Browsing by Title

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    17 MOOCs In Six Emerging APEC Member Economies –Trends, Research, and Recommendation
    (Routledge, 2020) Jung, Insung ; Garcia Mendoza, Gibran A. ; Fajardo, Jennifer Christine ; Figueroa, Roberto B. Jr. ; Tan, Siaw Eng
    A collaborative team of five foreign researchers who reside in Japan purposefully conducted research to describe the development of MOOCs in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Mexico. It is important to point out that these countries represent six emerging economies that are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). It seeks to answer three key questions: (1) When did MOOCs begin in APEC countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America? (2) How did they develop? (3) How were they supported? To accomplish these goals, research articles published in relevant local, regional, and international journals together with related books and reports were thoroughly examined. Furthermore, interviews of local experts were also conducted to provide meaningful context. This chapter begins with a review of the overall trends of MOOC growth in the six selected countries. It then discusses research findings and local experts’ comments on MOOC-based learning experiences and points out various challenges currently faced as well as apparent opportunities moving forward. Finally, it concludes with several valuable lessons learned from the MOOC experiences of those emerging economies.
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    A Comparative Study of Laws and Policies on Plastic Waste Management Between Indonesia and the Philippines
    ( 2025) Pasillas II, Arnold L.
    This study presents a comparative analysis of plastic waste management laws, policies, and practices in Indonesia and the Philippines, two of Southeast Asia’s most plastic-intensive economies. Grounded in five central pillars—policy and regulation, community capacity and management, technological innovation, partnerships and collaboration, and behavioral and cultural transformation—the research examines both institutional frameworks and community-level interventions to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of current approaches. Through thematic qualitative analysis, the study identifies recurring implementation gaps linked to enforcement challenges, infrastructure limitations, and inconsistent public participation, despite the presence of comprehensive legal instruments such as Indonesia’s National Plan of Action on Marine Debris and the Philippines’ Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. The findings culminate in a 10-point strategic framework designed to guide local and national decision-makers toward scalable, inclusive, and systems-oriented solutions. Key themes include the rise of hybrid waste management models blending technology with grassroots engagement, the evolving role of informal sectors, and the critical need for cross-sector alignment in achieving circular economy goals. The study underscores the importance of maintaining momentum in regulatory development while strengthening mechanisms for community integration, inter-agency coordination, and private sector engagement. Beyond the national lens, this research contributes to the broader ASEAN agenda on environmental cooperation by offering context-specific insights and replicable practices that can support regional harmonization of plastic waste strategies. Ultimately, it offers a timely reminder that meaningful progress in addressing plastic pollution requires not only policy commitment but sustained, multi-level alignment across institutional, societal, and market-driven actors.
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    A Culturally-Congruent Sexuality Education Content for Adolescents in Legazpi City
    ( 2012) Mirandilla, Ma. Elma L.
    This study generated age-appropriate, culturally congruent sexuality education content for adolescents 10-18 years old. It identified topics for each key concept designed for age categories: 10-12, 13-15 and 16-18 years old. The proposed sexuality education content was based on the consensus among teachers through three rounds of Delphi Technique using UNESCO’s International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education. The consensus on key ideas and topics was supported by significant perceptions of local experts gathered through one-on-one interviews. The research was conducted in Legazpi City. All six key concepts and topics of the Technical Guidance were found acceptable across all age categories except for several key ideas. The key concepts include: Relationships; Values, Attitudes and Skills; Culture, Society and Human Rights; Human Development; Sexual Behavior; and Sexual and Reproductive Health. Probable reasons for excluding some key ideas under various key concepts may be ascribed to the attitudes of adults specifically, prohibitive silence and adultism. Teachers and key informants in this study believed that children were too young to understand and that providing them information will provoke curiosity and entice them to engage in sexual activity. Pursuing a culturally-sound and age-appropriate sexuality education content is indispensable at this time of globalization when adolescents are drawn close to reproductive health risks primarily due to their lack of information on their sexuality. Thus, an appropriate and comprehensive sexuality education program is a significant preventive strategy.
