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Purpose: There are major gaps in our knowledge of hereditary ocular conditions in the Asia-Pacific population, which comprises approximately 60% of the world's population. Therefore, a concerted regional effort is urgently needed to close this critical knowledge gap and apply precision medicine technology to improve the quality of lives of these patients in the Asia-Pacific region., Design: Multi-national, multi-center collaborative network., Methods: The Research Standing Committee of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology and the Asia-Pacific Society of Eye Genetics fostered this research collaboration, which brings together renowned institutions and experts for inherited eye diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. The immediate priority of the network will be inherited retinal diseases (IRDs), where there is a lack of detailed characterization of these conditions and in the number of established registries., Results: The network comprises 55 members from 35 centers, spanning 12 countries and regions, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. The steering committee comprises ophthalmologists with experience in consortia for eye diseases in the Asia-Pacific region, leading ophthalmologists and vision scientists in the field of IRDs internationally, and ophthalmic geneticists., Conclusions: The Asia Pacific Inherited Eye Disease (APIED) network aims to (1) improve genotyping capabilities and expertise to increase early and accurate genetic diagnosis of IRDs, (2) harmonise deep phenotyping practices and utilization of ontological terms, and (3) establish high-quality, multi-user, federated disease registries that will facilitate patient care, genetic counseling, and research of IRDs regionally and internationally., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Amid ever-growing global value chains (GVCs). a major controversial topic relates to the extent to which developing economies benefit from participating in such value chains. To measure these gains, this paper examines data pertaining to value-added in exports from three Southeast Asian economies-Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The study estimates the sectoral income elasticities of the export demand of each country over the period 1980-2017, revealing that the highest income elasticities are observed in low value-adding sectors such as primary products, resource-based goods and low-tech industries. This implies that the three countries have been involved in simple and not high-skill tasks within GVCs. The paper also examines the sectoral domestic share of value-added (DVA) and foreign share of value-added (FVA) of exports of the three economies using the OECD Trade in Value-added (TiVA) database over the period 2005-15. We find that DVA in the medium- and high-tech industries that add greater value is smaller than FVA in atl three countries. Overall, these results suggest that developing nations need to step up their participation in GVCs through process and/or function upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural transformation of the developing world encompasses a broad set of subjects, usually revolving around the change in the mode of production and related aspects of production. However, the extent to which the transformation shapes subjective wellbeing is largely under explored. This paper examines how the constructed life goals of local people are shaped by the process of agricultural transformation and how they strive to attain wellbeing. We are especially interested in the ways rural dynamics are changing as a result. The empirical data is based on a two-village study using qualitative methods. The good life of rural people is classified into five types of life goals, including good health, decent quality of education and future employment opportunity for youth, good family relationships, having enough for living and eating, and self-sufficiency. Good health encompasses both the strength of the physical body and spiritual. The agricultural transformation has emerged new challenges to health, particularly the chemical use in agriculture that deteriorated the quality of the environment. The decent quality of education and future employment are attributed to education qualification and jobs with monthly salary. The high competition and the lack of social and political networks have lowered the expectation of rural people from getting government jobs. The transformation resulted in sprit types of family due to migration, while rural people remain highly valued good family relationships, in which modern technology such as cell phone play a part in maintaining distance interaction and good relations. Having enough for eating and living reflects the high priority that rural people giving on foods and housing. This is associated with the growing indebtedness that is threatening the loss of lands and property that are used for debt collateral. Finally, the self-sufficiency that was initiated by King Bhumipol is seen and adopted as a promising means to achieve a good life, however, self-sufficiency is variously defined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethicists and philosophers dominate the on-going debate on human enhancement. They have debated the definition of human enhancement as well as the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies (such as pharmaceutical enhancements or pre-natal selection). These discussions have percolated, through bioethics bodies and bioethics recommendations, policy makers and have eventually been translated into policy. While some suggestions have been based largely in Western liberal democracies, others have deliberated the geopolitical consequences of human enhancement technologies. This paper argues that the present debate currently lacks perspectives from developing countries. It begins by introducing the current debate on human enhancement and recognizes Allen Buchanan's well-raised concerns on how these technologies may potentially cause new injustices for low- and middle-income countries ('developing countries'). It then provides two arguments calling for further research into human enhancement from the perspective of developing countries. First, this paper will argue that the current frames with which enhancement technologies are viewed are inherently neoliberal and require change. The second argument shows how the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies in developing countries have not been fully realized by analyzing how human enhancement technologies will impact Thailand, a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Southeast Asia (SEA) has become a very attractive region for FDI from developed countries. This trend has led to the rapid development of logistics services. However, in the existing literature, there is very little empirical research to compare SEA countries like for example Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and The Philippines. Current studies mainly focus on a single country or some typical industries. Therefore, a comprehensive model with various attributes able to compare which country is performing a better logistics service is still missing. For this reason, the authors conducted this study with the expectation of providing a model that uses attributes able to make it easier to compare and evaluate the attractiveness of logistics services in each country. To do so, the paper uses AHP theory to set up the research model and a questionnaire to obtain data from 23 experts in the logistics industry. Based on an analysis of the results, Vietnam is the most attractive destination for logistics services. This finding was driven by the importance of the government-related attributes. Thailand because of the country's cost competitiveness proved attractive. The results of the study make it easier for managers to assess and select the best suited country for logistics services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand has been a global economic success