volume-20-number-2

Author: Romeo B. Lee

Preliminaries

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Pages: 1 – 13

Despite nearly free health services offered by the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS), the UCS services have been found to be underutilized. Thus, this study, employing the concept of unmet health needs, investigated factors and reasons for the underutilization. Specifically, performing logistic models with the national health survey of 2015, we analyzed who and why did not utilize the UCS services in availability, accessibility, and acceptability perspectives of the services. The study results indicated that among UCS beneficiaries who needed care, about 45% and 7% did not utilize the UCS outpatient and inpatient services, respectively. These non-users had a relatively higher socioeconomic status. Specifically, they were more likely to be high-income, employed, not chronically-ill, or urban people. Availability-related (e.g., long wait-time and unavailability due to emergencies) and acceptability-related reasons (e.g., time constraints and uncertainty of service quality) were major barriers of access to the UCS services. Although the UCS, by this study, was found to work better for socially vulnerable people, there are still concerns that some people, who actually wanted to use the UCS services, might be ultimately forced to use other private services due to such barriers. Particularly, employed people who have time constraints during daytime and people who need inpatient services due to emergencies are our main concerns. In the short term, the public-private partnership should be strengthened to support the urgent needs of emergency cases. In the long term, the expansion of the UCS services boundary should be continued by the National Health Development Plan.

Keywords: underutilization, unmet health needs, health-seeking behavior, health insurance, Universal Coverage Scheme

Pages: 14 – 21

Further systematic data on the predictors of depressive symptomatology are crucial due to the need to address the worsening mental health problems among young people in the Philippines. A regression model with seven predictors on academic performance, lifestyle, and social relationships was developed and tested. Data were drawn from a survey sample of 3,049 Filipino university students from Metro Manila, the Philippines. The predictors examined for their relationships with depressive symptoms as the dependent variable included cumulative grade-point average, number of hours spent on vigorous physical activity, number of hours spent using Facebook, number of bottles/glasses of alcohol taken, number of religious activities, and level of relational closeness with parents and peers. The predictors were each found to be statistically significantly related to depressive symptoms; relational closeness with parents and with peers were the strongest predictors. The model was statistically and significantly robust, albeit with modest predictive quality (R=0.320) as well as modest predictive strength (R2=0.103). As the model is formative, there is a need to continually examine, even elevate, its predictive power. In its current state, the model would be useful for triggering discourse, research, and intervention towards the prevention and control of this mental health problem and its pernicious effects on young people.

Keywords: depressive symptoms, academic performance, lifestyle, social relationships, Filipino university students

Pages: 22 – 28

As Thailand fulfills its goal of becoming the “kitchen of the world,” it continually seeks to understand the various organizational issues surrounding the overseas operations of its Thai restaurants, for promotion and marketing purposes. This report discusses the data derived from a structural equation modeling of five factors—growth strategy, marketing mix, business characteristics, business norms, and business environment—in relation to the business performance of Thai restaurants in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Of the 1,600 Thai restaurants in the U.K., 300 were randomly sampled for the survey, from which either the restaurant owners or managers were interviewed using a self-accomplished questionnaire. Of the three predictors of business performance, marketing mix had the strongest effects, followed by growth strategy, and business characteristics. Of the three predictors of growth strategy and marketing mix, business norms and business characteristics were both dominant, followed by business environment. Overall, the structural equation model developed in this study had explained 64.8% of the business performance of Thai restaurants in the U.K. There is a need to re-examine the model factors in the context of industry-wide competition in order to understand the broader contexts of business performance.

Keywords: business performance, growth strategy, marketing mix, Thai restaurants, Thai food

Pages: 29 – 38

This study was conducted to understand the caregivers’ perceptions of nutritional status among children aged under five years in Nakhon Phanom province of Thailand. Qualitative research methods, such as participant observation, focus group discussion, and in-depth interviews, were used to collect data between February and July 2017. One rural sub- district with a high prevalence of child malnutrition was purposively selected, and a total of 36 caregivers were recruited. Triangulation and reflexivity were applied to reduce bias during data collection and analysis. The study findings indicated that caregivers perceived that good nutritional status in children equated to living and eating well, regardless of body size. However, most caregivers were worried that if their children were underweight, they would be blamed by society for not raising the children properly, be considered as poor, and would lose face. Although they perceived that the body size of children was due to hereditary factors, given a choice, they preferred their children to be fat as it signified good health and well-being. Children’s nutritional status was a reflection of the caregiver’s perceived social image and acceptance of their children in the community. These perceptions can mislead the caregivers to focus more on their social standing rather than on the quality or benefit of childhood nutrition. Although the caregivers should be oriented with appropriate health education regarding childhood nutrition and development, more emphasis is needed on developing better parenting skills to structure the child’s eating habits and activity, and reducing social stigma and embarrassment associated with childhood malnutrition.

Keywords: caregivers’ perception, nutritional status, children aged under five, Thailand

Pages: 39 – 51

The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate household consumption patterns, and (2) to investigate how household socioeconomic characteristics contribute to different consumption patterns. The data were obtained from the Household Socio-Economic Survey in the year 2015 by the National Statistical Office of Thailand. The sample consisted of 43,224 households. Cluster analysis was employed to reveal the consumption patterns of households. The relationship between the consumption patterns and household socioeconomics factors was analyzed using logistic regression. The results found five distinctively different consumption. Households with older persons were incorporated in the investigation along with other characteristics of the household, that is, the region of residence, area of residence (municipal or non-municipal area), household arrangement (one person, nuclear, extended, and others), children in the household, older person in the household, sex, marital status, education, work status of household head, and average monthly income of the household. Logistic regression analysis was employed to test the association between household characteristics and consumption patterns, suggesting that household characteristics contributed to consumption patterns. Households with older persons tended to have food-dominated and housing-dominated patterns.

