Publications

A spatiotemporal model with nested random effects is proposed for small area estimation where sample data are generated from a rotating panel survey. Two methods of estimation are introduced, integrating the backfitting algorithm and bootstrap procedure in two different approaches. Simulation study shows superior predictive ability of the fitted model. The small area estimation methods also produced efficient estimates of parameters in a wide class of population scenarios. The model-based small area estimation procedure is also better over the design-based approach in estimating unemployment rate from the Philippine Labor Force Survey.

Facebook, one of the many Web 2.0 tools, has been used by libraries as a channel to reach their respective communities. Its numerous features allow library managers to publicize and market services, share content, and interact with library users. The University Library of the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD Library), through the General Reference Section of the Main Library, provides marketing and reference service through its Facebook page by uploading photos and promotional materials on the site to disseminate information on library resources and services. The social networking site facilitates reference queries via messages sent to the page and via wall posts and comments, with the majority of queries related to library schedules and access policies. Facebook has also been useful in establishing connection and association with library users by soliciting and accepting feedback. Likes, comments and shares are the indicators of how users react to the activities of UPD Library at Facebook. Challenges encountered are non-engagement, negative feedback, problematic promotion practices, environment changes and the difficulty of achieving market saturation. Libraries are recommended to offer specific reference services such as answering queries, providing current awareness and conducting readers’ advisory through Facebook. It is recommended to promote information literacy activities and market library collections, services and events through advertisements, albums, status updates and event photos. Interaction, collaboration and feedback may also be done in the social networking site.

In this chapter, Benjamin Hanckel, Laurindo Garcia, Glenn-Milo Santos and Eric Julian Manalastas present work that confronts the sexual stigma, HIV-related stigma and isolation HIV-positive gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) experience when accessing information related to HIV. Their study presents the human face of HIV by exploring the technology use of HIV-positive MSM. Their research was part of a formative assessment undertaken at the initial stage of the development an information and communications technology (ICT) resource and peer- support web-app for HIV-positive MSM in Southeast Asia. Hanckel, et al.’s work tentatively illustrate how the capability deprivations experienced by HIV-positive men can be overcome by mobilising Amartya Sen’s capability approach to developing an ICT resource that addresses the deprivations and information deficiencies of HIV- positive MSM by enhancing peer support and increasing access to HIV-related information and resources.

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymers that can swell and absorb water without dissolving, provided that chemical or physical crosslinks exist among the macromolecular chains. The hydrogel can be derived from synthetic and natural polymers, the latter having desirable properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradation that do not produce adverse and reproductive and developmental effects. The aim of this study was to synthesize a physical hydrogel from a water-soluble cellulose derivative and a solution of 6 wt% sodium hydroxide/5 wt% thiourea. Physical hydrogels (also called self-assembling hydrogels) are formed when macromolecules self-assemble through non-covalent, secondary molecular interactions such as hydrophobic, electrostatic, and H-bonding. Hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and microcrystalline cellulose were used in this study. A hydrogel made from hydroxyethyl cellulose containing weight percentages of 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 wt% in the sodium hydroxide/thiourea solution. Hydroxypropyl cellulose only formed a cloudy yellow solution while microcrystalline cellulose did not dissolve at all in the solution. The hydroxyethyl cellulose/ sodium hydroxide/thiourea hydrogels were then characterized according to its functional groups present, physical structure, and mechanical properties, and biocompatibility.

A collection of essays, this book attempts to continue the conversation on theater studies and performance studies in the context of Philippine scholarship. In the discussions, the trope of entablado is used as a central idiom. First, entablado refers to its literal meaning, as a space where a performance takes place. The space of the performance, however, is not only confined within the walls of an auditorium. It may also be in a street, a foyer of a huge cultural landmark, a river, or a school auditorium. Also, the space may not necessarily be a location exclusively for an artistic performance. It may be a space where people gather for the Divine, for entertainment, for a political protest, or for an academic conversation.Second, entablado is used here as a signpost for both ambivalence and exact possibility. The ambivalence is in the concept’s determinism, which, like entablado, has Hispanic origins, that seems to be suggestive of a need for an academic discipline in Philippine academia where the starting point is the space of entablado (theater and performance). As stated in the introduction of this book, theatre studies and performance studies as disciplines are emerging fields. By this emergence, there is an implicit invitation for the recognition of these disciplines as independent fields. In this regard, the entablado is a linage to the more traditional discipline of literary studies in which the stage is read as a cultural text. At the same time, it is also a departure from the literary paradigm to read the entablado as a cultural performance. This is where the possibilities of striking, initiating and beginning take place. The possibility of independence is implicit in the chapters, that there is something in the analyzed performances where the entablado (as a space) becomes a site for knowledge production and consumption. In particular, the possibility of the Filipino entablado as a starting point for socio-cultural and art theory may finally commence. Therefore, the possibility of entablado establishing a new paradigm in the humanities and the human sciences is not trivial but necessitates a reconceptualization of discipline: theater and performance studies.

Staged annually at the Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio Papet Teatro-Museo, Papet Pasyon is the onlysinakulo in the Philippines performed in puppetry to date. In this essay, the puppet play is proposed to be an entanglement of three cultural forms: the literary form of the pasyon, the theatre form of the sinakulo, and the art of puppetry. The bases for the text of this puppet play are foreign sources namely a children’s Bible from Europe, the passion play from Oberammergau in Germany, and the dramatic tradition of the Western musical. Though originally a Western-based text, Lapeña-Bonifacio crafted and encapsulated the puppet play into an hour and a half show that highlights the story of Christ’s passion, is written in a Philippine language, and is understandable to young audiences. Its manner of presentation, on the other hand, was inspired by the very rich puppet traditions of Asia, particularly the Japanese bunraku and the Indonesianwayang golek. The essay begins exploring this proposal of entanglement by introducing Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio, founder of Teatrong Mulat, and her vision of a children’s theatre in the archipelago with productions based on and inspired by local folktales and various theatrical forms in the Asian region. This is then followed by a narrative on the genesis of Papet Pasyon, which like most Teatrong Mulat productions, is a product of mixing and matching local and foreign influences. The bulk of the paper is a preliminary analysis and a close reading of Papet Pasyon as a cultural text and performance of entanglement because, generally, the play is a concatenation of the pasyon, the sinakulo, and various forms of puppetry.

Composed of 40 essays written in Filipino, the book is divided into six chapters: Muni-muni (Reflection); Pera-pera (Money); Bola-bola (Deception); Bali-balita (News); Buhay-buhay (Life); at Suroy-suroy (Sightseeing). Arao said that there is a reason for composing the book's title and chapter titles in a way that certain words in Filipino are repeated twice. "Kailangan kasing gamitin ang pag-uulit ng ilang salita sa wikang Filipino para idiin ang isang mahalagang bagay --- patong-patong ang mga problemang kinakaharap ng ating mga mamamayan (There is a need to repeat certain words in the Filipino language to stress an important matter --- there is a plethora of problems being faced by the people)," he said.