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The fiber of paper mulberry, which is mostly grown in the East Asian region, varies in both length and width—even if from the same species—depending on the country, soil, and climate where it is grown. This accounts for differences in the quality of handmade paper between domestic and imported products. Once handmade paper is manufactured as sheets, its origin cannot be determined from a morphological perspective, regardless of macroscopic and microscopic observations. Therefore, this study attempted to determine the origin of Korean and imported products using mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper from a chemometrics perspective. The inorganic components of wood are absorbed from the soil and exist in the bark of trees; thus, metal and rare-earth elements in the bast fibers and handmade papers were quantitatively analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy/mass spectrometry (ICP-AES/MS). Following this, a prediction model of their origin was constructed by applying multivariate statistical analysis, i.e., a partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) loading plot was constructed, which helped in identifying the discrimination factors resulting from their origin. According to the ICP-AES results, Pb was only detected in the Gyeongbuk Mungyeong dak sample of the Korean bast fibers. The Chinese bast fiber sample had high contents of Ca, and B and Zn were detected only in the Chinese bast fiber samples. Bast fiber samples from China, Japan, and Thailand showed relatively high contents of Al, Ca, and Na. Meanwhile, Cu and Zn were detected in the handmade paper manufactured from the imported materials. According to the ICP-MS results, among the Korean handmade papers, the products from Gyeongbuk Mungyeong, Andong, and Chungbuk Goesan exhibited a high U content and that from Gapyeong had high Sc, Rb, Sr, and Ba contents. Thus, the elemental analysis employed in this study effectively identified the origin of the papers. The origin prediction by PLS-DA for the domestic and imported products revealed an accuracy of 86.4% and 72.7% for ICP-AES and ICP-MS methods, respectively, which is deemed acceptable to assess the origin. We believe this method significantly contributes to determining the origin of paper mulberry bast fiber and handmade paper manufactured in East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent pandemic events in Thailand, Covid-19 in 2018, demonstrated the need for an event-based smart monitoring system. While a distributed multi-level architecture has emerged as an architecture of choice for a larger-scale smart event-based system that requires better latency, security, scalability, and reliability, a recently introduced data mesh paradigm can add a few additional benefits. The paradigm enables each district to become an event-based smart monitoring mesh and handle its analytics and monitoring workload. Districts can form a set of domains in a network of event-based smart community monitoring systems and provide data products for others during a crisis. This paper presents a distributed data mesh paradigm for an event-based smart monitoring product in a given community with predefined domains. The paper presents smart monitoring as a data product between domains. Key considerations for designing an event-based smart monitoring data product are given. The author introduces three possible domains necessary for creating a smart monitoring system in each community. Each domain creates a data product for a given domain and shares data between domains. Finally, a three-layer analytics architecture for a smart monitoring product in each domain and a use case is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the ABO and Rhesus (Rh) blood groups play crucial roles in blood transfusion medicine. Herein, we report a simple and low-cost paper-based analytical device (PAD) for phenotyping red blood cell (RBC) antigens. Using this Rh typing format, 5 Rh antigens on RBCs can be simultaneously detected and macroscopically visualized within 12 min. The proposed Rh phenotyping relies on the presence or absence of hemagglutination in the sample zones after immobilizing the antibodies targeting each Rh antigen. The PAD was optimized in terms of filter paper type, antibodies, and distance of the visualization zone. In this study, the optimal conditions were Whatman filter paper Grade 4; anti-D, –C, -E, -c, and -e antibodies; RBC suspension of 30%; and a visualization zone of 1 cm above the sample zone. The accuracy of simultaneously phenotyping the five Rh RBC antigens in the blood samples (n = 4692) was 99.19%, comparable with the accuracy of the gold-standard tube method used by blood bank laboratories in several regions of Thailand. Furthermore, decision making based on this method can be assisted by deep learning. After implementing a two-stage objective detection algorithm (YOLO v4-tiny) and classification model (DenseNet-201), the ambiguous images (n = 48) were interpreted with 100% accuracy. The PAD integrated with customized-region convolutional neural networks can reduce the interpretation discrepancies in RBC antigen phenotyping in any laboratory. [Display omitted] • Five Rh antigens typing PADs combined with deep learning algorithm for an assisted human-decision. • Rh antigens typing PADs were tested with real blood samples and compared with the standard tube method. • Dataset of photographs following Rh PADs testing were trained and evaluated by the in-house deep learning platform CiRA CORE. • Misinterpretation caused by weak or ambiguous reactions was solved by the CiRA CORE platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Borodin–Kostochka conjecture says that for a graph G , if Δ (G) ≥ 9 , then χ (G) ≤ max { Δ (G) − 1 , ω (G) }. Cranston and Rabern in [SIAM J. Discrete. Math. 27 (2013) 534–549] proved the conjecture holding for K 1 , 3 -free graphs. In this paper, we prove that the conjecture holds for K 1 , 3 ¯ -free graphs, where K 1 , 3 ¯ denotes the complement of K 1 , 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose two bilevel models to cope with problems concerning waste management. The first formulation stems from a multi-objective version of the problem present in the literature, while the second one improves upon the first by taking into account a theoretical result associated with the first formulation. For both models, we provide the optimistic and the pessimistic versions. We validate these formulations in a case study in the Pathum Thani province in Thailand. Moreover, we compare the results obtained by the bilevel formulation to those obtained by a multi-objective version of the problem. Finally, we provide our thoughts on future applications in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a statistical model for computing global spectral solar irradiance under all-sky conditions at four stations situated in main regions of Thailand. The model expresses the global spectral irradiance under all-sky conditions as a multiplication of two functions, namely, a function of global spectral irradiance under clear-sky conditions and a cloud modification function. To develop the model, global spectral solar irradiance was measured at four stations in the main regions of Thailand, namely Chiang Mai (18.77˚ N, 98.97˚ E) in the northern region of Thailand, Ubon Ratchathani (15.25˚ N, 104.87˚ E) in the north-eastern region of the country, Nakhon Pathom (13.82˚ N, 100.04˚ E) in the central region of this country, and Songkhla (7.18˚ N, 100.60˚ E) in the southern region of Thailand. The spectral data from these stations were gathered and divided into two groups. The first group (January 2017 to December 2020) was used for modeling and the second group (January 2021 to December 2021) for validating the model. The first function was developed using the first group of data. Clear-sky conditions were detected using sky images obtained from a sky camera installed at each station. To develop the second function, a satellite-derived cloud index derived from Himawari-8 data at the stations was utilized. To validate the model of the global spectral solar irradiance under all-sky conditions, the model was employed to compute the global solar irradiance at the four stations for the year 2021, and the findings were compared to the global solar irradiance determined from the measurements taken at the four stations. It was discovered that the spectral irradiance calculated from the model and that acquired from the measurements was in good agreement. There was a discrepancy in the form of root mean square difference relative to the mean measured value (RMSD) of 9.48%. We concluded that the model performed well in computing the global spectral solar irradiance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand is a worldwide hub for the value addition of gemstones. Women in Thailand enjoy a high level of education, their employment level is on par with other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and they play a significant role in the gem and jewellery industry. Thai institutions support the industry, but their gender-neutral stance does not celebrate, or capitalise on, the contribution of female actors. Patriarchy and 'invisible masculinity' underlie entrepreneurship across the country. A few privileged women have experienced a degree of empowerment and fair conditions at work. But some parts of the industry, for example, home-based work, are informal and women in the home-based gemstone-cutting industry in the border regions, hit particularly hard by COVID-19, have