Professional Documents
Culture Documents
This chapter reviews related literatures in foreign and local perspectives which
give insight to different types of disputes in community settings, their major causes,
and strategies utilized by mediators in resolving conflicts and averting violence which
were used as bases for this study. It also reviews related studies on best practices of
and Burgess (2017) who states that “Disputes” are short-term disagreements that are
involve seemingly non-negotiable issues and are resistant to resolution. There will be
various opportunities along the way to resolve the dispute – personally, informally
unresolved. Some disputes may go through several resolution processes, and a few
will progress to the formal court system (Braun & Schnabel, 2017).
Typologies of Disputes
The types of disputes dealt with by courts can be broadly divided into two (2)
types: criminal cases and civil cases. These two types are dealt with quite differently
and different processes and approaches apply. For example, there is a difference in
who ’prosecutes’ the case, as well as in the standard of proof and in the outcomes if
Dispute between Families. These happen when a conflict occurs within the
family members. Family conflict refers to active opposition between family members.
Because of the nature of family relationships, it can take a wide variety of forms,
between parents and children or, again, between siblings (Marta & Alfieri, 2014).
who owes money from the creditor and the latter is the one who lends the money.
Dispute between them may happens when the debtor fails to pay the debt (Chen,
2021).
Disputes between Consumers and Retailers. A retailer is one who sells goods
or services (Hameli, 2018) and a consumer is one who buys it (Comanescu, 2019).
Dispute happens when the purchased goods may be broken, faulty, inadequate, or
regularly. In fact, they are one of the most common types of civil disputes. Neighbors
vegetation, unsecured leaf litters or rubbish, barking or dangerous dogs, loud noises or
offensive smells. The basis of these complaints is often minor; however, it is important
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that disputes between neighbors are resolved quickly and amicably unresolved
disputes between neighbors have the potential to deteriorate or escalate, making life
(Lawgovpol, 2018).
to the leasing or rental of property: most tenancy disputes are about occupancy,
(Lawgovpol, 2018).
vehicle accident, workplace injuries and other mishaps. The parties concerned may be
in dispute about the causes of accident, who was negligent or at fault and who is liable
between all parties will allow most disputes to be settled privately – in fact the
majority of disputes are settled without any form of legal action. However, when this
is not possible, or when communication breaks down, there are many legal avenues to
gender-based violence. Although men and boys are also target of gender-based and
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properties such as land and buildings (Mares, 2013). Disputes related to it are mostly
movable properties such as household goods, investments, and motor vehicles (Mares,
2013). Personal property issues can arise in the context of many types of disputes,
disputes, and torts. The fundamental issues at the heart of such disputes typically
involve either the value or the financial damages related to the personal property
people are. It is not about their social status, financial assets, or worldly achievements.
Their dignity derives from doing their best to live as an ethical human being (Amodeo,
Dispute Related to Offenses against a Person. The term “crimes against the
person” refers to a broad array of criminal offenses which usually involve bodily
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harm, the threat of bodily harm, or other actions committed against the will of an
individual. Those involving bodily harm (or the threat thereof) include assault, battery,
stalking also are considered crimes against the person (Findlaw.com, 2016).
Conflicts occur because of historical, cultural and economic changes that can
make people anxious. If people are repeatedly excluded, the anger will grow and may
escalate into a major conflict. The feelings and emotions, the hopes and aspirations,
the anger and the frustration that the changes bring up will often be carried into the
information, or disagree over what data is relevant. They may also be caused by each
party working on a different set of data or looking at the same data differently
Values conflicts are created when people have perceived or actual incompatible
belief systems. Where a person or group tries to impose its values on others or claims
exclusive right to a set of values, disputes arise. It can also be caused by beliefs and
Interest conflicts are caused when two or more group are competing for the
same thing. It can also happen when people want to avoid the same thing. Such
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conflicts may occur over issues of money, resources, or time. Parties often mistakenly
believe that in order to satisfy their own needs, those of their opponent must be
emotions, or poor communication. One person may distrust the other and believe that
the other person’s actions are motivated by malice or an intent to harm the other. This
conflict behavior. This can also happen when there is unfair treatment and
(2022), there are various strategies and tactics that may be utilized by the mediators in
professors and specialists in conflict resolution with their own published books, to wit:
they cannot win with further escalation, and the status quo is unacceptably damaging,
(Zartman, 2003).
