Uppsatsen syftar till att identifiera livsstilsmigranters identitetsskapande och skapandet av infrastruktur genom att analysera migrationsprocessen och det vardagliga livet på destinationen. Fokus ligger på svenska livsstilsmigranter som är antingen permanent boende, återvändare, säsongsmigranter eller ambulerande besökare på Phuket. Genom att angripa syftet med ett transnationalistiskt perspektiv visar uppsatsen att migrationsprocessen och identitetsskapandet är konstant föränderligt utan definitivt slut. Empirimaterialet består av kvalitativa intervjuer med svenskar som livsstilsmigrerat till Phuket samt observationer i Patong och Kamala beach. Livsstilsmigration till värmen har pågått under flera årtionden men flödena av livsstilsmigranter till Thailand är relativt nya och lite forskning om dessa flöden har bedrivits.  Det svenska transnationella nätverket har byggt upp en infrastruktur på Phuket som tar sig form i en svensk grundskola, svenska kyrkan, lokaltidningar på svenska samt flertalet svenskägda hotell och restauranger som serverar skandinavisk mat. Svenskarna som intervjuades sade sig må bra och leva ett gott liv men vardagen kantas av oro för de visum- och bostadslagar som kan sätta käppar i hjulen för de som vill stanna i Thailand. Även om svenskarna tycker mycket bra om thailändare och uppskattar den goda service och de leenden de får så gör språksvårigheter att de är misstänksamma mot dem och hellre tyr sig till andra livsstilsmigranter.

This thesis examines the traditional role of a monarchy in processes of democratization. This thesis evaluates this theory by examining the case of the democratization process in Thailand and the role of the current King in that process.

Faithful to My Land is a composition for orchestra in three continuous movements that reveals my deep admiration for my country, Thailand. This composition expresses my belief in the nation of Thailand, its religion, and its constitutional monarchy. The main materials of each movement refer to source ideas that relate to these three institutions of my country. This composition, which is around fourteen minutes in length, is globally organized within a tonal framework; both diatonic and chromatic notes are employed. The music does not embody traditional common practice but neo-tonality. This composition integrates various musical styles—neoclassicism, nationalism, and minimalism. The first movement refers to the Thai national anthem. This movement mainly grows from a subject, a countersubject, and two main motives. The music of the movement is largely tonal. The main materials are pervasive throughout the movement, and it is thus largely homogeneous, with little thematic contrast. The entire movement continues with a driving rhythm in various alternations. The near-continuous sixteenth notes in the viola and other string parts contribute to this energy and rhythmic drive and reinforce the orchestral color. The second movement deals with the two religions—Buddhism and Christianity— that are prevalent in Thailand. The music of this movement derives from the three main sources: Miserere mei, Deus by Josquin des Prez, a specially constructed “Buddha motive,” and an anonymous Buddhist prayer. Some compositional techniques derive from the Renaissance period. The movement also employs number symbolism relating to significant numbers in the Buddhist and Christian traditions. The third movement alludes to the constitutional monarchy with high respect. The music of the last movement is based on a twelve-note compositional idea, but it is not truly serial: a twelve-tone row with its developments—retrograde and inversion—occurs in some local areas. The last movement concludes with an epilogue, which derives from the significant materials presented in all three movements. / School of Music

The purpose of this study is to use a qualitative approach to highlight the western involvement in Thai orphanages and, on basis of Western moral development workers and volunteers, enlighten how Western colonial heritage can be recreated in the humanitarian economic aid. The study is based on the recent tsunami disaster in 2004 which led to a huge voluntary effort by Western volunteers and organizations who wanted to rebuild the country. Now, seven years after the disaster, the country has recovered well and thanks to a strong turism, and industrial growth, the country has now reached the position of a middle income country with regional power. The study presents a selection of previous ressearch in the area from different critical perspectives. It is a field study based on qualitative interviews with six informants that highlights the individual engagment in humanitarian assistance. Theories based on Post-colonialism and globalization have been used in order to analyze and reach the result of this study.

This paper examines the explanatory variables that can affect the real exchange rate (RER). It aims at investigating the way in which RER (real exchange rate) misalignment relates to the Thai economy in regarding the financial crisis, capital control policy imposed by the central Bank of Thailand (BOT), and import/export. The RER (real exchange rate) at the equilibrium level will be estimated using the behavioral effective exchange rate model (BEER model). RER (real exchange rate) misalignment is observed through comparing the calculated RER (real exchange rate) and the estimated RER (real exchange rate) in the long run equilibrium. Using data from year 1993Q1 to 2010Q4, it can be observed the direction in which each main economic factors affecting RER (real exchange rate). The result reveals the RER (real exchange rate) misalignment; overvaluation in the period before 1997 Asian financial crisis and before US subprime crisis in 2008. These misalignments of RER (real exchange rate) correspond to the intervention from BOT. With RER (real exchange rate) misalignment, the impact on import/export sector plays vital role towards criteria of policy selection.

