Mural Mirror of Nature on a Wall

Mural Mirror of Nature on a Wall 

"The painting reminds everyone to do his part to save Mother Earth so that her beauty is not only kept in make-believe image, but scenery in real life enjoyed by us and future generations." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Wall Mural painted for St Paul University QC  by the author, 2000.  

Author poses with university staff members

Nature represents the idea of the entire universe in a state of perfection. Nature is one: it unites heaven and earth, connecting human beings with the stars and bringing them all together into a single family. Nature is beautiful; it is ordered. A divine law determines its arrangement, namely the subordination of the means to the end, and the parts to the whole. After putting down my brush, I took a view of the mural from a distance. The scene – unspoiled nature – one spared from the hands of man and typified by the tropical rainforest, flowed out from a wall that was previously white and empty.

In the course of painting the mural, which took all of seven days and in the days following its unveiling, I took notice of the reactions of viewers. It must be the stillness of the scene, freshness of its atmosphere, and its apparent eccentricity that attract passersby as if in search of something therapeutic. It seems to slow down busy feet, soothing tired nerves. There is something I thought was mysterious beyond the levels of aesthetics. For the huge scene is a drama of life completely different from city living. It is respite. It is transformation from concrete to greenery, from cityscape to landscape.

Yet, I found it difficult to give it a title and an explanation that captures both its essence and message. This time many ideas crowded my mind. At the start of my painting labors, the challenge was how and where to start painting. Now that it is completed, what else is there to say after one has “said” it all in colors and lines, hues and shadows, perspective and design? What more is there to declare for after the last page of a book? For a painting, it is the same.

Relaxation did not come easy for me after many hours of concentrating on my subject, dealing with a fast-drying medium of acrylic. What made it more challenging was the unending attempt to capture those fleeting impressions and recollections that pervaded my mind as I painted. I then took a pen and slowly wrote my thoughts. From the mural, I saw the scenery of my childhood on the farm, views of my travels here and abroad, imagery from my readings, and views drawn out like a thread from the mass of a golf ball. It was imagery and memory working jointly.

Tropical Rainforest Model

I chose the tropical rainforest scenery since it is the richest of all ecosystems in the world. The Philippines, being one of the countries endowed with this natural wealth is a treasure, indeed. For this reason, I believe that, the tropical rainforest closely resembles the description of the biblical paradise. It is not only a living bank of biological diversity; it is the most important sanctuary of living matters on earth. To paint such a big wall is no easy task. It is not unusual to face a blank wall, literally speaking, and not knowing what to do first even with all the colors and tools on hand – and a predetermined topic in mind. Shall I start at the center and move outward, or from both sides slowly progressing inward? Or do I divide the wall into parts, working on them one by one, then unifying them at the end?

…and Heaven and Nature Sing

Christmas was already in the air and the Siberian winds were bringing in the chills. Carol music was now being played in malls, schools and homes. I was engrossed in my work when some students, watching me paint, sang a familiar song. On this particular occasion, something about the song chimed inside me, directing me towards the central theme of my mural.

 “…and heaven and nature sing,

and heaven and nature sing,

and heaven, and heaven and nature sing.”

                                - Joy to the World

What does this mean? Is it the idea of nature representing the entire universe in a state of perfection? Or is it nature as one? Does it unite heaven and earth? Does it connect human beings and the galaxies as one family?

Little did I know of my ecology. As a subject I teach in college and in the graduate school I depend much on formulas and equations, principles and case studies. My knowledge about the environment is structured and formal. I use module maps or course syllabi based on accepted teaching techniques and references. My approach was comparative analysis. I was a judge of the beautiful and ugly, the do’s and don’ts. At times I am a Utopian; at others, conformist.

Little did I realize that the order of Nature is not merely determined by natural laws applied as ecological tenets, but as a divine law which determines its arrangement, the subordination of the means to the end, and which the assimilation of the parts to the whole. Many of us are ignorant of this law, or if we know it, seem to forget or disregard it as we relentlessly work to exploit the earth.

In our apparent failure to preserve nature, perhaps it is time to look at ecology with the essence of this popular Christmas song – a song that makes everyday of the year, Christmas. Ecology is “heaven and nature singing together.” Only then can we truly understand the term, balance of nature – a kind of dynamic equilibrium that leads to homeostasis where there is stability among interdependent groups that characterize natural processes, and the period in which they take place.

The ultimate conclusion is always a balanced system. We have to look beyond books to understand biological diversity, and its application in nature, to find the common phrase: In diversity there is unity.

The general rule is that the wider the diversity is in terms of number of living species, and in terms of the number of natural species and their habitats, the more closely knit the biosphere becomes, resulting in a richer, more stable environment. Undoubtedly, all this is part of a grand design inspired divinely.

A Hole in the Sky

Looking at the mural from a distance one notices a darkened part of the sky, apparently a hole (though this is not the ozone layer pierced by CFC pollution). It gives one a feeling that it is a tunnel to infinity as if to link both earth and heaven. Through this hole, one envisions a Higher Principle. From the foreground, which is the placid stream of a downward meandering river, its tributaries and banks lined with trees and thickets, the eye soon reaches the forested hills and mountains shrouded by clouds.

But it does not end there. Here the cloud is a curtain laden with the radiance of the sun, and the life-giving provenance of rain, useless each without the other for life on earth to exist. This is the crossroad. The cloud opens with a backdrop of infinity. The universe, whose limit is unknown, bursts open a foreground that reveals a whole drama of life on earth. After that, the eye repeats the journey. In the process, the viewer becomes sensitive to the details of the painting. He searches for things familiar, or situations that later become a new experience.

