Naresuan University Journal
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Antibacterial Activity of Plant Extract: the Role of Lemongrass and Chili Extracts, a Bacteriocin from Bacillus velezensis BUU004, and Their Combination to Control Staphylococcus aureus in Dried, Seasoned and Crushed Squid
No full text Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of foodborne bacterial diseases worldwide, and exists in a wide variety of food products in Thailand, particularly dried seafood products. This study evaluated the inhibitory potential against S. aureus of mixed extracts of lemongrass and hot chili (MLC), bacteriocin, which is produced by Bacillus velezensis BUU004, and their combination, and their effects on physicochemical quality of dried, seasoned, and crushed squids. Dried squid samples were inoculated with S. aureus suspension and then divided into 4 treatments: addition of 1) distilled water (control), 2) a partially-purified solution containing bacteriocin from B. velezensis BUU004 (PPS-BV; 800 AU/mL), 3) an MLC (160 mg/mL), and 4) a combination of the PPS-BV and MLC. Squid samples were maintained at 2 storage temperatures: either at 4°C or room temperature (approximately 25°C) for 28 days. Two administration regimes of the tested additives were applied: a single addition at the onset of the experiment, and a 14-day addition at 14 and 28 days of storage. Strong anti-staphylococcal activity was observed in the dried squids treated with MLC, and a combination of the PPS-BV and MLC during 28-day storage at both conditions, in particular when the 14-day addition was applied. In contrast, the PPS-BV was ineffective against S. aureus in the dried squid samples. The MLC and the combination had bactericidal potency by destroying the bacterial cell walls and cell lysis. Supplementation of the MLC caused a significant reduction (p<0.05) in pH simultaneously with a significant increase (p<0.05) in the water activity of the dried squid during storage. This study suggests a potential use of MLC as a biopreservative for controlling the growth of S. aureus in dried seafood products.
Keywords: Food safety, Seafood, Bacillus, Bacteriocin, Biopreservatio
Building New Literacies of Indigenous Youth and their Parents and Teachers: A Research-community Extension Project
No full text The indigenous Mamanwa community in San Francisco, Surigao del Norte, Philippines had been part of a decade-long Adopt-A-Barangay Program of Surigao State College of Technology (SSCT) in Surigao City. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic came, schools were shut down and their youth had to learn via remote learning amid limited resources and unfamiliarity of the learning delivery modality. This research-community extension project was designed to provide guidance to the Mamanwa youth by training them, including their parents and teachers, on new 21st Century literacies to better handle the shift to remote learning. Inspired by the bioecological model, a qualitative needs assessment research, which involved a conduct of five separate focus group discussions, identified eight targets for new literacies instruction, namely global awareness to develop deeper appreciation of education, collaboration skills to foster strong teacher-parent alliance, communication skills for parents to become effective co-teachers, innovative skills for teachers to sustain motivation of the indigenous youth learners, financial literacy for parents to better manage their resources, ICT literacy and media literacies, information literacy, and health literacy for Mamanwa youth and their parents. The new literacies instruction comprised of a series of workshops that were facilitated by SSCT faculty-extensionists, in cooperation with the local government of the Municipality of San Francisco and the school administration of Balite National High School. Evaluation data collected after the workshops indicated positive impressions and promising immediate outcomes on the part of the participants.
Keywords: New Literacy Skills, Indigenous Peoples, Academic Engagemen
Community-based Tourism and Community Economic Development: The Case of the Lower Northern Region, Thailand
No full text Thailand has witnessed strategic transformation and development of tourism over the past three decades. In 1987, the campaign “Visiting Thailand Year”, which solely focused on raising revenue through mass tourism, was increasingly observed to impact the economy, society, and environment negatively. Thailand’s tourism paradigm thus shifted for more sustainable development. One of the concepts promoted following this direction is Community-based Tourism (CBT). For CBT, the community is central in creating its tourism goods and services: its natural resources, social, cultural, and environmental capitals. Besides generating value and revenue, several touring activities promoted their villages’ unique ways of life and culture. Data from four CBT communities of Na Ton Chan, Mai Rong Kla, Lablae, and Nam Khek, revealed successful yields. This profitable model prompted several CBT business groups to establish themselves in their community as economic stabilizers. However, CBT promotion requires each community to understand its essence by preserving identity and maintaining authenticity. CBT business groups must be careful not to overinvest in tour-related services such as homestays or transportation. They must also consider the destination’s unique cycle and trends to avoid overhead expectations and conflicts, which could negatively affect the community’s social capital.
