Cultural Considerations to the Life Participation Approach in Aphasia: A Filipino Case Study

Stroke is among the common causes of chronic disability (Feigin, 2014). Around one-third of stroke survivors are affected by aphasia, a communication disorder affecting the ability to comprehend and express oneself (Dickey, et. al., 2010). Culture is essential to understanding aphasia and providing person-centered care. Philippine cultural identity is reflected via respect for older persons, collectivism in family and community, and devotion to religion (Pe Pua & Protacio-Marcelino, 2000). The Filipino family is a primary support system, and cultural values directly influence caregiving approaches in chronic disability. This single case study examines the life of a Filipino man who has successfully lived with aphasia for over 25 years. Having finished a doctorate from Harvard University, served as the youngest University president, and member of the Philippine government, he suddenly had a stroke and was able to communicate only via single words, gestures, and facial expressions. His life is discussed in the context of the unique, multi-modal communication system which developed through the years with his family. Music and symbolism via watercolor paintings also define his aphasia journey. The value of religion in Filipino culture (Cruz, et. al., 2019) and its role in fostering positivity in his aphasia journey is examined. This study also highlights Filipino collectivism through the support of family and community in addressing communication needs and facilitating meaningful relationships at various stages in life. Cultural values deeply rooted in Filipino caregiving, such as debt of gratitude and filial devotion to parents (Enriquez, 1992), are discussed.

Towards a “Filipino” Video Game: Teaching Filipino Culture and Identity for Video Game Development

This paper uses the author’s experiences of teaching the Filipino module of a multidisciplinary video game development class as a case study in teaching Filipino culture and identity as an element of video game development. A preliminary definition of “Filipino video game” as having Filipino narratives and subject matter, made by Filipino video game developers, and catering to a Filipino audience, is proposed. The realities and limitations of video game development and the video game market in the Philippines is also discussed to show how the dominance of Western video game industry, in terms of the dominance of outsource work for Filipino video game developers and the dominance of non-Filipino video games played by Filipino players, has hindered the development of original Filipino video games. Using four Filipino video games as primary texts discussed in class, students were exposed to Filipinomade video games, and shown how these games use Filipino history, culture, and politics as source material for their narrative and design. Issues of how video games can be used to selfexoticization, and the use of propaganda is discussed, and also how video games can be used to confront and reimagine Filipinoness. The paper ends with a discussion of a student-made game titled Alibatas, a game that aims to teach baybayin, a neglected native writing system in the Philippines as a demonstration of how students can make a Filipino video game. The paper then shows the importance of student-made games, and the role that the academe plays in the critical understanding of Filipino video games, and in defining Filipino culture and identity.

The Psychosocial Development of the Seminarians and the Positive affirmation Skills Intervention (PASI)

A group of Filipino seminarians (experimental group) had an intervention of Positive thoughts enhancement and Interpersonal skills developed by the researcher (11 modules) tailored fit for a Filipino culture seminarians and another group of Filipino seminarians (controlled group) had a normal setting lecture of formation. A pre-test and posttest of the seminarians’ psychosocial development with a Psychosocial Development measurement tool (The Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory - MEPSI) was used to find out if there was an efficacy of the intervention. The posttest result of the experimental group was significantly higher than those of the control group which indicated that the intervention program (Positive Affirmation Skills Intervention – (PASI) was effective on the Psychosocial Development of the Seminarians. An incremental increase in the scores of the experimental group after exposure in the intervention and the participants in the experimental group experienced not only an enhancement of their psychosocial development attributes but had a high level of self-depth as compared to the control group which made an impact on their psychosocial development characteristics and attributes.

Language and Sexism: The Use of English Language as Academic Discourse in Balamban, Cebu Primary Education Textbooks

It is important to analyse textbooks in primary education from a gender perspective because textbooks, in addition to family and society, play an important role in the socialization of children. Thus, this study aims to analyse and review gender roles as well as the use of the English language as academic communication in selected primary education textbooks. Furthermore, 5 primary school teachers were also interviewed to know their perceptions of gender roles. Qualitative content analysis and data collection methods were used. The texts and illustrations of the textbooks were content analyses and it was found out that these selected textbooks were male-based in texts, illustrations, and language. The textbooks portray men in active roles mostly in Science related fields while women were depicted in conformity with the expected traditional Filipino culture of women; dependent, take care of the household, and passive. Findings from teacher interviews correspond to the findings from the textbook analysis. It shows that almost all teachers admitted that women/men are not treated equally but at the same time in some instances, they believed that roles or occupations that require physical strength and competence should be male-exclusive. When it comes to women’s roles outside the home, the interviewed male teachers wanted these roles to be in conformity with the traditional Filipino culture where women stay in the house and take care of the babies, and do most of the household works. The interviewed female teachers react in opposition saying that the current Philippine societal set-up no longer requires women to stay at home perform traditional expected roles of women, stating that male teacher’s conclusion as to the roles of women outside the home indicates deeply rooted beliefs perpetuating the unequal treatment of girls and boys in Philippine families, schools, and society. The research comes to a number of conclusions and also recommends more research with a wider scope that includes interviews and analysis from an increased number of teachers, students, textbook reformers, and policymakers to get a wider picture of gender roles.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Church Gatherings in the Philippines: A Policy Analysis

