cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1054
title: DEVELOPMENT OF A BLENDED LEARNING SUPERVISION MODEL TO ENHANCE ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENT TEACHERS' REFLECTIVE ABILITY AND TEACHING PERFORMANCE

description: The research objective were (1) to develop a blended learning supervision model to enhance English-majored student teachers’ reflective ability and teaching performance, (2) to evaluate the effectiveness of the model in terms of the student teachers’ reflective ability and teaching performance, and (3) to explore the student teachers’ and the supervisor’s opinions towards the model. This research employed the research and development approach (R&D) as the research design. The procedure consisted of 4 stages; problem analysis, solution design, pilot study, and implementation. The participants were 4 English-majored student teachers from a Thai public university who were attending the 2nd semester teaching practicum of the academic year 2011.The research instruments were: 1) reflective journal and reflective ability scoring rubrics, 2) classroom observation form, and 3) open-ended interview questions. Data were analyzed using mean and content analysis. The research findings were: 1. The blended learning supervision model comprised of 4 components: 1) environment, 2) agents, 3) supervision activities, and 4) technologies; and covered 3 supervision stages: 1) pre-observation, 2) observation, and 3) post-observation. 2. The effectiveness of the blended learning supervision model on English-majored student teachers’ reflective ability revealed that the participants’ reflective ability remained at the descriptive level (level2) as a group. However, there were two individual participants whose reflective ability increased to reach the pedagogical level (level3). Two factors that influenced the participant’s reflective ability were 1) face-to-face interaction with supervisor at the post-observation stage, and 2) online self-reflection. 3. The effectiveness of the blended learning supervision model on the participant’s teaching performance indicated that the participants’ teaching performance increased from initial level (level 2) to proficient level (level 3) in general. Three factors that influenced the participants’ teaching performance were 1) online scaffolding on lesson planning; 2) face-to-face interaction with supervisor at the post-observation stage, and 3) online self-reflection. 4. Both English-majored student teachers and the supervisor had positive opinions towards the blended learning supervision process as well as the online technologies and the feedback given by the supervisor.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1056
title: IMPROVING MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT THROUGH RECYCLING IN URBAN SETTLEMENTS OF THAILAND

description: This study takes a holistic decision-making approach to identify an optimal process to promote MSW separation and diversion of recyclables into tailored MSW recycling system. The study was conducted in three scale settlements as case studies including Greater Phang Khon Area (PS), peri-urban settlements; Muang Hua Hin Municipality (US), a moderately urbanized settlement; and Bangkok (MS), a fully urbanized settlement. MSW characterizations at PS and MS were conducted to identify recycling potentials of MSW. Face-to-Face questionnaire surveys were collected (n=1064) on study sites to gauge willingness to pay (WTP) for improving MSW management, socio-economic and recycling attitude factors. The study found that MSW compositions between PS, US, and MS were similar except on the percentage of plastic and paper. WTP analysis indicated that means monthly WTP (0.73 USD, PS; 1.96 USD, US; and 1.65 USD, MS) were higher than the MSW fees currently charged by their municipalities (partially subsidized) but also lower than the full cost of MSW management. The study of recycling behavior of participants benchmarked the baseline condition of “Do-nothing” approach (DNO) to one the following recycling alternatives: itinerant recyclable buying (IRB); recycling center buying (RCB); donation to charity (DOC). The study found that socio-economic factors do not influence the decision to recycle except for education and the numbers of family member factors. Recycling attitudes instead exhibited a strong discriminating ability from one alternative to another. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed to identify optimal MSW recycling choice and inputs from previous findings of WTP, MSW characteristic, willingness to recycle. The study concluded that the IRB is the best alternative and is recommended for the tailored recycling alternative to improve waste management in all types of urban settlement.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1058
title: GENOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ARGONAUTE PROTEINS MEDIATE GENES CONTAINING LINE-1 EXPRESSION

