MANAGERIAL GUIDELINES TO INCREASE SERVICE CAPACITY IN THE TOURISM ACCOMMODATION SECTOR IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY

developing country, i.e., Thailand 2) to propose managerial guidelines to increase service capacity in the tourism accommodation sector in a remote area in a developing country that depends on the tourism industry for a large share of the national income. Methodology: A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 400 tourists to explore their expectations and satisfaction level in terms of the accommodation services they have experienced in a remote area. Mean, standard deviation, T-Test and F-Test were used to analyse the collected data. In-depth interviews were conducted with managers and staff in charge of managing and providing services in the accommodation. Main Findings: The study showed that tourists have low expectations, but high levels of satisfaction towards the five aspects of service quality in the tourism accommodation sector in a remote area. Implications/Applications: Thus, guidelines were developed to increase service capacity for accommodations, located in a remote area in Thailand and to enhance tourists’ experience to achieve the highest satisfaction levels. Five measures are described below. First, emphasize accountability and trustworthiness. For tourists’ benefits, legal measures should be set to control and manage accommodations that cannot correctly comply with the agreements or terms and conditions of advertisements or promotions. Second, focus on responding to tourists’ demands and their curiosity, staff should always accurately serve their needs. Also, inform and provide short and clear explanations to tourists when any changes occur after finalizing agreements with the tourist. Moreover, the service procedure should be convenient, fast, and simple. Third, increase tourists’ confidence towards accommodation services and staff by pursuing the following manners: honesty, well-mannered, gentle and friendly services with service-minded attitude. Fourth, because sympathy is another key success, encourage staff to show concern, kindness, and willingness to help and treat tourists equally. Finally, highlight the tangible assets such as providing a clean and attractive environment, both inside and outside of the accommodation. Increasing the accommodation’s sense of visibility through both offline and online advertisement and media is important

The Perceptions of members of the Karen and Hmong Hill tribes of the impacts upon their communities resulting from the development of tourism in Northern Thailand.

This research investigates the perceptions of hill tribe people in Northern Thailand of the sociocultural impacts and changes in their communities resulting from the interaction between themselves, their communities and the incoming mainly Thai, origin, external tourism actors (ETAs), such as tourism authorities, tourism businessmen / investors and tour operators. In Thailand, most studies on the impacts of tourism have been limited to economic analyses, and the socio-cultural impacts of tourism on hill tribe people has been under-researched. Of the previous studies of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism, the majority have examined the impacts from host and guest interactions, emphasising the negative social impacts resulting from the influx of tourists in general. Specific research on the interaction of local hill tribe people with incoming ETAs has not been reported. To fill this gap, this research aims to compare the perceptions of two hill tribe peoples (the Karen and Hmong), both those working for ETAs and those who do not, in terms of their employment experiences and perceived socio-cultural impacts resulting from the arrival of ETAs. In order to achieve the research aim, a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A sequential approach was adopted incorporating a mixed methods design in order to better answer the research challenge of exploring the participants' views and perceptions. Building on a thorough literature review the first phase of primary data collection adopted a qualitative approach. Focus groups were used to explore the local hill tribe perceptions towards the interaction between ETAs and themselves, and their perceptions towards socio-cultural impacts upon themselves and changes in their community. Then semi-structure interviews were used to gain more in-depth details from selected participants. Themes from this qualitative phase were then used in the second stage of primary data collection to develop an essentially quantitative questionnaire, to measure, by means of a large scale survey, the perceptions of the selected population. The fmdings suggest that exposure to the social and cultural characteristics of ETAs, have significantly influenced some of the values, beliefs and lives of tribal people. However, despite the impacts resulting from the arrival of ETAs, these hill tribe people tend to be in favour and perceive these impacts and changes as positive changes. Moreover, the fmdings also suggest that differences in ethnic background, working environment and gender can be factors that influence perceptions of these hill tribe people. However, each factor, ethnicity, working environment, gender, exerts differing degrees of influence upon the perceptions of these hill tribe people toward different issues regarding impacts from ETAs. In addition, individual's perceptions toward impacts from ETAs differ despite their having the same ethnic background. However, the evidence gathered suggests that ethnic background does still control, to a degree, these differences with the result that while people's perceptions do differ in many ways nevertheless those from the same ethnic background tend to show greater similarities in their perceptions and actions when compared to those of different ethnicities. To this end, this study has pointed out several recommendations for future research together with the implications of the findings from this research on tourism management and policy makers

