Integrated water quality management in Thailand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning, Massey University,

This thesis analyses the theoretical requirements for an integrated approach to freshwater resource management. The New Zealand and the Thai systems are then compared to understand •variations between the two systems of planning at three different stages - Pre-Implementation, Implementation and Post-Implementation Stages. Finally, recommendations are made for improving the Thai system. The research findings confirm that the New Zealand system measures up to criteria for ensuring sustainable development of freshwater resources. The system provides for planning based on river catchments and a variety of policy instruments may be used to achieve country objectives at all levels in the system. The Thai system provides for planning and developing of policy at national level and some parts of decision-making are delegated to the provincial level. At the implementation stage, the New Zealand system provides for a non-regulatory approach. Whereas, in Thailand, methods of policy implementation based on regulatory approach, are well-developed. At Post­ Implementation stage, the New Zealand system provides for a monitoring system and less severe penalties than Thailand, where the system does not explicitly provide for monitoring, but severe penalties are imposed for deliberate actions to pollute rivers. The findings suggest that the Thai system of water resources management can be improved in a number of ways, but the fragmentation of the planning process is the principle obstacle. Besides that, various future research areas identify which improvements to river water quality management in Thailand are a priority

Green logistics service quality and LSP performance

Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on Logistics and Transport 2014 (ICLT 2014), "Innovation in Global Supply Chain Management", August 26-29, 2014, Kaula Lumpur, Malaysia. Abstract: Effective and efficient logistics services can enhance the firm’s competitive advantage. Therefore, logistics management can be considered as a key component of organisational effectiveness and success (Khan and Burnes, 2007). At the same time, environmental or green issues in logistics service offerings have attracted much managerial attention in the logistics industry for the future. One important objective is for logistics service providers (LSPs) to deliver their service offerings to customers in more environmentally friendly ways. The study is ongoing project and investigates variables and constructs of green service quality, logistics service quality and logistics performance index in Thailand. The purpose of this paper is to report on an ongoing research study to understand the importance of green service quality (GSQ) and logistics service quality (LSQ) in the performance of logistics service providers (LSPs) in a Thai context

The effect of green logistics service quality on Thai logistics service provider performance

Paper delivered at the 21st Logistics Research Network annual conference 2016, 7th-9th September 2016, Hull. Abstract Purpose: The emergence of environmental or green issues in global supply chains has made it an essential practice to measure the performance of organisations of not only from their financial and management perspectives but also their environmental performance, particularly logistics service providers (LSPs). There has been little work done linking the topics of green service quality (GSQ) and logistics service quality (LSQ), particularly in a developing economy such as Thailand. However, the Thai government has established a Thai logistics performance index (TLPI) for the logistics sector and is focussing more on environmental or green aspects related to transportation and logistics. Given this context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate issues pertaining to GSQ and LSQ, and their impact on the TLPI that will affect Thai LSPs. Research approach: The empirical research for this paper was based on an extensive literature review in three key areas: LSP performance, LSQ, and GSQ. For this study, GSQ has been defined from perceptual service quality or SERVPERF constructs as the environmental initiatives crucial to operational service quality, particularly in logistics service provision. The empirical study used a rigorous three-phase methodological framework originally developed for the marketing discipline for item and scale development, and which has been applied more recently to logistics research. An interview and a survey from the perceptions of LSPs and LSP customers were used as appropriate methods for this explanatory study and were discussed at the LRN in 2013 and 2014 (Chaisurayakarn et al. 2013; 2014). Findings and Originality: LSQ has a positive and significant effect on the TLPI, and that effect is more pronounced when GSQ measures are included. The findings also propose a final set of twenty-eight important GSQ and LSQ variables for LSP performance perceived by Thai LSPs and their customers and which are generally related to green safety, regulations and collaboration; time and services; order service quality; and order procedure competencies. Research impact: This paper provides a contribution to the GSQ, LSQ and LSP debate by extending service quality theory in the logistics services sector in the context of GSQ and integrating GSQ competencies into extant LSQ frameworks. A limitation is that this paper only reports preliminary findings of an ongoing study. Practical impact: A practical contribution for both LSPs and their customers is an understanding of how LSPs can focus on GSQ to perform better, which is important to customers, and hence better compete with rivals. Moreover, it explores that an area of the effects of green logistics service quality (GLSQ) on the LSP’s performance

The impact of green logistics service quality on logistics provider performance

Paper delivered at the 19th Logistics Research Network annual conference 2014, 3rd-5th September 2014, Huddersfield. Effective and efficient logistics services can enhance the firm’s competitive advantage. Therefore, logistics management can be considered as a key component of organisational effectiveness and success (Khan and Burnes, 2007). At the same time, environmental or green issues in logistics service offerings have attracted much managerial attention in the logistics industry for the future. One important objective is for logistics service providers (LSPs) to deliver their service offerings to customers in more environmentally friendly ways. The study is ongoing project and investigates variables and constructs of green service quality, logistics service quality and logistics performance index in Thailand. The purpose of this paper is to report on an ongoing study of the importance and relationship of green service quality (GSQ) competencies relative to logistics service quality (LSQ) competencies in the context of Thai LSPs

