The threat of terrorism warrants the curtailment of civil liberties Essay

The threat of terrorism warrants the curtailment of civil liberties (Persuasion ) - Essay Example These terrorist groups also have the latest in satellite imaging, in weapons technology, in biological and chemical weapons capability, and even cyber-terrorism. And they are not afraid to use these weapons and technological advancements on as many people as possible. They are not bound to honor the laws of man and of God in unleashing these weapons; but the different countries and governments trying to counter these terrorist attacks and weapons are pressured to abide by their laws. And because of terrorists’ disregard for laws coupled with their potential to wreak havoc on people’s lives, I believe that stronger means must be employed in order to protect and ensure our safety and security. There are necessary measures, like the curtailment of civil liberties, which have to be employed in order to counter the threat of terrorism. An opinion survey conducted by YouGov in the UK sought people’s perception or opinion about the government’s proposal to control civil liberties and the survey revealed that a great majority of respondents believe that it is appropriate to curtail the movements of terrorist suspects even if the usual trial policies cannot be applied to them. The survey also revealed that most people favored preemptive actions to be taken by the government in order to control or address the threat of terrorism (2). Majority of the respondents also set forth that they do not accept the idea that government authorities can never curtail anyone’s civil liberties, especially when it is essential to their national security (2). In the same survey, the respondents were asked if they rated national security as more important than the protection of their civil liberties. Again, majority of the respondents believed that national security is more important to them, and only about 3% answer ed that their civil liberties were more

Imf And The Economic Growth In Cambodia Economics Essay

Imf And The Economic Growth In Cambodia Economics Essay IMF and the struggle increase economic growth in Cambodia. Since emerging from the very darkest period in its history (POL POT regime) almost for four years, Cambodia has traversed a long way. From below ground zero, the country bounced back to rebuild the devastated economy and institutions. After the signing of Paris peace accord in 1991, Cambodia eventually had a formal election in 1993 and Cambodia has took a very important step to change its economy from plan economy to the free market. It was time that Cambodia opened its door to the foreign investors, and enterprises and companies are private own. Regarding the investment law which enacted in 1994, Cambodia attracted many foreign investment companies that created many jobs for Cambodian people. From 1993 up until now, the main export of Cambodia is garments follow by agricultural products. Tourism is also said to be the second largest export industry. Even though Cambodia is a foreign aid dependency country with nearly one thi rd of its national budget coming from ODA (Official Development Assistance), growth in Cambodian economy has run at over 6% per annum, on average, since the early 1990s. According to the IMF, the income per capita in 2008 was $823. Recently, Cambodia has found the gas and oil reserve which estimated to be beneficial for Cambodian economy. Oil production is expected to begin in 2011.The start of oil production in 2011 will give Cambodia an additional source of export revenue to reduce its large current account deficit and provide the funding to boost spending on the inadequate infrastructure and health and education systems. In 1999, Cambodia has successfully affiliated to ASEAN. This accession helps Cambodia to corporate with the countries in the region in order to improve its economy by joining in AFTA, CLV development triangle, GMS, CLMVà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. As one of the CLMV countries, Cambodia can enjoy positive regional effect in East Asia through two transmission mechanisms. Fi rst, transfer of development experience from Japan and second is the flow of investment from Japan. In addition to the member of ASEAN, Cambodia finally joined WTO in 2004. WTO membership will enable Cambodia to receive non-discriminatory MFN status in international trade, and WTO concurrence is expected to bring substantial trade and FDI benefit to Cambodia. Even though there is a good sign on economic growth, Cambodia economy is still in struggle since Cambodia lack of human resources and as well as infrastructure to improve the economy. Despite the recent heady growth rate, poverty remains widespread and about one third of population are living under the poverty line. Corruption has become a grass root in Cambodian culture that contributes to the unfair contribution of growth between the rich and the poor. The gap between the rich and poor is still high. According to the IMF report, the growth rate has fallen back by 2.7% in 2009 in response to the economic downturn. Both the garment and tourist industries were undermined by the global recession. In the first 5 months of 2009 for instance, clothing exports to the US, which is Cambodias dominant export market, dropped 27% from the same period of 2008. According to the Labor Ministry, around 93 garment and shoe factories closed in the first 11 months of 2009, resulting in the loss of 38,190 jobs and a further 60 factories employing 35,337 people were forced to temporarily suspend operations, The construction sector meanwhile was weakened by the bursting of a property bubble that undermi ned the banking system by boosting non performing loans. The IMF has expressed concerns over the deterioration in the health of the banking sector and has urged the central bank to strengthen its supervision of the financial system. Regarding Foreign Direct investment, Data from the UNCTAD indicate that FDI in 2008 was $815 mn. This was below the $867 mn level in 2007 and represented 37.9% of gross fixed capital formation. The total stock of FDI (book value) at the end of 2008 was $4.637 bn, which was equal to 41.5% of GDP and was 193.5% above the level of 2000. In summary, owing to the latest IMF consultation, In a press release on December 8 that outlined the highlights of the just released Article IV Consultation Report, the IMF noted that after a decade of high economic growth, the economy was undermined by the global economic downturn, which led to a reduction in garment exports, foreign direct investment inflows and tourist receipts. The economy was also restrained by the coll apse of the property bubble, which slowed the construction sector and had negative implications for the banking sector. The economy contracted by an estimated 2.7% in 2009. The weak economy prompted a major fall in imports that narrowed the current