experienced little progress. The literature has not paid much attention to the Thai gem resource sector or to the contribution of women. This paper considers the gem and jewellery industry's contribution to the lives of women in Thailand referencing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—gender equality and empowerment (SDG 5), decent work and economic work (SDG 8), and reduced inequalities (SDG 10). The paper is based on seven years of research into the opportunities and challenges for women in the gemstone value chain spanning Madagascar and Thailand. The paper questions the extent to which the industry has enabled and empowered women in Thailand, and whether it perpetuates some of the patterns of economic inequality reflected in, and caused by, the urban–rural divide. • Critical analysis of gem and jewellery industry in Thailand contributes to achievement of SDGs for women. • Insights into Thailand's successful gemstone beneficiation hub. • Understanding of gender and inequality in the Thai context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassroots Innovations (GRIs) mostly represent incremental changes that are supported by local values and culture. In this respect, government efforts to promote and strengthen GRIs movements should take into consideration customised and targeted policy instruments that are different from the traditional innovation and development agendas. Based on this principle – and in the context of three Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines – this paper attempts to investigate the current public policy contexts and common instrumental mechanisms for public interventions supporting GRIs. The governing context alluding to policy support is elaborated to provide a taxonomy of GRIs policy measures germane to political-governance windows. The findings show that Malaysia has explicit policy support for GRIs, whereas innovators in Thailand and the Philippines indirectly benefit from broader inclusive development and innovation policies. There are three scenarios of instrumental mechanisms supporting GRIs – these show the differences in approaches adopted by national governments in terms of their perception of GRIs, modes of intervention and outcome expectations. This paper also highlights several policy concerns useful for future endeavours regarding public interventions on GRIs and rural development. • Enrich GRIs literature with evidence- and rural context-based insights useful for policymakers. • Governance and institutional arrangements for GRIs. • An elaborative mechanism supporting those who are stateless, informal or illegal migrants. • Criticisms in justifying intervention and salient concerns for policy supporting GRIs. • A taxonomy to GRIs policy measures germane to political-governing windows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airborne transmissibility of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has highlighted the urgent need for aerosol monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19. The inadequate sensitivity of conventional methods and the lack of an on-site detection system limited the practical SARS-CoV-2 monitoring of aerosols in public spaces. We have developed a novel SARS-CoV-2-in-aerosol monitoring system (SIAMs) which consists of multiple portable cyclone samplers for collecting aerosols from several venues and a sensitive "sample-to-answer" microsystem employing an integrated cartridge for the analysis of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols (iCASA) near the sampling site. By seamlessly combining viral RNA extraction based on a chitosan-modified quartz filter and " in situ " tetra-primer recombinase polymerase amplification (tpRPA) into an integrated microfluidic cartridge, iCASA can provide an ultra-high sensitivity of 20 copies/mL, which is nearly one order of magnitude greater than that of the commercial kit, and a short turnaround time of 25 min. By testing various clinical samples of nasopharyngeal swabs, saliva, and exhaled breath condensates obtained from 23 COVID-19 patients, we demonstrate that the positive rate of our system was 3.3 times higher than those of the conventional method. Combining with multiple portable cyclone samplers, we detected 52.2% (12/23) of the aerosol samples, six times higher than that of the commercial kit, collected from the isolation wards of COVID-19 patients, demonstrating the excellent performance of our system for SARS-CoV-2-in-aerosol monitoring. We envision the broad application of our microsystem in aerosol monitoring for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the case of Thailand, this paper provides a fresh critical perspective on the purpose and practice of land use planning in the Global South. Thailand is going through a period of rapid urbanisation. Significantly such urban change is occurring most intensely in locations in which land use plans are several years out of date. From urban planning theory, the strategic zoning of land for different uses is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of urban governance. Yet how such planning takes place, and the economic and political role and value that land itself plays is often overlooked. Through analyses of institutional structures and functions and key land use policy documents, supported with case studies of land contestation, the paper argues that the practice of land use planning opens grey space for negotiation and speculation and thereby accumulation of political power. In practice, the complicated process of planning and approval creates a vacuum period through which implementation is shaped by discretionary powers. The use of discretionary power is increasingly routinised, creating new arenas of negotiation and power. However, such formalised discretionary systems in planning and decision-making reaffirm the symbolic authority of planning agencies who produce plans that are not implemented, or necessarily intended to be implemented. • Rather than plans to be implemented, land use plans in Thailand are a point of reference for negotiation and contestation. • The formalisation of discretionary powers creates new arenas of negotiation dominated by state-private sector alliances. • Planning decisions are influenced by the power of alliances and their arguments rather than the quality of evidence. • Land as sites for capital accumulation has a political role in land use decisions, overlooked in urban planning theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delay in payment is considered to be one of the most periodically arisen problems in the construction industry. It harms time, cost, and quality. This paper presented a result of a survey which investigated causes of delay in payment of road and highway construction projects in Thailand. Parties involved in construction-borne failure identified the causes of delay in payment and their severity through a questionnaire survey. The delay in payment causes were categorized into 4 main groups (owner, contractor, consultant and architect) which was based on parties-borne failure. The questionnaire listed of 41 factors and sought to identify the significance of major delay in payment factors and determine their impact on road and highway construction projects. The total of 120 responders was asked to weight the degree on seriousness via a questionnaire survey. The survey concluded that top five severity indexes in causing a delay in payment were delays in progress payment, the financial status of owners, poor qualification of the contractors' technical staff, delays in issue approval documents and failure in applying for claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first empirical study on adverse selection and moral hazard in the corporate disaster insurance market. By constructing and examining a unique plant-level panel dataset on the 2011 Thailand floods, we overcome the general lack of data that has previously prevented a systematic study on the issue. By exploiting unexpected, large losses caused by a severe disaster, we find evidence of adverse selection for both property and business interruption insurance. Moral hazard, measured by impacts on recovery efforts, is also found for both types of insurance, albeit more salient effects for business interruption insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An established body of research now documents the ways that debt both motivates and shapes migration processes. Yet little scholarship examines the debts migrants incur after arriving in their destinations. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Cambodians living and working in Thailand, this paper explores debts imposed upon and taken by migrants after they have arrived in their destination. In Thailand, migrants take on debts in an attempt to obtain documents, to move into better paying jobs, and to start entrepreneurial projects. Often, these loans are translocal; taken by proxy borrowers in Cambodia, and sent across the border in what might be described as a 'reverse remittance' financed by debt. By exploring these debts and their consequences, this work elaborates the spatial nature of debt and draws attention to its capacity to engender spatially diffuse vulnerabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Attention mechanisms have been shown to play a crucial role in enhancing visual perception tasks. However, in most existing approaches, channel and spatial attention maps are estimated separately without considering the varying importance of each other. This results in a coarse attention weight for objects of interest from a holistic 3-D perspective. To address this issue, we propose a novel Parameter-free Spatial Intersection Attention Module (SIAM), which estimates 3D attention maps with spatial intersection using a parameter-free way. Specifically, SIAM first generates two independent mean queries from two spatial axes and views input as keys. Then, by computing a dot product between these mean queries and keys, SIAM generates two cross-dimension (channel and spatial) attention maps from two spatial directions and combines them into 3-D attention maps. By doing so, the produced attention maps reason important areas with spatial intersection, which can capture location-aware information to facilitate difficult objects' location in the images. We evaluate our method in image classification, object detection, and object segmentation tasks. Extensive experimental results consistently demonstrate our approach is superior to its counterparts. • The paper introduces a novel, plug-and-play 3-D attention module without requiring parameters. • A parameter-free method simultaneously associates both spatial and channel information. • Combination of horizontal and vertical queries to form the attention map, which is simple and easy to implement. • The straightforward use of matrix products and average pooling operations makes inference speeds faster than prior methods. • Excellent performance improvements over other attention methods while obtaining higher FPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As countries implement renewable energy policies, it's important to understand the impacts of policies on sustainability. Population, economic and production changes affects in land use, water consumption and emissions along with trade-offs for limited resources to achieve food and energy security. Thailand faces increasing electricity imports and agricultural production, causing residue burning, a resource utilized for electricity generation. Thailand implemented a renewable energy policy and another to curb sugarcane residue burning addressing above challenges. The paper uses an extended input-output model in Thailand and the Northeast to understand impacts of these policies on output, labor income, employment, land and water use, etc. The study concludes these policies lead to supplementary increase in income, employment and value added contributing towards achieving SDGs through energy security, climate action, decent work and economic growth. At a national level, renewable energy policy is unable to capture a large potential of biomass electricity, while the no burn policy is better able to achieve sustainability through total output, income, employment, and water use. The renewable energy policy in Northeast Thailand is better able to capture the electricity potential. The Northeast also sees land use shifts from rice to cane, which could cause food security challenges. • Thailand faces growing challenges with energy security and crop residue burning. • To address the challenges, they implemented RE policies and crop burning policies. • The study uses extended input-output models in Thailand and Northeast Thailand. • We see positive effects of the policies on the economy, society and environment. • The policies fall short in capturing the full potential of biomass electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National logistics cost can be used as a key indicator to reflect a country's overall logistics performance and monitor their respective logistics policies. However, not all countries have developed this indicator, and some have used differing methodologies. This paper provides an approach for calculating national logistics cost per gross domestic product (NLC/GDP) in the context of Thailand and demonstrates its veracity and validity using an action research methodology with key stakeholders. The approach utilizes easily obtainable macro level data combined with survey data. The calculation method has progressively improved in its accuracy and efficacy to reflect Thailand's logistic context. The proposed approach contributes to the national logistics cost debate and can inform academics, managers, and policy makers not just in Thailand but, in other countries when developing their own NLC/GDP to evaluate their respective logistics development activities. • Explains methodology to calculate national logistics cost based on national accounts tables and survey. • Improves accuracy of national logistics costs calculation. • Validates calculation assumptions with empirical survey of 6000 firms. • Confirms individual cost components from previous research. • National logistics cost can be used for Thai government's logistics policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a third of all global deaths from stroke, lung cancer and respiratory diseases can be linked to air pollution. In some cities, breathing polluted air is as dangerous as smoking 25 cigarettes a day. This is a literature review that focusses on the problem of the annual haze in Northern Thailand, in order to ascertain workable policies to help alleviate this annual smog or haze. The review was conducted from over 1000 peer reviewed papers from both Scopus and the ISI databases with preference given to papers published within the past 5 years. This paper is divided into five sections. The first section deals with the cause of the haze, the technologies and models that are being developed and used to monitor and predict pollution and the meteorological conditions specific to the North of Thailand. The second section concerns the effect from air pollution on the health of the general public both from Thailand and other countries. The third section looks at policies from around the world that have been used to successfully reduce haze and smog. These include conservation agriculture, low emission zones and education methods. The fourth section suggests policies that should be implemented in the North of Thailand to help alleviate this annual problem. The overall conclusion is that the annual pollution is a complex multi-faceted problem requiring coherent policies across multiple departments, provinces and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an empirical study of a Thai public university delivering its academic services to help regional SMEs in Thailand to move towards innovative entrepreneurship. This challenge of Thai SMEs is concerned with the current national development model known as Thailand 4.0. This development model is constructed following the industry 4.0 concept. The model has increased concerns among small firms required to enhance their creativity and innovation to create value-added businesses. This paper looks into the influence of the Thailand 4.0 concept on the development of regional small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It presents an empirical study of regional SMEs in the North-east region of Thailand trying to move towards innovative SME. The study employed mixed research methods. First, it employed strategic entrepreneurship concept to form a theoretical framework and research hypotheses. At this step, there was theoretical testing involving firm competitiveness, superior organizational innovation, and outstanding business creativity and their relationship with business performance. The researchers analyzed the quantitative data using statistic techniques, including VIFs, correlation analysis, and OLS regression analysis. At this step, the study was able to identify two essential components for SMEs performance and innovation, namely integrative new idea generation and market-leadership orientation. Given the initial results, the study then investigated the roles of universities in the promotion of regional SMEs performance and innovation. It focused on their contributions to integrative new idea generation and market-leadership orientation in the regional SMEs in particular. At this step, the research employed a qualitative case study using in-depth interviews for the data collection. As a result, this paper delivers study results on how a university provides academic services that help to enhance the integrative new idea generation and market-leadership orientation of regional SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand 4.0 is the economic development model recently adopted by the government of Thailand. The model is based on the notion of industry 4.0 focusing on adding values to economic products and commodities using creativity and new innovation. Considering the Thailand 4.0 concept, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand are facing a new challenge on exploiting changes and opportunities determining their business and survival. This paper studies characteristics of business entrepreneurship of these SMEs involving with the combination of taking risk and adopting new innovation. It theoretically employs the concept of strategic entrepreneurship awareness discussed in previous studies and literature on its essence in helping firms promote their entrepreneurial capability and business innovation. However, the substantial understanding and evidences of this strategic concept empirically employed in the Thailand context are still limited. This paper therefore fills in the gap by employing the concept for investigating strategic entrepreneurship awareness in Thai SMEs. Using quantitative research instruments, a conceptual model was developed to form research hypotheses involving elements of strategic entrepreneurship awareness. Given the model, there was a theoretical testing of firms' competitiveness, superior organizational innovation and outstanding business