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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    Agile Communication in an International Educational Organization: A Phenomenological Study
    ( 2023) Aguilar, Monalice G.
    Using phenomenology, the researcher explored staff members' experiences in an international educational organization and made sense of the dynamic nature of their communicative practices in an ever-changing work environment. Based on the Husserl and Habermas frameworks, the study provided a comprehensive understanding of communication practices and organizational dynamics in the context of agile communication and the staff’s lifeworld. Through in-depth interviews and employing the Discourse of Understanding grounded on the Phenomenological Tradition of Communication, the researcher made sense of the experiences of selected staff members, resulting in an emergent communication-centric concept of Agile Communication. The inquiry revealed that Agile Communication is flexible, adaptive, and stakeholder-centered, enabling quick response to changing circumstances and delivering value to stakeholders. It is a collaborative, innovative, and iterative process that promotes efficient work environments by working hand-in-hand with the iteration process. Agile communication is direct and transparent, promoting simple, face-to-face interaction that leads to consistent feedback loops. It is embedded in organizational culture and process, allowing for pivot strategies, structures, and processes. Finally, it maintains the quality of work outputs, enabling stakeholders to respond to changes without compromising quality and ensuring the timely delivery of projects. Hence, Agile Communication is a flexible, user-centric, collaborative, and transparent approach that prioritizes organizational quality. It lies in the social interaction and communicative activities of people within the organization, which allow the utilization of appropriate strategies, processes, and tools in managing and responding to change. More importantly, the study revealed that agile communication had become a concept that limits the systems to colonize the staff members' lifeworld.
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    Multimodal Inquiry of Special Religious Development (SPRED) Program: Towards a Friendship Model of Inclusive Catechetical Communication
    ( 2024) Vargas, Marlon Bobier
    This multimodal inquiry investigates inclusive catechetical communication within the Special Religious Development (SPRED) program in the Archdiocese of Chicago, focusing on persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities (PDID). The central research question examines how catechists implement and refine inclusive catechetical communication to engage and support PDID effectively. Existing research highlights significant gaps in catechetical programs tailored for PDID, often due to the limitations of traditional methods and materials. This research addresses these gaps by employing a triangulation approach, integrating content analysis, artifact analysis, and socio-spatial analysis. The study utilized SPRED newsletters, educational materials, religious artifacts, and observations of the catechetical environment to gather comprehensive insights. This multifaceted methodology ensures a robust understanding of the dynamics involved in inclusive catechetical praxis. Findings reveal the critical importance of adapted communication methods, accessible educational materials, and supportive physical environments. Key themes include the necessity for continuous adaptation of materials to meet PDID needs, the positive impact of sensory-friendly features, and the role of community support in fostering inclusivity. The socio-spatial analysis highlights the importance of wellorganized, accessible environments that enhance engagement and interaction. This research highlights the significant benefits of inclusive catechetical communication, such as enhanced spiritual and personal growth, deeper emotional connections, and a profound sense of belonging for PDID. The study underscores the necessity of strategies like non-verbal communication, emotional support, sensory-friendly materials, and community integration. Catechists’ reflections and artifact analyses reveal that inclusive practices foster mutual enrichment, reduce social exclusion, and celebrate unique contributions, thereby promoting a more inclusive and supportive faith community. Central to this study is the Friendship Model of Inclusive Catechetical Communication, which encompasses three key dimensions: intimacy, inter-animating collaboration, and interculturality. Intimacy involves creating supportive relationships through personal engagement and emotional support. Catechists use gestures, facial expressions, and symbols to communicate effectively with individuals who may have difficulty with verbal communication. This dimension fosters trust and meaningful engagement, ensuring participants feel valued and supported. Inter-animating transformation focuses on mutual growth and learning through reflective practice and empowerment. Catechists and participants engage in activities that promote mutual learning and spiritual connections. This collaborative environment allows both catechists and participants to gain insights from each other, leading to deeper spiritual enrichment. Interculturality ensures that catechetical practices respect and incorporate diverse cultural backgrounds. Catechists demonstrate cultural sensitivity and adapt practices to be culturally appropriate, creating a welcoming environment for all participants. This dimension promotes social inclusion and mutual respect, enhancing the quality of friendships and community bonds. In conclusion, this study contributes to the field of religious education by providing practical recommendations for enhancing inclusivity in catechetical communication. It advocates for the adoption of adaptive communication methods, continuous refinement of educational materials, and strategic modifications to the physical environment. These findings offer valuable insights for improving catechetical practices and fostering a more inclusive community within SPRED and similar settings.
