1. Research Topic Thailand Medical Tourism under the ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC): Opportunities and Threats
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to study the opportunities and
threats factors of Thailand’s medical tourism under ASEAN Economic
Community (AEC), to study the outsourcing in Thailand’s medical tourism
business and to determine the factors that affect investment in Thailand’s
medical tourism under AEC. Qualitative and quantitative methods were
applied. Data were collected by using questionnaire with 440 sampling of
Thailand’s medical staff and 12 managerial staffs of the private hospital
were interviewed. The questionnaires’ data was analyzed using descriptive
statistics and the content analysis was using with the data from the
interviews.
According to this study, the opportunities factors for the
Thailand’s medical tourism were economic factor, social and cultural
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factor and technology factor. The threat factors were politics factor and
law factor. Also with the second language proficiency was the weakness of
Thai medical staff. The second language proficiency for communication of
the medical staff was moderate. (=2.89, S.D. = .801) The lack of the second
language skill of the medical staff was high. (=3.75, S.D. = .918).
The foreign medical personnel could work in Thailand as a
supporter because the Thailand’s law did not allow. While the outsourcing
in the medical tourism business was establishing the company to support
works such as purchasing medical equipment and medicine.
The factors that facilitate the medical investment by Thai
investor in other AEC countries were the economic factor, social and
cultural factor and technology factor. The targeted investment countries
were Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
2. Guidelines for Design and Development of Package Cushioning Made
from Banana Fiber for Thai Fruits
Abstract
This study was sponsored by the Research Fund of Phuket Rajabhat
University. The purposes were to investigate guidelines for developing
cushioning for packages from banana fiber which could be made easily and
cheaply by hand, and to examine the satisfaction level of the people regarding
this product. The study consisted of 4 stages. Stage 1: the researcher tested
methods of making package cushioning from banana fiber; Stage 2: the
researcher tried out the quality of package cushioning from banana fiber; Stage
3: the researcher developed the package cushioning from banana fiber for Thai
fruits; Stage 4: The satisfaction level of three groups of people were evaluated:
customers, business operators, and farmers. Research instruments included test
schedule, test results, cost of investment, notes from tests, and a universal
testing machine to test the quality of the cushioning. The sample group
consisted of 3 groups of people: 100 customers, 10 business operators, and 10
farmers.
The results were the following:
The process of producing package cushioning from banana trunks into
fiber can be easily done by hand. The material and equipment is readily
available in the community. There are 8 simple stages in producing the fiber.
The packages are molded and left to dry. Then, the packages are coated with
starch to make them stronger and more durable. This process will help the
people to produce a large number of pieces daily. The finished products can be
dyed for beauty.
From the tensile test, it was found that the fiber from banana trunks
possesses a high level of tensile strength (0.03 kilonewton / metre), and the
elongation level of the fiber was 3.65 %.
The test of the thickness of the fiber found that the thickness of the
banana fiber was 0.7 centimeters which could resist the impact of 0.73 meters
(the fruit table’s height). The comparison of the impact resistance of the banana
fiber and the conventional foam resulted that the banana fiber had a better
resistance impact. The researcher conducted 2 experiments to compare the
resistance impact by cushioning the mangoes with two different materials. In
the first experiment, the two 0.3 kg mangoes with different cushions were
dropped from the 0.73 meter height table. In the second experiment, the two
0.3 kg mangoes with different cushions were dropped from the 1.20 meter height
table. The result from both experiments showed that the mango with the
banana fiber was in perfect condition, while the mango in the foam cushion was
bruised.
In terms of the satisfaction level of the people for the package
cushioning for fruits made from banana fiber, it was found that the satisfaction
level of three groups of people was very high (4.52). As for each group, it was
revealed that 68% of female customers and 32% of male customers whose
salary was over 30,000 baht monthly had a very high level of satisfaction for the
structure and graphic design of the product (4.74). The farmers and vendors had
a high satisfaction level for unique forms of products which represent local
identity (4.90).
Keywords: banana fibers, packaging cushioning.
3. Spirit of Andaman Sea
ABSTRACT
This research study about visual art, “Spirit of Andaman Sea”, is the
investigation of the natural characteristics and mythological symbols of the sea
in order to find the beauty from creations. This study provided the emotional
suggestions of the researcher in the scope of the study. The collected data were
processes, analyzed and synthesized conceptually in order to concretely provide
aesthetic records as well as to identify meanings in terms of usefulness. This
provided creation experiences through technical experiments, symbol
arrangement and artistic organization that resulted in piecework. Regarding the
significances of the study, conclusions are as follows. Firstly, the physical
content, the colors of the sea of Similan Islands, the movements of tidal waves,
the winds at night, and the beliefs of the people living with the Andaman Sea
were identified. Secondly, the visual art creation provided stories and visual
elements. The painting and sculpture processes were used for communicating
the feelings from the lives and perfection of everything under the Andaman Sea.
4. Usage behavior in online social network of tourist toward the decision for choosing hotel in Phuket
Abstract
The aims of the research are to study the usage behavior in online social
network of tourist in Phuket, and study the effect of social network toward the decision
of tourist to choose a hotel in Phuket. The sample of the research consists of both Thai
and foreigner tourists, who normally use social network, in Phuket. The data of the
study was collected by a questionnaire. For analyzing data, the descriptive statistics,
independent sample t-test, one way ANOVA, and Post Hoc were selected for this
research.
