10 Years of Customization with Havaianas - #MYOH2015

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Hello Summer!!! Summer is still the Filipinos’ most awaited season despite the intense heat we experience every year. It’s the perfect time to go outdoors – while away your day at the beach, climb a mountain, take a walk at the park – whatever you want, your imagination is your limit.

The same goes for customization – another favorite of ours as a people. We always feel the need to communicate our individuality at every turn. Good for us, with summer comes the much-loved annual tradition where we get to personalize our very own flip-flops! Yes, it’s that time of the year again for Make Your Own Havaianas!

Express yourself through your flip-flops as we bring Make Your Own Havaianas from May 7 to 10 to the Glorietta Activity Center and select AFF branches and pop-up stores nationwide! 

Flaunt your artistic side as you mix and match everything, from the color of the soles and straps to our choices of limited edition pins. Dare to be different and create something that shows your unique and amazing personality! 

Expect a bigger and more festive Make Your Own Havaianas as we celebrate its 10th anniversary in a Hawaii-inspired theme for this year! “Havaianas means Hawaiians in Portuguese after all. And this becomes our way of continuously sharing the rich heritage of the brand to our customers,” according to Anne Gonzalez, Managing Director for Marketing of Havaianas Philippines. Hawaii has inspired the Brazilian brand since 1962. 

To make your own Havaianas, check out the following All Flip-Flops branches in Metro Manila: AFF Bonifacio High Street, AFF SM Manila, AFF SM Megamall, AFF SM Mall of Asia, AFF TriNoma. In the provinces you can visit: AFF Abreeza Davao, AFF SM Bacolod, AFF SM Bacoor, AFF SM Cagayan de Oro, AFF SM Iloilo, AFF SM Lipa, AFF SM Pampanga, AFF SM Tarlac, and the MYOH pop-up stores in Robinson's Ilocos Norte and SM City Cebu (from May 7 to 17).

For more details, follow Havaianas Philippines on Facebook and @Havaianasphils on Instagram and Twitter. You can register online and try out the many ways you can personalize your flip-flops through http://myoh.havaianasphilippines.com/. 

Feel free to share your Make Your Own Havaianas experiences with #MYOH2015!

DOH Encourages Public to Keep Vaccinations Complete and Up-to-date

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Myths and misconceptions identified as threats to national health

Vaccinations save millions of lives worldwide on a yearly basis. Despite the progress of immunization efforts in the country, however, several factors remain to challenge the total success of such programs.

Based on the 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey, six of ten children 12‐23 months (62 percent) were fully immunized; that is, they received the seven basic vaccinations before their first birthday. More than 90 percent of the children received first doses each of vaccines - DPT (diphtheria-pertussis-tetnaus), polio and Hepa‐B. However, same children will not complete the succeeding second and third doses required for the full protection and only 78% finishes the measles vaccination at 9 months old. . .. Rather than problems on resources and reach, challenge of completion of such programs is being stunted by the myths and speculations surrounding immunization.

Dr. Beaver Tamesis, Rosa Maria Nancho MD, Angel Jacob, DOH Secretary Janette Garin and Benjamin Co

 “The emerging adversary of vaccination is not effectiveness—it is speculation,” said Dr. Benjamin Co, a Clinical Pharmacologist and Associate Member of the Pediatric Infectious Disease of the Philippines and Fellow of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS).

Dr. Co was a keynote speaker in a forum titled Usapang Bakuna held at Museum Café in Makati. He discussed vaccine myths and misconceptions alongside DOH Secretary Janette Garin and Society of Adolescent Medicine of the Philippines (SAMP) Adviser Dr. Rosa Maria Nancho.

The forum tackled vaccination myths and misconceptions as a nod to World Immunization Week, which runs from April 24 to 30. 

“Understandably, vaccine safety receives more attention than effectiveness,” said Dr. Co. “But vaccines have an excellent safety record. As a matter of fact, you could argue that they are as safe, if not or safer than therapeutic medicines.”

He continued: “Misguided concerns (which are not grounded on science and research) distract the general public from pressing preventable health threats. This is proving to be a major obstacle in creating a healthier nation.”

No link between measles vaccine and autism

A now-retracted study linking MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine) to autism has been discouraging the vaccine’s uptake. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) described the 1998 study as an ‘elaborate fraud’ that altered the medical histories of all 12 patients that formed its basis.

