Role of Community Pharmacists in Healthcare

Role of Community Pharmacists in Healthcare INTRODUCTION Community pharmacists may be regarded as the health professionals most accessible to the public1 and whose services are coveted by the public and patients. Round the world, millions of people visit community pharmacies for their daily health care requirements. Pharmacists are placed as the first point of contact in the healthcare system because of their ease of approach2. They dispense medications in accordance with a prescription or without prescription when permitted, as in the case of OTC medicines. In addition to the supply of medicines the professional services of a community pharmacist should also cover patient counselling, drug information to healthcare professionals, patients and public, participation in healthcare programmes.3 The main activities of community pharmacists include: 3, 4, 5 Processing of prescriptions The pharmacist checks for the legality, safety and appropriateness of the prescription order and decides whether the medication should be handed to the patient with appropriate counselling, by a pharmacist. The community pharmacist is in a unique position to be fully aware of the patient’s past and current drug history and, consequently, can provide essential advice to the prescriber. Care of patients or clinical pharmacy The pharmacist seeks to collect and integrate information about the patient’s drug history, clarifies the patient’s understanding of the intended dosage regimen and method of administration, and advises the patient of drug-related precautions. Monitoring of drug utilization The pharmacist can participate in arrangements for monitoring the utilization of drugs, such as practice research projects, and schemes to analyze prescriptions for the monitoring of adverse drug reactions. Extemporaneous preparation and small-scale manufacture of medicines New developments in drugs and delivery systems may well extend the need for individually adapted medicines and thus increase the pharmacist’s need to continue with pharmacy formulation. Pharmacists engage in the small-scale manufacture of medicines, which must accord with good manufacturing and distribution practice guidelines. Traditional and alternative medicines In some countries, as in India, pharmacists supply traditional medicines and dispense homoeopathic prescriptions. Responding to symptoms of minor ailments The pharmacist receives requests from members of the public for advice on a variety of symptoms and, when indicated, refers the inquiries to a medical practitioner. If the symptoms relate to a self-limiting minor ailment, the pharmacist can supply a non-prescription medicine, with advice to consult a medical practitioner if the symptoms persist for more than a few days. Alternatively, the pharmacist may give advice without supplying medicine. Informing health care professionals and the public The pharmacist can compile and maintain information on all medicines, and particularly on newly introduced medicines, provide this information as necessary to other health care professionals and to patients, and use it in promoting the rational use of drugs, by providing advice and explanations to physicians and to members of the public. Health promotion The pharmacist can take part in health promotion campaigns, locally and nationally, on a wide range of health-related topics, and particularly on drug-related topics (e.g., rational use of drugs, alcohol abuse, tobacco use, discouragement of drug use during pregnancy, organic solvent abuse, poison prevention) or topics concerned with other health problems (diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, diabetes care, leprosy, HIV-infection/AIDS), nutritional counselling and family planning. They may also take part in the education of local community groups in health promotion, and in campaigns on disease prevention, such as the Expanded Programme on Immunization, and malaria and blindness programmes. Domiciliary services In a number of countries, the pharmacist provides an advisory as well as a supply service to residential homes for the elderly, and other long-term patients. In some countries, policies are being developed under which pharmacists will visit certain categories of house-bound patients to provide the counselling service that the patients would have received had they been able to visit the pharmacy. Agricultural and veterinary practice Pharmacists supply animal medicines and medicated animal feeds. Global setting of Community Pharmacy Community pharmacy practice evolved in a period after Second World War. A pharmacist began to perform functions that were new to pharmacy. The popular motto of patient oriented practice and drug use control came into practice.6 Around the world there are community pharmacists who are drug experts providing patient care in their community pharmacies. In many countries community pharmacies are places where individuals may obtain health advice assistance with managing their disease status with medication. In UKpharmacist have role in primary care public health. In community pharmacies the concept of responsible pharmacist is adopted from 2005. In Canada community pharmacies offer professional services like home delivery of prescription, in store blood pressure monitoring device, in store screening/risk assessments, patient library, in store educational seminar/programs, trial prescriptions, patients call back system, in store disease management, home visits, out of store educational seminars/program documented care plans. InBrazilcommunity pharmacies provide pharmaceutical services like drug dispensing, blood pressure measurement, capillary glucose test, cholesterol/triglyceride test, nebulization, administration o injectables compounding. In Germany community pharmacists contributes to health promotion promote rational prescribing and appropriate use of medicine along with this they provide drug information, pharmaceutical care preventive care services. In Finlandmedication counseling by community pharmacists was made mandated by law in 1983. In Australia, disease state management in asthma diabetes is being considered for reimbursement in Portugal, programs exists for diabetes, asthma hypertension. In Sweden all pharmacies have an information technology-based drug related problem documentation system a new national drug related problem database.8 Community Pharmacy in India The genesis of community pharmacy practice in India can be traced back to the Colonial period when allopathic drugs were introduced and were made available through drug stores towards the end of the nineteenth century. The pharmacy practice scenario and especially community pharmacy practice during pre-independence era was highly unregulated and there were no restrictions on the practice of pharmacy in India.7 When we look into our country, as compared with the global setting, things