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    A Home for Psychotic Depression: Building a Personal Knowledge Base for Meaning-Making in Obsidian
    ( 2025) Velo, Christian Paul R.
    This project outlines the creation of a multimedia prototype for an interactive digital environment that supports meaning-making, particularly in the context of psychotic depression, where meaning-making is severely compromised. The prototype comes in the form of a personal knowledge base (PKB) that captures and explores situational meanings and facilitates assisted meaning-making. The PKB was produced through techniques adapted from personal knowledge management — such as Johnny.Decimal, the Slip-box Method, and Maps of Content — and insights formed from my lived experience with psychotic depression, including a private dataset containing my firsthand account of the condition and other personal information. The methodology employed for the project is an iterative design approach that employs Obsidian third-party plugins, CSS, JavaScript, and Python to extend the functionality of the default Obsidian vault into a PKB optimized for meaning-making. Each iteration was documented using a changelog with semantic versioning. The methodology is rooted in the proposed Multimedia Meaning-making Model for Psychotic Depression (M4PD), a novel integrative framework derived from Hyper-meaning (van Os, 2014), Kegan’s Theory of Meaning-making (Kegan et al., 1982; Kegan, 1994), and the Meaning Making Model (Park, 2022). The project spanned an estimated 1 year, with the latest version of the PKB at Version 2.2.0. The PKB has multiple features that collectively enable the streamlined capture and exploration of situational meanings — which are excessive in states of psychosis — and facilitate assisted meaning-making, which addresses the disruptions to global meaning caused by depression. It is to be noted that the PKB successfully produced a topological network of over 12,000 nodes, comprised of entries about psychotic depression and my personal life from 2018 to 2025, suggesting an emergent yet unrefined map of my meaning-making. The results presented in this project are part of an ongoing, larger effort to develop an interactive digital environment for supporting meaning-making. The project concludes with a call for a future product, unique enough to warrant its own designation — the Personal Meaning Base or PMB.
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    ACES: Automated Academic Essay Scoring Using a Natural Language Processing-Based Regression Mechanism
    (Asian Association of Open Universities, 2022) Pugoy, Reinald Adrian
    Academic essays are essential testing instruments that evaluate the students’ ability to organize thoughts and synthesize information. However, grading them is an exhausting and cumbersome process that requires considerable manpower. It may be prone to errors, and there are also serious concerns about fairness, such that an essay graded B+ today may be graded B- tomorrow by the same checker. Therefore, the author proposes ACES, an essay scoring mechanism that employs natural language processing (NLP) to address the issue at hand. NLP is a sub-field of artificial intelligence (AI) concerned with granting computers the ability to understand texts in much the same way humans can. With essay scoring reformulated as a regression problem, ACES takes the essay answer as the input, converts it to a vector representation of numbers in the embedding space, and feeds it to the neural network model (which serves as the approximate regression function) to predict its score as the output. In this paper, the author successfully implements four versions of ACES that employ different embedding sources and neural network models, with the ACES variant that considers context and word frequency information performing the best (i.e., ACES-BERT).
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    Adapting the Compass Framework in a hybrid course on wearable technology design and futures thinking
    ( 2022-11) Maranan, Diego S.
    The Wearable Futures Hackathon (WFH) was a 12-week long, hybrid learning experience was collaboratively created with and for undergraduate students at UP Open University’s Bachelor of Arts program in Multimedia Studies (BAMS). The course explores wearable technology, e-textiles, speculative design, and futures thinking. The course is the first of its kind at the university in terms of the following aspects: - The course themes (i.e., physical computing, e-textiles, speculative design, and futures thinking); and - The use of a hybrid format (80% online, 20% face to face) for BAMS studio course. For this course, the Index Project's design thinking framework--the Compass--was integrated with UPOU’s standard principle and practices in outcomes-based online learning design resource-based course authoring.
