the website, looking for bias, checking the date it was published, checking if it has a references section, and interrogate the url.  However, that should only be a preliminary screening of any article you should encounter. In my opinion, the most important part in choosing your news is looking at its tone and language. How does the article want to make you feel? Be careful of how the article wants to shape your belief, and always independently verify its claim through an extra Google search.  A few types and clicks are all it takes to be truly informed. 

[mangograhamm]

Issues That Matter in Development: Women and Hunger

Last intersession in my university, I decided to take a subject called Food Justice: Perspectives from Theology, Ecofeminism, and the Social Sciences. It was through that course that I finally found the development path that I want to pursue: issues of food, hunger, and malnutrition particularly in the context of women. This issue is really close to my heart. Coming from a family raised by a single mother, I have seen the issue of Women and Hunger closely. We weren’t always well off, and my Mom had to get us out of poverty alone. Even though she was successful, I have seen the lasting effects of hunger and malnutrition on her. Those are years we can never get back, and I’m sure it took a toll on her health. As an aspiring development practitioner, I will do my best to uplift the conditions of mothers so that hopefully they may not experience the same thing. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, here is a brief background: The persistence of malnutrition and hunger among mothers is a manifestation of the marginalization of women in a patriarchal society. To illustrate, poor Filipino mothers are more vulnerable to malnutrition and hunger compared to Filipino fathers. Women have been tasked by society with the role of being the primary caretaker of the family due to their biological makeup as child bearers. Due to this, poor Filipino mothers, who are responsible for food preparation, would rather risk being hungry to have their children taken care of and sated. Hunger coupled with the role of being the caretaker and child bearer have left a lot of women, especially the poor, in a desperate sense of helplessness and passive acceptance over the suffering of their children. This helplessness stems from a patriarchal society that lets women embody that it is their destiny to suffer. Persistent malnutrition and hunger have led to the internalization of this supposed “fact” which manifests through denial and numbness of Filipino mothers in order to cope with the effects of food insecurity.

 In other Asian and African countries, women also hold the role of being the caretaker of the family. The corporate food regime has demanded an increase in food production for a society characterized by capitalism and consumerism. Like poor Filipino mothers, women farmers from these parts of the globe risk going hungry just to provide food for their children, skipping meals and sacrificing time for other activities in order to keep up with the demands of the corporate food regime. For some women farmers and their families, food insecurity may still persist because the price of food is higher than their purchasing power despite an increase in work with the agribusiness sector. 

This marginalization of women in terms of food consumption, particularly access to food, is connected to their marginalization in terms of food production. In a patriarchal society, men farmers are given more importance than women farmers. Lack of access to land and livelihood opportunities for food production has been a struggle for women farmers. Although women compose a significant amount of the global agricultural workforce, women farmers have less hold on land rights, less access to education, credit, extension services, and are given smaller and inferior quality of land compared to men farmers. This gender inequity on resources for food production has decreased the participation of women farmers in decision making, maintaining the dominance of male farmers in village-wide decisions. Even in their own land, decision making on crop choices are still subject to the approval of their husbands. Gender inequities in food consumption and food production, stemming from dualistic and hierarchical worldviews, have contributed to the food insecurity of women from different parts of the globe. There is a need for a restructuring of our current food systems, and the prioritization of women’s health in social welfare policies to alleviate hunger. This should be a collaboration between both the business sector and the government. Though it sounds like a big step, we can start with a letter to our fellow consumers to support women-driven food initiatives and raise awareness on the maternal health and malnutrition.

[mangograhamm]

The Development Think Piece: Guess That Fallacy!

Hi everyone! Welcome to another post by The Development Think Piece. Today’s blog post will certainly get your thinking gears going with a Guess That Fallacy Quiz!  I’ll be giving you five (5) scenarios I often witness and comment down below what kind of fallacy each scenario exhibits :)  Names used in the scenarios are fake. I will not be name dropping anyone ;)  Scenarios #1: Family members are gathered in the living room. Lou just came home.

Elsa: Ate, you shouldn’t go out for unnecessary things like eating outside and going to the mall. You’re at risk because of your age and your heart condition.  Aunt Lou: If anyone’s going to have COVID and bring it home, it’s going to be you because you go to the palengke all the time to buy supplies!  #2: A grandmother is diagnosed with mild dementia and recently started slapping herself. Her children are meeting to discuss what to do and how to take care of her.  Mary: She shouldn’t stay in our house anymore, before you know it, she will probably get a knife and try to kill one of us while we are sleeping! #3: A mother comes home frustrated with how messy the house is. She gathers her children and scolds them.  Mother: You don’t care about this house and our family! It’s either you do your chores, or you don’t care about this family at all! #4: A couple that fell in love in a place called Rooftop are having problems. Only recently, Rooftop closed down due to the pandemic. The girl messages her close friend.