Creatures in the Forest

Creatures in general are not as visible as they appear in books and on the screen. They blend with their surroundings mainly for predatory anticipation and protective camouflage. But there are other reasons too, that are not well understood. Take the case of the butterflies. Their beauty is extravagant for their basic function as pollinators. Fish jump for mere pleasure, dragonflies have wings that split light into prisms. Birds stay in the sky longer for the sheer joy of flying, and not just to cruise in search of a prey.

Among the animals suggested to me while painting the mural are flying lemur, Philippine monkey, heron, monitor lizard, boa constrictor and hornbill. I painted these - and many more, the way I imagined them in their natural habitat. I put a touch of Noah’s Ark, painting them in pairs. For the rodents, ducks and doves I made them in amiable groupings that exude a familial atmosphere.

Whenever I see viewers seriously searching for these creatures with walking fingers, I am tempted to add to the collection of creatures, making them even more difficult to find. But that might change the ambiance to fun and puzzle solving, rather than of meditation and recollection.

People in the Mural

The trees and the massiveness of the scenery dwarf the characters in the mural. They appear mindless of events and time. They care not for the chores of the day. Those who are engrossed fishing with a simple hook-and-line do not show excitement even as they land their catch. Others patiently wait for a bite. There is a sense of tranquility and peace to all characters, whether they are promenading or just passing the time away. Their faces show only the slightest hint of anger or sadness.

I noticed viewers trying to identify themselves with the characters of the mural. Some construction workers envision themselves fishing. High school students are drawn by the promenades. But there are those who simply imagine themselves part of the scene. “This place is familiar to me,” one would say, apparently recalling provincial life. “We have flying lemurs in Davao,” says another.

Where does the water flow, and what does the mural mean to us? Water is everywhere. It is free to flow. Tributaries abound as if there were no limit. Trees are everywhere and far into the backdrop is a vast virgin forest. There is no sign of man’s destructive hand. At the foreground is a placid pond where Nymphaea and lotus grow. It is in contrast to the lively pulse of the river. This is a corner where life is peaceful and serene. It is here that we draw strength in facing the river and beyond.

What really is the message of the mural to us? 

Quite often, images of nature enrapture us. These are reminiscences of childhood, a re-creation of a favorite spot we may have visited or seen, or products of the imagination greatly influenced by the society we live in. 

These images reflect a deep seated biological longing to be part of nature. Putting it in the biblical sense, it is a natural searching for the lost paradise. They are a refuge from city living, a respite, and an escape from the daily grind. 

But these images do not only tell us of what we are missing. Rather, it reminds us what we are going to miss, perhaps forever, if we do not heed nature’s signal towards a fast declining ecosystem. If we do not change our way of life from too much dependence on consumerism, to one more closely linked to conservation of nature, we may end up building memories and future archives of a lost world.

The warning is clear. The painting reminds everyone to do his part to save Mother Earth so that her beauty is not only kept in make-believe image, but scenery in real life enjoyed by us and future generations. ~

Ten things to see under a microscope (Basic Microscopy for Kids)

Ten things to see under a microscope
(Basic Microscopy for Kids)

"You can't see miracles and great missions,
but their humble manifestations." avr

Dr Abe V Rotor


Summer Workshop for kids conducted by the author. 

Barangay Greater Lagro QC 2013]

You can't see what is inside a mega mall,
but things for granted and so small;
  
You can't see a movie or a telenobela,
but the living world of minutiae;

You can't see Superman and Godzilla,
but their minuscule Vorticella;

You can't see the beginning and end of time,
but in between, a moment divine.

You can't see where all the wealth and money
come from, but another story.

You can't see the winning number of a game,
but a narrow path to fame.

You can't see the source of love and devotion,
but the beginning of true union.

You can't see Pasteur, Koch and Fleming,
but their little disciple striving.

You can't see miracles and great missions,
but their humble manifestations.

You can't see God as you would at the Sistine,
but His image in every thing. ~



Oxygen bubbles cling on filamentous green alga, by-product of photosynthesis. Oxygen is either dissolved in water for fish, or released into the air for land animals, including man. Chlorophyll (green pigment of plants, algae and some monerans like BGA) catches the light energy of the sun, and with CO2, produces food and oxygen which are important to life. This process is known as photosynthesis.



Yeast cells actively divide in sugar substrate in fermentation resulting in the production of ethanol or wine, and CO2 as byproduct. When used in baking, the CO2 is trapped in the dough and causes it to rise and form leavened bread. Yeast (Saccharomyces) reproduces rapidly by vegetative means - budding. Note newly formed buds, and young buds still clinging on mother cells.


Protozoans are agents of decomposition, and live on organic debris. In the process they convert it into detritus or organic matter and ultimately to its elemental composition which the next generation of plants and other life forms utilize. Protozoans or protists are one-celled organisms, having organelles which function like organs of higher animals. Protozoans live in colonies and in association with other living things as symbionts, commensals, and for the pathogenic forms, parasites.

Extension - Catalyst in Rural Development

 Extension - Catalyst in Rural Development

How do we differentiate Education from Extension? 

How does media support extension today?

Dr Abe V Rotor

STOU professor on live television lecture.

