RESEARCH WORKS on disability and children’s trauma were among the best theses recognized during the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) solemn investiture on Monday, June 10.
Three of the 13 outstanding theses from AB programs centered on impairment. Two of them tackled the accessibility of broadcast media and employment to persons with disabilities (PWDs) while the other focused on gender philosophy.
Journalism graduates Justine Xyrah Rennzel Garcia, Jasmine Manuel and Claire Sofia Pascual bagged the best thesis award for their study “It’s a Sign: Assessing Filipino Sign Language integration in Philippine news programs.” Their thesis was supervised by journalism instructor Alexis Romero, also a senior reporter for The Philippine Star and adviser of The Flame.
“These Abled Persons: A Socio-Legal Study on the Pre-Employment Challenges of Selected PWDs in the BPO Industry of Metro Manila as Basis for Improving the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability” by Legal Management graduates Angela Calingo, Aaliyah Ashvins Mauricio and Bianca Ysabel Susi won the best thesis award for their program. They were advisees of UST Graduate School of Law Dean Jacqueline Lopez-Kaw.
Philosophy graduate Beatriz dela Cruz’s “The Exclusion of Subaltern Bodies in the Philippines: A Feminist Philosophy of Disability” emerged as the best thesis for her program. Her adviser was Prof. Marella Ada Mancenido-Bolaños of the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities (RCCAH).
Meanwhile, Audrey Alyanna Mangusad’s study, “The Invisible Wound: Estranging the Psychoanalytic Imaging of Children’s Trauma in Selected Picture Books,” was recognized as the best thesis for the Literature program. Her study was supervised by Prof. Jeanette Grajo of the UST-RCCAH.
Mangusad’s study examined the portrayal of child sexual abuse trauma in children’s picture books, emphasizing their potential to depict trauma response and provide healing to survivors.
Other studies that won the best thesis award were:
– “Aligning the 2012-2019 Implementations of MTB-MLE in the Philippines with the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032)” by Asian Studies graduates Mary Carl Buasen and Anrei Danielle Talaga (Adviser: Interdisciplinary Studies chair Ma. Regina Pato-Agustin)
– “Effort-Reward Imbalance, Worker Well-being, and Communicatively-Restricted Organizational Stress of Female-Presenting Millennials in the Helping Profession” by Behavioral Science graduates Isabelle Dimaano and Gabrielle Ira Tirol (Adviser: Behavioral Science coordinator Gian Carlo Ledesma)
– “A Critical Discourse Analysis into User-Contributed ‘Community Notes’ on Tweets about the West Philippine Sea Territorial Disputes on X (formerly Twitter)” by Communication graduate Rafael Alvarez (Adviser: Communication instructor Rae Francis Quilantang)
– “Dalisaying Lubos: Mga Kuwento ng Salang Tinubos” by Creative Writing graduate Roma Reign Molina (Adviser: Department of Filipino instructor Mark Angeles)
– “Philippine Crime Dynamics: The Determinants of Regional, Index and Non-Index Crimes” by Economics graduate Devon Garcia (Adviser: Economics instructor Ederliza Magpantay)
– “(Im)Politeness Strategies: A Pragmatic Study on Courtroom Examination in Selected Philippine Court Hearings” by English Language Studies graduate Ma. Felisa Ramos (Adviser: Department of English chair Prof. Rachelle Lintao)
– “A History of the Parish of San Isidro Labrador in Pulilan, Bulacan” by History graduate Paulo Miguel Garcia (Adviser: History Assoc. Prof. Ma. Eloisa de Castro)
– “Mula sa Komyuter, Para sa Komyuter: Navigating the Road to Commuter-Oriented Philippine Transportation through Commuters’ Experiences in the Implementation of EDSA Carousel” by Political Science graduates Etchel Leinne Perez and Angel Joyce Acuar (Adviser: Political Science instructor Charles Anthony Vega)
– “Mula sa Tao, Para sa tao, patungo sa…?: Contextualizing Community Empowering in Community-based Interventions among Coastal Communities” by Sociology graduate Gracelle Tungbaban (Adviser: UST-SIMBAHAYAN assistant director and Sociology Asst. Prof. Froilan Alipao)
The faculty launched the best thesis award in 2022 under then AB dean Prof. Marilu Madrunio to encourage Artlets students to “take research seriously” and to equip them with the necessary research skills. F
