The New LinkedIn Recommendations Section What You Should Know

The New LinkedIn Recommendations Section What You Should Know You might have noticed that a few weeks ago, chaos reigned with LinkedIn Recommendations. You could request a recommendation, but the intended recipient did not receive the request. You could accept a recommendation, but you couldn’t ask for a revision – and the recommender could not submit a revised LinkedIn recommendation. Yes, this happened to me. All of it. Thankfully, these issues have been resolved with the new LinkedIn Recommendations section – well, mostly resolved. My new edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile will have all the updated information that you need. Here are the basics of how LinkedIn Recommendations works now. There’s more in the book! The New LinkedIn Recommendations Interface From anyone’s profile, you will now find the option to request or offer recommendations by clicking on the â€Å"More† button, or (depending on your version) on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner of the person’s top information box: If you want the person to recommend you, choose â€Å"Request a recommendation† and you’ll be brought to this screen: Or, scroll down to the Recommendations section of your profile and click on the Ask to be Recommended button:    Write a friendly note to the person and ask if she would be willing to write you a recommendation. If you havent been in contact for some time, be delicate. Maybe start with a phone call. And at some point you might want to remind the person of something that will refresh their recollection of your skills and accomplishments. Then ask your recommender to tell a clear, specific story or two about you. Accepting or Revising Recommendations Once you receive a recommendation, you should be notified in your inbox. You can also check your pending recommendations by clicking the link in your Recommendation section: Or visit this direct link: https://www.linkedin.com/recs/received You’ll have the opportunity to accept or dismiss the recommendation. If there is an error or something youd rather that someone say differently, you can ask your recommender to correct it, which I encourage you to do if what they wrote is not exactly the way you want it! Most people are very cooperative when you make a request for a replacement. Unfortunately, LinkedIn eliminated the feature that allowed the recipient to request a replacement recommendation, so if you need a revision, youll have to Dismiss the original recommendation and request a new one. Accompany your request with a copy of the original recommendation and your suggested changes so your recommender does not have to start from scratch. Recommendation Challenges Here are some issues that commonly come up with people seeking LinkedIn Recommendations: 1.   I havent talked to my recommender in 5 years I would be so embarrassed to ask! In this situation, think about how you would respond if the tables were turned. Wouldnt you be happy to hear from someone who did good work for you or who was a great boss or colleague 10 years ago? I say it’s always worth asking if you think they will say something valuable! 2. My recommenders arent on LinkedIn. In this situation, there are at least three options that can address the issue: Invite the person onto LinkedIn. It might be just the nudge your recommender needs to join the millions of LinkedIn users! Attach your recommendation under the relevant job as a link or file. Include the recommendation in the summary or experience section of your profile. 3. My previous company has a policy against recommendations. If your past supervisors are precluded from recommending you due to company policy, you might have hit a dead end- but your coworkers might still be able to write a recommendation; and keep track of those supervisors, as they might move to a new company and be freed up to write a recommendation for you. Pay attention to the daily emails you receive with updates and look for news about potential recommenders! Show or Hide LinkedIn Recommendations You can display the LinkedIn Recommendations you choose at any given time. To show or hide your recommendations, click on the pencil icon: If you do not want to display a recommendation, click the Show slider to change it to Hide and the recommendation will be hidden (see example below). Giving Recommendations I encourage you to recommend people as well as to request recommendations. Here’s how: If you want to recommend Nancy, go to her profile and click â€Å"Recommend Nancy.† You’ll be brought to this start box: Tracking Your Recommendations Want a quick run-down of all your received and given recommendations? Scroll down in your profile and here’s what you’ll see: Or, want to see all the recommendation requests people have sent you? Go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendabernstein/detail/recommendations/requests/?view=received Looking Good in Your LinkedIn Recommendations Section By accumulating recommendations, you will gain the trust of potential employers, clients, and whomever else you want to impress on LinkedIn- trust that can translate into business or into a job. I have had many people choose to work with The Essay Expert based on the strength of the recommendations posted on my LinkedIn profile. Imagine, if you are a business or sales person, having clients come to you already having decided youre the person they want to work with! Recommending people can also get attention from recruiters. It’s a little-known fact that recruiters search on the recommendations you’ve given, not just on the ones you receive! In summary, the strength of your recommendations can get you your next client or your next job. What are you waiting for?

Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 5

Diversity - Essay Example CEI is an indication of zero tolerance to discrimination in the workplace, especially with reference to the LGBT community. The rating of corporations in terms of their CEI displays to the public companies with good and ethical practices in terms of their corporate cultures. For a company to appear in the list of top ten LGBT companies, it has to exhibit maximum CEI. This compels potential employers of LGBT community to develop their organizational cultures with gender orientation in mind. Consequently, the 100 percent CEI requirement is a good initiative of checking workplace discrimination on LGBT community in a work environment crippled by dearth of LGBT workplace protection law. Human rights must be protected from all dimensions. Every member of the society deserves to enjoy protection against discrimination of whatever kind. Consequently, it is difficult to object the demand by Diversity Inc’s requirement of 100 percent CEI for companies listed in their website, which is a public exhibition of companies that are socially responsible and zero tolerant to workplace

Personal Statement of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Statement of Ethics - Essay Example When I was a child, my concept of ethics has been confined in being good and right to the people within my small circle. However, as I grew older and exposed to the realities of this world, I begin to learn that ethics is more than just pleasing the people which are around me. I realize that in order to maintain my integrity and credibility as an individual, I should be able to establish my own ethical standards backed by what I believe to be morally excellent. As I go about making my own stand, I learn that upholding my ethical beliefs is a struggle where I need to battle with the conflicting ideologies of the people around me. I begin to understand that what my parents taught me are quite shallow compared to what I learn with my various experiences yet they provide a good foundation of how to decide whether something is acceptable or not. My definition of ethics goes beyond what is socially acceptable as right. Looking at the current world situation, it now appears that our society have tolerated and absorbed previously unethical behaviors and added them into our value system. For instance, I strongly assert that gay marriage is not ethically because it destroys the original purpose of a woman's creation that is, to be the completeness of a man.

Global Connectvity and Cyberwarfare Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Connectvity and Cyberwarfare - Assignment Example Increasing interconnectivity through World Wide Web and easy availability of cyber warfare tools makes it difficult to differentiate between domestic or foreign source of cyber warfare. Our adversary has the ability to change multimedia files or change public thinking by digitally manipulating the information (O’ Hara 4). The cyber warfare is never relaxed and the war remains on for 24 hours in a day. Traditional way of intelligence gathering is outdated for this sort of warfare. The same way analysis can not be carried basing on the information. Current intelligence organizations can not gain such information in cyber warfare (O’ Hara 4). This warfare does not have any boundaries. No warning for intentions and attack can be obtained before a cyber crime actually happens. Coalition can be established easily with other countries because the technical experts of other nations may not be able to handle warfare and secure own system as well (O’ Hara 5). The cyber warfare is not useful until it physically damages the target. Cyber warfare operations are not stealth operations. Countries with more advanced technologies can detect and trace the destination of cyber crime. Cyber terrorism is more pronounced because the attacker attacks and vanishes after getting the desired information. Such attack can be traced and sometimes it can not be traced (Billo & Chang 17). Billo, Charles & Chang, Welton. Cyber Warfare an Analysis of the Means and Motivations of Selected Nation States. Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth College, 2004. Accessed 30 April 2012.

Spirituality And Mental Illness Psychology Essay

Spirituality And Mental Illness Psychology Essay Spirituality is a part of human experience. It often stands as one integral aspect of ones cultural or religious orientation. Likewise, spirituality may also represent ones individual choice, belief, and behavior. Both in terms of traditional and conventional healthcare, there are three aspects of human well-being that should be taken care of: physical, mental, and spiritual health. Physical is for the body, mental is for the mind, and psychic health is for the spirit (Jeitschko et al., 2005). However, in the present idea of healthcare, the thrust of healthcare efforts is given to physical health. However, the other two components also play integral roles in the achievement of humans overall (external and internal) well-being. Oftentimes, these two are overlooked. Although courses of religion and spirituality are common in most medical schools and pastoral care is provided in some hospitals, health policies and insurance in mental healthcare is severely restricted in ways that physical healthcare is not and moreover, to emphasize, very little healthcare is provided for the spiritual healthcare (Jeitschko et al., 2005). Yet, Jeitschko et al (2005) claimed that spiritual claim has repeatedly observed to be an important factor and correlated for the health of both body and minds health. In this paper, we look into the importance of spiritual health as a