story, transforming from one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, to a modern and dynamic nation, and all within the lifetime of the current generation. However, growth has been accompanied by marked increases in economic inequality both at the regional and individual levels. In this context studying how relatively poor people appraise their situation ('subjective wellbeing') and how this relates to traditional 'objective' measures of wellbeing such as wealth and basic needs is particularly relevant. This paper investigates the relationship between basic needs as defined by the Theory of Human needs (THN, Doyal and Gough ), material wealth and happiness. Specifically, we intend to answer the following research question: Are wealth and basic needs indicators always interchangeable when analyzing happiness determinants in low income settings? The paper focuses on seven communities in the South and North-east of Thailand with contrasting levels of access to markets and services. It challenges the common assumption that at low economic levels, wealth or income matter for people's happiness because they increase satisfaction of basic needs, arguing instead that wealth might contribute to happiness for personal or symbolic reasons, which are not related to the use of goods as basic needs satisfiers. Thus, it suggests that indicators of wealth and basic needs should not be used interchangeably when studying happiness determinants in low income settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile payment, replacing traditional methods like cash and cards, offers users convenience and accessibility, benefiting individuals, businesses, and governments. However, most research on mobile payment adoption has primarily focused on developed countries, leaving a gap in understanding the adoption factors in developing nations. This study addresses this gap by investigating the determinants of mobile payment adoption in Thailand, an emerging economy experiencing significant smartphone adoption and e-commerce growth. Through a quantitative approach and a survey of 475 Thai consumers, this research applies an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model as a theoretical foundation to examine Thai consumers' mobile payment adoption. Data analysis using SPSS 28.0 and AMOS 28.0 identifies key factors influencing Thai consumers to adopt mobile payment. By offering a comprehensive research model and considering evolving smartphone technology, this study aims to guide policymakers and stakeholders in promoting mobile payment adoption, ultimately enhancing Thailand's economic development and tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of online geocoding services are now available enabling fast access to map-based geolocation. However, the quality of these services is uncertain, often being based on poor data, especially in developing countries such as Thailand. This paper reports on a comparative analysis of the quality of five such online geocoding services, with tests based on text addresses and points of interest (POIs) in Thailand. The geocoding service providers included in our tests were Google, MapQuest, Bing, Yahoo!, and OpenCage and the text inputs were in Thai. The quality of the geocoded results was measured using the match rates and the positional accuracy. Two experiments were conducted, each with a different input format: (i) text addresses collected from research participants (N = 1,511), and (ii) names of POIs sampled from a dataset of Thai academic institutes (N = 5,000). The quality of the services tested was compared statistically using the Friedman test and the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The results show that Google outperformed all other services for both text addresses and POIs. Google, Bing, Yahoo!, and OpenCage each had match rates over 90%, while MapQuest' s match rate was 82%, but the positional accuracy of most services did not reach a high standard at rooftop levels. From this analysis, we identify geocoding issues that need to be addressed for further enhancement of the quality of the geocoding of addresses in Thailand. The knowledge obtained here also provides valuable insight into the geocoding issues facing Thailand and other developing countries, and it is hoped that this will benefit further research and the future development of high-quality geocoding tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Community engagement is increasingly promoted as a marker of good, ethical practice in the context of international collaborative research in low-income countries. There is, however, no widely agreed definition of community engagement or of approaches adopted. Justifications given for its use also vary. Community engagement is, for example, variously seen to be of value in: the development of more effective and appropriate consent processes; improved understanding of the aims and forms of research; higher recruitment rates; the identification of important ethical issues; the building of better relationships between the community and researchers; the obtaining of community permission to approach potential research participants; and, the provision of better health care. Despite these diverse and potentially competing claims made for the importance of community engagement, there is very little published evidence on effective models of engagement or their evaluation. Methods In this paper, drawing upon interviews with the members of a Community Advisory Board on the Thai-Myanmar border, we describe and critically reflect upon an approach to community engagement which was developed in the context of international collaborative research in the border region. Results and conclusions Drawing on our analysis, we identify a number of considerations relevant to the development of an approach to evaluating community engagement in this complex research setting. The paper also identifies a range of important ways in which the Community Advisory Board is in practice understood by its members (and perhaps by community members beyond this) to have morally significant roles and responsibilities beyond those usually associated with the successful and appropriate conduct of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food waste is an issue throughout the food supply chain from production to consumption, especially in the later stages, such as retailing and final consumption. For the future of the developing world, changes in farming and retail practices are crucial. This study introduces a digital system for managing agricultural waste in Thailand that aims to encourage farmers and food retailers to sell their excess agricultural materials. The study's objectives are as follows: (1) to explore factors that affect users' behavioral intention to utilize an agriculture waste trading platform; (2) to compare the behavioral differences between farmers and retailers regarding their intention to use a digital platform for sustainable agriculture. Data were gathered from 570 fruit and vegetable sellers and farmers across five provinces in the northeastern region of Thailand. