Regulating Mining in the Philippines

              Land mining provides essential raw materials or ores that are needed in various purposes such as construction, jewelry, electronics and others. Extracting these materials from the earth’s crust depends on what type of raw material would miners like to obtain. But, generally, the most important step in initiating a mining activity is to locate first an area where a specific raw material is abundant. Usually, a geologist does the location-seeking task (Blatt, 1997). After that, the geologist will determine the mining technique appropriate for the chosen area. It could be underground, open pit, strip or placer technique (Carlson, Plummer, & McGeary, 2008). When the ores are mined, they are transported to big crushers in order to become fine materials (Mining processes, n.d.). These materials will be put in a flotation machine to separate the valuable minerals from unnecessary ones. After which, the needed metals are extracted from the minerals by using various methods such as smelting and other extracting techniques. Lastly, the extracted metal is purified through heat, chemicals or electricity.

            Finding a particular mining site in the Philippines is relatively easy since the country is rich with valuable metals and nonmetal resources such as gold, copper, nickel and other traces of metals and nonmetals. From the northern to the southern part of the country, mining sites are to be found, including those that are under the exploratory and feasibility study stage. As we can see in the figure below, there are two areas in the country where mining activities are heavily concentrated. One is in the north-west section of the island of Luzon, where the Cordillera Mountain range is to be found. The other one is in the north-east section of Mindanao, where the province of Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur are located. In both of these areas, copper and gold can be abundantly found. With this abundant numbers of mining sites in the Philippines, they should be regulated both by their respective company and the local government.

Fig. 1 Mining sites in the Philippines

            In several mining sites, accidents can also happen and its victims can either be humans, the surrounding environment or both. One accident occurred in February 2013 in a large scale commercial coal mine in Semirara Island in Antique where five miners were killed and five were missing as the said mine collapsed (Geronimo, 2013). The mining site, which is owned by Semirara Mining Corporation, is the nation’s only large scale coal producer. Another accident happened in Benguet in August 2012 where one of the tail pond of Padcal mine broke, thus spilling waste into the nearby Balog creek, which flowed into the Agno River and the San Roque Dam (Padaca spill, 2013). The said mine is owned by Philex Minining Corporation. After three months, another accident happened in Narra, Palawan. The Torronto mine, owned by Citinickel Mines and Development Corp., had accidentally spilled its waste into a river and irrigation canals, thus affecting farms and fish ponds. There have also been some accidents in small mining sites for the past five years as can be seen in the table below.

Table 1. List of Mining-related accidents in the Philippines within 5 years (2008-2012)

DATE	LOCATION	DETAILS
Sept. 22, 2008	Itogon, Benguet	Six small-scale miners died when they were trapped inside a flooded mine tunnel at the Antamok Gold Field. Ten others were rescued, most of them after nine days in the tunnel.
May 18, 2009	Brgy. Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley	Heavy rain for two days caused a landslide that buried the bunk houses of gold miners at the foot of a mountain, killing 24 small-scale miners.
Apr. 3, 2011	Tampakan, South Cotabato	Four people were killed and two survived when a section of an illegal mine collapsed due to heavy rains.
Apr. 22, 2011	Sitio Panganason, Brgy. Kingking, Pantukan, Compostela Valley	At least 14 people were killed in a landslide at an illegal mine site that the MGB had declared a "dangerous" area.
Jan. 29, 2012	Brgy. Palanas, Paracale, Camarines Norte	Two miners drowned when the water rose suddenly inside an illegal small-scale mining area.
Aug. 3-10, 2012	Brgy. Bila, Bokod, Benguet	A small-scale miner trapped in a tunnel that collapsed was rescued after a week.
Nov. 20, 2012	Brgy. Palanas, Paracale, Camarines Norte	Three miners were killed when a small-scale mining pit collapsed in the area.