prerequisite towards mental health improvement and maintenance- to prevent and to treat mental illnesses. First, we describe a brief overview of the situation concerning mental disorders and illnesses as a global phenomenon. Third, we define and contextualize spirituality as a prerequisite to overall spiritual health. Lastly, we discuss how spirituality has been used to 1) prevent a vast array of mental illnesses and 2) treat various cases of mental disability and other psychiatric ability. Mental Illness: A Situation Overview While each is a separate aspect, spirituality and mental well-being are viewed as closely-related, if not dependent to each other. This may be because both are internal mechanisms that may not be measured by medical apparatuses, may not diagnosed via single medical procedure, and cannot be treated by measurable doses of medicine. Rather, these are brought about by internal mechanisms that exist along a continuum of attitudes and behavior. Mental health and mental illness exist along a continuum of attitude and behavior. This covers a wide array of mental diagnostic categories, from mild conditions like depression to more serious cases such as schizophrenic disorders (OBrien, 2003). The main components of looking into mental disorder are: internal psychological dysfunctions, unexpected response to a social phenomenon, and differentiation from deviant behavior. Nonetheless, the universal component of mental illness is the dysfunction of some internal psychological mechanism. Examples of these dysfunctions occur in systems of cognition, thinking, perception, motivation, emotion, language, and memory (Horwitz, 2002). Millions of people all over the world suffer from mental illnesses and adverse mental health. As of 2002, 154 million suffer from depression, 50 million from epilepsy, 25 million from schizophrenia, and 24 million people suffer from Alzheimer and other dementias. It was also observed that 25% visiting healthcare services suffer from mental, neurological and behavioral disorders but most of these cases are not diagnosed and treated. Moreover, people with these disorders are oftentimes subjected to social isolation, decreased quality of life, and increased mortality (WHO, 2010). Barriers of effective mental treatment can be traced into two factors: 1) lack of recognition of the seriousness of mental illnesses among patients, and 2) lack of understanding about the benefits of having cost-effective mental illness treatment. This alleviated by the fact that in most middle and low income countries devote less than 1% of their budget to mental health (WHO, 2010). Defining Spirituality Before going farther in this paper, it is necessary to first define spirituality and to bring forth its importance. Spirituality is defined first by differentiating the concept with that of religion. Religion is strictly linked to formal religious institutions. On the other hand, spirituality does not depend on formal institutions but comes from initiatives of an individual. The similarities of spirituality and religion both focus on belief, sacred, divine entities, and the resulting behaviors and practices and spiritual consciousness. However, this arbitrary definition does not provide comprehensive delineation of the two concepts (George, 2000). National Institute of Healthcare Research (NIHR) defined spirituality as the feelings, thoughts, experiences, and behaviors that arise from search for the sacred. In this definition, search encompasses identifying, transforming, and maintaining. Terms such as knowing, understanding, and embodying can be used as synonyms to search based on this context. Sacred refers to divine being, higher power, and ultimate truth as perceived by the individual collective reinforcement and identity. Hence, from this definition of spirituality, the distinctive characteristic of religion is collective reinforcement and identity (George, 2010). Another comprehensive definition of spirituality came from Murray and Zenter (1989): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦spirituality dimension, a quality that goes beyond religious affiliation that strives for inspiration, reverence, awe, meaning and purpose, even in those who do not believe in God comes essentially into focus in times of emotional stress, physical and mental illness, loss, bereavement and death. From these definitions, spirituality can be summarized in three elements: comes from within an individual and not collective affiliations; goal-oriented: search, inspiration, well-being, and embodiment of belief; come in times of emotional stress and mental distress. Spiritual Healthcare The idea that spirituality is an initiative of an individual comes with the expectation that there is a wide array of spiritual healthcare procedures depending on how individuals perceive its importance and the procedures encompassing it. Hence, to take care of spiritual health, the individual should be able to have the following skills: being able to create peaceful state of mind, ability to stay alert, attentive, and mentally focused in present circumstances, develop above average empathy and to grieve appropriately and then let go afterwards. Moreover, spiritual values include kindness, compassion, generosity, tolerance, creativity, wisdom, honesty, humility, and patience (Culliford, 2002). Some of the elements of spiritual care include: environment of purposeful activity; feelings of safety and security, dignity, belonging and acceptance; having opportunities and encouragement to express feelings and thoughts; and to receive permission, encouragement to develop relationship with God or Absolute and to receive place and privacy for prayers worship, and