account deficit, and stymied inflation. Growth was expected to resume in 2010 with an increase of 4.3% in response to a rebound in the global economy which will spur garment exports. IMF is one of the institutions in the Breton Wood system. As we have already known that the IMF doesnt make project loans and, in particular, it doesnt make loan to finance population on family planning programs. The IMF loans are intended to help the borrower countries stabilize their economic situation and cover chronic deficit in their balance of payment. Generally, a countrys central bank is the borrower and recipient of the IMF funds. In the case of Cambodia, Cambodia has been one of the main recipients of the IMF technical assistances (TA) over the past decades. TA in Cambodia was delivered under the umbrella of the Technical Cooperation Assistance Program (TCAP). The content of the Cambodian TCAP was designed jointly by the authorities, other donors, and the IMF provided a comprehensive program of TA, covering key areas of reform related to economic policy, including fiscal and banking sectors, statistic and legal reform. Over a decade after signing of the Paris Peace Accord i n 1991, Cambodia was still facing many major economic challenges. Tax revenues were very low, the banking system was fragile and a fundamental civil and administrative reform was necessary to improve good governance. In the fiscal area, TA aimed at (i) strengthening tax policy and administration including human resources and improving the design of the tax system;(ii) Strengthening customs administration in order to maximize the return from pre-shipment inspection, enhance enforcement capabilities, modernize and streamline procedures; and (iii) strengthening budget management to improve the quality of budget formulation and execution, along with the design and implementation of effective internal and external audits. These objectives were pursued mostly by three long term resident experts in budget management, customs administration, and tax administration and these three experts accounted for over half of total TA delivered under TCAP. In addition, the overall objective of TA in ba nking sector reform was to help create a robust and efficient banking system through bank relicensing, strengthening regulations, and improving bank supervision. TA in economic statistics was meant to strengthen the capacity to produce statistics for economic policy making and private investment planning by improving national accounts, price and foreign trade data, and balance of payments, government finance and money and banking statistic. The objective of TA in the legal area was to improve the financial sector legal framework. Three years after the start of the TCAP, the impact of TA in these different areas varies considerably. The banking sector reform has been largely deemed a success. The relicensing program implemented by the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) revamped the banking system by reducing the number of banks from 31 to 17, helping to restore the banking sector soundness. In response, public confidence in the banking system appears to be gradually improving, reflected in a 22 per cent increase in the deposit base during 2002 and further gains in 2003.6 Furthermore, loan spreads narrowed in 2003 as competition in the market appears to be increasing. Besides TCAP, every year the IMF always conduct the annual article IV discussion with Cambodia. The discussion mainly covers the area of Macroeconomic and financial policies. According to the recent press release, as in August 30 to September 10, 2010, an IMF mission from Washington, D.C visited Cambodia. The IMF mission has projected that real GDP growth will reach 4.5% to 5% in 2010, a significant turnaround from 2009. However, significant risks continue to cloud growth prospects. The fragility of the global recovery exposes Cambodias narrow export base with its reliance on the U.S and European markets. In the aftermath of global financial crisis, many challenges have been arising for the International Monetary Fund as well as Cambodian government to deal with. However, what the IMF have done for Cambodia are not anything new, for it has been working in Cambodia for quite a long time. Anyway, we can classify what the IMF has for and achieved in Cambodia into three main categories: surveillance, IMF-supported programs, and technical assistance/capacity building. In the surveillance area, the IMF has monitored the financial and economic policies of Cambodia and provided necessary recommendation on macroeconomic and financial policy to the Royal government of Cambodia. In doing so, the IMF has kept track of Cambodias economic development and regularly consulted with the government of Cambodia in finding the solution to the problem. For instance, recently, through the surveillance activities in Cambodia, it has observe that the Cambodian banking system is being in problem as the result of global economic downturn, and therefore, it has recommended the RGC to strengthen it banking system. This recommendation was done through a mechanism that has been used by the IMF called Article IV Consultation. In that report of that consultation, the IMFs executive director pointed out like this Immediate priorities should include strict enforcement of the new asset classification regime, prompt implementation of corrective action plans, development of a com prehensive bank restructuring framework, and increased supervision capacity. Regarding the technical assistance/capacity building program, the IMF assists Cambodia as well as other low-and middle income countries to manage their economies effectively by providing practical guidance and training on how to upgrade institutions, and design appropriate macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies. In connection to such TA and capacity buildings, the IMF has made great achievements in Cambodia. For example, the IMF has provided technical assistances to National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) in banking supervision, restructuring of banking system, balance of payment and monetary statistics, operation in foreign exchange and international reserve management, and information and computerization systems. Besides, the IMF has also helped the Ministry of Economy and Finance in fiscal policy management, and it has also assisted the Department of Custom and Excise in strengthening custom administration. Moreover, the IMF has also aided the Cambodians Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce to prepare insolvency law. Furthermore, the Ministry of Planning and the National Institute of Statistic has also received technical assistance from the IMF in preparation of national account and governments finance statistics. Relating to IMF-supported programs or lending programs, the IMF offers credit to the members who have trouble meeting their international payments and