A Problem of Particulate Contamination in an Automated Assembly Machine Successfully Solved by CFD and Simple Experiments

Assembly of hard disk drives (HDDs) needs to be done in an automated assembly machine (AAM) virtually free of particulate contamination that can cause them to malfunction. Fan filter units (FFUs) are installed above the AAM to reduce the number of suspended particles in the recirculating air flowing over and around them. At one time, several HDDs were found to be defective. To find out the root cause of this problem, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to investigate the airflow over and around the AAM. It was found that the cause of the high particle counts was improper air speed from the FFUs. The optimal FFUs air speed needed to be in the range of 0.35–0.65 m/s in which the airflow would block out nearby airborne particles and purge away particles generated by the AAM effectively which would, in effect, reduce the particle counts down below the threshold level of class 100 clean room. A few available measurement tools at the factory were then used to perform validating measurements against the simulation results, and the validation was positive. This optimal speed range was implemented at the factory after which the level of contamination was reduced to an acceptable level

From “Asia As Method” To “home As Method”: The Internal (De)- Colonization Of Knowledge And Subjectivity In The Thai Curriculum Studies

Thailand has never been officially colonized by foreign powers whereas the re-appropriation of neo-liberal policy and nationalistic propaganda by the Thai government to promote the conservative elites’ version of nation-centrism clearly functions to maintain the hierarchical social structure and dominant hegemony through education. Grounded in Chen’s idea, Asia as Method, Winichakul’s framework (2014) on Thai cultural studies, home as method, has been recontextualized for understanding how the researcher gain and encounter educational experiences as well as having freedom of choice to reconstitute on the powerful curriculum discourse in Thailand. The notion of “home” signifying Thailand is a part of Asia is used to move beyond the debate over “us vs. them” or “insider vs. outsider” which is neither misleading nor productive. Additionally, it is employed for the understanding of the hegemonic roles of national elites on policy re-contextualization to combine both the neo-liberalism and neo-conservative discourse in education. Given that “curriculum studies” is an intellectual sphere in which competing discourses, plural assumptions, and pedagogical practices deserved its place, the field itself needs to be reconceptualized and goes beyond the legacy of both western cultural imperialism and internal colonialism, a legacy that continues to take place at the deep-rooted cultural and psychological level and plays a significant role in constructing cultural imaginary and subjectivity, which also has shaped many of our ideas about education, schooling, curriculum, and pedagogy. Thus, the onus is on us, critical curriculum workers, to explore and discover our diverse reflective ways in order to move forward our critical curriculum projects. The relationship between the home as method and critical curriculum projects needs to be a point of departure for discussions and an illustration of how curriculum as a form of cultural practice and cultural politics works to hegemonize particular knowledge production and distribution for many decades in Thailand

Deliberating Complicated Conversation in Curriculum Discourse for Social Justice

Taking inspiration from Dewey’s (1998) writing on experience and education and Pinar’s (1981) conception of currere, dealing with autobiographical reflections of individuals regarding their educational experiences, I would like to problematize the curriculum studies as a broad education studies field in Thailand, and social studies education in particular. Locating my own positionality as a curriculum worker, I perceive curriculum as an educational text that opens diverse possibilities for critical-reflective and deliberative thoughts about my educational experiences throughout my life. Shifting the personal conception from curriculum development to curriculum understanding discourse, I have gained insights that curriculum is a hermeneutic journey through one’s lived experiences grounding on the socio-cultural, historical, and political economy of each specific society. The field of curriculum studies and social studies education is still under the various forms of technical-instrumental rationality at all levels of education. I have come to recognize the reason why curriculum development becomes a mainstream educational narrative in curriculum history and theory and is currently still the powerful hegemonic discourse for conceptualizing curriculum in Thailand. Critical reflection on such discourse, therefore, has the potential to cause individuals to change their recurrently entrenched normative beliefs about curriculum and knowledge production as well as educational praxis, and to augment transformative knowledge and deliberative actions

Education for Enculturating the “Thainess” Ideology: Decolonizing the Siamese Colonial Discourse in the Social Studies Curriculum

After the coup d'état came to power in May 2014, the military government had been exercising their ideologies through the educational policies and curriculum planning which have been actively responded by the Ministry of Education. Contemporary curriculum reform is employed as a mechanism for maintaining the status quo of elites group who have held privileged positions among the Thais. Looking through the social studies curriculum, it becomes the centerpiece of public schools’ efforts to cultivate younger generations into what it means to be “Thainess”. However, Thainess becomes inevitably hybrid to certain extents in the era of globalization. By looking into the contemporary context of education from the postcolonial theory, I learn that if educationalists are to educate young Thais for global citizenship in today’s pluralistic society, the social studies curriculum must go beyond the Siamese colonization of knowledge construction, and also provides pedagogical spaces of the experiences, knowledge and perspectives of diverse people in Thai society

The nutrition and feeding of a native Thai species, the marble goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus), involving on-farm and experimental studies