            Accidents are inevitable in mining sites but there is something more that we can gain in mining. The mining industry creates jobs and wealth to the local people (Harvey, 2009; Waters, n.d.). These kinds of opportunities can only be grasped by those who live near the mining site. Thus, it can help the local people in upbringing their current status. In addition, mining industry has major impacts on employment, income and consumption that go much beyond the taxes paid by the mining enterprises (Villegas, 2013). This further strengthens the claim on how mining can be beneficial to the local government and its people. The resources that can be found in mining, such as metals and non-metals, are important not only as a financial source of income but as building materials and source of trade (Globerover, 2010). As building materials, they are very important since the metal resources that we get from different mining sites, become essential in creating buildings, from small house to high rising skyscrapers. As for the non-metals, they are important for other usages such as source of heat (coal) and potteries (clay).

            Mining site does also have disadvantages, which affect both humans and the surrounding environment. Global warming, climate change and pollution are some of the effects of mining to the environment (Perez, 2010). For example, the burning of coal produces gases such as carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides which are considered factors for greenhouse effect, thus they contribute to the global warming which can further result in climate change and air pollution. Also, the surrounding area particularly the forest and local wildlife are ruined by the mining activity (Perez, 2010).Moreover, waste that comes from mining site has a lethal potential in poisoning nearby water bodies and affecting the water ecosystem and agriculture. Miners’ abuse of environment can also be seen through the numerous accidents in mining site (Geronimo, 2013). Therefore, ignoring safety precaution in this kind of working environment can cause human fatalities.

            There are advantages and disadvantages in mining but we can increase its disadvantages by regulating it. Both the local government and the mining company can have an important role in regulating mining activities here in the Philippines. For the local government, they must observe the existing and prospective policies and agreements to existing and future mining sites. In this way, they can maintain proper legal control over mining companies with regard to their respective mining sites. To further strengthen this kind of control, representatives from the local government should have a frequent, scheduled or surprise visits to mining sites. In this way, they can ensure that the mining companies really follow the agreed policies and whether they are implemented in the mining sites. If the mining companies fail to commit to these agreed policies, a corresponding sanction should be implemented immediately after careful investigation.

In order to minimize unwanted environmental damages, mining companies should consider first the location of the future mining site. They should analyze the abundance of specific resources that they would like to extract and their possible effect on the surrounding environment. The existing mining rules and regulations in the Philippines can be found in Republic Act No. 7942, which is currently known as the “Philippine Mining Act of 1995”. All the rights, regulations, safety policies and penalties of a mining site in the Philippines are stated here. By analyzing the content of the act against the current situation of mining sites here in the Philippines, we could say that some of the rules are not properly implemented to them. One example is the waste management of mining sites where most of the recent accidents are due to flawed waste systems in these sites. Therefore,mining activities here in the Philippines should be regulated in order to minimize human and environment-related accident and to obtain natural resources that can benefit the people.

References:

Blatt, H. (1997). Our Geologic Environment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Carlson, D., Plummer, C., & McGeary, D. (2008). Physical Geology: Earth Revealed (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill/Higher Education.

Geronimo, C. (2013). Five miners killed, five missing as Semirara coal mine collapses. Retrieved from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/294880/news/regions/five-miners-killed-five-missing-as-semirara-coal-mine-collapses

Globerover (2010). Advantages and disadvantages of gold mining in South Africa. Retrieved from http://globerove.com/south-africa/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-gold-mining-in-south-africa/4015

Haryvey, Y. (2009). Benefits of the mining industry. Retrieved from https://magazine.cim.org/en/August-2009/news/Benefits-of-mining-industry.aspx

Padaca spill released toxic heavy metal (2013). Retrieved from http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=12143

Perez, D.Z. (2010). The disadvantages of coal mining. Retrieved from http://goarticles.com/article/The-Disadvantages-of-Coal-Mining/3662001/

Villegas, B. (2013). Distributing benefits from mining industry. Retrieved from http://mb.com.ph/Business/Business_Main/25508/Distributing_benefits_from_mining_industry

Waters, L. (n.d.). Australia’s mining boom: fact or fiction? Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/2876728.html

Defining Psychology...Reading Minds?