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    Advancing the SDGs through Visayan Museum Practices: a Focused Ethnography Toward ASEAN Socio-Cultural Collaboration
    ( 2025) Martinez, Aspen Dolene
    Museums within the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) are recognized as vital sectors to drive Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  However, the link between museums and the SDGs remains unclear, particularly in  terms of how local museums can make tangible contributions. Hence, this  ethnographic study explored the practices, challenges, and opportunities in Visayan museums for advancing the SDGs, contributing to creating an avenue for ASEAN  socio-cultural collaboration. Eight museum employees and 12 stakeholders were selected using purposive sampling, and data collection and analysis followed Spradley’s (1980) Developmental Research Sequence (DRS). Participant observation, ethnographic interviews, field notes, multimedia tolls, and artifacts were used as primary data collection tools. The findings revealed five main themes or practices in Visayan museums: prioritizing education, fostering empowerment and inclusivity, promoting cultural awareness, promoting environmental awareness, and engaging stakeholders in heritage conservation. The study also identified three main challenges on economic sustainability, physical space, and community awareness. Moreover, four major opportunities were identified, such as community engagement, partnerships and collaborations, cultural and economic development, and institutionalization of policies, which further underscored implications for ASEAN socio-cultural collaboration. Recommendations include enhancing existing initiatives aligned with the SDGs, formalizing SDG-related policies, and facilitating knowledge-sharing platforms.
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    An Assessment of Nurse-Patient Communication in a Tertiary Hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain
    ( 2018) Rodriguez, Smitha Shalet
    Title: An Assessment of the Nurse-Patient Communication in a Tertiary Hospital in the Kingdom of Bahrain Introduction: An integral part of nursing care is effective communication. It improves the relationship between the nurse and the patient, and it results in better treatment and improved quality of care (Tay, Ang, & Hegney, 2012). Every aspect of communication is influenced by the differences in culture. Cultural competence gives an opportunity for the healthcare professionals to know the different cultural beliefs related to health and to incorporate awareness into diagnosis and treatment planning. Data Collection: The descriptive correlational study was conducted in medical and surgical in-patient units of King Hamad University Hospital, Kingdom of Bahrain in 2018. The questionnaire consists of two parts: a demographic profile and the Self-Administered Communication Survey. The factors affecting nurse patient communication were categorized into Common barriers, Nurse-related barriers, Patient-related barriers and Environmental barriers. A total of 78 nurses and 75 patients took part in the study. Results: The main barriers to the nurse-patient communication from the nurses’ point of view were cultural differences between nurse and patient, differences between the language of the nurse and the patient, nurses’ lack of time and opportunity to communicate well with the patients, patients’ negative attitude towards the nurse, presence of patient’s companion, and presence of a very sick patient in the department. The main barriers to nurse-patient communication from the patient’s perspective were age difference between nurse and patient, interference of the patient’s companions, busy environment of the unit, and inappropriate environmental conditions (lack of proper ventilation, fluctuating temperature, inadequate lighting, unpleasant odor, etc.). Conclusion: Analysis of the factors influencing the communication is the basic step in resolving communications issues between nurses and patients. A good solution to be communication problems cannot be established without taking into consideration both the patients’ and nurses’ views of communication. Understanding and accepting the Islamic values and beliefs are essential in communicating and delivering care for Muslim patients. Development of broader knowledge of Arabic culture is important for all health care professionals who deliver care in the Middle Eastern on Arabic region. Recommendations: The study recommends development of effective nurse-patient communication protocols and policies in the hospital and establishment of Arabic language and communication skills training for nurses.