are totally different and honestly it is quite disturbing. More or less, with very few exceptions, pharmacies are the drug selling shops and not yet healthcare settings. The true community pharmacy concept is not developed yet. Although community pharmacist is of key importance in providing better healthcare, the situation and condition of the community pharmaceutical service has stood where it was in its commencement.6 Today, community pharmacists play an important role in any country as they take responsibility for patient’s medicine related needs for access to healthcare. However, in India only the supply of medicines remains the core activity of the community pharmacist. Most community pharmacists in the country still hardly offer patient-oriented service. The role of the pharmacists in the community, and with it their medicine management, may change in the wake of the rapid growth of domestic medicine output and national healthcare expenditure.7 The profession of pharmacy in India can seize the opportunity and respond to changes in the  health care system, in part, by making pharmaceutical care its mission. Good Pharmacy Practice Guidelines aim to set standards for practice of pharmacy as a profession in India. It is also an affirmative statement conveying that we ourselves control our profession’s standards, not anyone else. These guidelines aim to provide the framework to meet the criteria that has the potential to make pharmacy profession relevant to the society. Hence it is necessary that every individual pharmacist should be aware of the guidelines and uplift their profession. Prevalence of diabetes and the role of community pharmacist in diabetes care According to recent estimates, approximately 285 million people worldwide (6.6%) in the 20–79 year age group will have diabetes in 2010 and by 2030, 438 million people (7.8%) of the adult population, is expected to have diabetes9. Between 2010 and 2030, there will be a 69% increase in numbers of adults with diabetes in developing countries and a 20% increase in developed countries.10 It is estimated that the total number of people with diabetes in 2010 to be around 50.8 million in India, rising to 87.0 million by 2030. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, the prevalence of known diabetes was 5.6% and 2.7% among urban and rural areas, respectively. India is ranked first among the top10 countries for estimated numbers of adults  with diabetes, 2010 and 2030 11. Several studies have reported the role of pharmacists in diabetes care. Community Pharmacists for diabetes patients intervention study in Japan showed a marked increase in HbA1C levels.12 A Study conducted in Tamil Nadu has turned out to show that community pharmacists are in a unique position to monitor and counsel rural patients with diabetes. This study demonstrates the positive impact that the community pharmacist can have in achieving the primary therapeutic goal in diabetes patients of overall diabetes control. 13 It is evident that community pharmacy in its broad meaning has not yet come into practice and the community pharmacist has a major role to play in diabetes care. An evaluation will reflect how far our pharmacists are aware of their role and will help to improve themselves in their profession. Hence our study aims at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice of the community pharmacist towards Good Pharmacy Practice and diabetes with an objective of imparting academic and professional updation through professional development initiatives. References Krishna Goudar Bhimaray, Mahadevamma C, Yoganada R, Shaik Shafiya Begum. The key role of community pharmacist in Health care system. An over view. Adepu R, Nagavi BG. General practitioner’s perceptions about the extended roles of the community pharmacist in the state of Karnataka: A study. Indian J Pharm Sci. 2006; 68(1): 36-40. Report of WHO Consultative Group; New Delhi, India. The role of the pharmacist in the health care system; N- December 1988; p 10-12. Stephen Greenwood, Australian Health Consumer number one 2005–2006; Value of the current system of community pharmacy; p 10 – 13 Rai Awani Kumar, Saini Rakesh, A Textbook of Community Pharmacy; Roles and responsibilities of community pharmacist; p 2 – 3 Ishita, Deepak Kaushik Harish Dureja ; Role of community pharmacist in ensuring better healthcare http://www.pharmabiz.com/article/detnews.asp?articleid=22582sectionid=46 Subal Chandra Basak, Dondeti Sathyanarayana; Community Pharmacy Practice in India: Past, Present and Future, Southern Med Review: Volume 2 | Issue 1 | April 2009 p 11 14 International Scenario Community Pharmacy http://www.pharmainfo.net/vijayaratna/blog/community-pharmacy-india-and-some-issues IDF Diabetes Atlas, 4th edition. International Diabetes Federation, 2009. J.E. Shaw , R.A. Sicree, P.Z. Zimmet, Diabetes Atlas; Global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2010 and 2030 A Ramachandran, AK Das, SR Joshi, CS Yajnik, S Shah, KM Prasanna Kumar Current Status of Diabetes in India and Need for Novel Therapeutic Agents; Supplement to japi †¢ june 2010 †¢ vol. 58 Okada H, Nakagawa Y, Onda M, Shoji M, Fukuoka K, Ishii Y, Sakane N; Community Pharmacists for Diabetes Patients Intervention Study in Japan – Compass Project R Venkatesan, AS Manjuladevi , S Sriram; Role of community pharmacist in improving glycemic control, Perspectives in clinical research

Isyu Sa Wikang Filipino Essay

In this current situation of portentous upheaval in the Philippines, any discussion of the â€Å"language question,† like the â€Å"woman question,† is bound to be imcendiary and contentious. The issue of language is always explosive, a crux of symptoms afflicting the body politic. It is like a fuse or trigger that ignites a whole bundle of inflammable issues, scandalously questioning the existence of God in front of an audience of believers. Or the immortality of souls among the faithful. Perhaps my saying outright that I am a partisan for a national language, Filipino, may outrage the postmodernists and cosmopolites among you—how can you say such a thing when you are speaking in English? Or, as Senator Diokno once said, â€Å"English of a sort. † How dare I infuriate the loyal speakers of Cebuano, Ilocano, Pampagueno, Ilonggo, Taglish, Filipino English, and a hundred or more languages used in these seven thousand islands. One gives up: it can’t be helped. Or we can help lift the ideological smog and draw more lucidly the lines of demarcation in the battleground of ideas and social practices. One suspects that this is almost unavoidable, in a society where to raise the need for one national language, say â€Å"Filipino† (as mandated by the Constitution) is certain to arouse immediate opposition. Or, if not immediately, it is deferred and sublimated into other pretexts for debate and argumentation. Fortunately, we have not reached the point of armed skirmishes