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DEA Model for Considering Relationship between Supply Chain Members
No full textBackground: A supply chain is a network system that consists of many key players from initial production to fulfilling customers’ requirements. The performance of a supply chain can be measured by some variations of Network Data Envelopment Analysis (network DEA) which is a technique to measure the relative efficiency of a system, considering its internal structure. However, most variations of the network DEAs are not designed to include consideration of contract terms. Manufacturers often have contracts with suppliers for the long-term supply of their product. Such contracts are not easily terminated, modified or replaced. Alternative types of contracts, that do not bind the manufacturer to long-term commitments, can be quickly replaced by the manufacturer and/or supplier, to improve their supply chain performance. Therefore, the type of contracts that are extant or being considered is an important consideration when analyzing supply-chain performance. In this paper, a new network DEA, which can evaluate the efficiency of supply chains by considering the contract status, is proposed. Methods: By including the contract type in the DEA model in the representation of the internal structure of the supply chain, the efficiency of replaceable supplier contracts is acknowledged in the proposed methodology. This factor then contributes to the calculated efficiency score for the supply chain by comparing it with virtual chains that have the most efficient production capabilities. A virtual chain is generated by replacing an inefficient member with a more efficient one. To show the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed model, a case study of Thailand’s processed food industry is used. Results: The results show that using the proposed model can identify inefficiencies in the supply chains by considering actual contract situations. It also can provide alternative instances of inefficient supply chains to help to achieve an efficient situation. Conclusions: The proposed model allows us to consider the efficiency of supply chains that include changeable suppliers who are themselves efficient. The case study used in the study was a processed food supply chain in Thailand. The results of the case study show that the proposed model can help assessors to understand their supply chain efficiency and also the effects of their suppliers' efficiency.
Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA); Supply Chain; Food Industr
Enhancing Learning on Community-based Tourism: Cases of Thai Tribal Communities
No full text This study used participatory action research to enhance tribal communities learning regarding Community-based Tourism (CBT) management. Five tribal communities in Northern Thailand were selected as units of analysis. Participatory Action Research (PAR) was employed include planning, acting, observing and reflecting process. In total, 50 community members voluntarily joined as local researchers whilst 108 community members voluntarily responded to community potential assessment process. Thai and foreign tourists were accidentally sampled to reveal their push and pull factors influencing their CBT travel behavior. Questionnaires, reflecting meetings and brainstorming were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were used for analyses of collected data. The results showed different levels of community potential perceived by respondents. There were similar push and pull factors influencing Thai and foreign tourists’ CBT travel behavior. Major push factors influencing tourists’ behavior were the need to visit places that never been visited before and to learn new experiences in a different culture. Major pull factors were the beauty of natural attractions and environments as well as the honesty and friendliness of community people. Appropriate CBT routes were mapped by 50 community members and the authors.
Keywords: Community-based Tourism, Participatory Learning, Tribal Communitie
Does Psychosocial Support Improve the Socio Economic Status of a Marginalized Group? A Case Study of the Transgender Community in Penang, Malaysia
No full text Discrimination, social prejudice and intolerance have dogged the transgender population due to their ‘confused’ and ‘mixed’ gender identity and sexual expression. Local communities especially in most third world countries where gender equality and acceptance of sexual minorities are lagging behind first world nations view them as something of an aberration and misfits particularly from the social and religious contexts. Legal and social protection and safeguards for the transgender community in conservative societies such as Malaysia is virtually nonexistent. This is the inspiration behind this qualitative study which analyses whether psychosocial support given by the older transgender community to their young counterpart has an impact on improving the latter’s socio-economic status. Additionally, this study examines social interaction challenges faced by the youth transgender community primarily due to their marginalization and alienation by the wider heterosexual society. A total of 18 respondents aged between 18 and 40 was selected for this study via a snowballing sampling technique. Results of the study suggest that: 1) psychosocial support given by the older transgender community does assist the young adult transgender to go through their daily life with minimal challenges, and 2) social interaction challenges faced by youth transgender are ironically originating from their own transgender community. Therefore, the study recommends that both government and non-governmental organizations play a more active role in instilling awareness in society about the challenges faced by the transgender community, to stop discrimination against them at all levels and accept them with dignity as fellow human beings. One step towards this is for the Malaysian government to institute legal and social protection for sexual minorities, in this case the transgender community, that would safeguard their interests and protect their human rights as enshrined in the Constitution.
Keywords: Transgender Youth, Psychosocial Support, Discrimination, Social Interaction Challenges, Awareness and Legal Suppor
Sustainability Development and Kaizen Implementation for Vocational Education from Japan’s ODA in Thailand: How It Works and Impacts?
No full text The prominent agenda of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) is to develop human capital in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) vision of “people-centered development”. This study aimed to examine Japan’s ODA program in the Thai Vocational Education System by establishing the Japanese College Technology, KOSEN. Japan implements the 5S-Kaizen value system in KOSEN in order to promote sustainable growth. Kaizen is derived from words “Kai” (change) and “Zen” (good), while the 5S is derived from the five practices in the Japanese letters: Seiri (organization), Seiton (tidiness), Seiso (purity), Seiketsu (cleanliness), and Shitsuke (discipline). This research incorporated a qualitative approach with exploratory study combined with Bernstein’s Classification, and Framing employed a conceptual structure comprised of two variables: 1) the 5S-Kaizen value and its learning mechanism inside Thai-KOSEN as modeled by Vygotsky’s activity theory in the late of 1920 and early 1930s (1978), and 2) Elkington’s Sustainable Development (SD) model (2001). Four key informants from JICA and Thai-KOSEN participated in in-depth interviews. The study concluded that studying 5S- Kaizen in KOSEN leads to strong farming classification to SDG 8 decent work and economic growth and proved to be a significant force in embedding eco-friendly practices. Besides, ODA’s presence reflects that vocational education has been under control by a major power, including positioning education as a tool of cultural imperialism.
Keywords: Sustainability, 5s-Kaizen, TVET, Japan’s ODA, Cultural Imperialis
The Third-order Iterative Method for Solving Nonlinear Equations
No full text In this paper, we present a new iterative method for solving nonlinear equations, which were developed from the concept of Rafiq et al. The new method is based on Newton’s method and using Taylor’s Series to prove the convergence of the method. This iterative method requires three evaluations of the function, and only use the first derivative. Analysis of its convergence shows that the order of convergence of the new iterative method is third. Numerical comparisons are made with other methods to show the efficiency of the proposed method.
Keywords: Nonlinear equations, Newton’s method, Oder of convergence, Iterative metho
