<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Collaborative Web]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://coweb.org/home/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright Collaborative Web]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Find the Vatican Museum Quickly]]></title><description><![CDATA[Here are tips for travelers with limited time and therefore want to find the Vatican quickly. Before anything else, be informed that street names in Rome are engraved on the walls of buildings, so look up the building in that corner before you get lost!
    
  
  Perspective view of the Vatican.
    
First, a good perspective view of the Vatican is essential. Above is an old painting of the Vatican that shows its location high on a hill. Note the location of the entrance to the Museum and the side entrance to the St. Peter's Plaza (Piazza)). The long side of the Vatican wall is in the direction of Via Ottaviano (Ottaviano Street).
    
  
  Location sketch of the Vatican.
    
Second, locate the Metro A stations close by. At the left is Cipro and at the top is Ottaviano. Both stations are close to the Vatican, but Ottaviano station is the less confusing of the two, so you may choose to exit from this station. After reaching the street, look for the columns (pillars) of the St. Peter's Plaza and walk in that direction (There will also be train tracks along the street - see the picture below). Caution: If you keep walking along Ottaviano Street, then you will head for the Piazza (Basilica) and pass the Vatican Museum entrance, so you will have to go back along the wall if you are visiting the museum. 
    
  
  Night view of Ottaviano Street with St. Peter's Plaza at its end.
    
  
  The nearby church as guidepost at Cipro exit.
    
The Cipro exit allows you a shorter route to the Vatican Museum, so use this exit if you want to visit the museum first. You will not be able to see the Vatican wall from the station, so here are tips for you not to get lost. After exiting the Cipro station, look around, especially behind you if you kept walking forward, and locate the bell tower of a nearby church. Walk towards this bell tower and stand in front of the church until you face a traffic light directly ahead. That traffic light is the first intersection of your route to the museum. The third intersection is at Via Tunisi, and this is where you turn right to the Vatican Museum. There will be some steps up to the level of the museum (see below).
    
  
  Steps to the Vatican Museum at Via Tunisi.
    
The trick to avoid getting lost when exiting from the Cipro Station is to remember that the Vatican will be behind you when walking forward, so you must do an about face and find the bell tower then walk to Via Candia and turn right to Via Tunisi. You will be at the Vatican Museum quickly!
    
  
For more tips about visiting the Vatican as well as some pictures of the Cipro exit, look   here  .
    ]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:38:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://coweb.org/home/travelstips/find-the-vatican-museum-quickly/</link><guid>http://coweb.org/home/travelstips/find-the-vatican-museum-quickly/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[GUIDE 2010 Workshop on New Challenges for E-Learning]]></title><description><![CDATA[      
  March 18, 2010 - The GUIDE Association International Workshop Rome 2010 starts today with over one hundred participants from various universities. The workshop would discuss new challenges for e-learning in cultural, scientific and socio-economic development. The event is organized in Rome, Italy by the Association in collaboration with the Università degli Studi Marconi.   Click here   to open the workshop site.  
  If you want to watch the plenary and wrap-up sessions, go to   www.marconichannel.tv  . The plenary sessions will be on March 18 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM (4:00 PM and 8:00 PM in Manila) and March 19 3:30-6:00 PM (10:30 PM - 1:30 AM in Manila). To watch the event, click on the section “Dirette”.  ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:57:58 +0000</pubDate><link>http://coweb.org/home/home/guide-2010-workshop-on-new-challenges-for-elearning/</link><guid>http://coweb.org/home/home/guide-2010-workshop-on-new-challenges-for-elearning/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Post-Disaster Coping Mechanisms and the Role of Women and Children - CARD-MRI, Philippines]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Post-Disaster Coping
Mechanisms and the Role of Women and Children: Practices and Interventions        

  Mimosa Cortez-   Ocampo  , PhD  

  Professor and CARD-MRI Professorial Chair Holder (2008-2009)  

      Institute of Development
Management and Governance  

  College of Public Affairs  

  UP Los   Banos    

    &nbsp;    

    Abstract        

      This paper was
prepared to determine the impact of and the post-disaster response/coping
mechanisms of       women and children to,
natural disaster.      Organizational
interventions and the role of microfinance were also addressed.      The research-based paper made use of
secondary data available from the different offices concerned as well as
primary data obtained thru focus group discussions (FGDs) among 76 women
respondents in eight covered   barangays   at four
municipalities/cities heavily affected by Typhoon   Reming  :
  Legazpi  ,   Daraga  ,   Camalig   and   Guinobatan   in   Albay   province. These were areas hit by typhoon or wind,
excessive   rainwaters   or flooding and mudslides from   Mayon   Volcano.          