and violent confrontations for the sake of our mother/father tongue, as in India and other countries. My partisanship for Filipino (not Tagalog) is bound to inflame Cebuanos, Bicolanos, Ilocanos, and so on, including Filipino speakers-writers of English, or Filipino English. We probably try to defuse any brewing conflict quickly by using the colonizer’s tongue, or compromise babel-wise. My view is that only a continuing historical analysis can help explain the present contradictory conjuncture, and disclose the options it offers us. Only engagement in the current political struggles can resolve the linguistic aporia/antinomy and clarify the import and consequence of the controversy over the national language, over the fate of Filipino and English in our society. _______________ Sa kasalukuyang matinding sigalot sa bansa, anumang talakayan hinggil sa wika ay tiyak na magbubunsod sa isang away o maingay na pagtatalo. Kahawig nito ang usapin ng kababaihan. Laging matinik ang isyu ng pambansang wika, isang sintomas ng pinaglikom na mga sakit ng body politic. Tila ito isang mitsang magpapasabog sa pinakabuod na mga kontradiksiyong bumubuo sa istruktura ng lipunang siyang nakatanghal na larangan ng digmaan ng mga uri at iba’t ibang sektor. Lalong masahol siguro kung sabihin kong nasa panig ako ng mga nagsususog sa isang pambansang wikang tinaguriang â€Å"Filipino. † Tiyak na tututol ang mga Sebuano, Ilokano, Ilonggo, mga alagad ng Taglish, o Ingles, o Filipino-Ingles. Ngunit hindi ito maiiwasan, kaya tuloy na tayong makipagbuno sa usaping ito upang mailinaw ang linya ng paghahati’t pamumukod, at sa gayo’y makarating sa antas ng pagtutuos at pagpapasiya. _______________ One would expect that this issue would have been resolved a long time ago. But, given the dire condition of the Philippine political economy in this epoch of globalized terrorism of the U. S. hegemon, a plight that is the product of more than a century of colonial/neocolonial domination, all the controversies surrounding this proposal of a national language since the time of the Philippine Commonwealth when Quezon convened the Institute of National Language under Jaime de Veyra, have risen again like ravenous ghouls. I believe this specter can never be properly laid to rest until we have acquired genuine sovereignty, until national self-determination has been fully exercised, and the Filipino people—three thousand everyday, more than a million every year–will no longer be leaving in droves as Overseas Contract Workers, the whole nation becoming a global subaltern to the transnational corporations, to the World Bank-World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the predatory finance capital of the global North. If we cannot help but be interpellated by the sirens of the global market and transformed into exchangeable warm bodies, we can at least interrogate the conditions of our subordination—if only as a gesture of resistance by a nascent, irrepressible agency. _________________ Saan mang lugar, ang usapin ng pambansang wika ay kumakatawan sa pagtatalo tungkol sa mga mahalagang usapin sa pulitika at ekonomya. Buti naman, hindi pa tayo nagpapatayan sa ngalan ng wika, tulad ng nangyayari sa India at iba pang bansa. Marahil, napapahinahon ang bawat isa kung Ingles, ang wika ng dating kolonisador, ang wika ng globalisasyon ngayon, ang ating gagamitin. Di ko lang tiyak kung maiging magkakaunawaan ang lahat sapagkat ang pagsasalin o translation, kalimitan, ang siyang nagbubunga ng karagdagang basag-gulo. Ngunit ang pagbaling sa Ingles ay pagsuko lamang sa dominasyon ng kapangyarihang global sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang hegemon, ang Estados Unidos. Ang makalulutas ng krisis, sa tingin ko, ay isang pakikisangkot sa nangyayaring labanang pampulitika at pang-ideolohya, laluna ang pakikibaka tungo sa tunay na kasarinlan at demokrasyang popular, sa gitna ng dominasyon ng mga mayayama’t makapangyarihang bansa sa Europa, Norte Amerika, Hapon, at iba pa. Bagamat mula pa noong panahon ni Quezon hanggang sa ngayon, ang isyu ng â€Å"pambansang wika† ay naipaloob na sa Konstitusyon, bumangon ito muli na tila mga kaluluwang uhaw sa dugo. Maireresolba lang ang isyung ito kung may tunay na soberanya na tayo, at namamayani ang kapangyarihan ng nakararami, mga pesante’t manggagawa, at nabuwag na ang poder ng mga may-aring kakutsaba ng imperyalismo. Sa ngayon, walang kalutasan ito, sintomas ng bayang naghihirap, hanggang ang relasyong sosyal ay kontrolado ng naghaharing uri, laluna ng mga komprador at maylupang pabor sa Ingles, wikang may prestihiyo at kinagawiang wika sa pakikipag-ugnay sa kanilang mga patrong Amerikano, Hapon, Intsik at iba pa. _____________________ In the hope of avoiding such a situation, which is almost ineluctable, I would like to offer the following seven theses that may initiate a new approach to the question, if not offer heuristic points of departure for reflection. In contrast to the dominant neoliberal philosophically idealist-metaphysical approach, I apply a historical materialist one whose method is not only historicizing and dialectical—not merely deploying the â€Å"Aufhebung† of Hegel within an eclectic, neoWeberian framework (as Fernando Zialcita does in his provocative book–Authentic Though Not Exotic: Essays on Filipino Identity (2005)—but also, as Marx said, standing it on its head in the complex and changing social relations of production within concrete historical settings. The materialist dialectic offers a method of analysis and elucidation of the context in which questions about a national language can be clarified and the nuances of its practical implications elaborated. Thesis 1: Language is not a self-sufficient entity or phenomenon in itself but a component of the social forms of consciousness of any given social formation. Marx considered language a productive force, conceived as â€Å"practical consciousness,† as he elaborates in the Grundrisse: â€Å"Language itself is just as much the product of a community, as in another aspect it is the existence of the community–it is, as it were, the communal being speaking for itself† (quoted in Rossi-Landi 1983, 170). As such, it can only be properly addressed within the historical specificity of a given mode of production and attendant social-political formation. It has no history of its own but is a constituent part and constitutive of the ideological terrain on which the struggle of classes and historic blocs are fought, always in an uneven and combined mode of development. It forms part of the conflicted evolution of the integral state, as Gramsci conceived it as the combination of political society and civil society. The issue of language is located right at the heart of the construction of this integral state. Hence not only its synchronic but also diachronic dimensions should be dialectically comprehended in grasping its worth and contribution to the liberation and