Political Analysis Course Outline: First Semester 2015-2016

Department of Social Sciences, College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ateneo de Naga University

PSCM363: Introduction to Political Analysis         Consultation hours: MWF (3:30-5:30PM)

First semester, SY 2015-2016          Menandro S. Abanes 

Course description and outline

Society does not explain itself, nor does it examine and interpret its events. Those tasks are taken up by 
students of society like you and me. They are no easy tasks. But in our efforts to achieve the tasks, we are 
aided by various research methods developed by researchers who have studied society. 

This course focuses on methods and practices of social research. It aims to prepare and motivate 
students to complete their requirement of a thesis proposal. It introduces a menu of research methods for possible use in making a defensible thesis proposal. 

I. Practice of social research

A. Doing research

Ø Key concepts: research process, inductive, deductive

Ø Reading: How to design a research project by Earl Babbie (pp. 107-113) in The Practice of Social Research

B. Purposes of research and units of analysis

Ø Key concepts: types of research, descriptive, explanatory, time dimension

Ø Reading: Research design by Earl Babbie (pp. 90-106) in The Practice of Social Research

   C. Researching for what?

Ø Key concepts: values, advocacy

Ø Readings: The case for value-free sociology by Max Weber (pp. 23-25) and Whose side are we on? by Howard Becker (pp. 26-29) in Seeing ourselves edited by Macionis and Benokraitis

   D. What’s your problem?

Ø Key concepts: causation, patterns, research problem

Ø Reading: The idea of causation in social research by Earl Babbie (pp. 69-86) in The Practice of Social Research

  E. Conceptualizing the research

Ø Key concepts: research proposal, research problem, framework

Ø Reading: Conceptualizing the research by Wilfredo Arce (pp. 11-21) in The Systematic Qualitative Data Research

  F. Resolving your problem

Ø  Key concepts: theory, framework, hypothesis

Ø Reading: Look before you leap: Some reflections on hypothesis formulation in the social sciences by Michael Costello (pp. 26-36) and What is a theory? 

Additional reading: Why is my evil lecturer forcing me to learn statistics? by Andy Field (pp.  1-15) in Discovering Statistics using SPSS

II. Research processes and methods

A. To be or not to be: quantitative or qualitative?

Ø Key concepts: debate, nature of data

Ø Reading: The debate about quantitative and qualitative research by Alan Bryman (pp. 93-126) in Quantity and Quality in Social Research

B. Evaluative research

Ø Key concepts: program, project, evaluation, ex post-facto

Ø Reading: Of blackbirds and boxes: An introduction to evaluative research by Frank 
Lynch (pp. 174-182) in Philippine Society and the Individual

C.  Observational method

Ø Key concepts: social structure, qualitative

Ø Reading: Observational methods by William Foote Whyte (pp. 83-96) in Learning from the Field: A guide from experience

D.  Feminist research and life history

Ø Key concepts: feminist, perspective, case study, life history

Ø Reading: Understanding sexuality through life histories by Jeanne Illo (pp. 7-29)  

 E.  Conflict analysis

Ø Key concepts: conflict analysis, mining issues

Ø Reading: A conflict analysis of Rapu-Rapu mining issues by Menandro Abanes (pp. 150-157) in Southeast Asia Today: Development Paradigms, Reflexive Engagements

   F. Discourse analysis (critical)

Ø Key concepts: discourse analysis, development models

Ø Reading: People’s Organization (POs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), the Catholic Church vs. the State and a 
Transnational Corporation (TNC): A Critical Discourse Analysis of Mining Issues in Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay by Menandro Abanes (pp. 1- 27) in Gibon, volume 5, 2005

   G. Survey research (descriptive)

Ø Key concepts: volunteering, measurement

Ø Reading: To be men and women for others: Measuring volunteering in Ateneo de Naga 
University by Menandro Abanes (pp. 1-64) in the University Research Council-funded research project

   H. Survey research (correlation and regression analyses)

Ø Key concepts: ethnicity, religion, social distance, trust, identification

Ø Reading: Ethno-religious groups, identification, trust and social distance in the ethno-religiously stratified Philippines by Menandro Abanes et al. (pp.61-75) in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2014.02.001)

Course Outline for SOC001: Bikol Society and Culture

Department of Social Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences

Ateneo de Naga University

SOC 001: Society and culture with family planning          Consultation hours: TBA

First semester, SY 2014-2015                                                Menandro S. Abanes

Course description and outline

How do we see the world? How do we make sense of it? This course will introduce two disciplines, sociology and anthropology, which will help us in trying to understand humans who inhabit this world and their societies that structure it. We will learn sociological and anthropological perspectives which will locate our experiences of this world within the larger scale of society characterized by social structure and system. Through this course, we will be able to view familiar things in a new light, find new meanings in the old and new ways of doing things, and gain understanding and insight of the rapidly globalizing and changing world.

