Similar to other countries in the South-east Asian region, Thailand has transformed its education policy so that it may be able to better face the challenges of the globalised world. In order to do this, constructs such as student-centred learning and critical thinking, as well as the teaching of English in a more communicative manner, have been promoted. There has been little critical or grounded research carried out on the current English policy in Thailand, which emerged from the National Education Act of 1999 and the subsequent Basic Education Core Curricula of 2001 and 2008, therefore, in order to better understand how this policy works, this study explores how a group of Thai-English language teachers conceptualise the English language policy in Thailand by investigating their practices and beliefs (dispositions). In order to do this, and drawing on a social constructionist perspective from Bourdieu’s theory of practice, this thesis adopts a qualitative methodology that incorporates exploratory and ethnographic elements. Employing a combination of data collection methods that include classroom observations, retrospective accounts and semi-structured interviews, the findings demonstrate that a gap exists between the goals of the policy and what actually occurs in the classroom. Thus, there were few examples of either the communicative approach or student-centred learning being employed, with teachers instead tending to transmit knowledge to their students in a teacher-centred manner. Reasons for this may be due to the influence that the national examinations has on teachers’ work, the suitability and / or relevance of imported teaching and learning approaches on local contexts, as well as the need for better implementation of change. Teachers would indeed benefit from more professional development concerning the policy, but this thesis also argues that the policy itself needs to be critically examined. This would then allow Thailand, as well as other countries in the region, to better inform and improve their current education policies.

The absence of water catchment protection often results in contamination of drinking water supplies. Waters in South East Asia have been exploited to support extensive agriculture, industry, power generation, public water supply, fisheries and recreation use. Ammonia has been identified as a significant contaminant of drinking water because of its ability to affect the disinfection efficiency of chlorine. The interference of ammonia with chlorination is a prevalent and expensive problem faced by many water treatment plants (WTPs) located throughout South East Asia. The conventional approach for ammonia removal was to pre-chlorinate using high concentrations of chlorine, which has a number of disadvantages including the formation of disinfection by-products and high chlorine consumption. This thesis investigated the application of high rate nitrifying trickling filters (NTFs) as a means of ammonia removal from a polluted lowland water source as an alternative to pre-chlorination. NTFs are widely used for the biological remediation of ammonia rich wastewater, however their performance when required to operate under low ammonia concentrations for potable water applications was unknown. A NTF pilot facility consisting of one large-scale, and three small-scale NTFs were constructed at Hope Valley WTP in South Australia. The NTFs were operated to simulate the raw water quality of a polluted catchment identified in Indonesia (Buaran WTP), including variations in ammonia, biological oxygen demand (BOD5), and turbidity. Results confirmed that plastic-packed NTFs were able to operate equally successfully under low ammonia-N concentrations, some 10- to 50-fold lower that that of conventional wastewater applications, where complete conversion of ammonia to nitrate was consistently observed under these markedly reduced loadings. Results also showed that when operated under mass loads equivalent to typical ammonia loading criteria for wastewater NTFs, by increasing hydraulic flow¬, comparable apparent nitrification rates were achieved. These results confirmed that mass transport limitations posed by low ammonia-N concentrations on overall filter performance were insignificant. This thesis also investigated the impact of organic carbon quantity and biodegradability on the nitrification behaviour of the pilot NTF. Results demonstrated that organic carbon loading, rather than the C:N ratio, was an important regulator of filter nitrification capacity, where a linear decline in nitrification performance correlated well with sucrose and methanol augmented carbon loads. Extensive monitoring of inorganic nitrogen species down the NTF, to profile nitrification behaviour, showed sucrose-induced carbon loads greater than 870 mg sBOD5 m–2 d–1 severely suppressed nitrification throughout the entire filter bed. This study also confirmed that critical carbon loads for nitrification varied among carbon sources. In contrast to sucrose, when a more native-like carbon source was dosed (organic fertiliser), no significant decline in nitrification capacity was observed. This could be attributed to differences in carbon biodegradability. This research has provided new insights into the microbial ecology of a potable water NTF. The combination of fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for in situ analysis of biofilms was successful in identifying the spatial distribution of ammonia oxidising bacteria (AOB), nitrite oxidising bacteria (NOB) and heterotrophs. When the NTF was operated under low organic loads, clusters of AOB and NOB were abundant, and were located in close proximity to each other. Uniquely, the study identified not only Nitrospira spp but also the less common Nitrobacter spp within the NTF biofilm. Biofilm analysis showed that the type of carbon source also strongly influenced the biofilms characteristics in terms of biomass ecology, morphology, and polysaccharide composition, which was correlated with NTF performance. Results showed that an increase in sBOD5 via the addition of sucrose promoted the rapid growth of filamentous heterotrophic bacteria and production of large amounts of polysaccharide. Stratification of nitrifiers and heterotrophs, and high biofilm polysaccharide concentrations were observed at all filter bed depths, which coincided with the impediment of nitrification throughout the entire filter column. High biofilm polysaccharide concentrations also coincided with a significant increase (40 %) in filter hydraulic retention time, as determined by hydraulic tracer experiments. In contrast to sucrose-fed biofilms, organic fertiliser-fed biofilms had a more uniform and dense ultra-structure dominated by many rod shaped bacteria, and was significantly lower in polysaccharide composition. This observation was coupled with superior nitrification performance. This study confirmed that a well functioning NTF is a viable, low cost alternative for ammonia removal from source water abstracted from poorly protected catchments found in many developing countries. Pre-treatment using NTFs has the potential to reduce the chlorine dose required for pre-chlorination. Thereby improving water quality by minimising the formation of disinfection by-products, and improving the control of chlorination. NTFs could also find ready application in other situations where ammonia interferes with chlorine disinfection.