fulfillment of the human potential. Thesis 2: The function and nature of language then cannot be adequately discussed in a neutral and positivistic-empiricist way, given its insertion into conflicted relations of production, at least since the emergence of class-divided societies in history. Ferruccio Rossi-Landi explains the imbrication of language in social-historical praxis: â€Å"The typically social operation of speaking can only be performed by a historically determined individual or group; it must be performed in a given language, that is, within a determined structure which is always itself, to some extent, both an ideological product and an ideological instrument already; lastly, the audience is determined as well† by the historical-social situation (1983, 169). Language use, in short, the process of communication, cannot escape the necessity of sociopolitical overdetermination. In the Philippines, the status and function of various languages—Spanish, English, and the numerous vernaculars or regional languages—cannot be assayed without inscribing them in the history of colonial and neocolonial domination of the peoples in these islands. In this regard, the terms â€Å"national-popular† and â€Å"nation-people†Ã¢â‚¬â€as Gramsci (1971) employed them in a historical-materialist discourse–should be used in referring to Filipinos in the process of expressing themselves (albeit in a contradiction-filled way) as diverse communities, interpellating other nationalities, and conducting dialogue with themselves and other conversers. It is necessary to assert the fundamental premise of the â€Å"national-popular,† the nation as constituted by the working masses (in our country, workers and peasants), not the patricians. Otherwise, the nation (in the archive of Western-oriented or Eurocentric history) is usually identified with the elite, the propertied classes, the national bourgeoisie, or the comprador bourgeoisie and its allies, the bureaucrats and feudal landlords and their retinue of gangsters, private armies, paramilitary thugs, etc. Actually, today, we inhabit a neocolony dominated by a comprador-bureaucratic bloc of the propertied classes allied with and supported in manifold ways by the U. S. hegemon and its regional accomplices. The recent unilateral policy pronouncement of the de facto Philippine president Arroyo that English should be re-instated as the official medium of instruction in all schools can only be read as a total subservience to the ideology of English as a global language free from all imperialist intent. Obviously this is propagated by free-market ideologues inside and outside government, even though a bill has recently been proposed in the Congress to institute the mother tongue as the medium of instruction up to grade six of the elementary school. (One needs to interject here that this idea of using the mother tongue in the first years of education is not new; it was first planned and tested in the Sta. Barbara, Panay, experiment conducted by Dr. Jose V. Aguilar in the late forties and fifties. But this finding has been buried and forgotten by the neocolonialist policies of all administrations since 1946. ) As Peter Ives pointed out in his Language and Hegemony in Gramsci, issues of language policy in organizing schools and testing curriculum need to be connected to â€Å"political questions of democracy, growing inequalities in wealth and neo-imperialism† (2004, 164), since the daily acts of speaking and writing–in effect, the dynamic field of social communication– involves the struggle for hegemony in the realm of civil society, state institutions, and practices of everyday life. ____________________ Sa halip na sipatin ang isyung ito sa kinagawiang empirical na lapit, tulad ng ginagamit ng mga postmodernistang iskolar, dapat ipataw ang isang materyalismo- istorikal na pananaw at ang diyalektikong paraan upang makalikha ng praktikang agenda na tutugon sa tanong kung ano ba ang wikang pambansang magsisilbing mabisang sandata sa mapagpalayang pakikipagsapalaran ng sambayanan. Ang wika ay hindi isang bagay na may sariling halaga kundi bahagi ito ng kategorya ng kamalayang sosyal, isang kamalayang praktika—â€Å"practical consciousness,† ayon kay Marx—na gumaganap sa buhay bilang lakas ng produksiyon. Matutukoy lamang ito sa gitna ng isang partikular na mode of production sa isang determinadong pormasyonag sosyal. Hindi ito bukod sa pagtatagisang pang-ideolohiya. Kalahok ito sa pagbubuo ng integral state (konseptong galing kay Gramsci), tambalan ng lipunang sibil at lipunang pampulitika. Ang usapin ng wika ay di maihihiwalay sa yugto ng kasaysayan ng bayan, na laging komplikado at di-pantay ang pagsulong ng iba’t ibang bahagi—uneven and combined development. Samakatwid, sa ating sitwasyon, ang suliraning pang-wika ay di maihihiwalay sa programa tungo sa tunay na kasarinlan at kasaganaan, mula sa kasalukuyang neocolonial at naghihikahos na bayan. ____________________ Thesis 3: The Filipino nation is an unfinished and continuing project, an unfinished work, constantly being re-invented but not under conditions of its own making. Becoming Filipinos is a process of decolonization and radical democratization of the social formation, a sequence of collective choices. This is almost a cliche among the progressive forces with a nationalist orientation. It bears repeating that Filipino sovereignty is a dynamic totality whose premises are political independence and economic self-sufficiency. We have not yet achieved those premises. Given the current alignment of nation-states in the world-system under U. S. hegemony, whose hegemony is unstable, precarious, sustained by manifold antagonisms, and perpetually challenged by other regional blocs, becoming Filipino is an ever-renewing trajectory of creation and re-creation, a process overdetermined by legacies of the past and unpredictable incidences of the present and the future. Within this configuration, an evolving, emergent Filipino language may be conceived as both a medium and substantive element in fashioning this sequence of becoming-Filipino, a sequence grasped not as a cultural essence but a network of dynamic political affiliations and commitments. It is also an aesthetic modality of counterhegemonic, anti-imperialist expression. Thesis 4: Only within the project of achieving genuine, substantive national independence and egalitarian democracy can we argue for the need for one national language as an effective means of unifying the masses of peasants, workers and middle strata and allowing them integral participation in a hegemonic process. Note that this is not just a question of cultural identity within the larger agenda of a reformist-individualist politics of identity/recognition. Without changing the unequal and unjust property/power relations, a distinctive Filipino culture incorporating all the diverse elements that have entered everyday lives of the masses can