Flagship Program: PLAZA

Research Conversations featured UPOU’s Flagship Program: PLAZA with Dr. Joane Serrano as the keynote speaker last December 01.

To contextualize the program, Dr. Serrano discussed the roots of plaza as an intentionally-built, multipurpose, open space that is accessible to the public as a center for interaction. From the Greeks’ agora and the Romans’ forum, plaza have been understood as a public place for gathering; athletic, artistic, and spiritual pursuits; and processions, elections, and gladiatorial matches. In the Philippines, plazas are likewise centers for public activities such as sports, local trade and the like.

In this regard, Flagship Program: PLAZA is a venue for interaction between and among UPOU stakeholders (faculty, staff, and communities). It places UPOU in position as one of the leaders in promoting critical digital literacy nationwide. UNESCO promotes Media and Information Literacy (MIL) which emphasizes a critical approach to literacy which is recognizing that people do not only learn in the classroom but also outside of the classroom through information, media, and technological platforms. It enables people to question critically what they have read, heard, and learned.

The primary objective of PLAZA is to provide digital opportunities to the community and venues for discussion of relevant issues in the community/society. Some of the strategies discussed were: 1) Establish information hubs which are contact points where the general public, students, and alumni can get in touch with UPOU, 2) Set up training programs at learning hubs where the priority is the marginalized sectors, students, and the general public, 3) Improve digital library systems and services in collaboration with the library and academicians to be able to develop programs in line with PLAZA, improve library collection, and improve research support, 4) Establish partnerships with other institutions such as LGUs, NGOs, telecomms, DOST, and the like.

Dr. Joane also presented recommendations for the design and management of a public space which focuses on 4 major points: uses and activities, comfort and image, access and linkages, and sociability. A public space must create a focal point where stakeholders gather to develop strategies for community-oriented programs. It must have practical amenities, increased security, upgraded maintenance, and established community-policing program. The space must also be accessible and accommodating of vehicles that the participants will bring.

She also enumerated the existing research-public service initiatives that are anchored on the concepts of digital literacy, open spaces, and leadership.

●           NCODeL

●           UPOU virtual space

●           Open Lib

●           ISMTP

●           Y4IRT

●           Cascading Best Practices Program

●           Infoteach

●           LBSCFI

●           Knowledge sharing thorugh LTIO/Field Visit

●           EDUKussion

Research ideas and/or researchable areas, suggestions, and sharing from the session’s group are as follows:

●   Dealing with public through presentation in national and international conferences

●   Use of social media platform to encourage research among staff

●   Linkedin-type interaction among UPOU staff

●   Use the Faculty portal to engage in research conversations about OERs and to foster the open culture

●   Orientation to high school and college students on OERs; collaborate with other libraries all over the Philippines; take advantage of the network of Chancellor

●   Participants of the NCODeL – can be part of Plaza

●   Learning center vs learning hub

●   Earth ambassadors (we conducted a research forum grades 5-6, they were asked to present their research and oriented them with the blended learning mode)

●   Public initiatives through lecture series and international symposium; use social media to encourage more participation in the upcoming ASEANALE; use of Google drive

●   Researchgate-type for internal purposes so UPOU community can have access to these; microsite where students can share their artworks, poems, etc

●   Research Conversations as venue to practice presentation

●   To increase engagement, existing sites (faculty, networks) link all these to main platform and share these to the public; sites have chat functions, so people can engage with us through that functionality

●   Engagement by partnering with SUCs; go to SUCs in other areas, orientation about use and functions of the platform (helping people around us to become digitally literate; and others to experience to be connected digitally through webstreaming) e.g. MPM experience

●   Engagement – UPOU blog (platform not just to promote flagship programs but venue for students); not too formal but more interactive approach

●   FMDS blog – tips for students for taking comprehensive exam, etc

●   FMDS Facebook page for each programs, DR&DM – Facebook group for alumni where they engage with graduate students

●   Diverse groups of people can talk about anything (organic market every last Friday of the month); good venue to promote the university; talk about the environment etc); come up with digital materials

●   Study on the psychological interaction of those who go organic market; what motivates them to attend; identify behavior of people who interact with other people

●   Lunch and Learn

●   Digital materials played in TV

●   Culture of participating in Research Conversations

●   Invite teachers in the learning center where they can attend the Edukkasyon

●   Venue for people to comments (i.e. chat functionality)

UPOU Connected

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Research Conversations featured the UPOU Connected Flagship Program last 8 September 2017 with Assistant Professor Al-Francis D. Librero as the resource person. 

