Browsing by Subject "Thailand"

Now showing 1 - 18 of 18
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    Avian influenza in suphanburi province, Thailand: assessment of transmission dynamics and interventions in the local poultry sector.
    (2012-06) Beaudoin, Amanda Leigh
    This dissertation provides a review of avian influenza, with specific regard to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, a description of the Thai poultry system and the country's experiences with influenza outbreaks, and discussions of both poultry and human exposure to and infection with HPAI H5N1. In addition, four research manuscripts provide insight into the relationship between influenza A, including HPAI H5N1, and poultry and human health in rural Suphanburi Province, Thailand. A major goal of this work was to learn more about the management of free-grazing duck (FGD) flocks in Thailand and their role in avian influenza virus maintenance and transmission. FGD have been associated with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreaks and may be a viral reservoir. In July-August 2010, the influenza exposure of Thai FGD and risk factors thereof were assessed. Sera from over 6000 FGDs were analyzed to detect antibodies to influenza A nucleoprotein (NP) and hemagglutinin H5 protein. Eighty-five percent were seropositive for influenza A. Of the NP-seropositive sera tested with H5 assays 39% were H5 ELISA-positive and 4% suspect. Twelve per cent of H5 ELISA-positive or suspect ducks had H5 titers ≥1:20. Risk factors for influenza A seropositivity include older age, poultry contact, flock visitors and older purchase age. Flocks had H5 virus exposure as recently as March 2010, but the last HPAI H5N1 outbreak in Thailand was in 2008, highlighting a need for FGD surveillance. This dissertation also includes an investigation of the seroprevalence of and risk factors for antibodies to HPAI H5N1 in poultry owners. Seroprevalence was 6.3%, and single persons and those working with farmed chickens were at increased risk of seropositivity. Poultry owners reported limited use of personal protective equipment during all activities and inconsistent hand washing practices after carrying poultry and gathering eggs. Lastly, this dissertation includes the description and results of an agent-based model (ABM) of the local Thai poultry sector which was built to simulate contacts among FGD flocks and persons that own poultry and conduct poultry-related activities. Using this model, opportunities for the transmission and control of HPAI H5N1 in this setting were identified.
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    Chiang Mai, Thailand
    (2012-04-04) Lochungvu, Pat
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    Crossborder management education alliances:case study of the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration in Bangkok, Thailand.
    (2011-06) Pembleton, Deborah Jackson
    The Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok has celebrated a twenty-five year partnership with the graduate schools of business at Northwestern University (Kellogg) and the University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School) in the United States. The research question for this study is: "What factors have contributed to the success and sustainability of the crossborder management education alliance at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration?" The objective of this study is to understand and describe the intercultural working relationships between U.S. and Thai faculty and staff who work within the alliance. By incorporating the U.S. perspective as well as the Thai perspective, this research demonstrates how the national cultures of Thailand and the U.S. influence organizational effectiveness within the crossborder education alliances among these universities. Methods for data collection have involved major triangulation, including participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Several months of fieldwork were undertaken in Bangkok interviewing key Thai faculty and staff as well as the U.S. visiting faculty and staff. There are three major implications of this study. First, the case demonstrates that organizations rooted in quite different cultures can collaborate effectively and successfully create a long-term sustainable relationship. A key factor related to this success is the cross-culturally sensitive leadership demonstrated by all parties and their abilities to negotiate significant cultural differences. Second, given the escalating costs of higher education associated with the Baumol Disease, alliances among universities can provide a cost-effective approach to providing high-quality and innovative education. Third, the alliance described in this study is an example of the effective internationalization of higher education in a multicultural transnational context. Abstract – Thai Version: available on-line
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    The Distribution of Elephants, Tigers and Tiger Prey in Thailand’s Western Forest Complex
    (2016-12) Jornburom, Pornkamol