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    An Assessment of the Implementation of the ASEAN Cosmetic Product Notification Scheme: Focus on the Philippines
    ( 2018) Olivar, Vanessa O
    Cosmetics as a consumer good is gaining an importance in the lifestyles of Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) consumers. The experience of competition in ASEAN cosmetics has given impetus to contribute to the promotion of regional economic integration. The aim of the study is to assess the benefits, outcome and impact of the regulatory scheme agreed by the ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality-Cosmetic Product Working Group (ACCSQ-CPWG). The ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the Agreement on the ASEAN Harmonized Cosmetic Regulatory Scheme (AHCRS) at the 35th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in Cambodia in September 2003. The objective of the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) is to provide the framework for the harmonization and mutual recognition of the Standard, Technical Regulation and Conformity Assessment Procedures (STRACAP), to eliminate unnecessary Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Through a questionnaire survey of key cosmetics industry players in the Philippines, the study generated primary data to analyze the impact of the ACD. The study also collected secondary data and information to support the analysis. The study obtained copies of relevant Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuances, reports, slide presentations, and visited related websites on cosmetics. Library research was done to collect copies of ASEAN Secretariat Reports and minutes of the ASEAN Cosmetic Committee (ACC) meetings, standard source of industry information such as Euromonitor international. The study was supplemented by emails, non-structured interviews and communications with past and current delegates to ACCSQ-CPWG and/or ACCSQ-ACC. The respondents in the survey confirmed significant milestones and accomplishments, benefits and impact after 10 years of implementing the cosmetic online Product Notification (PN, the e-Notification, by the Philippine FDA and the rest of the ASEAN Member State (AMS) National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs). The study has the following conclusions: a) The ACCSQ-CPWG successfully designed the ACD PN scheme to eliminate TBT. b) ASEAN member countries through their respective NRAs have established online PN systems, which increased efficiency in processing time. The Philippine FDA instituted the most efficient e-Notification system in ASEAN. c) The cosmetic industry sector was instrumental in ensuring ASEAN regulatory harmonization. d) The cosmetic industry significantly benefited in terms of ease of doing business in the region and accessing the international market, advancing globalization. e) Up to this time, cosmetics is one of the most developed and earliest among the successfully regulated industry in ASEAN, showcasing the benefits and advantages of harmonization of standards, procedures and regulatory mechanisms in ASEAN. f) Consumers are the ultimate recipient of the benefits and advantages of the ACD PN System. g) ASEAN harmonization of STRACAP is possible when the public and private sectors cooperate and collaborate to ensure that free trade is sustainable in the region. h) Trade data and trends point towards sustained growth and development of the cosmetic industry sector and the ASEAN market. By ensuring participation of the NRAs, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)-ACCSQ accomplished not only an increase in ASEAN trade in cosmetics, but also established a greater degree of assurance of consumer safety and welfare. The study is recommending key points towards a proposed strategic action plan to further promote and achieve a Single Regulatory Regime for ASEAN on cosmetics. The proposed action plan will further sustain the initial gains during the 10 years of implementing the ACD PN.
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    An Ode to Unheralded Heroism: The Volunteer Nurses’ Experiences in the Aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan
    ( 2016) Ballecer, Jasper Joseph C.
    Disaster events are extraordinary healthcare practice settings. Healthcare provision in these scenarios require extensive competencies and adaptability from healthcare workers. Involvement in these efforts have increased, as supranational initiatives in disaster response has caused the influx of volunteer disaster healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of volunteer disaster nurses in the aftermath of typhoon Haiyan using Colaizzi's (1978) Model to gain an understanding on the experience. Nine volunteer nurses who served immediately after the typhoon hit the central Philippines in late 2013. with each representing specific fields of specialty within nursing practice, were selected purposively as participants. The study's findings yielded five themes: Motivation, Realities of the Volunteer Disaster Nurse Experience, Coping while Caring, Leaving a Mark, and A Journey towards Self-discovery. Motivation was the source of the decision to help. It was also the driving force for volunteers to go through the obstacles and cope effectively. Once this has been successfully achieved, the nurses gained learnings and reflections both as human beings and as health professionals which in turn, renewed their altruism. These findings can be used by healthcare workers. educators, and health policy-makers on the practical side to promote the well-being of disaster healthcare workers by being more cognizant to their problems, challenges, and motivations. The study's findings can also be a jumping point for more in-depth inquiries and/or investigations in other disaster settings.
