This week, Montreal, Canada, is at the epicenter of international negotiations for biodiversity. Thousands of people from around the world are attending the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) to witness the negotiation of a new Global Biodiversity Framework. Its goals and targets replace the previous framework—the Aichi Biodiversity Targets—that failed to bring about the transformative change needed to reverse the alarming trends in biodiversity loss.
The context of Philippine English is described in terms of its historical, social, political and economic dimensions. The past is reviewed to explain the present, and the contemporary status and characteristics of this Philippine variety are outlined. Some tentative predictions are made as to its future, based on current social and economic trends in the area. A statement is attempted on the factors contributing to the maintenance of a standardized Asian variety of English (mutually intelligible with other world varieties) as well as factors contributing to the rise of Englishes which will eventually be mutually unintelligible (in the same way that Latin devolved to the Romance languages as the Roman Empire gave rise to independent nation-states).
This paper describes the interlocking conflicts and resulting problems of higher education in the Philippines. The educational system produces first degree graduates for certain professions and fields of specialization while failing to produce enough graduates in 'unpopular' fields of pure science, middle-level technician specializations, and graduate training for research and higher education. The few scientists and graduate degree holders trained abroad migrate to other countries, making the shortage even more acute. For oversubscribed professions, graduates seek overseas employment. In the meantime, the mismatch continues.The author proposes different solutions for each problem; no uniform solution is possible as the nature of the problem is different for each area. For oversubscribed professions, the writer accepts overseas employment as a viable option; it is a source of foreign exchange and a natural way of population control. For undersubscribed professions he proposes a system of incentives tied to a period of mandatory service, after which the beneficiary may exercise his/her options.The writer concludes with some general insights about allowing the 'invisible hand' to regulate the process of manpower demand and supply but supports limited and specific government interventions at the right moment.
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