spiritual education; and to derive meaning from illness experiences (Culliford, 2006). Spirituality for Prevention and Cure of Mental Illness Throughout history, mental illness was closely related to religious faith, demonic possessions and magical enchantments. In a very long time in history, mental illness was misunderstood and misinterpreted and people suspected to have mental disorders were subjected to cruel procedures. In prehistory mental illness perceived to come from supernatural and magical spirits that disrupt minds. Shamans tried to cure mental illness through performing rituals, casting spells, and using mind-altering drugs. Trepanning, or drilling a hole on patients skull to release or exorcise bad spirits. However, fossils show that new bones grew to cover the holes and high survival rates were observed (Thomson, 2007). Ancient Egyptians were the first to implement a form of mental healthcare and the first to cure a patient identified to have mental illness. Temples and temple complexes served as mental hospitals. Mental treatment procedures include: psychiatric texts, rites, rituals and prayers. Egyptians were also able to decipher that mental illness that time was caused by loss of money and status; hence, they suggested that talk therapy will be an effective treatment procedure (Thomson, 2007). However, due to advances in technology, rapid evolution of the society and paradigm shifts in terms of mental illnesses, spirituality becomes a forgotten dimension of mental healthcare (Culliford, 2002). Spirituality, as prevention and treatment for mental illness, was included in the identified misunderstanding of ancient people towards mental disorders. Spirituality was forgotten as an important tool for physical and mental health and spiritual health was also overlooked as a part of overall human well-being. This neglect is attributed to secularization and science-based discipline of psychiatry (Culliford, 2007). Now, importance of spirituality is gradually being rediscovered because of two reasons. First, mental illness patients report spirituality; spiritual beliefs and practices are their major sources of personal strength. Second, there is increased attention in academic and scientific research and psychiatric treatment and practices (George, 2000). In the field of psychiatry, a trending practice is to achieve first, spiritual history of the patients before addressing their mental needs. Spiritual history includes details of the patients religious antecedents, practices, beliefs or the lack or absence of these. Reasons for taking spiritual history include (Culiford, 2007): The field recognizes that nature of spirituality as a source of validity, motivation, and sense of belonging and acceptance which are beneficial for the patients. There is a also a long historical relationship between spiritual healthcare and medicine. Spirituality is oftentimes part of patients needs and wishes. The influence of spirituality and religion to the attitudes and decisions of the staff. Moreover, spirituality is now recognized as an integrating force for various dimensions of human life including physical, biological, psychological, and psychosocial. Although it is acknowledged that spirituality may also have negative effects on mental well-being, there is a growing confidence for mental, and even physical health of spiritual belief and practices. In a wide review of researches on spirituality and mental health, 20% showed negative effects while 80% observed positive results (Culliford, 2007). Some of the negative accounts on spirituality as a beneficial tool for curing mental illness include the studies cited by Fallot (2003). In terms of diagnosis and psychiatric rehabilitation programs, DSM-IV diagnosis involves assessment of spiritual experiences. In a symptom-oriented nosological system, the focus is directed to spiritual or religious behavior of the patient. In DSM-IV, two scenarios may occur: First, spiritual concerns may be problematic and may also be attributable to the actual mental disorder. In cases of severe mental disorder, psychiatric disorder is considered primary while spiritual expression is secondary. There are cases when spiritual experiences disappear, the primary or psychiatric disorder is treated adequately. Second, spiritual issue is problematic but may not be attributed to the mental disease. Patients with severe mental illness are still capable of spiritual activities such as struggles for searching meaning in life, conflicting and confusing relationships with the sacred, and challenges to long-hel beliefs. These further leads to prolonged psychiatric difficulties, problems in understanding religious experiences, loss of hope and demoralization However, Fallot (2003) argued that there is positive spiritual coping that will be beneficial for mental illness patients. Still on a lager scale, patients tend to turn unto religion not just as a significant resource but also as a coping mechanism that is helpful. Spirituality and religion can serve as possible mechanisms with positive impacts of mental health and rarely are the cases in which both pose negative impacts on mental health (Fallot, 2003). Specifically, spiritual well-being is associated to reduce likelihood of anxiety disorders, depression, and substance abuse that lead to addiction and other mental disorders. Likewise, there is also positive association between spirituality undertaking and recovery from mental disorders such as depression and substance abuse (George, 2002). Mental Healthcare Practices Involving Spirituality This section discusses some mental healthcare treatment practices that are used to emphasize the role of spirituality to mental health (Fallot, 