According to Dr. Co, “Wakefield’s study has done long-lasting damage to health. But we need to remain focused on why vaccines were discovered and balance the benefits and risks of the disease, especially among children and the vulnerable community. As stated by the Measles Rubella Initiative, Measles is a leading cause of death among children around the world, with 400 dying every day.”

Based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO), there is no scientific evidence to support claims that measles vaccination may be a risk factor for autism. Additionally, studies have shown that immunization does not lead to permanent neurological problems. 

Disproving the HPV stigma

HPV (Human Papillomavirus), a family of viruses, has two strains that are linked to 80 percent of cervical cancer cases. While there are two HPV vaccines (bivalent and quadrivalent) available in the market, their uptake is affected by existing stigma.

“Since HPV is a sexually transmitted disease, some parents do not consider vaccination as a necessity for their kids,” said Dr. Nancho. “But these vaccinations are recommended at a certain age (9 years old) because that is when they’re most effective.”

She added, “Pre-exposure vaccination (which means vaccination before the child is exposed) is a corner stone of successful immunization programs against the world’s cluster of preventable diseases.”

Other ‘Untruths’

Mercury content has also been raised as a safety concern in vaccines, since some of them are formulated with the mercury-containing preservative thiomersal. However, DOH Secretary Garin was quick to point out that there is no evidence to suggest that the amount of thiomersal used in vaccines poses any health risks.

It is likewise a mistake to assume that vaccines are no longer necessary, as vaccinable diseases have disappeared in recent decades. According to Garin, the spike of measles cases in the country quickly refutes this claim.

She concluded, “The biggest problem here is that decisions on health are being made based on perceived risks, not supported by evidence. We have a responsibility to rid ourselves of all these misconceptions, especially when we are making decisions for our children.”

First Rule of Virtual Reality - VR : Don’t Break the Presence!

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Sasa Marinkovic, head of software marketing for the computing and graphics group at AMD

I’m standing on the roof of a tall building, looking down at the street hundreds of feet below as I catch my breath. The flag on the roof of the building next door is snapping in the strong wind, and I pull my toes away from the edge, before I lose my balance and fall to the street. I can hear my pursuers pounding up the stairwell to the roof, but a quick look around reveals no place to hide. The only option is to jump — to the rooftop next door. I quickly turn back to have one final look, and… pixel-lag artifacts smudge my world. The magic is gone. 

Virtual Reality — VR — one of the most hyped technologies over the past year, is poised to fundamentally transform personal entertainment as we know it, potentially delivering a long-term impact that may exceed today’s most “disruptive” new technologies. Strapping on a VR headset will catapult the user into a new realm of lifelike entertainment experiences that will seem believable — and very real, within seconds of putting them on. 

Traditional movie entertainment turns the viewer into an observer of the story, but today’s gaming technology make users active participants. VR technology takes everything a giant step further, creating the sense of the virtual world being just as real as the physical. But to achieve this, technology must become invisible, unnoticeable and undetectable. The moment that technology reveals itself by way of a difficult interface or unrealistic experience, the magic spell is broken — and the unconscious world of VR “presence” dissolves. 

Achieving a truly lifelike user experience with VR technology is now possible because of tremendous advancements in computer processing power, graphics, video, and display technologies. However, the magic ingredient is not only achieving but also maintaining the reality of the virtual reality presence. We call this rule: “Don’t break the presence.”

Understanding presence

Let’s back up a moment. “Don’t break the presence” requires knowing precisely what it is that we want to avoid breaking — and understanding the elements vital to achieving presence within a virtual environment.

VR presence is commonly equated with the concept of “immersion,” the perception of being physically present in a nonphysical world, or a state of consciousness where the VR user experiences a simulated experience that appears real, and thus feels real. Presence can be measured as the degree to which the virtual environment faithfully evokes a sense of reality that causes the user to suspend disbelief. The greater the suspension of disbelief, the greater the degree of presence achieved.

Researchers exploring virtual reality divide VR presence into three main subcategories: personal, social, and environmental. Personal presence refers to the user perceiving that they physically exist within a virtual world, social presence involves interactivity with other simulated or real entities within the virtual world, and environmental presence occurs when the virtual world seems aware of the VR user and reacts accordingly. 