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships between constructs based on the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), and multigroup analysis (MGA) was employed to analyze differences in path coefficients across groups. The key findings revealed that social influence (SI) had a more significant impact on retailers compared to farmers, while facilitating conditions (FC), habits (HB), and privacy (PR) were necessary for both groups. Unlike retailers, farmers were also motivated by hedonic motivation (HM) from using the platform. Explicitly, retailers' behavioral intentions were influenced by a more significant number of factors than those of farmers. This research suggests that policymakers should develop targeted marketing campaigns leveraging social influence for retailers, improve platform usability and security, and create incentives for habitual use to enhance platform adoption. Additionally, policymakers should promote engaging features for farmers, provide comprehensive education and training, and advocate for supportive policies and financial incentives. Strategic actions to facilitate the transition toward a circular economy will improve the environmental sustainability and economic resilience of the agri-food sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the impacts of contextual factors, including organization-, project-, product-, and market-related factors, on New Product Development (NPD) process and explores how these factors shape the NPD process of the company within a specific context—a large-sized company in Thailand. By interviewing 11 managers from a large-sized company in Thailand, the findings reveal different impact of the contextual factors on the company's NPD process. Based on these findings, we develop a practical NPD model to overcome company-specific challenges and, consequently, offer valuable insights to enhance the NPD process in similar contexts. Importantly, our findings suggest that innovative companies should strategically integrate the route-to-market for radical innovation into their NPD process because it enhances the customer perception of the innovation's value before commercialization, leading to the success of NPD. Our empirical evidence fills the gaps in the literature regarding the practical configuration of NPD processes in developing countries as well as large-sized companies, acknowledging the variation in the NPD process that depends on contextual factors where innovation occurs. It also provides detailed insights beyond most existing studies that investigate correlation of factors with the NPD process and offers practical implications for management involved in the NPD process, emphasizing the need for contextual awareness in formulating effective NPD strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we make the distinction between single-product and multi-product firms to contribute to our understanding of the complex relationship between multinational enterprises (MNEs), exporting and economic development. Using firm-level data for Thailand we show that the number of goods produced causes a larger variation in exports volumes than production volumes. Whilst the number of products and the total volume of exports are positively correlated we find, in contrast to US studies, a negative correlation between the number of products produced and the volume of production per product. We then investigate the characteristics associated with multi-product firms and find a distinction between foreign-owned and domestic firms. The presence of foreign firms producing single products solely for the domestic market as well as those producing many products for export demonstrates the diversity of behaviour of foreign-owned firms in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines determinants of effective rates of protection (ERP) and nominal rates of protection (NRP) in Thai manufacturing.. Our results indicate political bargains in Thailand are struck over ERP rather than NRP. Moreover, protection tends to be granted to industries that have a high level of industry concentration and are experiencing increased import competition. The relatively open foreign investment policy regime in Thailand means that policymakers are more responsive to requests made by foreign investors, including requests for tariff cuts. The decision to grant protection to Thai industries is justified on the basis of the ability of industries to generate employment and backward linkage to the rest of the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectacular economic success of the Newly Industrialising Countries (NICS) of Asia since the 1960s, has led to the quest to identify other less developed countries which may be just about to become the next NICS of Asia. This paper examines the arguments for and against the view that there is a "second tier" of less developed countries which are about to join the ranks of the Asian NICS. While Malaysia and Thailand are generally thought to be the most likely candidates, this paper argues that one hitherto unrecognised contender. China, is likely to join these countries in achieving NIC status. This paper examines the question of whether there are likely to be more Newly Industrializing Countries (NICS) emerging over time, following in the footsteps of the original four in Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan). While some writers suggest that several developing countries are about to achieve NIC status in the near future, others argue that world trading conditions have deteriorated to such an extent as to make this very unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past decade, researchers have documented the effects of textbooks on achievement in developing countries, but no research has explored the mechanisms that account for this contribution. This paper analyzes longitudinal data from a national sample of eighth- grade mathematics classrooms in Thailand and explores the effects of textbooks and other factors on student achievement gain. The results indicate that textbooks may affect achievement by substituting for additional postsecondary mathematics education of teachers and by delivering a more comprehensive curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the development process and discusses the key findings which resulted from our multidisciplinary research team's effort to develop an alternative digital hearing suitable for low-resource countries such as Thailand. A cost-effective, fully programmable digital hearing aid, with its specifications benchmarking against WHO's recommendations, was systematically designed, engineered, and tested. Clinically it had undergone a full clinical trial that employed the outcome measurement protocol adopted from the APHAB, the first time implemented in Thai language. Results indicated that using the hearing aid improves user's satisfaction in terms of ease of communication, background noises, and reverberation, with clear benefit after 3 and 6 months, confirming its efficacy. In terms of engineering, the hearing aid also proved to be robust, passing all the designated tests. As the technology has successfully been transferred to a local company for the production phase, we also discuss other challenges that may arise before the device can be introduced into the market.

Background: Continuing comprehensive assessment of population health gap is essential for effective health planning. This paper assessed changes in the magnitude and pattern of disease burden in Thailand between 1999 and 2004. It further drew lessons learned from applying the global burden of disease (GBD) methods to the Thai context for other developing country settings., Methods: Multiple sources of mortality and morbidity data for both years were assessed and used to estimate Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) loss for 110 specific diseases and conditions relevant to the country's health problems. Causes of death from national vital registration were adjusted for misclassification from a verbal autopsy study., Results: Between 1999 and 2004, DALYs loss per 1,000 population in 2004 slightly decreased in men but a minor increase in women was observed. HIV/AIDS maintained the highest burden for men in both 1999 and 2004 while in 2004, stroke took over the 1999 first rank of HIV/AIDS in women. Among the top twenty diseases, there was a slight increase of the proportion of non-communicable diseases and two out of three infectious diseases revealed a decrease burden except for lower respiratory tract infections., Conclusion: The study highlights unique pattern of disease burden in Thailand whereby epidemiological transition have occurred as non-communicable diseases were on the rise but burden from HIV/AIDS resulting from the epidemic in the 1990s remains high and injuries show negligent change. Lessons point that assessing DALY over time critically requires continuing improvement in data sources particularly on cause of death statistics, institutional capacity and long term commitments.