2003). Spiritual Assessment. This refers to understanding of content and the functions of a patients spiritual beliefs and practice. This approach is useful on a diverse religious experiences and cultures. The definition of spirituality can both be broad and inclusive. This approach goes beyond symptom-oriented orientation but rather explore potential significance of spirituality to the patient and his recovery. Spiritually informed groups. The group provides therapeutic context of examination of consumers religious beliefs and traditions. The role of this group is to provide a positive connection between spirituality and the present conditions of the patients. In spite of religious diversity, patients may find it helpful to share and listen to others search for meaning and purpose of life. It will not exacerbate symptoms of mental health but will rather support and clarify ones purpose in life which shall give sense of worth, value, and trust to themselves. Individual psychotherapy. Psychotherapeutic approaches coming from a wide variety of religious beliefs such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam and others attuned the present approaches for individual psychotherapy. Aside from overview of religious interventions, this approach can also be used to specify roles of meditation and mindfulness, prayer, and other spiritually and cognitive-behavioral techniques. This approach is also integrated in counseling relationship. Relationships with faith communities. One important factor for treating mental illness is to restore social supports and relationships. Religious or faith communities can offer empowerment, sense of acceptance and belonging to the patients. However, it should be taken into consideration that the patient shall not feel any sense of rejection from the community. How Does Spirituality Prevent and Treat Mental Illness Empirical analysis regarding the effects spirituality to mental health is continuously studied. Researchers and mental health practitioners continue to seek means by which spirituality will prevent and facilitate treatment, if not completely treat mental illnesses. Nonetheless, for the present studies, the following two mechanisms were attributed as the factors by which spirituality is helpful to mental health: First is the ability to establish social support. Spiritual participation may be one major avenue for developing social bonds and other social support. People with high religious participation have larger social networks, higher interaction with social network, receive more assistance from others, and have higher levels of satisfaction of the social support they receive. This is important as rejection is one of the major causes of disturbed mental health and acceptance is one of the best recovery apparatus. Second is the coherence spirituality offers. Through coherence within the group, patients tend to understand their role in life, their purpose, and to develop courage to face sufferings. Moreover, coherence with others is also an effective buffer to stress on mental health. As a conclusion, it can be acknowledged that in spite of the gaps between the benefits of spirituality and mental health, it can still be safely implemented as a tool to prevent and facilitate cure of mental illnesses through the approaches and because of the mechanisms mentioned in the later part of the paper.

Racial Discrimination :: essays research papers

Racial Discrimination "KAFFIR". When you see or hear this word, what runs through your mind? Do you picture a man with skin the color of the midnight sky, do you see him bending his muscular body down to the dry earth to pick cotton from thorn-ridden plants? Can you feel the heat of the sun beating down on his charred back? Perhaps you can even taste the beads of sweat swelling from his forehead and arms. Or maybe you are more inclined to visualize a dark-skinned woman with creases in her forehead made by many years of hard work and endless worrying. You watch her as she puts the breakfast dishes on the table and addresses her owners with a "yes sah" or "yes ma'am". There is nobody to cater to her needs. She spends each day taking care of everyone but herself. Pain. Sorrow. Anguish. Agony. Is this what comes to your mind when you hear the word "KAFFIR"? Well, it shouldn't because the word "kaffir" has nothing to do with the color of your skin. The word "kaffir" is just that; a word. It is a term that sprouted out of ignorance and continues to be used to this day exclusively by ignorant people. A kaffir isn't a slang term for an African; it is a word that describes the person that uses it. This type of person is one who feeds his ego by dehumanizing those around him when he feels they are not equal to him. He may regard those of different races or nationalities as "bad" or "dirty" because they do not have the same skin color as he does or they may cherish beliefs that are contrary to the ones by which he lives his life. These qualities describe the man who tells his son that it is okay to make fun of people who are different because differences are bad. A child who is repeatedly told such things will believe them because "mom and dad never lie". This idea, inculcated in them as children, is like a grain of sand caught in the clutches of an oyster. It eats away at their minds until it becomes part of them. Instead of forming into a pearl, it creates a whole new individual that is as ignorant as the parents who raised him. And so this vicious cycle of ignorance continues. Children need to be taught from infancy that people of other races and nationalities are human too. They think like the rest of us. They have feelings, hopes, and aspirations. They are intelligent.

