volume-18-number-1

Author: Romeo B. Lee

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1

Pages: 1-14

Before Thailand implemented the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) in 2002, 18 million people were uninsured. Thus, this study assessed the impact of the UCS on healthcare utilization by investigating the changes in health-seeking behavior among the previously uninsured before and after UCS. Using the nationwide Health and Welfare Survey data of 2001 and 2003–2005, multinomial logistic regression and mixed-effects multinomial logistic regression were used to investigate the relationship between health-seeking behavior and individual characteristics, and how the relationship changed over time. The study findings indicated that the UCS significantly increased utilization of public facility care and simultaneously decreased utilization of informal care. The observed changes were more significant in lower income, female, lower educated, and married people. But, there was no significant change in utilization of private facility care after the UCS. The changes in health-seeking behavior among lower income people from informal care requiring fully out-of-pocket (OOP) payment into public facility care requiring no or minimum OOP payment implied that UCS contributed to financial protection and equity in healthcare utilization. It also contributed to safety in healthcare utilization by decreasing the utilization of informal care which had the potential risk from inaccurate self-diagnosis and treatment. However, more than 50% of the beneficiaries still utilized care outside the UCS service boundary, which might be due to insufficient healthcare resources in public sector. Thus, the UCS should continue an effort to improve the infrastructure in public sector and to encourage the involvement of private sector in the scheme.

Keywords: Universal Coverage Scheme, 30-Baht Scheme, health insurance, health-seeking behavior, healthcare utilization, Thailand

Pages: 15-31

Topics concerning LGBT, specifically bisexuals, are not as widely researched like that of topics concerning heterosexuals. Hence, little is known about LGBT individuals. However, due to some researches that are conducted by various advocates, organizations, and researchers, many aspiring researchers aim to explore the topics concerning LGBT like identity and sexual orientation. Thus, this research aims to explore the formation of identity and sexual orientation of young Filipino bisexuals, specifically, to formulate a formation of identity and sexual orientation of young Filipino bisexuals model that is drawn from the experiences, perceived origin of bisexuality, and factors affecting identity formation of the participants. This study utilized an interpretative phenomenological analysis, qualitative research design, and thematic analysis to analyze the gathered data. Five bisexual participants were chosen using purposive homogenous sampling technique. The result of the study showed that there are five stages of formation of identity and sexual orientation of bisexuals. There are Stage 1: disorientation of sexuality, Stage 2: deconstruction of the self, Stage 3: revelation of sexuality to interpersonal relationships, Stage 4: rationalization of bisexuality and reaching out towards other LGBT, and Stage 5: reconstruction of the self. Moreover, the perceived origins of bisexuality of the research participants were based on the principles of nature and nurture. In addition, the factors that affected their identity formation were: society, family, stigma/discrimination, culture, peers, social media, work, self, and internalized sexual stigma.

Keywords: Identity Formation, Sexual Orientation, Bisexuals, Qualitative Research, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Pages: 32-45

Most prior research addressing the topic of educational mismatch focuses on university graduates, while the analysis of microdata on doctorate holders has received relatively little attention in the literature. Using Korean survey of Careers and Mobility of Doctorate Holders (KCDH), this paper attempts to examine the incidence and wage effects of over-education among the most highly educated workers (i.e., doctorate holders) in the Korean labor market. Overall, the major findings of this study confirm the findings of existing studies. The analysis reveals a worrisome situation in which a non-negligible proportion of doctorate holders face over-education associated with a significant wage penalty. Approximately 44% of doctorate holders in our sample survey consider themselves as being over-educated. The significant wage penalty (approximately 6.5 percent) exists for over-educated workers compared with their adequately-matched counterparts. From theoretical perspectives on labor market mismatch, our results confirm the validity of the assignment theory, which asserts that the returns to additional investment in human capital appear to depend in part on the quality of the assignment of heterogeneous workers to heterogeneous jobs, and thus returns to investment in education are limited by how well jobs exploit workers’ education.

