http://dspace.bu.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/290 วิทยานิพนธ์ 2026-04-04T12:21:42Z http://dspace.bu.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/5923 Title: Equal voices of theatre: Investigating cognition, emotion and behavior of visually impaired audiences through playwriting and sound design Authors: Manussawee Puatrakul Abstract: The study explores the creation of a stage play paradigm tailored for visually impaired audiences, addressing a significant gap in knowledge and practice. The research is grounded in frameworks, including the Drama Therapy, the acknowledgment of disability as part of the human condition and the promotion of equal rights and opportunities as outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The stage play, Turn Left Turn Right: The Musical, was implemented with 15 Thai visually impaired individuals in Bangkok, Thailand, during October and November 2023. Adopting a qualitative approach, an observation was conducted during the stage play and in-depth interviews were conducted after the show. Data analyses reveal that five storytelling elements of the stage play script evoke exaltation and strong audience reactions, however sound is the most crucial element. The participants favor comedy, and narratives that are easy to follow yet contain unexpected endings. Findings not only fill academic gaps in understanding the paradigm for visually impaired stage play, but also enable creators to create impactful and inclusive content. Description: Thesis (Ph.D.)--Communication Arts, Graduate School, Bangkok University, 2024 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dspace.bu.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/5837 Title: Performance optimisation and efficient user grouping of MU-MIMO for indoor optical wireless communication systems Authors: Jariya Panta Abstract: Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) in combination with orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is an attractive technique to provide the spectral efficiency and high data transmission rates in optical wireless communications (OWC) systems using light emitting diode (LED) light sources, where the modulation bandwidth of LED is limited. To investigate the performance of the system, indoor MIMO-OFDM OWC systems supporting a single user terminal is considered. However, the performance is limited because of strong correlation among propagation paths dominated by line-of-sight (LOS) components. To mitigate such effects, the receiver front-end design of MIMO-OFDM is investigated to reduce MIMO channel correlation in OWC. In addition, to utilize the OWC broadcast nature, multiuser MIMO-OWC systems have been investigated. When there are multiple user terminals in the same room, there is a challenge to eliminate the multi-user interference (MUI), which affects the transmission performance at each user’s receiver. In order to suppress the MUI, block diagonalization (BD) precoding is applied. However, BD prevents only interference among individual users. To further prevent interference among individual data streams of each user, singular value decomposition (SVD) is applied. Nevertheless, BD precoding is not applicable when the number of photo diodes (PDs) exceeds the number of LED transmitters. Therefore, to further improve the system performance measured in terms of the bit error rate (BER), this research considers LED transmitter distribution in addition to angular diversity based on tilting receiver PDs. In the first half of the thesis, the research studies the performance of indoor SVD-based MIMO-OFDM OWC systems. In addition, since SVD decomposes the MIMO channel into parallel sub-channels with different path losses, the bit loading technique is utilized. In the second half of the thesis, the research considers a lot of user devices in the same room, yielding more PDs than LEDs. To overcome the limitation of BD precoding, user grouping is performed, and time division multiplexing (TDM) is applied with BD precoding for each user group. In particular. this research focus on optimising the BER performance of SVD-based MIMO-OFDM OWC systems under the impact of the OFDM symbol design, the configuration of MIMO transmitters, the required data rates, the available bandwidth, and the angular diversity based on tilting receiver PDs. The results show that the 9×4-MIMO system is the optimal configuration in term of the large coverage of low BER regions and low computation complexity for the 5m×5m room. In addition, polar angle tilting of PDs can effectively improve the BER performance. In the case of light dimming control with a low total transmit optical power, the system can benefit from a high multiplexing gain with a large tilting polar angle, as indicated by improved condition numbers of MIMO channel matrices. For multiuser systems, user grouping methods are proposed based on pairwise interference considerations among users in the same group. The proposed method can be implemented through integer linear programming (ILP), which requires less computation than exhaustive search. Numerical results on the average minimum user throughputs over random scenarios indicate that the proposed hybrid method can significantly outperform random user grouping, and performs reasonably well compared to exhaustive search. Finally, it is demonstrated that, when BD precoding greatly attenuates desired user signals, user grouping can help improve the minimum user throughputs even through BD precoding can support all users as a single group. Description: Thesis (D.Eng.)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Graduate School, Bangkok University, 2021 2022-08-16T00:00:00Z http://dspace.bu.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/5632 Title: INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN MULTICULTURAL VIRTUAL TEAMS: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY THROUGH A SERIOUS GAME Authors: Somjai Siritrakankij Abstract: Conflict is a fact of organizational life, and intercultural conflict is even more complicated to cope with. Conflict is not always perceived negatively, but in some cases, task conflict can turn into functional conflict. The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of cultural background, emotional intelligence (EI), and intercultural competence (IC) on the choice of intercultural conflict management styles/behavior (ICS) and the adaptation of ICS in two types of conflicts: task and relationship conflict. Relationship conflict is considered dysfunctional because it threatens and weakens the bond between interlocutors, and it escalates more easily than task conflict. In the literature, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is viewed as an interesting variable to help increasing job performance. Since the virtual context catches greater attention presently, organizations have started to consider the potential benefits of utilizing virtual teams. Virtual teams often are international and include culturally diverse members, which makes it more difficult to manage conflict (Griffith et al., 2003; Zornoza et al., 2002). Furthermore, the influence of Intercultural Competence (IC) on conflict management among diverse employees is also worth being explored. Based on Intercultural Conflict Resolution/Management Styles/Behavior framework proposed by Hammer (2005), the concept is under one cultural dimension, individualism and collectivism, when dealing with disagreement and emotions across cultures. Additionally, Nardon and Steers (2009) stated that these two cultural dimensions had been widely used in studying organizational management research across