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    Analysis of Gender Portrayal in UP Open University Social Media Sites
    ( 2018) Serrano, Joane ; Petrasanta, Lovelyn ; Cañas-Llamas, Anna
    The UP Open University (UPOU) social media sites with about 40,000 followers accross its social media pages is assumed to have a significant role in disseminating information and knowledge for most of its learners both local and offshore. According to The Statistics Portal (statista.com), the number of social media users around the globe is estimated to increase from 2.46 billion in 2017 to 2.77 billion in 2019. Three (3) of four (4) internet users use social media, with women (76%) using social networking sites more than men (72%). This study aims to examine the portrayal and representation of women and men in the graphics and videos posted across UPOU social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This study will make use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its theoretical and analytic framework. The study will make use of the Gender-Sensitive Indicators for Media (GSIM) by UNESCO (2012) as the analytical tool in analyzing gender portrayal and representation in UPOU social media posts.
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    Analysis of Reasons for filing Leave of Absence (LOA) and Application for Dropping of Course/s (DRP) of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) Students
    ( 2018) Garcia, Primo ; Pasion-Guevarra, Jeniffer ; Muyco, Paula Grace
    Literature about online learning as well as strategies developed for keeping students enrolled concentrated on both men and women in general without disaggregating findings (Mueller, 2008). However, it is essential to examine gender in relation to distance education since this is extensively promoted to women and it is also an institution where gender and power differences are constructed (Kramarae, 2003). Bean and Metzner (1985) considered gender as an important variable in studying attrition rates given the gender-specific roles the students carry outside their classes which would influence their decisions in their studies. In the Philippines, UP Open University offers online baccalaureate, post baccalaureate, continuing education programs, and massive open and distance e-learning courses. With the changing issues and challenges faced by women in society, gender differences on student attrition must be examined to better capture the realities and perspectives of women in the Philippines. Examining the various issues and challenges faced by online learners surfaced through their reasons for filing a leave of absence (LOA) or authorized dropping (DRP) of course will help institutions develop policies and programs for more effective student support. The study identified the challenges faced by the students leading to their decision to file for LOA or DRP and surfaced the gender implications at play in the said decisions
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    Anthropology Of, For, And With Design: A Philippine Perspective
    ( 2014) Cajilig, Pamela G. ; Maranan, Diego S.
    The intersection of the fields of design and anthropology emerges as fertile ground for study as societies increasingly acknowledge the tremendous impact the objects we create for ourselves have on our lives. As anthropologists and ethnographers involved in running our own design research company in the Philippines, negotiating the alignments and contradictions between the two fields of knowledge is an essential component of our everyday research practice. This paper outlines different models of the relationships between design and anthropology as systems of knowledge and practice. We first extend a theoretical framework that distinguishes between anthropology of, anthropology for, and anthropology with design (Gunn and Donovan 2013): we maintain that anthropology with design underlies an approach increasingly used in commercial industries known as "design thinking", and describe the different ways by which knowledge is generated and mobilized in each of these relationships; we further describe how the artifacts of design can be seen to either materialize, shape, or probe culturally-mediated meanings, power relations, and values. We illustrate these concepts through client-commissioned projects that our organization has conducted in the Philippines. We next examine how and when these design-anthropology relationships are realized when working with clients. While anthropology with design will likely create better outcomes for our clients, larger clients must often settle for anthropology for design; we describe how we have negotiated these tensions and present our outcomes from our engagement with them. We end with a call for the development of a local prism through which practitioners in the field of design can further engage in critical reflection of the production of artifacts, particular those created with the intent of addressing social concerns. Specifically, we call for more localized conceptual frameworks of design that can be patterned (for instance) on India's notion of jugaad, and advance an increased engagement for anthropology with design across various sectors of Philippine society.
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    Anxiety, Depression and Coping Strategies Among Adult Post Myocardial Infarction Patients
    ( 2014) Tamon, Ma. Siony B.