           The word “Psychology” is erroneously defined by most people, especially those who are not familiar to this field. According to Cherry (n.d), people perceived those who study Psychology to be super sleuths that use their understanding of human mind in solving crimes and predicting the criminal’s next move. This is not surprising since Psychology is quite young in terms of its inception compare to the other fields of knowledge such as medicine, engineering, music and the likes. Psychology is quite difficult to define precisely like many abstract terms (Haaga, 2004). The word comprises many ideas and compressing them into one line definition needs expertise from the said field. In addition, when people ask on what Psychology is, they argue whether it is a study of the mind or behavior (Henriques, 2011). This kind of idea only causes further confusion on how Psychology should be defined. This leads to a suspicion that the word “Psychology” is inherently fuzzy that resists precise definition (Reber, 1995 as cited by Lilienfeld, 2004). Henriquez (2011) has also defined three primary areas of controversies in the formal definition of Psychology: major ambiguities in the formal definition of Psychology, the definition separates animal Psychology from human Psychology and the definition needs a line between the science and the profession. In spite of these misunderstandings, specialists from various fields of Psychology and a prominent organization give their own concrete definition of Psychology.

            According to Coon (2000), the word “Psychology” comes from two Greek words: psyche (which means mind) and logos (means knowledge or study). The etymology of the word “Psychology” clearly defines Psychology as the study of mind, though as we shall see later in the history of Psychology, behavior was formally included in its definition. The American Psychological Association or APA, the world’s largest association of psychologists, defines Psychology as the study of mind and behavior. With this definition, it gives a general idea on what the field focuses on. According to Feldman (2010), Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. As we can see, he included the word “scientific” which connotes a careful, step by step procedure in dealing with the study of behavior. Also, the inclusion of the word “mental processes” had made Psychology become a broad concept.  Cherry (n.d.) has a broader definition of Psychology as she defines it as an applied and academic field that studies human mind behavior. With this definition, Psychology can become an applied science as well as an academic one. To compress all these definitions, Henriques (2011) define Psychology according to the unified theory. It states that Psychology is the science of mental behavior and the human mind, and the professional application of such knowledge towards a greater good.

            Psychology has a long past but a short history. This could be pointed out with establishment of modern Psychology as a science began in 1979 in Leipzig, Germany by Wilhelm Wundt through his set-up of the first psychological laboratory which aims in studying psychological phenomena (Coon, 2000; Feldman, 2010). This epitomized the attempt of the field in becoming a natural science and separating itself from its philosophical origin. From this start, many ideas regarding Psychology has started to arise in different places with the aim of challenging each other’s ideas. These are also known as the school of thoughts, which is known as the dominating knowledge of psychology during a certain period. From that period, the school of thought flourishes through various researches until another one arises to challenge the dominating one. From Wundt’s perspective came Structuralism which focuses in discovering the essential components of consciousness, thinking and other mental states and activities (Feldman, 2010). Then, William James’ Functionalism is formed which aims on how the mind functions in order to adapt on its environment (Coon, 2000). Afterwards, Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis came in which it deals with the unconscious aspect of the human mind. As a form of critic to the other previous school of thoughts, a new one arises in the form of behaviorism. John B. Watson’s Behaviorism deals solely on observable behavioral acts under an objective purpose (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). Another school of thought, which is Humanism, solely focuses on understanding subjective human experiences such as experience, problems, potentials and ideals (Coon, 2000). Last but not the least on the school of thoughts, namely Cognitivism, which deals on the process of knowing how information processing occurs to human to produce behavior (Schultz & Schultz, 2008; Coon, 2000 ). Although these schools of thoughts criticize the ideas of each other, they still provide the necessary foundation for Psychology to flourish through time.