Girl: I saw on Facebook that Rooftop closed down. Recently, Boy and I have been having problems in our relationship. I think Rooftop closing down is a sign.  #5: A group of friends is talking about their upcoming long test. While everyone was worried, Thanos was calm and cool.  Thanos: We don’t need to study, guys so just relax. I knew this guy who’s now a senior that took the same class. He didn’t study at all and still got an A.  Best of luck! 

[mangograhamm]

In a Cupped-hand’s Size Journal Entry

Hey everyone! Welcome to another article by The Development Think Piece. For today’s entry, I’d like to call it more of a “feel piece” rather than a think piece. I have recently encountered a letter written by a father, who happens to be a lawyer,  addressed to his son who is an aspiring lawyer. After doing a little bit of research, I found out that this was the letter of Jose Diokno, a known lawyer during the Martial Law era, to his son Chel Diokno, now known as a famous human rights lawyer.  For those who don’t know me, I’m a 3rd Year Development Studies student studying in Ateneo de Manila University. In my course, I am blessed to be taught by what I call the best of the best development practitioners IN THE WORLD. This isn’t even exaggeration, I have professors who are THE leading change makers in various local communities, who are leading academics and researchers for various development fields, and most importantly, who are the most passionate and service-driven people I have ever encountered in my life.  So what does this have to do with the letter? I call this article a feel piece because reading the letter sparked inspiration, hope, and drive within me to continue a life and study of service and social change. As much as my professors become my source of inspiration, I sometimes find myself hopeless that I will never be as great as them -- that I am just born as an ordinary student soon to become an ordinary development practitioner.  But looking at the letter, we see an aspiring young lawyer unknown to him his future of becoming a well-respected human rights lawyer and advocate that will also fight during an authoritarian regime. I realized, we all start somewhere. Chel Diokno started only as an aspiring young lawyer, I bet even a little unsure of the path that he was going to take. If he was truly sure, I think he would not have asked his father about going into law.  But what makes the difference between being ordinary and being great?  Given that we all start somewhere whether as a dreamer, a visionary, or as a student hoping for more, the path to greatness is in a constant perseverance, thinking obedience, and continuously chasing after the greater good (or as I always say, “for the greater glory of God and the salvation of humanity”). Jose Diokno puts it in the context of being a lawyer, but I think it is also applicable to being a development worker. He says:  “That the law is a demanding profession, exacting a constant and unswerving devotion that is always a thinking obedience to its ideals, and that is much harder to give than blind obedience;  That the rewards of the law as a profession are not in wealth or even in fame, but in the respect of your peers, in the excitement of the chase after justice, and in the satisfaction not only of service to your clients but of having somehow shaped the future by molding the law of today.” Development is a demanding profession -- demanding us of a constant devotion to social change but also demands us to have thinking obedience and assess if the development that we are devoted to is inclusive and empowering. Community by community, our development work allows us to shape a sustainable future characterized by love, service, and respect to human dignity.  The profession isn’t going to be easy, and especially the road to being a great one will be much more difficult. Pero tuloy lang, kakayanin. 

[mangograhamm]

Personal Benefits of Journal Writing

Personally, I have a weird belief that once I say or write something down it becomes real. The passing thoughts, guilty denials, and other things that are a chaotic mess in my brain enters the real world through writing. Because of this, thoughts are now concrete and I must face it before anyone else does.  Have you ever been so frustrated but can’t seem to pinpoint what it is? Has this affected your personal relationship with others? As a way to face these thoughts and protect the people around me -- I write. Through writing, I believe I can reflect effectively because I am releasing the stress that was stuck inside me. This is why I’m getting into the habit of journaling. After the writing and the process of making it real, there is a clarity and understanding of the way I feel, when and why I feel this way. It helps me process things better and arrive at a solution to reach the best version of myself every single time.

[mangograhamm]

Development Communication and Communication for Development: Keys to Democracy, Sustainability, and Resiliency

When we think of democratic countries, sustainable development, and resilient societies what first comes to mind are political institutions, environmental advocacies, and disaster preparedness. However, at the core of these concepts is a simple everyday term that we hear -- communication.