Nationwide radio and television centralized control panel, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University campus, Thailand. There are more than 250,000 students enrolled in this university without walls. Another Thai open university has one-half million students. Lower photo: Printed extension materials.

Interview: Dr Abe Rotor (left) and Professor Suchin Phongsak of 

Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Bangkok, Thailand 

The author was visiting professor in STOU in 2010

Your program:
If it is of high quality, people will respect you.
If it is relevant, people will need you.
If it is measurable, people will trust you.
If it is innovative, people will follow you.

It is a great honor and pleasure to share with you my views and experiences on the concerns of extension in grassroots education and technology transfer. I will concentrate on agriculture since this is the universal thrust of extension. Besides, agriculture is the base of our economy and eighty percent of our population directly or indirectly depends on it. The following are the most important concerns of extension in the Philippines:

1. There is a wide gap between available technology and the level or degree of field application.

This gap is traced to limited resources and opportunities as well as attitudinal problems. The actual farm yield is only 40 percent of the potential yield, and 25 to 30 percent of experiment station yield.

It means therefore that the problem lies not on the lack of technology but on the poor use of technology at the farmers' fields. Based on economic farm yield, our annual production of palay will increase from the present figure of 9 million MT to 14 million MT. We would then become a consistent net exporter of rice like Thailand, the world's top rice exporter today. The aim of extension in this case is the effective and prompt transfer of the technology that narrows down the yield gap.

2. Adoption of technology on the farm should be tied closely with agricultural business.

In a dialogue on the present rice problem conducted by the Senate's committee on science and technology, the Philippine Rice Research Institute or PHILRICE testified that rice production in experimental fields has leveled up to 5 MT/ha while farmers are getting yields of only 3 MT/ ha or below.

It is favorable market conditions that stimulate production and enhance the plowing back of income to pay for the technology and hired labor in farming. Farming should be therefore an enterprise rather than a mere means of livelihood. Most farms in the country are run by subsistent families. Extension should be able to design a balanced program that has the integrated technology and agribusiness components.

3. Appropriate technology in developing countries is more of innovation than modernization.

Technology builds up an existing practice. We take the case of "payatak" rice farming in Samar, a very traditional practice, almost zero tillage. Here, the field is trampled by carabaos, planted with old rice seedlings, then left entirely to nature. The yield obtained is very low but there are certain favorable aspects of this practice.

• The family food needs are supplemented by carabao milk and curds, fish, frog and snails. These edible species live naturally on the wetland and survive the short summer in the carabao wallows.

• Ecology balance is contributed largely by minimal disturbance of biological and physical conditions of the farm.

• Farm by-products and wastes, such as hay and manure, are put to use.

• Labor is maximized, provided by members the family and immediate community.

Extension should be able to first identify these good points and preserve them. The introduced technology should look at both increased production and these above benefits as its objectives.

4. Technology should be recognized in the context of both research and enterprise systems developed through intermediate stages.

The research system bridges the laboratory and experimental field, whereas the enterprise system bridges the farm and the market. Both systems are linked by partnership and collaboration among scientists, engineers, agriculturists, farmers, etc. The idea is to provide channels and a network through which the product of research becomes ultimately useful by the consuming public.

Extension should likewise be aware that modern technology is intensive, and too often, expensive.

(1) infrastructures later turn out as "white elephants;"

(2) research is sophisticated requiring expensive facilities, consultants and staff;

(3) on mechanization, combines get stuck in rice paddies; grains cake or germinate in silos and bins;

(4) hired labor disputes results in strikes and court cases; and

(5) big investments/capital end up eating operational funds putting the project to a stop.

The once ultra modern Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI) attests to the fact that progress is not synonymous to modern technology. FTI is not an isolated case of non-performing assets of the government worth billions of pesos.

Extension should be aware of the necessity to undertake a careful and accurate assessment of situations and projections, and put behind seemingly beautiful package deals offered by other countries, including grants and donations.

Extension should be instrumental in pilot or module testing before embarking into full adoption of modern technology.

5. Productivity of shrinking farms can be increased through crop and product diversification.

Land reform broke up large estates, including sugarlands and coconut lands. Subdivision of these properties resulted in uneconomic farm sizes. There are approaches to increase productivity, such as multiple cropping, agro-processing and integration of related projects. There are diversification model for coconut lands.

The ordinary coconut farmer can indulge in the following activities, namely

(a) copra making,

(b) inter-cropping with cash crops such as grains and legumes, and

(c) animal production (goat, carabao and cattle raised between coconut trees).

To accomplish all this, extension will have to bring in the services of government agencies as well as those of the private sector. Farmers will be organized into cooperatives as a pre-condition of collective production and marketing.

Hypothetically, integration is of two kinds, horizontal and vertical, and the combination of both. This HV integration model applies in areas where the principal crop is rice, corn or sugarcane. It can also apply in non-traditional areas. Extension should be able to accomplish farm plans and programs based on integration concepts and models. But it is advisable that successful projects be used as models.

6. Holistic development considers the major division of the geographic profile and recognizes their ecological interrelationship.

Twentieth century agriculture started with the opening of frontiers of production; pushing development towards marginal areas - uplands, hillsides, swamps and sea coasts. This movement was followed by the manipulation of nature on the species level, creating desirable varieties of plants and breeds of animals at the same time improving their agronomy and husbandry. Recently, agriculture has started producing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) - plants and animals - through what we term today as genetic engineering.

Today, with our high population rate of 2.8 percent, which is one of the highest in the world, marginal settlements have mushroomed in coastal areas, hillsides and suburbs of urban centers.

