The diaspora of Magno Rubio: A semiotic investigation of the Ma-Yi Theater Company\u27s The romance of Magno Rubio

The study began in addressing the unprecedented issue regarding the Filipino diaspora. The Filipino diaspora proves to more than just a case of dispersal. Rather, it is a situation that harbors a complex web of contradictions and layer after layer of predicaments. The problems involving the Filipino diaspora deal with various concerns such as questions on identity, our global invisibility, our dis/position in the labor market in this world of globalization, cultural notalgia and nationalist ethos (despite our climate of hybridity), historical and cultural stigmas, and the list goes on. It has been stated earlier in the study, that history stigmatized us, developed us in such a displaced state. In the course of speculating, the study has turned its focus on the play, The Romance of Magno Rubio by the Ma-Yi Theater Company, with the plan of seeking how cultural conventions have affected the formation of the play\u27s mise-en-scene- i.e., the characters, dramatic use of language, set design, props and technical production. Through the use of Umberto Eco\u27s theory of codes and theory of sign production, I have analyzed the play as a dynamic semiotic entity that embodies significations that are strongly linked with the cultural code. The course of this study has eventually recognized The Romance of Magno Rubio as a spectacle of contradictions, ironies and paradoxes. The contradictions that are marked in the arrangement and details of the mise-en-scene disclose a connection with the contradicting culture of the Filipino diaspora as well. Analysis on the characters (Magno Rubio, Nick, Claro, Prudencio, and Atoy) revealed a reading linked to the issue of hybridity. Analysis on the dramatic use of language uncovered issues of hegemonic-subordinating powers, displacement and cultural affinity. Analysis on the set design and props displayed the various issues that deal with Filipinos\u27 position in globalization, the labor market, and migration. And finally, analysis on the technical production renders us to face the truth of our predicament, thus urging us to continue problematizing, to battle darkness as much as possible so that we may reach the light. This examination, however, does not claim to provide solutions for the predicament enclosing the Filipino diaspora. I am simply joining in the quest of problematizing, of question, of speculating. This semiotic inquiry only offers as a clearer understanding of our culture - the contradictions that underlie us, our political and social status, our position in the world

On the connection between the Chebyshev polynomials and the fibonacci sequence (with computer program)

This study is an exposition based on the article, Chebyshev Polynomials and Fibonacci Numbers: The Link by Ms. Mary C. Martin, which appeared in the 1998 issue of Acta Manilana magazine Volume 46. This thesis presents an adequate account on the derivation of the Chebyshev polynomials. This will lead to the combinatory expression of the Chebyshev coefficients, which is essential for obtaining the link between the two concepts. The thesis will also present some of the properties of the Fibonacci sequence. The study will make use of one of the Fibonacci recurrence relations that will help one in solving for the relation of the Chebyshev coefficients and the Fibonacci numbers. The researchers will provide sufficient theorems, proofs and illustrations that would explain the main results

The perception of Filipino children on spatial objects

This is a descriptive-comparative study which aimed to test the hypotheses that subjects belonging to different culture, age and school location have different perception on spatial objects. Through purposive sampling, 221 Filipino children from ages 8, 10, and 12 coming from three (3) different middle-class co-ed schools in Metro Manila: Sto Nino de Novaliches School (North) St. Ann Academy (Center) Las Piñas College (South) participated in the study. They were asked to answer a test questionnaire based from the Japanese-French Comparative Study on Cultural Sensibility and Cognitive Development about Spatial Objects fulfilling two(2) tasks. The first task was to rank the spatial objects using four dimensions namely: a) favorableness, b) beauty, c) calmness, d) strangeness. The second task was to make inferential judgments using the semantic differential technique. Results of the study were analyzed by getting the percentage of the subjects\u27 rankings for Task 1 and their ratings for Task 2. It was found out that children belonging to ages 10 and 12 have a more distinct and dominant perception than the 8 year olds which were then related to Piaget\u27s stages of development. However, the responses based on school location revealed no significant findings. The Filipino children have a different perception on the spatial objects presented as compared with the Japanese and French. Based on the above results, the factors of culture, age, and school location were discussed