The result indicated that most of Thai tourist surf internet more than four
hours per day meanwhile foreigner tourists surf internet three to four hours per day. In
addition, Thai and foreigner tourists usually use the social network every day for six
years and above. They mostly use the social network one to two hours per time. The
duration of using social network is from 6pm to 10pm. They generally surf the social
network via mobile phone. Furthermore, the most popular social network is Facebook.
They largely use it for charting with friends and searching for information. Both of Thai
and foreigner tourists have ever used the social network for buying product and service.
The factor in terms of information data and accessing information are the
most affected toward the decision of tourists for choosing a hotel in Phuket. For Thai
tourists, the credibility of the hotel and being an online member are the second and
the third factor for choosing the hotel respectively. Meanwhile, foreigner tourists
choose the hotel as being an online member which is the second factor, and the third
factor is credibility of the hotel.
Keywords: Social network, Tourist, Decision to purchase service, Hotel business
4. ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals
Abstract
The purposes of this study were: 1) to investigate the level of
competency of the operating staff in the 4 star hotels in Phuket, 2) to compare the
level of competency of the staff based on position, experience and type of hotels,
and 3) to identify problems and propose guidelines to develop the competency of
the housekeeping staff. The researcher selected 15 independent four star hotels
which belonged to the Thai Hotel Association and 6 international chain hotels in
Phuket. The sample group consisted of two groups: 225 operating staff who were
room attendants, public area cleaners, and laundry attendants; 21 housekeeping
managers from the hotels. The research tools included tests of ASEAN Common
Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals, and tests for each position. The
managers provided information about the level of competency of the staff from
their observation.
The results of the study revealed that the level of competency of the
operating staff in the 4 star hotels in Phuket based on the ASEAN Common
Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals was found to be high. The level of
core competency of the staff was also high. It was found the level of core
competency of the staff with different positions was not different; the staff with
different working experiences had a significantly different level of core competency.
Considering the generic competency of the staff, it was found that the
level of the generic competency of the staff was high except the English language
communication which was found to be moderate. The areas of competency which
should be taken into consideration included participation in promoting products
and services, problem solving, and conflict management in different levels. The
comparison of the staff with different backgrounds found that public area cleaners
and laundry attendants had a different level of competency. However, the staff
with different working experiences and types of hotels did not have different levels
of generic competency.
In terms of the functional competency, the staff thought that the level
of performance was high and complied with the needs of the administrators.
However, from the staff competency tests, it was found that the level of functional
competency of the room attendants and public area cleaners was moderate, while
the level of functional competency of the laundry attendants was low. The
comparison of the staff with different backgrounds found that the level of
functional competency of the staff who worked for the independent hotels and the
chain hotels was the same.
The managers and deputy managers of these hotels suggested that the
hotel develop the competency of the housekeeping staff by following these
strategies: coaching, internal training, and external training respectively. The
researcher suggested that the government should establish a unit to be responsible
for creating a curriculum which will be used to develop the competency of the
hotel staff based on the ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism
Professionals. The hotel should develop the individual development plan for each
staff, and send the staff to train in the hotels in other ASEAN countries. As for the
university, the curriculum regarding Tourism and Hospitality should be revised to
comply with the ASEAN Common Competency Standards for Tourism Professionals
in order to prepare the students to work effectively in the future market.
5. The Behaviors of Online Social Network Use of Junior High School Students in Phuket
ABSTRACT
This research aimed to study firstly on the characteristics of junior
high school students in Phuket on online social network use. Secondly, this
research focused on the behaviors of junior high school in Phuket on online
social network use. Lastly, this research studied the impact of online social
network use on junior high school students in Phuket.
In addition, the data collection of the study was collected by
questionnaire method. The descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test,
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Post hoc analysis were used for data
analysis.
The results of the characteristics of junior high school students in
Phuket on online social network use showed that the students who mostly used
social network were female in junior high school level 2. Most of them were
living with their parents. Their parents gave monthly money to them around
2,001 to 3,000 Baht. They mostly used mobile phone for surfing internet.
Moreover, the behaviors of online social network use of junior high
school students in Phuket found that most of students surfed internet more
than 3 hours per day. They mostly had experiences on the using internet for
three to five years. They actually started using social network because of their
friends’ suggestion. They widely used Facebook for chatting with their friends.
Most of them normally used internet every day. On Monday to Friday, they
usually used social network from 6pm to 10pm. On Saturday and Sunday, they
mostly used social network from 10am to 2pm by using mobile phone. They
mostly used internet before sleeping.
And the most popular place for using social network was at their
home. Some students provided publicly the actual information about
themselves on the social network and they liked to update all new information
every day. Most of their friends whom they chatted on the social network have
never seen each other. Their parents always involved with the students while
they were using social network. Furthermore, the students were advised and
helped on using social network by their friends.
The impact of online social network use of junior high school student
was that it affected mostly on emotion of the students. Latter, it affected on
society, healthy, and studying of the students subsequently.
Keywords: impact, online social network, students, Phuket, junior high school
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