In Thailand, culture and production of a high value freshwater fish, the marble goby, is dependant upon farm-made feeds using marine and freshwater trash fish as primary ingredients. However, there is lack of nutritional research regarding the use of such farm-made feeds and their impacts on the nutritional status, growth and health of marble goby. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the effects of farm- made feeds on slaughter indices, fish lipid classes and fatty acid profiles, nutrient composition and digestibility. In addition it was intended to improve on-farm feed quality for both current practical feeds as used by farmers and alternative feeds using rice bran and tilapia with reference to biochemical composition, growth performance and haematology of marble goby. Nutritional evaluation of farmed fish compared to their wild counterparts indicated that fatty acid composition of farmed marble goby was markedly influenced by diet. Marble goby appeared to utilize MUFA preferentially as an energy source compared to SFA. Fish muscle was characterised by higher n-6 PUFA; arachidonic acid (20:4n-6, AA) and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6, DPA). Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (22: 6n-3, DHA) comprised the majority of n-3 PUFA found in fish muscle and can potentially be enriched into marble goby muscle through the diet. The significantly higher ratios of neutral liver lipid to polar lipid (NL/PL) indicated the imbalance of dietary lipid and energy of on-farm feeds. Moreover, findings on slaughter indices and lipid peroxidation of farmed fish; higher HSI, VSI, liver TBARS and the pale lipid-rich liver of farmed fish indicated problems with the nutritional quality of lipid in farm-made feeds. Experiments aimed to improve farm-made feeds using supplemental vitamin E in the form of α-tocopherol. These demonstrated that supplementation of α-tocopherol to oxidised diets, both mackerel and tilapia based, did not result in a significant beneficial effect in reducing mortality, and improving growth and haematology in marble goby. However, dietary α-tocopherol supplementation helped in reducing fish muscle peroxidation but was not related to muscle α-tocopherol levels. In mackerel based diets containing lipid peroxidation up to 250-300 µmols MDA g-1, α-tocopherol supplementation appeared not to help in reducing liver peroxidation. The alternative use of tilapia as a feed for marble goby resulted in growth and survival rates similar to those of fish fed mackerel based diets. Tilapia contained intrinsic α-tocopherol levels that appeared to be sufficient to reduce marble goby tissue peroxidation. The synergic effects on antioxidant activities between α- tocopherol supplement and natural E vitamer contained in rice bran helped to reduce tissue TBARS and improve haematology in fish fed combination diets of oxidised tilapia and rice bran. The inclusion of rice bran in farm based diets resulted in decreased tissue peroxidation, an adverse affect on dry matter and protein digestibility; and lower fish feed intake, growth and survival rate when 25% of rice bran was added into practical mackerel based diet. Overall, formulated feeds showed promising growth and survival rate in marble goby but more research on dietary nutrients and energy balances are required

The Use of “English Fun Learning” Program to Teach Vocabulary

English has turned into a significant language in the time of globalization. Vocabulary is one part of English which plays a significant part in figuring out perusing and communicating all thoughts in composed or spoken structure. The researcher tries to find the efficient solution for improving the good vocabulary skill by implementing the English Fun Learning. English Fun Learning is a basic method of learning English by combining several games in the activity. This activity is carried out to improve oral interaction in English through games that allow the development of communication, understanding, creativity, and can foster interest in speaking English. The target from this kind of analysis is the students at SD N 02 Plelen. The implemented method in this research is qualitative. As per the end of analysis from this research, students' understanding increased after being taught using English Fun Learning with various learning techniques such as storytelling, media games, and spelling bees. This activity has relevance to the needs of students at school. Interesting English teaching media and learning methods will motivate students to be involved in English speaking activities

Assessing the impact of climate change on the agricultural economy in Thailand: an empirical study using panel data analysis

This study estimates the impact of climate change on the economic growth of the agricultural sector and its variability using a panel dataset from 1995 to 2019 for 76 provinces in Thailand. The panel data analysis consists of unit root tests for identifying stationary characteristics, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds for analyzing cointegration, and pool mean group (PMG) estimation for detecting long-run and short-run effects. The cointegration results indicate the existence of long-run equilibrium in the agricultural economy and its variability to climatic and non-climatic variables. Results from the PMG estimation suggest that extreme weather events have a negative impact on the agricultural economy, but increased total rainfall has a positive association with the agricultural economy. The increases in mean average and mean minimum temperatures will reduce the variability of agricultural growth. The obtained results suggest that the productivity of agricultural households and water resources increases the agricultural revenue and reduces its variability for long-term development in the agricultural sector of Thailand

Situational Leadership And Diversity Management Coaching Skills

Leadership and diversity management have been part of the work life since the beginning of formal organizations and a critical element of globalization. The authors provide an overview of situational leadership and link it to diversity management so the focus can remain on productivity rather than personalities and biases which are part of each society and individual. Based on personal training experiences of the authors, this conceptual and practical paper provides a model to link situational leadership to diversity in the workplace through effective coaching skills.