    Conservation of large mammals such as Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), tigers (Panthera tigris) and their main prey, gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), and sambar (Cervus unicolor) requires a systematic and statistically rigorous monitoring system that accounts for imperfect detection. Despite conservation efforts, these large mammals are highly threatened and declining across their entire range. In Thailand, large viable populations of these large mammals remain in the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), an approximately 19,000 km2 landscape of 17 contiguous protected areas. To determine species distribution and factors that affect distribution patterns, a government/NGO team conducted occupancy surveys throughout the WEFCOM landscape from 2010-1012. I analyzed these data at both a landscape scale (256 km2 for elephants, 64 km2 for tigers and their prey) and a local scale (1 km2). At the landscape scale, I estimated the proportion of sites occupied by each species. At a finer scale, I identified the key variables that influence site-use and developed predictive distribution maps. At both scales, I examined key ecological and anthropogenic factors that help explain distribution and preferred habitat use. Occupancy models revealed that elephant, gaur and sambar avoided villages and elephants, banteng and sambar prefered lower slopes near streams. Gaur, in contrast, preferred steep slopes at higher elevation. I estimated that elephants occupied 82% of the the landscape. Other species occupied much smaller portions of WEFCOM (tigers = 37%, gaur = 48%, sambar 53% and banteng 13%). Tiger occupancy was largely influenced by the three large prey species. Additionally, presence of villages has a consistent negative impact on occupancy and site-use by all these large mammals; therefore, reducing the impact of human activities near villages is the key conservation recommendation from this study. By modeling occupancy while accounting for probability of detection, I established reliable benchmark data on distribution of these endangered species. The results of this study underlined the need for further conservation and management to maintain wildlife distribution and populations in WEFCOM and other sites in Thailand and Southeast Asia.
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    Fishing Cat Ecology: Food Habits, Home Ranges, Habitat Use and Mortality in a Human-Dominated Landscape around Khao Sam Roi Yot, Peninsular Thailand
    (2015-06) Cutter, Passanan
    Abstract Despite their global status as an endangered species, many aspects of fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) ecology have not been studied in detail in the wild. The objectives of this study were to understand food habits, habitat use, home range patterns, and causes of mortality in a predominantly agricultural landscape in the area in and around Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, peninsular Thailand. Few studies have been conducted on the food habits of wild fishing cats and none has been conducted in Southeast Asia. I identified prey remains in fishing cat scats to estimate composition and relative occurrence of major prey groups in the feces of 194 fishing cat scats collected over an approximately 35 km2 area. The proportion of prey remains found in scats was 42% fish, 24% mammals, 24%, birds, 5% reptiles, and 2% crustaceans. There was a significant difference in seasonal prey composition (p = 0.001). During the dry season, 47% of prey remains found was fish, 11 % mammal, 29% bird, 11% reptile, and 3% crustacean. In the wet season, proportions were 36% fish, 39% mammal, 20% bird, 2% reptile, and 1% crustacean. In this study, fishing cat diet varied more than previously reported, both in terms of the diversity of prey and in the proportions of major groups recorded between seasons. To study the home range, habitat use, and mortality of fishing cats, I captured seventeen cats (seven females and 10 males) using box traps and fitted 16 with VHF radio collars. Data from these animals (>1000 locations) were used to estimate home range size and habitat selection. Home range size was estimated using 100% Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and the 95% Fixed Kernel (FK) methods. Fishing cats essentially maintained their core area for the duration of the study despite seasonal changes in diet. For the 100% MCP, the area of the male annual home range, F5 was 13.5 km2 and M8 was 4 km2 and the mean for female annual home ranges (n=4) was 4.0 km2. Whereas, the 95% estimates for the male annual home range was 8.8 km2, and the mean annual home range for females was 3.9 km2. Seasonal home range was estimated for one male. His wet season 100% MCP was 10.8 km2, and his 95% fixed kernel was 12.6 km2. In the dry season his 100% MCP home range was 5.7 km2 and the 95% fixed kernel home range was 8.9 km2. For females (n=4), mean wet season 100% MCP home range was 3.2 km2 and the mean 95% fixed kernel was 3.1 km2. The dry season mean 100% MCP was 3.0 km2 and the mean 95% fixed kernel was 3.2 km2. There is evidence of overall home range overlap between females but their 50% area had no overlap. Fishing cats used aquaculture areas and rice fields more frequently, than mangrove restoration areas, and coconut plantations, and human settlement and limestone hills were avoided. One animal used primarily mangrove vegetation (97% of all locations). Coconut plantation was a relatively rare vegetation type within the study area, but it was the most used habitat for one animal in the dry season. Of 16 cats originally collared, five died from confirmed poaching or retribution killing (31.3%), dead from unknown causes (n=6, 37.5%), unknown fate (n=3, 18.8%), and collar malfunction (n=2, 12.5%). Considering that fishing cats have been known to live to 10 years of age, the sample in this study sustained a relatively high mortality rate. Because poaching and retaliatory killing was the main cause of death, the most effective conservation effort for this species in coastal Thailand should focus on decreasing human-fishing cat conflict and poaching.  