creativity and their relationships with the business performance. The population of this research is 3 million Thai SMEs. Mail-questionnaires were distributed to 1,805 registered Thai SMEs requesting a response from their managing director or managing partner. With 21.44% response rate, 387 completed questionnaires were used in the analysis using statistic techniques including VIFs, correlation analysis, and OLS regression analysis. The data analysis eventually delivered the examinations of the postulated hypotheses. By presenting the findings, this paper provides a new insight into the ways in which Thai SMEs are able to enhance their entrepreneurial orientation, perspectives and characteristics in order to achieve the higher-level performance, greater financial return and newer business innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparative study of regional engagement performed by Thai and UK universities, concerning the notion of industry 4.0 which aims at adding value to the economy using enhanced creativity and innovation. The research underlining this paper looks into the roles of regional universities engaging with their regions to deliver knowledge exchange programs to make impacts on regional development. The notion of knowledge-based entrepreneurship underpins its investigation. The investigation is concerning the essence of new knowledge recognized as the key elements of creativity and innovation, which are acknowledged to be a principal means by which regions foster economic growth and competitiveness. For small firms, such as community enterprises and local SMEs, new knowledge can be obtained when the firm actively taps into knowledge sources, such as universities and entrepreneurial networks. Firms able to employ this strategy are known as knowledge-based entrepreneurs. This study will present how the knowledge-based entrepreneurship in these regional enterprises is promoted through engagement with the universities in their regions. Comparisons and discussions given the different contexts of the developing system of Thailand and the developed system of the UK will also be provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Evidence suggests that manufacturing companies have tried to address the current environmental challenges derived from their operations by implementing various operational environmental sustainability approaches, including green manufacturing (GM), cleaner production (CP), green lean (GL), green supply chain management (GSCM), reverse logistics (RLs) and circular economy (CE). However, although their adoption is well documented in developed nations and few other countries, very little has been done to understand such phenomenon in a rapid developing country such as Thailand. This paper aims at filling this gap by providing light into some fundamental issues regarding the implementation of these approaches in the manufacturing sector of Thailand. A survey-based exploratory research was carried out based on 287 Thai manufacturing companies. The data was analysed using a combination of descriptive and inferential statics. The study revealed that a large amount of investment capacity, and proper training & knowledge are needed to fully implement the studied operational approaches. This resulted in some of the weakest elements of Thai manufacturing firms and hence the main barriers to their implementation. The study also showed that Thai manufacturing firms consider the impact on the environment and benefits from adopting these operational approaches as company's policy and own initiative, environmental awareness, and cost saving from conservation of energy as the main reasons for adopting the studied operational approaches. Finally, the findings also indicate that Thai manufacturing firms tend to implement them because of internal factors and that they lack of motivation from external factors and involvement from other stakeholders. The paper extends the current limited knowledge on the deployment of operational environmental sustainability approaches in Asia, and its results can be beneficial for organisations that aim at effectively adopting them to improve their operation's sustainability. Highlights • Evidence of the implementation of sustainability approaches in Thailand is limited. • Paper provides light into fundamental issues regarding their adoption. • 287 Thai manufacturing companies participated in this survey-based exploratory study. • Study reveals degree of implementation, main drivers and barriers of the studied approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Renewable energy technology is being adopted into energy plans worldwide to reduce the mounting CO 2 emissions of traditional energy sources. Currently in Thailand, there are approximately 15 million solar panels (2600 MW) which will need to be disposed of in the coming years. The average lifespan of a crystalline silicon panel is between 20 and 30 years, and responsible treatment of these end-of-life panels is necessary to minimize environmental burdens. Thailand's current plan is to landfill these panels. This study hopes to shed light on the environmental and economic paybacks that could materialize from recycling solar panels. It has been hypothesized that recycling solar panels could result in less environmental burdens than landfilling, but at an added monetary cost. Using LCA methodology and the EcoInvent database, this paper compares the environmental impacts of landfilling end-of-life crystalline silicon panels with those of two different recycling methods. By recycling silicon-based solar panels, valuable metals within the panels can be recovered instead of lost to the landfill. Recycling PV panels is less environmentally burdensome than landfilling when credits are applied to the recycling methods for the avoided production of materials that are recovered from the panels. Using the discounted cash flow method, this paper also compares the three waste management plans financially, as costs will inevitably influence how PV waste is managed in Thailand in the years to come. Neither of the recycling facilities were found to be economically profitable, however the cost to recycle could be as little as $0.03 per kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper uses the lens of translocality to investigate the seasonal mobility system of Thai berry pickers in Sweden: the perspective highlights the local-to-local relations that constitute this transnational and fluid mobility system. In this paper, we add the aspect of social inequalities to translocal studies, while arguing that multi-sited and locally grounded recruitment processes are contributing to produce and reproduce the mobility system. In the migrant-receiving area, stereotyping processes are active in shaping the selection of workers based on ethnicity, whereas in the migrant-sending area local asymmetries are visible in the selectivity of workers on the basis of age, wealth, and gender. In this way, the aspect of social inequalities, locally embedded at both ends of the recruitment process, is highlighted as a dimension to consider in translocal mobility systems. This is achieved through the analysis of multi-sited fieldwork in Sweden and Thailand that consisted of observations and interviews with Thai workers and representatives of the Swedish berry business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a large-scale school readiness survey in Thailand, this paper presents empirical evidence of learning losses from school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic for kindergartners. Overall results indicate that school closure during the outbreak of COVID-19 causes significant learning losses in cognitive skills, especially in mathematics and working memory. The negative impact is heterogeneous across several dimensions, including child gender, special needs, wealth, private tutoring, caregiver education, and parental absence. This paper also estimates daily learning gains, of which significant results confirm that going to school has significantly benefited young children, especially in receptive language, mathematics, and working memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of policies related to the social protection of migrant fishers. It does so by examining Thailand's progress in promoting a legal framework for the social protection of fishers. The following three instruments are analysed: the Social Security Act 1990, the Workmen's Compensation Act 1994 revised 2018 and the Labour Protection in Fishing Work Act 2019, with a focus on death and the disappearance of migrant fishers at sea. The assessment of these instruments is based on meetings and interviews with Thai employers and Thai and Myanmarese fishing employees. The paper concludes by providing recommendations to enhance the protection of migrant fishers in the Thai fishing industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driving in the wrong direction is one of the main reasons that cause road accidents in Thailand. To efficiently detect wrong direction driving vehicles, we proposed a system that can track those moving vehicles from CCTVs using deep learning and image processing techniques. Our proposed system is composed of two main algorithms: Road Lane Boundary detection from CCTV algorithm (RLB-CCTV) and Majority-Based Correct Direction Detection algorithm (MBCDD). In this paper, we introduced the RLB-CCTV algorithm and the enhanced version of MBCDD algorithms for detecting road boundaries and wrong-direction driving vehicles. Based on our experiments, our system can identify the road lane boundary