    This study was conducted to determine the level of anxiety and depression in patients with cardiovascular problems. This study was conducted (1) to determine the level of anxiety and depression in patients with myocardial infarction (2) to determine relationship of anxiety on age, sex, gender, civil status, educational attainment and perceived social support (3) to determine relationship of depression on age, gender, civil status, educational attainment and perceived social support and (4) to determine the coping strategies information seeking or problem seeking among cardiac patients. This study utilized a descriptive correlational design. This was conducted at the Out Patient Department (OPD) of Philippine General Hospital over a 12 week or 3 month period. There was a total of 121 respondents (M= 51.02, SD= 8.52) for this study. Majority is from age groups of middle to late adult (35.5, 34.7). Both males and females have the same proportion (49.6, 50.4) and married predominated (80, 60.1) in this study. Less than a half (57, 47.1) were high school graduates. The perceived social support has a mean of 66.55 (SD= 3.43). The findings of this study showed that there is no significant relationship between anxiety on the following variables: age (r= - -0.10, p>.05 and perceived social support (MSS) (r= o.16, p>.05), civil status (x2=2.44,p>.05), educational attainment ((x2=1.65,p>.05) and perceived social support (r= 0.16, p>.05). Patients commonly incorporate venting of feelings and denial as their coping strategies. Adult post myocardial infarction patients had high level of anxiety which corresponded to previous literatures but the depression level was low among patients.
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    Archiving as Artistic and Personal Practice: Tools, Methods, Examples, and Learning Resources
    ( 2022-05-22) Maranan, Diego S.
    This presentation was given at the Philippine Documentary Heritage Webinar Series: Digital Technology and Documentary Heritage. See https://www.facebook.com/PHDHDigitalRepository/videos/2798957150400534 for the full video of the presentation. See also: *https://www.facebook.com/PHDHDigitalRepository/posts/171802621911907 *https://www.facebook.com/PHDHDigitalRepository/posts/174371968321639 *https://www.facebook.com/PHDHDigitalRepository/posts/173741721717997
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    Artificial Intelligence in Social Sciences: Behavioral Intention and Use Among Students in a State University in Central Luzon, Philippines
    ( 2025-04-17) Soliven, Paolo Carl
    This study assessed the views and usage of AI among social sciences students in a state university in Luzon, Philippines, using the Unified Theory of Acceptance of Technology (UTAUT) theory. A total of 311 students were chosen through stratified proportional sampling and surveyed using Google Forms for 8 days. Data underwent statistical tests such as T-test and correlations (Point-Biserial, Spearman's rank, and Phi Coefficient). The behavioral intentions and actual use of AI among students were high. They actively utilize AI such as chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT) and writing assistance tools (e.g., Grammarly and QuillBot) to enhance their learning and assist with academic tasks. They hold a positive perception of AI, particularly in terms of performance expectancy and effort expectancy. They believe that AI enhances their academic performance and is easy to use. However, students remain neutral regarding social influence and facilitating conditions, suggesting that they feel neither strongly encouraged nor discouraged by their peers to use AI. Additionally, they perceive external support for AI as neutral, indicating a perceived lack of encouragement from academic institutions regarding its use. Students' attitudes toward AI are also neutral, due to the absence of standardized guidelines and implementation strategies from academic institutions. This seems to have created uncertainty, as students are unsure whether they are encouraged or discouraged from using AI. As a result, they approach the ethical use of AI with caution. Despite these, they still intend to use AI to enhance their creativity and ideas, innovate their academic methods, and improve the quality of their work.
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    Artscience Thinking for the Global South
    ( 2023-03-16) Maranan, Diego S.
    Pluridisciplinary practices that span art and science are well-known in Western research and creative communities. Some of the most interesting and significant of these works confront audiences with deep questions about "life, the universe, and everything” (with apologies to Douglas Adams). But in the Global South—where addressing basic human needs, achieving economic and political security, and adapting to the unfolding climate crisis—are widely regarded as priorities, is there even space or time for the same? Using recent artscience research and creative projects I have been involved in, I argue that despite—or indeed because—of the challenges confronting the Global South, research, practice, and education on the intersections of the arts and the sciences is more necessary than ever.