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    Fluid Landscapes: Materializing the Future on Thailand's Flooded Rivers
    (2018-11) Moberg, Laurie
    In 2011 rivers in Thailand demonstrated their irrepressibility in unprecedented flooding. The Thai state responded to the dramatic floods with a comprehensive water management plan including 21 new dams on upland tributaries, which in turn mobilized anti-dam protest campaigns across Northern Thailand. The material upheaval became the catalyst for my research as it disrupted normative hydrosocial relations and drew water into political debate and social contestation over the future of Thailand’s waterscapes. Based on 15 months of ethnographic research with three rivers and three river communities in the critical post-flood period, this dissertation examines how rivers in Thailand become politically active in the tense, fragmentary work of world-making, in claims of indigeneity, in protests against development agendas, and in the negotiation of disasters. To do this, I approach rivers as water-beings with creative and diffuse capacities to co-constitute the world and create political and cosmopolitical effects. I trace the entanglements between people and water, human beings and water-beings, across varied geographies, histories, and socioecologies to demonstrate how these multimaterial, multispecies assemblages produce overlapping and contradictory realities. I argue that the social, material, and discursive transformations in the aftermath of disasters compel us to reevaluate how we understand nature and renegotiate how we make political and ecological claims with it.
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    How do the availability of fish and rice affect occupation and food security in the Lower Mekong Basin?
    (2011-09) Bouapao, Lilao
    This study aims to contribute to our understanding of how rice and fish availability affect occupation and food security of people in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB), including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, and Vietnam. The study focuses on subsistence and commercial fishers and farmers. The data obtained for my research are from the first basin-wide survey conducted across the four countries using a common methodology and timing in 2009. Results of the study show that the extent of dependence of people on rice and fish availability for occupation, income, and food and their resilient capacities varies greatly between strata and across study sites. If both fish and rice decline at a common rate applicable to the whole LMB, cash income of at least one of four strata in each site will easily fall below the poverty line of $1.00 per capita per day. Seen from the perspective of food, all strata of all sites will be significantly affected if the availability of rice and fish decline. Altogether, fish and rice account for more than 81% of the total daily calorie intake. With uneven distribution of population by countries and varied social-ecological zones and livelihood activities, impacts of changes in the rice and fish availability will not distribute evenly. If changes occur throughout the Mekong, the number of people impacted will be highest in Vietnam, followed by Cambodia and Lao PDR. Thailand will be affected the least. Please see separate PDF files for the questionnaire in five languages.
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    The Importance of Socio-Economic Primary and Secondary Images for Thailand's Tourism: A Case Study of Swedish Tourists
    (International Journal of Social Science Studies, 2021-05) Chaiyamart, Pattaraphongpan
    Swedish tourists constitute one of the most important markets for Thailand’s tourism industry. On average, Swedish tourists stay in Thailand 9 days and spend 101 euros per day. Their image of Thailand plays a significant role in deciding to visit or revisit Thailand. The socio-economic primary image consists of five factors: safety and security, feeling at home during their visit to Thailand, money value, the trip exceeding their expectation, and the ease of making trip arrangements. These are crucial factors that determine the level of satisfaction tourists experience during their trip. These factors also help determine whether the tourists visit Thailand again in the future.