Monitoring large forest areas is presently feasible with satellite remote sensing as opposed to time-consuming and expensive ground surveys as alternative. This study evaluated, for the first time, the potential of using freely available medium resolution (30 m) Landsat time series data for deforestation monitoring in tropical rainforests of Kalimantan, Indonesia, at sub-annual time scales. A simple, generic, data-driven algorithm for deforestation detection based on a consecutive anomalies criterion was proposed. An accuracy assessment in the spatial and the temporal domain was carried out using high-confidence reference sample pixels interpreted with the aid of multi-temporal very high spatial resolution image series. Results showed a promising spatial accuracy, when three consecutive anomalies were required to confirm a deforestation event. Recommendations in tuning the algorithm for different operational use cases were provided within the context of satisfying REDD+ requirements, depending on whether spatial accuracy or temporal accuracy need to be optimized.

Monitoring large forest areas is presently feasible with satellite remote sensing as opposed to time-consuming and expensive ground surveys as alternative. This study evaluated, for the first time, the potential of using freely available medium resolution (30 m) Landsat time series data for deforestation monitoring in tropical rainforests of Kalimantan, Indonesia, at sub-annual time scales. A simple, generic, data-driven algorithm for deforestation detection based on a consecutive anomalies criterion was proposed. An accuracy assessment in the spatial and the temporal domain was carried out using high-confidence reference sample pixels interpreted with the aid of multi-temporal very high spatial resolution image series. Results showed a promising spatial accuracy, when three consecutive anomalies were required to confirm a deforestation event. Recommendations in tuning the algorithm for different operational use cases were provided within the context of satisfying REDD+ requirements, depending on whether spatial accuracy or temporal accuracy need to be optimized.

South-East Asian region is the most dynamic region in the world. It is also known for having enormous number of RTAs, which became the main drive force for trade integration. Moreover, China is the leader in this region, changing fast and becoming either a pioneer or a threat for the neighbor countries. This paper uses a gravity model to estimate the influence of RTAs on the countries in the region and attempts to find out whether new agreements will deeper the trade cooperation or make the 'spaghetti bowl' effect even worse.