cannot find sufficient financing on affordable term. The main objective of this program is to help a country restore macroeconomic stability by rebuilding their international reserves, stabilizing their currency and paying for import. Cambodia like many other low-income countries has received a lot of concessional loan from IMF to develop their economy and reduce poverty. For instance, just to recall the year 1996, in that year the IMF provided a 41 million USD to the Royal government of Cambodia under the enhanced structural adjustment facility (ESAF) mechanism. As mentioned in previous mini-compositions, the International Monetary Fund has played very important role in global financial system. Its primary role is to help member countries maintain exchange rate stability by providing short term loan to those countries that are in balance of payment difficulty due to trade deficits or other factors. It was created at the end of World War II with an aim to support the global economic structure and financial order. To accomplish this task, the IMF has actively assist Cambodia and many other member states, especially the developing ones, through surveillance, technical assistance/capacity building and supporting program. Despite many success has been made, there are still problem that can be considered as the obstacle for the IMF in Cambodia, but here I am going to raise only two main issues to discuss. The first problem that challenge IMF is the negative consequence of global economic downturn that puts Cambodia economy in a dangerous place. As we have already known Cambodia economy depends heavily on garment, construction, and tourism sector. These sectors are the most hit by the crisis as they largely rely on foreign market and capital. For instance, according to a study conducted by the United Nations in Cambodia in 2009, about 20-30 percent of workers in garment sectors, construction sites and tourism sector have lost jobs since late 2008. This make Cambodias economic growth rate to decline dramatically from double digits in the years prior to the crisis to only 0.1 percent in 2009. This reflect that the IMF, as well as other Multilateral Financial Institutions such as World Bank and Asian Development Bank, to work harder in order to help promote the Cambodian economy in the wake of the global economic downturn. This is not an easy task for the IMF to deal with because the countries, such are the United States, which are the major financial contributors to this organization, are also in financial difficulty due to the impacts of the crisis. The second problem is not related to any other factors, but it is because of the procedures of the IMF itself. Before providing loan to Cambodia or any other countries who are in demand for financial assistance, the IMF first demand Cambodia and those countries to make reform such as reducing public spending, devalue their national currency and privatization . These demands, to a large extend, are consider by the Cambodian government and other assistance recipient government as new burden on their economy rather than something that can help them out of the problem. Hence, those governments do not want to rely on the IMF, they seek to obtain financial assistance from other sources. For instance, instead of follow the demand by the IMF in the sector that the Royal government of Cambodia found not important but would actually harmful the Cambodias, the government would turn to seek the assistance from China instead. Having experienced almost three decades of ravaged civil wars, Cambodias economy was greatly devastated. The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC), with the technical and financial assistances from international development partners has been working very hard in reconstructing the war-torn economy. Among those development partners, the International Monetary Fund has also played a very active one. As we have discussed in the previous mini-compositions, the IMF has made significant contribution to the development of Cambodia. Like other development partners, the IMF gets involve in the Cambodias development in three main mechanisms. First of all, the IMF has monitored the financial and economic policies of Cambodia and provided necessary recommendation on macroeconomic and financial policy to the government. Second, it assists Cambodia as well as other low income country to manage their economies effectively by providing practical guidance and training on how to upgrade institutions, and design appropriate macroeconomic, financial, and structural policies. Last but not least, the IMF offers credit to Cambodia and other members who have trouble meeting their international payments and cannot find sufficient financing on affordable term. The main objective of this program is to help a country restore macroeconomic stability by rebuilding their international reserves, stabilizing their currency and paying for import. Through these mechanisms, Cambodia and many other developing countries have benefited greatl y from the IMF. Though everyone agrees that the IMF provides a lot of benefit to recipient countries, many of them do not happy with the IMF. The problem is that the assistance that the IMF offers to Cambodia as well as other low income countries always comes along with conditions. In order to be able to receive IMFs assistance, the recipient countries must agree with the IMF to accept the policies suggested by the IMF. Indeed, the policy suggested by the IMF are the ones already implemented successfully in some recipient countries. With this reason the IMF may expect that those policies must be plausible for every recipient country. However, in reality the same policy does not guarantee the same result for different country. Some policies might work well in some countries, but they might failed if applied to Cambodia or other countries else. For instance, one would expect that increase interest rate for deposit would increase the amount of deposit in financial institutions. Of course, this is true for those countries in which the financial or banking system is popular among the people. However, in Cambodia this policy will never work, for the majority of Cambodian people do not deposit their money in banks, but they just keep their money at home instead. Based on this sense, some possible disagreements between the government and the IMF arise. This makes the Royal government of Cambodia and other recipient countries prefer the assistance from other development partner to the assistance from IMF. For instance, the Cambodian government values the assistance from China the most because when provides assistance to Cambodia, China does not link with any conditions. In short, in spites of considerably succeed in various aspects of development in Cambodia, IMF has been faced and continues to face many challenges. However, the presence of IMF as the global financial governance is still very important.