and track vehicles driving in the wrong direction on each lane with an accuracy of 96.61%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on rural field research in three provinces of Northeast Thailand, the paper seeks to understand the ways in which life course, generational, era-defining and developmental change intersect, and why rural smallholders and smallholdings continue to persist notwithstanding deep structural change. We outline the creative ways that households and their members have sought to address the scissor effects of declining land holdings, rising needs, reduced relative returns to agriculture, and often precarious non-farm work. We posit, drawing on this work from Thailand, that while Asia’s ‘truncated agrarian transition’ goes some way to explaining the current empirical fact of persistent smallholders, we raise doubts whether the rural development agenda of modernisation, marketisation and rural exit will have the traction that governments and some scholars anticipate. A focus on production obscures how rural livelihoods also embody acts of consumption, care, reproduction and redistribution. Our study finds that the current experience of occupational multiplicity where households’ livelihoods comprise farm and non-farm, commoditised and quasi-subsistence, in situ and ex situ , production and care, and reproduction and redistribution will likely also persist, if non-farm occupations remains classically precarious and social safety nets thinly woven. The paper contributes to debates over agrarian and rural livelihood transitions in Asia, and sheds explanatory light on why the farm-size transition has not taken hold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Crystal methamphetamine (ice) has become the substance of choice among young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in urban Thailand. Yet, there is scarce data on this phenomenon, partly due to the difficulty in accessing men who will disclose and openly discuss the social contexts, meanings and risks surrounding ice practice. We present an ethnography of ice parties, critically discussing the in-depth social meanings of ice; the sexual socialities and the secrecy surrounding its use; the transactions between older and younger men; and the role of the Internet and mobile technology.Methods: Forty repeated narrative interviews (life stories), ten focus group discussions, as well as systematic online and offline observations were conducted over a three-year period. Purposive sampling was used to recruit study participants in a variety of online and offline spaces and through working closely with local Thai community-based organizations serving MSM. To be eligible, participants had to be between 18 and 29 years, able to converse in Thai, had used ice, and had anal sex with another man in the past 6 months. We also strived for sample variability with respects to socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., age, educational attainment and living situation). Data analysis was conducted in Thai by two researchers using the constant comparative method based on grounded theory.Results: On surface, participants described ice parties as exclusive, in trend, luxurious, fun and pleasurable-a kind of modern camaraderie among beautiful men. In reality, however, this group phenomenon was a social hierarchy containing several important players with relational power to one another, to the ice itself and to the physical space where ice was being consumed. These players included ice suppliers, party hosts, party guests and "icetenders." The paper also discusses the sociality of secrecy that surrounds ice parties as well as the power relations between older relatively rich men who provide ice and the younger men who crave for the chemical, pointing to the risks associated with engagement at ice parties, including instances of rape, violence and unsafe sex. For some participants, ice use was part of their "everyday life," or even believed to be a "rites of passage." For others, it involved sexual silence in cases where they were forced to have (unprotected) sex with certain persons or engage in high-risk activities against their will.Conclusions: Ice parties, where high-risk practices were common, power and agency quickly became relational and negotiable. This paper illuminated the secret sociality of ice so that public health efforts will be better equipped with understanding and reaching out to young men who may be at heightened risk for HIV, STI, violence and other health concerns. Ice parties can, for example, be seen as opportunities for harm-reduction strategies whereby young men are not judged for the activities they engage, but are instead respected and approached in a contextualized, non-judgmental way. Finally, icetenders and party hosts may be individuals where public health practitioners can target and include in the development of novel harm-reduction programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand had summited its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in 2015 and ratified the Paris Agreement in September 2016. Its INDCs stated that by 2030 GHG emissions will be reduced by 20–25% when compared to the business- as -usual (BAU) scenario by using mainly domestic renewable energy resources and energy efficiency improvement. Therefore, this paper assesses the potential of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction by the use of renewable energy in Thailand's INDCs and the economic impacts from GHG emission reduction. This paper employed the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model/Computable General Equilibrium (AIM/CGE). Besides the BAU scenario, four mitigation scenarios are assessed at given GHG emission levels and renewable power generation targets. Results show that Thailand's INDC can be achieved under the current renewable energy target in Thailand's Power Development Plan 2015. As a result, macroeconomic loss will be small under the light GHG reduction target; however, it will be large under the stringent GHG emission reduction target. The GDP loss ranges from 0.2% in the case of a 20% reduction target to 3.1% in the case of a 40% reduction target in 2030. Thus, the availability of land for deploying the renewable energy technologies such as solar, wind and biomass needs to be assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To move towards sustainability, finding sustainable ways of using rice husk ash for a large rice producing country like Thailand is essential. This review seeks to find sustainability characteristics of the uses of rice husk ash from power plants. It also reviews how rice husk ash is produced from different power generation technologies. Characteristics of rice husk ash are affected by different factors such as sources, preparation methods and combustion technologies. Different forms of rice husk ash, amorphous and crystalline, suit different applications. Ash from moving grate technology is suggested for use as adsorbent while that from fluidized bed is suggested for use as filler in polymeric composites and in the synthesis of innovative ceramic compounds. The ash from suspension fired technology is suggested for use in the construction industry and zeolite production. In addition to technical viability, using rice husk ash to substitute conventional products helps gain both environmental and economic benefits. Despite claiming sustainable applications of rice husk ash, many research papers report only technical performances of the products. This paper draws out sustainability characteristics of different rice husk ash applications using the “triple bottom line” framework. Potential reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, cost saving and employment generation of rice husk ash use options have been investigated. Results from the review suggest that using the ash to replace charcoal is the most sustainable option when comparing with other alternatives such as Portland cement, commercial silica and lime. This option could help to reduce GHG up to 1005 kg CO 2eq /t product, to save cost up to 8000 THB/t product, as well as to help generate employment for about 5 person-years/M THB spent in the sector. However, to make the sustainability assessment more comprehensive, other sustainability indicators such as fossil fuel depletion, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, particulate matter formation, total net profit (TNP), total value added (TVA), and incomes of workers are also needed to be considered in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental water requirement is important for a river or a watershed to maintain the ecosystem functions and services. Thus, it needs to be an essential component in water demand calculations for maintaining water resources. This study proposes to explicitly account the environmental water as a part of water withdrawal in the withdrawal to availability ratio of the water stress index. A revised equation is formulated and calibrated using Thailand as an example. This incorporation allows flexibility in changing different amounts and setting different priorities of environmental water requirement based on a local context. The results obtained are satisfactory for explaining the actual stress situation incorporating environmental water requirement. The method and approach proposed in this paper can also be applied to other countries based on their priorities for water allocation to various water demand sectors. This paper is proposed as a step towards developing a sustainable tool for assessing the impact on freshwater resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agrarian industries in rural areas are increasingly relying on seasonal migrant workers, who arrive in transnationally organised settings. This paper focuses on the concept of transnational simultaneity in order to further analyse the dynamics that are sustaining low-wage, seasonal labour migration in transnational social fields. It is suggested that the concepts of seasonal livelihood diversification and biographical simultaneity contribute to explain this process, which is highlighted in relation to the empirical case of Thai wild berry pickers in Sweden. The ability of the workers to co-arrange life in the homeland with work overseas, together with a firmly institutionalised, transnational social network, lay the ground for the Thai-Swedish migration process. It is characterised by high circularity and frequency among the migrant workers, who oscillate on a seasonal basis between multi-sited work places, despite relatively low economic return. It is argued that simultaneity within the transnational social field, which is embedded in seasonal livelihood diversification and prospects of improved futures for their children, lowers the threshold for accepting exploitative work conditions, thus paving the way for precarious migrant work. • The concept of transnational simultaneity adds crucial explanatory value to seasonal agricultural labour migration through a range of spatio-temporal practices. • Rural livelihood diversification and a biographical understanding of migration enhance the understanding of simultaneity in seasonal agricultural labour migration. • The example of Thai wild berry picking in Sweden is characterised by high circularity and short periods of work, with workers co-arranging their lives in multi-sited space. • Simultaneous practices and images across space and time sustain labour migration despite low earnings and unfavourable working conditions, and enhances precarious work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand has experienced a rapid increase in utility-scale solar PV investment (>1 MWp), while the growth of investment in smaller-sized rooftop PV systems is far behind. Due to the continuous decline in PV module costs and the discontinued support in the form of feed-in tariffs, the market is gradually transitioning to installations for the purpose of self-consumption. The main barrier for market expansion is the high upfront costs of solar PV systems. Rather than buying the system, new business models are offering customers to buy the service from solar PV systems instead. The Solar PPA model is an emerging solar service business model in Thailand. This model eliminates the investment cost and operating risks for the customer. This paper takes on the view of a commercial-sized customer to compare the options between the Buying Model and the Solar PPA model. From the customer's viewpoint, the cost of electricity generation, or the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), under the Solar PPA model is more attractive. The results show an LCOE of 4.82 THB/kWh (0.14 USD/kWh) for the Solar PPA model, 9.56% less than buying the system at 5.28 THB/kWh (0.16 USD/kWh). The Solar PPA model also proves to be a more attractive option in most sensitivity cases. This paper discusses conditions under which the model is feasible and recommends that the design of future support schemes for solar PV self-consumption should enable the expansion of innovative business models, including the Solar PPA model and other third-party ownership models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June of 2014 Angelina Jolie, actress and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador, visited camps—home to 130,000 Burmese exiles—along the Thai-Burma border to draw international attention to one of the most protracted displacement situations in the world. Her fourth trip to the border since 2002, Jolie's day-long visit was widely commended in popular media. I draw on ethnographic research among Burmese exiles in northern Thailand to argue that the popular geopolitics of hope she engendered is constituted through contradictory impulses of, on one hand, her signification of global capital and the concurrent widespread geoeconomic hope around Burma's deepening integration into global capitalism, and on the other, the far-reaching geopolitics of fear that has materialized around the threat of repatriation resulting from rapid political-economic change in Burma. Thus, this paper builds on recent work in popular geopolitics and geographies of emotion and affect to offer a grounded illustration of the micro-macro linkages between popular culture and everyday geopolitical experience, as well as the often politically nuanced role of celebrities in humanitarian interventions. This paper contributes to ongoing conversations around the relationship between celebrity humanitarians from the global North and the political-economic implications of the affective enrollment of their intended benefactors from the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-tambon-one-product (OTOP) project in Thailand has been successful according to statistical data from the Interior Ministry's Department of Community Development. However, there is a concern that dispatchers in the supporting trucking industry carry out both tasks of truckload assignment and driver scheduling. It is necessary to investigate more efficient and reliable alternatives to handle the growing and fluctuating quantities of inbound and outbound goods in each service area. This paper focuses on determining alternative ways for enhancing the efficiency of the transportation management system based on multi-zone dispatching (MZD) with the objective of minimising total load imbalances. This problem is considered to be a special case of the MZD but it is complex when compared to the conventional MZD, especially since planning horizons are considered and modified as a dynamic MZD (dMZD). In this paper an intelligent water drop optimisation (IWD) was used to solve the problem. In order to improve the solution quality, the novel two-phase approximated algorithm (2-PAA) with two additional processes from the variable neighbourhood and dynamic programming algorithms, were proposed. Experimental results with preferable settings showed the 2-PAA was computationally effective and feasible to generate dispatching alternatives for both static and dynamic problems. Using a set of real data, the simulation suggested a 3-period dMZD configuration for driver scheduling with preferable levels of tour length and imbalance statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To promote their public image, a growing number of companies have adopted corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects that benefit various social interests. As such, it is imperative to audit the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of CSR projects for their sustainable development. This paper presents an assessment of three CSR projects undertaken by the energy industry (renewable energy) and commercial sector (plastic waste recycling) in Thailand to transition towards the circular economy (CE) business model. A set of CE indicators were selected from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development: WBCSD 2018 European Commission 2018, and British Standard Institution 2017 and compared with the sustainability indicators listed in the ISO 26000:2010 (referenced in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): G4 Guidelines). These indicators were established to assess the readiness of companies to implement sustainable CSR projects. The assessment results showed that the CSR projects in the case study were conducive to the CE model, as most of the CE concepts evaluated by the performance indicators were already in place. This study aimed to support the implementation of CSR projects that contribute to adopting a CE business model and determine key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure and monitor CSR projects in terms of their CE concepts. The sustainability KPIs proposed in this study can serve as a set of guidelines to drive CE strategy adoption and allow for the identification of sustainable CSR projects that can simultaneously offer more value creation and satisfaction for all stakeholders, including society and the companies, while reducing environmental impacts. This paper integrates CSR into a CE approach that results in business sustainability and contributes to Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) targets. [Display omitted] • KPIs were adopted for the comprehensive assessment of CSR projects. • CSR projects of renewable energy and plastic waste were evaluated in their ability to CE concepts. • The KPIs can identify sustainable level and contribute to CE and SDG targets of businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographers' engagements with environmental crises have taken a number of forms. Some scholars argue that crises judgments are revelatory and expose the contradictions of modes of production through interruptions to socio-economic life that can no longer be ignored. Others contend that crises judgments conceal more than they reveal through the framing of crisis as "error" and the focus on technocratic solutions to political-economic problems. In this article, we argue that the judgment of seasonal air pollution as a crisis is contingent on contestations over livelihoods and worldviews, and in doing so demonstrate how attention to chronopolitics reveals the nuanced ways people account for uncertainty in the