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    Artscience Thinking for the Global South
    ( 2022-02-22) Maranan, Diego S.
    Pluridisciplinary practices that span art and science are well-known in Western research and creative communities. Some of the most interesting and significant of these works confront audiences with deep questions about "life, the universe, and everything” (with apologies to Douglas Adams). But in the Global South—where addressing basic human needs, achieving economic and political security, and adapting to the unfolding climate crisis—are widely regarded as priorities, is there even space or time for the same? Using recent artscience research and creative projects I have been involved in, I argue that despite—or indeed because—of the challenges confronting the Global South, research, practice, and education on the intersections of the arts and the sciences is more necessary than ever.
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    ASEAN CONVERGENCE. Towards an ASEAN Identity: Discourses on Communication and Culture
    (Faculty of Information and Communication Studies, UPOU, 2019) FLOR, ALEXANDER G. ; GONZALES-FLOR, BENJAMINA PAULA G.
    This monograph is a collection of papers used as required reading for ASEAN Studies 231. The course was developed as a contribution of the UPOU Faculty of Information and Communication Studies to the Master of ASEAN Studies (MAS) Joint Program of the five open universities in Southeast Asia: the UP Open University; Universitas Terbuka in Jakarta; Sukhothai Open University in Bangkok; the Hanoi Open University; and the Open University of Malaysia. MAS was meant as a major initiative for the regionalization of education in the ASEAN region. Hence, this course takes on a regional outlook on communication. By communication, we refer to information and communication technologies and media (traditional, mass and new media). This course is also crosslisted under the UPOU Master of Development Communication program as DEVC242.
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    Assessing the Spiritual Well-Being of Filipino Cancer Patients: A Nursing Perspective
    ( 2018) Tupas, Alyssa Jenny E.
    Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines. It is a serious disease that can result in not just physical and psychosocial difficulties but also spiritual distress. Knowing Filipinos have a high reverence to God, this can affect their health-related behavior and responses to illness like cancer. This study aimed to assess the spiritual well-being of Filipino adult cancer patients ages nineteen (19) to sixty (60) years old in a tertiary hospital. The objectives were: to determine the spiritual well-being of the patients (as measured by the Ideal and Personal states of Spiritual well-being and presence of Spiritual Dissonance); to determine the relationship between the spiritual well-being of the patients and the patient factors, and to describe the spiritual well-being experiences of the patients. A descriptive correlational research was used. The results showed that the patients had the highest spiritual well-being in the Transcendental Domain which describes one’s relationship with God. Seven (7) out of the ninety (90) participants had spiritual dissonance which made them at possible risk for spiritual distress. Age, the type of cancer, and the treatment received had significant relationship with the patient’s spiritual well-being. Triangulation of qualitative data based on the patients’ response of the HOPE Questions was also done. Themes identified were “love of God, family, and friends”, “community affinity”, “fidelity to prayer”, “test of Faith”, and “empathy”. In conclusion, Filipino adult cancer patients have high spiritual well-being despite the cancer burden. Havin this illness was a test of faith in which time had been an important component. At first, the patients experienced doubts their spiritual beliefs but eventually, with the acceptance of the illness comes a stronger faith in God. God, family, and friends had been their main source of strength, motivation, and hope. The religious community of the patients also helped develop the patient’s spiritual well-being through prayer and other spiritual acts, and by providing support to the patients. In the presence of cancer where the body and mind go weak, the cancer patients rely on the spirit to pull him or her through. This is where nursing plays an important role. The therapeutic interpersonal process between a nurse and a patient can help the patient develop aspects of life that he or she deems important in his or her spiritual health. Nurses can provide spiritual care to the cancer patients by identifying their spiritual needs, praying with them, allowing them to practice their spiritual beliefs, and by empathizing with them.