Keywords: Community-based Tourism (CBT), Community Economic Development, Lower Northern Regio
Contribution of Microfinance to Households’ Economic Wellbeing
No full text The ability of microfinance and microcredit programmes to alleviate poverty and increase household income levels is often debated and questioned. The thematic thrust of this research is to analyse the factors affecting the household income levels in Bulawayo Province, Zimbabwe” for the period 2009 to 2019. Lately, the microfinance field has become popular due to the increase in businesses that are operating in the informal sector. This study investigated the effect of microfinance loans on household income in Bulawayo Province of Zimbabwe using a representative sample of 200 households. A quantitative research method was used in this study in the way of household survey questionnaires. The Tobit model was used to analyse the sample data of this study and the findings were that education level and value of household assets are the only significant variables affecting household income. The study revealed that there is a significant and positive relationship between household income and education level of the household head. Education level, and household assets also play an important role in determining the wellbeing of people. The main recommendation from this study is that the government of Zimbabwe should explore ways for improvements in the access to education for all and also improvements in quality of education.
Keywords: Microcredit, Microfinance, Bulawayo Province, Household Income, Tobit Mode
Virtual Hotel Operator (VHO) Affiliated Small Accommodation Business: A Comparison of Perceived Performance
No full text The Virtual Hotel Operator (VHO) is the latest revolution in the hospitality industry that provides an opportunity for small accommodation businesses to compete with more prominent industry players. The VHO expanded and is well applied and advanced in Asia, including Metro Cebu, Philippines, where different VHO brands have partnered with varying arrays of accommodation establishments. VHO supplies the budget traveler and delivers reasonable accommodation with a good value, which has brought impressive changes in the hospitality industry’s traditional systems. However, there is only limited literature about VHO. Thus, in bridging this gap, this paper was centered on the following objectives: Determine the performance of the accommodation businesses affiliated with VHO; Determine the comparison level of the perceived accommodation performance during the VHO partnership; Distinguish the difference of the results among the different VHO brands in Metro Cebu; Determine the advantages and concerns of small accommodation business operators with VHO affiliation and; Test the significant difference of the perceived comparison level among different VHO brands. This study gathered 40 responses from operators of small accommodation businesses in Metro Cebu. This study employed a descriptive method using questionnaires with designated statements that indicate the comparison level of the perceived accommodation performance during the VHO partnership. The findings proved that all the accommodation businesses’ performance has improved during the VHO partnership; specifically, The Metro Cebu small accommodation businesses performance was much better during the VHO partnership. In uncovering the significant difference among the different VHO brands, a non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used, resulted in p = 0.01; thus, there is a significant difference in the comparison level of the perceived accommodation performance during the VHO partnership among VHO brands.
Keywords: Virtual Hotel Operator (VHO), Affiliated Small Accommodation Businesses, Perceived Performance, Hospitality Industr
E-Government Initiatives of Local Governments in the Philippines
No full text Information and Communications Technology (ICT) played a vital role in local governance. Modern technologies and ICT applications were used to facilitate government transactions and enhance the delivery and quality of government services. This qualitative study aimed to identify the e-Government initiatives of the local governments of Sorsogon in the Philippines. Key informant survey, documentary analysis, and interviews with Planning and Development Coordinators and IT Focal Persons were conducted to determine the e-Government initiatives along with technology, human resources, linkages, and policies. Findings revealed that the e-Government initiatives of local governments were mostly done in partnership with National Government Agencies (NGAs). Along technology, some of the local governments established websites, developed information systems, and adopted online systems introduced by other government agencies. Along human resources, the e-Government initiatives were mostly seminars and training in collaboration with NGAs. Along linkages, the local governments established a partnership with other government agencies such as the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the City Government of Legazpi. Only a few local governments partnered with the private sector and a higher learning institution for its e-Government program. Along policies, local governments passed resolutions and entered into a memorandum of agreements for their e-Government initiatives. With these, the local governments must sustain their e-Government initiatives and consider taking more steps towards successful e-Governance.
Keywords: E-Government, ICT, Local Government, Philippines, Smart Governmen
Efficiency of Smart Farm System on Enhancement of Pepper Production
No full textThis research presents the Smart Farm System (SFS), networked with the Internet of Things, and its positive impact on the yield and productivity of a pepper crop. The SFS was designed and developed using an ESP32 microcontroller board connected to a BME280 spraying system and also to an SHT10 sprinkler system. The SFS operates continuously and accurately according to set parameters, with the spraying system operating based on temperature and humidity parameters when the temperature is greater than 30 °C and the humidity is less than 80 %RH, and the sprinkler system operating according to soil moisture parameters, when the soil moisture is less than 70%. The results show that, in the comparison of pepper yield of the crops watered under the control of the SFS, for both the spraying systems and the sprinkler system, and a crop watered under the usual general watering process, the mean values of pepper crop yield weights were significantly higher for the SFS-controlled systems. Compared to general watering, the pepper yield weight from the spraying system increased by 49.97% and 24.97% from the sprinkler system. The pepper quality values of average bunch length, bunch diameter, and pepper seed size from both the crop watered by the spraying system and the sprinkler system were all significantly higher than those obtained from the general watering process. User satisfaction with the automated systems for convenience of use, user interface and application, clarity of the instruction manual, material requirements and structure of the devices was high as was the confidence that the systems could generate higher productivity from the pepper.
Keywords: Smart farm system, Internet of Things, Temperature, Humidity, Soil moisture, Peppe