The World as a Wasteland: A Comparison of Two American Modern Poets, Ro

â€Å"[F]uture commentators on American poetry and political issues will not be able to ignore the †¦ authentic voice of the region,† argues Barry Ahearn, author of the article Poetry: 1900 to the 1940s, which discusses the importance of the author writing about his or her region of choice in their poetry and how it affects their writing (Ahearn 373). Ahearn discusses writers such as Sterling A. Brown, Langston Hughes, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Robert Frost, Robinson Jeffers, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, John Crowe Ransom, Charles Rezikoff, Muriel Rukeyser, Gertrude Stine, Wallace Stevens, Sara Teasdale, William Carlos Williams, and Louis Zukofksy. The purpose of mentioning so many, claims Ahearn, is to gather a survey of works between 1900 and the 1940s. The discussion of these writers creates a wide range of Modernist authors that influenced each other and the people who read their works; the author claims that the authenticity of the writer is what creates a more accurate work of literature and the life experiences of these authors is the material that adds to their writing as a whole. For example, Robert Frost and Langston Hughes are regional writers that focus on specific places but have similar qualities in their poems that transcend the locale. Two poems exemplify these qualities -- â€Å"Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening† with â€Å"Birches† by Robert Frost and â€Å"Theme for English B† with â€Å"Visitors to the Black Belt† by Langston Hughes. Both authors express their world as a wasteland; their environments are portrayed in poor or discouraging light due to human intrusion, or lack thereof, within their communities. Modernist Poetry involves a movement away from the self and the emotions of the individual. Typical... ...5. EDS Foundation Index. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. Frost, Robert. â€Å"Birches.† The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1400-1402. Print. Frost, Robert. â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.† The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1403. Print. Hughes, Langston. â€Å"Theme for English B.† The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 2036. Print. Hughes, Langston. â€Å"Visitors to the Black Belt.† The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th.Vol. D. Ed. Leffelholz, Mary. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 2032. Print. Leffelholz, Mary. The Norton Anthology Of American Literature. 7th. D. New York: Norton & Company, 2007. 1177-1191. Print.

Poverty in Egypt Essay

Food crisis, political catastrophe, societal upheavals—these are perhaps the most controversial issues that boggle the minds of the Egyptian masses nowadays. Along with the current political catastrophes that has transcribed in the contemporary milieu, Egypt is considered as a transit country for prostitution, child trafficking and a massive rise of violence (Wenger, 1987, The World Bank, 2008). War in Gaza, smuggling—these problems are said to be the manifestation of poverty, which at hand is the main culprit in swallowing the inhabitants of third world countries (Erlanger, 2008). As a matter of fact, this unprecedented communal catastrophe has long been a major concern by political parties that preventive and charitable measures are given to them each year. Thus such drive for lifting their economy is driven away by civil confrontations that those who intends to help them are hindered to fulfill their duty. Basically, this historical and contemptible country is far from letting their guard down from the hopes of reaching solitude and receiving their respective needs; as the residents themselves are working hard to get a grasp of armistice not only for the sake of keeping their lives but for the verity of achieving worldly acceptance. As a matter of fact, the Egyptian government has developed several steps in aide of helping their constituents live a bountiful life. Thus this dream shall not be made possible without the cooperation of their general public. The situation in Egypt â€Å"Reduce poverty and improve equity in the distribution of income†Ã¢â‚¬â€this is the statistical and economical strategy of their management. The reality in Egypt is known all over the world. Nutritional status and unemployment are apparently the cited â€Å"intrinsically important† fields that the residents are hoping to be resolved. The conceptual argument in this matter is that poverty is identified as â€Å"rupture† in the urbanization process combined with the problems of civil hostilities. Further, if there had been cities which have been granted with the delivery of basic services, it is only the urban areas who eventually enjoys it since that those who badly need it either turn away from the help itself, or has become bleak on the context of improving their lives. To note, there is a huge density in street-vendors and homeless families and Egypt (Development, 2008). World Bank assessed that the numbers that appeared in their data is based on the context of poverty indicators and in layman’s term, it is the multi-faceted feature of having insufficient income. Hence the battle in defeating the odds of reality is too close to call. The price for being less-fortunate With the issue in poverty in mind, scholars and statisticians were able to distinguish the effects of poverty in the community. Such are as follows: the scarcity of opportunity as there is derisory learning or education, nutrition, wellbeing and instruction, or the incapability to find a profession that can completely be in remuneration someone’s obtainable and present aptitude. Hence these are caused of susceptibility, owed to insufficient assets and resources, to impulsive prevalent fiscal distress or even personage fright such as when those who are considered as breadwinners mislay their ability to bring in money for a living (Ravallion and Chen, 2007). Overcoming the societal dilemma Even though these problems have been gradually present for quite a long time already, it should also be considered that the country has been developing in the verge of the 21st century. Their Millennium Development Goals enhanced literacy, mortality and their health status increasing every year and sufficiently, a large piece of the residents are cooperative in such dimension. Furthermore, the brackets that were considered as poor—the tenant farmers and small-scale farmer, landless laborers, unemployed youth and more specifically women—have been found to be positively improving and these are coherent to that of the development in the light of literacy. However, pursuing the dream still needs to be pressed on further and not lose hope despite the hindrances that unfolds before them to be able to sustain the momentum. Conclusions with further remarks Global systems theory is perhaps one of the many theories related to capitalism and transnational corporations. There should be emphasis that children are ‘sacred’ in a sociological sense because of the fact that childrearing and its effects on children reaffirm the belief in the importance of children. It creates a protected space of security, trust and close human connection inasmuch as it illustrates the generous and nurturing characteristic of individuals rather than being individualistic and always inclined for competition (Rudra, 2005). The limitations of quantitative measurements of well-being have long been recognized, and there is a rich tradition of anthropological and sociological work that uses a range of techniques to achieve an in-depth understanding of poverty for project work—broadening understanding of both poverty and the policy process (Lane, 2007). New pockets of poverty are undermining prosperity, making it look more tenuous. The materialist bias is part of a historical legacy, an ancient political responsibility for ensuring that citizens have roofs over their heads, larders with food to eat. While the very meaning of poverty remains the subject of debate, and differences of opinion persist in how to best study the root causes of poverty.