not be defined and allowed to flourish. Without the prosperous development of the material resources and political instrumentalities, a Filipino cultural identity can only be an artificial, hybrid fabrication of the elite—an excrescence of global consumerism, a symptom of the power of transnationalized commodity-fetishism that, right now, dominates the popular consciousness via the mass media, in particular television, films, music, food and fashion styles, packaged life-styles that permeate the everyday practices of ordinary Filipinos across class, ethnicities, age and localities. The consumerist habitus (to use Pierre Bourdieu’s [1998] concept) acquired  from decades of colonial education and indoctrination has almost entirely conquered and occupied the psyche of every Filipino, except for those consciously aware of it and collectively resisting it. With the rise of globalization, it has been a fashionable if tendentious practice among the floating litterateurs, mostly resident in colleges and universities, to advocate the maintenance of the status quo; that is, English as the prestigious language, Taglish as the media lingua franca, and Filipino and the other languages as utilitarian devices for specific tasks. But soon we find that this imitated pluralistic/multiculturalist stand only functions as the effective ploy of neoliberal finance capital. This seemingly pragmatist, accomodationist stance ultimately serves neocolonial goals: the Filipino as presumptive world-citizen functioning as compensation for the lack of effective national sovereignty. Its obverse is regional/ethnic separatism. The culturalist or civilizationalist program, often linked to NGOs and deceptive philanthropic schemes, skips the required dialectical mediation and posits an abstract universality, though disguised in a self-satisfied particularism now in vogue among postcolonial deconstructionists eulogizing the importance of place, locality, indigeneity, organic roots, etc. We discover in time that this trend serves as a useful adjunct for enhancing the festishistic magic, aura and seductive lure of commodities—from brand-name luxury goods to the whole world of images, sounds, theoretical discourses, and multimedia confections manufactured by the transnational culture industry and marketed as symbolic capital for the pettybourgeoisie of the periphery and other subalternized sectors within the metropole. __________________ Sa Pilipinas, ang lagay at papel na ginagampanan ng wika ay maipapaliwanag lamang sa pagsingit nito sa ugnayang panlipunan, sa kontradiksyon ng sumusulong na puwersa ng produksyon at namamayaning balangkas na pumipigil sa pagsulong ng buong lipunan. Ang katayuan ng wika ay nakabatay sa kasaysayan ng bansa, sa kolonyal at neokolonyal na dominasyon ng Kastila, Amerika at Hapon, at sa himagsik ng sambayanan laban sa pang-aapi. Ang mga katagang â€Å"nasyonal-popular† o pambansa-makamasa—na iminungkahi ni Gramsci—ang dapat ilapat sa nakararami na nag-aadhikang makapagpahayag ng kanilang pagkatao sa iba’t ibang paraan, tigib ng kontradiksiyon na bunga ng di-pantay at pinagtambal na pagsulong ng iba’t ibang sangkap ng kabuuang istruktura ng lipunan. Ang wika ay nakalubog sa daloy ng mga kontradiksiyon sa lipunan. Kailangang idiin ang prinsipyo ng nasyonal-popular, pambansa-makamasa, ang bansa na binubuo’t pinapatnubayan ng masang walang pag-aari—mga manggagawa, magsasaka, at gitnang sangay (mga propesyonal, petiburgesyang uri, mga minorya). Kung hindi, ang bansa ay mabibigyan-kahulugan ng mga naghaharing uri, ang iilan na nag-mamay-ari, ang oligarkong tuta ng imperyalismo, mga ahente ng global finance-capital. Thesis 5: Spanish and English are global languages needed for communication and participation in world affairs. They are recognized as richly developed languages of aesthetic and intellectual power useful for certain purposes—English particularly in the scientific and technical fields. But they have a political history and resonance for â€Å"third world peoples† who have suffered from their uses. Its sedimented patterns of thought and action cannot so easily be ignored or elided. The discursive genres of law, business, liturgy, pedagogy, and so on, in English and their institutionalized instrumentalities cannot be judged on their own terms without understanding the political role they played, and continue to play, as effective instruments in the colonial domination of the various peoples in the Philippines and their total subordination to the political-cultural hegemony of the Spanish empire, and then of the American empire from 1899 to 1946, and of U. S. neocolonial control after formal independence in 1946. Everyone knows that while Rizal used Spanish to reach an enlightened Spanish public and an ilustrado-influenced audience, the masses who participated in the Malolos Republic and the war against the Americans used Tagalog, and other vernaculars, in fighting for cultural autonomy and national independence. Historically the national and democratic project of the Philippine revolution—still unfinished and continuing—provides the only viable perspective within which we can explore the need for a national language as a means of uniting and mobilizing the people for this project. Thesis 6: The use and promotion of a national language does not imply the neglect, elimination, or inferiorization of other regional languages spoken and used by diverse communities involved in the national-democratic struggle. In fact, it implies their preservation and cultivation. But that is contingent on the attainment of genuine national sovereignty and the emancipation of the masses, their integration into active participation in governance. Their inferiorization is tied to the oppression of their users/speakers by virtue of class, nationality, religion, ethinicity, locality, and so on. (My friends in Panay who use Kinaray-a, Ilonggo or Akenaon should not fear being dominated by a Manila-centric hegemony as long as they address crucial political questions of social justice and sovereignty in a manner that commands directive force, displacing the question of form with the substantive totality of communication across ethnic and local differences to forge a flexible but principled united front for national democracy and socialist liberation. ) Meanwhile, in the course of the national-liberation struggle, all languages should and are being used for mobilization, political education, and cultural self-affirmation. Simultaneously, the dissemination and development of one national language becomes a political and economic-cultural necessity for unifying the diverse communities under a common political program—which does not imply a monolithic ideological unity– in front of the monstrous power of finance-capital using English as an instrument of subordination and neocolonial aggression. In this regard, I would argue that the unity and collective pride attendant on