Keywords: Over-education, doctorate holders, assignment theory, wages, Korea

Pages: 46-61

The sexual morality of Filipino teenagers is in great decline based on the many cases of unwanted pregnancy, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), liberality in sexual behaviors, and many other evident consequences. This is a very important concern for many families, school administrators, church authorities, and other involved institutions. With this unfortunate situation, it is easier to judge how our teens have immersed themselves in the river of sexual immorality. But the question is, do we really understand what led them to commit such an unacceptable act in this traditional Christian-dominated culture like ours? Have we scrutinized all the possible factors beginning from their childhood up to their current age which may have contributed to their sexual engagement? This case study will present the personal testimonies of teens/participants about the crisis that they have been through which are very much connected to their sexual debut. Their experiences will be analyzed by determining the recurrent themes and finding their connections to one another in order to identify the root causes of their early sexual engagement. Based from their experiences, future researchers can formulate frameworks that can address effectively this moral issue and enable teens to make a wise and responsible sexual decision not only for themselves but also for the future generations of teens to come.

Keywords: sexual engagement, culture, experiences, virtues, community

Pages: 62-77

The purpose of this two-phase study is to develop guidelines for the leadership of educational administration of the Ministry of Interior Thailand Local Administration Organization(TLAO), and to identify the confirmatory factors for a good governance education management of Ministry of Interior TLAO. In order to identify the guideline of good governance, the methodology consisted of two phases: 1. Document analysis, and 2. Interview data analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The interview data were synthesized into four categories of good governance: general criteria qualification, specific criteria qualification, systematic administration, and outstanding performance; and these underpinned the development of the 128-item survey questionnaire. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and correlation of causal model variables were carried out using multi-stage sampling. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated four confirmatory factors: the environment, input, process, and productivity, each weighing at 0.05 significance level. This result was confirmed by c2 = 162.61, c2/df = 0.99, df = 164, p value = 0.52, GFI = .96, AGFI = .94 and RMSEA = 0.000.

Keywords: Principles of good governance, education management, system theory, confirmatory factor analysis

Pages: 78-90

Public-sector organizations have started to adopt new business models that enable them to deliver public service more effectively and innovatively. However, very few studies have been undertaken to describe and to generate lessons from the deployment of new business models in government. Through the case study research design, we examined how four government training institutes in the Philippines create, deliver, and capture value by utilizing Osterwalder and Pigneur’s business model canvass. After undertaking a cross-case analysis, we generated the following insights: (a) the training institutes’ programs and service orientation are influenced by their mother agencies’ mandates or strategic directions; (b) resource constraints can be overcome through a business model that leverages off collaboration and partnerships; (c) the governance model of the training institute’s mother agency influences its propensity to adopt practices consistent with new public management (NPM) principles; and (d) external support or intervention triggers change or innovation in the way a government training institute operates. Consistent with the spirit of NPM and drawing from the notable practices of the four cases we examined, we identified eight criteria that government agencies can use as a guide when rationalizing the establishment of their own training institutes. These criteria are: (1) market responsiveness, (2) innovation, (3) optimal resource use, (4) stakeholder interface, (5) access, (6) customer options, (7) efficiency, and (8) financial returns. Constraints and disincentives that get in the way of government training institutes’ attempts to follow NPM principles can be addressed by setting up new training institutes under a flexible governance model.

Keywords: new public management, business model canvas, government training institutes

Pages: 91-110

The concept of community-based enterprises operated by small entrepreneurial groups involved in export of locally manufactured and produced products has become a globally recognized way to relieve rural poverty and urban flight. However, the factors involved in export performance strategies are less defined and can vary significantly from country to country. Production capacity for export purposes is a great challenge for developing nations, which in turn influences the quality, service standard, and production scale. Also, customer satisfaction with goods and service act as critical components to export performance. It was, therefore, the intent of this study to identify the factors and their interrelationships in Thailand’s globally recognized “One-Tambon, One-Product” (OTOP) government-sponsored export program. The main research instrument, which measured the five latent variables and 26 observed variables was a questionnaire containing a 6-point unipolar scale to measure the opinions of the 500 exporter/manufacturer sample to the survey’s items. To access the measurement model, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed using LISREL Version 9.1 prior to the use of a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the 8-hypotheses model. Results supported similar studies in which it has been determined that product quality plays a key role in the export customer’s trust, which has a positive impact on distribution satisfaction. Top down management policies and pricing strategies, however, appear to be limiting factors to an OTOP exporter’s success. Finally, future focus should be given to Thai OTOP village cluster competitiveness, in which greater emphasis needs to be given to basic management training, leadership skills, product standardization, maintaining uniform output, understanding costs, and cash flows.

