Publications

Southeast Asian governments have maintained “energy self‐reliance” and “energy security” as essential rationales of their macroeconomic policy. Since the availability of energy remains necessary for unabated domestic growth and development, the pursuit for “alternative” sources of energy and the resolve to build sustainable energy systems are constant priorities. Informed by the literature on policy discourse, this article draws attention to the analytical use and significance of policy discourse as a means to examine sustainable energy policies in Southeast Asia, which dominantly adopted an economic lens for “energy supply security.” Policy documents were examined to show the congruence and variation of policy discourses that prompted the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore to institutionalize sustainable energy development from 2000 to 2016—a critical period for the institutionalization of sustainable energy in the region, when domestic renewable energy sectors and systems were simultaneously being established by these governments.

Research has shown that heritage is a contested concept which not only creates unnecessary binaries but also perpetuates essentialized First World imagery of Asian countries. To assist in its reframing, this paper proposes critical ethnography. It is argued that through it, a more nuanced and community-based understanding of cultural heritage can be developed, thus allowing the articulation of modalities of cultural heritage and the formation of alternative imaginaries. To develop this point, the essay problematizes the heritage concept, examines how governing policies and tourism frameworks define cultural heritage vis-àvis its use in the tourism industry, and discusses the theoretical sources and intellectual legacy of critical ethnography. Cases from Batanes and Marinduque provinces, the Philippines, are reviewed to serve as background. With critical ethnography as a strategic method, the essay suggests that the semiotics of heritage tourism can be broadened and possibilities for social change in Asian tourism and hospitality established.

Urban metabolism refers to the socioecological exchange processes and transformations in cities. Different fields deploy the concept in various ways, rooted in nineteenth‐century work in biology and Marxist theory. Using urban metabolism as a metaphor, a research paradigm, or a methodological tool, studies have ranged from industrial ecological accounting of material energy flows in cities to a focus on the historical production of socionatures in urban political ecology. The multiple meanings and broad scope of metabolism have initiated debates on the usefulness of the concept but have also created spaces for interdisciplinary dialogues that integrate methods and approaches in understanding urban environmental change.

The article argues that understanding hegemonic masculinity can be amplified by looking into the situational contexts of men’s interactions in fraternity initiations based on the analysis of narratives of 15 fraternity men. Fraternity members from a Philippine university reached for hegemonic masculinity through the masculine exemplar of toughness to demonstrate preparedness for academic success, dominance in campus positions, and future national leadership. Through violentization (Athens, 2015), their initiations simulate the power clash between harsh patriarchs and supportive brothers that place young men’s bodies as objects and subjects of testing and indoctrination. Individual and collective efforts to critique and eschew the hypermasculinity of initiation violence achieved limited success although the pursuit of alternative socialization rituals remains a challenge.

[Excerpt] Tulad ng karamihan sa mga wika sa Pilipinas, ang verbal na sentence sa Mag-antsi ay binubuo ng VP (bilang predicate) at mga complement nito. ...[A]ng verb ay maaaring umayon sa kanyang mga nominal clause element sa pamamagitan ng mga affix na ikinakabit dito. Sa isang verbal na sentence, halimbawa, habang kinukuha ng subject o focus ng verb ang subject marker na ya, naka-encode naman sa verbal predicate ang semantic role na kanyang fino-focus. Samantala, ang mga NP na hindi fino-focus ng verbal predicate ay may kani-kaniyang determiner. Sa kani-kaniyang determiner malalaman kung gayon ang mga ugnayan sa pagitan ng mga NP at ng bawat NP sa verbal predicate. Ang ganitong kumplikadong sistema ng verb ay tipikal sa mga Philippine-type language (Kroeger, 1993; Blust, 2002), kung saan kabilang ang Mag-antsi.