the use of one national language provides the groundwork and fundamental requisite for the promotion and development of other ethnic/regional languages within the national polity. This is a psychological-ideological imperative that cannot be deferred. A dialectical approach should be applied to the historically contentious relations between a dominant vernaculat (Tagalog) and its subalternized counterparts (Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, etc. ) in order to transcend historically sedimented prejudices and promote creative dialogue and intertextuality among all the languages spoken in the Philippines. ____________________ Ang bansang Pilipinas na may kasarinlan at matipunong industriya ay isang proyektong di pa tapos, nagpapatuloy, laging iniimbento ngunit hindi sa anumang kondisyon. Ang pagiging Filipino ay isang proseso ng dekolonisasyon at demokratisasyong radikal, isang kaganapan na likha ng kolektibong pagpapasya, hindi indibidwal na kagustuhan. Ang proyektong ito ay hinuhubog at niyayari ng maraming lakas, ng minanang ugali at sari-saring idea at institusyon katutubo o hiram. Hindi ito nakatutok sa pagtatamo ng isang esensiya, kundi makikilatis ito bilang isang masalimuot na pagbubuklod ng dinamikong pakikisamang pampulitika at mga komitment. Ito’y isa ring estetikong kalakaran sa kontra-gahum na paglikhang makasining. Sa loob lamang ng pangitaing ito, sa proyekto ng pagsisikap makamit ang tunay na pambansang kasarinlan at demokrasyang radikal makatuturang mahihimay ang problema ng pangangailangan ng wikang pambansa, isang wikang mabisang makapag-iisa sa masa at mga komunidad sa teritoryo ng Pilipinas, at makapagdudulot ng mabisang partisipasyon sa pagbuo ng isang gahum o lideratong moral-intelektwal ng masang manggagawa. Paano mayayari ang mapagpalayang gahum kung walang pagkakaisang kinakatawan ng/kumakatawan sa sariling wika ng komunikasyon at pag-iisip? ______________________ Thesis 7: Hegemony, the moral and intellectual leadership of the Filipino working masses, the scaffold within which an authentic Filipino identity can grow, assumes the rise of organic Filipino intellectuals who will use and develop Filipino as the evolving national language. Again, this does not mean suppressing other regional languages. Nor does it mean prohibiting the use and teaching of English or other international languages (Spanish, French, Chinese, etc. ). It simply means the establishment of a required platform, basis or foundation, without which the productive forces of the people within this particular geopolitical boundary can be harnessed, refined, and released in order to, first, benefit the physical and spritual health of Filipinos, repair and recover the damage inflicted by centuries of colonial oppression and exploitation, and thus be able to contribute to the cultural heritage of humankind. That is why mandating the continued teaching of English equally with Filipino, with the mother language as auxiliary, at the secondary level, betokens a schizophrenic if not treacherous and treasonous policy of the ruling class beholden to U. S. and transnational corporate interests. Without an independent national physiognomy, Filipinos have nothing distinctive to share with other nations and peoples. Without national self-determination and a historically defined identity, there is no way Filipinos can contribute their distinctive share in global culture. In fact, it is impossible to be a global citizen unless you have fully grown and matured as an effective democratic participant in the making of a prosperous, egalitarian nation-people in a historically specific territory defined by a concretely differentiated sequence of events not replicated elsewhere. _________________ Ang layon natin ay hindi lamang kultural na identidad, o kasiyaang pang-kalinangan. Sa gitna ng komodipikasyon ng lahat, sa gitna ng laganap na konsumerismo at paghahari ng halagang-pamalit (exchange-value), ang reipikasyon at alyenasyon ng ugnayan ng mga tao ay siyang nagpapalabo sa usapin ng wika. Hindi malulutas ang mga tanong tungkol sa wika hanggang hindi nahaharap ang mistipikasyon ng pakikipagkapwa, na ngayo’y natatabingan at nalalambungan ng mga komoditi, bilihin, salapi, na tila siyang umuugit, nagpapagalaw, namamahala’t gumagabay sa lahat ng bagay. Ang mistipikasyong ito ay mawawala lamang kung mapapanaw ang paghahari ng global na kapital, ang patakaran na tubo/yaman muna bago kapakanan ng tao—na, sa ngayon, ay nagsasalita sa Ingles, ang wika ng kongkistador na pumalit sa mga Kastila. Ang pagbuo’t pagpapayaman ng isang pambansang wika, Filipino, ay hindi nangangahulugan ng pagsasaisantabi o pagbabalewala sa ibang mga wikang ginagamit ng maraming komunidad. Ang pagpapalawig at pagsuporta sa mga wikang ito ay matutupad kung may basehan lamang: ang kasarinlan ng bansa batay sa pagpapalaya sa masa. Sa harap ng higanteng lakas ng kapitalismong global, maisusulong lamang ang proyektong nabanggit ko kung makikibaka tayo sa programa ng pagbabago tungo sa pamamayani, gahum, ng masang gumagawa. Ang wika ay maaaring maging mapagpalayang sandata kung ito’y binubuhay ng masa sa pang-araw-araw na kilos at gawa. __________________ Historical examples are often misleading, but sometimes elucidatory. It may be irrelevant and even Eurocentric to invoke the examples of Italy and Germany as nations that experienced unified mobilization through the affirmation of national-popular languages, Italy vis-a-vis the Papal ascendancy, and Germany vis-a-vis Latin/Roman Catholic hegemony. In any case, again, the social and historical function and character of language cannot be adequately grasped without situating them in the complex dynamics of the conflict of social classes in history since the break-up of the communal tribes in the hunting-gathering stage, since the rise of private property in the means of production, and the intricate dialectics of culture and collective psyche in the political economy of any social formation. In short, language is not just a permanently undecidable chain of signifiers, always deconstructing itself and falling into abysmal meaninglessness, a vertigo of nonsense and silly absurdities quite appropriate, of course, for pettybourgeois careerists, dilettantes, and hirelings of the oligarchs. Rather, language is a social convention and a site of struggle, the signifier conceived as â€Å"an arena of class struggle† (1986, 23) to use Mikhail Bakhtin’s synthesizing phrase. To conclude these reflections with an open-ended marker: I believe that only from this historical materialist perspective, and within the parameters of the political project of attaining genuine autonomy as a nation-people, can the discussion of a Filipino national language be intelligible and productive. But, again, such a discussion finds its value and validity as part of the total engagement of the people for justice, authentic national independence, and all-sided emancipation from the nightmares of the past and the terrorist fascism of the present. _____________________ Ang wika ay isang larangan o arena ng tunggalian ng mga uri, ayon kay Mikhail Bakhtin. Naniniwala ako na ang usaping ito, kung ano talaga ang wikang pambansa, ay masasagot lamang sa loob ng proyektong pampulitika, tinimbang at sinipat sa isang materyalistiko-istorikal na pananaw. Ang wika ay praktipang panlipunan, isang produktibong lakas ng sambayanan. Nakapanahon ngang maintindihan natin ito ngayon kung matagumpay na madalumat at mapahalagahann ang kolektibong saloobin ng sambayanan, na ngayon ay naisasatinig sa anagramatikong islogan: ZOBRA NA, TAMA NA, EXIT NA! Samantala, panahon na ngayon at pagkakataong mapakinggan ang iba pang tinig ng madla rito sa makasaysayang hapong ito, una muna ang kasamang Bien Lumbera. – REFERENCES Bakhtin, Mikhail/V/ N. Voloshinov. 