description: There is increasing evidence that transcriptionally active LINE-1 (L1) could have been co-opted through mammalian genomes evolution to play various roles including X-inactivation, homologous recombination and gene regulation. In this dissertation, both statistical and bioinformatic methods were used to evaluate intragenic L1 hypomethylation, which may influences their host gene expressions. All experiments utilized array data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and L1 information from L1Base. Genome-wide statistical analysis between genes containing L1s and their corresponding expression profile showed that these genes are likely to be repressed in both cancer and hypomethylated normal cells. Furthermore, AGO2 potentially forms a complex with intronic L1 pre-mRNA that correlates with the down-regulation of cancer genes. Thus, hypomethylated intragenic L1s could act as a nuclear siRNA mediated cis-regulatory element that can repress genes. Moreover, we found that intragenic L1 sequences have been conserved across evolutionary time with respect to transcriptional activity in human and mouse. The monomers located in the 5' UTR of mouse L1 (more monomers found more in intragenic regions of the host genome) suggesting their important role for controlling L1 expression. We then compared L1 distributions of both species across autosomes, X and Y chromosomes. The results agreeably reveal that L1 densities of both species located much denser in the X-chromosome, suggestive of X-inactivation role. A significant correlation was demonstrated between the presence of intragenic L1s and downregulated genes in the early embryogenesis of both species, suggestive of a similar role in regulating genes in cancers.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1059
title: THE EFFECTS OF PROJECT-BASED READING INSTRUCTION ON ENGLISH READING ABILITY AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

description: This study aimed to (1) investigate the effects of Project-based Reading Instruction (PRI) on Thai students’ English reading ability and their intercultural communicative competence, (2) examine the correlation between students’ English reading ability and their intercultural communicative competence, and (3) explore students’ opinions of Project-based Reading Instruction. Thirty-two EFL students majoring in Tourism Management from a private university in Thailand participated in this experimental study for 14 weeks. This study employed a mixed-methods approach. Five research instruments were designed to elicit data, including the English Reading Ability Test, Intercultural Communicative Competence Test, Project-based Reading Portfolio, Project-based Reading Instruction Questionnaire, and Semi-structured Interview Protocol. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and content analysis. The results of the analyses revealed that (1) students’ pre-and post-test scores from the English reading ability test and intercultural communicative competence test had increased significantly, (2) there were also significant correlations between their English reading ability and intercultural communicative knowledge as well as attitudes, and (3) they reported that the designed Project-based Reading Instruction through cultural contents and teacher scaffolding led to their improvement of English reading ability and intercultural communicative competence. Particularly, they had become more curious and open to learning more about other cultures. The findings supported that the integration of text, talk, and image played important roles in achieving positive outcomes on EFL students’ reading ability and intercultural communicative competence.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1060
title: Increasing the retirement age : can the Dutch experience be applied to Thai socio-economic and cultural context?

description: This qualitative research aims at investigating the issue of increasing retirement age in Thailand by using the Netherlands’ experience with retirement age reforms to apply it to the Thai context, focusing on cultural and socio-economic factors. The results from 17 Thai and one Dutch interviewees, together with those from the literature review, show that the issue is perceived differently in Thailand and Thai contextual factors directly have effects on people’s thinking on increasing retirement age in many aspects; 1) Education that supports planning and savings is quite limited, therefore, people focus on accumulating wealth for their future retirement, 2) Supports from the government are not adequate which leads to self-reliance and “make-money as much as you can when you can” and 3) Family is a major influence having direct effects on continuing working after 60. For the majority of workers in agricultural and non-public sector, family is considered the last source of welfare. Nevertheless, the lessons learned from the Dutch experience, most notably the importance of close cooperation with the private sector, provide valuable insights.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1061
title: MORPHOLOGICAL EVOLUTION, GROWTH MECHANISM AND STRUCTURAL PHASE TRANSFORMATION OF ELO GaN NANOSTRUCTURES ON GaAs (001)

description: Epitaxial lateral overgrown (ELO) cubic-phase gallium nitride (c-GaN) films with a selective area growth method were grown on the [100], [1-10] and [110] mask-stripe patterned GaAs (001) substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The growth morphologies of ELO c-GaN films for each mask-stripe direction were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that c-GaN films on [100] mask stripe pattern exhibited unidentified sidewall facets, on [1-10] mask stripe pattern demonstrated the dominant (113) side wall facets and, finally, on [1-10] mask stripe pattern revealed dominant (111) sidewall facets. Confocal Raman microscope was an instrument to investigate crystal structure that cubic or hexagonal phases on top and sidewall facet of c-GaN films in the specific area of 2 µm in diameter. The structural phase transformation in the ELO c-GaN films was study by varying growth time. High resolution X-ray diffraction analysis was performed to investigate crystal structures and crystal quality of the ELO c-GaN films for each mask stripe direction. Hexagonal phase inclusion was calculated from the integrated X-ray intensities ratio between c-GaN (002) and h-GaN (10-11) reflections extracted from the reciprocal space mappings. Based on our results, normally cubic phase structure has dominant on the (113) sidewall facets and hexagonal phase structure has dominant on the (111) sidewall facets. However, the growth time is not the only parameter that effects on structural phase transformation. Selective area growth with controlled mask fill-factor (FF) is another important parameter to control structural phase transformation. With the suitable mask fill factor (FF &gt;0.7), ELO c-GaN for the [110] mask stripe direction on GaAs (001) showed a good crystal quality and very high cubic phase quantity.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1062
title: THE ANT ARMY : A SIGNIFICANT MECHANISM OF THAILAND-MYANMAR ILLEGAL TRADE (1988-2012)