Extension should help identify the sectoral and ecological divisions of the geographic profile of these areas, and design programs based on their peculiar physical and biological characteristics, and on their effects to the whole system.

We are witnessing many cases where destructive upland and hillside farming has led to erosion, which in turn, caused siltation and decreased water supply. Decreased river flow and sinking water table result in salt water intrusion through backflow and seepage destroying farm lands as a consequence. Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan and the Ilocos provinces have reported cases of salination. We are also aware that reduced vegetative cover leads to changes in the micro-climate which in turn affect adversely the whole ecosystem.

Perhaps we can reduce the size of the profile under study into a model of a dam site. It maybe as small as a village catchment to a huge power and irrigation project. The model described in this example is found in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, a water catchment for irrigation. The project consists of a watershed (forest and woodland) with an area of 200 hectares, a catchment which can hold water to irrigate effectively 50 hectares and generate electricity for one sitio. Freshwater fish is raised as part of the project's income. The main source of income is the irrigation fee. China, Japan and many European countries have advanced technology in water catchment that no drop of precious water is lost, so to speak.

Area development maybe initiated by nucleus projects. Later, if these projects become successful, similar or related projects can be put up, or the original projects expanded. Consolidation of developed areas leads to integrated area development, a process that is community-led or government assisted, or both.

Many development programs start with a grand design and heavy infrastructure. A foreign-funded project in Samar is infrastructure-oriented, and not directed to the alleviation of the plight of the masses. The 8-inch thick road built from a multi-million dollars grant could have been in the form of village bodegas, school houses, informal education of farmers and fishermen, initial capital for small business, cooperative development, and such programs addressed to meet the felt needs of the poor community.

7. The success of extension depends on linkage network and complementation with all sectors of society.

The extension agent is at the center of many activities. He provides information about the market. He translates researches into primers and takes a hand in their field application, identifies sources of input and credit, and helps make them available. He is a technician, teacher, consultant, community worker, and above all, a catalyst.

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Extension works on a cycle of activities, namely, (1) information, (2) determining needs and problems, (3) setting objectives, (4) program preparation, (5) making the work plan, (6) coordination, and (7) evaluation.

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8. It is important to first knock down the false notions as well as fallacies of development before developing an extension program.

Among these are the following:

(1.) The felt needs of the poor revolve mainly on their survival motives and therefore non-material and aesthetic values are non¬essential to them. This is not true. People deprived of material things equally seek approval, security, affection, self-esteem, recognition, and even   power. The hierarchy of needs by Wilgard, adopted from Maslow is based on the priority principle and not on the principle of exclusion if one has not attained the motives of the lower level.

(2.) One root cause of low productivity is the lazy nature of people. Indolence, according to Jose Rizal is traced to a natural cause wherein the metabolic rate is slowed down by extreme weather conditions (heat and high humidity), while leisure is commonplace because of the endowed environment. We pointed out that colonialism and feudalism dampen the spirit to work and aim high. Today neo-colonialism and neo-feudalism still exist in our society. One other reason for low productivity is the prevalence of malnutrition and diseases which reduce body resistance and drive.

(3.) Foreign investment in the country stimulates economic growth. In certain ways this is true. The question arises when we equate the gains between the foreign investor and the host country which provides labor that is paid cheap and prime land not compensated well enough. Other issues that do not favor equitable distribution of profits can be explained by the poor implementation of our policies and laws which sometimes result in the manipulation of profits favoring the foreign investors. This is not to mention the exploitative nature of joint ventures under the guise of natural agreements.

(4.) A progressive rural society naturally depends upon a strong agricultural economy which in turn is dependent on people who provide the much needed labor in the agricultural frontiers. But the frontiers have long been shrunk and vastly exploited, and the farms now reduced in size. Even intensive farming cannot absorb rural labor. That is why there is an exodus to urban areas. Today more than half of our population lives in cities and big towns. With 1.6 million new Filipinos added to our 90 million population, the hypothetical population structure looks like a squat or broad-based pyramid where the young people mainly infants and children are at the base. These are highly dependent upon a narrow stratum of working population. The average Filipino today is an early teener. Such population structure and the attendant demography of a young population do not lend a healthy picture to our economic recovery unless drastic measures are adopted to arrest our runaway population growth.

(5.) The majority of people are concerned with matters that affect themselves, their family and close friends over a short period of time. Long term objectives are not very common to the ordinary person. It is true that marginal communities do not plan much ahead. Affluence, on the other hand, propels people to plan for the future and the next generation. It enlarges the people's concern for other people and for larger community, and creates national and international consciousness.

(6) Stimuli to growth are distinct from the factors that limit it. In his book The Limits to Growth, Dr. Meadows explains that the very stimuli to growth could negate growth itself. Population can strip the economy of ecosystems. Industry spews wastes that destroy the environment. Exploitation of natural resources may lead to irreversible decline.

Conclusion

Our Philippine society is not an isolated case. All nations, including the developed ones, suffer in varying degrees the same age-old problems of poverty, degradation of the environment, unemployment, inflation, malnutrition, disease, alienation of the youth, the decline of people's trust in the institutions, and the rejection of traditional values. The endless search for their solutions is also man's unending dream. We draw much hope in extension, for extension is applied teaching, a means of transforming people beliefs, ideas, and above all, infusing the faith that they can help themselves.~

Author and wife, pose with Vietnamese alumni, HoChiMinh University of Technology, Vietnam.HCMUT focuses on technology dissemination on the grassroots. 2005

New buildings have been built after liberation and reunification on the university's sprawling campus half an hour drive from the heart of the city - Ho Chi Minh, formerly Saigon. HCMUT is the country's premier center of technology extension using multi-media.

