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The purpose of this study was to examine the association of cigarette smoking and 2 indicators of psychosocial distress (hopelessness and loneliness) among adolescents from 2 distinctly different regions of the world: Central-Eastern Europe (Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Romania, Poland) and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines). Among Southeast Asian boys and girls, smokers had elevated hopelessness in comparison to nonsmokers but among Central-Eastern European students, this relationship was true only for girls and there was no relationship for boys. Across the country samples, there was only association of smoking with loneliness among Southeast Asian girls and Central-Eastern European girls. While Southeast Asian girls who smoked scored higher on loneliness than nonsmokers, the opposite was true among Central-Eastern European girls, with smokers scoring "lower" on loneliness. (Contains 5 tables.)

The aim of this study was to assess the level of suicide attempts in three school-based samples of Southeast Asian adolescents (Taipei, Taiwan; the Philippines; Chiang Mai, Thailand) and determine whether adolescent suicide attempters score higher on measures of hopelessness and loneliness relative to nonattempters. It was hypothesized that hopelessness and loneliness would be related to suicide attempts, and that hopelessness would continue to be associated with suicide attempts when controlling for loneliness. The prevalence of suicide attempts across the three samples of Asian youth were not consistent with Taiwanese girls and boys as the most likely to have ever attempted suicide. As expected, results showed that suicide attempters (in past 12 months and ever) scored higher on hopelessness and loneliness than nonattempters across all three samples and for both genders. However, the statistical control of loneliness demonstrably weakened the association between suicide attempt behaviour and hopelessness across the samples and for both genders, and resulted in nonsignificant ANCOVA tests for some of the sample-gender groups. These results attest to the need for more research investigating connections between youth suicide attempts, hopelessness and loneliness in adolescent populations. Loneliness should be included as a potential determinant of youth suicidal behaviour in future research. (Contains 5 tables.)

Examined relationship between shyness and physical activity among Philippine high schoolers. Found that Philippine students reported less physical activity than U.S. students on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Highly shy Filipino students participated in vigorous physical activity significantly less often than those with average or low shyness and were less likely to play on sports teams. (Author/KB)

This study examines the differences between the education systems in Finland and the Philippines. The education systems in both countries have significant differences in terms of policies, teacher qualifications, and curriculum structure. Finland has a highly decentralized curriculum that allows teachers to develop their own curriculum according to the needs and interests of students, while the curriculum in the Philippines is centralized and designed by the central government. The quality and competence of teachers in Finland are also higher compared to those in the Philippines, where a Bachelor's or Diploma Four degree is the minimum requirement for teaching. Finland's success in education can be attributed to the government's persistence and consistency in implementing education policies formulated over the years, and their emphasis on teacher quality and competence. On the other hand, the Philippines has struggled to improve the quality of education, with some policies having little to no positive impact. Given the differences between the two education systems, the study suggests that the Philippines should learn from Finland's education system and adopt some of its policies to improve its own education system. By doing so, the Philippines can improve the quality of education and potentially achieve the same success that Finland has achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the applicability of mine tailings as embankment materials, its geotechnical characteristics have to be established. Standard ASTM procedures are performed to determine the physical properties and hydraulic conductivity of mine tailings from three (3) different mining sites in the Philippines. Falling head permeability tests are performed on reconstituted samples compacted at varying void ratio and fine content. The hydraulic conductivity, k of tailings falls within the range of 10-3 to 10-6 cm/sec. Data obtained from these tests are used to develop an empirical model for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of mine tailings under fully saturated conditions as a function of void ratio and fine contents. The formulated model is a useful tool to estimate the hydraulic conductivity of non-plastic fine tailings, a parameter needed in seepage analysis, when these waste materials are used as embankment materials in the construction of tailing dams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thorough understanding of the failure initiation process is crucial in the development of physicallybased early warning system for landslides and slope failures. Laboratory-scale slope models were constructed and subjected to instability through simulated groundwater infiltration. This is done by progressively increasing the water level in the upslope tank and allowing water to infiltrate laterally towards the toe of the slope. Physical changes in the slope models were recorded by tilt sensors and video cameras. When the model slope was destabilized, the chronology of events occurred in the following sequence: (1) bulging at the toe, (2) seepage at the toe, (3) initial failure of soil mass, (4) piping, (5) retrogressive failure, (6) formation of tension cracks and (7) major failure of soil mass. Tension cracks, piping and eventual failure are manifestations of differential settlements due to variations in void ratio. Finite element analysis indicates that instability and subsequent failures in the model slope were induced primarily by high hydraulic gradients in the toe area. Seepage, initial deformation and subsequent failures were manifested in the toe area prior to failure, providing a maximum of 36 min lead time. Similar lead times are expected in slopes of the same material as shown in many case studies of dam failure. The potential of having a longer lead time is high for natural slopes made of materials with higher shear strength thus evacuation is possible. The tilt sensors were able to detect the initial changes before visual changes manifested, indicating the importance of instrumental monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The paper presents a synthesis of the key findings of the conference and workshop convened to consider the causes of and lessons to be learned from the disastrous rockslide-debris avalanche on 17 February 2006 in southern Leyte, Philippines. Some 1,221 people died and the barangay of Guinsagon was buried. The geology, historical seismicity, progressive disintegration of the rock mass, development of smectite layers and the continuous development and movement of shears within the Philippine Fault Zone combine in the steep rugged terrain to produce massive landslides, of which the 15 million m3 Guinsaugon event was the latest. The relevance of recent heavy rain and an almost synchronous seismic event are considered but it is concluded that the movement was the result of progressive failures and tectonic weakening while the landslide hazard was increased by the presence of rice paddy fields in the valley bottom. An anecdotal time to failure curve is presented, based on eyewitness accounts and observations of instability. Attention is drawn to the importance of both the education and training of the local people in the recognition of signs of potential movement and a reporting management system. Such simple measures could save lives and empower local communities to take some ownership of their level of landslide risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The Guinsaugon rock slide-debris avalanche was the most catastrophic single landslide event in Philippine history, with 14–18 M m3 of debris instantly burying an entire village. Hummocky topography, pressure ridges and other internal structures suggest that the landslide deposit was emplaced as a debris avalanche and debris flow. Susceptibility to planar and wedge failures as well as to toppling due to rock discontinuities were demonstrated using kinematic analysis and SMR. Limit equilibrium analysis on planar failures yielded factors of safety ranging from 0.8 to 1.5. The study showed that pore pressure on discontinuities had a more significant effect on the slope stability than seismicity. For wedge failures, there is a sudden drop in the factor of safety at pore water pressures of 258–306 kPa. At the site, the pore water pressure may have been as high as 490 kPa. The possibility of such a landslide event in the future is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information and analysis concerning the existence of interfraternity violent conflicts on the campus of a major state university in the Philippines, the University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD). Historical accounts from university administrators and faculty indicate that fraternity violence on the UPD campus began at around the end of the Second World War, with the death of a fraternity pledge during a hazing incident. In the 1960s, a student was killed in conflict between rival fraternities, signaling the escalation of fraternity violence from hazing of pledges to interfraternity fracases. The purpose of this article is to discuss and analyze this phenomenon by addressing contemporary campus records of inter-fraternity violence, responses of fraternity members to personal interviews, and possible explanatory factors. The present analysis indicates that most instances of fraternity violence occur during the second half of any given term but not during the exam period. This pattern provides some support for the view that violence is used to camouflage a student's poor academic performance.