Keywords: consumption patterns, socioeconomic determinants, older person household, Thailand

Pages: 52 – 68

The motivation of managers in selecting accounting policy is believed to be beyond the method’s simplicity, ease of implementation, and cost-benefit tradeoff to manage earnings by influencing the treatment of financial information. Anchored on positive accounting theory (PAT), this study examines the factors that influence the managers of 60 publicly listed companies in their choice of accounting methods when used as an income strategy. Specifically, this study evaluates whether efficient contracting, political sensitivity, need for financing, information signaling, investment opportunity set (IOS), and monitoring mechanisms (i.e., ownership concentration, board composition, and external auditor) influence the income strategy of management. Income strategy is based on the portfolio of accounting policies on inventory valuation, subsequent measurement of depreciable PPE, land, investment property, software, and depreciation method. Using partial least square structural equations modeling (PLS-SEM), this study found a significant negative relationship between efficient contracting and income strategy and positive relationship between ownership concentration and income strategy, which suggest the alignment of interests between shareholders and management. Political sensitivity is also found to be negatively significant, which validates that executives of Philippine companies choose income-decreasing policies to reduce the perceived size and resources of the company and eventually avoid government interventions and actions from a labor union.

Keywords: Positive Accounting Theory, Accounting Choice Motivation, Structural Equation Modeling

Pages: 69 – 86

The development of 21st-century skills that are deemed necessary for learners to excel in a knowledge-based and highly globalized society is at the core of today’s education system. Towards this end, classroom practices focus on the delivery of instruction using various innovative instructional methodologies. One of the strategies used in Mathematics is the problem- solving approach. The problem-solving approach emphasizes that important mathematics concepts and procedures can be best taught through problem-solving tasks or activities, which engage students in thinking about the important mathematical concepts and skills they need to learn. This study utilized the problem-solving approach as supported by various collaborative strategies as an instructional intervention in teaching mathematics to first year college students and investigated its effects on the enhancement of their performance in and attitude towards College Algebra. The pretest-posttest control group design using two matched groups of respondents based on their intelligence quotient scores and mathematics test scores in the University Admission Test was utilized. Ten problem-solving tasks involving routine, non-routine, and real problems were developed and provided to the experimental group. On the other hand, the conventional approach in teaching and learning was employed in the control group. Necessary data to fulfill the objectives of the study were gathered through the attitude scale questionnaire and the researcher-made test and were analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the bases of their posttest and mean gain scores. The experimental group also posted significant enhancement of their attitude towards college Algebra. Thus, the problem-solving approach, when applied to classroom instruction, can significantly improve students’ cognitive and affective attributes in mathematics, hence indicating the effectiveness of the approach in teaching mathematics.

Keywords: Affective attributes, cognitive attributes, collaboration, collaborative strategies, mathematics education, problem- solving approach, teaching through problem-solving

Pages: 87 – 105

Destination food consumption has become an important source of destination competitiveness. However, what drives local food consumption by tourists and whether it is consistent across different nationalities remain unknown. This study examined the influence of key factors, including demographic factors, food neophobia, food familiarity, food image, and importance of local food on destination food preference, consumption, and satisfaction across two culturally different nationalities, based on a survey of Chinese and Australian tourists at the end of their holiday in Phuket, Thailand. Based on data systematically collected from 411 Chinese and 406 Australian tourists, several important findings are reported. A number of significant differences in local food preference, consumption, and satisfaction levels among different demographic groups in each sample nationality were identified. In particular, local food image and food neophobia had the most consistent and influential effects on local food preference, consumption, and satisfaction across the two sample groups. The academic and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Keywords: Food neophobia, food familiarity, food image, food consumption, food satisfaction, Chinese tourists, Australian tourists

Pages: 106 – 118

This research explored the effect of fear of missing out (FoMO) on Generation Z’s consumption behavior of masstige brand apparel. Partial least squares – structural equation modeling was used in this study. This study used random sampling to select 307 respondents in the target age group of 16–27 from De La Salle University. In the overall framework, results showed that FoMO affected motivation (with p-values ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, FoMO significantly affected the belief- based constructs of Theory of Planned Behavior, except for behavior and perceived behavioral control. The study suggests that marketers should strive to develop strategies and FoMO appeals that manipulate Generation Z consumers’ motivation to purchase masstige brand apparel. This present study shows that the construct of FoMO affects the deliberative process of the purchasing behavior of Generation Z consumers. Furthermore, the study leads the way for further study in the concept of FoMO.

Keywords: self-determination theory, structural equation modeling, theory of planned behavior, FoMO, Fear of Missing Out

Authors: Siwatt Pongpiachan and Muhammad Zaffar Hashmi

Research Brief

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Pages: 119-135

Author: Rhoderick V. Nuncio

Research Brief

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Pages: 136-148

Authors: Myla M. Arcinas, Melanie P. Tolentino, Cyril Ryan A. Lituañas, Joseph S. Cadeliña, and Yoshihide Obayashi

Research Brief

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Pages: 149-157

Author: Part Sungkaew

Research Brief

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Pages: 158–165

Author: APSSR Editorial Team

Data at a Glance

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Page: 166

Author: APSSR Editorial Team

Data at a Glance

Year: 2020, Volume 20 Number 2

Page: 167