Language Use And Language Attitudes Of Multilingual Speakers: A Case Study Of Prince Of Songkla University Undergraduates

Thailand merupakan sebuah negara multilingual yang terdiri lebih daripada 70 bahasa minoriti yang dituturkan (Smalley, 1994; Rappa & Wee, 2006). Salah satu daripadanya ialah dialek Melayu Pattani dengan sekitar 800,000 orang jumlah penuturnya yang bermastautin di wilayah-wilayah sebelah selatan sekali (Smalley, 1994) Thailand is a multilingual country with over 70 minority languages spoken in the country (Smalley, 1994; Rappa & Wee, 2006). One of which is Patani Malay with about 800,000 speakers residing in the southernmost provinces (Smalley, 1994

Attitudes towards Thai, Patani Malay, and English of Thai Undergraduates: A Case Study at Prince of Songkla University Pattani Campus, Thailand

AbstractThe paper will shed light on the multilingual phenomena of Thai undergraduates from the southernmost provinces where multilingualism is particularly vital. This paper focuses on attitudes towards the Thai, Patani Malay, and English languages of Thai undergraduates, exploring their reasons behind their attitudes. Data was collected by interviewing 30 undergraduates from Prince of Songkla University Pattani Campus, Thailand. A qualitative approach was used for data analysis. The results revealed the positive attitudes towards the three languages by most students, though their underlying reasons varied

The benefits of keeping Hmong girls enrolled in primary education in Luang Prabang province of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) : teachers and parents/guardians viewpoints and perspectives

Primary schooling in Laos improved dramatically after Laos got full independence in 1975. The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) has expanded a number of schools, improved the quality of teacher training and made teaching and learning relevant to all children. Primary school is a very significant place for all children to develop their learning tools and it is a place where children ought to be treated equally in terms of access to education. Enrolment of girls at primary school brings vital benefits not only for the children but also for their families, their communities and their country because these females can contribute to the quality of productivity. This qualitative research investigated the benefits of primary schooling for girls as perceived by parents/guardians. The research takes into account their perspectives on keeping their daughters at primary school. Parents and guardians were interviewed in a village in the Xieng Ngeun district, Luang Prabang, Laos. While emphasising the parents’ perceived benefits for enrolling their daughters at primary school, this research focuses on the issues that the parents confront in keeping their daughters at primary school as well as what other parents could do to enrol their daughters in primary school in the future. A qualitative approach was employed for this research. Two different groups of participants were interviewed using mainly a semi-structured interview strategy. The first group consisted of the parents of female Hmong students who were studying at primary school, while the second group consisted of the teachers who taught at primary school. All twelve participants had played a significant role in education for girls and they could provide relevant data and answer the research questions. The results of the findings indicate that the participants acknowledged the advantages of enrolling their daughters at primary school such as improving their literacy, numeracy, learning Lao, exchanging cultural knowledge and various other benefits. These benefits could improve the quality of life of Hmong girls as well as their families. The findings of this study also reveal that primary schools have improved considerably. More and more Hmong girls were enrolled in both kindergarten and primary school and this could help to enhance students’ Lao language and eliminate illiteracy. The primary school is a very important part of the education system because it is the foundation for literacy acquisition within a population. It also became apparent that a basic level of education for everyone must be achieved before continuing their education at secondary school. The findings of this study suggest that even though the numbers of female Hmong children enrolled at primary school have increased, there should be more support for these girls and that support should be ongoing. Another crucial recommendation is that there should be more Hmong or Khmu teachers especially at first grade and second grade. The quality of Hmong or Khmu teachers who teach at first and second grades at primary school is vital because students need to be able to speak, read and write Lao fluently

Reforming the pension system in Lao PDR

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Public Policy,2011The publicly-managed Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) defined-benefit pension scheme in Lao PDR is described, with an analysis of its financial sustainability in the context of an aging society in a dynamically efficient economy. By using actuarial models developed by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the paper finds that the implicit pension debt (IPD) of the scheme is high in comparison with GDP of the year 2000, the base year for projections. In addition, the paper also evaluates pension system reforms in German, Korea and Thailand. Moreover, regarding the social aspect, a high IPD implies that the burden of maintaining this scheme is borne by the current and future participants. For this reason, the pension scheme in Lao PDR will cause not only financial instability but also inter-generational inequity. In order to avoid this situation, the current scheme needs to be reformed. This paper suggests that the PAYG pension system be reformed to a fullyfunded one. Other considerations include increasing retirement age, solving the implicit pension debt when moving from PAYG to a funded scheme, and the management and regulatory framework of the pension scheme.masterpublishedby Sisamouth Chanthavong

Brazeability and mechanical properties of Ag-Cu-Sn brazing filler metals on copper-brazed joint

This paper describes an investigation of cadmium-free silver brazing filler metals, the ternary Ag-Cu-Sn alloys. The influences of tin content on solidus and liquidus temperatures and gap filling ability of Ag-Cu-Sn alloys on copper were investigated. Microstructures of the joint and the shear strength were examined. Investigation on gap filling ability test procedure was performed according to ISO 5179-1983. The result from differential thermal analysis showed that the solidus and liquidus temperatures of the filler metals decreased with the increment of tin content in Ag-Cu-Sn. The results from the shear test showed that the brazed joint exhibited the highest strength at 10 wt-% tin content in the filler metal. The joint gaps of less than 0.10 mm were proposed when designing the brazed joint for Ag-Cu-Sn filler metals

Resources Conservation and Enhancement in Nam Houm Reservoir, Lao PDR

In 2010, the Training Department of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC/TD) in cooperation with Department of Fisheries of Thailand and Department of Livestock and Fisheries of Lao PDR embarked on a five-year project on Rehabilitation of Fisheries Resources and Habitat/Fishing Grounds for Resources Enhancement funded by Japanese Trust Fund 5 (JTF-5). The selected project pilot site was Nam Houm Reservoir in Lao PDR. Mainly used support agriculture, Nam Houm Reservoir has water serving capacity of 60 million m3 in wet season. The total population from four villages near the Reservoir is 3,300 and as reported there are 36 species of fish in Nam Houm Reservoir. The main valuable and market species are tilapia Oreochromis niloticus, featherback fish Notopterus notopterus, and common silver barb Barbonymus gonionotus (Bleeker, 1849). The Project carried out various activities including improvement of fisheries information and data collection, promotion of sustainable fisheries and the concept of community-based and co-management in inland fisheries, strengthening of critical habitat protection measures by installing 50 pieces of highly effective fish shelter with fishing gear prevention tools in the conservation area to protect broodstocks from illegal fishers, technology transfer of mobile hatchery to the fishers group at Nam Houm Reservoir, as well as promotion of breeding techniques for common silver barb by injecting hormones to broodstocks and juvenile fish releasing techniques. All activities were successfully undertaken with the cooperation of Nam Houm Reservoir Fishery Management Committee (RFMR) and local fishers. The Project also demonstrated a good practice of comanagement between local people and government in the inland fishery sector. Moreover, the technical knowledge and techniques from the team of experts had been transferred to local officers and local people during the Project period. Now, the local people can apply and develop more techniques appropriate for reservoir fisheries in the country to achieve the goal of sustainable inland fisheries management in the future