cultures. The four Intercultural Conflict Resolution/Management Styles/Behavior include discussion, dynamic, accommodation, and engagement styles. However, the result from the pilot study suggested that the engagement style should be dropped out because it was seen as the most inappropriate style in the conflict situation. Thus, it is not included in this study, and only three styles of Intercultural Conflict Resolution/Management remain. And the study of intercultural conflict in multicultural virtual teams has been called for more recently. Therefore, this study explores the influence of cultural background, EI, and IC on the choice of intercultural conflict management styles/behavior in task and relationship conflict, and the adaptation of conflict management styles/behavior to culturally diverse team members. Cultural diversity is studied on the basis of two cultural dimensions, power distance and individualism/collectivism. Samples (n=339) included in this study were Thai respondents (n=106, high power distance & collectivism), French (n=114, high power distance & individualism), and Americans (n=119, low power distance & individualism). They were mainly working professionals from different professional fields. An innovative data collection method was employed, based on the development of a serious game. Its name is CRIT the serious game; CRIT stands for conflict management in intercultural teams. Four main sections were included in CRIT, the serious game: questions about demographic data, a multi-item scale measuring EI, and then a quasi-experimental scenario revealing participants’ IC and ICS. An additional objective for the serious game is to make the player gain a particular knowledge from the game. To do so, the score feedback and recommendations were sent to each player after the game completion. After completing various statistical analyzes, the findings of this study confirm, but also contradict the existing theory to some extent. Regarding the choices of intercultural conflict resolution/management styles/behavior proposed by Hammer (2005), Americans use the dynamic and the accommodation style more than Thai and French, while used the discussion style the least. Thai and French players significantly use the discussion style the most, while there is no statistically significant difference between the use of the accommodation and the dynamic style between Thai and French. In addition, the result from our pilot study concluded that the “engagement style” of the selected four intercultural conflict management style model (Hammer, 2005) was removed since it was recognized as an inappropriate intercultural conflict management style.. Thus, it is not included in this study, and only three styles of Intercultural Conflict Management remain. Concerning the Intercultural conflict management styles/behavior, communication approach (direct/indirect) and emotional strategy (expressive/restraint) used in the overall sample, the results conclude that all three cultures frequently use an indirect approach rather than a direct approach. However, Americans use the indirect approach the most. On the contrary, both Thai and French use the direct approach the most. Furthermore, all three cultures use an emotionally restraint approach more than expressiveness. And, when looking at the sub-samples, Americans frequently use emotional expressiveness; in contrast, both Thai and French frequently use the emotionally restraint approach. In short, the findings of this study conclude that the cultural background, EI, and IC influence the choice of ICS styles/behavior and the adaptation of ICS to culturally different team members. Specifically, it was partially demonstrated that ICS styles/behavior varies across cultures. A significant relationship between EI and conflict management behavior was demonstrated, as well as between EI and IC and the adaptation of conflict management behavior to cultural differences. Description: Doctor of Philosophy in Knowledge Management and Innovation Management 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://dspace.bu.ac.th/jspui/handle/123456789/5501 Title: Exploring the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Uncertainties on Knowledge Sharing Behaviors in a Philippine Higher Education Institution Authors: Reynald M. Cacho Abstract: The global health emergency known as the COVID-19 crisis changes the way organizations and community members interact and evolve for their survival. It has broken old norms and created breakthroughs on how to view the present and future ecosystems both local and global. Universities and higher education institutions continue to be challenged by the current dynamic trends and be blathered by enormous uncertainty on what the future may bring that may once again alter the emerging normal. Consequently, academics critically need to be future-ready to become ever more relevant and prepared in dealing with uncertainties capitalizing on the knowledge that smoothly flows at the intra-organizational level. This dissertation then presents an exploratory uncertainty-knowledge sharing model contextualized in COVID-19 pandemic-induced-environmental uncertainty. Built around the integrative framework of contingency theory, information decision-making, and functional model of interpretation, it aims to explain the multi-dimensionality and relationships between perceived environmental uncertainty and knowledge sharing behaviors within an organization. Data were collected from the responses of 224 academics through online survey in a large higher education institution in the Philippines. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to determine the path and extent of relationships. The results are as follows: (1) Perceived state uncertainty has positive influence on effect uncertainty. (2) Effect uncertainty has positive influence on response uncertainty. (3) State uncertainty has negative influence on knowledge donating while (4) Response uncertainty has negative influence both on knowledge donating and knowledge collecting. (5) Perceived knowledge-donating has positive influence on knowledge-collecting behavior. On one hand, the influence of gender is the only significant factor in moderating the relationship between knowledge donation and knowledge collection, as academic age, educational qualifications, rank, experience, and managerial role do not have a significant effect in this study. Although based on cross-sectional survey in one particular knowledge-intensive organization, the analysis permits some generalizations that extend existing knowledge and provide a novel and more strategic approach on dealing with uncertainties and improving intra-organizational knowledge flows. In so far as this study is concerned, this is by far the first attempt to investigate concurrently the paths of the distinct disaggregated dimensions of uncertainty, explicitly framed in pandemic-induced context and the links of knowledge sharing sub-processes. Thus, it provides alternative approach in the explanation between the connection of contingent environmental knowledge management enabler and processes and the academic demographics in characterizing knowledge sharing behaviors. Aside from the academics, similar organizational decision-makers negotiating with pandemic-or-crisis-induced hyperturbulent environmental uncertainty may capitalize on the ‘mental mapping prompts’ this dissertation finds evidently related and useful. Future research agenda and practical implications for increased intra-organizational knowledge flows with equitable and inclusive engagement of diverse knowledge workers are also advanced. 2023-08-12T00:00:00Z