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Exploring Electrical Technology

Exploring Electrical Technology. Technology in Thailand: A Case Study Based on Sabbatical Research & Experience by Dr. Harold Underwood (June-October 2005). Outline of Presentation. Purpose & Course Objectives Location Case Study Survey results Conclusions About Social Impact

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Exploring Electrical Technology

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  1. Exploring Electrical Technology Technology in Thailand: A Case Study Based on Sabbatical Research & Experience by Dr. Harold Underwood (June-October 2005)

  2. Outline of Presentation • Purpose & Course Objectives • Location • Case Study • Survey results • Conclusions About Social Impact • Demographics and Proposed Projects of Personal Interest

  3. Purpose of Case Study • General • Summarize status of technology in an Eastern culture including social impact: offsets Western emphasis in this course • Specific • Electrical power & communication tech. in Thailand including cultural impact factors • Reveal results of survey data

  4. Connection to STW Course Objectives • Illustrate how electrical technology relates to other disciplines including relevant issues such as: • Economics • Environment • Politics • International relations • Social trends (see syllabus objective b)

  5. Connection to STW Course Objectives • Reflect critically on the nature and scope of science & technology by • Observing how S&T has developed and impacted Thailand • Comparing corresponding development and impact in home culture (see syllabus objective d)

  6. Connection toSTW Course Objectives • Develop own personal view of S&T that is globally aware of • Other cultures including role of technology where you plan to travel • Technology worldwide, including gaps of the digital divide and the need to help distribute benefits of technology more evenly (see syllabus objective e)

  7. Location: Thailand with itsNeighboring Countries in SE Asia

  8. Chiang Mai located in the Mountainous North part of Thailand The Temple (Wat) atop Doi Suthep is fairly typical of others throughout Thailand, a uniquely 95% Buddhist country

  9. The Thai calendar • Thai traditional calendar • Ahead of ours (2551 vs 2008)! • Has New Year in April, hottest month • Thai academic calendar thus divides into two semesters • 1st: June through October (rainy) • 2nd: November through March (dry)

  10. Thailand Case Study: A Snapshot in Time • Introduction • For a decade (1986-1996), Thailand’s economy grew fastest in the world* • Thailand described as “advanced developing country”** model for role of science & technology in growth process • In 1997, Thailand’s economy crashed followed by an IMF bailout* *Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker, Thailand’s Boom and Bust, Silkworm Books, 1998. **Yongyuth Yuthavong and Angela M. Wojcik, Science and Technology in Thailand: Lessons from a Developing Economy, NSTDA/UNESCO publishing, 1997.

  11. Thai Internal Efforts to Stimulate Science & Technology (S&T) • Goal: promote sustained growth and modernization from within • Has history of establishing agencies • 1956 National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) • 1963 Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) • 1979 Ministry of Science, Technology and Energy (MOSTE)

  12. Thai Internal Efforts to Stimulate Science & Technology (S&T) • More recent established agencies • 1985 Science and Technology Development Board (STDB) • Thai-US cooperative $50M (USD) project • To strengthen research in the universities • Instituted 3 national centers for funding • 1991 National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) • Absorbed MOSTE, STDB and the 3 centers

  13. Internal Efforts to Stimulate Science & Technology (S&T) • What has been the impact of these agencies? • Sources of funding for • State universities & enterprises • Government agencies • Seldom led to commercial applications in industry • Other factors influenced how S&T developed in Thailand more greatly (Yuthavong & Wojcik 1997)

  14. International Relations & Socioeconomic Shifts • Thai policy of openness & tolerance • Welcomed immigrants from China and other bordering countries • Accepted foreign investment from Japan United States and elsewhere • Cheap labor & progressive policies • Shifted people from rural to urban areas • Increased export manufacture including electronics (Phongpaichit & Baker 1998)

  15. Global Economic Market • First Asian countries to enter with cheap exports: “Four Tigers” • Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore • Thailand emerged unexpectedly in the late 1980s • Following Thailand were its neighbors • Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and Myanmar

  16. Economic Growth • Compared to its Asian neighbors, Thailand grew fastest for a decade • After its crash in 1997, & IMF bailout, Thailand reemerged and continues on a path of more conservative growth for the 21st century

  17. Current Economic Indicators* • Statistics available for 1999-2003 indicate some current trends • Population grew from 61 to 64 million • Labor force grew from 32 to 34 million • Unemployment dropped from 4 to 2% • Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew • From over $120 to over $140 B USD • Or from $2000 to $2200 per capita • Ag to non-Ag sectors fixed at about 10:90% *Thailand 2005 Indicators, ECTI-21/NECTEC/NSTDA Ministry of Science and Technology, 2005.

  18. Current Economic Indicators • Statistics for 1999-2003 also indicate • Exports grew from $57 to $78 billion while imports grew from $48 to $74 billion for a sustained net trade surplus • An exchange rate that has fluctuate around 40 baht per $USD • While these statistics suggest positive growth & stability, they don’t reveal how benefits of the growing economy have been distributed, such as in the rural versus urban populations, nor specifically how electrical technology has developed.