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preliminary meeting where they will discuss the issues of a conflict and consider
options for its resolution. Tasks involved include assessing the conflict situation,
Conflict Assessment. This is the initial first stage of mediation and the process
of determining what is going on, who is involved, what options for resolution might be
Ground Rules. These stem from a belief that all parties in a dispute resolution
process should be treated equally and fairly. These rules spell out behavior and
procedures that people consider fair, but tend to abandon when carrying on a fight
(Maiese, 2004).
Codes of Conduct for Intervenors. Just as ground rules set the codes of conduct
for participants, mediators also have codes of conduct. While some are negotiated on a
case-by-case basis, others are fairly standard and are specified in various existing
Sequencing Strategies and Tactics. Mediators dealing with very large social
conflicts have to skillfully manage a very complex and diverse set of challenges. In
order to do this, these people must think about the best way to order or sequence the
and prejudice, communication between parties is often difficult. There are various
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obstacles to effective communication and there are ways to create a supportive climate
worded; reframing is the process of changing the way a thought is presented so that it
maintains its fundamental meaning but is more likely to support resolution efforts.
"Parties can engage in reframing on their own, but it can be extremely helpful to have
resolving any conflict. Once all parties to the conflict have identified the issues under
contention, they should systematically list all options that they see available to them
for advancing their interests. Often, this is the most creative step of the mediation
parties both understand their differences and yet focus on their commonalities (Hauss,
2003).
Caucus. Caucuses are meetings that mediators hold separately with each side
of a dispute in order to keep mediation moving forward. They can be called by the
mediator or by one of the parties to work out problems that occur during the process.
There are basic steps of a caucus and their role in effective mediation processes. There
Shuttle Diplomacy. Rather than allowing for the exchange of views and
make the situation worse. The essence of shuttle diplomacy is the use of a third party
to convey information back and forth between the parties in cases where direct
option that is better than what they will get through participating in mediation. Reality
testing involves asking questions about each party's options and convincing resistant
throughout the mediation process as parties decide whether or not to participate and
and maintain the parties' trust of the mediation process, the mediators, and between the
parties themselves. When trust levels are high, parties are less defensive and more
willing to share information with other parties at the mediation table and in private
The Barangay Justice System in the Philippines has evolved from both
indigenous traditions and legal systems adopted from Western models (Disini et al,
2002). It was first recognized in 1979 under Presidential Decree No. 1508 as
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“Katarungang Pambarangay Law” and later amended and incorporated in R.A. 7160
also known as “The Local Government Code of the Philippines” (Gonzales, 2022). It
provides a friendly, inexpensive, and speedy forum for the settlement of disputes
where the parties can freely explore options for amicable settlements without resorting
fairness, and reputation for probity (Section 399, R.A. 7160). A Pangkat is formed
within the Lupon Members which serves as mediation panel over disputants
The primary role of the system is not to decide disputes and impose a solution
on the parties but to assist the parties in discussing the possible amicable settlement of
their disputes. The Punong Barangay and the community conciliators (Lupon
Members) do not act as judges or adjudicators of disputes but as facilitators for the
disputing parties’ discussion of possible solutions. For this reason, the personal
appearance and participation of the disputing parties is necessary, while the non-
appearance of the parties will have corresponding sanctions. Also because of the need
disputes involving non-natural persons like corporations are not subject to the
conciliation proceedings of the Barangay Justice System (Vigo & Manuel, 2004).