Since ten members of ASEAN are moving towards ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 which ten member countries are integrating competitively into regional and global markets as well as continuing to build a people-oriented AEC. From this integration the unemployment rate will be affected through the mechanism of the export and GDP. With economics and econometrics models used, this paper will discuss and prove that the implication of AEC will lead to the decrease in unemployment rate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of the Kolbe A Index to predict learners' attitudes and achievements within a web-based training context. The Index is used to measure the conative capacities of individuals. The Index translates raw scores into four Action Modes: Fact Finder, Follow Thru, Quick Start, and Implementor. A web-based simulation of training on customer service excellence was created containing four modules designed to match the respective learning style of each of the four Action Modes suggested by the Kolbe Corporation. Research questions were as follows. To what extent do the four Kolbe A Index Action Modes predict 1) how well learners will like content formatted to match the learning styles of the four Modes, 2) how well learners will remember content formatted to match the learning styles of the four Modes, and 3) how well the learners will remember the content regardless of the format? Three experts in applications of the Kolbe A Index then validated the simulation. Five other experts, each with a Ph.D. in the social sciences, validated the evaluation of learners' attitudes and achievements. Then a pilot study to collect data for a reliability analysis was conducted. Sixty graduates from an international program in economics in Thailand participated in this study. Data were collected entirely through the Internet and in English. Multiple linear regression analyses with backward stepping method were performed to answer the research questions. Based on the limitations and data analyses of this study, the Kolbe A Index Action Modes did not predict how well learners liked content formatted to match the learning styles of the four Modes, how well learners remembered content formatted to match the learning styles of the four Modes, nor how well the learners remembered the content regardless of the format. More research is needed to explore how the Kolbe A Index Action Modes can be used to predict learners' attitudes and achievements.

Construction managers confront many problems. Still, this industry plays a vital role in the healthy growth of the economy of many countries throughout the developed and developing world. Effective management of construction projects has been a major research subject in the last century due to the importance of this industry and the amount of money it attracts. One critical problem facing construction managers is inefficient cost control procedures, particularly in developing regions of the world. Since the end of the Second World War, the use of sophisticated cost control procedures in managing and controlling project costs have been accepted and applied widely in many parts of the world such as the United States and the United Kingdom. These procedures are important in a growing economy to ensure delivery of projects on time and within budget, but they are equally important during an economic recession when project viability becomes marginal. In the early 1990s, the construction industry in Thailand played a critical role during a period of strong economic growth. Construction cost control was not a major concern as developers rushed to capitalize on the booming market. In the late 1990s, the economy of Southeast Asia sank into recession. Project cost control became a critical issue for the developers as well as the construction companies in managing construction projects. A significant number of projects in Thailand in the late 1990s had significant cost overruns. Cost overruns had been a problem during the high growth period in the early 1990s, but demand overcame the problems created by poor cost control. The use of good project cost control procedures has become a concern of project investors and construction companies in Thailand since the recession of the late 1990s. Project managers and developers are now aware that the failure of a cost control system or use of a poor system can lead to project failure. Project cost control methods need to be improved in Thailand to ensure that owners and contractors manage construction costs and meet project goals on time and within budget. In this study, project cost controls in the United States and Thailand will be examined. These procedures will be analyzed to identify their similarities and differences. The causes and solutions for cost overruns in the two countries will also be examined. The results from the study will illustrate how the project cost control procedures used in the United States can be applied to the construction industry in Thailand to improve the procedures used by Thai contractors.

A direct historical approach is used in this thesis to document the lost wax casting technique as currently practiced by indigenous metallurgists in northeastern Thailand. The smiths observed at Ban Pba Ao, Ubon Ratchathani Province are the last practicing members of a bronze working tradition that has been in continuous operation at the village for two centuries. An account of the processes used to create bronze bells is provided. Of particular significance is the fact that the yard in which casting activities are performed did not receive clean up operations following the bells production. As a result, hearths, bowl furnaces, crucibles and fragments of clay moulds are left scattered about the yard. These materials accumulating in one location would eventually create a mound of cultural debris. The discarded materials from the lost wax casting process as practiced at Ban Pba Ao provide considerable insight into what might be found in the stratigraphy of Peninsular Southeast Asian prehistoric sites that were involved in the production of bronze objects. The study concludes that attention needs to be paid to the stratigraphic sequences from which bronze artifacts are extracted, rather than relying on the artifacts to determine the type of process used in their manufacture.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Robert E. Looney, William Gates. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45). Also available online.