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    Infectious Diseases, Livestock Production and Changing Public Health Policy in Southeast Asia
    (2017-07) Peck, Megan
    This dissertation concentrates on two emerging trends influenced by national policies that pose potential public health and occupational risks for those involved in animal food production. These trends include the increased use of antimicrobials and its impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and agricultural policies to increase animal production and the re-emergence of a zoonotic disease, brucellosis. Overall the goal of this dissertation is to characterize and better understand the interaction between agricultural policy, animal husbandry practices, occupational risks and public health. Studies in this dissertation provide information on the re-emergence of a zoonotic disease and current and proposed policy frameworks to manage and protect public health from AMR. Diseases that are transmissible either directly or indirectly between animals and humans, such as AMR and brucellosis, pose significant threats to global animal and human health. As countries continue to adapt policy to increase food production, the spread and growth of disease needs to be considered. Findings from this research can be used to inform further studies on the impact of agriculture policies and infectious diseases in low resource settings, strengthen future policy, inform future training and education initiatives and provide greater awareness and understanding of factors influencing emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases.
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    Intercultural development in the short-term study abroad context: a comparative case study analysis of global seminars in Asia (Thailand and Laos) and in Europe (Netherlands)
    (2011-04) Nam, Kyoung-Ah
    With the rapidly increasing emphasis on the internationalization of higher education, study abroad is emerging as one of the major ways to enhance students’ intercultural competence. While national study abroad enrollment trends have shown significantly increasing numbers of students in shorter-term programs, the impact of short-term programs is largely unexplored. The objective of this comparative case study is to assess the major program components that participants found the most valuable, and investigate the impact of their short-term study abroad experiences in two different locations (Thailand/Laos and the Netherlands). A mixed methods approach is utilized, including quantitative measures from pre- and post-survey questionnaires, pre- and post-sojourn assessments using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and qualitative data obtained from in-depth interviews. The theoretical frameworks used include social contact theory (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006), transformational learning theory (Mezirow, 1991), the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (Bennett, 1993), intercultural communication theories (Hall, 1956, 1976; Hofstede & Hofstede, 2005; Hofstede, Hofstede, & Minkov, 2010), and cultural intensity factors (Paige, 1993). Findings suggest that a three-week short-term study abroad program can have a positive impact on participants’ intercultural sensitivity as well as professional and personal development, including career goals, educational aspirations, self-awareness, worldview and perspective change, global engagement, critical thinking skills, and motivation related to international affairs. Other benefits are that students who otherwise may not have had the time, financial resources, or inclination to participate in study abroad programs are able to gain a “foot in the door” in terms of international/intercultural experience. Variety in curricula including extensive field trips, the roles of on-site mentors, and the opportunity to interact with locals were major components that participants found valuable. A total of 56% of participants showed enhanced intercultural sensitivity (as measured by the IDI) after completing the program. The statistical results, combined with interview data, suggest that factors such as individual readiness, the nature of activities in the host country, and the degree of difference between home and host country cultures all have an impact on intercultural development. These findings have important implications for the design of short-term programs, and inform study abroad theories, policy, and practice. Overall findings show that what counts the most is how the program is designed and facilitated rather than how long the program is. Students learn effectively only if the program is structured appropriately before, during, and after their experiences abroad. Since transformative learning does not occur without appropriate intervention and facilitation, it is essential to focus on the quality of the experience. Particularly important are the developments of constructive field trips, the emphasis of in-depth debriefing and critical reflection, and the need for appropriate training for program leaders. The results of this study provide empirical support for the benefits of short-term study abroad. Short-term study abroad can make a difference; when it is appropriately designed, effectively implemented, learner centered, and responsibly assessed. With the dramatic increase of short-term programs nationwide, it is imperative to enhance program quality through creative, innovative, and systematic curricular designs that foster transformative and intercultural learning.
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    Leading with a "noble mission": the dynamic leadership of Maechee Sansanee Sthirasuta.
    (2010-09) Adachi, Kaoru
    This case study describes the leadership of Maechee Sansanee Sthirasuta, a dynamic Theravâda Buddhist nun and the founder and director of the Sathira Dhammasathan meditation center in Thailand. Her leadership characteristics, impact on her followers and contributions to Thai society were examined. Data was gathered through interviews with Maechee Sansanee, her colleagues and experts, direct and participant observations, and content analysis of documents and media between 2004 and 2009, including a total of six months of fieldwork. Maechee Sansanee's leadership was described through four dimensions: moral leadership, servant leadership, aesthetic leadership, and social entrepreneurship. She exemplifies moral values that are taught by Buddhism and demonstrates moral behaviors as shown to others. She serves the Buddha and the community by following Buddhist teachings and making herself useful to others. She created numerous projects that improved people's lives using her social entrepreneurial spirit and aesthetic development. While maechees generally have less social recognition and fewer resources than monks, they have more freedom from influence by the traditional sangha administration in pursuit of their activities, studies, and meditation. Maechee Sansanee has emerged as an exceptional leader in Thailand and the maechee community by utilizing her leadership and entrepreneurial skills while realistically recognizing constraints and possibilities.