I.                    The discipline of sociology

A.      Introduction

Ø  Key concepts: sociological imagination, history and biography

Ø  Readings: The promise of sociology by C. Wright Mills (pp. 19-26) and Invitation to sociology by Peter Berger (pp. 3-7) in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

B.      Theoretical perspectives in sociology

Ø  Key concepts: functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism

Ø  Readings: Doing sociological research (pp. 27-30); The presentation of self by Erving Goffman (pp. 106-115) and The uses of poverty: The poor pay all by Herbert Gans (pp. 314-320) in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

Ø  Requirement: Newspaper clipping that shows any of the perspectives

II.                  The discipline of anthropology

A.      Culture: Why we do what we do

Ø  Key concepts: culture as learned and shared, material and non-material culture, components of culture (gestures, languages, values, etc.)

Ø  Reading: The cultural context of social life (pp. 69-71) and Body ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Miner (pp. 73-77) in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

B.      How culture is studied: Participant observation

Ø  Key concepts: fieldwork, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism

Ø  Reading: Street corner society by William Foote Whyte (pp. 59-67) in in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

III.                Research process and methods

A.      Human inquiry and research model

Ø  Key concepts: research model, surveys, experiments, data-gathering

Ø  Reading: How sociologists do research by James Henslin (pp. 31-42) in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

B.      Practice of research

Ø  Key concepts: theory, inductive, deductive, quantitative, qualitative

Ø  Reading: The role of theory in sociology by Janet Saltzman Chafetz (pp. 15-20) in Readings for introducing sociology (Ed.) Richard Larson and Ronald Knapp

Ø  Requirement: Participant observation on your own social group/neighborhood

IV.                Enculturation/socialization

A.      Social interaction and structure

Ø  Key concepts: agents of socialization, institutions, self-emergence

Ø  Reading: Town fiesta: An anthropologist’s view by Frank Lynch (pp. 219-236) in Philippine society and the individual

Ø  Requirement: A sociological paper written in one’s native language

B.      Family and kinship

Ø  Key concepts: family planning, marriage, kinship

Ø  Reading: The elemental Filipino family by Yen Makabenta http://www.livinginthephilippines.com/philippine_articles/elemental_family.html

C.      Deviance and control

Ø  Key concepts: breaching, norms, rules, labeling, anomie

Ø  Reading: Suicide by Emile Durkheim (pp. 125-131) in Readings for introducing sociology (Ed.) Richard Larson and Ronald Knapp

V.                  Stratification

A.      Sex and gender

Ø  Key concepts: identity, roles, social construction of gender

Ø  Reading: Fraternities and rape on campus by Patricia Martin and Robert Hummer (pp. 353-362)

B.      Class and inequality

Ø  Key concepts: status, power, social mobility, prestige, patron-client relations

Ø  Reading: Big and little people: Social class in the rural Philippines by Frank Lynch (pp. 104-111) in Philippine society and the individual

C.      Categorical differences (ethnicity and religion)

Ø  Key concepts: ethnicity, religion, social distance, trust, identification

Ø  Reading: Ethno-religious groups, identification, trust and social distance in the ethno-religiously stratified Philippines by Menandro Abanes et al. in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility

VI.                Social change

Ø  Key concepts: modernization, globalization, trends

Ø  Readings: The Mcdonaldization of society by George Ritzer (pp. 494-504) in Down to earth sociology (9^th Ed.) by James Henslin

Ø  Requirement: A research paper due on the final examination date

Surging Brooklyn Nets at the start of the 2014 NBA campaign

The Brooklyn Nets just won its 11th straight home game and is now 36-31. Playoff spot is almost assured. Last year, many analysts saw the Nets as a joke and blunder. What made the turnaround and change of fortune for the Nets?