The article presents trends in murder and rape incidents in the Philippines and Metro Manila from 1980 to 1994. These two crimes are difficult to interpret for different reasons. Homicide is an index crime, which is set apart from murder. Homicide and murder are separate index crimes in the government crime reporting system. Rape is another index crime of which substantial cases are reported selective. In the study of reporting behavior among victims, the authors discovered that victimiological factors determine the probability of reporting to the police. Victimiology is the study of the relationship between the victim and the offender. The closer the relationship between victim and offender, the less likely it is that the report will reach the authorities without delay. Murder was chosen as the main indicator of social violence for several reasons. Murder rates and volumes had been on the decline in the country and in Metro Manila since their peak in the late 1980s. Rape is one of the most publicized crimes today. It is, under Philippine law, a crime exclusively against women. Around two years after the death penalty was restored, more than a hundred convicts were admitted to the death row, a separate prison facility inside the Bureau of Corrections and Penology.

The article presents a short history of narcotic drug addiction in the Philippines from 1521 to 1959. Opium was the narcotic drug that first enslaved a few inhabitants and Chinese migrants in the Philippines. The earliest mention of opium in the Philippines' southern islands was made in about 1609. The traffickers were the Dutch and the origin was most probably the east coast of India. Coca leaves and the plant itself entered the Philippines a few years before 1941 or slightly after 1945. The exact date could not be ascertained. Its leaf chewing form of addiction was practically unknown. Marijuana or Indian hemp was noticed to have been cultivated for drug addiction purposes in January 1959, and its entry was estimated to be in about 1954 or 1955. The discovery of the lack of native terms regarding opium and addiction and its absence in folklore and customs, thus enables to strengthen the argument that addiction to narcotics is of recent origin and not a Filipino-Spanish culture complex.

The article focuses on a study regarding the public opinion of working class in Metro Manila, Philippines on the type of penalty for heinous crimes. It says that nonprobability quota sampling was utilized in the study composed of 200 respondents and conducted a series of bivariate statistical tests with structured interviews. Results show that majority of working class in Metro Manila favored death penalty for heinous crimes which agreed the studies held by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The article presents a comparison of the objective and the reputational approaches in the study of Philippine class structure. There are two methods utilized in the study of social stratification, the objective and the reputational. These two approaches, when applied to rural villages in the Philippines, provide invaluable information for the social scientist and for community organizations. The objective approach for measuring the social class positions of members of a community uses indicators such as income, occupation, education, or a level-of-living scale which rates the material and cultural possessions a family is found to have in the house. These possessions are assumed to provide the investigator with a clue to the family's income and expenditures, which are in turn indicative of its social status. The validity of the objective method cannot be known outside the area where it is developed until it has been tested anew and found to correlate significantly with the findings the reputational approach. Moreover, scale items lose their validity through the years, especially in places undergoing rapid social change.

Focuses on the relationship between television viewing and shyness among high school students in the Philippines. Variation of program composition of television; Factors contributing to shyness in Filipino adolescents; Impact of cultural values on personality of teenagers.