The purpose of this study is to describe the history, development, problems, and issues related to achieving university status of South-East Asia College from 1974 to 1993. This historical research used records and documents from South-East Asia College and the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions of Thailand as primary sources. Also interviews with the president, faculty and staff of South-East Asia College were used. Secondary Sources were reports and publications from the Ministry of University Affairs in Thailand. The areas of emphasis in the study were government policies on private higher education, legislation that initiated the founding of the college, the founder, the college's goals, financial sources, curriculum, library, faculty, students, and buildings. It was found that the Thai government encourages the establishment of private higher education institutions. The Private Higher Educational Institution Act of 1979 was enacted to allow private universities to be equal to government universities. South-East Asia College was founded in 1974 by the Khunya Plak Muanpiew Foundation with the purpose of training Thai students for industrial technologies and business sectors. The college requested university status in April, 1987. The first attempt was turned down. Four areas not meeting the requirements were the library, faculty, students, and buildings. The college made a second request in December, 1991, and the change in status of South-East Asia College to South-East Asia University was approved in March, 1992. Suggestion for further study include: (a) the study is limited to one private university; a further investigation should be made of the other private institutions; and (b) a study should be conducted to identify factors which will contribute to the future development of South-East Asia University.

The existing analyses in the literature of inter-regionalism focus on a macro perspective when they look at the relationship between inter-regional ties and global governance. They have not explored the European Union’s (EU) policy development toward the Association of South-East Asia Nations (ASEAN) in detail which affects the EU and ASEAN relationship. They have overlooked explanations and current empirical evidence regarding that relationship. This thesis analyses internal factors within the EU and external factors from ASEAN and outside of the EU which influence EU policies toward ASEAN. The internal factors are the relevant actors within the various institutional arrangements of the EU policy and the promotion of interests of the EU and those of its member states and to some extent of common EU values. The modes of engagement between the EU and ASEAN, the level of integration within ASEAN and the pressures and opportunities from ASEAN and outside the EU are the external factors. Then, this thesis assesses how, when and to what extent these factors influence the EU’s policy developments toward ASEAN and have implications for the inter-regional relationship between the two regions. I examine three EU policies toward ASEAN from 2001 to 2009:1) a new partnership with South-East Asia, 2) the joint EUASEAN monitoring mission in Aceh, and 3) an ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).This thesis is based on a qualitative method of analysis and is part of problem-driven research. It employs inductive theory building from case studies as the research strategy and documents and interviews as methods of data collection. This thesis presents the variation in importance within factors which influence the EU’s policy development toward ASEAN. It highlights different kinds of interactions between factors which shape the success or failure of the EU’s policy development. The co-operative relationship between these factors is needed to conclude agreement between the two regions. However, the conflicting relationship between these factors can lead to the failure to reach agreement between them. With regard to internal factors, this thesis demonstrates that a shared common position between relevant and other related actors within each of the various institutional arrangements in the EU may assist in the conclusion of an agreement between the two regions. As EU interests takes precedence over values, the likelihood of achieving an agreement increases. With regard to external factors, this thesis argues that consultation and monitoring mechanisms have been used by the EU as its modes of engagement (as opposed to a negotiation) and they affect its policy development and enable it to reach an agreement with ASEAN. The conclusion of an agreement between the two regions can be easily achieved, when the level of integration within ASEAN remains static or weak. However, when the level of integration within ASEAN is stronger, the EU would be less likely to achieve its expected agreements with ASEAN. The conclusion of an agreement between the EU and ASEAN can be achieved when they can resolve these external pressures and take advantage of external opportunities. The trends in and implications for the EU and ASEAN relationship are as follows: first, the more the EU applies a balanced treatment of internal and external factors, then the more it will support the EU’s policy development and that will positively influence the EU and ASEAN relationship. Second, their relationship has been shifted from a hierarchical ex-colonial dynamic to a mutually interdependent partnership.