            Like any other sciences, Psychology has also subfields that deal with certain areas that need psychological intervention for the solution of various problems. Some of them are mostly focused in research while the others are through the application of the field on a certain setting. First is the area of Abnormal Psychology, which is the study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology (Cherry, n.d.). Similarly, Clinical Psychology is the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychological problem (Cherry, n.d., Coon, 2000). These two fields primarily deal with various psychological disorders. According to Feldman (2010), Industrial-Organizational Psychology deals with work and job-related issues such as work motivation, satisfaction, safety and productivity. Next is Biopsychology or Biological Psychology, which focuses on how biological processes create influences in the human mind and behavior (Cherry, n.d.). In addition to the field is Social Psychology which is the scientific study of people’s thoughts, feelings, and action and how it affects others (Schultz & Schultz, 2008). Likewise, Educational or School Psychology is the study of learning and teaching in light of human’s age group and learning capability (Coon, 2000). Subsequently, Developmental Psychology studies human growth pattern and development across its lifespan in terms of cognitive abilities, morality, social functioning and identity (Cherry, n.d.; Schultz & Schultz, 2008). Another area is Forensic Psychology which deals with the application of psychological research and principles in the legal and criminal justice system (Cherry, n.d.). On the other hand, Cognitive Psychology focuses on the study of higher mental processes such as thinking, language, memory, problem solving, knowing, reasoning, judging and decision making (Feldman, 2010). Last, but not the least in the field, is Comparative Psychology which is the study and comparison of behavior in different species, especially between animals and humans (Cherry, n.d.; Coon, 2000). With all definitions, it is evident that the primary concern of Psychology is the welfare and development of the mind and behavior of people across the different settings.

            The definition of psychology has a strong relevance to various people, specifically to the society, the practioners of the field and to the students who are taking up this course as their major. Its relevance to the society is that it gives a better view and it also clears up ambiguous definitions that came from those who are unaware of it. Furthermore, it gives importance to the field since the society now has clearer view on it and on how it could be applied in solving problems. The relevance of the definition of Psychology to its practitioners is that it gives a more objective rather than subjective view of the field. Since psychologist aims the field to become a natural science, it is a great importance that its definition should be concrete and attainable. An implication of the definition for the students and future practitioners of Psychology, whether they are undergraduates or graduates, is that it gives a concrete foresight on what they would become and what they are studying about. This is important since this is where their training would start as future psychologists and for them to choose what field they would pursue if they decide to further enhance their knowledge about the field. In general, having a formal and concrete definition of psychology gives the field a sense of identity where everyone can agree upon and use it as an objective for future endeavors.

References:

Coon, D. (2000). Essentials of Psychology: Exploration and Application (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadswoth.

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What is Psychology? Retrieved from http://Psychology.about.com/od/Psychology101/f/psychfaq.htm

Feldman, S. (2010), Psychology and your life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Haaga, D. (2004). Defining Psychology: What can it do for us?. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60 (12), 1227-1229.

Henriquez, G. (2011). Psychology Defined. Retrieved from http://www.Psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201112/Psychology-defined

How does APA define “Psychology” (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/support/about/apa/Psychology.aspx#answer

Lilienfeld, S. (2004). Defining Psychology: Is it Worth the Trouble?.  Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60 (12), 1249-1253.

Schultz, D. & Schultz, S.E. (2008). A History of Psychology (9th ed.). Belmont, CA; Thomson Wadsworth.

Unfocused Students

         Many students in schools nowadays show a lack of interest and motivation in their studies. In every school, while there are hardworking students, there are also lazy students who are not interested in anything about school. They just come to school, sit at the back of the class, talk and disturb the others. There may be some reasons for this behavior such as family and financial problems.

       The most common factor which influences the academic performance of students is family. If the parents are interested in how their child is doing at school, the student will be more interested in his/her lessons too. Educated parents generally show more interest in the academic performance of their children; however, this should be a practice common to all families not only to the educated ones. When the parents are not interested in the success or failure of their children, the child will not care about school or lessons, and will perform poorly. Another factor for the student’s lack of interest is the financial situation of his/her family. There are some students, for example, who think even if they pass the university exam, their families will not be able to find the money needed for their education. Apart from this, some students have to work after school; as a result, they cannot concentrate on their studies. When the difficulty of the lessons is added to this list, school becomes a nightmare for these students.

     It is possible to rescue these underachieving and academically uninterested students from this fate. The parents and the students themselves may be warned, or the government can give financial aid to these students. Maybe it is very difficult to completely solve this problem of student apathy and lack of motivation, but we can at least ameliorate it.