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Vigo and Manuel (2004) summarized the cases that fall within the jurisdiction
of barangay which was derived from the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, to
wit: unlawful use of publication and utterance, alarms and scandal, using false
certificate, illegal use of uniforms and insignias, physical injuries, giving assistance to
correspondence, revealing secrets with abuse of authority, theft, any real property and
land disputes, deceitful acts such as swindling or estafa, malicious mischief, simple
innocent persons, intriguing against honor, issuing checks without sufficient funds,
Austral (2012) summarized the disputes that are outside barangay jurisdiction
such as: where one party is a government institution; where the object of dispute is
exceeding one (1) year or a fine exceeding Php 5,000.00; offenses where there is no
private offended party; where the dispute involves real properties in different cities or
municipalities unless the parties thereto agree to submit their differences to amicable
adjoin each other and the parties thereto agree to submit their differences to amicable
settlement by an appropriate Lupon; such other classes of disputes which the President
may determine in the interest of justice or upon the recommendation of the Secretary
of Justice.
Pambarangay Law. In order that the laudable purpose of the law may not be subverted
hereby issued for the information of trial court judges in cases brought before them
coming from the barangays and prior recourse thereto is a pre-condition before filing a
Tabucanon et al. (2008) noted that there are two types of strategies utilized by
embarrassment of going to court makes the court option less favorable than
disputants are placing their futures into the hands of strangers who may not
understand the problem or their customs. There is the risk that anything can
happen in court and there is an obligation to society. If all people take their
cases to court, it causes delay and a lower quality of justice for everyone.
2. Determine who is Right and who is Wrong. To Western ears, this strategy
assigns labels of "winner" and "loser." But to the Pangkat mediators, this
right so he or she can be pressed to modify his or her legitimate claims and
apologize, have his or her guilt alleviated, and perhaps have his or her
becomes a loser; the loser becomes a winner; and both are winners because
evaluate the disputants' behaviors. But when they find a legal violation or standard,
they unequivocally emphasize the law, with comments such as, "you committed a
felony assault and could spend almost a year in prison for what you did." Interestingly,
the Pangkat members will often take their mediations outside the mediation room
courts. Peaceful settlement of disputes among the family and barangay members
without going to the courts “is a time-honored tradition in the Philippines and is at the
borne out of time-honored traditions of (1) Pakikisama (Community Spirit); (2) Utang
na Loob (Debt of Gratitude); and (3) Kinship. KP helps reduce the number of
indiscriminate filing cases that leads to congestion of court dockets. By compelling the
parties to settle their conflict through the intervention of the barangay, the animosity
generated by a protracted court litigation, which is a disruptive factor toward unity and
achieve higher societal goals such as good citizenship and strong communities beyond
where individuals lack the financial means to pursue their conflicts through regular
initiatives that seek to formalize and support community justice systems within the
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state justice system. He studied different practices of hybrid courts in countries such as
the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Nigeria
and South Africa. These hybrid courts emerged during the colonial period when
Western law was introduces for the foreign population, while accepting community
state, including the incorporation of local decision makers into the government
In Bangladesh, village court was constituted under “The Village Courts Act of
2006” which was revised in 2013. This act was implemented due to constant lack of
justice to the underprivileged where there were petty issues arising like theft, robbery,
and land acquisition. Village court functions under the institutional framework of a
Union Parishad (Council). A Union Parishad (UP) is the lowest unit of local
law, the government of Bangladesh now aims to nationalize such project (Hossain &
Zaman, 2016).
In Papua New Guinea, village courts began to operate in 1975 and have
expanded rapidly since then. Its function is to ensure peace and harmony in the
province for which it was established. The common types of disputes filed in these
court villages are striking a person, using insulting words, damage to property,
sorcery, and other cases that may fall under their jurisdiction. Although it was initially
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time and in any place, and mediation of disputes, it became a new legal institution
within Papua New Guinea, and many magistrates were uncertain of the role they were
to perform. Although village courts are meant to apply custom to settle disputes, there
has been a tendency for magistrates to search for formal rules of law in order to exert
their authority and the authority of the court within the village, rather than relying on
local custom. On the other hand, the application of custom is not always an easy
matter. It is rarely in written form and the ability of the court to apply custom is
restricted to some extent by the limited knowledge of magistrates, who are not always
the older, more knowledgeable persons in the community. Younger, tertiary educated
persons are also chosen as magistrates. Since village courts are male-dominated
institutions, some women have accordingly been reluctant to bring disputes before
them for having doubts about the likelihood of a fair hearing and the inexperience of
women as public speakers have been given as reasons for this reluctance. Despite the
need for better improvement, nevertheless, for the most part, they have been
successful in achieving their purpose. Village courts, while not without their
difficulties, have clearly filled a gap in achieving order at the village level (Braun et
al., 2017).
