Conflicting Group Meanings of Territorial Rights in Central Mindanao: Muslim–Christian Social Representations of Land Entitlement

Using a social representations lens, we examined subjective meanings of land entitlements in Central Mindanao among Muslims and Christians. In Study 1, we collected survey data from 231 students from the University of Southern Mindanao in Central Mindanao, asking them: ‘If you were to tell the story of land ownership in Cotabato, what three topics would you want to include in your story?’ Results of our hierarchical evocation analysis show that Christians are concerned with direct conflicts or actual intergroup confrontations while Muslims emphasise land issues. Study 2 implemented Focauldian Discursive Analysis to evaluate two separate focused group discussions by Muslim and Christian village leaders on the question: ‘Who really owns the land in Cotabato, specifically here in Midsayap?’ Findings indicate that Christians hold on to a legal story while Muslims use the ancestral domain narrative to cohere subjective claims to the contested territory. We discuss our results in the light of the role of legalese in an asymmetric territorial conflict and more specifically, the Framework Agreement signed last October 2012 by both the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Humour in Power-Differentiated Intergroup Wage Negotiation

This research examined the role of humour in power-differentiated wage bargaining conversations. We collected transcripts of wage bargaining between the local labour union and management negotiators of a multinational beverage company operating in the Philippines. Through conversation analysis, we determined how both parties utilised humor to challenge or maintain power relations even as both labour and management worked towards a wage bargaining agreement. Findings show that humour was used to maintain intergroup harmony, subvert authority and control the negotiation. Our findings may be useful for labour organisations and multinational corporations that operate in Southeast Asian countries with historically tumultuous labour relations such as the Philippines. Studies have shown how humour can play a significant role in various social interactions, such as business meetings (Rogerson-Revell, 2007), conversations between friends (Hay, 2000) and co-workers (Holmes, 2000), problem solving (Dunbar, Banas, Rodriguez, Liu, & Abra, 2012), conflict negotiations (Maemura & Horita, 2012) and price haggling (O’Quin & Aronoff, 1981). We note, however, that humour analysis rarely considers asymmetric features of social interactions occurring within the context of negotiation

Community Engagement Experiences of Social Entrepreneurs in Rural Communities

Using the lens of interpretative phenomenological analysis, this study explored the community engagement experiences of six social entrepreneurs working with rural communities in the Philippines and how they made meaning of their community engagement experience. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews. The findings illustrate how engaging with rural communities through social entrepreneurship is a way for the entrepreneurs to help communities uplift their economic condition and to achieve other social goals such as improvement of the community’s quality of life and environmental sustainability. Social entrepreneurship was also a way to help empower communities as well as build their capabilities, shape positive values through culture building, and nurture relationships. Implications of the study to social enterprise research and policy, community engagement programs, and leader development are discussed

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe

Social Representations of Mining Conflict in Davao Oriental

This study looked at how mining conflict was socially represented in Davao Oriental using the lens of Social Representation Theory. Thematic analysis was used to examine 111 articles published in print and on the internet over nine years from 2001 to 2009, and transcripts of interviews with key players of the mining conflict. Social representations of the conflict centered on three disputes—conflict between pro and anti mining viewpoints, conflict between two mining firms, and conflict among indigenous peoples living in the mining area—which were all embedded on one huge mining conflict. Key players used protector metaphors to objectify and symbolize their understanding of the conflict. Narratives about the mining discord evolved across time

From “Good day” to “Sign here”: Norms Shaping Negotiations Within a Face Culture

Using discourse analysis, we examine how culture shapes the dynamics and outcome of wage negotiations. With an intracultural lens, we look at how two opposing groups that share one overarching culture maximize group gains and achieve a bargaining agreement. We analysed audio recordings of collective bargaining meetings between labor and management negotiators of a multinational beverage company in the Philippines. Consistent with the claims of previous studies, negotiation between labor and management within this culture reflected low trust. Joint gains were however achieved through face dynamics that thwarted the impact of low trust bargaining. Specifically, our discursive analysis shows how utterances contain justifications, demands, rejections and threats. However, such apparently contentious talks are embedded in local language that conveys respect for authority, mixed with efforts to maintain harmony. These reflections of face culture in the bargaining process help shift the negotiations from a contentious to a collaborative and successful problem-solving process