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    Maintaining Hornbills in the Working Landscape of the Southern Tenasserim Western Forest Complex Corridor in Thailand
    (2014-08) Teampanpong, Jiraporn
    The Southern Tenasserim Western Forest Complex Corridor in Thailand is a key linkage for wildlife between prominent forests in Southeast Asia. However, it has been facing biodiversity loss due to development. To begin to address the consequences of this loss, understanding the ecology of hornbills as key seed dispersers and their ability to maintain healthy forest and restore degraded ones, is required. This dissertation explores the current state of hornbills in the region and factors that influence it, focusing on the human impacts that interrupt ecological efforts to maintain and restore the forest. I found that the quality of forest inside a large protected area in the region is comparable to other high quality habitat for hornbills in Thailand with respect to providing food and breeding sites. In this area, the smaller-sized hornbills selected nests closer to streams, at lower altitudes and in less steep areas, and in smaller sized trees than the bigger hornbills. Additionally, hornbills were able to use forest outside the protected area, but only as temporary feeding sites, because of the low density of potential fruit trees. My study documents larger foraging ranges of the immature Wreathed Hornbill (WH), which move farther from natal nests, than the smaller immature Oriental-pied Hornbill (OPH). Additionally, it reveals that the immature OPH and WH use evergreen forest disproportionately to other forest types and tend to select areas near the edges of evergreen forest. Moreover, the OPH also selects habitats at lower elevations in large forest patches. Location errors that are inherent to VHF radio telemetry may affect the results in studies using this technique. However, the resource selection models in this study were not affected by location errors. I did document that elevation, locations at lower mountainside, slope, and distance from a tracking station are factors that introduce error in calculating distances. Lastly, I developed occupancy and detection probability models for the four sympatric hornbills in the region. Hornbills respond negatively to human disturbance but positively to the availability of fruit trees, the availability of potential nest trees, and the abundance of ripe fig fruits.
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    Multidimensional well-being of residents affected by the Pak Mun Dam, Thailand
    (SSBFNET, 2021-03) Chaiyamart, Pattaraphongpan
    Understanding the effects on the overall well-being of the communities affected by the Pak Mun Dam construction would fill in the gaps in existing knowledge and facilitate a deeper discussion of the factors that impact overall wellbeing. The Pak Mun Dam was finished in 1994 and from that point on there have been changes affecting local residents. This study attempts to understand the impact of those changes from a well-being perspective using primary data collected from residents in villages close to the dam site. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was a method for this research analysis. Results from a structural model show that social and economic well-being are important factors that impact the overall well-being of the affected residents from the Pak Mun Dam area. Furthermore, we discuss how information from 20 items within seven dimensions of the well-being measurement model can be used to develop more efficient strategies and policies to increase well-being capital.
