title: In pursuit of development: Casinos and local government in Northern Thailand

authors: Tanawichai, Siriluck

abstract: This thesis takes as it starting point the Government of Thailand Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2002-2006). Among many provisions and proposals the Plan gives special emphasis to encouraging local participation, decentralising government, boosting the capacity of local administration to undertake a wide range of responsibilities, as important steps in the economic and social development of Thai land. However, the Plan does not offer recommendations for the legislative provisions required for its proposals to happen, providing the candidate with the opportunity to develop a case study in applying the Ninth Plan to Chiang Mai, the main local government administrative unit in Northern Thailand. 
This study examines the Ninth Plan's proposals for participation, decentralisation, good governance. Before outlining the proposals developed by the Chiang Mai Municipality to the Ninth Plan, the structure and provisions of local government in Thailand are set out, giving details of the continuing reliance of the local municipality on central government. One of the major gaps in the Ninth Plan is on how the decentralised relations between central and local government should be changed. The case study introduces the discussion on casinos and considers the economic, social and policy issues in Chiang Mai, using Chiang Rai as a control group. The reality of gambling in Thailand is set out concisely and serves to show the extent of the present incidence of illegal gambling. This is related to the Ninth Plan's concerns with good governance and the extent of corruption in the Thai public service. The illegal gambling takes place because of backhanders and payouts and it is considerable. This is building up part of the case for the serious consideration of introducing a casino - make them legal and with the financial revenues channelled into appropriate developments and the social and policy problems dealt with effectively. 
The findings of the survey contain both structured and unstructured sections. The structured questions invite responses from decision makers and opinion leaders from both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai on economic, social and moral, and the political and policy issues associated the possible introduction of a casino. The unstructured part of the survey does shed some useful additional light on attitudes to casinos. There are some interesting contrasts in the responses from Chiang Mai and from Chiang Rai. While there is general agreement about the economic benefits, there are contrasting responses on the remaining questions with Chiang Rai respondents showing a much more conservative response. Chiang Mai respondents are aware of the many issues and the possible risks, but are more open to the positive impacts of casinos. Responses are considered according to several different demographic groupings by age, gender, location, occupation, income and so on. 
This study proposes that to fulfil the proposals of the Ninth Plan, a power of general competence and good governance be granted to local government to proceed with their own solutions, particularly those to do with carrying out the intentions of the Ninth Plan's economic and social development strategies. The Plan also lacks details in the idea of using participation while the decentralisation is not quite clear in terms of local and central government's roles.

text: In pursuit of development: Casinos and local government in Northern Thailand This thesis takes as it starting point the Government of Thailand Ninth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2002-2006). Among many provisions and proposals the Plan gives special emphasis to encouraging local participation, decentralising government, boosting the capacity of local administration to undertake a wide range of responsibilities, as important steps in the economic and social development of Thai land. However, the Plan does not offer recommendations for the legislative provisions required for its proposals to happen, providing the candidate with the opportunity to develop a case study in applying the Ninth Plan to Chiang Mai, the main local government administrative unit in Northern Thailand. 
This study examines the Ninth Plan's proposals for participation, decentralisation, good governance. Before outlining the proposals developed by the Chiang Mai Municipality to the Ninth Plan, the structure and provisions of local government in Thailand are set out, giving details of the continuing reliance of the local municipality on central government. One of the major gaps in the Ninth Plan is on how the decentralised relations between central and local government should be changed. The case study introduces the discussion on casinos and considers the economic, social and policy issues in Chiang Mai, using Chiang Rai as a control group. The reality of gambling in Thailand is set out concisely and serves to show the extent of the present incidence of illegal gambling. This is related to the Ninth Plan's concerns with good governance and the extent of corruption in the Thai public service. The illegal gambling takes place because of backhanders and payouts and it is considerable. This is building up part of the case for the serious consideration of introducing a casino - make them legal and with the financial revenues channelled into appropriate developments and the social and policy problems dealt with effectively. 
The findings of the survey contain both structured and unstructured sections. The structured questions invite responses from decision makers and opinion leaders from both Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai on economic, social and moral, and the political and policy issues associated the possible introduction of a casino. The unstructured part of the survey does shed some useful additional light on attitudes to casinos. There are some interesting contrasts in the responses from Chiang Mai and from Chiang Rai. While there is general agreement about the economic benefits, there are contrasting responses on the remaining questions with Chiang Rai respondents showing a much more conservative response. Chiang Mai respondents are aware of the many issues and the possible risks, but are more open to the positive impacts of casinos. Responses are considered according to several different demographic groupings by age, gender, location, occupation, income and so on. 
This study proposes that to fulfil the proposals of the Ninth Plan, a power of general competence and good governance be granted to local government to proceed with their own solutions, particularly those to do with carrying out the intentions of the Ninth Plan's economic and social development strategies. The Plan also lacks details in the idea of using participation while the decentralisation is not quite clear in terms of local and central government's roles.

