FICS Theses and Dissertations

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https://repository.upou.edu.ph/handle/20.500.13073/2
Theses and dissertations by graduate students from the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies.

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    Centrality of Online Advocates in the Structure of Critical Communication Movement: Case of Stop a Dam Network in the Philippines
    ( 2025) Ollet, Ma. Monica Lourdes L.
    This study investigates how centrality in social networks, specifically of Facebook accounts advocating for the Stop Kaliwa Dam campaign, shape communication structures and communication flows. Guided by the Cybernetics Tradition of Communication theories, particularly General Systems Theory and Network Theory, the research examined how the format, categories, and engagement patterns of the uploaded posts as well as the ensuing centrality shaped advocacy effectiveness. Data were collected from purposely sampled Facebook accounts active between February 1 to May 1, 2023, covering the event of “Alay-Lakad Laban sa Kaliwa Dam”, held on February 15-23, 2023. The centrality measures of the network based on likes and comments were degree, betweenness, and closeness. Visual content, particularly images, infographics, and videos, and advocacy-themed posts generated the highest levels of engagement, underscoring the role of visual storytelling in mobilization. Likes primarily signaled visibility and affective approval, aligning with degree centrality, while comments facilitated dialogue and bridging functions, corresponding to betweenness and closeness centrality. Frequent posting or more follower counts did not consistently translate to higher centrality; rather, strategic positioning across clusters proved more decisive. Based on the findings, a framework is proposed to enhance centrality: optimizing inputs through visual and narrative formats, balancing throughputs by cultivating both likes and comments; and monitoring outputs through centrality measures. This study contributes to Development Communication by demonstrating how network positioning (like centraility), beyond message sharing (uploading), empowers marginalized advocacy groups to amplify their voices and sustain influence in digital environments.
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    Dual-Lens Sensemaking in Higher Education Leadership Transition: Integrating Weick’s Theory and the Cynefin Framework
    ( 2025) Casimero, Juvy M.
    This convergent parallel mixed-methods study used dual-lens framework aimed at determining sensemaking engagement, examining contextual sensemaking triggers, exploring the interpretation of leadership transition, and identifying emerging constructs expanding the sensemaking framework. Quantitative surveys and qualitative narratives were collected from 26 middle managers from a Philippine state university. Quantitative results showed strong sensemaking engagement through retrospection, ongoing process, and plausibility that showed respondents’ preference for coherence, dialogue, and trust. Narrative analysis, referenced with the Cynefin framework, revealed shifting domains from Clear or Chaotic toward Complex domain where negation and collaboration were necessary to maintain institutional alignment. Further, using Weick’s sensemaking properties, seven themes were generated by Reflexive Thematic Analysis - Identity as an Adaptive Self, Retrospection as Negotiated Reality, Situated Intentional Action, Collaboration through Dialogue as Core the Core of Sensemaking, Sensemaking as an Ongoing Engagement, Cues as Cornerstone of Meaning Construction, and Plausibility as Pragmatic Truth. The integration of contextual and interpretive dimensional frameworks refined sensemaking scholarship by advancing the idea of adaptative sensemaking and collaborative actions as theoretical enhancements in dealing with uncertainty during leadership transition in an academic context.
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    Content framing of the Tulong Na Tabang Na Tayo Na Project of ABS-CBN’s Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation., Inc. and influence on viewer’s response
    ( 2015) Espineda, Melvin N.
    Guided by Goffinan's (1974) Framing Theory and Gerbner and Gross'es Cultivation Theory ( I 976), this descriptive study explored how the framing of Tulong Na Tabang Na Tayo Na project of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc. had influenced the responses of I 14 students from three higher education institutions in the Philippines towards it. The project was a call to help the victims ofTyphoon Yolanda in Tacloban, Leyte. Through a survey, data were obtained and analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. Of the 114 (76%) student­respondents, 89 (78%) are female and 25 (22%) male. Most student-respondents (67 or 58.7%) belonged to the 14-18 years old bracket. The study recorded 78 or 68% of student-respondents were actively watching television and assumed to be capable of deciding whether to support or ignore the project's framed content. Twenty percent of student-respondents shared that the framed content by using emotional appeal (i.e. crying people asking for help) accompanied by emphatic messages (i.e. Kapamilya, magkapit-bisig po tayo sa panahon ng sakuna, bukas po ang aming tanggapan para sa inyong mga donasyon (Members of the ramify in this time of disaster, let us hold hands, our office is open for your donations) had influenced them to support the project because of their experience. While personal experience did not form part of the communication frame as forwarded by Lakoff (2004 ), it surfaced that audiences' decision to support a project is motivated by it. Most student-respondents have experienced floods and strong typhoons, making the situation familiar. Thus, empathizing with the victims would be easy to establish. Moreover, long exposure to television and continuous watching of the project led them, as espoused by the cultivation theory, to support the project. Suffice to say that in developing a communication material, inclusion of a related experience of intended audiences may be considered.
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    Information and Communication Technology from the Point of View of a Person Afflicted Cerebral Palsy
    ( 2016) Ugaddan, Agatha Christie P.
    Access to information and communication technologies like mobile phones, the Internet, and computers is essential to develop not only the economy of the country but also its people. With the growth of such technologies and the increased number of people using ICTs, the United Nations (UN) will no doubt fulfill one of its development goals - that is, to make the benefits of new technologies available to all, particularly to developing countries. The word "all" in that premise includes persons with disabilities. This study then delves into the use of information and communication technologies by persons with disability and answers how and why they use such technologies. The data generated from the interviews with the subject, a person afflicted cerebral palsy, a sample of a person with disability, and the observations prove that although he is aware of ICTs and use it personally, there are still barriers to their access to such technologies (e.g., lack of awareness, affordability, type of disability). It was also interesting to learn the reasons for significance of using ICT from the perspective of a person who has cerebral palsy. The reasons why and how he utilize ICTs may be simple and different from another person of disability, but they are essential in understanding the needs of persons with disability in general in order to address the issues of accessibility to ICTs and digital divide.
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    Examining Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Through the Lens of Local Knowledge and Collective Behavior: The Case of Community-Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS)
    ( 2016) Tolinero, Rechelle Ann B.
    After Typhoon Sendong devastated Cagayan de Oro City in 2011, the city's City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) took a proactive approach to mitigate the effects of flood brought by typhoons by operationalizing the Community-Based Flood Early Warning System (CBFEWS) in the local barangays. In Barangay Consolacion, the CBFEWS is a component of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC). In its initial implementation, the system is composed of three methods: the recorrida, text brigade, and interpersonal communication from the barangay officials. This study sought how the residents described their experience with Sendong and in the initial implementation of the CBFEWS. Furthermore, it looked into how the residents' experience with Sendong affected their response to the warning message from the CBFEWS. This qualitative study used transcendental phenomenology as methodology to answer the research objectives. Eight participants from the seven districts of the barangay were interviewed. From the transcription of the interviews, narratives were done to present the participants' stories. Significant statements from these narratives were then highlighted to develop themes that would describe the participants' experiences. Based on the themes that emerged from the narratives of the participants, there was a strong emphasis on communal coping in the neighborhood when Typhoon Sendong struck the community. This experience with the disaster has established their social relationship, which put the CBFEWS in their barangay in the outside. In addition, their local knowledge of the river, based on their experience with Sendong, has also played a significant part of their decision on whether to evacuate or not during impending floods. Because of these, it recommends that the barangay consider incorporating these two - collective action of the residents and their local knowledge - into the design of the CBFEWS to make it more effective in prompting the residents to act thoroughly during impending floods.