Literary Review: Philippine Fashion Essay

Introduction: For this research paper, I decided to dig deeper into my Filipino heritage. The history of the Philippines has been an up and down roller coaster. From being colonized by the Spanish for 300 years in 1565, to being captured by the British in 1762, to being in Japanese hands, to being under the power of the United States, the Philippines eventually established their independence on July 4, 1946. Considering the Philippines is somewhat â€Å"new†, their government system hasn’t had nearly enough time to advance and develop like other countries in the world. One third of the Filipino population lives below the poverty line. This lack of independence has had a huge effect on the Filipino economy. Their economy is based solely on their agriculture. The Philippines has a very tropical climate with a long rainy season, and an incredibly mountainous landscape. Important crops include rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, abaca, and tobacco. The Philippines also have an endless list of tropical and tasty fruits. Although the Philippine islands have been through a more than complicated time, the people inhabiting the land have stayed strong and taken advantage of their land’s newly gained independence . After gathering this general information, that was when I developed my thesis: How has the unstable history of the Philippines affected their overall fashion and textile industry? I chose this topic because not only does it give me a chance to expand my knowledge in textiles and fashion, but it also allows me to further educate myself in my own personal ethnic background. Methodology: When I first began my research process, it wasn’t very difficult to get started considering the abundance of resources FIDM provides us with. My first step to developing a stable basis of sources was to sit at the  computer in the FIDM library and gather as much material as possible using the help they give us such as EBSCO, the Berg Fashion Library, Culture Grams, and of course books from the shelves themselves. The first source I found that initially helped me develop my thesis was an article I found using the Berg Fashion Library entitled â€Å"‘Ukay-Ukay’ Chic: Tales of Second Hand Clothing Fashion and Trade in the Philippine Cordillera†. This was the source that helped me make the decision to center my paper around Filipino fashion. Not only was this source credible due to the process I used to find it, but it was also extremely beneficial. Once I knew exactly what I would be writing about, I knew that I needed to dig deeper into the history of the Philippines. I initially started by using Culture Grams, which helped me gather some information, but I needed more. That was when I came across the article â€Å"Nation Building and the Crafting of a Usable Past in the Philippines† using the EBSCOhost database. This source really came in handy because it gave me an incredibly detailed and dramatic breakdown of everything the Philippines went through, and how being tossed around by other countries for hundreds of years has had an effect on the land today. Next, I wanted to learn more about the people of the Philippine’s, and their lifestyle and values. I had no luck finding this using the library sources, so that was when I switched to google. I found a website called contriesquest.com. After browsing the information the site gave me, and relating a lot of it to information I had seen before, I decided that it was a credible source to use. The section I used was called â€Å"Population, Way of Life†. This brief article really helped me understand how a regular Filipino person lives. It covered everything from the food they eat the the sports they play. The next source I found was more specifically about the history of filipino fashion. I found the article using the Berg Fashion Library. The was when I came across the amazing article â€Å"Snapshot: Revival of Pià ±a Cloth and Dress: Southern Luzon and Central Philippines†. This was one of my favorite articles because I learned about an amazing way that the people of the Philippines used their natural resources to create a beautiful fashion trend. For my last source, I decided to use the most credible source of all,  a book. The book I chose is entitled the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. I flipped to the section entitled Asia, Southeastern Islands and the Pacific: History of Dress. I used this source to get a breakdown of the development of filipino fashion throughout the years. 1. Milgram, B Lynne, â€Å"‘Ukay-Ukay’ Chic: Tales of Second Hand Clothing Fashion and Trade in the Philippine Cordillera.† Summary: This article focuses on the new and upcoming bargain shopping trend in the Philippines called â€Å"Ukay-Ukay†, which when translated means secondhand clothing. The Philippine’s have been receiving exports of used goods and clothing from America, and Europe since the 1990’s. Milgram, the author of this article, talks about how the people of the Philippine’s have brilliantly taken these exported used goods and repurposed them to their own advantage. The article also discusses how this new shopping trend has benefitted the sales women of the Philippines, and has helped modernize their way of consumerism and trade. The article then expands on Ifugao, an area in the Grand Cordillera mountains, the area in which the people of the Philippines decided to set up their â€Å"Ukay-Ukay† system. The author tells us that this setting was chosen due to its economic activity. Considering that agriculture is the main component of the filipino economy, Ifugao is unable to produce many crops due to its climate and landscape. Instead, the people inhabiting this area focus on producing other sorts of goods such as crafts for the tourist market, operating dry goods stores, and now engaging in the sale of second hand clothing. The next section of this article focuses on the process in which the exported clothing is distributed from the hands of clothing brokers, regional suppliers, to the citizens of the Philippines. The last part of the article talks about the people who make a living off of the sales of second hand clothing, and how the market is slowly beginning to get more and more competitive. Critical Evaluation: This article is an incredible source of information for my essay. The author of the article convinced me that she was very educated in the topic by using personal examples, facts and statistics, pictures,  quotations, and citations