Mahidol University International College

About: Mahidol University International College is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Tourism & Corporate governance. The organization has 240 authors who have published 485 publications receiving 6095 citations.

The Types and Nature of Questions vis-à-vis Students" Test- Taking Skills as Significant Indicators of Second Language Examinees" Performance on the TOEFL-ITP Reading Comprehension Sub-Test

Abstract: This study examines the reading performance of selected students at the Pre-College program of the Mahidol University International College (PC-MUIC) as they are required to attain a score of 520 in the TOEFL-ITP (or equivalent performance in IELTS) to enter MUIC. Specifically, this research aims to evaluate whether the reading skills that examinees possess correlate with successful performance on the Reading Comprehension sub-test of the TOEFL-ITP. Only TOEFL-ITP Reading Comprehension Sub-test performance has been considered in this study as IELTS is not taught or administered in the Pre-College program. This study makes use of descriptive qualitative-quantitative design relying heavily on the following instruments for data collection: Commercial-based test-prep texts (Reading Comprehension Sub-section), Schraw and Roedel‟s Levels of Difficulty (1994), the researcher‟s modification of said band, the respondents‟ scores per question type, tabulations of the respondents‟ scores based on the levels of difficulty of the items and the question types used in the test, focused interviews with the respondents, and retrospective journal entries of the researcher. This study aims to shed light on issues surrounding how second language learners‟ reading skills affect performance on standardized tests such as TOEFL. This study specifically seeks to provide MUIC PC instructors empirical data that would help them understand their own students‟ reading difficulties which, consequentially, will aid them address teachinglearning issues.

Short Practical Regimen of Acupuncture for Melasma: A Prospective Cohort Study in a Tertiary Hospital in Thailand.

Abstract: Background: Acupuncture shows benefits for patients with melasma, although no optimal number of sessions have been determined. Methods: The prospective observational study was conducted in melasma patients who were treated with acupuncture procedures two times a week and were evaluated after the 5th and the 10th sessions of acupuncture, with a 1-week follow-up after the last session. Participants Groups A and B received five and 10 acupuncture sessions, respectively. Melasma was assessed by using the melanin index (MI), melasma area and severity index (MASI), patient-reported improvement scores, and acupuncture-related adverse events. Results: Out of 113 participants, 67 received five sessions of acupuncture treatment while 39 received 10 sessions. At 1 week after five sessions of acupuncture in Group A, the mean MI decreased by 28.7 (95% CI -38.5 to -18.8, p < 0.001), whereas the median MASI decreased by 3.4 (95% CI -6.9 to -1.2, p < 0.001) points. At 1 week after ten sessions of acupuncture in Group B, the mean MI decreased by 31.3 (95% CI -45 to -17.6, p < 0.001), whereas the median MASI decreased by 5.4 (95%CI -9.9 to -3, p < 0.001) points. The first five sessions of acupuncture had a higher incremental effect than the last five sessions, although there was no statistically significant difference. Twenty-nine participants reported minor side effects. Group B had a risk ratio (RR) of having adverse events 1.8 times (95% CI 1.0-3.4, p = 0.05) compared with Group A. Conclusion: Short acupuncture regimens of 5-10 sessions in melasma seem to be effective and practical with minor side effects.

The Dynamic Linkage among the Size, Growth and Profitability of Listed Companies in the ASEAN-4 Countries

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to examine the dynamic relationship among the size, growth, and profitability of listed companies. The study sample comprised listed companies in the ASEAN-4 countries—Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand—over the period 1972-2014. The K-medoids algorithm was employed in a cluster analysis, and the generalized method of moments (GMM) was applied to examine the dynamic relationship. The empirical results reveal that smaller companies tend to have higher growth than larger companies. Moreover, the results indicate that persistence of growth and persistence of profitability do not exist. There is also evidence that profitability affects companies’ growth, but companies’ growth does not affect profitability. To cite this document: Phassawan Suntraruk, Kanix Bukkavesa, Nat Kulvanich, "The Dynamic Linkage among the Size, Growth and Profitability of Listed Companies in the ASEAN-4 Countries", Contemporary Management Research, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 293-310, 2018. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.7903/cmr.18579

European Integration: Re-orientations of History and Political Studies

Abstract: Europe United: Power Politics and the Making of the European Community. By Sebastian Rosato. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2012. 280 pp., $35.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-801-44935-2). Political Theory of the European Union. Edited by Jurgen Neyer, Antje Wiener. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. 248 pp., $99.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-199-58730-8). From the late 1990s throughout the 2000s, the subdisciplinary study of EU integration regarding its foundations and early history could be generalized as settling into an equilibrium of supranational/federalist (Haas 1968;Schmitter 1969; Hallstrom 2003; Benson and Jordan 2011) vs liberal/institutional intergovernmentalist (Gilbert 2003; Moravcsik 1991, 1998, 2000a,b) vs ideational perspectives (Parsons 2000, 2002, 2006). With the onset of the 2008 financial crisis and the deteriorating state of affairs surrounding the European Union, uncertainties on the future of European integration have taken center stage and given way to prescient questions which seek to re-open integration studies. The inherent weaknesses of economic and monetary union, which were hailed in the 1990s as the crowning achievement of an integrated Europe, have come into question. More pointedly, the fundamental nature and usefulness of European institutions in binding European states into peaceful cooperation has been brought into question. With internal and external instabilities undermining a half century of integration, the need to re-examine the state of European integration, explore the relationships that Europe has shared with its external partners, and shed fresh light on where the Union is heading has never been greater. Europe United , by Sebastian Rosato, contains six chapters that analyze early European integration from the immediate postwar period up to the Treaty of Rome and formation of the European Economic Community (EEC). He analyzes the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), European Defense Community (EDC), and EEC. The author focuses his study on Britain, France, and West Germany, finding consistent external geopolitical and internal (West European) security concerns determined balancing behavior in the early postwar period. His theoretical framework closely approximates an external and internal balance of power rational, materialist perspective. Rosato focuses and substantiates his historical inquiry by highlighting three …

ACAD-Feedback: Online Framework for Assignment, Collection, Analysis, and Distribution of Self, Peer, Instructor, and Group Feedback

Abstract: Working with peers is an integral part of a student’s educational experience in most disciplines from preschool to tertiary education. For secondary and undergraduate chemistry education, it is inevitable that some laboratory sessions require students to work in groups for logistic and safety reasons. In this technology report, we demonstrate use cases of Google Forms and Google Sheets to assign (A) students into groups, collect (C), analyze (A), and distribute (D) their feedback in group work as well as in self-, peer-, and instructor-assessed individual work. Our ACAD-Feedback framework is designed to streamline the manual delivery of the four processes into one online framework. This framework can be used in other settings with minimal modifications.