Asst. Prof. Librero started off the talk with an overview of the program’s main goals, which are: 1) to engage in public discussion of critical social issues, 2) ro participate in social mobilization, and 3) ro disseminate research results and knowledge products. Accordingly, the program is a repacking and continuation of the initial efforts of the Multimedia Center, OASIS, ICTDO, and Faculty Offices on public discussion, social mobilization, and knowledge dissemination.  Its performance indicators are the availability of 1) multiple platforms for discussion of issues and knowledge dissemination and 2) network/s of community media and information service providers. 

Asst. Prof. Librero then discussed each of the program’s components and the ongoing efforts for each of these components. Accordingly, For the UPOU Networks website, the ongoing activities are: 1) organizing the materials in UPOU Networks, 2) providing links from UPOU website to all other Web-based assets of the university, 3) creating a mobile app to access UPOU Networks, 4) establishing a content management system, and 5) consolidating microsites. For the establishment of a low-powered FM Station, the target audience has been identified as those who are elderly and those who lack access to other sources of knowledge. It was also noted that there still is much to be done in the development of materials for the FM station and matters concerning the management of the station. Meanwhile, for the use of social media platforms, it was emphasized that there is a need for critical discourse on social issues and dissemination of research and knowledge products. To this day, UPOU has accounts on Facebook (UPOpenUniversity), Twitter (upopenu), Instagram (UPOpenU), and Youtube (UPOU Networks). 

Existing issues on the program, as well as possible researchable areas, are as following: centralization/decentralization of content development, streamlining and consolidation of content and modes of  delivery, and evolution of design and production values.

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6fEsbrZobw&index=18&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7

Gender in Research: Framework and Methodologies

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Dr. Odine Maria M. de Guzman, director of the UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, talked about Gender-Sensitivity Research at Research Conversations last 25th of August 2017. The event was organized by UPOU’s Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in partnership with the Office of Gender Concerns. It was a two-part talk that discussed concepts on gender and gender research. 

The speaker started the talk with determining what the researcher’s disposition should be when doing gender research. The researcher must be open-minded, adaptable, flexible, and most of all, gender-sensitive. Dr. Odine proceeded to define gender as “socially-ascribed and socially-learned sense of what and who we are” and that it is different from sex which is understood to be biologically determined. She also differentiated gender roles from sex roles such that the former are tasks, functions, or characteristics that a society or culture defines as female or male, while the latter are biological or occupational function for which a necessary qualification is to belong to one particular sex category. 

Dr. Odine also defined and discussed gender issues. These issues arise when there is notable gender inequality  in real world situations such as gender relations and roles, gender division of labor, organizational structures, programs and services, and laws and government directives. Sexism and discrimination were mentioned as examples of this. Gender stereotypes were defined as a widely accepted overly simplified judgment or bias about a person or group. These gender issues impact individuals in such a way that “gender roles, expectations, and perceptions categorize and limit women and men into situations that constrain their capacity to do and capacity to be, hindering their potential to attain a full and satisfying life”.

Dr. Odine went on to tackle gender-sensitive research. A common misconception about gender research is that it is solely about women or gender relationships. Also, contrary to traditional research, it does not operate on assumptions of homogeneity. It takes into account gender as a significant variable in the research context and in the whole research process. It recognizes that the sexes have different roles and impact to society, power and power relations among the sexes and genders, and the differences in genders and gives equal value to each. 

Engendering research, as Dr. Odine put it, presents new perspectives, raises new questions, and uses new analytical tools to create a better understanding of a situation. Moreover, it can improve relevance, coverage, and quality of research. Engendering research also contributes to empowering groups through the use of more participatory methodologies, presenting and valuing the experiences of marginalized groups, and better policy formation. Dr. Odine reiterated that an actual research must mainstream gender throughout the research process from identifying the problem down to the dissemination of the research results. She gave important points to consider when doing gender research such as acknowledge own bias, use a conceptual framework that could reflect the experiences of sexes and genders, formulate a gender sensitive research question, among others.

