FICS Theses and Dissertations
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Theses and dissertations by graduate students from the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies.
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ItemExploring the Digital Community Building Among Filipino Gay Men with HIV in Alter Spaces( 2025-07-15)The HIV epidemic in the Philippines continues to rise, with Filipino men who have sex with men living with HIV (MSMLHIVs) facing persistent stigma and discrimination that impact their health management, emotional well-being, and social support systems. In response, many MSMLHIVs have turned to alter accounts on X (formerly Twitter) as a means of building and sustaining digital communities, where they can freely express themselves while maintaining anonymity. This study employs descriptive phenomenology to explore the lived experiences of MSMLHIVs in these digital spaces, particularly focusing on how alter account interactions influence their personal health management, emotional resilience, and sense of belonging. Findings reveal that alter communities on X serve as safe spaces where MSMLHIVs can seek peer support, exchange health-related information, and navigate identity formation without fear of judgment. These communities provide psychosocial benefits, offering a sense of security, solidarity, and empowerment. However, challenges such as misinformation, emotional detachment, and digital trust concerns also emerged, highlighting the complexities of navigating online anonymity. While digital interactions supplement gaps in offline support systems, they do not fully replace the need for institutional interventions, inclusive policies, and structured mental health programs. This study contributes to the discourse on digital community-building, queer safe spaces, and health communication by providing critical insights for health professionals, policymakers, and social media platforms to improve inclusive and stigma-free support systems for MSMLHIVs. Future research is recommended to explore longitudinal effects of digital community engagement and the role of AI-driven interventions in HIV advocacy and mental health support. Keywords: MSM, PLHIV, HIV stigma, digital communities, alter accounts, social support, health communication, phenomenology
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ItemFrom Arms to Farms: Communication Triggers Towards Transformation of Former Moro Islamic Liberation Front Combatants( 2024-08-19)After years of getting involved in armed conflict, former combatants often face challenges in changing their roles and identities as they transition to civilian life. Various programs had been implemented to support their transformation. In Lanao del Norte, Philippines, the former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) transitioned to becoming organic farmers through the “From Arms to Farms” program implemented by the local government of Kauswagan. However, the program’s economic opportunities were not just the motivations that pushed them to join the program. Different communication strategies and triggers influenced their decision to transform their lives. Despite existing studies on the transition of former combatants to civilian life, little is known about how communication shapes their decisions toward starting anew. This study filled this gap by exploring how communication facilitated the transformation of former MILF combatants into organic farmers. This study used narrative inquiry and Bruner’s “subjunctivization” concept to examine the narratives of five former MILF combatants and the views of the Municipal Agriculture Officer of Kauswagan town. The results of this study showed the communication triggers that influenced the former combatants to transform their lives such as (a) personal motivations, such as their desire to have financial security and a better future for their families; (b) sincere engagement of the local authorities; (c) peer support and influence; (d) key messaging of the program’s benefits, and (e) consistent communication and regular visits. The local government of Kauswagan also established an online group chat to sustain communication with the former combatants which provided practical and real-time communication to keep them updated and engaged about the program and other activities in the town. The use of this communication channel hastened their transformation process. Moreover, this study highlighted the importance of building trust and providing resources, community-based training, and support in marketing their harvests. Constant dialogue and institutional support were also vital in their transformation.
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ItemOnline Applicant Tracking System( 2022)Systemantech, Inc, is a small/medium business company committed to providing competent professionals and technology for the improvements of the clients' business. The demand for competent professionals is high due to attrition or new projects that required manpower. Because of this, the monitoring of the applicant from sourcing to deployment is necessary which is currently a big challenge. The company uses different platforms to track the recruitment process. With the use of the existing ticketing tool to track all the movements from sourcing up to deployment, Onedrive to save all the data of the applicants, and Microsoft Excel for the manual creation of reports. There is also a shortage of technical interviewers due to the availability of time. The proposed customized system as agreed by the client to deliver in a given timeframe resolved the mentioned challenges with the following features such as Web Applicant Tracking Portal where the recruiter can add new candidates and track the movement based on the Candidate status from shortlisted up to the employment in a given time. This feature uses an existing OrangeHRM framework and customized the recruitment module to align with the client’s process. Another feature is the Interview Chatbot in which the new candidate experiences on-the-spot initial interviews. It is added under Job Posting Career Site as another way for the candidate to apply with interaction to a virtual agent. It captures not only the candidate data but how the candidate communicates and answers the question honestly. For the Descriptive Analytic Reporting, it can view the summary count of hired candidates. The dashboard shows the subunits percentage based on the organizational structure of the company. The participation of the company through testing of the customized system resulted in a successful implementation. The comments provided show that the system is ready to use and more recommendation for future works. Therefore, this customized system deployed as a new Online Applicant Tracking System for Systemantech, Inc.
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ItemEmpowering Women Fisherfolk through Participatory Communication Among the Subanens in Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines( 2024-08-23)This research explores how participatory communication fosters the empowerment of women fisherfolk in Miagao, Iloilo. Data were gathered from focus group discussion, in-depth interviews and key informant interview. Through a thematic analysis, the study identified four major themes: Dialogues and Interactions, Economic Outcomes, Recognition and Importance, and Decision-making. Dialogues and Interactions reiterated the role of dialogue in assessing the needs of the women fisherfolk. Through community dialogues with the barangay and interactions with the University of the Philippines Visayas, capacity-building programs were implemented. These programs led to better economic outcomes for women fisherfolk because of income diversification, access to credit and market opportunities, and product reputation. Women fisherfolk also experienced recognition from the community, which further strengthened their roles in the fisheries sector. Their decision-making capacity and involvement in ordinance formulations at the barangay level contributed to their empowerment as women fisherfolk. Findings revealed that participatory communication fosters empowerment among women fisherfolk in Miagao, Iloilo through giving them an inclusive communication platform in dialogues, addressing their needs and supporting their capacity-building that will facilitate better economic outcomes and strengthened role and independence in the community. It is recommended that there should be continuous implementation of inclusive community dialogues and facilitate participatory decision-making among women fisherfolk.
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ItemStructuring Innovation from Tech Startup Founding Stories: The Communicative Constitution of Innovation(University of the Philippines Open University, 2024-08-27)Innovation serves as the impetus in organizing tech startups, which are said to have a penchant for disrupting big business. Against the backdrop of the Innovative Startup Act (RA 1137) incentivizing innovation in the Philippines, this dissertation conducted narrative interviews with ten Filipino founders of tech startup companies. Subscribing to the Communicative Constitution of Organizations (CCO) approach, the study hinged on the premise that “organization is structured like a narrative” (Cooren, 2000: 58). The study looked at how innovation is perceived, articulated, and materialized in the founding stories of tech startups, which in turn shed light on how innovation structures—and simultaneously get structured by—the tech startup organization. This is demonstrated in eight identified themes including “the story of a vision for innovation”, “the story of recognizing and overcoming threats to the innovation”, and “the story of innovation as a series of trials and pivots”, each of which has a representative narrative schema that plotted the structure of the founding story. A metanarrative of innovation has also been proposed and further cast into an actantial model, highlighting the trajectory that innovation goes through and thus revealing its common characteristics in the tech startup organization. Innovation is improvised and accomplished in communication as well as materialized and made meaningful by the processes within the (narrative) structure. From the context of tech startups as the organization of innovation, the study theorizes on the “communicative constitution of innovation”.