II.

PARTS OF A WHOLE: EMERGING PATTERN

Part of the Whole

In order to understand things better, there is a need to dig deeper trying to identify the parts
of the whole. A trend is characterized by many as an elaborate thing that makes the whole idea
of the trend working and producing an emerging pattern. Just as the totality of the person is
being examined, there is also a need to look at the small segments of every event or situation
that keeps it progressing to develop trends.

Early thinkers like Plato and Aristotle made a considerable discussion about parts of the
whole. Their ideas were later re-examined and intensified by later thinkers. For Karl Marx, “the
overall strategy of scientific knowledge, as it develops in any given period, is determined to a
significant extent by the particular treatment of the categories of the part and the whole and
the specific interpretation of the related question of wholeness.”

Understanding the parts of the whole is very important as it gives a clear view of the basic
elements that make up a whole. A wrong connotation of its part may mislead a decision maker
and could encourage him/her to question and not adapt the emerging trends. For example, if
one looks at the approaches used by different countries in addressing the pandemic, one may
find a strategy that works in a country while failing in another. In this case, there is a need to
look at the totality of the strategy surrounding the implementation. That includes
considerations like political, economic, social factors, culture, etc. because they are the parts
that make up the whole system.

Emerging Patterns

Emerging patterns refer to items in which frequency are changing overtime. They are
important indicators that set the progressive movement of data to understand the distinctive
direction to where the trend is heading. For example, data of spread of COVID -19 shows that
infection is increasing in the workplace rather than in the community. The Department of
Health (DOH), using the emerging pattern of spread of the infection, can adopt a new strategy
for containing the virus and preventing further transmission. Most patterns are presented in
graphs or charts to make it easier for people to understand the pattern. Data patterns of trends
can be classified as follows:

A. Linear. It follows a straight line in graphical presentation which could indicate an

upward or downward direction.
B. Exponential. It is a trend represented by a line that that may rise or fall shortly at a
given time unsteadily. Data change overtime caused by different factors that may affect
progression.
C. Damped. This shows that values rise and fall initially and then stop the rise and fall for
some time and then rise or fall again.

Causality

It is a generally accepted principle that there is the cause for everything that happens. That
is the principle that every cause produces a consequence. It influences an event, process or
state which is the cause that contributes to the production of another event, process or state
which is an effect or consequence. The cause is partly responsible for the consequences and the
consequences are partly dependent on the causes.

Activity 1
Read and analyze the given case. Then, answer the question that follows.

A worker from Manila came home to his barangay in Batangas City. In five (5) days, his elder with and
asthma experienced body pain and sore throat, his mother had fever. In three (3) weeks, there were
150 cases of COVID 19 in the whole barangay. How did it spread that fast?

1. Using the part of a whole premise, why did the virus spread too fast in that
community?
The virus spread too fast in the community because the worker from Manila
didn’t undergo a swab test before going home to his barangay in Batangas City.

2. If you were the barangay captain of a community suffering from a fatal virus, how
would you prevent the spread of that virus?
If I were a barangay captain of my community, I will always monitor the
people that are entering the community to prevent the virus from entering.
However, if the virus already entered the community, I will eventually declare a
total lockdown. I will put the people who are positive and having the symptoms of
COVID to a quarantine. I will also give an order to the people of the community to
do a major sanitizing.

3. As a member of the community, what is your role in preventing the emerging pattern
of COVID -19 infection?

As a member of the community, the only thing I can do is to follow the

safety protocols of the government to prevent the emerging pattern of COVID-19
infection. Like staying at home all the time to prevent getting the disease and only
go outside if it’s emergency and needed.