Keywords: microenterprise, OVOP, product quality, satisfaction, trust

Pages: 111-126

The development of the Filipino Coping Strategies scale was based on the qualitative data on the resilience of Filipinos and the ways by which they cope with stressful life experiences and the quantitative data on foreign measures of coping. Integration of both data led to the formulation of nine coping strategies: cognitive reappraisal (pagsusuri), social support (paghingi ng tulong), problem-solving (pagtugon), religiosity (pagkarelihiyoso), tolerance (pagtitiis), emotional release (paglabas ng saloobin), overactivity (pagmamalabis), relaxation/recreation (paglilibang), and substance use (pagbibisyo). Initially, the scale was composed of 45 items with five items under each domain. This was pilot tested to 627 male and female Filipinos aged 18 above. Reliability analysis revealed items that are internally consistent with each other resulting in the reduction of items to 37. Furthermore, construct validity was established via a) factor analysis through principal components analysis extraction method and varimax rotation method and b) test for convergent validity by correlating each domain of the Filipino Coping Strategies scale with the corresponding domains of Ways of Coping by Folkman and Lazarus and the COPE Inventory by Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub. Independent samples t-test revealed significant differences among males and females in each coping strategy which served as the basis for norm groups. The Filipino Coping Strategies scale is a four-point Likert scale which aims to measure the coping strategies of Filipinos towards stress and generates a coping dispositional profile which can be used to aid in the assessment of coping behaviors.

Keywords: coping strategies, reliability analysis, construct validity, factor analysis, coping dispositional profile

Pages: 127-140

The creation of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), seemed to place climate norm front and center in terms of global governance. Yet it was not until Paris in 2015 that 195 countries finally reached an agreement on further cooperation. The Paris Agreement opened a new phase in global climate governance by replacing the top-down manner of centrally imposed targets and timetables of the Kyoto Protocol, with the institutionalization of a voluntary, decentralized bottom-up “Pledge and Review” system. Thus, understanding how each Party state responds to climate norms and why it responds such ways is essential to further facilitate global collective efforts to curb global warming. Furthermore, as states are composed of many different actors with possibly conflicting interests, this requires the investigation of their domestic decision-making processes and the influences of domestic constituencies and politics. In order for the processes initiated by the Paris Agreement to make a further significant difference to global climate change, this paper advocates the application of “socialization processes.” It argues that the international community has been socialized into accepting global climate norms, and that facilitating further socialization can help the operation of the pledge and review system by encouraging each Party to comply. It then turns to domestic factors and their impact on the implementation of global norms, further arguing that the socialization of elite bureaucrats is insufficient to deter deviation from the norm; rather, socialization of empowered domestic constituencies is required.

Keywords: Climate Politics, Global Climate Governance, Domestic Politics in International Relations, Socialization

Author: Joseph C. Velasco

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 141-150

Authors: Jose Isagani B. Janairo and Gerardo C. Janairo

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 151-156

Authors: Sugunya Suksatan, Pariyaporn Tungkunanan and Siripan Choomnoom

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 157–167

Author: Wilfred Luis Clamor

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 168–174

Authors: Ken Changwong, Aukkapong Sukkamart and Boonchan Sisan

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 175–183

Authors: Hiroko Yamashina, Asuna Arai, Yoshihide Obayashi, Toshiki Mishima and Hiko Tamashiro

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 184–192

Author: Aukkapong Sukkamart

Research Brief

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 193–203

Author: Dennis V. Blanco

Book Review

Year: 2018, Volume 18 Number 1
Pages: 204–210