Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences

12-15

Authors: Danaiya Sungketkarn, Pattamawadee Chansuwan, Vuthipong Roadkasamsri

Pong Lang Sa On is a Thai musical group, who perform traditional pong lang music with elements of pop, rock and comedy. They mix Northeastern and Central Thai cultures, combining folk music, dramatic arts and live performances that relate to the young generations of Thai people. They modernize traditional performances by including jokes to entertain viewers. The cultural adaptation of Pong Lang Sa On has led to their popularity and importance for Northeastern Thai folk music. Before going mainstream, the primary concern of Pong Lang Sa On band-members was their specific group identity. After Pong Lang Sa On entered the entertainment business, their identity became a sensitive issue. They needed to adapt their original style in order to be accepted by the general public, while continuing to conserve and spread Thai culture. The band members analyzed data to find ways to strengthen and adapt Pong Lang folk music in order to spread traditional culture. In 2013, Pong Lang Sa On ended their contract with R-Siam so that they could manage their business independently and focus on promoting and conserving Thai culture.

22-29

Authors: Monchai Phiantham, Kosit Phaengsoi, Terdchai Panthachai

The purposes of this research are to investigate the historical background, current circumstances and problems of Khit cloth products in Isan communities, making networks and orienting the creative economy based on Isan culture. The research population for this qualitative research was composed of 88 individuals. The research area was the three North-eastern Thai provinces of Kalasin, Yasothon and Amnat Charoen. Data were collected by means of basic survey, interviews, observations, focus-group discussions and workshops. The results show that Khit cloth weaving group members at Ban Sri Than, Ban Kham Phra and Ban Dan Nuea learned weaving skills from previous generations. Cloth weaving is considered valuable traditional knowledge and the inherited cultural responsibility of Isan women. They weave their Khit cloth along with other fabrics and designs. Silk and cotton cloth were the two types of Khit. Khit cloth using cotton thread is more popular than silk thread. Khit clothes are made for personal use and as community commercial products. The creation process includes thread formation, dying, cloth designing, weaving, processing and marketing. Weavers receive training supported by various government offices and also undertake field studies. There have been four stages of weaving development in the three communities: family consumption, variation, group integration and networking. The last development stage was the time of creativity and expansion of networks for product processing within the community and surrounding area with government support under the ‘One Tambon, One Product’ initiative. The problems encountered are high production costs, difficult production process, high number of production steps and inadequate profits. In light of these problems, young people choose higher paying jobs as careers and are not interested in Khit cloth weaving. The study found that each of the three communities sets up its own community business, encouraging members to share ideas, knowledge and develop their capacity for product improvement. Each group also has its own organizational and business management structure. By defining roles and responsibilities, each member and related local authority is allowed full participation in the running and maintenance of the community business network.

36-40

Authors: Pakorn Pattananurot, Surapone Virulrak, Arkom Sa-ngiamviboon

Pagodas in Northeastern Thailand (Isan) are places where local people go to pay their respects. The purposes of this research were: to study the evolution of the shape of contemporary Isan pagodas built from 1982-2012 and to study the design concepts of contemporary Isan pagodas. Data collection tools were primary documents, interviews and observations. The findings of the study show that the evolution of the contemporary Isan pagoda can be divided into three eras. There are also four groups of pagoda design: bell pagodas in a plan shape, bell pagodas in a polygon shape, pagodas on a bualeam base and pagodas with a bualeam top. An octagonal base is the preferred contemporary Isan pagoda shape. The contemporary Isan pagoda style was created using Isan identity and can reflect the current context of Thai society.

55-60

Authors: Abdulganiyu Adebayo Tijani

This paper examined the relationship between occupational stress and lecturers’ productivity in Kwara state owned tertiary institutions. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The target populations comprised all lecturers from the six state owned tertiary institutions. Proportional random sampling technique was used to select 500 respondents while stratified random sampling method was adopted to select four out of six tertiary institutions in the state. Questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit information from the respondents. Descriptive statistic of table and percentage were used to answer the two research question raised to guide the study while inferential statistic of Person product-moment correlation method was adopted to analysed the three research hypotheses generated for the study. The findings of this study revealed that lecturers in Kwara state polytechnics were more stressful than counterparts from other tertiary institutions. Generally, lecturers from the six state owned tertiary institutions were highly stressful. This study also discovered a significant relationship between occupational stress and lecturers’ productivity in the state owned tertiary institutions. The paper recommends provision of more instructional facilities to the state owned tertiary institutions. Lecturers should also be remunerated for excess work performed and be regularly paid and promoted as at when due.

66-70

Authors: Keith Marlon R. Tabal

This paper discusses the creation of a training unit and laboratory manual based on a PIC16F877A microcontroller which was evaluated by both students and instructors of Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering of the Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges in terms of its acceptability as a supplementary learning material for microprocessor systems. Based on the result of the evaluation, it was revealed that the training unit obtained an average weighted mean of 4.65 for the students and 5.00 for the instructors which both fall under the “Strongly Acceptable” criteria. On the other hand, the evaluation for the laboratory manual got an average weighted mean of 4.44 which is verbally interpreted as “Acceptable” and 4.84 for the instructors which is verbally interpreted as “Strongly Acceptable”. Using t-test, it was also revealed that there is a significant difference between the level of acceptability of the students and instructors to the training unit and laboratory manual.

79-88

Authors: Fatima M. Moncada, Jaderick P. Pabico

This paper presents the findings of a readability assessment and sentiment analysis of selected six Philippine senators’ microposts over the popular Twitter microblog. Using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), tweets of Senators Cayetano, Defensor-Santiago, Pangilinan, Marcos, Guingona, and Escudero were assessed. A sentiment analysis was also done to determine the polarity of the senators' respective microposts. Results showed that on the average, the six senators are tweeting at an eight to ten SMOG level. This means that, at least a sixth grader will be able to understand the senators’ tweets. Moreover, their tweets are mostly neutral and their sentiments vary in unison at some period of time. This could mean that a senator’s tweet sentiment is affected by specific Philippine-based events.

94-100

Authors: Rufina C. Rosaroso, Enriqueta D. Reston, Nelson A. Rosaroso

This study aimed to establish the content, construct and predictive validity evidence of a locally-made college admission and placement test for a private sectarian university. It employed empirical methods for test validation and reliability analysis using a sample of 262 college freshman students. Content-related validity evidence was initially established through the development of Tables of Specifications for the various subtests and experts‘ review on the alignment of test item content and objectives. Construct-related evidence of validity was established by exploring the internal structure of the test via factor analysis. The procedure yielded two factors and examination of the items comprising the subtests that loaded heavily on each factor suggested that the test measured two distinct but interrelated skills; namely: (1) Language and Literacy Skills and (2) Analytical Reasoning Skills, across three content areas in English, Mathematics and Science. Results from correlating test scores and first year cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of the students yielded a substantial overall predictive validity coefficient of 0.643. Reliability analysis using internal consistency measures yielded a high reliability coefficient Cronbach Alpha value of 0.968. These findings indicated that the proposed college admission test was a good predictor of student’s academic performance in the first year of college work, and thus, valid for its intended purpose.