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBA7wayHJoI&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&index=20 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UlqMJwSr8w&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&index=19

InnovaTE

by Ma. Rosette San Buenaventura

Research Conversations' featured speaker for the InnovaTE Flagship Program is Dr. Sheila R Bonito. 

InnovaTE promotes the adoption and/or adaption of innovative technology-supported teaching methodologies in support of effective learning. Its performance indicators were enumerated as such: (1) innovative technology-supported teaching methodologies; (2) enhanced capacity in effective online teaching among the faculty; and (3) reduced attrition and improved graduation rates among students. Its initial components consist of: (1) online teaching toolkit available in the Faculty Portal website; (2) faculty seminar-workshop/webinar series; (3) online teaching skills certification program; and (4) FIC and Tutor Congress.

Dr. Sheila expounded on the Faculty Portal website, noting that it is still under development but is already up and running. The website is designed to house modules for FICs and Open Educational Resources (OERs) as an effort to collate, organize, and present available content. However, at the moment, only modules for course authors are available and can already be retrieved at faculty.icodel.org. Webinars and workshops on open educational practices, OER in Education, extent of use of OER in UPOU, and OER in Health have been conducted with many more to come. Dr. Sheila provided websites such as roer4d.org and oerhub.com as sample resources on OERs and open education studies, data sets, etc.  

By the end of the conversation, a call for continued research on open education and OERs and for other research topic suggestions was raised. The audience also voiced out their concerns on how resources such as student theses repository and data sets can be made accessible for everyone. It comes as existing policies like the Data Privacy Act limits practitioners to make their work available for all. 

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7&v=m-9YeRwBZEM

Institutionalizing Gender Perspective in Research: Reflexivity as an Alternative

by Ma. Rosette B. San Buenaventura

Research Conversations featured Institutionalizing Gender Perspective in Research: Reflexivity as an Alternative, a study by Dr. Primo Garcia, Luisa Gelisan and Paula Muyco. 

The talk covered legal instruments to further strengthen gender and development (GAD) efforts such as Former President Fidel V. Ramos’ Memo Order 282 indicating that the academe must mainstream gender in its practices and/or to incorporate GAD issues in its programs and CHED’s Memo Order No. 01 stating that all private and public higher education institutions to mainstream gender in research, administration, extension, and curriculum.

In response to this, UPOU has institutionalized the Gender-focused Research Grants which are given to proposed studies that have GAD components or are gender-focused after undergoing the review and endorsement process of the research and publication committee. The results of these studies are expected and required to be disseminated in a forum, conference, and colloquium and/or published in a reputable academic publication. Also, UPOU has engendered the institution’s teaching, research, and public service activities to uphold equality in women and men and fulfill and promote women’s human rights and development

 The talk also touched on reactions to Gender Component requirement in research – these being acquiescence and resistance. Acquiescence was defined as taking a step towards gender mainstreaming, but not enough to facilitate deeper understanding of gender issues and realities, while resistance was defined as force-fitting gender perspective, action or inaction by people,  or obvious or implied opposition. These reactions can also be used as parameters to determine the visibility or invisibility of gender in research and the success or failure of gender policies and institutions. To address this issue, reflexivity in research is proposed.

Reflexivity in research can be used (1) to look into how a research topic is anchored on issues of dominance, gender, sexuality, class, age, and race; (2) to determine both perspectives from marginalized sectors and researchers’ values, beliefs, interests, ambitions, and how it shapes research; (3) as a reaction/response to intimate questions and answers brought by doing gender-based research; (4) as an approach to better analyze the process and results of research. In addition to the existing GAD checklist for research, the study presented a framework featuring reflexivity to better guide researchers in pursuing GAD research.