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    Music Experience and Achievement of Students in Thai Public, Private, and International Schools
    (2020-08) Yungyuen, Pimpa
    For decades, music education in Thailand has been neglected. Music is often perceived as a form of entertainment rather than an important subject for students to learn in school, because parents do not believe that music can provide their children with vast career opportunities or financial security. Therefore, schools in Thailand tend to prioritize core subjects, such as math, science, and languages over music. As a consequence of this belief, music education in Thailand is still underdeveloped in many areas. Disparities in quality and access are major problems in Thai music education. Students’ music opportunity varies greatly depending on individual backgrounds, schools, and family socioeconomic status causing great differences in student music achievement. The issue has been recognized by Thai music educators and music teachers. Nevertheless, minimal research attempts have been made in order to better understand this situation. The purpose of this study was to assess student music achievement, understand students’ music experience relative to the level of music achievement, and explore relationships between student music achievement and possible influential factors, such as teachers, schools, curricula, students’ background characteristics, and students’ life experience. An explanatory-sequential method was chosen in order to acquire both empirical and in-depth data. In the first phase, the quantitative phase, the Middle School Musical Achievement Test (MMAT) and High School Musical Achievement Test (HMAT) were administered to participants (N = 310) from seven schools in the Bangkok area. One-way between-group ANOVA and Welch ANOVA revealed significant differences in the mean total scores between public school, private school, and international school participants. Post hoc comparisons revealed that public middle school participants scored the highest and differed statistically from international school participants who scored the lowest in this level. International high school participants scored the highest and differed statistically from participants in private high schools who scored the lowest in this level. Aside from the mean total scores, MANOVA revealed significant differences in mean subset scores – music theory, general knowledge of music, and music in social context. Post hoc comparisons determined that, for music theory, public school participants scored the highest in both middle school and high school levels and differed statistically from the lowest groups – international middle school and private high schools. For general knowledge of music, public school participants also scored the highest in both levels and differed statistically from the lowest groups – international middle school and high school. For music in social context, international school participants scored the highest in both levels and differed statistically from the lowest groups, which were public middle and public high school The second phase, the qualitative phase of the study, was informed by a case study of multiple bounded systems. Interview participants (N = 11) included six students and five teachers representing five schools recruited during the quantitative phase. Three themes emerged from the integrated results. First, students begin their own musical pathways. Second, families bring assets and support. Finally, schools provide opportunities that can fill in the gap of what students lack. Recommendations for future research included expanding the research scope to rural schools and concentrating on one particular school music program for in-depth and thorough investigations.
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    Perceived relationships among knowledge management, total quality management, and organization innovation performance: a Thai study
    (2013-06) Kongpichayanond, Pimpimon
    The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Knowledge Management (KM), Total Quality Management (TQM), and organization innovation performance (INNO), and to determine the role of KM implemented through TQM in INNO. KM was adopted as an independent variable with four subgroups: knowledge acquisition and creation, knowledge capturing and storage, knowledge dissemination and transfer, and knowledge application. TQM was adopted as a second independent variable and as a mediator with five subgroups: top management support, employee involvement, continuous improvement, customer focus, and database decisions. Two subgroups of INNO were explored as the dependent variable: product innovation and process innovation. Data were collected via a paper-and-pencil questionnaire using postage distribution to 500 human resource development managers in Thailand, with responses from 470 usable responses, for a response rate of 94%. The nine instruments were combined and translated into Thai by two linguistics professors in Thailand. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS and LISREL. Factor analyses and Structural Equation Model (SEM) analyses were conducted in order to answer two research questions: (a) are there positive relationships among KM, TQM, and INNO? and (b)to what extent does KM implemented through TQM improve INNO? Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was conducted to identify a variable factor structure of independent variables, dependent variables, and mediators. SEM analysis was performed to investigate the relationships among the three variables in general and their relationships through mediation. The results showed that: (a) KM strongly and positively influenced INNO and TQM, and TQM enhanced INNO; therefore, hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were supported; (b) the overall relationship via TQM as a mediator was supported; therefore, hypothesis 4 was supported. In brief, all four hypotheses were positively supported. A conclusive summary is provided along with a contributive discussion. Implications and contributions to HRD researchers and practitioners are discussed, and recommendations are offered. Also included are conclusive final thoughts accompanied by the limitations of this study.
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    A study of external school evaluators' competencies for grade levels 1-12 quality assessment in Thailand
    (2015-01) Roengsumran, Arisara
    Competent school evaluators may be able to identify the causes of underachieving schools and provide data that will help school practitioners to improve teaching and learning. In Thailand, a sizeable portion of the government budget has been spent on educational evaluation under the responsibility of the Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment (ONESQA), highlighting the important role that school evaluators can potentially play in improving Thai schools. This study updated two sets of competencies for external educational evaluators of school quality at grade levels 1-12 in the Thai educational context as originally developed by Guah (2004) and Piyamas (2005). To conduct this update, the researcher used knowledge from the scholarly literature on evaluator competencies and, through four extensive surveys, collected opinions and suggestions from Thai evaluation and education experts as part of the process of developing a new set of competencies for Thai external school evaluators. The Combination Job Analysis Method (C-JAM) was used as a framework to collect and analyze data. Two sets of competencies, one for training and one for selecting evaluators, are proposed along with recommendations for practice and for additional research.