  19. Progress in Thai Electrical Technology: Broadcast Comm. • Broadcast TV • Began serving Thailand in 1955 • Now nearly all urban homes have a set • More than 90% of villagers view the same programs as their urban counterparts* • Broadcast radio • Has been being replaced by TV for many • # listeners has decreased compared to the rise of TV viewers over the past 25 years • mostly only more educated Thai now keep radio as an alternative (Thailand 2005 Indicators) *Harold E. Smith, Gayla S. Nieminen and May Kwi Win, Historical Dictionary of Thailand, 2nd edition, Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2005.

  20. Thailand Broadcast Statistics by Region 57:91 44:93 • Access/use Radio vs. TV (% households) • Overall national 51:92 • 25 yr trends 79-51:17-92 • Regional access (map) • Effect of educ. on usage • Primary or lower 39:92 • Lower secondary 55:97 • Upper secondary 58:97 • Higher education 62:99 48:93 64:94 51:90 Source: Thailand ICT Indicators 2005, NECTEC/NSTDA/MST, Bangkok

  21. Progress in Thai Electrical Technology: Power Gen. & Dist. • Thai government-owned companies have produced electricity since 1957 • using lignite, oil or natural gas as fuel • Currently • 30% of its electricity generated by hydropower • 70% thermally • Meanwhile, Thailand has distributed its electricity to more than 90% of its villages (Smith, Nieminen and Win 2005)

  22. Progress in Thai Electrical Technology: Telecommunications • Landline Telephone communication has grown modestly • Mobile phone communication has grown rapidly • Telecommunication activity occurs most intensely in the city

  23. Thailand Other ICTStatistics by Region 5:19 10 5:13 • Telephone lines: Fixed vs. mobile (/100 people) • Overall national 10:36 • 4 yr trends 8-10:6-36 • Regional (see map) • Internet penetration (#users/100 people) • Overall (10) • Regional (map) • Wi-Fi ?? (urban trend) 5:29 10 6 27 39:42 5:20 8 Source: Thailand ICT Indicators 2005, NECTEC/NSTDA/MST, Bangkok

  24. Progress in Thai Electrical Technology: Other Wireless • 1st Thai communications satellite launched 1993 offering services for • radio distribution • telephone links • computer networks • TV broadcast • The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) added high-speed internet access to satellite services in 2002 • Broadband wireless (Wi-Fi) connectivity has become increasingly popular • Especially at internet cafes in the cities • Provides yet another option for personal communication, public news and entertainment.

  25. Analysis & Conclusions on Social Impact • Electrical technology has progressed in Thailand, yet significant gaps remain between those who can and those who cannot access the benefits. • Technology has brought real progress, but social problems remain. • Some problems were masked during the boom, and revealed by the bust of 1997. • While average real income doubled during the boom, division between the rich and the poor widened much more rapidly, making Thailand “one of the most unequal societies in the developing world.” • Growth came at the cost of damaging effects on the environment, including deforestation and pollution. • The speed of economic growth during the boom exceeded the ability of government policies and social efforts to adapt to the changes in a sustained way. • Future growth by way of technology in Thailand, and in the world at large, should take needs of the less advantaged, health of the environment and sustainable policies more fully into account. (Phongpaichit & Baker 1998)

  26. Distribution of Home Provinces 3 25 2 2 5 1 4 3 2 • Chiang Mai (25) • Lampang (5) • Phrae (4) • Chiang Rai (3) • Uttaradit (3) • Phayao (2) • Sukhothai (2) • Udon Thani (2) • Lamphun (2) • 7 Others (1 each) • 4 No response 2 1 1 1 1 1 1

  27. Opportunity for Student Projects with ISDSI in Thailand • What is ISDSI? • International Sustainable Development Studies Institute • www.isdsi.org • People, the Environment and Development white paper • Offers Landscape-based experiential studies of SE Asian ecosystems & cultures • Combines X-cultural study, experiential education and leadership development • Run by Mark Ritchie, Ph.D. in Sociology • An initiative of Kalamazoo College ranked #1 for its study abroad program in 2003 • Awarded best practice by Int’l Inst. Education

  28. What ISDSI can do for students in a J-term Service Learning course • Context preparation & placement • Intensive Thai Language & Culture training • Project selection with NGO on location in Thailand • Risk management / Emergency Response Capability

  29. Future Work: Potential Projects with ISDSI 1) Wind Power on Lipe Island • A few miles off coast of Thailand, but readily accessible by boat in January (best weather) • Archipelago: offers reef study by snorkeling • Sea gypsies now run electricity generators, but how do they fuel them? At what cost? • Project: study current practice & assess wind or other alternative energy options 2) Community Level Water Systems

  30. Future Work:Potential Projects with ISDSI 3) For Karen hill tribe people • Help villagers apply solar PV gen’s (already provided by Thai gov’t) for benefits other than just light or TV • Have some roads, but also 100-200 year old paths • Design trails to survive rainy season using North American technology of the Pacific Northwest 4) Upland Holistic Development (UHDP) • Biogas (methane) production: converts farm wastes into cooking stove fuel – improve efficiency • Check dams (weirs): uses appropriate small scale technology for irrigation – test feasibility

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