Background This paper reports findings on the implementation, acceptability and uptake of the screening and brief intervention programme based on the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) to help decrease substance misuse in primary care in Thailand. Methods Action research involving selection of suitable study areas; obtaining support for its introduction and corporation at national and local levels; training and monitoring of healthcare providers; delivery of the ASSIST-BI (brief intervention) procedure and assessments of acceptability and uptake of the procedure by patients and staff. Results Between October 2011 and October 2012, 5931 patients (2.5% of all patients attending primary care units) were screened with the ASSIST. Of these, 29.6 and 3.4% were in the moderate- and high-risk groups, respectively, and were offered BI or other treatment. The most popular substances used were tobacco and alcohol. Less than 1% screened positively for illicit substances. Conclusion The ASSIST detected many substance users capable of benefiting from intervention. The programme was well received by patients and staff. The development of the project from conception to inclusion in Thailand's national public health strategy is described and suggested as a model for introducing similar procedures into developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate farmers’ risk aversion using the equally likely certainty equivalent approach and the negative exponential utility function to identify risk preference classification. Design/methodology/approach – Stochastic efficiency with respect to a function is applied to determine the risk efficient farming systems for the farmers in central and north-east regions of Thailand. Findings – The study results showed that maize followed by sorghum is the most risk efficient farming system for the extremely risk averse rain-fed farmers in the central region of Thailand. Intensive planting of wet rice and dry rice cultivation is preferred by the extremely risk averse central region irrigated farmers. Wet rice and cassava together with raising small herd of cattle is the most economically viable farming system for the extremely risk averse rain-fed farmers in the north-east region, while two rice crops with raising cattle is preferred by the extremely risk averse north-east irrigated farmers of Thailand. Originality/value – The findings of this study provide useful information to reinforce the empirical basis for risk analysis for Thai farmers. The results will provide more accurate information regarding risk at the farm level to policy makers and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently few subjective measures of Quality of Life (QoL) are available for use in developing countries, which limits their theoretical, methodological, and practical contribution (for example, exploring the relationship between economic development and QoL, and ensuring effective and equitable service provision). One reason for this is the difficulty of ensuring that translated measures preserve conceptual, item, semantic, operational, measurement; and functional equivalence (Herdman, M., Fox-Rushby, J., & Badia, X. (1998). Quality of Life Research, 7, 331), which is illustrated by an account of the translation, pre-piloting, and administration of a new individualised QoL measure, the Global Person Generated Index or 'GPGI'. The GPGI is based on the widely used Patient Generated Index (Ruta, Camfield, & Martin, (2004) Quality of Life Research, 13, 1545.) and offers many of the advantages of the participatory approaches commonly used in developing countries, with added methodological rigour, and quantitative outcomes. It was successfully validated in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Ethiopia, using quantitative and qualitative methods--open-ended, semi-structured interviews (SSIs), conducted immediately post-administration. Both the measure and method of 'qualitative validation' described later in the paper offer an exciting alternative for future researchers and practitioners in this field. The quantitative results suggest the GPGI shows cultural sensitivity, and is able to capture both the areas that are important to respondents, and aspects of life one would expect to impact on QoL in developing countries. There were strong correlation between scores from the GPGI and SSIs for the area of health, and moderate correlations for 'material wellbeing' (MWB)('Material wellbeing' refers to respondents' perceptions of their achievement in the areas of farming, debt reduction, assets, crops, livestock, job, land, property, and agriculture) and children. Weak to moderate correlations were observed between the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the GPGI; however, the highest coefficient was between the GPGI and the most conceptually similar item. Statistically significant differences were seen in GPGI scores between rich and poor, urban and rural respondents, and different countries. Health and material wellbeing scores, derived from the SSIs, also showed a linear relationship with GPGI scores, with a suggestion of curvilinearity at the higher levels, as predicted by a general QoL causal model. In conclusion, the GPGI has great potential for use in this area, especially when supported by extensive interviewer training, and supplemented with a cognitive appraisal schedule.

Background Recruitment and retention of health workers is a major concern. Policy initiatives emphasize financial incentives, despite mixed evidence of their effectiveness. Qualitative studies suggest that nurses especially may be more driven by altruistic motivations, but quantitative research has overlooked such values. This paper adds to the literature through characterizing the nature and determinants of nurses’ altruism, based on a cross-country quantitative study. Methods An experimental ‘dictator game’ was undertaken with 1064 final year nursing students in Kenya, South Africa and Thailand between April 2007 and July 2008. This presents participants with a real financial endowment to split between themselves and another student, a patient or a poor person. Giving a greater share of this financial endowment to the other person is interpreted as reflecting greater altruism. Results Nursing students gave over 30% of their initial endowment to others (compared with 10% in similar experiments undertaken in other samples). Respondents in all three countries showed greater generosity to patients and the poor than to fellow students. Conclusions Consideration needs to be given to how to appeal to altruistic values as an alternative strategy to encourage nurses to enter the profession and remain, such as designing recruitment strategies to increase recruitment of altruistic individuals who are more likely to remain in the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Agriculture has been central to accounts of Thailand's modernisation and the rise of the national development project between the 1940s and the 1970s. However, the role of agriculture in the waning of national development is rarely explored critically in the Thai context. This paper focuses on agriculture and the role of the state in the shift from national development to globalisation. The first part of the paper examines the beginnings of Thailand's modern agricultural sector, before turning to the state-sponsored diversification of agriculture in the 1950s. The paper locates shifting state responses to agriculture in the late 1950s and 1960s in the context of specific political and historical social forces, before exploring the emergence of agri-food exports in the 1970s and the rise of agribusiness in the 1980s and 1990s. The paper concludes by commenting on the significance of the Thai state's role in the national development project and the globalisation project.