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    Thai hospitals' adoption of information technology: a theory development and nationwide survey
    (2011-12) Theera-Ampornpunt, Nawanan
    Background: With documented benefits and recent public policies, health information technology (IT) has received increasing attention in recent years. However, knowledge about Thailand's state of hospital IT adoption is lacking. The literature also identifies organizational management practices that are important to health IT implementation, but these factors are rarely included in quantitative analysis. Paucity of theoretical developments in the area also prevents a systematic approach to IT implementation.Objective: To describe the current state of IT adoption in Thai hospitals and test a proposed model of organizational IT adoption that includes facilitating management practices and important hospital characteristics, motivated in part by Paré and Sicotte (2001)'s IT sophistication framework with modifications.Materials and Methods: A nationwide mail survey was conducted using a developed instrument with established face and content validity in 1,302 hospitals in Thailand after a pilot study using five hospitals for pre-test purposes. Each hospital's IT chief or executive was asked to assess the degrees of specific technologies' adoption, IT-supported hospital functions, within- and outside-hospital information sharing, and presence of specific management practices, each in a 5-point Likert-type scale. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were done, resulting in the rejection of the proposed model and a new set of IT adoption factors that fit the data better. Average scores for each of these new IT adoption aspects were analyzed descriptively to provide Thailand's baseline adoption levels. Construct and criterion validity was also assessed. Path analysis was used to test the proposed model of hospital IT adoption and identify associated organizational factors. Estimates for adoption of basic electronic health records (EHRs), comprehensive EHRs, and computerized physician order entry (CPOE) were also computed from relevant IT-supported functions for cross-study comparisons.Results: The nationwide survey received a 70% response rate, but responding hospitals tended to be somewhat larger and public. Thai hospitals overall had acceptable levels of IT adoption, but information sharing outside the hospitals was very limited. When both outpatient and inpatient settings were considered, about 50% of responding hospitals had complete or partial basic EHR adoption and only 5% had comprehensive EHR adoption, but 90% had CPOE for medication orders. Adoption estimates for the outpatient setting alone were somewhat larger than the inpatient setting. Significant correlations among the different aspects of IT adoption and between these constructs and other criterion variables provide evidence for construct and criterion validity. In path analysis, after respecifying the model based on the factor patterns discovered from the data, the final model indicated significant effects of public status on adoption of infrastructural technologies such as networking and master patient index, as well as on internal information sharing. Bed size was positively associated with infrastructural technologies adoption but negatively associated with the levels of IT-supported clinical functions. Teaching status was not associated with any aspects of IT adoption in the path model. As hypothesized, the extent of facilitating operational IT management was associated with the levels of technology adoption and use of IT to support clinical EHR workflows (order entry and results viewing) as well as inpatient clinical documentation. These latter three constructs were also associated with the extent of internal information sharing, while the extent of external information sharing was associated with the levels of internal information sharing and IT support for inpatient clinical documentation.Discussion: Thailand's adoption picture is very encouraging with many hospitals having some IT infrastructure in place, though adoption gaps still exist. The discovered IT adoption factors and the developed survey instrument had supporting evidence for its validity, and the final model resulting from path analysis provides a useful framework for health IT adoption in future IT adoption studies. The positive association between public status and IT adoption and lack of significant hypothesized association between IT adoption and bed size or teaching status were surprising but may reflect the unique health IT market and dynamics in Thailand. Conclusion: Basic IT adoption in Thai hospitals appears to have passed the tipping point. Focus should be on adoption of more advanced technologies (such as comprehensive EHRs and clinical decision support systems) and ensuring that adoption translates into better processes and outcomes, as well as addressing barriers to health information exchange. The utility of the proposed framework is demonstrated, as is the importance of identified facilitating IT management practices. The final model from this study, named the Theory of Hospital Adoption of Information Systems (THAIS) here, should be cross-validated and refined in future studies.Funding: This study was supported by a research grant from the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand under Grant No. RD53065/year 2010.