Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

10 May 2024

UP Cebu

A combination of uncertainty and alliance-building may be the Philippines’ best approach to the South China Sea disputes

The research delves into the complexities of the South China Sea issues, proposing a fresh approach for countries like the...

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02 May 2024

UP Diliman

Mussels cultivated in Manila Bay are contaminated with feces from sewage, agricultural, and diffuse sources

Manila Bay, a multipurpose body of water located around Metro Manila, Philippines, is continuously degrading because of pollution. Reports have...

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30 Apr 2024

UP Visayas

The framework of being (agi) and becoming (kaagian) from Western Visayan poetry enriches our understanding of “queerness” without western/Eurocentric theorizing

This paper analyzes poetry written by self-identified Agi (Panayanon indigenous gay identity) using the concept of power called gahum as...

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29 Apr 2024

UP Cebu

People with lower levels of education are more likely to trust in the television as an institution

This study is significant as it aims to provide empirical evidence on the celebrity culture, i.e. the pervasive fascination of...

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26 Apr 2024

UP Diliman

Oyster shell and rice husk can be turned into low-cost building materials with antimicrobial properties

The development of green and low-cost functional building materials is increasingly becoming one of the primary goals in the construction...

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11 Apr 2024

UP Diliman

A multimedia-based intervention has the potential to improve social learning and adaptive skills of students with autism spectrum disorder

An evaluation was conducted to examine the potential effectiveness of a multimedia-based intervention, with the participation of 30 Filipino public...

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05 Apr 2024

UP Diliman

Research highlights the functions of bacteria that dissolve phosphate and make phosphorus, which can improve crop yields, available in soil

Bioavailable phosphorus (P) is critical for improving crop yields to meet the raising food demand driven by an increasing human...

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02 Apr 2024

UP Diliman

Philippine presidents have used different strategies in their Labor Day speeches to appeal to audiences

How do Philippine presidents frame their messages about labor and migration, especially during Labor Day? Studying this research domain is...

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26 Mar 2024

UP Diliman

ChatGPT, although a promising tool that can complement nutrition education, still has substantial limitations such as incorrect responses

The field of health and medical sciences has witnessed a surge of published research exploring the applications of ChatGPT. However,...

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20 Mar 2024

UP Diliman

Living alone increases level of anxiety; no link between anxiety and time spent with smartphones

This quantitative research was completed with the primary objective of determining whether anxiety and digital phenotypes might be regarded as...

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13 Mar 2024

UP Manila

False information about the unsuccessful rollout of Dengvaxia® has made it harder for the public to value vaccination programs

The study aimed to identify various issues related to the Dengvaxia® (a dengue vaccine) controversy and link these issues with...

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08 Mar 2024

UP Diliman, UP Los Baños

Violence Against Women desks in barangays lack equipment and officers who can carry out responsibilities effectively

The Violence Against Women (VAW) Desk, established by virtue of Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women, is...

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Research

This review article examines the meanings and materialities of human stature, from serving as a marker of human difference to shaping the socio-spatial experiences of individuals. I introduce existing perspectives on height from various disciplines, including biomedical discourses on the factors (e.g. nutrition, genetics) that determine height, economic discourses on how the average heights of populations have changed over time, sociobiological and psychological discourses that assume a pre-cultural, evolutionary “height premium”, and popular discourses on heightism and height discrimination. Drawing from a diverse range of scholarship since Saul Feldman called for a “sociology of stature” in the 1970s, I then present ways in which height and height differences have figured in various domains of human experience, from employment and education to sports and social relationships. Finally, I survey people’s attempts to become taller or shorter, and the implicit values that inform such height-making practices. What these figurations and practices show, I argue, is that height intersects with notions of race, class, gender, and beauty – but is irreducible to any of them, and is thus best viewed as a distinct, embodied form of distinction, difference, and inequality. I conclude by proposing a research agenda for future work.

Author: Gideon Lasco (Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group (KTI), Wageningen University and Research/Department of Anthropology, University of the Philippines Diliman/Development Studies Program, Ateneo de Manila University/Department of the History of Science, Harvard University)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13178