description: The “Ant Army” is a general term which the Thai authorities refer to an individual person or a group of people involved in smuggling business. People that have been employed to carry goods cross the border along the river and hill paths, back and forth without customs declaration to avoid tariffs and taxes in the same manner as the ants that always carry food back to their habitats. In 1988, the military regime that ruled Myanmar since 1962 stepped down after the nationwide protest, known as 8888 uprising. However, another group of soldiers, the so-called the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) came in. It was also in 1988 that Thailand under Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan implemented a new policy “from a battlefield to a market place” to promote regional trade between Thailand and neighboring countries. Therefore, Thailand-Myanmar border trade has reached a crucial turning point. This thesis studies the causes and processes of the illegal trade along Thai-Myanmar border. Several theories have been used to explain these phenomena, such as the world-system analysis to elaborate the economic relationship between Thailand and Myanmar, the smuggling theory to explain how the smuggling was conducted, and finally, the rational choice to explain how the economic cooperation among ethnic groups and Burmese authorities still going on amid their political conflicts. Fieldworks were mainly conducted in Mae Sot and various places along Thailand-Myanmar’s border including several Myanmar’s major cities such as Yangon, Mandalay, Mawlamyine, and Hpa-An to observe the smuggled goods’ destinations and its routes from Mae Sot to Mawlamyine.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1063
title: Upconverting nanoparticles : synthesis, characterization and biomedical application

description: Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are particles that possess ability to convert low energy photons into high energy photons. This unique property makes the UCNPs suitable for biomedical applications such as cell fluorescence imaging, drug carriers and photodynamic therapy. However, the influence of the UCNPs morphology toward the particle-cell association is still unclear. Here the UCNPs based on NaYF4 doped with Yb and Tm of different shapes such as sphere, rod and prism are prepared. The three shaped water dispersible UCNPs particles have the same crystal phase structure and surface charge. Therefore, the as-prepared particles can be used for studying lipid bilayer membrane interaction, cellular uptake and cytotoxicity. The results indicate that the rod-shaped UCNPs give the highest cellular uptake into malignant melanoma (A-375) and liver carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines and highest cytotoxicity in A-375, HepG2 and normal lung (WI-38) cell lines. These results correspond well with the result of the highest particle-membrane association observed for this particle shape. Since the UCNPs can upconvert near infrared (NIR) light into lights in the UV-visible region, here we also develop the UCNPs with a highly-upconverted emission and then load the obtained material with a photosensitizer, meso-Tetraphenyltetrabenzo porphyrinatozinc (ZnTPTBP). The ZnTPTBP-loaded UCNPs show low toxicity against malignant melanoma (A-375) cell line and possess an ability to generate singlet oxygen when being irradiated with a 980 nm NIR laser. More importantly, we demonstrate the capability of the ZnTPTBP-loaded UCNPs to eradicate Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) under NIR irradiation.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1064
title: A Development of Community-Based Materials to Enhance English Reading Ability and Local Cultural Knowledge for Upper Secondary School Students

description: The objectives of this study are 1) to investigate the needs for developing community-based materials, 2) to examine the effectiveness of community-based materials for teaching English reading ability, and 3) to examine the effectiveness of community-based materials for teaching local cultural knowledge. The samples were 44 twelfth grade students a government school in Thawi Watthana District, Bangkok. The duration of the experiment lasted for 10 weeks. The instruments were 1) community-based questionnaire, 2) English reading ability test, and 3) local cultural knowledge test. The data will be analyzed using a pair sample t-test, mean score, effect size, and standard deviation. After the implementation of the community-based materials, the results were 1) the materials’ physical aspects, content, and reading tasks for twelve grade students to teach English reading ability and local cultural knowledge. 2) The post-test mean scores of the students taking English reading ability test were higher than their pre-test mean scores significantly of 0.05. 3) The post-test mean scores of the students taking local cultural knowledge test were higher than their pre-test scores significantly of 0.05. This indicates that community-based materials is effective to teach English reading ability and promote local cultural knowledge and the sense of being active citizens towards their own local community.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1065
title: ICT PROMOTION FOR KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY : A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CYBER KOREA 21 AND THAILAND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY(ICT) MASTER PLAN