HCMUT publishes manuals and extension bulletins in the varied fields of development in post-war Vietnam.

Presented by the author to the UST Graduate School during a faculty development seminar on the Social Commitment of Education; reference paper Ho Chi Minh University of Technology Vietnam 2005, and Sokhothai Thammathirat Open University, Bangkok, 2010 ~

Communication and Extension in Action

 Communication and Extension in Action 

Communication at the Grassroots

 

 Field lecture and demonstration as part of Fiesta celebration.  

        “A genuine meeting of minds may result if both parties in interest will

concede to the other side the honor of believing, at least as an initial

assumption, that its point of view is not merely vicious or silly.”

                                                                                       - George H. Sabine

     Communication is the process whereby meanings or ideas are transferred from one person to another. In its simplest form communication takes place between two persons who are in one another’s presence. There are, of course, many less direct ways of communication, and more complex processes involving many more people. But, however long or intricate the trial of communication may be, it always involves four basic elements, and moves through six steps or stages.

     Four basic elements which are involved in very communication process may be easily described. The first element is the communication source, that is to say, the person whose ideas or meanings are to be transferred to another person. The second element is the communication receiver, namely the person or persons to whom the ideas or meaning to be transferred. Thirdly, there must be the message which can be transferred from the source to the receiver. Fourth, and finally, the message has to travel through a channel or medium in order to successfully make the passage from source to receiver.

     The six steps or stages in the process require a little more explanation. In brief, however, they show and how and in what sequence the source formulates a message which he then sends via some channel to the receiver. Let us take the closer look at each of these stages.

     Stages 1: Creation. The person as the communication source conceives of an idea which he wants to transmit to someone else. For example, he may want to tell that person that he is happy to receive him as a visitor. If this is the general idea he wishes to convey, it has to be expressed in such a way that the receiver will understand it correctly and precisely. If the source is not quite sure himself how welcome his guest is, if he does not know whether he wants him to stop a few minutes for a chat, or to stay for dinner, or maybe to remain for some days as a house guest, then whatever he conveys to the receiver will be similarly imprecise.

     So this is the first rule of good communication: be clear yourself about what you want to communicate. A poorly conceived idea will almost certainly result in poor communication. Only when the source knows clearly what he wants to communicate is it likely that the receiver will understand him.

     Stages 2: Encoding. Meanings and ideas are structures of the mind. They cannot be seen or heard or felt by others. Therefore, in order to enable them to be transmitted from one mind to another they must be translated, or encoded into symbols. Symbols, in contrast to ideas, can be seen, heard or felt by others. In fact, they represent ideas and meanings. Words are symbols that stand for meanings. So are gestures, pictures or music. Even the honking of a horn is a symbol, and usually it means something like “get out of my way”.

     Different meaning and situations require different symbols. The choice of suitable symbols is an important matter, and it is not always easy. We all have on occasion been “at a loss for word,” that is to say, we have not been able to find a suitable word symbol for the idea we wanted to express. Perhaps a gesture or a grimace would have expressed our meaning better.

     But it is not enough to choose symbols which accurately express our ideas; the symbols also have to be appropriate to the receiver. Let us return to our previous example. If the source wants to make the receiver understand that he is welcome to stay and chat for a few moments but no longer than that, then he must choose words, gestures and facial expressions which the receiver will correctly and precisely understand as a limited invitation.  If he knows the receiver well, this may not be very difficult. But if he does not, he may choose inappropriate symbols which could be misunderstood in many different ways - causing embarrassment to both parties. Our second rule of good communication therefore is: encode your ideas into symbols which you are sure will be correctly understood by the receiver.

 Meralco Foundation livelihood program 

     Stages 3: Transmission. An idea or meaning which has been encoded into symbols is called a message. A message, then, is simply encoded idea, and it is always in symbols. A well-encoded message is one whose symbols represent fully and precisely the idea which the source intends to communicate. Once the idea been encoded into a message, that message has to be transmitted to the receiver. In other words, the word symbols have to be either spoken, or written and displayed; the gestures have to be shown; the music has to be performed, and so on with other symbols.

     There are many ways of transmitting messages. Speaking, for instance, is a very common one. Writing is another. You are at this moment reading a message which has been encoded by myself into words, which have been transmitted to you in writing. If I had spoken the words aloud instead of writing them down, the message most probably would not have reached you. On the other hand, I might perhaps have recorded by a message on a tape, which could then be reproduced many times and listened to by many people. This, then, would be an alternate channel for transmitting messages.

     The choice of suitable channels for transmitting messages depends in the first place on the total communication situation. Who is trying to communicate with whom? How distant are they from one another? How long is the message? What technical and financial means are available to the source? These are some of the more important points to consider to choosing an appropriate channel for transmitting messages. In each case the source must make sure that the message is transmitted by the channels which will gave maximum likelihood of reaching the receiver accurately and completely.

     Stage 4: Reception. The three steps or stages in the communication process which have been described so far are all within the range of actions of the communication source. It is he who has to formulate his ideas, encode them into suitable symbols and to transmit the encoded message through an appropriate channel. But once the message has been transmitted, it is no longer under his control. Whether or not a transmitted message is received by the receiver depends, firstly, on the environmental conditions under which the message is sent, and secondly, on the state of mind and readiness of the receiver to receive it.

