Publications

Health is a fundamental concern for the state to have a "quality population". As both a right and a responsibility, people are taught that "governing oneself" is a necessary condition to help in the pursuit of a strong nation-state. The delegation of responsibility within the individual and his/her immediate horizon confers them to embody agency to seek for possible means on how to address their needs. Patients and their families are rendered as responsible for their illness, hospitalization and poverty since they are expected to "take care of themselves" as Michel Foucault suggest in his later works. Through this, individuals are "delegated the agency" to find solutions for their problems. The experiences of the companions of patients availing social services have been explored in this study to know the dynamics of how they deal with their financial limitations. The participants exercised their sense of agency through borrowing money, betting in the lottery, joining game shows and promos, seeking assistance from government institutions as well as politicians, etc. Most of them exhibit the an attitude that just endures and tolerates their situation wherein they have no access to health insurance and they just let it be whenever they don't have the money to buy the medications of the patients. Despite this situation, they don't blame anybody since they see themselves as merely asking for assistance giving them no right to appear demanding.

Pamimilosopiya: Mga Pagdulog at Konsepto: Ang salitang “pilosopiya” ay madalas na nagpapahiwatig ng malalim at masalimuot na mga paksa na tila hindi maaaring maunawaan ng karaniwang indibidwal. Sa aklat na ito, ipinapakita ng mga may-akda na, salungat sa karaniwang pananaw, isa itong gawain na bukas kanino man na interesadong mag-isip at magpalawak ng kaalaman. Sadyang mahiwaga ang karaniwang paksa, ngunit di nangangahulugang hindi kayang matarok. Nag-aalok ang aklat na ito ng mga pagdulog na maaaring maging gabay sa pagtalakay at pagtuklas ng likas na kagandahan ng disiplina. Sa ganang ito, mapagtatanto na higit sa lahat, ang pilosopiya ay isang disiplina na isinasagawa, ang pamimilosopiya ay gawain. Ang halaga ng aklat na ito ay matatagpuan sa kakayahan nito na maipakita ang gawain ng pamimilosopiya mula sa maraming aspekto nito tulad ng epistemolohiya, etika, metapisika, at pilosopiyang sosyo-politikal, sa paraang maaabot ng mag-aaral ng kasaysayang ng pandaigdigang kaisipan.

A spatiotemporal model is postulated and estimated using a procedure that infuses the forward search algorithm and maximum likelihood estimation into the backfitting framework. The forward search algorithm filters the effect of temporary structural change in the estimation of covariate and spatial parameters. Simulation studies illustrate capability of the method in producing robust estimates of the parameters even in the presence of structural change. The method provides good model fit even for small sample sizes in short time series data and good predictions for a wide range of lengths of contamination periods and levels of severity of contamination.

A procedure for estimating a time series model with structural change is proposed. Nonparametric bootstrap (block bootstrap or AR sieve) is applied to a series of estimates obtained through a modified forward search (FS) algorithm. The FS algorithm is implemented with overlapping and independent blocks of time points. The procedure can mitigate the difficulty in estimating when there is a temporary structural change. The simulation study indicated robustness of estimates from the estimation method when temporary structural change is introduced into the model provided that the time series is fairly long. As the effect of structural change persists in a longer period, the robustness of the bootstrap methods is further emphasized. We also provided a procedure for detecting the structural change and the subsequent adjustment of the overall model if indeed, there is a structural change.

We used simulated data to investigate both the small and large sample properties of the within-groups (WG) estimator and the first difference generalized method of moments (FD-GMM) estimator of a dynamic panel data (DPD) model. The magnitude of WG and FD-GMM estimates are almost the same for square panels. WG estimator performs best for long panels such as those with time dimension as large as 50. The advantage of FD-GMM estimator however, is observed on panels that are long and wide, say with time dimension at least 25 and cross-section dimension size of at least 30. For small-sized panels, the two methods failed since their optimality was established in the context of asymptotic theory. We developed parametric bootstrap versions of WG and FD-GMM estimators. Simulation study indicates the advantages of the bootstrap methods under small sample cases on the assumption that variances of the individual effects and the disturbances are of similar magnitude. The boostrapped WG and FD-GMM estimators are optimal for small samples.

In this exploratory study, I investigated lived experiences of unrequited love among young Filipino gay men in order to explore unrequited love beyond its heteronormative forms. Analysis of qualitative accounts from 11 out gay men who participated in focus groups indicated that unrequited love was a highly meaningful subjective experience involving a spectrum of negative affect, uncertainty, and self-esteem lowering. Non-reciprocity was often attributed to a lack of matching on dimensions like availability, sexual orientation, relationship goals, and personality. Non-homophobic social support was important in the reduction of uncertainty and management of distress, in addition to other strategies for coping with rejection and non- formation of the desired love relationship.

Economics is said to be the ‘science of choice’, stereotypically focused on the area of activity/behavior that emerges from interactions between entities offering things up for sale and the consumers choosing among the available options. The economistic assumption is that such choices are to be based on ‘self-interest’ or the search for the most profitable exchange. Starting from this, this paper explores the ‘market’ for Anthropology as seen in the results of a 2004 survey by UP Mindanao, and in decision trees modeling the rationality in selecting their degree courses made by UP Diliman students who were taking up Economic Anthropology. (Both projects also conducted by students as pedagogical/educational exercises in social science and anthropology.)