It is regulated by statute “The Island Court Act of 1983” which was enacted in 1983
and has been amended a number of times. Just like village courts, a minimum number
of three justices comprise the court, one of whom must be “a custom chief residing
within the territorial jurisdiction of the court. It was legislated to determine matters of
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customary land ownership. In 2001, parliament stipulated that island courts would no
longer hear any claims about the ownership of customary land, as such claims would
Land Tribunals Act, which came into force on that date. However, it was to be
ineffective since records showed that there were still 83 customary land cases yet to be
determined by island courts. They are also authorized to exercise such jurisdiction as
and determine certain minor criminal offenses under the Penal Code and other
specified legislation. For example, their criminal jurisdiction might include damage to
property, criminal trespass, abusive and threatening language, adultery, and theft.
From 1995 these courts have been authorized to hear minor traffic offenses such as
driving without due care or failure to comply with traffic signs. Their civil jurisdiction
often extends to minor contractual disputes and certain civil claims, for example,
disputes concerning ownership of land; claims in tort and contract not exceeding
50,000 vatu; civil claims under provincial bylaws; and applications for child
maintenance. In the exercise of their jurisdiction, island courts were intended to apply
customary law, provided it is not in conflict with any other written law or contrary to
In Solomon Islands, native courts were established under the Native Court
Ordinance of 1942 and were given express power to deal with “native customs”. They
also had complete jurisdiction over matters relating to customary land. These native
courts were presided by the local headman: the chief. The courts’ place in the structure
who, among other duties, was president of the native court in the subdistrict. He was
not supposed to “meddle in religious affairs” but was to keep order, with the aid of
constable. Both the assistant district headman and the constable were members of the
native court, which also had a native clerk. The court was required to meet at least
once a month, and decorum similar to that of a magistrate’s court was enforced.
However, upon independence in 1978, the name “native courts” was replaced by
“Local Court”. Just like in Vanuatu, local courts were primarily meant to deal with
customary land disputes. Individual warrants are required to establish local courts.
While warrants exist establishing some 33 courts, in practice, there are some 18 courts
“on the books” following a consolidation in 2008, spread across five court districts.
The majority of these courts exist in name only, however, having no place to sit, few
local courts sat in 2010. Records from the Central Magistrate’s Court indicate that
some six local court hearings occurred across the country. Despite having extensive
civil and criminal jurisdiction, the courts are presently hearing matters related only to
“Justice Provision” and is characterized as legal pluralism due to wide range of justice
provider, different co-existing legal system, and varied justice perception. While the
Government of Myanmar has an official judicial system, but de facto the main Ethnic
Armed Organizations (EAOs) also have their own justice systems, laws and prisons.
Under this EAOs, there exists the Karen National Union (KNU), the New Mon State
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Party (NMSP) and to a lesser degree the Karrenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).
They are organized around three levels of ‘justice committees’ or courts with varying
levels of independence from the administrative and armed wings and can bring to trial
any criminal and civil cases. Unlike the GoM system, they have an institutionalized
system of referrals and appeals from the village level to the Supreme Courts (Kyed,
2018).