     The environmental conditions which may effect the reception of the message are mainly those factors which can interfere with proper reception. Noise is an obvious example. Poor lighting conditions can be equally detrimental to the reception of visual messages. Distance between source and receiver, either in space or in time, will also effect reception. Some of these factors can be reckoned with and adjusted to beforehand, but others are simply beyond anyone’s control. At best they can be taken as explanations after the fact when the communication process is broken down.

     From the receiver’s side, it is not enough that the message reaches him. He must also be able and ready to receive it, and that will depend on his abilities, his attentiveness, and his predisposition towards the source as well as to the channel in which the message has been transmitted. If, for example, the receiver is tired, or he is otherwise occupied, then the message may reach him but he will not receive it. Similarly, if he dislikes the communication source or he has an aversion to receiving scribbled slips of paper, the chances are that he will refuse to receive a message from that person or in such a manner.

     But assuming that he receives the message, we still have to ask how well or how completely he receives it. This is a matter of fidelity; that is to say, the degree of congruence between the message as transmitted and the message as received. Obviously, the environmental conditions have a direct bearing on fidelity. But beyond that, fidelity depends on which and how many of the receiver’s five senses are activated to receive the message: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting or smelling. The fidelity of our senses is in this order. We say, not without good reason, that “seeing is believing”. We trust what we see with our own eyes, even though we known that occasionally we may be mistaken and suffering from optical illusions. Hearing is not quite as reliable as seeing. Touching is reliable enough under certain specific conditions, but not very suitable for many kinds of messages. Tasting and smelling are even less useful for communication purposes.

     The important thing to remember in this regard is that no single sense is completely infallible as long as it is used exclusively. Therefore, the skilled and experienced communicator tries to transmit his messages by multiple channels, so that the receiver can receive them with more than one sense. We do this intuitively when speaking to one another, because rarely do we rely on the spoken word alone, but accompany it with gestures and facial expressions. Experience as well as common sense tell us that this a very effective way of ensuring reliable reception.

     Stage 5: Decoding. The receiver, having received the encoded message, must now decode it in order to comprehend its meaning. Whether he is successful in this or not depends primarily on his knowledge of symbols. Obviously, one can not decode a message whose symbols one does not recognize. It does happen, nonetheless, that we receive messages which seem incomprehensible to us, as when someone speaks to us in language we do not know. In such cases we usually try to communicate to the source that we do not understand him. If we are lucky, he will try again with different symbols in the hope that this time we will understand.

     A more serious situation arises when the receiver believes he has understood the message, whereas in fact the source intended it to convey a different meaning. The result in this case is a misunderstanding. It is more serious than the previous example because it can easily remain undetected until it is too late and the outcome of the misunderstanding makes itself felt.

     The difference between these two situations illustrates the importance of feedback in the communication process. By feedback we mean the message that is “fed back” by the receiver to the communication source. Communication is a two-way process. The person who is the source when he encodes and transmits a message immediately afterwards can become the receiver when the original receiver makes his reply, being fed back to the original source, tells him whether he has been correctly understood or not, and enables him, if necessary, to adjust his symbols, and channel them to the particular needs to the receiver and the situation.

     There are many communication situations where immediate feedback is not possible, simply because the source and receiver are not in one another’s presence. I, who am writing these words at this moment, may have to wait a long while till I receive any feedback from you, if at all. A person writing a letter is in a similar position, and so are radio and TV announcers. In such situations, therefore, greater care must be taken in encoding messages and transmitting them. It is probably impossible to avoid misunderstandings entirely, but at least we can do our best to minimize them.

     
Stage 6: Assimilation. This is the final stage in the simple one-way communication process. Once a message has been decoded by the receiver, no matter how correctly or incorrectly this has been done, if it is decoded at all, some idea or meaning takes shape in the receiver’s mind. This idea or meaning must now be integrated with the other ideas and meanings which are already in the receiver’s mind. In other words, in order to “ make sense” of the decoded message, to understand it, the receiver must relate it to what he already knows and assimilate it within the total information available to him. Without such assimilation, the decoded symbols will remain meaningless. The receiver may be able to repeat them, just as a baby may repeat sounds it has picked up from its environment, but he will not be able to attach meanings to these sounds.

     Whether or not this final step is successful will depend primarily on what other ideas and meanings are already in the receiver’s mind. In short, it depends on his existing store of knowledge. Generally speaking, the more life experience a person has had, the more likely it is that his store of knowledge will contain elements with which he can make sense out of a new ideas and meanings. The opposite is unfortunately also true. The narrower the field of previous experience which a person has had, the more difficult it will be for him to assimilate new meanings. In such situations, then, good communication requires small doses of information and very clear symbols, in short, much care and patience on the part of the communication source.

     To summarize: the communication process involves four basic elements and six stages. The four elements are: 1.) The source, 2.) The receiver, 3.) The message, and 4.) The channel. The six stages of the process are: 1.) Creation, 2.) Encoding 3.) Transmission, 4.) Reception, 5.) Decoding, 6.) Assimilation

Communication Chains and Networks

     Direct person-to-person communication is the simplest and probably the most common form of the communication process. In many social situations, however, it constitutes only one link in a chain of similar processes lined up, as it were, end to end. The idea created and encoded by the original source gets transmitted and decoded, re-encoded and re-transmitted over and over again until it reaches its final receiver. The longer this chain is, the more likely it is that the original meaning will get distorted on the way, and that what the final receiver understands and assimilates in his mind will be very different from what the first source wanted to convey.