During the forum, a discourse took place as a means to better understand reflexivity as an approach in research. On one hand, there is a concern on the difficulty of achieving reflexivity because academics have been trained and expected to be as objective as possible, throwing away their biases and personal underpinnings and assumptions. On the other, it is believed that academics have a responsibility to acknowledge and practice reflexivity as an alternative approach to gender-based research. With this, there is a call to action for younger and starting researchers to embrace reflexivity and pursue research in such a way that conjuncts the reflexivity in qualitative with the rigor of quantitative research.

To close the conversation, and question-and-answer activity was facilitated where the participants were requested to reflect on the research/es that they have done and answer the following questions: (1) Was the research gender-focused?, (2) If not, what could have been a gender component in the research?  

HAPLOS: Vibrating Clothing for Well-being

by Ma. Rosette B. San Buenaventura

28 July 2017 | Research Conversations. In this talk, Dr. Diego Maranan discussed his PhD research which draws from philosophy, somatic practices, neuroscience, and technology design, and culminated in the creation of a device for facilitating body awareness. 

The device—called Haplós—is a novel, wearable, programmable, remotely controlled technology using vibrating motors that Diego developed as part of his research at CogNovo, a 4.1 million EU-funded project at Plymouth University, UK, that focused on interdisciplinary research on creativity and cognition.

Dr. Diego opened the talk by asking the question: Do you know yourself?, pertaining to our knowledge of our bodies as physical parts of ourselves as opposed to the typical response about mental or behavioral state. This underlined the concept of body awareness which deals with the connection between the way we organize our bodies and our disposition, the malleability of our concept of our bodies, and the understanding of our body as part of a space. Early research has shown that Haplós can increase body awareness by enhancing the user's perception of the body part that has been exposed to the. In addition Haplós has also been shown in a controlled experiment to decrease food cravings with statistical significanc. Because the sensations provided by the Haplós system have been described as highly unusual, pleasurable, and engaging, Haplós is theorized to interrupt the elaboration of intrusive thoughts associated with food cravings, as predicted by the Elaborated Intrusion Theory of desire.

Potential and speculative future applications of Haplós were discussed. For instance, there were inquiries (1) on the study's application for mental issues and other medicinal purposes, local fashion and production, and (2) for the study's continuation possibly at UP Open University in collaboration with other campus units in the country.

Article is based largely on the abstract of and with permission from Dr. Maranan.

watch the recording of the conversation at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QFm4p8q8D8&feature=youtu.be&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7

TAYO

by Ma. Rosette B. San Buenaventura

Professor Rita Ramos (FMDS) was the keynote speaker for the Research Conversation on the Flagship Program: TAYO (Team Approach and Youthful Outlook for UPOU), UPOU’s health and wellness program that aims to provide and/or establish healthy work spaces for a healthier work force.

She started the talk with sharing an integral part of the TAYO program, UPOU’s existing (volleyball, basketball, pilates, dance, photography) and upcoming clubs. These clubs help with fitness, relaxation, and socialization – conditions theoretically ideal for increased work productivity. She also gave a preview of ergonomics and how inviting an expert can be beneficial to the university’s offices.

At the moment, Flagship Program: TAYO’s structure is fluid and flexible for the purposes of recreation and relaxation; however, the health and wellness committee aims for the program to be more empirical and theory-driven as it progresses. Although still open for further suggestions and comments, Prof. Rita discussed possible variables to consider in determining the effectivity of the program such as measuring work productivity, fitness level, and vital signs. In an effort to address the lack of empirical data, the committee conducted an assessment survey of the health and wellness program. With 25 respondents for the initial survey, she hoped that more will participate in both the club activities and assessment survey.

Prof. Rita also lightly grazed on existing studies in health and wellness such as Ammendoila et al’s (2016) inquiry on using the intervention mapping framework for designing a health and wellness program in the workplace, Macdonald and Westover’s (2011) study on decreasing employee obesity and increasing overall health, and Losina et al’s (2017) paper on the relation of physical activity and decreased work absenteeism.

To cap the talk, Prof. Rita raised points to consider in the continuation of the health and wellness program:

• Should the program continue as unstructured/flexible or should it be structured?
• Should the program remain voluntary or should it be obligatory?

watch the recording of the conversation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLkkhfrA_UA&feature=youtu.be&list=PLiqeNUxu5x2HMuySXKnMcHzgTBeIovfH7