Transmission congestion management (TCM) plays a significant role in power-system operation under today's deregulated environment. Its two major functions are to maintain power system within security limits and to collect money from market participants paying back to transmission-grid investors. The TCM issue has been widely debated during the past decade. It is still an extensively discussed opened issue in the current competitive environment. In the United States, Pennsylvania New Jersey Merryland (PJM) with nodal congestion management based on renowned locational marginal price and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas with zonal congestion management are two successful stories of TCM under different operation schemes. Although the PJM model is adopted in some developing countries where the processes of restructuring of Electricity Supply Industry is still under the beginning phase, many concerns, such as advances in an information technology, energy security, social equity, price volatility, and the need to subsidize poor consumers, are necessitate factors to be considered before the establishment of TCM and settlement processes. Taking into account the above concerns, this paper proposes a TCM model for the electrical utility industry in Thailand during the transition period to the deregulated environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to contribute to debates about environmental policy in developing countries by examining how far sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLAs) to development may allow an alternative and less universalistic approach to environmental changes such as soil erosion. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides an overview of debates about environmental narratives and SLAs. There are tensions in both debates, about how far local institutions represent adaptations to predefined environmental risks, or instead enable a redefinition of risks according to the experience of poor people. In addition, there is a tension in how far SLAs should be seen as a fixed institutional design, or as a framework for organizing ideas and concerns about development. The paper presents research on soil erosion in Thailand as a case study of how SLAs can redefine risks from erosion for poor people. Findings - SLAs provide a more contextual analysis of how environmental changes such as soil erosion represent risk to different land users, and hence SLAs can make environmental interventions more relevant for reducing vulnerability. But this approach can only succeed if intervener agencies are willing to consider challenging pre-existing environmental narratives in order to empower local livelihoods. Originality/value - The paper adds to existing research on SLAs by exploring the implications of SLAs for redefining environmental assumptions. The paper forms part of work aiming to make debates about the politics of environmental knowledge and science more practically relevant within development policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inequitable distribution of doctors with high concentration in urban cities negatively affects the public health objective of Health for All. Thus it is one of the main concerns for most health policy makers, particularly in developing countries. This paper aims to summarize strategies to solve inequitable distribution of human resources for health (HRH) between urban and rural areas, by using four decades of experience in Thailand as a case study for analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the importance of institutionalizing political parties in developing democracy. This article develops the conceptual framework of the institutionalization of political parties, which combines institutionalization factors in both internal and external dimensions and applies this conceptual framework to extract lessons on the institutionalization of political parties in various democratic countries, including Thailand. The results of applying the aforementioned conceptual framework, in particular to the case of Thailand, indicate that the failure to apply the notion of institutionalization to political parties in this country stems from the traditionally narrow-minded approach to considering the institutionalization of political parties rather than problems with the idea itself. Thus, this article suggests that building an institution for a political party is something that can be designed by giving importance to the development of political parties in a structured manner, along with promoting political parties to have the ability to play a solid political role under the democratic regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a dispute concerning the ethics of research on preventing the perinatal transmission of HIV in developing nations. Critics of this research argue that it is unethical because it denies a proven treatment to placebo-control groups. Since studies conducted in developed nations would not deny this treatment to subjects, the critics maintain that these experiments manifest a double standard for ethical research and that a single standard of ethics should apply to all research on human subjects. Proponents of the research, however, argue that these charges fail to understand the ethical complexities of research in developing nations, and that study designs can vary according to the social, economic, and scientific conditions of research. This essay explores some of the ethical issues raised by this controversial case in order to shed some light on the deeper, meta-ethical questions. The paper argues that standards of ethical research on human subjects are universal but not absolute: there are some general ethical principles that apply to all cases of human subjects research but the application of these principles must take into account factors inherent in particular situations.

Many low and middle income countries have inherited publicly funded and provided health services, often operating at relatively low levels of technical efficiency. Changing ideas about the management of the public sector, in particular stemming from new public management theory, are spreading to these countries, whether directly or via the recommendations of multilateral and bilateral aid agencies. Pronouncements of agencies such as the World Bank imply that competitive contracting with the private sector is likely to improve the efficiency of services provision. However, very little evidence is available on whether this is likely to be the case, and in what circumstances delivery of services through contracts with the private sector is likely to be preferable to direct provision by the public sector. This paper draws on evidence from five country case-studies of contractual arrangements, in Bombay, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Thailand and Zimbabwe, done through collaborative research between the LSHTM Health Economics and Financing Programme and local researchers in each country. A common evaluative framework was applied in each country to selected, existing contractual arrangements. Services provided under contract and evaluated included catering, cleaning, security, diagnostic services and whole hospitals. Information is presented on the design of contracts, the process of agreeing contracts including the extent of competition, and the monitoring of contract performance. A variety of evidence, including information on the relative cost and quality of contracted out versus directly provided services in the case of South Africa, Thailand, and Bombay, is used to explore whether or not contracting out to the private sector represented a preferable means of service provision. This analysis, together with information on the capacity of the agency letting the contract, and on the wider environment including the level of development of the private sector, is used to identify which aspects of the contracting process and the context in which it takes place are important in influencing whether or not contracting with the private sector is a desirable means of service provision.

In many developing countries people are expected to contribute to the cost of health care from their own pockets. As a result, people's ability to pay (ATP) for health care, or the affordability of health care, has become a critical policy issue in developing countries, and a particularly urgent issue where households face combined user fee burdens from various essential service sectors such as health, education and water. Research and policy debates have focused on willingness to pay (WTP) for essential services, and have tended to assume that WTP is synonymous with ATP. This paper questions this assumption, and suggests that WTP may not reflect ATP. Households may persist in paying for care, but to mobilize resources they may sacrifice other basic needs such as food and education, with serious consequences for the household or individuals within it. The opportunity costs of payment make the payment 'unaffordable' because other basic needs are sacrificed. An approach to ATP founded on basic needs and the opportunity costs of payment strategies (including non-utilization) is therefore proposed. From the few studies available, common household responses to payment difficulties are identified, ranging from borrowing to more serious 'distress sales' of productive assets (e.g. land), delays to treatment and, ultimately, abandonment of treatment. Although these strategies may have a devastating impact on livelihoods and health, few studies have investigated them in any detail. In-depth longitudinal household studies are proposed to develop understanding of ATP and to inform policy initiative which might contribute to more affordable health care.