Reading and Books Essay

Despite the vast, growing and active educational reforms continuously being modified and implemented in today’s Philippine Educational System such as MTB – MLE and K+12 education curriculum, there are still 6. 2 million Filipino youth who does not receive proper and formal education in the classroom, which includes the Out – of – school children and youth. Specifically, according to the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS) of the National Statistics Office (NSO) released November 2011, one out of eight Filipinos aged between 6 and 24 is an out- of- school youth(OSY). Current estimates further indicate that 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. The Philippine government defines an out –of- school youth (OSY) as someone who is not attending formal education and/or not gainfully employed in the case of youth 18 to 24 years old who have not finished college or even a technical vocational course. The government further explains that the primary reasons for these out of school youth for not attending school is poverty and lack of personal interest. On the other hand, out- of- school youth are vulnerable people who have special needs too. Nobody can deny the hard fact that education is still an extremely important factor for bringing change in the lives of these individuals. It has universally been recognized as the most powerful instrument and pre – requisite for gearing up the socio – economic development of a nation. This is why investment in education is considered to be so vital for human resource development and enhancement of the quality of manpower. In the history of humankind, there is an established fact that a certain level of literacy in population is an essential pre – requisite for precipitating the process of development in a country. It is emphasized therefore that the most active part in the socio – economic development of any country or region always consists of the adolescents. Moreover, many people have a misleading impression of the abilities and capacities of â€Å"out – of – school youth†. It is generally assumed that this group needs to re – do and re – learn the most basic literacy skills. Hence, they are marginalized and ostracized. In fact, out – of- school youths do have some experience of learning within the formal system. In addition, many of them have gained rich learning experiences from their environment and culture. Thus, basic literacy does not necessarily mean teaching literacy in its most basic forms. However, the acquired skills and knowledge need to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced. Out- of- school youths may have failed to complete their education in the formal system due to various reasons, such as socio – economic or health issues, urbanization, teacher – teaching factors or curriculum problems but UNESCO still has enumerated and emphasized the basic literacy for out – of- school youth development which involves the acquisition of the basic skills needed to cope with the complex and technological world, including IT and computer skills, communication skills – listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, critical thinking and many others. Moreover, developing the literacy of OSY’s is a complex process, which involves enhancing the knowledge and capacities that they have gained over the years and providing them with access to challenging learning opportunities. The Philippines through the initiative of the Bureau of Alternative Learning System formerly called the Bureau of Non – formal Education (BNFE) is responsible for contributing to the improvement of the poor including the out – of school youth and drop outs through literacy and continuing education programs. Its aim is to focused basic services to the more disadvantaged sections of the population to improve their welfare and contribute to human resource development. This was done to respond to the need of a more systematic and flexible approach in reaching all types of learners outside the formal school system. The Alternative Learning System (ALS) is a parallel learning system that provides a viable alternative to existing formal education instruction. It encompasses both non – formal and informal sources of knowledge and skills. Certification of learning for out – of –school youth and adults , aged 15 years and over, who are unable to gain from the formal school system and who have dropped out of formal elementary and secondary education , is ensured through the Alternative Learning System Accreditation and the Equivalency (ALS A &E) System. The system of certification is done through successful completion of the ALS and A & E test at two learning levels – elementary and secondary. Those who pass the test have to undergo counseling to explore their oppurtunities, be it a return to the formal school system or the option to enter the world of work. (UNESCO Bangkok, 2009). The ALS eSkwela program has five main learning strands: Communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving, sustainable use of resources and productivity, development of self and a sense of community, and expanding one’s world vision. Since ALS is a module-based learning system, students come in on a set time and choose a module to read. A quiz is given after each module to test their learning. Instead of teachers, facilitators are always present to answer any questions and sometimes lecturers would discuss a certain module. Apart from the major aim and objective of the system, the ALS Project was conceived to respond to many grassroots learning needs and at the same time fulfill the following key social development objectives of EFA: †¢Functional Literacy: Current estimates indicate that there are 7. 8 million Filipinos or 16. 2% of the population who are not functionally literate. About 3. 9 million of them are out of school youth. †¢Family Literacy: Many parents want to develop functional reading, writing and numeracy skills and knowledge so that they can help their children do their homework. †¢Community Participation: †¢ Continuing Education: Many people who have obtained literacy skills and want to continue learning should be given the means and tools to return to formal schooling or go on learning on their own. †¢Empowerment: Out-of-school youth and adults living in economically depressed communities need to develop communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and learning-to-learn skills and competencies which will directly help them raise their standard of living and improve their quality of life. Functional basic education should empower them with better health practices, better food, increased income, improved family life, more direct civic and community participation and more opportunities for wider life choices. It is noted that the ALS learning modules constructed by SEAMEO Innotech experts are freely chosen, used and read by the students. It is true therefore that through the skill called reading, any idea or module given to them are enlightened. On the other hand, observations show that are still many problems and issues encountered along the Reading performance and proficiency of the out – of – School Youth which includes vocabulary, comprehension, study skills and others. Even the (UIS, 2011) stated a very alarming issue that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults all over the world cannot read. Many of these OSY’s too are unemployed, underemployed adn lacks basic English language literacy skills specially reading and writing. In addition, UNESCO also emphasized that the basic English literacy skills development is too considered as a means of widening the experiences of learners and allowing them to communicate effectively in their everyday life as well as in their future lives as responsible citizens and professionals. Accordingly, woven into the framework of the basic English Literacy skills is also the development of critical thinking