1986. Marxism and the Philosophy of Language, translated by Ladislav Matejka and I. R. Titunik. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. Bourdieu, Pierre. 1998. Practical Reason. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Gramsci, Antonio. 1971. Selections from the Prison Notebooks, edited by Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith. New York: International Publishers. Ives, Peter. 2004. Language and Hegemony in Gramsci. London: Pluto Press. Rossi-Landi, Ferruccio. 1983. Language as Work and Trade. South Hadley, Mass: Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc. Zialcita, Fernando. 2005. Authentic Though Not Exotic: Essays on Filipino Identity. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Intolerance: Minority Group and Society Essay

Princess Diana once said, â€Å" The greatest problem in the world today is intolerance. Everyone is so intolerant of each other. † It is indeed true that intolerance is one of the greatest problems faced by the word today. Intolerance refers to lacking the capacity or willingness to recognize and respect the beliefs, practices or traits of others. In the past, there has been uncountable number of incidents of one being prejudiced against another individual who is unlike the majority of the population. For example, in the context of my society, Singapore, intolerance has been displayed towards racial minorities, religious minorities, single mothers, foreigners, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer (LGBTQ) community and many other marginalized groups. Some might argue that intolerance of these minority groups is less prevalent in my society today as compared to the past. However, I personally feel that intolerance is still widely seen in my society today, due to the conservative nature of Singaporeans, globalisation and the increasingly competitive Singaporean society. Some schools of thoughts argue that the intolerance towards those who are different is gradually being reduced today as there are greater opportunities for education that have led to increasing integration of people who are different. Education in Singapore promotes social integration among the different racial groups in Singapore. Schools in Singapore provide a common space for social integration not only among locals from various ethnic groups, but also between the local and foreign students. Schools in Singapore also place strong emphasis on Civics and Literacy education to inculcate respect and appreciation of different cultures in Singapore. For example, through the celebration of Racial Harmony Day and International Friendship Day, students are able to appreciate the different cultures of their peers better. Another aspect in which education has led to a reduction in intolerance is the alternative education pathway for children with special needs. Special education programmes that cater to these children aim to help them become independent and enable them to function well in society. This is evident through the increasing number of social enterprises that cater to those who are physically or intellectually challenged. These people gain not only a chance at being employed but also have a chance to interact with members of society on a more frequent basis, something which is not as common in the past. This is likely due to the developing special education sector in Singapore, which has seen success in public education and in helping children with special needs to integrate into mainstream society. Therefore, education has been a platform that has moved my society into a more tolerant one. Intolerance towards those who are different is gradually being reduced in my society, as there are increasingly more ground-up initiatives that have successfully raised awareness and understanding. Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Voluntary Welfare organisations (VWOs) or even individuals that have engaged in advocacy that sets out to raise public awareness about minority groups. Thus, prejudiced mindsets towards several minority groups in Singapore are gradually being eroded. An example of this is the Yellow Ribbon Project that started out in 2004, is organized by CARE network Singapore, which aims to help ex-convicts reintegrate back into society. Inmates are encouraged to sign up for skill training courses so as to be able to take up more jobs after their prison sentence. It was reported that by 2008, through awareness of the programme in Singapore, 560 new employers had registered with the Singapore Corporation of Rehabilitative Enterprises (SCORE) to offer jobs to ex-offenders. Though this may not yet reflect the mindset of the entire population towards ex-convicts, it signals an opening up of attitudes that are gaining speed. Therefore, intolerance is less prevalent in my society due to the efforts undertaken by various organisations to successfully raise awareness and understanding of the public towards these marginalized groups. While there are merits in the above arguments, it is too naive for one to simply assume that with education and efforts by activist groups, intolerance towards those who are different are not as common as in the past. In fact, intolerance towards those who are different is still widely seen in Singapore today because of the fear of erosion of national values in this increasingly liberal-minded world, in turn driving us to promote our conservative beliefs with greater intensity. With globalisation, there has been an increasing influence of the Western Culture. Due to the fear of erosion of traditional family values that are the foundation of social institutions such as the family, people are becoming more intolerant of changing values and remain conservative to ensure that these traditional values are not threatened by foreign cultures and values. In order to protect traditional values and social institutions, institutionalized discrimination towards certain groups of people in society exists in the form of government policies implemented. This reveals an unwillingness