throughout the article of other sources she collected material from as well. Another thing that really made this article easy to break down was that the author put a notes list at the bottom of the document. This contained a list of words and terms that were mentioned throughout the article that a person that wasn’t well aware with filipino slang could find the english translations. The sole purpose of this article was to break  down and educate the reader on an amazing and rapidly growing fashion trend in the Philippines and the world behind it. 2. Hazard, Elizabeth. â€Å"Nation Building and the Crafting of a Usable Past in the Philippines†. Summary: This article provides me with a detailed breakdown of the history timeline of the Philippines. This paper examines the uses of history in the Philippines over the past century as it was enlisted to serve varying social and political agendas. In the first part of this article, the author discusses the long awaited time when the Philippine’s finally gained their independence. Hazard elaborates on the celebratory ceremonies that took place, and the development of the Centennial Commission. The centennial commission is a group of elected filipino people with one mission-to revive the love of the country, and true appreciation for the filipino identity. The article then continues on to discuss the background of its current weak economic state. The author makes sure that we know that the Philippines took a very hard beating throughout the years. The author then goes on to breakdown the confusing history of the Philippines before they gained their independence. She covers the 300 years they were under the rule of Spain, the Japanese occupation in 1943, and when the Americans granted autonomy in 1946. The second purpose of this article was to focus on how the history of the Philippine’s is being displayed today. The author focuses on the textbooks that students in the Philippine’s are given, and states that the authors of these textbooks are excluding important details. This article is a good source of information that discusses the brutalities that the  Philippines went through, and their eventually gained independence. Critical Evaluation: I believe that this is a very reliable and educational source to use for informational purposes for this essay. Although I am focusing my essay on fashion, the history behind the Philippines is equally as important. Considering how intense their history is, and the state that their never ending battle left them in, it is safe to say that this has had a direct effect on their fashion industry. This was a very credible source. Not only did I find it using one of the search engines that the school provides us with, but it was actually a conference paper written for the University of Maine. The author wrote this essay to persuade the listeners and readers to have hope that the Philippine’s can be restored and modernized. The author provides us with lots of statistics and factual information. She also gives us direct quotes from people that she talked to personally, and for those reasons, I decided that this article would help improve my essay. 3. â€Å"Population, Way of Life†. Summary: This website was full of small paragraphs about every single aspect of the Philippines. I decided that I wanted to gather more information on the daily life of a Filipino person, so I chose this section to use for my paper. This section gives us a straightforward description of their society. The author starts off by mentioning Filipino’s emphasis on on family and building a strong community. Filipino’s are very big on traditions. They use the traditional concept of â€Å"utang na loob†, the concept in which voluntary acts of kindness towards others creates an obligation in which the receiver must reciprocate. The article goes on to discuss how the concept of â€Å"utang na loob† is what shapes almost all Filipino relationships. The article then continues to talk about important Filipino values such as respect for the elderly, loyalty, and trust. Paragraph two talks about the average Filipino living conditions. In tradition Philippine villages, houses are mainly constructed of bamboo or wood. Excluding rural areas, most houses are equipped with standard electricity and plumbing. In the more modern parts of  the Philippines, it is mentioned that there is a very obvious Western influence. The standard Philippine diet consists of fish, rice, veggies, fruits, and ground corn. They also have a drink called tuba, which is a fermented coconut wine. The next part of the article talks about how most people in the Philippines work as farmers and fishers. Middle class citizens in more urban cities usually work as teachers and small business owners. The last part of the article focuses on certain sports that Filipino people participate in such as arnis (similar to fencing) and (much like volleyball). Critical Evaluation: I was unsure about the credibility of this source at first, because I couldn’t find an author or any sort of publishing information to begin with. Then, after I clicked on the â€Å"Privacy† link in the bottom corner of the page, I learned that the website was published by Microsoft as a sort of search database for information on different parts of the world. Knowing that it was developed by such an elite corporation made it much more credible. This website provided me with well-defined information on the Philippine’s and made it very easy to understand. When I went to the homepage of the website, I learned that you could click on any region you want and it would give you a list of sections on that area that you could click on. For these reasons I felt like it was an appropriate source. I was also able to relate a lot of the information I found on this website to prior research I did with other sources. 