When the 2013-2014 NBA season began, the Brooklyn Nets had a new and rookie coach (Jason Kidd) and several new and yet veteran players in the team line-up (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, Andrei Kirilenko, among others). Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez were retained to keep the core of the team. The new line-up and hiring of new coaching staff cost hundreds of millions of dollars to the Russian team owner and billionaire, Mickail Prokhorov.

Salary cap seems not in Prokhorov's mind. His mind is all set for the championship now. To give you an idea of how the team payroll looks like, the first five (Williams, Johnson, Pierce, Garnett, and Lopez) combined salaries alone has exceeded the salary cap for an NBA team which currently stands at $58.7 million. Thus, the expectations for the 2013-2014 Brooklyn Nets are very high to give the defending champion, Miami Heat, and contender Indiana Pacers a run of their money.

When the 2013-2014 regular season began, the Brooklyn Nets started pathetically. Injuries and adjustments to new teammates were the logical factors in the poor start. The rookie coach, however, got the heaviest punch of blame in the lackluster performance of the team.

After 10-21 win-loss record at the end of 2013, many basketball analysts and enthusiasts counted out Kidd as competent to be a head coach in the game immediately after retiring from playing it. The loudest call at that time was for him to resign or be fired. However, the Nets stuck with him and continued to believe in him.

Then, the new year came. Kidd forgot his necktie and did not wear it during the team's first game of 2014. The Nets won. For the next games, the Nets found its winning ways. Kidd continues not to wear a tie believing that it has a correlation with winning. Now, the Nets is 26-10 this year. It is the best win-loss record in the Eastern Conference from the start of 2014. Kidd is even priming his team to go deep into the post-season and setting his sight to the NBA finals.

If the Nets continue to surge, it may find itself against the best in the Eastern Conference and ultimately against the best in the Western Conference.

Why was Vhong Navarro mauled?

Source: http://www.jennibailey.com/

That is the question!

Both sides have their answer. On one hand, Vhong Navarro cried that it was a set-up. On the other hand, Deniece cried that it was rape. Both sides cried, but one cry seemed to be louder than the other.

Which one?

Let us hear their cries based on the news.

No doubt, Vhong's is the louder one. Being an actor and a resident artist of ABS-CBN network do help in shaping the direction of the investigation and people's opinions. The release of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) report based mainly on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) clips from the Forbeswood Heights in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, Metro Manila bolstered Vhong's claim of set-up. Notably, the CCTV clips are spliced to follow the events as they unfolded in two locations of the condominium unit (lobby and elevator). Several times as I watched the CCTV, I noticed that Vhong and Cedric, after they reached the second floor where Deniece's unit is located, got out of the elevator and turned right, while the rest, including Deniece, when they reached the second floor, turned left. Another issue is that the CCTV did not capture the most important event (i.e., set-up or rape) which happened inside the room. Thus, everyone is free to interpret and conclude. However, the CCTV could not provide an answer to our question: Why was Vhong Navarro mauled? Set-up. For what? 1 million pesos. That is equivalent to 125,000 pesos for each of the eight accused of set-up. 125k pesos!

Deniece's version of rape is getting flak from social media users and fans of her Kuya Vhong. Her claim has been prostituted many times. What she has to support her version is the signed police blotter describing briefly the incident that happened on the 22nd of January 2014. The blotter was signed by Vhong Navarro. The police officers who were present there tried to get the side of Vhong several times. But Vhong repeatedly (not once, but several times) declined to counter the claim explicitly written in the blotter. He was quoted saying: "For my family's sake, I'll rather not talk." Another piece that is, to my mind, the most important evidence to bolster her claim is her story. Because of her friendship with her Kuya Vhong and the mauling Vhong got from her friends, she was willing to forego the filing of the case as indicated in the police blotter.

Now, both sides have filed their legal cases. It is up to the court to decide who is telling the truth.

Why was Vhong Navarro mauled? To me, I'd rather be convinced by a story than a CCTV.

Philippines will not reach 100 million in population this year (2014)

The Population Commission (PopCom) of the Philippines declares that the country will hit 100 million in population this year 2014. Below you will see how PopCom counts by the second. As of January 26, 2014 (00:56:29), its counter shows 99,028,209 (just 971,791 short of hitting 100 million). The projected population is based on the 1.98 population growth rate.

