Research article

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The Potential of Thai Merchant Fleet in Ballast Water Management Ake-Burus Changyai and Krisana Visamittanan Pages 1 - 30    Download PDF  Article preview Cite Abstract Up to the present, there have been a number of studies relating to the international convention for a control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments 2004 and those have been analyzed and discussed in various aspects and different points of view. Many studies available were done in the western countries and mentioned specifically in terms of their social, economical, environmental, and political issues, which were considered not relevant to Thai’s; for example, a study of ballast water treatment standard and law enforcement in the US and the supporting role of financial institute in the EU. This survey research was thus conducted in order to obtain the data needed for compliance with the international convention for a control and management of ships’ ballast water and sediments 2004 (BWM convention) and to develop a practical guidance for Thai merchant fleet. Questionnaires were distributed to subjects who were working in 8 Thai shipping companies, which were divided in half and grouped as local companies and the worldwide ones, and also in-depth interviewing was done to the experts. Information from 55 responding individuals and the interviewees was evidenced the level of readiness and preparation and brought to analyze in 4 areas as follows: personnel, budget, fleet and managerial strategies. Focusing on human resources, it was found that the understanding of ballast water management of Thai personnel is excellent. By considering a financial acquisition, some worldwide companies has prepared for their budgets. Regarding the existing status of Thai fleet, it is found that most of Thai merchant ships are not only ready for the administrative works but also meet the ballast water exchange standard D1. However, it still fail for a ballast performance standard D2 requiring onboard treatment facilities, which today are unfound in any types of vehicle. In managerial strategies, the findings have shown that local companies have no attentions and preparations for the BWM convention whereas the worldwide ones are highly alert and well prepared. A staff training and ship data recording approach have been done in all companies with the international ship routes and a budget acquisition is now achieved in some of those companies. From the findings, a practical guidance was well developed. By considering its significance and simplicity a criterion, the guidance was subsequently brought to the experts for the purpose of ranking the state of urgency.
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A Study of Factors Influencing Tendency of Outward Foreign Direct Investment of Thai Garment Industry Aliza Panoinont and Somchanok Passakonjaras Pages 31 - 54    Download PDF  Article preview Cite Abstract The purpose of this research is to study factors which influence tendency of outward foreign direct investment of the Thai garment industry, by focusing on factors which are related to ownership advantages of the firm. The research framework was developed by a series of depth interview to executives in the industry. The data was collected by questionnaires, which were sent to executives in the garment industry, and by compiling financial performance of the firms. The hypotheses of this research were tested by using Logistic Regression. The results are 67% of garment companies plan to invest aboard. Vietnam and Cambodia are the most preferred countries firms intend to invest. It can be concluded that managerial capabilities and market accessibility are the most important factors that influence tendency of outward foreign direct investment.
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Effects of Scale Display Formats, The Number of Variables per Display and Use of Markers on Visualizing Line Graphs Chatpong Tangmanee and Prapapak Jiradnunyakul** Pages 55 - 69    Download PDF  Article preview Cite Abstract One of the well-accepted data analysis tools in various fields, a line graph is often adopted to portray a relationship between variables. However, research in the Thai context examining effects of scale display formats (i.e., conventional or unconventional), the number of lines per display (i.e., one, three or six) and the use of marker (i.e., use or no use) on line graph visualization is rare. The current study intends to fill this gap. A lab experiment in which 360 Thai undergraduates in one university’s business school in Thailand were recruited to visualize 12 conditions of comparable line graphs (2 scale formats x 3 numbers of lines per display x 2 conditions of marker use) confirms that (1) the effects of scale display formats and the numbers of lines per display on visualization are statistically significant and (2) neither the effect of marker use nor the interaction effects of these three factors on the visualization is significant. In addition to extending insight into issues of information visualization in the particular context of Thai line graph readers, graph developers could apply the study’s findings to enhance readers’ graph visualization.
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Raw Material Yield Improvement with Employee Involvement and Simple Productivity Tools Assadej Vanichchinchai Pages 70 - 85    Download PDF  Article preview Cite Abstract The objective of this action research is to study the impact of employee involvement and use of basic productivity tools on raw material yield improvement in canned tuna production through small group activity and use of basic productivity tools such as 7 quality control tools. It can reduce gap between actual yield and standard yield from -3.01% to -1.64% with continuously improving trend. Besides, the employees have better skills and involvement in improvement activity. The company has more efficient operational standards which will be important foundations for self continuous and sustainable development.
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E-Tourism Quality for developing Thai E-Tourism Siriluck Rotchanakitumnuai Pages 86 - 99    Download PDF  Article preview Cite Abstract This study aims to identify the components of the E-Tourism Quality from Thai and International tourists. The result from all the tourists determines two dimensions of E-tourism Quality. The first dimension is E-Tourism Service Quality which consists of four factors: Website Design Quality, E-Service Design Quality, Technology Quality and Customer Service Quality. The second dimension is E-Tourism Marketing Management Quality.