VR developers describe achieving presence through implementing a broad array of technology advances and innovations, including adding a broad range of sensory inputs and user-controlled or manipulated elements within the virtual environment, and enhancing the speed and fluidity with which the virtual environment responds to those user controls or manipulations.

The role of technology: create and sustain the VR, but then stay away

Designing realistic virtual-reality environment requires tremendous computing power to render the virtual world with the best possible performance parameters. Yet, the technologies used must create and sustain the virtual environment to enable virtual presence — and then stay out of the way and be entirely inconsequential to the actual experience. 

VR technology requires faster graphics processing, high image resolutions, low latencies, and great visual quality, all while eliminating processing lag-times, graphics frame-dropping, or slow response to events or stimuli within the virtual world. The ultimate goal of VR technology is to maintain the all-important magic spell of immersive enchantment, the essential “presence” that is the core of a virtual reality experience. 

The VR user on the other hand requires only one thing to maximize their experience: make the technology disappears. The fastest personal computers of today are nearly up to the task. Those just around the corner will serve as a foundation to further perfect the art.

The only option is to jump — to the rooftop next door. I quickly turn back to have one final look, and… leap. It feels like I’m flying and then soft roll onto the rooftop. 

The pursuers are still coming. Ahead is a stairwell, and I run like the wind.

DDB Group Philippines, PCW shine the spotlight on the ‘bigger fight’ in society: violence against women

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As the world awaits the “Fight of the Century” between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., advocates of anti-violence against women wish to bring to light the “bigger fight” that is happening almost every day in Filipino homes – that of domestic violence.

DDB Group Philippines has collaborated with the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) to shine the spotlight on violence against women to open everyone’s eyes on fights that have not been getting the kind of attention that they should be getting. 

The much anticipated square-off between two of the greatest fighters of this generation is deemed as the best time to create awareness and gather support for the different kinds of violence being committed by males versus women. Not to mention that Pacquiao’s nemesis, Mayweather, has a record of committing this kind of offenses.

DDB Group Philippines and its subsidiary Tribal Worldwide, have come up with a campaign that will ride on the May 3 super fight to help the Philippine Commission on Women to create awareness on the often neglected plight of women under their abusive fathers, husbands, male relatives or boyfriends.

In a series of posters shared online and on-ground, in bus ads and newspapers, and strategically placed side-by-side with Pacquiao vs. Mayweather promotional materials, DDB Group Philippines brings this issue out of the shadows and gets people talking, so they can prevent domestic violence from happening.

DDB Group Philippines Chairman Gil G. Chua said, “As a group, we at DDB Philippines always try to do our share in making the world a better place, and supporting the fight against domestic violence is just one of our ways to achieve this. We live by our founder Bill Bernbach’s words that ‘All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society. We can vulgarize that society. We can brutalize it. Or we can help lift it onto a higher level’.” 

For her part, PCW Executive Director Emmeline Verzosa said, “Violence against women cuts across all race, religion, age, social demographics and sexuality. It threatens the security of half of humanity and is rooted in men’s desire for ultimate power and control over women. We must put a stop to it.”

Statistics have shown that one in five women ages 15-49 have or are continuing to suffer from domestic violence and intimate relationship violence since age 15. In 2010, cases of VAW reported to the Philippine National Police (PNP) rose to 59 percent, with majority of the victims knowing their attackers.

May is Star Wars month on TV5's MovieMax5

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The Force is Strong With This One! 

TV5 spreads "the force" as MovieMax5 features the Tagalized versions of the hit Star Wars Saga for the whole month of May.

A brainchild of Star Wars creator George Lucas, the epic space opera franchise made a mark in the movie industry by creating a pop culture phenomenon that captured the hearts of moviegoers worldwide. The film series did not just break box office records but also garnered numerous nominations and awards from prestigious award-giving bodies. Through TV5's Star Wars month on MovieMax5 this May, Star Wars fanatics and film lovers alike will now be able to re-live the legendary Star Wars saga and experience once again the battle between the Jedi and the Sith.

Mark your calendars this May as the Star Wars movie series airs on TV5's MovieMax5, 7pm – 9pm, starting with The Phantom Menace (May 4), Attack of Clones (May 11), Revenge of Sith (May 19), Empire Strikes Back (May 25), and Return of the Jedi (June 1).

Tune in to MovieMax5 everyday on TV5, the home of happy Tagalized movies.