THIS IS INACCURATE!!!

The use of 1.98 growth rate to project the population for this year is quite over-extending the numbers. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) has projected the growth rate between 2010 and 2015 to be 1.82 percent (1.16 percent lower than what PopCom is using). The trend is going down as the years pass. So we should expect that 2014 must be lower than 1.82 percent.

If you google Philippines population growth rate, there will be a graph that looks like this. The data is from the World Bank. It shows that the Philippines population growth rate is 1.7 percent in 2012. That is lower, as expected, than the 5-year (2010-2015) projection of 1.82 percent. To project our population this year, we will use the 2012 rate of 1.7 percent. Thus, our projected population at the end of 2014 is 98,616,825 (short of 1,383,175). This is closer to the real number of Filipinos.

All Saints' Day (not halloween) in the Philippines

November 1 is a feast day. That's what we know. And that's how we celebrate the day. Contrary to popular celebration of the day, the Philippines celebrate the day with cultural and religious meaning. It is All Saints' Day, also known as todos los santos. Other ethno-linguistic groups call it differently. Tagalogs call it Undas and Bicolanos call it Fiestang kalag. However, there are common characteristics in the celebration, such as the day is an opportunity for family gatherings, class reunions, and of course, praying for, remembering and being with the loved ones who passed away (literally being with the dead family members). Yes, Filipinos spend the day in cemeteries. In Bicol, cemetery is called, kampo santo (camp of the saints).

So, how do we spend the day in a cemetery?

In a typical Filipino way of gathering people, food must be present. Yes, there is a variety of food being prepared, served and shared. Candles are lit and flowers are laid. All day, from dawn to dusk, from sunrise to sunset, family members, relatives and friends flock to and stay in the kampo santo. Stories and memories with the dead are reminisced over and over again.

I remember when I was young, I stayed in kampo santo in the afternoon until 7PM. As I grew older, I tended to stay late, until the wee hours. My elder brothers often stay until early morning the next day. In the Philippines, November 1 and 2 (two days) are public non-working days or holidays.

To know more how we spend the day, below is a video made by Kevin Richberg, a foreigner who experienced November 1 in the Philippines.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWFGRdbIrhQ

The Philippines Opens Its Shores and Borders to 151 Nationalities

When many governments are restricting entry into their countries, the Philippines is collapsing its borders to allow more foreigners to enter the country.

Starting 1 August 2013, the Philippines will be visa-free for the nationals of 151 countries up to 30 days of stay on any of the 7,107 beautiful islands.

In coordination with concerned governmental agencies such as Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Tourism, Department of Justice, and Bureau of Immigration, the initiative is aimed to attract more tourists and potential investors in the country.

If your country is listed below and you have a valid passport for at least six months, book your round-trip ticket because it is more fun in the Philippines:
Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, 
Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Ghana,
Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary,
Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar
Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia,
Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland
Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia,
Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain,
Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey,
Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe.

Welcome and see you in the Philippines!

Jason Kidd and the Brooklyn Nets

Source: http://www.streetball.com

The Brooklyn Nets is making a lot of buzz these days. In preparation for the next season, the Nets hired a new coach and got involved in major trades which will definitely impact on the team's fate in the next two to three years and team owner's pocket.

After being surprised and eliminated in the first round by the Chicago Bulls, the Nets decided to overhaul its coaching staff and line-up. It hired Jason Kidd, arguably considered as the greatest franchise player who brought the Nets to its only back-to-back finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. The team hopes that by having Kidd who recently retired as a player, the Nets will soar to new heights.

As a player, there is no doubt in the leadership skills and tenacity of Kidd. Some analysts doubt whether Kidd can bring the same leadership as a coach. Many though believe that Kidd may be what the Nets needs to compete effectively in the Eastern conference where the back-to-back champion, Miami Heat, is a perennial threat.

After the hiring of Kidd, the Nets again hug the limelight by trading its notable players in exchange for the three veterans of the Boston Celtics, a rival in the Atlantic Division. All-Star players, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry, will don the Nets uniform in the next season. The trade gathers an All-Star first five in the line-up and so as the sixth man in Jason Terry who won a championship ring with Kidd in Dallas - a very formidable team, to provide the Heat a dousing effect.