At the core of all extension work lies the process of communication. Indeed, the very term “extension work” was chosen by its originators to convey the idea of communication lines extending beyond the boundaries of the universities to include the rural population in the surrounding countryside. 
Mechanization for small farms

All extension workers, however diverse their specific fields of expertise maybe, must be highly skilled communicators, because they stand and work at a crucial intersection of a widespread communication network. This network encompasses the rural population, the various service centers in towns and cities such as markets, supplies, experiment stations, educational facilities, and local as well as national governmental agencies. Frequently one or more of these parties depend on the extension worker for information. If this vital link breaks down, the whole network cannot function properly, because alternate avenues of communication are very often simply not available.

Prepared by Prof.A.V. Rotor from the works of Dr. Chanoch Jacobsen, Associate Professor of Applied Sociology, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa. (The Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a public research university in Haifa, Israel. Established in 1912 during the Ottoman Empire.) Dr. Rotor was visiting fellow at the Afro-Asian Institute, Tel-Aviv in 1992, as chief adviser on food and agriculture of the Senate of the Philippines. ~

24 Ways of Building a "Children of Nature" Culture

24 Ways of Building a "Children of Nature" Culture

"Our children will clean the land, water and air which we the generation before littered. They will heal the earth we defaced and damaged. With the gap of generations closed, the task will be shared by all." - avr

Dr Abe V Rotor 

 

Gardening as part of school curriculum.  Right, children harvest 

tomatoes in their backyard garden in QC. 

1. Our children become new heroes – heroes for the environment, martyrs for Mother Earth. Heaven is in a regained Paradise on earth.

The coming of a universal faith, irrespective of denomination. To be saved is not by faith and promise. Heaven starts here on earth.

2. Our children’s development must be holistic In all four stages: genetic, childhood, lifestyle – and fetal (in the womb). Sing, talk to your baby while in the womb.

3. Our children are at the front line and center of people’s revolution spreading worldwide.

Arab Spring is sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, so with the escalating unrest questioning the present world order. All over US the young are angry at economic inequity. Resurgence of instability is happening in Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Gaza Strip, Sudan.  The Philippines wakes up to the greatest scandal in government in its history - Pork Barrel (PDAP) and Development Acceleration Program (DAP). 

4.  Our children need to know the true meaning of biodiversity. Four attributes - richness in kind, population, interrelationship, dynamic stability (homeostasis)

Biodiversity per se does not guarantee sustainability unless integrated with functioning systems of nature.

5. Let’s prepare our children to face the consequences of loss of privacy and secrecy, from personal to institutional transparency.

“You can no longer hide. There is no place you can remain with anonymity.” WikiLeaks unveiled classified information about the Iraq and Afghanistan war. Bank secrecy laws and safeguards are changing. Citizens have the right to know many hidden financial transactions.

6. Our children’s involvement in social media makes them actors and not mere spectators. They become involved, concerned with issues, local and far reaching.

There is need to strengthen Development Communication (DevCom) over conventional entertainment and reactionary media.

7. Our children will inherit our aging infrastructure. Aging Infrastructure pulls down the economy, increases risk to disaster, creates ghost cities and making life miserable.

A new field of biodiversity has been born in deserted towns, on the 38th Parallel between South and North Korea, in land mines areas, ghost towns, among deserted high rise buildings, in high radiation areas like in Chernobyl (Russia) and Fukushima (Japan).

8. Our children are deprived of natural beauty and bounty with shrinking wildlife, conversion of farms and pastures to settlements, and destruction of ecosystems.

“Canned Nature” (delata) have become pseudo Nature Centers. Gubat sa Siyudad, Fantasyland, Ocean Park, Disneyland

9. Our children, and succeeding generations are becoming more and more vulnerable to various infirmities – genetic, physiological, psychological, pathologic.

Computer Syndrome is now pandemic, and its toll is increasing worldwide. South Korea is the worst hit.

10. Our children’s learning through codification defeats logical thinking and creativity. Thus affect their reasoning power, judgment and decision, originality of thought and ideas.

More and more children are computer-dependent. They find simple equations and definitions difficult without electronic gadget.

11. Our children face the age of singularity whereby human and artificial intelligence are integrated. Robotics robs human of his rights and freedom – new realm of curtailment and suppression. (2045 – The Year Man Becomes Immortal – Time Magazine)

This is falsehood!

12. Our children finds a world of archives - memories, reproductions, replicas – of a real world lost before their own time.

We are making fossils, biographies, dirges and laments, as if without sense of guilt.

13. Our children will realize that optimism will remain the mainstay of human evolution, rising above difficulties and trials. Hope is ingrained in the human brain that makes vision rosier than reality.

Anxiety, depression will continue to haunt, in fact accompany progress, but these all the more push optimism up and ahead.

14. Our children are overburdened by education. They need freedom to learn in their own sweet time and enjoy the bliss and adventure of childhood and adolescence.

E-learning is taking over much of the role of schools and universities. Open Universities, Distance Learning will dwarf classroom instruction. Beginning of a new University of Plato’s dream.

Summer painting workshop for kids with author as instructor.

Theme:  Love Nature 

15. Our children will witness in their time the beginning of a post-capitalism order, environmental revolution, rise of growth centers and shift in economic dominance and order, more green technologies, and space exploration.