Augmented Reality Technology Adoption in Tourism Using Structural Equation Model

Purpose:  Less attention has been given to the barriers that prevent consumers from using augmented reality in tourism (ART). Therefore, this research objective to propose a model that examines a study adopting innovativeness (i.e., service innovation and technology innovation) to use ART as the mediating role of attitude and word of mouth (WOM) in Thailand’s tourism industry.   Theoretical framework:  To identify individual characteristics that influence the use of augmented reality in tourism (ART), despite the technology's growing popularity in the country. We propose a conceptual model derived from studies on innovativeness, attitude, WOM and intention to use (ART).   Design/Methodology/Approach: A total of 551 responses were considered for research analyses. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses (CFA and EFA) were employed during the preliminary stages of the development of the measurement model. The significant impact that innovativeness has on ART in Thailand was subsequently identified through the use of the structural equation modeling (SEM).   Findings: The findings of this study provide the tourism sector with recommendations for developing facilities that allow tourists to utilize ART. This study also lays the groundwork for future research, as the use of augmented reality (AR) has become an increasingly valuable tool for travelers.  Furthermore, ART developers can use the outcomes of this research to design and implement this service effectively and promote user adoption.    Research, practical & social implications: This study has outlined the primary indicators that encourage travelers to utilize AR-based applications. Travelers engage in a more dynamic and enhanced tourism activities if ART is utilized in a way that enhances their enjoyment of the city and stimulates their desire to explore new places. This study demonstrated that utilitarian motivation has the greatest effect on travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications.   Originality/Value:  To create a digital tourism experience in Thailand. This relatively new technology is a unique application that goes beyond the use of mobile devices to access relevant ART applications. It also has the potential to function as an AI tour guide that helps consumers save money without sacrificing the quality of their travel experience.

The Influence of Innovativeness on Revisit Intention: The Mediating Role of Word-of-Mouth in Augmented Reality for Tourism in Thailand

Purpose:  This study aims to identify the motivational factors that encourage travelers to adopt augmented reality (AR) applications when exploring tourism destinations and to investigate the mediating effects of personal word-of-mouth (WOM) on the relationships between innovativeness and revisit intention outcomes among travelers.   Theoretical framework:  This study developed a conceptual framework that determines travelers’ inclination to use AR applications at tourism destinations, based on three primary variables: Innovativeness, Word-of-Mouth and Revisit Intention.   Design/methodology/approach:  A sample size of 430 was collected through an online self-administered survey. The proposed model was subjected to analysis using the structural equation modeling to examine the mediator effect of Word-of-Mouth.   Findings:  The results of the study indicate that service innovation and technology innovation have a significant and direct impact on travelers' WOM communication regarding their intention to revisit tourist destinations that offer AR applications. The revisit intention towards AR-based tourism applications is indirectly influenced by service innovation as mediated by WOM.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  This current study enhances comprehension of the determinants that drive tourists to utilize AR applications at tourism destinations by integrating established theoretical frameworks and adapting them to the specific context of tourism.   Originality/value:  As prior studies focused on the post-experience aspects of AR adoption, the motivations of travelers to reconsider their intention to use ART in Thailand remained unclear. Insufficient comprehension of tourists' inclination to revisit and utilize AR in Thailand’s tourism destinations may result in the failure of these destinations to attract new or returning visitors, ultimately leading to a decline in revenue