Exploring green and logistics service quality of Thai logistics service providers

The emergence of environmental or green issues in global supply chains has made it an essential practice to measure the performance of organisations of not only from their financial and management perspectives but also their environmental performance, particularly logistics service providers (LSPs) as service providers. There has been little work done during last two decades linking the three topics of green service quality (GSQ), logistics service quality (LSQ), and the Thai government’s logistics performance index (TLPI) for the logistics sector. The objective of this thesis was to investigate issues pertaining to GSQ and LSQ, and their impact on the TLPI for logistics providers in Thailand.Based on an extensive literature review, three research questions were proposed for this thesis to address gaps in the body of knowledge. GSQ is a new area of theory development and few research studies have focussed on the on the integration of both green and logistics service quality. The study used a rigorous three-phase methodological framework originally developed for the marketing discipline for item and scale development and applied more recently to logistics research.A mixed method approach used semi-structured interviews in Phase One, in conjunction with the literature, to generate and develop variables of GSQ and LSQ. These variables were tested in a Phase Two empirical study of Thai LSPs and their customers using a questionnaire survey. Finally, in Phase Three structured interviews were conducted to verify and validate the overall results.The findings indicate that LSQ has a positive and significant effect on TLPI, and that effect is more pronounced when GSQ measures are included. Such measures indirectly affect TLPI through LSQ. The findings also propose a final set of twenty-eight GSQ and LSQ variables of importance to LSP performance as perceived by Thai LSPs and their customers, and are related generally to green safety, regulations and collaboration; time and services; order service quality; and order procedures competencies. In light of this study, Thai LSPs should consider introducing GSQ as part of their business and the Thai government might include GSQ measures as part of its TLPI

Expression of bovine mammary gland Ca2+ATPases

Control of transcellular Ca2+ fluxes associated with lactation are critical to mammary function and Ca2+ homeostasis. Mammary Ca2+ transport and storage may contribute to the pathological hypocalcemia seen in dairy cows at parturition. RT-PCR and Western Blotting were used to identify which Ca2+ ATPases are present in the bovine mammary gland and in milk fat globule membranes (MFGM). PMCA1, PMCA2 and PMCA4 are plasma membrane Ca2+ ATPases expressed in the bovine mammary gland. A putative Golgi Ca2+ ATPase (bSPCA) is also found in significant amounts in the mammary gland. The expression of Ca2+ ATPases in the bovine mammary gland is associated with mammary gland development and lactation. The timing, magnitude and types of Ca2+ ATPases expressed in mammary gland suggest an important role for these Ca2+ ATPases in mammary and cow calcium homeostasis. The significant expression of PMCA2 postpartum and its unique biochemical activity imply an important role for PMCA2 in maintaining mammary gland Ca 2+ homeostasis during lactation. The expression of Ca2+ ATPases prepartum may also be associated with the development of hypocalcemia in the cow. The most striking finding is that the prepartal expression of bSPCA was correlated with the amount of calcium secreted into the first milk as well as the degree of hypocalcemia seen in cows. The cDNA of bSPCA was cloned and sequenced. The full-length cDNA of bSPCA has been submitted to;GENBANK (ACCESSION NO. AF230532). To understand the physiological functions of these Ca2+ ATPases on transcellular Ca2+ movement in lactating mammary secretory cells, the cellular locations of SPCA and PMCAs (apical vs. basolateral) was also established. Localizations of these Ca2+ ATPases by immunohistochemistry showed that SPCA is located in mammary secretory cells in the cytoplasm between the nucleus and the apical membrane, an area associated with the location of the Golgi. The PMCAs are located in both apical and basolateral membranes of secretory cells. PMCA2 and PMCA4 are located in the apical membrane of lactating cells. The apical location of PMCA2 and PMCA4 indicates that these PMCAs transport intracellular Ca2+ into milk

A GitHub-based Voice Assistant for Software Developers and Teams

Software developers and teams typically rely on source code and tasks management tools for their projects. They tend to depend on different platforms such as GitHub, Azure DevOps, Bitbucket, and GitLab for task-tracking, feature-tracking, and bug-tracking to develop and maintain their software repositories. Individually, developers may lose concentration when having to navigate through numerous screens consisting of various platforms to perform daily tasks. Additionally, while in meetings (non-virtual), teams are often separate from their machines and often would have to rely on pure recollection of the tasks and issues related to their work. This can delay the decision-making process and take away valuable focus hours of developers. Although there is usually one person with their laptop to guide the meeting and has access to the source code management tools, this can take a lot of time as they are not familiar with all the developers’ independent works. Therefore, a new tool needs to be introduced to help accelerate individual and team meetings’ productivity. In this paper, we continued the work on Robin, a voice-assistant built to answer questions regarding GitHub issues and source code management. Robin has the ability to answer questions in addition to completing actions on the behalf of the developer. This thesis presents Robin\u27s abilities, architecture, and implementation while also examining its usability through a user study. Our study suggests that some people love the idea of having a conversational agent for software development. However, a lot more research and iterations must be done to fully make Robin give the user experience we imagined. In this thesis, we were able to set the foundation of this idea and the lessons that we learned