causes and effects of anthropogenic environmental change. Based in northern Thailand, the paper focuses on what is described by many residents as the region's annually recurring "haze crisis". In recent decades, broad shifts from subsistence farming to commercial agriculture and increased volumes of agricultural biomass burning have reportedly exacerbated the production of air pollution in the form of haze—an airborne mixture of pollutants that includes gasses, fine soot particles and carbon dioxide. Once a quotidian phenomenon of relatively little concern, today seasonal air pollution is described as a haze crisis. While causal uncertainty exists surrounding the precise combination of the socio-ecological drivers of haze production, multiple narratives circulate throughout the region, in which blame is frequently placed on smallholder farmers who have recently entered into new market relations. Situated within broader regional agrarian transitions, we draw on mixed ethnographic, archival and geospatial methods to examine the chronopolitics of seasonal air pollution and by what mechanisms such pollution comes to be constituted as a crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mainland Southeast Asia experiences complex and variable hydroclimatic conditions, mainly due to its location at the intersection of Asian monsoon subsystems. Predicting future changes requires an in-depth understanding of paleoclimatic conditions that is currently hindered by a paucity of records in some regions. In this paper, we present the first speleothem stable isotope records from western Thailand detailing the Bølling-Allerød interstadial, Younger Dryas termination, and early- to mid-Holocene period. We find evidence of higher precipitation during the Bølling-Allerød (14,321–12,824 years before present (1950: BP)) compared to a Younger Dryas termination that starts 11,702–11,674 BP, has a rapid shift centered on 11,660–11,641 BP, and ends 11,603–11,589 BP. In addition, our records show Holocene monsoon intensity peaking at 8250 BP or before, a multi-millennia delay from the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation peak, followed by a trend to drier conditions until at least 750 BP. Assessment of the timing of the Younger Dryas termination in paleoclimate records across Southeast Asia reveals an earlier shift of the Indian Summer Monsoon to global climate shifts when compared to East Asian Summer Monsoon records. The causes of this are currently unknown. Some potentially important aspects include: an Indian Summer Monsoon influence on East Asian Summer Monsoon strength via the Indian Ocean Dipole climate pattern, the role of the Tibetan Plateau in monsoon dynamics, and exposure of the Sundaland shoreline. More high-resolution paleoclimate records, especially on the pathway of Indian Summer Monsoon to East Asian Summer Monsoon, are required for further discussion on the mechanisms controlling the differences between climate regimes. • We present two new speleothem stable isotope records from western Thailand. • Conditions trend wetter during the Bølling-Allerød. • Early and abrupt termination of the Younger Dryas (11,675–11,600 BP, ±73 years). • Change Point Analysis of records finds earlier rapid shift in Indian Summer Monsoon. • Distinct trend of increasing δ18O and δ13C values throughout Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space–time parallel methods can leverage modern parallel computing architectures to further accelerate numerical simulations where parallelizing only in space limits concurrency. In this paper, we develop a high-order space–time parallel computing method for solving the Navier–Stokes equations. The method is based on revisionist integral deferred correction (RIDC) algorithm proposed by Christlieb, Macdonald and Ong [SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 32 (2010), pp. 818-835]. This parallel-in-time algorithm yields high-order accurate results within a wall-clock time comparable to that of a forward or backward Euler simulation. We extend the RIDC algorithm to a space–time parallel method and apply the method to a compressible fluid solver using the message passing interface (MPI) framework. The global communicator is split into space and time communicators to manage parallel computing in spatial and temporal domains, respectively. Accuracy tests show that the method is high-order accurate. Numerical results encompassing both smooth flows and flows with discontinuities demonstrate that the proposed method can accelerate the computation robustly. Additionally, a three-dimensional space–time parallel computation of flow around a sphere is performed. The results indicate that RIDC has the potential to be used in the field of computational fluid dynamics. • A space–time parallel method for solving the N-S equations is developed. • The method is high-order accurate based on the RIDC method. • The method can break through the space-parallel bottleneck. • A 3D case indicates the potential application of the method in engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Single-Vehicle and Multi-Vehicle Truck-Involved Crashes Injury Severities are investigated. • Transferability and temporal instability are assessed through comparison between within- and out-of-sample prediction. • Temporally unconstrained parameters and partially temporally constrained parameters model are compared. • The presence of temporal instability across both single and multi-truck collision risk determinants carries critical countermeasure translation opportunities. • Factors maintaining stability amidst change also carry long-term safety implications. Truck-involved crashes persist as a significant concern, yielding noteworthy human casualties and causing economic ramifications, particularly in developing countries. This paper aims to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the associated factors influencing injury severity in truck-involved crashes, with a particular emphasis on discerning variations between single-vehicle and multi-vehicle incidents, as well as accounting for heterogeneity and temporal stability. The data analysis involves a meticulous examination of crash data spanning the entirety of Thailand from 2017 to 2020. Employing three distinct levels of injury severities, namely PDO injury, moderate injury, and severe injury, the study employs a series of mixed logit models that account for unobserved heterogeneity in both means and variances. Results revealed significant instability in injury risk determinants over time among both single and multi-vehicle events. Aligning predictive assessments further spotlighted fluctuations in projected burdens across models and years – collectively underscoring the imperative to integrate temporal considerations into modeling and prevention. Several crash-type distinctions and priorities emerged. For single-truck events, key risks included roadway alignments and geometry, speeding, fatigue, and lighting conditions. However multi-truck collisions concentrated around exposure factors like highway traits, sightline limitations, and vulnerable road users. Ultimately, the technique permitted responsive countermeasure targeting and recalibration opportunities keyed to each crash form's evolving landscapes. While it is indeed noteworthy that several variables have exhibited instability in their effects, it is equally important to acknowledge the existence of certain variables that maintain a relative degree of temporal stability. This underscores their pivotal role in shaping the foundation of enduring strategies aimed at enhancing traffic safety in the long run. The multifaceted investigation constitutes an invaluable reference for diverse transportation stakeholders seeking to curb rising truck fatalities through evidence-based improvements in policy, engineering, usage protocols, and technologies. It provides a blueprint for nimble safety planning within complex modernizing road systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the inaugural attempt to investigate the herding behavior of firms in the context of environmental orientation to achieve the UN SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in the ASEAN region. Insights from the previous literature infer that peer effect is visibly seen in firms across various fields, especially amongst their CSR and ESG performance. Using data from the Thai listed firms, we document strong evidence of peer effects concerning environmental performance and its dimensions (emission reduction, product innovation, and resource reduction). The targeted time frame for the current study is from 2009 to 2019 for which we analyze the firms listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange (SET). Moreover, the results of our study support the fact that mimicking behavior is one of the common behaviors that is followed by the majority of the firms keeping in view their varied purposes which include enhancing their market reputation, increasing profits, attracting shareholders and investors and most importantly raising their sustainability standing. Thus, overall our study highlights the main perspective that peer effects and herding behavior a common practices amongst firms concerning their environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using CMOM to trace mangrove development was first used in Thailand. • Three periods of flourishing and two periods of degradation over the past ∼3,550 cal yr BP. • The air temperature and rainfall controlled by the Indian summer Monsoon, were the primary factors controlling mangrove development. • The evolution of mangrove