Kyed (2018) also notes the difference and traces of trends and patterns such as
mandates of local justice providers. Although there is a co-existing legal pluralism, all
unresolved community-based dispute will be heard and tried in the GoM official
judicial system.
respond to its legal and protection needs. UNDP prototyped a model for CDR. The
types of disputes in a cooperative and amicable manner while upholding legal and
human rights. It provides a scalable model for dispute resolution services that can be
applied across Syria. The project’s data collection and findings illustrate efficient use
enabling human rights and longer-term recovery. UNGPs are now widely used as
and protect human rights. The UNGPs prescribe that such measures “should be
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and needs of, as well as the challenges faced by, individuals from groups or
and with due regard to the different risks that may be faced by women and men”.
The Philippines, with diverse cultural traditions and various ethnicities, has a
which passed down from generations to generations. The types of disputes in the
major islands of the Philippines differ from one another. In Luzon, the common
disputes are related to conflicts over livelihood sources and their ownership, whether
legal or illegal. Offenders are brought before councils of elders for severe reprimand
livelihood sources and claiming (whether legal or illegal) thereof. Offenders will be
brought before the councils of elders to be severely reprimanded and he or she will be
In Visayas, the common disputes arise from offenses against a person or the
murder of a family member. The justice system is based on the principle of vengeance,
where the bereaved family considers it a communal obligation rather than a personal
pursuit. Failure to seek revenge can lead to the perception that the crime committed is
justified and exposes the family to potential abuse from other community members.
Retaliation resulting in the death of members from the opposing tribe or family serves
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as a counterbalance for the loss. This practice, known as Kantang, involves leaving the
deceased unburied on a bamboo bed outside the aggrieved family's house until there is
Traditional tribal leaders such as Sultans, Datus, or councils of elders, who are part of
the barangay government, are initially responsible for settling disputes in their
traditional leaders fails, traditional conflict resolution procedures are employed. There
are two types of Maranao conflicts that can be resolved peacefully. The first type,
rido-o-totonganaya, involves conflicts within the same kinship group and is resolved
ties. Punishments or damages imposed in such conflicts are minimal due to kinship
intervenes to maintain peace and order in the community. Relatives of the disputants
provide support to those involved in the conflict. If a conflict escalates into factional
violence with revenge and counter-revenge, both legal and traditional authorities often
become powerless to take decisive actions. Even law enforcers are hesitant to control
the heavily armed warring factions supported by their respective kin (Samaguina,
These practices were recognized not only by the ethnic community itself but
also in formal legal court. This is to preserve the tradition of these ethnicities
(Ragandang, 2018).
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functions of Lupong Tagapamayapa, the different cases brought before them, how
they administered conciliation, their efforts in reconciling parties, how effective they
are in issuing certification to file action, enforcing laws and their proper application of
the legal procedures. The result of the study found out that the Lupon members are
discipline enough over their mandated roles, functions and responsibilities to make
every conciliation proceeding successful through the observance of all the considered
existing provisions of the law ensuring that disputes must be compulsory and
obligatory upon the parties subject to the conciliation process. The Lupong
amicably settle disputes, policy of it to follow the legal protocols with utmost
Government Code of 1991, and other similar statutes. Lastly, the Lupon members are
carefully executing the step-by-step process in accordance with their lawful mandate
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and exercises a deeper evaluation and investigation of the cases brought before them
Similar study was conducted in Cauayan City, Isabela by Lupao and Alejandro
Tagapamayapa. The result of the study showed that the Barangay Justice System is
effective. The themes that emerge challenging the mediators during settlement are:
cooperate for settlement, the of challenge of not exceeding from the mandated
authority of the Lupon in execution of agreement in selected cases and the challenge
government agencies who have specialization with the dispute, on-site dispute
settlement and single-out counselling of both complainants and disputants and giving
The study helped the Municipality of Calauan create an intervention program that will
surely help in decongesting the court dockets and improve the mediation process. The
result of the study showed that the implementation of the Barangay Justice System
was all fully implemented. The test of significant difference between the assessment of
Barangay Justice System was all greater than the level of significance at .05 which led
to the conclusion that there was no significant difference in the assessment of the
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Synthesis
The researcher reviewed related literatures and studies in foreign and local
its major causes, strategies utilized in resolving these disputes, and the effectiveness of
of disputes and were categorized based on the subject matter and parties involved such
as: (1) dispute between families (Marta & Alfieri, 2014); (2) dispute between debtor
and creditor (Chen, 2021); (3) dispute between consumer and retailer (Honeyman,
2013).; (4) dispute between neighbors (Lawgovpol, 2018); (5) dispute between
employer and employee (Lawgovpol, 2018); (6) dispute related to tenancy conflict
(Lawgovpol, 2018); (7) dispute related to accidents (Lawgovpol, 2018); (8) dispute
related to gender-based violence (United Nations Human Rights, 2014); (9) dispute
related to real property conflict (Mares, 2013); (10) dispute related to personal
property conflict (Mares, 2013); (11) dispute related to violation of dignity (Amodeo,
2015); and (12) dispute related to offenses against persons (Findlaw.com, 2016).