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    Digital Social Marketing in Philippine Mission-Centric Social Enterprises: Exploring Founders' Influence and Strategic Approaches
    ( 2024) Santos, Joseph Emil N.
    This dissertation examines how founders' cultural-cognitive orientations and communication practices shape digital social marketing strategies in Philippine mission-centric social enterprises. The research introduces the Founder-Driven Authentic Digital Storytelling Framework through digital ethnography and case studies as a novel theoretical contribution integrating cultural sensitivity with strategic communication in digital spaces. The study reveals that effective digital social marketing emerges from founders' ability to authentically adapt communication while aligning with their cultural values and social missions. The research demonstrates that successful digital engagement requires founders to balance cultural understanding with strategic storytelling across digital platforms. The findings establish authentic digital storytelling as the primary mechanism for building trust and fostering meaningful connections with target communities. The introduced framework provides a structured approach to understanding how founders' personal narratives and cultural backgrounds influence their digital marketing strategies. This work makes significant theoretical contributions by synthesizing authentic digital storytelling with cultural-cognitive and communication accommodation perspectives in social enterprise marketing. The practical implications offer actionable insights for social enterprise founders seeking to enhance their digital marketing impact while maintaining mission alignment.
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    Understanding the Child Marriage Practice: A Rhetorical Study of Child Marriage Facebook Posts
    ( 2024) Bello, Maria Carolina R.
    Various efforts advocating to end child marriage practice have been focused on finding evidence for its harmful effects and ways for development actors to fight against it. While the strategies include key messaging, there is a lack of focus on engaging communication as a social science (Calhoun, 2011). This dissertation utilized the Rhetorical Tradition in Communication Theory to answer this question: What are the rhetorical acts of the defenders and opposers of child marriage? By combined coding of themes and speech acts, and analysis of rhetorical appeals, devices and strategies performed in comments in Facebook posts on child marriage, it finds that the defenders of child marriage assert a collaborative and unified adherence to a belief in the superior form of religion. In contrast, opposers of child marriage vary in their acts, some with anti-religious rhetoric. Overall, combining the speech acts brought the study to the conclusion that the overarching rhetorical act of defenders is religious superiority in matters such as child protection and religious living. In contrast, the speech acts of opposers are scattered. Advocates to end the child marriage practice have the rhetorical space of situatedness of child welfare as a common ground with defenders. As a precaution, advocates should consider politeness by being selective when calling child marriage a “practice.” For the defenders, the girl’s marriage is mainly a sacred act towards religious perfection under divine law, which is above any material, social, and other worldly concerns.
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    Digital Ageism and the Communicative Marginalization of Older Persons: A Socio-Cultural Approach to Ageist Discourse on a Civil Society Organization's Facebook Page
    ( 2025) Perez, Dante D.
    As societies age and technology rapidly advances, ageism has evolved into a digital construct, with its discourse migrating from offline to online platforms. This phenomenon, termed digital ageism, refers to a variety of personal and societal biases that include negative representations of older persons in online communication environments. Adopting the sociocultural tradition in communication as a framework for critical discourse analysis (CDA), this dissertation explores how communicative practices shape digital ageism. It identifies four Discourses of active dependency, digital deficiency, age-based exceptionalism, and automated empathy from the public Facebook page of COSE (Coalition of Services of the Elderly) – a non-government organization advocating for the welfare of older persons. These Discourses were shaped by COSE’s communicative practices that include capacitating older persons through multi-sectoral and international support, highlighting the importance of training older persons to be digitally literate, celebrating the accomplishments of older persons as age-defying expectations, and facilitating technology mediation of care. The study concludes that COSE, while it advocates for the welfare and rights of older persons, inadvertently reproduces ageism as an interplay of communicative practices in the digital realm. The study recommends future research that integrates critical gerontology with discourse analysis to provide deeper insights into the intersection of aging, language, and power. The study further recommends the incorporation of multimodal discourse analysis, encompassing text, video, and images to capture the complex and layered ways in which age-related meanings are constructed and communicated across diverse media forms. A practical recommendation for COSE is to revisit its content creation practices by emphasizing narratives of empowerment, agency, and collaboration rather than those that imply dependency or deficiency. By adopting more enabling and inclusive discourse, COSE’s communication can both enhance the visibility of older persons as capable digital citizens and resist the reproduction of ageist assumptions in online environment