  Typhoon   Reming  , which hit   Albay   in late 2006 was the natural disaster covered. The
typhoon claimed 618 casualties, totally damaged 112,107 houses, substantially
damaged 100,069 houses and brought about the evacuation of 3,000 families.      Damage to agriculture was P576.58 million, to
public infrastructures P1.83 billion.   

  There was no shortage of    
  local and international agencies, organizations and groups including the
provincial and local LGUs providing relief assistance. Assistance consisted of
food rations and relief goods, building materials, temporary shelter/evacuation
centers, medical services, and resettlement areas/houses.        

  Due to the magnitude of the damage and the numbers and
diversity of organizations and groups providing relief, there were problems in
coordination of relief efforts. To mitigate the problem,   Ayuda  
  Albay   was formed as coordinating body. The body
consisted of members from almost all the groups- GOs, NGOs, POs, private
sector, etc. - engaged in disaster management.   Ayuda     Albay   adopted a Cluster Approach which proved to be an
effective, efficient and more systematic provision of relief and rehabilitation
services. This approach which organized the different organizations into
clusters representing particular areas of concern could be a model for disaster
management.  

  The women’s life routine was totally upset with houses
damaged, household appliances and utensils lost, livelihoods and businesses
gone, privacy and incomes lost. Aside from increased workload, there was
general inconvenience with cut power and piped-in water supplies, un-passable
roads and limited transport. There was also recreation loss and the transistor
radios that were battery-run served well under said conditions.      Children’s school schedules were upset and
they were scarred by the experience. Trauma was experienced by women and
children.  

  The value of family and kin in times of calamity was
validated by the response to the disaster.   
  This was true with respect to funds for repair, reconstruction of
houses, funds for resumption of livelihood, temporary shelter, and related
assistance.  

  Two years after Typhoon   Reming  ,
livelihood involvements appeared to have normalized. What made this immediately
possible after the disaster was the financing scheme again by family and kin,
but some were also under rather usurious conditions or the 5/6 or “Bombay”
scheme. Microfinance has a role in disaster management. Savings that women had
with Center for Agriculture and Rural Development – Mutually Reinforcing
Institutions ( CARD-MRI),      particularly
CARD, Inc. and CARD MBA, were well recognized to have been of much help.  

       CARD-MRI undertook
limited relief operations by providing relief goods to its members in affected   barangays  .      It also
suspended the collection of affected members’ weekly loan payments for two
months and allowed members to withdraw from their Capital Build   Up   (CBU) funds or the amounts retained from their loans.
While CARD involved itself in disaster relief efforts, it did not extend
emergency or calamity loans, consistent with microfinance principles that it is
a credit, not a relief or charity organization.       Moreover, CARD incorporated “disaster
preparedness/management” lessons during the conduct of their weekly center
meetings.  

  Typhoon   Reming   impacted on loan
repayments. Three months after Typhoon   Reming  , only
100 Centers (35%) out of the 283 centers in the areas covered by the study
reported 100% loan repayments. However, viewed in terms of members’ actual
repayment, 4,374 (71%) of the 6,131 members had 100% or full repayment.      The individual repayment rate of 71 %- a
short period after major disaster appears rather high but is way below the norm
of more than 95 % repayment during normal times. There were 329 members,
representing 5% of members who made no payments at all, three months after
Typhoon   Reming  . The destruction of livelihood/houses
and absence of income sources indeed made loan repayments difficult.  

  Despite all these, in the FGD sessions, the over-all
atmosphere was already almost lighthearted. Things appeared to have normalized.
Three distinctly Filipino values underlie the coping mechanisms:   familism  , sense of joy and humor and religiousness.  

  Since women are actively involved in disaster relief,
reconstruction, recovery and related work, they should just as actively be
involved in disaster preparedness programs like training courses, seminars,
planning etc.  

  Finally, discussions with different stakeholders indicate a
much increased awareness about disaster and its consequences. Hence, a greater
readiness to prepare for and respond to such eventuality in the future can be
expected.  ]]></description><pubDate>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:14:33 +0000</pubDate><link>http://coweb.org/home/membersarticles/postdisaster-coping-mechanisms-and-the-role-of-women-and-children-cardmri-philippines/</link><guid>http://coweb.org/home/membersarticles/postdisaster-coping-mechanisms-and-the-role-of-women-and-children-cardmri-philippines/</guid></item></channel></rss>