This paper blends quantitative with qualitative data in an investigation of community and contraceptive choice in Nang Rong, Thailand. Specifically, it develops an explanation of 1) method dominance within villages, coupled with 2) marked differences between villages in the popularity of particular methods. The quantitative analysis demonstrates the importance of village location and placement of family planning services for patterns of contraceptive choice. The qualitative data provide a complementary perspective, emphasizing the importance of social as well as physical space and giving particular attention to the structure of conversational networks.

The localisation of clean-tech industries allows developing countries to align their economic growth aspirations with efforts to reduce the associated environmental impacts. A key issue in this regard is the development of technological capabilities at local firms in these countries. Although much research has been conducted on this topic, we currently have only limited understanding of how the learning mechanisms that these so-called latecomer firms engage in change as they deepen their capability stocks. In the present paper, we offer insights into this issue by means of a comparative analysis of nine technology-supplying firms in the Thai industry for industrial-scale biogas systems over a period of about twenty years. Our results suggest that there are indeed shifts in the relative importance of different types of learning mechanisms as firms deepen their capabilities. The paper finds that such shifts tend to follow a co-evolutionary pattern involving shifts within and across learning mechanisms that involve different sources of knowledge. Based on our analysis, we provide examples of how decision-makers can adopt targeted interventions for the support of clean-tech firms and industries that are at particular levels of development. • Structured micro-level study of technological capability building at nine firms. • Sheds light on heterogeneity in capability trajectories and learning activities. • Highlights changes within and across sources of learning as capability stocks grow. • Discusses policy support mechanisms for firms at different stages of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, populations are ageing and the estimated number of hip fractures will increase from 1.7 million in 1990 to more than 6 million in 2050. The greatest increase in hip fractures is predicted in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), largely in the Asia-Pacific region where direct costs are expected to exceed $US15 billion by 2050. The aims of this qualitative study are to identify barriers to, and enablers of, evidence-informed hip fracture care in LMICs, and to determine if the Blue Book standards, developed by the British Orthopaedic Association and British Geriatrics Society to facilitate evidence-informed care of patients with fragility fractures, are applicable to these settings. This study utilized semi-structured interviews with clinical and administrative hospital staff to explore current hip fracture care in LMICs. Transcribed interviews were imported into NVivo 12 and analysed thematically. Interviews were conducted with 35 participants from 11 hospitals in 5 countries. We identified five themes-costs of care and the capacity of patients to pay, timely hospital presentation, competing demands on limited resources, delegation and defined responsibility and utilization of available data-and within each theme, barriers and enablers were distinguished. We found a mismatch between patient needs and provision of recommended hip fracture care, which in LMICs must commence at the time of injury. This study describes clinician and administrator perspectives of the barriers to, and enablers of, high-quality hip fracture care in LMICs; results indicate that initiatives to overcome barriers (in particular, delays to definitive treatment) are required. While the Blue Book offers a starting point for clinicians and administrators looking to provide high-quality hip fracture care to older people in LMICs, locally developed interventions are likely to provide the most successful solutions to improving hip fracture care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant economic growth visible in recent decades in Thailand contributed to a huge demand for private vehicles, which was not followed by a sufficient growth of transport infrastructure, consequently leading to permanent congestion, increase in the number of accidents, high carbon emission and thus a decline in the air quality. This research was conducted in the capital of Thailand, Bangkok using key informant interviews to examine socio-economic determinants of 3 different modes choice: car, motorcycle and public transport. The major findings included the lack of use of public transportation due inadequate transportation schemes and policies at the local and national level in Thailand. Further analytical findings include the social, cultural and economic factors affecting the choices of the mode of transportation in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Double burden of malnutrition (DBMN), the coexistence of under- and overnutrition in the same population, is an emerging public health concern in developing countries, including Thailand. This paper aims to review the maternal and child nutrition situation and trends as the country moved from a low-income to a middle-income country, using data from large scale national surveys. Protein-energy malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies pre-dominantly affected mothers and children prior to the 1980s. The situation greatly improved during the 1980s-1990s, with the implementation of multi-sectoral policies and programs focusing on poverty alleviation and primary health care. Economic development, improved access to health services and effective community-based nutrition programs contributed to these positive trends. However, the prevalence of low birth weight remained at 8-10%, while stunting and underweight declined to about 10% by the 1990s, with small change thereafter. The prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and children decreased by half and vitamin A deficiency is no longer a public health problem. Iodine deficiency, especially during pregnancy is still a major concern. As the country progressed in terms of economic and social development, overnutrition among women and children affected all socio-economic levels. Changes in lifestyles, food access and eating patterns are observed both in urban and rural areas. Although efforts have been made to address these challenges, harmonized policy and strategic programs that address DBMN in the complex social and economic environment are urgently needed. Early life undernutrition should be considered along with measures to address obesity and chronic diseases in children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization and urban growth have caused serious environmental problems in most cities of developing countries. Many infrastructure projects on varying scales have been implemented to meet the growing demands of such cities, but only a few are subjected to environmental impact assessment as part of the project approval process. In an attempt to justify environmental assessment (EA) for all infrastructure development projects (IDPs), irrespective of their scales, this paper investigates the environmental effects of large, medium and small IDPs implemented in urban fringe areas to understand and compare the nature of their impacts. The survey results show that respondents' perceptions of physical environment pertaining to air quality and noise were similar regardless of the scale of the project. However, in terms of vibration, surface water quality and ground water quality, the respondents' perceptions differed between large projects and small or medium projects. In order to avoid such negative impacts from IDPs in the future, this study proposes a mechanism for integrating EA into the planning and development control processes of local authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International joint ventures (IJVs) are a specific type of strategic alliance between contractors from developed and developing countries and have been increasingly used. IJVs between multinational organisations are