forests in tropical Asia has regional synchronism. High-resolution reconstruction of the development of mangrove forests in the late Holocene is the basis for scientifically predicting the fate of mangroves. In this paper, we analyze the contribution of mangrove-derived organic matter (CMOM) from sediment core G in Phang Nga Province, Thailand by using a ternary end-member mixing model based on stable organic carbon isotope (δ13C) and the molar ratio of total organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N (molar)). The variations of the CMOM in Phang Nga Province over the past ∼3,550 cal yr BP indicate that mangrove forests underwent three periods of flourishing: ∼3,550–2,720 cal yr BP, ∼1,960–1,240 cal yr BP and ∼500–0 cal yr BP, and two periods of degradation: ∼2,720–1,960 cal yr BP and ∼1,240–500 cal yr BP. Of the potential factors that affect mangrove development, relative sea level (RSL) changes and regional hydrological conditions did not have notable effects on mangrove flourishing/degradation. However, paleoclimate variations, especially the air temperature and rainfall controlled by the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) were the primary factors. The mangrove development reconstructed by the CMOM in Phang Nga Province, Thailand was extremely synchronized with that in the Yingluo Bay and Qinzhou Bay of Southwest China and on the west coast of India Peninsula. This study provides evidence that mangrove development controlled by the Asian monsoon in tropical Asia has regional synchronism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls for better municipal waste management practices that are in line with the principles of 'circular economy' and 'circular cities' abound in many parts of the world including Thailand. Our research aimed to understand how waste pickers in Bangkok currently operate as key actors in the recycling economy, given the lack of state funding and infrastructure for operationalizing circularity, using a situated urban political ecology (SUPE) approach. We conducted surveys and walk-along interviews with waste pickers in two districts of the city. This was supplemented by desk reviews and key informant interviews. Mainly, walking with waste pickers in their daily work routes threw light on the embodiment of waste metabolisms and everyday practices in accessing and metabolizing waste. We find how waste economies were sustained despite policy neglect through fluid relationships between humans and non-humans that operate within a messy, contested urban space. Negative affect and corporeal harm characterized such a metabolism. Characterization of power in urban political ecology can be strengthened by locating diffuse forms in which power is enacted and by looking at the political dimensions of affect. Unexpected alliances between actors posited counter-narratives to powerful instruments of regulation and global waste flows. Through the results presented in this paper, we call for UPE scholars to draw from (a) embodied and situated processes and practices in the transformations of socio-natures and (b) spatio-sensorial methods that can trace circulations and metabolisms of socio-natures. We suggest that such a SUPE can underpin grounded projects of bettering human-environment relationships in the age of planetary crisis. • A situated urban political ecology resists top-down characterisations of power and presents complex and diverse narratives of the "winners and losers" of socio-natural transformations. • Plastic recycling economies in Bangkok are sustained by fluid relationships between humans and non-humans that operate within a messy, contested urban space. • Emotions and embodiment characterize the metabolism of wastes. • Walk-along interviews, as a spatio-sensorial tool, enabled a situated understanding of the embodiment of waste flows. • Through an amalgamation of embodied and situated urban political ecologies, UPE can underpin grounded projects of bettering human-environment relationships in the age of planetary crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews the role of the innovation incubator and university business incubator (UBI) in supporting the entrepreneurial development in Thailand. The university business incubator (UBI) is defined in this paper as an incubator set up by the university to provide office space, equipment, mentoring services as well as other administrative supports to assist the formation of new ventures). In particular, the paper compares the operation of the university business incubators (UBIs) and technology incubators to understand their technology transfer strategies. The analyses, based on the Triple Helix model, also include the government policies to support innovation commercialization in Thailand. The study examines case studies of leading university business incubators (UBIs) (Mahidol University, Chulalongkorn University and King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi) and science and technology incubators of the National Science and Technology Agency (NSTDA) and the National Innovation Agency (NIA). The results have shown that the incubation program is one of the major policy mechanisms to support innovation and suggested that UBIs should act as an intermediary between the spheres of university and industry to provide interactive linkages and promote effective utilization of university research. The empirical study provides insightful implications on the move towards the entrepreneurial university and the dynamics of the Triple Helix system in stimulating innovation development and diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides field performance and degradation information of Si wafer-based and thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules in a tropical region. We address the importance of temperature coefficient (TC) and the significance of the degradation rate (DR) of the modules operating under tropical climate. The PV modules with TC for power below −0.31%/°C have a great advantage in terms of energy yield. The DRs of various PV module types are widely different, ranging from 0.5 to 4.9%/year, which greatly affect their long-term performance. This paper also presents the degradation behavior of electrical characteristics such as I–V curve, open circuit voltage (V oc ), short circuit current (I sc ), fill factor (FF) and maximum power output (P max ) for each PV type. The DRs of the field-test PV modules in Thailand are first reported in this study. The level of degradation we found in this study suggests a reduction of output power 10–50% over a twenty-five year lifetime, possibly increasing the levelized cost of electricity by up to double cost. The database of this case study is informative and useful for a further study on performance degradation in the tropics and a comparison study with other environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews Thailand's feed-in tariff framework for the support of solar power production and provides a feasibility analysis of residential-scale rooftop solar PV investment in Thailand under three scenarios. The initial phase of feed-in tariff support for solar power in the form of “Adder” gave rise to the dominance of solar farms, contributing currently to 99% of Thailand's solar power capacity. Since 2013, the government has begun to give a more focused support to rooftop solar power investment in the form of fixed feed-in tariff. However, the response to the government's feed-in tariff support for residential rooftop solar has been slow. Among many reasons, this paper argues that the lack of feasibility of residential rooftop solar power investment remains a key barrier. Under current market conditions, such investment could potentially be stimulated with the presence of a tax incentive and more attractive financing options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reclamation of slurry pond with ultra-soft soil deposit using the prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) with preloading technique in the Mae Moh mine, Lampang, Thailand is a challenging work and is illustrated in this paper. Geotextile reinforcement was used to strengthen bearing capacity of the soil foundation prior to the installation of sand platform. The delay of excess pore water pressure dissipation at the early loading stage occurred despite the occurrence of large settlements was a distinct behavior of the ultra-soft soil. Within the delayed time, the calculated average degree of consolidation based on measured settlements, U s increased while the calculated average degree of consolidation based on measured excess pore water pressures, U e and the undrained shear strength, S u remained unchanged. Beyond the delayed time, both U e and S u increased significantly with time and when U s > 90%, the difference between U e and U s was observed to be small. It was suggested to use U s for approximation of S u when U s > 90% based on the SHANSEP's method. The successful installation and application of PVD to improve ultra-soft soil in this research is applicable for the ground improvement of similar problematic ultra-soft soils in international land reclamation projects. • A full-scale test on PVD improved ultra-soft soil. • Geotextile reinforcement to strengthen the bearing capacity of the ultra-soft soil. • Delay of excess pore water pressure dissipation at the initial stage of loading. • Distinct behavior of Mae Moh ultra-soft soil compared with natural soft soil. • Comparison of degree of consolidations based on settlement and excess pore water pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]