4. Milgram, Lynn. â€Å" Snapshot: Revival of Pià ±a Cloth and Dress: Southern Luzon and Central Philippines† Summary: This article focuses on pià ±a, filipino cloth woven from the fibers of the leaves from a pineapple. It is believed that the pineapple, a very popular fruit found in the Philippines today, was brought over by Spanish settlers in the 16th century. Pià ±a cloth first started producing when the spanish realized that philippine artisans were already skilled at utilizing other local resources, such as the banana, and making into cloth. This was when pià ±a weaving began to spread. The main items of dress tailored from  pià ±a cloth include the baro (woman’s blouse), worn with a detachable paà ±uelo (shawl collar), the saya (skirt), the barong Tagalog (man’s shirt), and handkerchiefs. The next paragraph of this article discusses when pià ±a production reached its peak in the early 19th century when people started realizing that it had a similar appearance to luxury lace. People then began to realize that there were cheaper garments out there that looked similar to pià ±a, which was very expensive due to its complex weaving process. Pinà £ began to fade away and become a smaller business again. The next paragraph discusses the labor inducing process of extracting the pineapple fibers and weaving the pià ±a cloth. The next paragraph talks about the development of â€Å"pià ±a-seda†, the use of silk yarns in the weft instead of pià ±a in order to meet growing demand. Filipino’s also incorporated pià ±a cloth in religious garments. Critical Evaluation: I found this source using the Berg Fashion Library, so its credibility is easy to prove. Not only did the author use accurate historical information, but she also mentioned popular Philippine designers. This source educates the reader on such an interesting and beautiful  invention developed by the Philippines, and really shows you how resourceful they really are. This author also proved her credibility by citing her sources at the bottom of the page, and including pictures to give you a visual of what a pià ±a garment really looked like. I also noticed that the author Lynne B. Milgram is the author of numerous articles found using the Berg Fashion Library. The author makes this article fun, and educational at the same time by relating the art of pià ±a to the early ages of the Philippines. The article was published in the year 2010, but considering it is about a topic that was developed in the 16th century, I don’t believe that needs to be taken into much consideration. 5. Arthur, Linda. â€Å" Asia, Southeastern Islands and the Pacific: History of Dress† Summary: This article focuses on the evolution of fashion garments throughout the years. It starts by mentioning the earliest fashion staple, the bark cloth. The bark cloth was made from the bark of a mulberry tree,  and originated before Spanish settlement. As years continued, Philippine dress transformed due to multicultural influences from the portuguese, the dutch, the spanish and more. When the spanish settlers came, they were shocked by the philippine people’s lack of clothing, and helped them develop the modesty they have in their dress today. The article then continues to mention the names of certain garments worn by regular philippine people such as the baro’t saya, an ensemble of a loose, long-sleeved blouse over a wide skirt that fell to the floor. This article mainly focuses on the impact that westernization had on their clothing. The author mentions that the Spanish also taught filipina women embroidery, cutwork, and threadwork. The use of pià ±a cloth, hand loomed using the fibers of pineapple leaves and jusi cloth, machine made using the fibers of pineapple leaves, were also mentioned as the favorite choice of fabric throughout the 20th century. Critical Evaluation: I found this information in a book called The Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Considering all of my other sources were found using credible databases provided by the school, a book found on the library shelves has to be 100% credible, especially since it came from an encyclopedia. The encyclopedia covers almost everything in the fashion world from ancient egypt, to famous runway moments, to the technology behind design, to the worlds most  admirable designers today. Not only does the author of this section, Linda Arthur, provide us with the evolution of traditional dress in the Philippines, but she also mentions the other westernized areas such as the rest of asia, the southeastern islands, and the asian pacific islands. She covers as early as the beginning of the 16th century before the Spanish colonized the Philippines, all the way up to the 20th century and present day traditional dress. This source was a definite contributor to my research because the author provided me with fascinating facts and terms that have helped me further my understanding and knowledge of Filipino fashion. Although this encyclopedia was published in 2005, the time period the text covered was large enough to extract information from. Conclusion: Before I began breaking down the information I needed to gather to form my thesis, all I knew was that I wanted to relate this essay to my Filipina heritage in some way. Once I began my literature review research, I began to develop the desire to focus my paper more specifically on the Filipino fashion. When I had the main structure of what I wanted to write my essay on, I thought that I would just travel through the years and discuss the fashion evolution. As my research continued, and the FIDM databases provided me with more and more information, I realized that that the Philippines have been through so much throughout centuries, and have advanced and developed so much, that I had to focus on more than just the fashion itself. Before the Philippines gained their independence, they were under the rule of multiple different countries. From each and every one of those countries that the people had to abide to, the Philippines adopted small aspects of their cultures, and ways of life. How has the unstable history of the Philippines affected their overall fashion and textile industry? After writing this Literature review, and expanding my knowledge on the aspects behind this topic , I feel as if I am prepared to answer that question. Works Cited Arthur, Linda B. â€Å"Asia, Southeastern Islands and the Pacific: History of Dress.† Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2005. 93-97. Print Hazard, Elizabeth. â€Å"Nation Building And The Crafting Of A Usable Past In The Philippines.† International Studies Association. EBSCO, 2004. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. Milgram, B Lynne â€Å"Snapshot: Revival of Pià ±a Cloth and Dress: Southern Luzon and Central Philippines.† The Berg Fashion Library. The Berg Fashion Library, Sept 2010. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. Milgram, B Lynne, â€Å"‘Ukay-Ukay’ Chic: Tales of Second Hand Clothing Fashion and Trade in the Philippine Cordillera.† The Berg Fashion Library. The Berg Fashion Library, 2004. Web. 4 Aug. 2014. â€Å"Population, Way of Life.† Countries Quest. Microsoft Corporation, 2004. Web. 4 Aug. 2014