skills. Thinking critically would mean grasping the complexity of the world and questioning how others think in order to clarify and improve one’s own understanding. Although, schools and learning institutions clearly neglect the development of critical thinking, there is much evidence to show that students’ reading and writing abilities are linked to their ability to question facts and information. Literacy is briefly defined as the â€Å"ability to read and write†. When we think of literacy, we think of reading. But being able to read does not mean someone is necessarily a literate person. In the 21st century, literacy encompasses the skills youth and adults need to be functional in the society, including numeracy and reading and writing skills. Most learning is dependent to reading. As the learner advances in the educational ladder, more complex reading skills are required of him. Effective reading requires from an individual the ability to locate keywords in a sentence, locate the topic sentence in a paragraph and understand and interpret what is read. Reading, therefore is an important skill a child must developed in order to cope to the very fast, changing and difficulties the world offers. Of many skills it is cited that it is one of the first skill a literate person must acquire. Likewise, there were many studies and projects that responded to the many goals of ALS and UNESCO in general, specifically along the communication skills strands. One of which is the Project EASE. This study made use of a Reading Comprehension and writing composition test to assess the basic communication skills of the students. Unfortunately, there were only few qualifiers for the said program the rest did not qualify. Most of the non – qualifiers came from the lower sections where the pressure to earn was much stronger. The non – qualifier was given another chance. They were administered with an alternative cloze type of comprehension test carefully made by the SEAMEO Innotech experts. The program such as EASE was pronounced. (add facts) Another is a study on the Attributes of High School Student – qualifiers in the Accreditation and Equivalency Program (AEP) which was done as Basis for a proposed Action Program by Rarang in (1999). The study made use of the public high school students in the fourth congressional district of Pangasinan during the school year 1997 – 1998. The study was done for the purpose of creating appropriate action programs that could increase the probability of prospective PEPT examinees to qualify for promotion or year level acceleration. The result of the study revealed that out of the 86 respondents who took the 1997 PEPT only four qualified for the acceleration or promotion to the next higher level in high school. Furthermore, the research made use of the Descriptive Method with a pre and post enrollment attributes of the student – qualifier in the AEP as data gathering instrument. It was found out that there was more male drop – outs that females and their dropping age ranged from 13 to 17 years old and that before the respondents dropped out from school, the last level they completed was Grade VI. The findings of the study also revealed that the main reason for the learners dropping out is due to financial difficulty. They also vary in their performance in the last year level they attended with 89. 13% as the highest average grade and the lowest grade at 68. 25%. More so, the study discovered that the contributory factor in the acceleration and promotion of the students to the next level are their reading activities done during their free time like reading magazines, newspapers, books, pocketbooks and even their old notes. Accordingly, reading is the most important factor in achieving promotion and acceleration. Many reading researches have shown that learners and OSY’s reading skills literacy performance is always at risks. Firstly, in the second Readership Survey made by SWS survey commissioned by NBDB floated all over the Philippines revealed that reading has slightly declined in our country. Only 92 percent of the 1,200 respondents say that they read, down to two percent from the first Readership survey done in 2003. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, & Billman, 2011). While many agrees comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argue that in this many classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. The findings of this study also pointed out the importance of teachers examining the learners own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, & Razali,2010). Furthermore, (Biancarosa & Snow, 2006; Joftus, 2002) exclaimed that even among students who do graduate from highschool, inadequate reading skills are a key impediment to success in postsecondary education (American Diploma Project, 2004). Students who struggle with reading of ten lack the prerequisites to take academically challenging coursework that could lead to more wide reading and thus exposure to advanced vocabulary and content ideas (Au, 2000). The 2006 report by ACT, Inc. , Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading, describes even more troubling trends. Only 51% of students who took the ACT test in 2004 were ready for college-level reading demands (ACT, Inc. , 2006). The reading skill levels of the out-of-school youth population have remained  low, especially in comparison to the rising skill demands of employers. Although this report cannot summarize the changing qualifications, a number of indicators suggest a serious shortfall between the skills of out-of-school youth and job requirements. Dropouts and other out-of-school youth are reported to be unable to attain basic levels of math and reading proficiency are certainly much higher. White Paper further explains that young people leaving the educational system at 16, or more likely 19, must at least have the requisite literacy and communication skills to be employable and to be effective in life. Since reading is linked to writing, students write about what they read. Young and adults who are behind in reading and writing simply have not had as much experience reading and writing as young adults who are proficient readers and writers. Moreover, out – of- school youth who are behind have also not leaned the strategies that proficient readers and writers use to understand text and communicate their ideas in writing. This means that explicitly the strategies that proficient readers and writers use and providing guided practice are the keys to improving these skills. It has been proven that Out – of- school youth possess a broad repertoire of knowledge and skills that simply needs to be recognized, tapped into and enhanced in order for their abilities to improve. Indeed, there is a need to place a greater emphasis on developing and enhancing quality English language literacy skills training, programs and instructional materials for Out – of – School youth development. The conception of the ALS program or the Alternative Learning System is a great endeavor that caters to the needs and improvement of Out –of-School youth in the City Schools Division of Dagupan City. The ALS DEpED Dagupan City Division is one with the government in the active fulfillment of its task to reach and educate the OSY’s in the City. In fact, there have been many OSY’s who benefited from the program. Latest report says that ALS students in Region I show positive interest in this endeavor. Dagupan City Schools Division is composed of five Districts. From all over the city, there have been many Out – of –school youth coming from the 31 barangays of the city who enrolled in the said program. With the initiative of teachers and volunteers who facilitates the program, the actual teaching and learning is collectively done with the help of the module based learning materials. Furthermore, in the case study conducted by the Accreditation and Equivalency System of the Non – Formal Education Project clearly encourages service providers like educational institutions to identify and make use of variety of enriching materials both print and non – print in addition to the prescribed NFE and A & E Learning modules provided by the SEAMEO – INNOTECH. With the encouragement of the BNFE or the ALS calling to different service providers to respond and create instructional materials that the OSY’s can benefit, the researcher will study on the present Reading Comprehension Skills Levels of the Dagupeno OSY’s particularly on the Reading Comprehensions Skills Level of the ALS students presently registered and attending the regular Eskwela ALS program in the City schools division of Dagupan during the calendar year 2013– 2014 and envisions to create a Self – Learning Reading Material that will better improve and enhance the Reading Comprehension and in general proficiency of the ALS learners. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM This study aims to analyze the Reading Comprehension Skills Level of ALS students in the city schools division of Dagupan. Specifically, it will answer the following questions: 1. What is the performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension Test in terms of the: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? b. Specific scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 2. What is the extent of performance of the ALS students in the reading Comprehension test in terms of: a. Total scores they will obtain from the Reading Comprehension Test? scores they will obtained in the following reading Comprehension levels: Literal Reorganizational Inferential Evaluational Appreciational? 3. What instructional material will be proposed to address the reading comprehension inadequacies of the ALS students? SUBJECTS The subjects of the study will be the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan enrolled in the five districts of the division. There is a total of 447 ALS students in the division and they will be randomly selected from among the districts of the division. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS A&E Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS/ Assumptions The study will be anchored on the following assumptions: 1. The total test scores and the scores in the specific skills areas of the ALS students will reflect their reading comprehension performance. 2. The ALS students’ responses to the items in the test must truthful and accurate SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study will be conducted to determine the reading comprehension performance and skills of the ALS students of the city schools division of Dagupan during the S. Y. 2013 – 2014. The respondents of the study will be elementary drop – outs, secondary drop – outs, non- passer of previous ALS A&E Test/s, Learners/Completers of the ALS programs and Youth and adult drop – outs in general. A constructed Reading Comprehension Test will be used as instrument in gathering data pertinent to the study. The Reading Comprehension test will be carefully validated, tabulated and interpreted to arrive at accurate and precise results that will help as basis for the creation of a self- learning reading material for ALS students. Definition of Terms The following terms are carefully defined in the context of the study to provide a common understanding and frame of reference between the researcher and the readers: Reading both a process and a product and it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). Reading Comprehension refers to the ability to understand text read by means of constructing meaning with the use of some clues in the text and the schema or background knowledge of the reader about the text. Reading Comprehension Abilities, also referred to as reading comprehension skills, refer to the five(5) reading levels (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993) of reading comprehension, which include (1) Literal Level;(2) Reorganizational Level; (3) Inferential Level; (4) Evaluational Level; and (5) Appreciational Level. Specific Comprehension Skills refers to the specific skills that make up the different reading levels. Literal level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the students to recognized and/or recall details, main ideas, sequences, comparison, cause and effect relationships, character traits and recall author’s organization and explicitly stated information in the reading selection (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Reorganizational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to classify or group, outline or specify, summarize and synthesize text that has been read (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Inferential Level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to infer supporting details which require the making of a hypothesis on an information that might have been included in the text; infer the main idea; infer a sequence which requires the student to make a hypothesis about what might have occurred in addition to the already explicitly stated events and making a hypothesis in events beyond completion of the text. Other skills also included are inferring, comparison, cause and effect relationships, charater traits,  author’s organization, figurative language and predicting outcomes (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Evaluational level of reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to make a judgment of reality and fantasy and judgment between fact and opinion (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Appreciational level of Reading refers to the reading level that enables the student to have emotional response to the text and determine an author’s purpose, mood, tone and point of vies (Toffelson, as cited by Tuvera, 1993). Performance is defined as a manner of functioning: the manner in which something or someone or somebody functions, operates, or behaves (Microsoft Encarta 2006. 1993 – 2005 Microsoft Corporation). In this study, it refers to the number of correct answers of the ALS students an all the specific levels of the reading comprehension test to reflect the students’ reading comprehension abilities. Extent of Performance refers to the reading comprehension abilities of the students based on a scale of scores to describe the level of reading comprehension of the ALS students. The scale will consists of three (3) levels: High , for scores equivalent to 75 percent – 100 percent; Moderate, for scores equivalent to 50 percent – 74 percent; and Low, for scores equivalent to at most 49 percent of the total point and of their points in the different specific reading comprehension skills areas. Total Scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the students which will correspond to the number of the correct answers of the ALS students in the reading comprehension test. Specific scores obtained refers to the raw scores of the learners in the different specific skill areas which correspond to the number of correct answers of the students in the specific skill areas. Self – Learning Reading Activities are activities involving processes which will enhance the reading performance and improve the five levels of reading comprehension of the ALS students . It also encourages students to gain more interest in reading with the aid of the designated activities. Analysis refers to the process of categorizing the performance of the students in the reading comprehension test in its totality and in the specific reading skills according to the extent of their performance. Out – of School Youth ALS ALS Learners ALS Implementers Conceptual Framework The objective of all readers should be comprehension of what they read. Comprehension is understanding. Understanding involves abilities to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self – knowledge (Wiggins and Mctighe,1998). Reading is both a process and a product ant it involves bringing the individual’s entire