Sustainable development in the context of international policy is influenced by western values, with few critical evaluations of its application in Asian contexts. This paper presents the interpretation of sustainable development by businesses, civil society, government at various levels and a selection of graduate students in Phuket, Thailand. In all, 78 hours of observations in public meetings, 70 hours of interviews and 10 hours of sectorally arranged workshops were conducted over a period of two years. Data were transcribed and analysed using established qualitative methods. The paper reports how Thai value systems relate to sustainable development concepts and proposes that a culturally appropriate model is needed for understanding the path to a sustainable future in Phuket. Understanding cultural and social values is the key to sustainability. This will require appropriate network-building that creates change towards a culturally sustainable society. We propose that similar cultural adjustment will be necessary for sustainable development to become effective as an organizing concept in Asia.
The sustainability of a smart city development depends on the interpretations and prioritization driven by the key actors. Currently; the “top-down” smart city implementation in many countries is at risk of disengaging with local stakeholders and further widening the social disparities in the cities. This paper presents the socio-political contexts of a smart city, the citizens’ perspectives and awareness using Phuket, and Thailand as a case study. Desktop research was used to describe the context of the smart city policy; key driving organizations; budget allocation; and the guiding vision and mission statements at the local level. A survey of 409 residents was conducted to assess their awareness and willingness to participate in Phuket Smart City (PSC) activities as well as internet behavior and communication channels. The findings reveal uneven awareness of PSC across demographic groups. PSC was more familiar to the middle-aged; highly educated; high-income; and locals with leadership positions and living near the city center. A perceived lack of knowledge, time, information, and relevance affected the residents’ willingness to be involved in smart city development. Active communication and grass-root engagement are needed to improve public awareness and engagement in smart city implementation and achieve meaningful and equitable development.
Technology has routinely been used in zoos to enhance the visitor experience, for public education and for conservation awareness. However, studies into technology-aided exhibits in zoos have thus far been limited to zoos in western society. This article reports on an Indonesian zoo deploying new technology in its exhibits and how visitors interacted with these exhibits. A case study guided both an investigation of the visitors' technology usage of zoo exhibits and zoo implementation of technological processes. Interviews with visitors, zoo staff, and managers were conducted and analyzed and these were supplemented with on-site observations. The results indicated that the majority of zoo visitors did not use the technological applications provided by the zoo. In addition, there was found to be a significant lack of staff engagement in the consultation, design, implementation, and maintenance of the technology. Correlations were found between visitors' level of technology usage, their reading of signage, their day-to-day technology usage, and their conservation knowledge. The findings suggest that an understanding of visitor' behavior, active staff engagement in the development and implementation of new technology, in addition to emotion-inducing interpretation, and purposefully guided interactions, could increase the use of technology at a zoo and thus enhance positive visitor engagement, ultimately resulting in heightened educational as well as conservational outcomes.
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