XVI - SoM Interclass Public Speaking Contest (Closing Ceremony Day 1)

December 21, 2015, the SoM Students were all gathered in the Asia Pacific College Auditorium to participate in the program (Interclass Public Speaking Contest). The contest requires 6 students coming from different courses to compete in the said contest.

Fortunately, I belong to the 6 students who were chosen to deliver a speech in the contest. At first, I was quite hesitant because I have never join any contest like that. Even in my high school days, I was not being able to compete or represent the class for a competition that's why I am nervous by the thought that I will be one of those who will represent our precious block in the contest.

 

In the competition, we are asked to proceed in different rooms for the elimination round. I remember that I was assigned in the Discussion Room B together with Matthew Murillo, one of my block mate who was also chosen to deliver a speech. In the elimination round, there are 10 students who will deliver the speech and three will be chosen in each room. I was not able to memorize my speech, so slightly did a Memorandum speech. I am quite satisfied with the speech that I delivered but unfortunately, I was not given a chance to proceed in the final round. I didn't make it to the final round. Yes, it made me sad but it didn't have too much effect on me because I didn't expect too much. Even though it made me sad, it also made me think positively. I also didn't like to deliver a speech in front of many people so I was also relieved because of that thinking. Moreover, three of our representatives made it to the final round and it also made the whole block happy because we see them on stage delivering their speeches. Yes, we're very proud of them and I am happy because even though, three of us didn't make it to the final round, our blockmates were still proud of us. All of us. I believe that there's a purpose for everything. Maybe, this competition is not for me, but I know there will come a time where I can taste success. We didn't have a place in the competition but atleast, we tried. We did our best.

I am very happy because of this experience and I will always treasure that moment. Cheers to AC-152!

XVII - SoM Speech Choir and Ignite Competition

Last December 22, 2015, the second day of the activities for the SoM students, took place in the APC Auditorium. It includes the speech choir and ignite competition for all courses in the School of Management. Our block was not very much happy in that event because we know that we're not really prepared for this competition. We admit that we didn't placed a lot of effort during the practice for the speech choir.

We also felt sad that day because it's somehow a closing ceremony for the all English term. The program started with the open remarks delivered by the English head, Miss Eliz Reyes who is also our English Enrichment Program Professor. She made us feel that we will surely miss this term. I know everyone that time agreed to what she said. We will miss this term because as an accountancy student, we are expecting heavy subjects and we're expecting a lot of sleepless nights but luckily, we had this all English term. This term was not very stressful unlike the previous term when we had our first accounting subject. Yes, we also had loads of work to do but it's not that heavy unlike those that we had last term. We will also miss the half day classes where we only stayed for 7:30 until 1:30 in the afternoon, and the professors who taught us a lot.

Moving on, the program started with a speech choir presentation, followed by an ignite, and the cycle goes on. We were the second one to perform the speech choir and we feel embarrassed because of what we have prepared. We know that we don't have a good presentation or interpretation of the piece, "At Christmas" by Edgar Albert Guest and we only performed just for the sake of performing and also for the sake of our grades. We regret those days where we should practice and yet we did not. All of the courses who presented were all prepared except for our block. Fortunately, we have our ignite presenter who looks prepared, and we somehow didn't lose hope but as we expected, we still didn't get places in the competition but we had fun and that's all that really matters. It is also a lesson learned for us.

XV - 'Edge of Tomorrow'

"LIVE. DIE. REPEAT."

Edge of Tomorrow is a 2014 American science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt. Doug Liman directed the film based on a screenplay adapted from the 2004 Japanese light novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.

The film was released in theaters on the weekend of May 30, 2014, in 28 territories, including the United Kingdom, Brazil, Germany, Spain, and Indonesia. On the weekend of June 6, 2014, it was released in 36 additional territories, including North America (United States and Canada), Australia, China, and Russia. The film grossed over $370 million in theaters worldwide and received largely positive reviews from critics.

 Honestly, I am not a fan of action movies, so the day our professor asked us to watch this film, I am thinking that I will not going to watch it because I thought action is boring for people who doesn't have much interest in these kinds of films but I was wrong, this film is very interesting. I was quite bored in the first scenes of the film but then, in the next scenes, I caught myself watching every events in the film. This films takes place in the future where an alien invasion happened. It seems impossible nowadays to have an alien invasion but who knows, that's why I tried to watch this film. Major William Cage, a role played by Tom Cruise, was asked to join a landing operation against aliens. Cage has no combat experience but manage to kill aliens but also, died during a combat. He then finds himself in a time loop that sends him back to the day preceding the battle every time he dies and every time the scenario repeats, he then noticed that his skills was increasing. He also had teamed up with Blunt which leads to defeating the aliens who invaded the Earth. 