life experiences and thinking patterns to understand what the writer has written (Aukerman, 1981). When good decoders have problems with comprehension, they need help in developing language proficiency and listening comprehension. Teachers can help them develop the corresponding skills by combining vocabulary and comprehension strategy instruction with encouragement to enhance their reading of different materials Dymock, 1993). Reading comprehension can be effected by background knowledge. This concept is proved that when readers possess rich prior knowledge about the topic of a reading material, they often understand the reading material better than readers with low prior knowledge. That said, readers couldn’t always relate their world knowledge to the content of a text because they are not able to, even when they possess knowledge relevant to the information it presents. Often, they do not make inferences based on prior knowledge unless the inference are absolutely demanded to make sense of the text (Mckoon % Ratcliff, 1992). The study is anchored on the core concept that reading difficulties encountered by learners can be addressed by an appropriate learning material in the form of a self – learning reading material which will address their difficulties to be assessed using the reading comprehension test. Research Paradigm Figure 1. Paradigm of the study Figure 1 above illustrates the prerequisites in the development of a Self – Learning Reading Materail to improve the reading comprehension ability of ALS learners in the city schools division of Dagupan. CHAPTER II Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents studies and literature which are seen to be significant that can give light to the completion and conduct of the research. FOREIGN Educational research has become a global enterprise, with researchers recognizing the need to be aware of educational practices in other countries. Burbules (2002) notes that this international context makes possible the sharing of knowledge and experience gained in relation to reform and evaluation in different countries. Recent studies show that seven hundred and seventy-five million adults cannot read (UIS, 2011). According to the study conducted by Glewwe and Kremer, (2006 ) a major factor in the poor reading problem is the poor quality of public schools in developing countries. Many peoples understanding of the educational production function, however, is still limited. Providing resources to schools with no other inputs rarely improves overall student performance and that if resources are paired with a larger array of inputs, students’ test scores do improve, he exclaimed. Unfortunately, the exact kind of additional support is necessary to make additional resources effective. For reading in particular, a number of studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of large comprehensive changes. Banerjee et al. (2007) studies an Indian remedial education program. The intervention itself causes students’ reading skills to improve, but because the intervention changes the educational environment along multiple dimensions – additional teachers, new pedagogical methods, new curriculum, changes to organization of the classroom, and additional resources – it is impossible to identify which components are necessary. In addition, a Case Study of Reading Instruction in a Philippine Classroom was also conducted by Protacio and Sarroub, (2013) where the reading practices in a public and high-achieving 6th grade English classroom in the Philippines were used as subjects of the study. The study utilized a four resources model, the different roles that students assume in this classroom was also clearly discussed. The students in the class are describe mainly as code breakers and text users and have limited opportunities to assume the other two roles of the four resources model. The study also provides a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral reading performance rather than comprehension. The results of the study further revealed that reading is perceived as an oral performance activity by Filipino students because reading aloud is used frequently to negotiate the lack of resources in Philippine public schools. Comprehension does not matter as much to these students; rather, they are concerned with how they are perceived as oral readers in English, which is their second language. The case study findings provide a different view of reading, specifically a view of a culture of reading wherein higher status is given to oral performance rather than comprehension or fluency. The data also reveals that the predominant emphasis on oral performance satisfies only two roles or family of practices in the â€Å"four resources model of reading†: code breakers and text users. All of the students in the pilot section were not afforded opportunities by the teacher to fully engage with the four resources, as the class focused mostly on oral recitation as the main indicator for reading well. Students in this class infrequently assumed the role of meaning-makers and text analysts (Luke & Freebody, 1999; Underwood, Yoo, & Pearson, 2007). Instead, both students and teacher privileged correct pronunciation and reading correctly aloud—getting the accent right determined who the best students were in the class. Though, Philippine literacy scholars have commented on the emphasis on performance and reading aloud. Maminta (1982) discusses how reading as a subject was relegated to the background as the curriculum emphasized speech improvement with most of the class time being spent on pattern drills, mimicry, and memorization. Even though Maminta’s article focuses on speech improvement as being the emphasis three decades ago, it seems that it still characterizes classroom practice in the Philippines today. In the pilot section, the students themselves seemed to be the ones placing the emphasis on speech improvement. In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of reading (Duke & Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, & Billman, 2011). While many agrees that comprehension is of utmost importance, many still argues that in this classroom context, focusing on students’ fluency did not limit students’ development as  readers, particularly for those who were asked to read aloud. What we do feel strongly about is the importance of providing all students opportunities to assume the role of readers in this classroom by giving all students a chance to read aloud in class. However, we noticed that, sadly, this was not the case. The findings of this study also point to the importance of teachers examining their own perceptions about reading and reading instruction (Edwards, Martin, Protacio, & Razali,2010). Moreover, Reading fluency is the point at which beginning readers rely less on the phonemic decoding to recognize individual words and begin to recognize whole words, allowing for an increase in reading speed and comprehension. Meyer and Felton (1999), for example, define fluency as â€Å"the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding. † Also, a study on the Effective Reading Programs for Middle and High School synthesized by Slavin, Cheung, Groff and Lake was published in 2009. This is a collection of many reading programs that systematically reviewed research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading of middle and high school students: specifically on the (1 ) reading curricula, (2) mixed-method models (methods that combine large and small-group instruction with computer activities), (3) computer-assisted instruction, and (4) instructional-process programs (methods that focus on providing teachers with extensive professional development to implement specific instructional methods). The collective synthesized study found out that students who enter high school with poor literacy skills face long odds against graduating and going on to postsecondary education or satisfying careers.