In conjunction with appropriately designed test, cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs) can be used to identify students’ mastery or nonmastery of skills in a domain. The diagnostic and finer-grained information from CDMs can lead to tailored instruction and remediation. In this chapter, we introduce the generalized deterministic input, noisy “and” gate (G-DINA) model as a general CDM framework. In addition to various CDM formulations, the G-DINA model framework subsumes parameter
estimation, model fit evaluation, Q-matrix validation, differential item functioning analysis, and classification accuracy estimation. Using empirically based simulated data, we illustrate how CDM analysis can be performed using the GDINA R package.

The development of the Filipino Coping Strategies scale was based on the qualitative data on the resilience of Filipinos and the ways by which they cope with stressful life experiences and the quantitative data on foreign measures of coping. Integration of both data led to the formulation of nine coping strategies: cognitive reappraisal (pagsusuri), social support (paghingi ng tulong), problem-solving (pagtugon), religiosity (pagkarelihiyoso), tolerance (pagtitiis), emotional release (paglabas ng saloobin), overactivity (pagmamalabis), relaxation/recreation (paglilibang), and substance use (pagbibisyo). Initially, the scale was composed of 45 items with five items under each domain. This was pilot tested to 627 male and female Filipinos aged 18 above. Reliability analysis revealed items that are internally consistent with each other resulting in the reduction of items to 37. Furthermore, construct validity was established via a) factor analysis through principal components analysis extraction method and varimax rotation method and b) test for convergent validity by correlating each domain of the Filipino Coping Strategies scale with the corresponding domains of Ways of Coping by Folkman and Lazarus and the COPE Inventory by Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub. Independent samples t-test revealed significant differences among males and females in each coping strategy which served as the basis for norm groups. The Filipino Coping Strategies scale is a four-point Likert scale which aims to measure the coping strategies of Filipinos towards stress and generates a coping dispositional profile which can be used to aid in the assessment of coping behaviors.

The influence of plasma-forming gases such as argon and oxygen in the reduction of silver ions (\$\$\\backslashtext \Ag\\^+\$\$Ag+) infused into a natural zeolite framework has been investigated for antibacterial applications. Impregnation by soaking and ion exchange were combined with 13.56 MHz radio-frequency plasma to reduce \$\$\\backslashtext \Ag\\^+\$\$Ag+to their metallic state for a greener and energy-efficient process. The plasma treatment of the silver zeolite (AgZ) composites did not alter the crystalline structure of the zeolite, while successfully reducing \$\$\\backslashtext \Ag\\^+\$\$Ag+to its metallic form as a nanoparticle encapsulated by the zeolite. The antibacterial index of the AgZ composites against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli confirmed the fervent antibacterial activity of plasma-reduced Ag NP embedded in the zeolite matrix against the two bacterial strains. The highest activity belongs to the samples treated with oxygen plasma. This result is related to increased active area of contact and the incorporation of reactive oxygen species in the zeolite matrix, which contributed to the antibacterial sensitivity of the plasma-treated AgZ.

Water-based ink formulations containing wax, surfactant, and defoamer additives were prepared and printed on polyethylene film substrates. Standard test methods for adhesion, rub resistance, and gloss were done on the printed polyethylene films. Quantitative methods for the assessment and evaluation of the three print properties were developed. Image analyses were done to quantify adhesion and rub resistance. Quantitative measurement was done to quantify gloss. Data were analyzed using mixture design modelling and optimization. Modelling results show that adhesion and gloss are described by special cubic model equations, while rub resistance is described by a linear model equation. Contour plots and 3D surface graphs were generated showing the response surfaces of the print properties. The effects of varying the mass fractions of wax, surfactant, and defoamer on adhesion, rub resistance, and gloss were determined. It was found that increasing wax increases rub resistance, while increasing surfactant increases gloss, and increasing defoamer increases adhesion. There is dependency found between the mass fraction of wax, surfactant and defoamer with respect to the rub resistance, adhesion and gloss. Multi-objective optimization revealed that optimum adhesion, rub resistance, and gloss is obtained by a formulation containing equal mass fractions of wax and surfactant but no defoamer.