 

The story is great because I find it unique. The film has this tag line: "Live. Die. Repeat" because the scenes was being repeated which leads to the resolution of the conflict. I haven't heard a movie like this one, so it somehow captivates my interest and made me watch an action film. The editing was good and this film is a whole package. The stars did a job well done because they have good acting skills which contributed a lot in this film and really helped in the film. I would also highly recommend it to everyone who were reading this blog post. It is such a great film, especially to those who loves to watch action films. It is for you, guys.

XIV - The Phantom of the Opera

"Close your eyes and let the music set you free."

The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 British film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the French novel  Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux. The Phantom of the Opera grossed approximately $154 million worldwide, despite receiving mixed to negative reviews, which praised the visuals and acting but criticised the writing and directing.

I am really fond of watching musical movies, especially that I am a musician. I find The Phantom of the Opera interesting and amazing because it satisfies the genre that I love. It is basically a musical film and focuses on theatrical acts which makes it really a wonderful film. The actors and actresses of the films are also great because they have the skills which suits the character that they have portrayed. I like the songs that was being played in the film.

I love the plot and the mystery effect of this film. It somehow let the people who are watching to participate in the film by analyzing the events that was happening in the film. I was quite mesmerized to the fact that the Phantom was willing to do everything for the name of love although the impression of the people who have watched the film was quite negative because the ghost was willing to sacrifice the good values just to have the girl that he was wishing, it shows an aspect of what we so called: true love. I know everything happens for a reason, so for the phantom to do such things for the one he loves, there's always a reason and a story behind all those things that leads to desperation.I love how the Phantom shows mysterious attributes.

The flow of the story was good and it can really captivate the hearts of the people. I may not be able to see the efforts of the people who was involved or the people who played the roles, but I know they really exerted a lot of efforts and they really did their best just to have a movie like this one.

I would highly recommend this to everyone who's reading this. It is such a great film and you will definitely enjoy this film. Moreover, the songs that was played here were also great.

(source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_%282004_film%29)

XIII - Speak Sense 2

Public speaking (sometimes termed oratory or oration) is the process or act of performing a presentation (a speech) focused around an individual directly speaking to a live audience in a structured, deliberate manner in order to inform, influence, or entertain them. It is sometimes considered as the most frightening activity for a lot of people. 

Last November 26, 2015, we were given a chance to watch the Inter-high school public speaking competition or simply called, Speak Sense 2. I know the whole SoM students were happy that time because we had no class last Friday to give way to the competition. 

I really enjoyed the competition because aside from the highlight, the program includes a lot of activity which the SoM students can join. I am so interested to watch that competition because I want to witness the way high school students deliver a speech. I saw a lot of flaws which I learned in my Public Speaking classes. I realized that our PubSp1 and PubSp2 class really helped a lot to our speaking skills because we began to recognize also the mistakes of others which sometimes we're not aware of when we're speaking. Some of the gestures of the contestants were distracting. I remember this one speaker, a girl, who placed her left hand on her back which I find distracting, I didn't have the chance to listen to the content of her speech because I'm focused on her hand. I think the winner of the contest really deserves what she received because she really stand out among the contestants. For a high school student, I think she's really a good public speaker and I know she can still improve her skills. I also remember this one speaker who spoke about her love life, I'm amazed by his courage to talk a topic like that in the public, especially he's only a high school student but I know he caught the attention of the crowd which is a good thing because one of the guidelines of public speaking is you need to get the attention of your audience. He really had a good speech but I think he should improve his gestures and stance.  All in all, I love the program and I would love to watch another one someday.

I hope it wouldn't be the last time that I'm going to watch a competition like that. Public Speaking is really a nerve wracking activity but facing fears is really a good thing, so let's go and face public speaking. AJA! 

XII - Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the act of taking another person's writing, conversation, song, or even idea and passing it off as your own. This includes information from web pages, books, songs, television shows, email messages, interviews, articles, artworks or any other medium. Whenever you paraphrase, summarize, or take words, phrases, or sentences from another person's work, it is necessary to indicate the source of the information within your paper using an internal citation. It is not enough to just list the source in a bibliography at the end of your paper. Failing to properly quote, cite or acknowledge someone else's words or ideas with an internal citation is plagiarism.

Here are some steps to avoid plagiarism. If you follow these tips, you can make sure that you create a work that doesn't inadvertently steal ideas or words.