Democracy

Development Communication through various forms of communication media such as new, old, and community media have been pivotal in sustaining and keeping democracy alive. In order to understand its role, we must first look at its four basic tasks according to Quebral (2012) that allows for the strengthening of democracy:

“1. Circulate knowledge that will inform people of significant events, opportunities, dangers and changes in their community, the country, the region and the world;

2. Provide a forum where issues affecting the national or community life may be discussed;

3. Teach those ideas, skills and values that people need to achieve a better life;

4. Create and maintain a base of consensus that is needed for the stability of a state.” 

These tasks are essential in creating checks and balances within society that can sustain not only stability, but also a state's sense of democracy. To illustrate, circulating knowledge about dangers and threats to democracy is a step towards participation and involvement in state affairs. With this knowledge, a forum is provided for people to mobilize, resist, and demand for the preservation of democracy. Take a look at the recent uprising regarding the Anti-Terror Law, where various communication media outlets and development communicators circulated knowledge through old and new media in an attempt to preserve the country’s democracy. Forums and discussions led to concrete actions to protect democracy, such as petitions, and mobilizations. 

When governments employ values that are harmful to democracies, development communication has a role in teaching communities and individuals ideas and values that fosters participatory development and democracy which can increase one’s quality of life. Through the spread of these ideas and values, development communication has the potential to maintain a base of consensus that is pro-democracy in order to counter further suppression of citizens and the state.

Sustainability

According to Servaes (2020), Communication for development and social change's ultimate objective is sustainable development in society. This is done through empowering individuals and nurturing knowledge in order to enhance decision-making of communities to address present needs while ensuring that future generations can live in a society that can meet their needs as well. Communication for development and social change strategies must be participatory in nature to create a consensus for action that demand sustainable development for both the present and the future. Communication for development aids in the creation of a consensus for action through emphasizing the importance of a two-way communication between development workers and various stakeholders. Before reaching the goal of behavior change that can bring about collective action, one must first listen to stakeholders' feedback in order to produce a contextualized development project for their community (Chatterjee 2010).

Resiliency

Communication for Development and Social change can pave way to the building of resilient societies. Resilient societies have the ability to ensure continuity in the face of shocks and disturbances by reorganizing its structures and operations. This kind of society must be flexible and has tolerance to diversity in culture, ideologies, and identities. One of Communication for Development and Social change’s starting point is showing mutual understanding characterized by tolerance, consciousness-raising, acceptance, and respect which can aid in the building of resilient societies that take into account diversity in needs, interest, and capacities of its members.

In order for communication for development and social change strategies to foster this mutual understanding, it must first be based on a definition of development that addresses inequalities through emphasizing that the duty of development lies in everyone's hands based on principles of empowerment and human rights. To concretely communicate and nurture knowledge that is based on the definition of development previously mentioned, policies that are bottom-up in nature must be employed in order to take into account various cultures, ideologies, and identities. 

If you’re interested to learn more, these are insights I have gleaned from three readings:  1. Terms and Definitions in Communication for Development and Social Change by Jan Servaes 2. Development Communication Primer by Nora Cruz Quebral 3. Development Communication: Communication for or of Development? by Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

If you are thinking about which reading to start on, here are each of the reading’s differences:  1. Terms and Definitions in Communication and Social Change is a good piece for readers without much background on concepts used in the social sciences and in the field of Communication for Development and Social Change. Unlike the other two readings, it gives a good foundation on definitions needed to understand before further research. However, it does not go deep into understanding Communication for Development and Social Change.  2. Development Communication Primer is for readers that want to further understand the roles, goals, and changes of development communication. The reading does a good job of illustrating the importance of development communication to various sectors such as fisherfolk, urban dwellers, and migrants.  3. Development Communication: Communication for or of Development? provides a historical background of Development communication, along with the concept’s goals, problems, and communicators. It even introduces Development Journalism and provides tips at the end of the reading on how to write a good developmental story.  A similarity among the readings is how any form of development communication and communication for development and social change must be participatory in nature. This suggests that transmitting the message is just as important as audience feedback and understanding of the message transmitted. Through this kind of communication strategy, development interventions and programs may be successful in pursuing its goals and objectives. Common themes include alleviating poverty and improving social welfare through communication, and assumptions on goals and objectives of both development communication and communication for development and social change.

I did find several concepts to be a little confusing and difficult to understand while going through the readings. For Servaes’ work, I had trouble differentiating ‘Development’ and ‘Social Change’ because it did not mention how the two are different or why social change is a more neutral term for development. The relationship between Ideology and Power was also unclear to me, specifically how power reinforces certain dominating ideologies in society. For Quebral’s primer, I had difficulty in understanding what community media was because there was no mention of its definition, and what constitutes as community media aside from community radio and newspapers. Lastly, I had difficulty in differentiating types of Development Campaigns in Chatterjee’s reading because I thought the definitions of each overlapped, having no clear distinction.  If you have any resources I can read up on to further understand the concepts above, it would be greatly appreciated! I hope you learned a thing or two from my take on Development Communication and Communication for Development. Reply with your own thoughts and insights! Until the next development think piece, ciao :)