The Philippines is the largest Christian-majority country in Asia. With church gatherings playing a vital role in the nature of Christianity in the Filipino culture, the advent of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Philippines posed challenges to public religious practices amid efforts to mitigate COVID-19 community transmission. Various policy pronouncements from both the government-led Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Diseases and the church-led Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) were issued. These guidelines were implemented in order to address the two-pronged problem on healthcare and religious obligations. While these guidelines were initially contributory to the mitigation of disease transmission, varied compliance by Filipinos was observed through the progression of the pandemic. Considering the value that church gatherings and religion play in the lives of the Filipino people, further studies on COVID-19 transmission in the church should be conducted in order to develop more efficient policies and guidelines on the practice of religion, particularly for religious gatherings. Furthermore, a more synergistic state and church cooperation must be encouraged in order to arrive at solutions that will mutually address the concomitant problems of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mimicking the mimics: problematizing cover performance of Filipino local music on social media

The performance of cover songs in popular music has long been a subject of critical discussion and debate due to the artistic, social, cultural, and commercial issues that covers raise. In non-Western societies, most popular songs covered by artists are Anglo-American, a situation which implicitly privileges Western music and reinforces both the “west and the rest” trope and the cultural imperialism thesis. Taking American amateur artists and their online videos performing Filipino popular music as case studies, this article examines how social media platforms facilitate and problematize center-periphery relations in popular music through a diffusion of cultural products “from the rest to the west.” Moreover, we show that more than the promise of audience reach, the phenomenon reflects how these cover artists embody cultural and social situatedness in Filipino culture. As they mimic the mimics, they also embody an identity in motion.

Intergenerational learning and Sikolohiyang Pilipino

Research on intergenerational learning delves into both the reciprocal transfer of knowledge and learning relationships between different generations. However, as this is an emerging research topic, there is a gap in the information available from various cultures. This paper aims to present intergenerational learning through the development of non-western indigenous psychology via the lens of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino psychology) in order to broaden the existing perspectives and understanding of intergenerational learning, engagements, and programs. By utilizing the theoretical framework of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, notably as espoused by Virgilio Enriquez, indigenous Filipino values are identified as key to understanding the predominance of family and community as venues and arenas for intergenerational learning in the Philippines. This underscores the importance of using the philosophical arguments associated with different cultural perspectives to challenge current assumptions and biases in intergenerational research and of being mindful when applying concepts that predominate in one culture to another. Additional intergenerational research in the Philippines will benefit from the inclusion of Sikolohiyang Pilipino as a theoretical framework since this will enable a deeper understanding of educational concepts within Filipino culture.

Feminist-Pragmatist Reflections on the Filial Obligations of a Filipina American Daughter

In this essay, I reflect on the contradictions that arise from a personal experience of conflict with my father and the clash of traditional Filipino gender norms in the context of the practice of name changes within the institution of marriage and intersecting feminist critiques of patriarchy. My understanding of the Tagalog amor propio is self-love or self-pride within Filipino culture and signifies one's authority, place, and meaning in the community. As a concept of authority, amor propio encourages practices of respect toward the authority figure. In the context of the home, amor propio is attributed to the father, and members of the family ought to respect his amor propio. This essay examines my own conflicted relationship with my father and my attempts to navigate the complex terrain of amor propio, as a Filipina, feminist/peminist, dutiful daughter. Filipino immigrant families face distinct challenges within family life owing to globalization, colonialism, and racism, so I find Jane Addams's social ethics of filial relations helpful in framing the tension between individual and social claims within the specific cultural values expected of Filipina women as dutiful daughters. Addams's feminist social sensibilities in her work at Hull House were attuned to the plight of daughters and the conflicting claims of the family emergent within the crowded immigrant neighborhoods in Chicago. She was able to articulate and sympathetically understand the generational divide within immigrant families at Hull House and sought to bridge these differences within the context of the family. I reflect on her work in my own experience as a dutiful Filipina daughter.

Fashion, Dance, and Representing the Filipina

The New York World’s Fair of 1964-1965 offered an unprecedented opportunity for smaller Asian nations to reach an audience of 54 million American in the world’s most dynamic city. The country pavilion of America’s former colony, the Philippines, occupied a commanding position near the iconic ‘Unisphere,’ the fair’s symbol, with a structure that echoed tradition while proclaiming modernity. The beating heart of the pavilion were its many guides hailing from the country’s ‘best families’ who presented regular dance programs. The so-called ‘Philippines Cultural Invasion of New York’ on the occasion of Philippine Week in June 1964 generated an explosion of Filipino culture into midtown Manhattan, chiefly through folk dance and spectacular public displays of neo-ethnic and contemporary fusion fashion.

Proposed Unification of Indigenous Games in Teaching Physical Education in Cagayan National High School, the Philippines

Purpose: The study aims to explore the possibility of the unification of indigenous games in teaching Physical Education in the Enhanced Basic Education Program – the K to 12 Program. It also aims to determine the level of agreement of MAPEH teachers in the unification of indigenous games and to identify the indigenous games that will be unified in each grade level. Approach/Methodology/Design: Descriptive and qualitative methods of research were used in this study. The instruments used were questionnaire and an interview guide. Thirty teachers in Cagayan National High School participated in the study as a sample. Data were analyzed using means, frequency distribution and percentage. Findings: The results revealed that one hundred percent of the respondents strongly agree with the integration of indigenous games in teaching Physical Education. The respondents believed that this will be a way to preserve the tradition and culture that a certain community has hence, a great manifestation of being a Filipino. Practical Implications: Four indigenous games will be integrated for each grade level. This will improve the teaching of physical education. Originality/value: Indigenous games represent the culture and values towards the maintenance of health of every Filipino. This research article revives an interest in exploring and adopting indigenous games. It also attempts to establish a connection with the Filipino culture in the teaching of physical education.