1. Get acquainted with what plagiarism means

The Instrument of Student Judicial Governance for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill defines plagiarism as “deliberate or reckless representation of another’s words, thoughts, or ideas as one’s own without attribution.” Notice the word “reckless” there. Even if you are not intentionally taking another person’s work and using it as your own, you may end up doing it merely because of carelessness. Watch out for these forms of plagiarism:

Direct plagiarism – Taking another person’s ideas word for word without giving proper citation.

Self-plagiarism – Submitting your own previous work as part of a current assignment without permission.

Mosaic plagiarism – Quoting another’s work without quotation marks. This can also refer to replacing words in another’s work with synonyms while maintaining the same overall structure and meaning.

Accidental plagiarism – Forgetting to cite sources, misquoting sources, or paraphrasing sources without giving credit where credit is due.

2. Create a thorough outline

An essay should not be just a collection of other people’s research; it should include your own ideas as well. Carefully outline your paper before you start writing. Make it clear in your outline which ideas come from you and which come from outside sources. To make this easy, you can assign an abbreviated name to each of your sources and jot that down next to the ideas you pull from each one. This will save you from having to sort through all your information later.

Even before you start your outline, when you are still in the note-taking phase, diligently keep track of where your ideas come from. Plagiarism.org suggests that you color code your notes and number your note pages so your information doesn’t become jumbled.

3. Cite your sources

Citing your sources might seem like a no-brainer, but properly citing your sources is another story altogether. Double-check your bibliography to make sure that you include all the needed information in the correct order. Some word processing programs will automatically generate a bibliography for you, but that still requires that you input the right information with a fastidious eye.

Keep in mind, too, that there are different types of citation. For example, MLA and APA citation styles are different.

4. Scrutinize your sources

What are your source’s sources? To avoid plagiarism and keep your essay on the straight and narrow, rely only on reputable sources. Here are a few things to look for when you’re deciding if a source is worth your time:

Is the author an authoritative voice in his or her field?

What organization is the author affiliated with?

Is the information up to date?

Do you notice a lot of technical errors in the writing?

If you have any qualms about the integrity of a source, take your research elsewhere.

5. Don't Write Blind

If you’re in a hurry, you may start “writing blind” — that is, you may start typing out information using words or phrases that belong to someone else without even realizing what you are doing. Writing blind can also lead you to pen ambiguous statements. If you are melding your ideas with another person’s ideas, make sure that it is clear where each idea comes from.

The best way to avoid writing blind is to let your essay rest for a while after you finish it. That way, you can take a look at it again later and compare it with your notes, helping you make sure that your paper is plagiarism-free.

sources:

http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/5-most-effective-methods-for-avoiding-plagiarism/

http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/whatisplag.php

XI - Media Literacy

Nowadays we are so fond of social networking sites and other medias. We can easily voice out our feelings through facebook and twitter, share photos using facebook and instagram and let the people know what we are doing.

Last November 25, 2015, we heard a seminar about Media Literacy with the theme of "Mobilizing the Millennials as Socially Responsible Prosumers" at the APC Auditorium. It is conducted to develop sense of social responsibility among RAMpage editorial staff and APCians in general and to create a discourse on media literacy among APCians.

The seminar was conducted last Wednesday, so we didn't have a GramCom class that day. Honestly, we're very happy that day because we thought we can have a free time, but then we're required to listen to a seminar, so that happiness vanished. When I received the information sheet, I got so excited because it's all about medias. The invited speakers were from GMA and they introduced their site, called SubSelfie.com

The seminar is part of the Publication Office's initiative to promote media literacy among APCians particularly by tapping the RAMpage Editorial staff. As the school's media practitioners, The RAMpage Ed Staff should be in the forefront of this effort.

The program started with a Film Screening showing videos of the members of RAMpage, specifically an interview about their experience working with RAMpage. While watching the interview, I'm really fascinated about those people because they strive hard to give the APCians the news that we deserve. The seminar had guest speakers who worked at GMA which I find it a good thing because we learned a lot. Their job is helpful because they gave us knowledge based on their perspective as journalists.

I really love the second topic because it was the topic that retained in my mind. She was able to deliver the topic in a very interesting manner which caught the attention of almost all students in the auditorium. It really helped when she compared the trending topic on twitter, AlDub related hashtags vs. Events happening on different places in the world. I realized that we should be responsible when using social medias. We should know the things that we must pay attention to. We're very lucky to hear that seminar because it made us realize things and we really acquire knowledge about being Socially Responsible Consumers.