year: 2005

title: Massive ontology interface

authors: Stannett, Matt

subjects: web interface

abstract: This paper describes the Massive Ontology Interface (MOI), a web portal which facilitates interaction with a large ontology (over 200,000 concepts and 1.6M assertions) that is built automatically using OpenCyc as a backbone. The aim of the interface is to simplify interaction with the massive amounts of information and guide the user towards understanding the ontology’s data. Using either a text or graph-based representation, users can discuss and edit the ontology. Social elements utilizing gamification techniques are included to encourage users to create and collaborate on stored knowledge as part of a web community.
An evaluation by 30 users comparing MOI with OpenCyc’s original interface showed significant improvements in user understanding of the ontology, although full testing of the interface’s social elements lies in the future.

text: Massive ontology interface This paper describes the Massive Ontology Interface (MOI), a web portal which facilitates interaction with a large ontology (over 200,000 concepts and 1.6M assertions) that is built automatically using OpenCyc as a backbone. The aim of the interface is to simplify interaction with the massive amounts of information and guide the user towards understanding the ontology’s data. Using either a text or graph-based representation, users can discuss and edit the ontology. Social elements utilizing gamification techniques are included to encourage users to create and collaborate on stored knowledge as part of a web community.
An evaluation by 30 users comparing MOI with OpenCyc’s original interface showed significant improvements in user understanding of the ontology, although full testing of the interface’s social elements lies in the future.

year: 2013

title: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development

authors: Puriri, Ashley Reed

subjects: Maori Tourism

abstract: This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

text: E Whakatipuranga o te Tāpoi Māori - Māori Indigenous Tourism Development: A Whānau based Māori Tourism development This Doctoral thesis uses a Kaupapa Māori research methodology, which is culturally grounded to identify the indigenous Māori underpinnings and processes that a Whānau (Māori family) experience when developing their Māori tourism business. The thesis discusses the following four issues, which are addressed using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology:
1. The gap in the current literature for Māori tourism development and authenticity from a Māori perspective.
2. The cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau (Māori family) tourism business.
3. Identification of the Māori cultural values that inform Māori tourism development
4. Development of a cultural framework that positions Māori values on levels of significance from a Māori perspective.
A cultural tourism experience is investigated, involving a Whānau Māori tourism business developed from a conceptual stage in preparation for financial investment. Using a Kaupapa Māori research methodology this research contributes to a gap in the academic literature relating to Whānau (Māori family) tourism development. The research contributes new academic literature to support the notion that the Whānau unit is at the core of social and economic development for Māori tourism. This thesis captures and describes the various stages, developed over a year, of Whānau Hui (family meetings), of a Whānau tourism business. As a Māori researcher, I gained emancipated access to a Whānau using Kaupapa Māori methods, applying a cultural set of protocols and values to unlock access to a Māori worldview of how a Whānau navigates the processes of developing their Whānau tourism experience in New Zealand. The engagement of a Kaupapa Māori research methodology enabled me to apply my personal skills of a lifetime of knowledge of Te Ao Māori (a Māori worldview) and Te Reo Māori (Māori language) combined with over 20 years of global advancement of indigenous tourism in the cruise industry. As a Tohunga Whakairo (master carver) I applied seven distinctive steps of a master carver’s processes in carving a Pou Tokomanawa (the main centre post of a Tipuna Whare orancestralmeeting house), providing a unique cultural process that frames the chapters of this dissertation. The research data provided an enriched flow of cultural information, which was analysed using a cultural analytical process to validate the key themes that emerged from the research findings. The cultural analyses are completed in two stages; the processes of Whakapapa and Whanaungatanga (cultural relationships), which are culturally-grounded methods for analysing research data using a Māori worldview, and the validation of cultural significance by Kaumātua (elders) of the Whānau. The thesis is imbued with cultural paradigms that frame and identify the cultural underpinnings and processes of a Whānau tourism development. The study expands on two cultural models,‘Te Tāpoi Poutama’ and Te Matua Poutama (Māori tourism frameworks for identifying cultural levels of significance) and these cultural paradigms are applied to demonstrate cultural levels of significance that a Whānau place on their proposed Māori tourism business.

year: 2017