This is Renaissance in the new age.

16. Our children will continue looking for the missing links of science, history, religion, astronomy etc., among them the source of life itself and its link with the physical world.

Linking of disciplines, narrowing down the gaps of specializations, making of a new Man and culture.

17. Our children become more and more transient in domicile where work may require, and for personal reasons, and when given choice and opportunity in a global perspective, intermarriages notwithstanding.

“Citizen of the world” is a person without a specific country. He is therefore, rootless. Humans since creation are rooted politically, culturally – and principally biologically.

18. Our children will have a family size of ideally 2 or 3 children, enabling them to achieve their goals and dreams in life. They will strengthen the middle class the prime mover of society.

A natural way of family planning and population planning, trend of industrialized countries.

19. Our children will clean the land, water and air we the generation before littered. They will heal the earth we defaced, damage. With generation gap closed, the task will be shared by all.

We must be good housekeepers of Mother Earth now.

20. Our children will be part of devolution of power, decentralization of authority, a new breed of more dedicated leaders.

Children hold the key to change. It’s the Little Prince that changed and saved the pilot in an ill-fated plane crash in Sahara.

21. Our children face acculturation and inter racial marriages. Mélange of races is on the rise – Eurasian, Afro-American, Afro-Asian, etc. – a homogenization process that reduces as a consequence natural gene pools.

Culturally and scientifically, this is dangerous. Homogenization leads to extinction of races and ultimately the species.

Our children will be closer to Nature and spend more time with her in their leisure. Painting in acrylic by the author

22. Our children will live simpler lives, going back to basics, preferring natural over artificial goods and services. In the long run they will be less wasteful that us.

There is always a hidden desire to escape when things get rough. This is instinct for survival either by detour or turning back.

23. Our children face the coming of the Horsemen of Apocalypse – consequence of human folly and frailty (nuclear, pollution, poverty). More than we grownups, they are more resilient to adapt to the test.

History tells us that this is true.

24. Postmodernism may do more harm than good for our children in a runaway technology and culture. They cannot and will not be able to keep with the pace and direction of change.

This is not true. “I am the master of my fate, I’m the captain of my soul.” And this is what we want our children to become – but only when they are CHILDREN OF NATURE. ~

Food Crisis Series 5: Don't Waste Food! Don't. Recycle leftover food in different presentations.

Food Crisis Series 5:

Don't Waste Food! Don't. 

Recycle leftover food in different presentations.

Dr Abe V Rotor

I believe in the wisdom of the old folks that reminds us of the value of food. They have experienced hunger during war, drought, flood, crop failure, pestilence - even in normal times.

Part 1 - Don't throw away food left on the table. Please don't.

• Food is Santa Gracia (holy grace) as old folks reverently call it.

• Food waste could otherwise go to millions who have not enough to eat.

• Food waste breeds pest and disease, sickens the air.

Aesthetics of Food Art on the dining table

• Anything that goes to waste draws down the economy.

• Waste widens inequity in resources.

. Wasted food is contrary to thanksgiving and festivities. It offends most Ceres, the goddess of bounty. Food waste can be converted into useful products, such as biogas and compost.

. Wasted food violates universal ethico-morals.

Here are some things to do with food leftovers.

1. Sinagag - fried rice mix with bits of bacon, ham, fried egg, fish, and the like.

2. Torta - tidbits like those mentioned in scramble egg. Include veggies like carrot and onion.

3. Pickle – excess veggies and fruits plus vinegar, sugar and salt, and spices. Good for carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, green papaya, yam (sinkamas), others.

4. Paksiw – if not consumed is fried, makes a new menu.

5. Daing – fish in season is dried, cooked with gata’ (coconut milk).

6. Suka – fruit vinegar from overripe pineapple, banana, others, but not tomato and kamias.

7. Pudding – bread not consumed on time is also made into pizza bread- bread crumbs, garlic bread.

8. Sopas – Grind bones, shrimp head for soup and broth. Bulalo for whole bone.

9. Pastillas – milk powder not consumed on time, also grated hardened cheese.

10. Veggie and fruit peelings – for animal feeds, composting. Include solids from brewing (coffee) and juicing fruits. Ultimately, inevitable food waste is collected for feeds in poultry and piggery.

Food waste also emanates from carelessness in handling, food preparation and serving. Much is also lost due to lack of proper processing, transport and storage facilities. Estimated loss in postharvest alone runs from 10 to 37 percent of actual harvest of crops.

In "Give us this day our daily bread..." in the Lord's Prayer, us here is regarded as thanksgiving, and remembering the millions people around the world who may not have the food they need, especially in this time of pandemic crisis.

I believe in the wisdom of the old folk who reminds us of the value of food. They have experienced hunger during war, drought, flood, crop failure, pestilence - even in normal times. They have not lost sight of the presence of Santa Gracia.

Yes, children there is a Santa Gracia . ~

Part 2 - Complete Fried Rice

How to make fried rice attractive and tasty 

 

 

"Peep-a-boo" Fried Rice

Oh, surprise your kids on the breakfast table, 

or when they seem to have no appetite at all.

a peep-a-boo fried rice to them guessing game. 

and there's always variety you can set again.   

  

             Serve fried rice as a complete meal

Or simply serve a complete rice meal with decors:

carrot bits, fried egg shreds, minced meat or fish

veggie and leek disguised, why not seaweeds, too?

newly cooked, teeming hot - no leftover, please. ~