to accept those who may be different and accord them with equal rights. For example, in the case of Homosexuality, section 377A of the Penal Code criminalises acts of gross indecency between men in Singapore. The Woman’s Charter also does not recognize marriages that are not between men and woman in or outside of Singapore. The refusal of the government to recognize the legitimacy of homosexual marriages reveals an unwillingness to respect the range of sexual orientations that are different from the traditional concept of sexual orientation the society may have. Another example is the Pink Dot rally on the 28 June 2014, which generated strong responses among Singaporeans. An Islamic religious teacher launched the â€Å"Wear White Campaign† in retaliation to the Pink Dot LGBTQ movement. The Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) supported this campaign whereby over 6,400 members of the church dressed in white to attend a special â€Å"family worship† service conducted by the church. This was done to protest the annual Pink Dot rally with their Senior Pastor, Lawrence Khong, who views this movement as a â€Å"decline in moral and family values. † Thus, this shows that despite the increasingly liberal and Western influenced world we live in, Singaporeans still remains a largely conservative society that is still strongly rooted to our traditional values. Therefore, intolerance is not only still largely prevalent but it has in fact intensified over the years. Next, into lerance towards those who are different is still prevalent today because the increased mobility in a borderless world today has heightened the level of interaction amongst people from different cultures. Thus, increasing the incidence of cultural clashes. Globalisation has enabled greater mobility of people and there has been an increasing migration of people to live or work in foreign lands. With more foreigners entering the country, the chances of cultural clashes between the foreigners and local  residents rises, especially when foreigners do not assimilate the local culture. An example of Singaporean’s intolerance towards foreigners is evident through the Not In My Backyard movement. In 2008 when the government announced plans for an unused technical school at Serangoon Gardens to be converted into a dormitory for foreign construction workers, residents of the Serangoon Gardens housing estate responded with an online petition, which was signed by 1,600 out of 4,000 households in the immediate vicinity. They cited fears of threats to their security, the possibility of increased crime in the area, and fears about maids hooking up with foreign workers as reasons to object the construction of the dormitory. Therefore these mindsets and prejudices towards foreigners in society reflect intolerance of those with different cultures from the local cultures in society. Lastly, in the competitive world today, the threat to one’s livelihood has made intolerance of the different still prevalent in Singapore. Singapore is seen as a land of opportunities for migrants with skills. Many foreigners are attracted to work or settle in Singapore as they can earn more in Singapore to improve their standards of living. However, many Singaporeans view the increase in the number of foreigners as a threat in terms of competition of jobs and living space. This has led to their discontentment with foreigners. An example of Singaporeans viewing migrant workers, as a threat to their livelihood is evident through a recent incident of the cancelation of the celebration of Philippines Independence Day event in Singapore. Organisers of a planned Philippines Independence Day celebration in Singapore on the 8 June 2014 decided to cancel the event altogether, owing to difficulties in getting an alternative location for the event. The event was supposed to be held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, in Singapore’s shopping district but this had stirred up much unhappiness among Singaporeans as they opposed to the choice of the venue. Some even threatened to resort to violence if the event were to take place. The organisers had to remove a Facebook page about the event after it dew hundreds of anti-Filipino comments. Through these actions and discontentment of Singaporeans towards such events further emphasizes the point that Singaporeans view these foreigners as threats to their lives and are thus unaccepting of the activities they carry out. Therefore, intolerance is still prevalent in the Singapore society. In conclusion, despite efforts made by the government and various activist groups to promote inclusiveness and multiculturalism and reduce intolerance towards marginalized groups of society, intolerance is still widely seen in my society today. This observation is largely attributed to the fact that our essentially conservative Asian society skews our perception of tolerance in order to maintain its position of power.

The Pros and Cons of Pornography Essay - 951 Words

For centuries, humans have been creating explicit images to depict their sexual fantasies and desires. Times have drastically changed, however, since the first known sex guide, Kama Sutra, was illustrated in 5th-century India (King 412). The selling of sexually explicit material is a multibillion dollar industry (King 411). Today, with just the click of a mouse, millions world-wide are able to access pornography and see their sexual fantasies come to life (King 418). According to King, â€Å"One third of all use of the internet is connected to porn sites,† (419). With explicit sexual material nearly impossible to avoid, it may be difficult to decipher between what is normal sexual behavior and what is merely fantasy. There is belief that the†¦show more content†¦It is no wonder that many women think negatively about most pornographic material. After viewing pornography, women tend to feel less confident and insecure about their bodies (King, 2012). If pornography is degrading and uncomfortable for women to watch, why have 41% of women intentionally viewed porn (King, 2012)? Contrary to the anti-pornography feminism movement, proponents of pornography believe that porn â€Å"liberates women† and allows them to take part in â€Å"less traditional† sexual behavior (Evans-Cicco, 2012). Some women agree with this claim and use porn to explore their own sexuality (Paul 2012). Pornography for these women is a resource. It is a method for them to discover new sex positions and â€Å"ways to act sexy† (Paul 2012). According to Paul, a â€Å"[change] in women’s expectations and attitudes toward their sexuality are driving women to pornography.† This statement indicates that some women want to replicate acts that are presented in pornographic material. It may also suggest that women believe sexual behaviors used in pornography are not only the norm, but expected. 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