ผลเปรียบเทียบชุดการสอนที่สร้างขึ้นกับกรอบมาตรฐานคุณวุฒิระดับอุดมศึกษาแห่งชาติ รายวิชาพื้นฐานวิศวกรรมแม่เหล็กไฟฟ้า (113-32-08) หลักสูตรครุศาสตร์อุตสาหกรรมบัณฑิต มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีราชมงคลสุวรรณภูมิ

This research aimed (1) to create a set of teaching Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic Engineering Course (2) to evaluate the developed instructional package comparing to Thai Qualifications Framework for higher education (3) to compare the learning achievement of the students after using the instructional package and (4) to compare the learning progress of the students with 3 different levels of GPA after using the instructional package.The instructional package consisted of teachers' handbook on Maxwell's Equations, contained eight topics, 15 behavioral objectives and 30 test items. Teaching Aids used was 34 frame of Microsoft PowerPoints, 1 program emulator and 4 set of demonstration kit. Samples were 30 first year undergraduate students. The results showed that the developed instructional package need most to improve the ethics morals, knowledge and cognitive intellectual skills, The comparison between pre-test and post-test mean scores reported statistic significant difference at the level of .05 and the 3 different levels of GPA students’ progress was not significantly different at the level of .05

Electricity Consumption Forecasting in Thailand using Hybrid Model SARIMA and Gaussian Process with Combine Kernel Function Technique

Electricity consumption forecasting plays a significant role in planning electric systems. However, this can only be achieved if the demand is accurate estimation .This research, different forecasting methods hybrid SARIMA-ANN and hybrid model by SARIMA- Gaussian Processes with combine Kernel Function technique were utilized to formulate forecasting models of the electricity consumption . The objective was to compare the performance of two approaches and the empirical data used in this study was the historical data regarding the electricity consumption (gross domestic product: GDP, forecast values calculated by SARIMA model and electricity consumption) in Thailand from 2005 to 2015. New Kernel Function design techniques for forecasting under Gaussian processes are presented in sum and product formats. The results showed that the hybrid model by SARIMA - Gaussian Processes with combine Kernel Function technique outperformed the SARIMA-ANN model have the Mean absolute percentage error is 4.7072e-09, 4.8623 respectively. Keyword: Forecasting, Electricity Consumption, Model, Gaussian Process JEL Classifications: C13, C32, E27, P2

Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant Activities of Medicinal Plants Used by Traditional Healers for Antiulcer Treatment

For centuries, many kinds of native plants and their products have been used for the treatment of gastric ulcers by traditional healers in Phayao province. The current study aimed to investigate the polyphenol content in some of these medicinal plants and to point out the relationship between their antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory activities. Six species were selected based on ethnopharmacologic considerations: Punica granatum L., Psidium guajava L., Careya arborea Roxb., Gochnatia decora (Kurz) Cabr., Shorea obtusa Wall. ex Blume, and Ficus hispida L.f. The leaves or bark of these plants were extracted with 70% ethanol and water. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of the extracts were analyzed based on nitric oxide (NO) and proinflammatory cytokine production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and through the determination of scavenging activity. The results demonstrated that the ethanol extract from P. granatum and P. guajava leaves significantly inhibited NO production by suppressing nitric oxide synthase. The extracts also inhibited tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1, and interleukin-6 in terms of both mRNA and protein levels and possessed high antioxidants. These extracts were shown to contain the highest amount of polyphenols. Our study concluded that among the plants studied, P. granatum and P. guajava have the most significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and polyphenols. These plants may have the potential for use in gastric ulcer therapy due to their indicated properties. Future research should focus on the isolation of their active compounds and their in vivo biological activities. Their beneficial applications need to be warranted by such evidence

A numerical study of porous medium properties effect on late mixing porous burner performance

The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of properties of porous combustor (PC) of the late mixing porous burner (LMPB) on the thermal structure and radiant output efficiency by mean of numerical modeling. The flow and heat transfer are one-dimensional. The combustion reaction is considered as a single-step first order reaction. The parametric study is a porosity and absorption coefficient. The results indicate that the optimum property of porous medium that is used as porous combustor of LMPB is a porosity in the range of 0.4 - 0.6 and absorption coefficient is 100