considered a successful strategy to benefit from international market opportunities in the globalised world. International construction joint ventures (ICJVs) have become of significant interest as the global construction market continues to be integrated into the more competitive business environment. The aim of this article is to uncover the knowledge transfer (KT) practices in an ICJV using social network analysis (SNA). The case presented here is the pilot study. A total of 19 questionnaire surveys were undertaken with selected team members. UCINET 6.0, an SNA package, was used to analyse the collected data and NetDraw was used to visualise the sociogram. This article first presents the actors' attributes; then, social network characteristics, which consist of network structure, network density and degree of centrality and cliques of actors, are presented. This analysis will be used to identify the key actors that influence the KT processes in this case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate how affordable cigarettes are in developed and developing countries, and to calculate by how much the affordability of cigarettes has changed between 1990 and 2001; and secondly, to investigate the relation between cigarette affordability and consumption. Design: Affordability was defined as the cost of cigarettes relative to per capita income. Trends in cigarette affordability, and affordability elasticities of demand, were estimated using regression techniques. Subjects: Seventy countries were investigated, of which 28 are categorised as high income developed countries, while 42 are categorised as developing countries. Cigarette prices were obtained for the main city/cities in the countries. Results: Despite the fact that cigarettes are more expensive in developed countries, the high levels of income make cigarettes more affordable in these countries vis-à-vis developing countries. Of the 28 developed countries, cigarettes became more affordable in 11 and less affordable in 17 countries during the 1990s. Of the 42 developing countries, cigarettes became more affordable in 24 and less affordable in 18 countries. Based on a cross sectional analysis, a 1 % increase in the relative income price (the inverse of cigarette affordability) is expected to decrease cigarette consumption by between 0.49-0.57%. Conclusions: Cigarette affordability, more than just the price, determines cigarette consumption. While cigarettes have become more affordable in many developing countries, some developing countries (for example, South Africa, Poland, and Thailand) have implemented strong and effective tobacco control policies, and have been able to decrease cigarette consumption as a result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, academic research units are regarded as the main agents that create new knowledge for innovation in commercial products and services. This paper presents a research framework for analysing the role of Knowledge Management (KM) in improving and sustaining research activities in those units that led to important product or service innovation in the local market. KM practices used effectively in the product or service innovation process are illustrated with the case study of a very successful R&D laboratory at Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. Findings indicate that: • KM practices are embedded in the innovation process and thus, have a strong impact on the success of research projects. • A distinguished research idea is most important in achieving outstanding research and commercialisation results. • Online video conferences and web-based knowledge repository are highly effective tools for capturing, transferring, storing and integrating knowledge among local researchers and external experts from research partners abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An increasing number of higher education institutions have embraced Cloud Computing Services (CCS) to better respond to the issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Cloud computing has helped to ease the process and lower the cost of offering online education and hybrid learning. However, some universities in Thailand face cloud computing adoption challenges because students lack awareness of the benefits and risks of CCS. Therefore, it is vital to identify the critical factors affecting the initial and continuance adoption of CCS by students in less developed countries. This study adopts a trade-off lens to assess the impact of the perceived usefulness and perceived risks regarding students' attitudes toward the initial and continuing adoption of CCS. Using a survey of CCS from a large public university in Thailand, we found that performance expectation and effort expectation positively affect perceived usefulness, and that authentication risks positively affect perceived risks. We also found that perceived usefulness rather than perceived risks is a deciding factor in adopting CCS. Higher education institutions in Thailand can accelerate the adoption of CCS by improving students' perceived performance and reducing the perceived risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand, as a country with abundant forest resources and one of the major timber export country in South Asia region is worth the attention to further investigate on environmental and social performance in green furniture industry. Thailand's Bangkok capital as central city will be our research target in this study. The purpose of this research is to investigate current market situation of green furniture in terms of environmental and social performance, propose some green strategies which pushed by market factor and stakeholder pressure, and these green marketing strategies have impact on social and environmental performance. Using a confirmatory documentary qualitative analyses research method, this study reviewed some comprehensive literatures and found that green material, green product and Eco-design, green price, green service and green brand image have a significant impact on environmental and social performance. It was suggested that an innovative green strategy can be adopted to developed country, since consumers in these countries usually with high awareness on environmental protection and physical health, and relatively with strong purchasing power. For developing countries, Thailand, some consumers have high awareness on environmental and health and with high purchasing power, while others are price sensitive and willing to sacrifice the green attributes for lower price. Thus, a mix of innovative green and nongreen strategies were suggested to implement in the country. Social performance is an important influencing factor when making marketing decisions and it can create a good green brand image to differentiate the product as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect on firms' new product development (NPD) and significant product modification of knowledge interaction with local and non-local knowledge actors. Design/methodology/approach: This study draws insights from the literature on external knowledge sources. The negative binomial regression is used to analyse the data of 245 sample food-processing establishments in Thailand. Findings: Local knowledge actors play only limited roles in enhancing food-processing establishments' product innovations. Only knowledge interaction with local universities and public research organisations helps enhance establishments' ability to modify their products. For the NPD, significant sources of knowledge are non-local industrial actors. Originality/value: This study adds new empirical evidence on knowledge sources for innovation of low-tech firms in less developed countries. It contributes new findings to an on-going debate on the importance of local vs non-local knowledge sources on firms' innovativeness. It also contributes some implications for the Thai Government's cluster-based innovation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 wide ranging goals that articulates the desired outcome of sustainable development. The private sector is a key factor in achieving these goals through actions of corporate sustainability. However, there is a paucity of research regarding the application of Sustainable Development Goals at the firm level and it remains unclear how the private sector can operationalise and achieve the goals through corporate sustainability. While every Sustainable Development Goal is deemed of equal importance, it is up to individual firms to interpret and prioritise their implementation. Using a case study approach, this paper identified the specific goals considered by Japanese manufacturing multinational enterprises as a priority when establishing or significantly expanding operations in developing countries. The methodology employed allowed the retrospective analysis of corporate sustainability data through a Sustainable Development Goal lens. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 58 respondents from 16 sample firms operating in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The results show the multinational enterprises in the sample focus on a particular set of Sustainable Development Goals when establishing, or significantly expanding, subsidiary operations in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The findings show policy makers in the host countries should ensure Sustainable Development Goals such as education and strong institutions are in place to attract multinational enterprises to their shores. Other stakeholders such as non-governmental organisations and the community were also seen to influence the prioritisation of certain goals considered by firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functional data model has recently received increasing attention particularly in their application to mortality forecasting. The advantage of this method over the well-known Lee-Carter model is the ability to treat the underlying process as functional, and provide estimations that are robust to outliers. This research investigates the accuracy of functional data approach in estimating the mortality rates and life expectancy at births in developing countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. The functional data method was applied to these countries' mortality data, and the out-sample forecast errors showed that, in terms of overall, the functional data model was more accurate than that of the original Lee-Carter model for males and females. The results provide evidence that the functional model is accurate to forecast the life expectancy at births for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a methodology of researching markets for existing goods in the less populated areas of emerging countries. The article relates the implications of this kind of research--gaining the best position for facilities, franchises, and gaining leverage against incoming competition. The article discusses the Macrosurvey or measure of community growth by number, size, and diversity of institutions, discusses the development of a Macrosurvey, and presents an example of a Macrosurvey that was conducted in Thailand in the late 1960s. The article presents several illustrations of the methodology in practice, illustrated through scales of institutional development. An analysis of the scales is presented, as is a discussion of the use of the Macrosurvey to assess market potential.

The Thai bureaucracy, viewed as a subsystem of Thailand's self-contained political system, variously manifests cultural uniqueness. Insulated from external pressures as a result of the absorption of major societal interests within the government, the bureaucracy's orientation and preoccupations are conspicuously introverted. Political influence, personalities, and prerogative provide the immediate frames of reference of administrative officialdom. Career strategies, working doctrines, and standards of conduct in the civil service are flexibly calibrated to the particularistic norms of ranking superiors. Authority relationships, structured mainly by impermanent personal clique groupings, are tenuous and unstable. But efforts to institutionalize formal sanctions and channels of accountability founder on a cultural predilection for informal and covert control devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is part of a round table discussion on publishing and sharing of research data that comments on a paper published elsewhere in the issue by Elizabeth Pisani and Carla AbouZahr. Authors representing health agencies in Thailand articulate barriers to sharing research data from the perspective of a developing country.

The ownership choice between full and shared ownership in MNEs' foreign affiliates is complex, especially when they confront various institutional conditions. Drawing on the theory of incomplete contracts, we hypothesize and empirically show that the influence of host country institutions on ownership choice arises differentially between market-seeking and resource-seeking affiliates. In particular, we use the relative importance of an MNE's versus a local partner's non-contractible investments derived from the theory of incomplete contracts as a primary ownership determinant in explaining these differential effects. Using data from 547 MNE affiliates in Malaysia and Thailand, we demonstrate that MNEs are more likely to choose shared ownership, as compared to full ownership, in both market-seeking and resource-seeking affiliates due to the amplified impact of local idiosyncrasies across all value chain activities. However, we find that in a relatively more institutionally developed environment (i.e., with stronger market governance), this tendency for an MNE to choose shared ownership is reduced in resource-seeking affiliates, whereas the tendency is further strengthened in market-seeking affiliates, consistent with our hypotheses based on the focal theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the shifting terrain of politics in Thailand since 1992. To do so, it re-evaluates the democratization literature that sought to understand the relationship between Thai civil society and democratic consolidation and explores the disagreements within activist networks that have emerged in recent years. These simultaneous analyses reveal that (1) the civil society literature was itself political, and (2) that such a characterization obscured the growing schisms within the activist networks thought to comprise civil society around questions of democracy. To demonstrate this argument, I describe the overlapping terrain of government Thaksin created and its effects on coalitions of urban activists. These shifting frameworks of government reduced the power of many previous activist networks by redirecting money through new state agencies like the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI). They also exposed the kinds of power relations central to the longstanding project of governing the poor that many citizens had to engage with in order to gain state benefits. Although many citizens continue to participate in these projects, they have begun to express their demands for autonomous political voice elsewhere. What is at stake in these disagreements and Thailand's larger political quandary is not the boundaries of civil society, but rather a contest over who is a proper political subject and what constitutes proper politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative study of Thailand and Japan investigated how electronic commerce (EC) in developing countries can be used to attract customers from developed countries. Thai and Japanese participants were shown language-appropriate versions of a hotel booking website in Thailand. Perceptions of and trust in the website were assessed, as was the willingness to book a room in the hotel using the website. The Thai participants tended to evaluate the quality of the website more highly and to trust it more than did the Japanese participants. Furthermore, the Thai participants tended to think that the hotel was more responsible for their hotel reservations than was the EC service, and that the content of the website was developed by the hotel rather than by the EC service. Thai participants were more likely to express willingness to reserve a room if they thought that the hotel had developed the website content, whereas the Japanese participants' willingness to book a room were greater when they thought that the EC service had developed the content. Based on these results, customization strategies for EC in developing countries to attract customers from developed countries are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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