Review of Alision Wee Siu Hui’s Assembling Gender

Malaysia’s period of rapid economic development was based, in common with a number of other East and Southeast Asian nations, on entry into the factory age. Malaysia was different from Korea and Thailand in that this entry coincided with decolonization and also took place against a background of potential ethnic conflict – conflict which has largely been avoided in a society in which extensive police powers have been evident and in which some elements of democratization withheld from the people.

Read the full review here.

Review of Yuen Yuet Leng’s Nation before Self

Apparently written originally as a personal plea to the then Prime Minister of Malaysia to return to the supposed leadership and moral virtues of the past, Nation before Self is an autobiography of one of that country’s most prominent police officer, whose period of service included the Emergency and the 1969 riots, as well as more recent events (he retired in 1984). The author is ethnic Chinese and this is of central importance in his career and in the way he relates to other elements of Malaysian society. He was born into a country under colonization by the British, in which large flows of migration from China and India, principally, had significantly changed the demographic nature of the country, as well as its economy and introduced new social dynamics among different communities.

Read the full review here.

Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level and Competitive Advantage: A Comparison between Thailand and Malaysia

Announcing: Thitthongkam, Thavorn and John Walsh, “Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level and Competitive Advantage: A Comparison between Thailand and Malaysia,” Journal of Education and Vocational Research, Vol.1, No.1 (April, 2011), pp.26-35, available at:
http://www.ifrnd.org/JEVR/1(1)%20Apr%202011/Tourism%20Education_at%20the%20Tertiary%20Level.pdf
.

Abstract:

Language plays an imperative role in business as a means and a source of power. It is particularly important in the tourism industry when international customers may be unable to communicate directly with service providers in the receiving country, and this has a direct effect on the level of satisfaction that they enjoy during their experience. To address this issue, countries attempt to various degrees to manage their labour markets so as to produce a number of graduates from secondary and tertiary level educational institutions commensurate with the demand from the sector. However, this is quite a young industry at the global level, and it is not clear to what extent the number and quality of such graduates with international language ability will be required. This paper studies the comparative extent of such education at the tertiary level of individuals in both Thailand and Malaysia. It aims to compare the number and variety of people being trained in the tourism and hospitality industry and the extent to which languages are being taught. Results show that there is something of a disconnection between the languages provided and the languages that tourists desire in terms of their mother tongue. Those tourists who can speak English or Chinese may receive service support in those languages, while those who cannot may be disappointed.

Keywords:  Tourism education, competitiveness, Language, Tourism in Thailand, Tourism in Malaysia

 

Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level and Competitive Advantage: A Comparison between Thailand and Malaysia

Announcing: Thitthongkham, Thavorn and John Walsh, “Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level and Competitive Advantage: A Comparison between Thailand and Malaysia,” paper presented at International Colloquium on Business and Management, Bangkok (January 26^th-28^th, 2010).

Abstract: 

Language plays an imperative role in business as a means and a source of power. It is particularly important in the tourism industry when international customers may be unable to communicate directly with service providers in the receiving country, and this has a direct effect on the level of satisfaction that they enjoy during their experience. To address this issue, countries attempt to various degrees to manage their labour markets so as to produce a number of graduates from secondary and tertiary level educational institutions commensurate with the demand from the sector. However, this is quite a young industry at the global level, and it is not clear to what extent the number and quality of such graduates with international language ability will be required. This paper studies the comparative extent of such education at the tertiary level of individuals in both Thailand and Malaysia. It aims to compare the number and variety of people being trained in the tourism and hospitality industry and the extent to which languages are being taught. Results show that there is something of a disconnection between the languages provided and the languages that tourists desire in terms of their mother tongue. Those tourists who can speak English or Chinese may receive service support in those languages, while those who cannot may be disappointed.

The full paper should be available at the conference website.