This work attempts to offer an insight into the problematic of the genus Elettariopsis Baker, the last unrevised genus in the subfamily Alpinioideae (Zingiberaceae). Phylogenetic analyses are performed on ITS, matK and DCS sequence data and correlated with absolute genome size and biogeographical distribution of the samples. Elettariopsis as a genus is found to be weakly supported and strongly supported only with the addition of some species of Amomum Roxb., including the type species A. subulatum. The absolute genome size in this group is greater than in the outgroup represented by members of the Zingiberoideae subfamily. The evidence given by sequence data further suggests that Elettariopsis is divided into two well-supported groups, the "E. curtisii" group and the "E. triloba/E. unifolia" group, each of which contains several well-supported clades. In the analysis of absolute genome size it is shown that the absolute genome size in the "E. triloba/E.unifolia" group is higher than in the "E. curtisii" group. These two groups also differ slightly in their biogeographical distribution, the group G being distributed in only in Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, while members of group H are also occurring in Singapore and Indonesia (Borneo). Keywords: Zingiberaceae, Elettariopsis, South-East Asia, ITS,...

Background and objectives: The current and projected burden of cardiometabolic diseases in Asia is high, with a notable and rapidly increasing prevalence of associated risk factors among children in this region. Comprehensive evidence on cardiometabolic disease risk factors among children in Asia is required to ensure well-informed strategies to address the future burden of disease in this region. This thesis aims to increase the current understanding of cardiometabolic disease risk factors among children in Asia. Methods: Using previously collected data on 6903 children and 17 656 adults participating in the South East Asia Community Observatory health and demographic surveillance system (SEACO HDSS) in Malaysia, the characterisation, prevalence and sociodemographic determinants of key child risk factors were examined. Furthermore, a feasibility study building upon the SEACO framework (N = 203) was designed and implemented to explore the possibility of increasing the range of cardiometabolic measures obtained from children through the collection and analysis of biological samples from individuals in the HDSS. Results: There was a high burden of cardiometabolic disease risk factors among both adults and children in this population. Among children, prevalence estimates for the four key risk factors (overweight, obesity, underweight and stunting) differed considerably depending upon the anthropometric reference used to classify these measures, but were notable regardless of reference. Nutritional and household environmental indices, including child underweight and household sanitation facilities, were strongly associated with stunting risk in this population. Furthermore, children with parents who were obese or centrally obese had an approximately twofold increased risk of being obese. There was no clear evidence of association between measures of socioeconomic position and cardiometabolic disease risk factors among children. Finally, effective procedures were established for the collection, analysis and storage of biological samples from children and their family members in the HDSS, with implications for potential scale-up to facilitate more detailed characterisation of cardiometabolic disease risk. Conclusions: This work indicates a high burden of cardiometabolic disease risk factors among children in this population, identifies modifiable sociodemographic influences on these risk factors, highlights opportunities to more comprehensively characterise child cardiometabolic disease risk in this population, and hence informs future directions for research and strategies to address the growing burden of risk factors among children in this region.

This paper challenges the fact and to change people’s opinion about the much controversial ‘green’energy that is Bioenergy. If done properly with the right tool and attitude to implement a change in businesspractices, bioenergy could potentially be one of the major substitutes for fossil fuels, or as a preferred alternativeenergy. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system is introduced as the solution for a cleaner and more sustainableoperation in terms of logistics strategy and supply chain management by integrating all business functions togetherwith the help of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) for a more transparent and efficient exchangeof data and instruction. The methodology employed is through a quantitative pilot experiment that is conducted inThailand, representing the region of South East Asia because of the climatic resemblance. The conceptualframework is based purely on the relationship between the Moisture Content (MC) of the biomass and thetransportation needed, and subsequently the environmental benefits that come along with a higher energy valuebiomass and a cut down of GHG emissions. The findings and analysis show a trend in superior operationalefficiency that leads to higher profitability performance due to cost savings and a minimization of environmentalimpact with a lower MC, before and after ERP is adopted to the business process. It is therefore decided thatcompanies gain competitive advantage with the employment of ERP platform, with a better management of theenterprise’s resources.