All eight members of the Research, Extension, and Professional Staff (REPS) of the College of Development Communication participated in the 1st National Scientific Conference and 13th General Assembly Meeting of the UP Society of REPS, Inc. (UP REPSS), held on 7-8 March 2023 at the UPLB Baker Hall.
Five of them were also part of the paper presentations under the Innovations, Technologies, and Knowledge Management Parallel Session held at the Obdulia F. Sison on March 7. Four of the five papers under the parallel session were by CDC REPS.
The first paper presentation on the “Mobile Phone Usage among Persons with Visual Disability in Los Baños, Laguna” was by Mr. Ryan Jay. I Galang, University Research Associate II of the Department of Development Broadcasting and Telecommunication (DDBT). It was part of his MS Development Communication thesis.
The second paper entitled “Stories and Connections in Visuals: Social Network Analysis as an Effective Tool to Understand Social Structures in People’s Organizations”, was presented by Ms. Charlene Mae B. Arkaina, University Extension Specialist I of the Department of Science Communication (DSC) as part of her Master of Community Development thesis.
The third paper was by Mr. Miguel Victor T. Durian, University Extension Associate II of the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ), and Mr. Rudy P. Parel, Jr., CDC student and DDJ volunteer. Presented by Mr. Durian, the paper was on “Framing of Science on the Los Baños Times Website”. The paper was part of an initial study they conducted in 2022 on the “Eleven years of Development Journalism: Content Analysis and Readership of the Los Baños Times Website”, which was presented at the 1st FRAMEwork Asia-Pacific Communication Conference held on 24-25 November 2022 at the Far Eastern University.
The fourth paper was by DDBT REPS, Mr. Joseph Lydio R. Roble III, University Extension Specialist I and Ms. Juvy Leonarda N. Gopela, University Researcher I, entitled “View, Like, Comment, Post: Viewership and Engagement of the UPLB-CDC Bantay Halalan sa Laguna 2022 Experience”. The paper was presented by Mr. Roble and was part of the Monitoring and Evaluation project of the CDC Bantay Halalan Election Coverage Program.
Other CDC REPS who participated in the conference were Ms. Renz Frances D. Abagat-Manrique (University Extension Associate II, Department of Educational Communication), Ms. Christine Grace V. Mapacpac (University Extension Associate II, DDBT), and Ms. Amy Y. Arnaiz (College Librarian I). The former two had been elected as treasurer and secretary, respectively, of the Division 6 of UP REPSS for AY 2023-2024.
CDC also congratulates its alumna, Paully Mae Z. Valencia of the UPLB Office of Alumni Relations (OAR), for being elected for a second term as the President of UP REPSS for AY 2023-2024.
In partnership with the UPLB Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE), the conference had the theme of “Evolving Research and Extension Landscape: Future Trends amidst Current Social and Political Climate”, which was aligned with the UPLB Agora agenda of Chancellor Jose. V. Camacho, Jr. (Rudy P. Parel, Jr.)