description: Objectives of this research are to study the proper policy directions for ICT development aiming in promoting knowledge-based economy of Thailand using Cyber Korea 21 - a blueprint for information society used to solve 1997 financial crisis in Asia that changed economic system to be a knowledge-based economy and to compare to the ICT model of Thailand (2002-2006) which aims to develop the country to be the society of wisdom and learning. This thesis was conducted by collecting academic documents and interviewing ICT informants in Thailand. According to the results, it was found that Cyber Korea 21 model is an important ICT strategic driver. Korea improved their citizens to get ready for maximizing ICT utilization. However, ICT in Thailand still lacks of quality and budget for research and fundamental structure as well as lacking of ICT expertise. Knowledge-based economy is a sustainable development that can extend people’s knowledge for various fields of study, including information and communication technology. ICT development and knowledge-based economy must be concurrent and Thailand still has many points for proper changes and development. If knowledge base is still insufficient, ICT tools cannot be used for benefits. In contrary, knowledge distribution is difficult and slow if there is no ICT. These factors support each other and they can be developed towards effectiveness through government promotion as government acts as the center that seriously and continuously gives the support so that Thailand can obtain full potential at the same level of other developed countries.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1066
title: Sustainable community mechanisms for coping with flood : a case study of a community in Prey Veng Province, Cambodia

description: Cambodia is considered as one of flood vulnerable countries. Local people’s coping capacities, however, should not be overlooked. The study on sustainable community mechanisms for coping with flood was carried out at Ba Baong commune, Prey Veng province, Cambodia. The research study aimed to identify the important factors of sustainable community mechanisms that influence on coping with flood in Cambodia and to discuss the policies and frameworks related to the sustainable community mechanisms to cope with flood. Data collection was conducted regarding to livelihoods of local people in the commune and flood patterns in the relation to the coping mechanisms by document reviews, field observation, focus group discussions, interviews and questionnaire surveys. The study results found that the flood patterns in Ba Baong commune was mainly caused by seasonal overflows of Mekong River coupled with heavy rainfalls at local, national, and regional levels in the catchment of Mekong tributaries. The local people received some extents of flood effects on livelihoods. They implemented many coping strategies to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from flood adverse impacts. Their coping capacity with the repeated floods depending on the utilization of available resources to achieve beneficial ends and support important actions of local people in order to remediate flood adverse impacts. The resources available in the studied community were referred to livelihood capitals, namely social, human, natural, financial and physical capitals. These capitals supported local people to build and enhance their coping capacities to flood. The availability of community capitals in Ba Baong commune coupled with local knowledge from the repeated floods allowed people to successfully cope with adverse impacts. To achieve sustainable mechanisms; however, the supports from government and NGOs on improvement new flood-resilient practices and technologies should be applied at the community level under consideration of community’s cultural and norms.
DOI: 10.14457/cu.the.2015.1067
title: TOWARDS YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THAILAND

description: The Southeast Asian region is recognized as a highly vulnerable region to climate change, which is likely to exacerbate existing social, economic, and environmental issues for present and future generations. International policy supports efforts to educate and empower youth to participate in climate change and sustainable development issues, but incoherence in policy and practice at the national level can hinder youth participation in climate change. From the literature reviews, the study found that there are few studies examining youth participation in climate change in the context of sustainable development in Southeast Asia. To address this gap, this study examines youth participation in responding to climate change in the context of sustainable development in Thailand. The research had two objectives: 1) to study national policies, strategies, and action plans relative to youth and climate change in the context of sustainable development, and 2) to identify the significant conditions and possibilities for a youth participation model in responding to climate change. The study employed a qualitative approach that was exploratory and descriptive in nature. The investigation into policy and practice in Thailand comprised of two components: 1) a desk review of international, regional, and national policy, and 2) semi-structured interviews of stakeholders. The findings found that policy and institutional issues were major challenges for youth participation in responding to climate change; namely the lack of coherent policy, lack of coordination between relevant agencies, limited institutional and local capacity, and lack of fiscal budget and insufficient funding. The proposed model highlighted the need for supportive policy, leveraging structural opportunities, minimizing structural barriers, and promoting education, training, and media in order to create an enabling environment for youth participation in responding to climate change. The implications for policy makers and practitioners are discussed regarding the development of coherent national policies, enhancing opportunities for youth participation, and capacity building at national and local levels that is conducive to empowering youth to be agents for societal change and sustainable development. Further research on youth is also recommended for mainstreaming them into climate change policy context at both local and national levels.