However, there was no related literature found in the local setting. Instead, a legal
basis on cases that are within the barangay jurisdiction (Vigo & Manuel, 2004) and
(Vilendrer Law, 2023) discussed five major causes of conflict such as information
2003); ground rules (Maiese, 2004); codes of conduct for intervenors (Maiese, 2004);
sequencing strategies and tactics (Weiss & Rosenberg, 2003); creating safe spaces for
shuttle diplomacy (Brahm & Burgess, 2003); reality testing (Spangler, 2003); costing
in mediation (Salem, 2003). These strategies were discussed on the basis of procedural
utilization. Related literature in local perspective only provided two common overall
strategies such as “comparison to the courts” strategy and “determine who is right and
For purposes of this study, since there was no related literature in the local
context that discussed the typologies of disputes filed in the barangay focusing on the
subject matter of complaint and the parties involved, major causes of these disputes
disputes, the researcher used the related literature in the foreign context as basis for
this study
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resolution, foreign contexts such as: village courts in Bangladesh (Chapman, 2012);
village courts in Papua New Guinea (Braun, et al, 2017); island courts in Vanuatu
(Evans, et al., 2010); local courts in Solomon Islands (Evans, et al., 2010); justice
in Syria (Moore, et al., 2022) have similar effectiveness in practices in the local
context such as: in Luzon (Barnes & Magdalena, 2016); in Visayas (Rio, 2016); in
Cauayan City (Lupao & Alejandro, 2022); and in Calauan, Laguna (Gonzales, 2022).
Studies in foreign and local contexts both showed similar practices of community-
Conceptual Framework
independent and dependent variables. The independent variables are the typology of
disputes filed in the barangay and its majors causes. The dependent variable of this
study are the strategies utilized by the Lupong Tagapamayapa in resolving disputes
The conceptual framework of the study began with input to: (1) identify the
typologies of disputes filed in the barangay; (2) show the degree of occurrence of each
dispute; (3) identify the major causes of these disputes and its level of frequency; (4)
The processing of the data and information from input involved the collection
in Poblacion (96 respondents). These generated data were organized and statistically
treated for proper presentation, interpretation and analysis to answer the objectives of
the study.
In anticipation, the output of the study would be used to assess the Barangay
4. Identify the
strategies utilized by
the Lupong
Tagapamayapa
5. Assess the
effectiveness of
these strategies in
resolving disputes
and averting
violence
FEEDBACK
Figure 1 illustrates the paradigm of the study consisting of the Input, Process,
and Output (IPO) which is known as system analysis crafting the conceptual
framework.
included the: (1) typologies of disputes filed in the barangay; (2) major causes of
disputes filed in the Barangay; and (3) strategies utilized by the Lupong
questionnaire to: (1) identify typologies of disputes filed in the barangay; (2) show the
degree of occurrence of disputes in the barangay; (3) identify the major causes of these
disputes and its level of frequency; (4) identify the strategies utilized by the Lupong
disputes and averting violence. Analysis and interpretation of data was statistically
treated using descriptive design (ranking, frequency level, weighted mean, and
percentage).
is dynamic which connects the output to the input as shown by a linkage of these