Development of a database of local scholars in Phatthalung Province

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study and collect data on local scholars in Phatthalung Province, study and collect local wisdoms from the local scholars in Phatthalung Province as well as to develop the database system on the local scholars in Phatthalung Province. The population of this study were 22 local scholars which were then selected by purposive sampling for 10 samples. The instruments used for collecting data consisted of an interview form, a record form for local scholars in Phatthalung Province, and local wisdoms from the scholars, an evaluation form on database of the local scholars in Phatthalung Province. The development of database system on the local scholars in Phatthalung Province was established by using Microsoft Window 10, MySQL PHP for program writing, Net Beans IDE, and Java script and jQuery. The study results revealed that most of the local scholars were male, aged over 50 years old. Most of the scholars’ wisdoms derived from self-study, transferring from their ancestors, and attending seminars organized by other organizations. These scholars educated other people who were interested, being visited lecturers, giving information for groups or persons who came on field trips, or establishing learning centers and transfer knowledge for children and relatives. Most of the local scholars were honored, offered certificates from the government and private organizations. As for the local scholars’ wisdoms in Phatthalung Province, they were in various fields: agriculture – it was making organic fertilizers, organic deep-pit pig raising, making composted soil, and animal raising techniques. On Thai traditional treatments, there were massages, orthopedic, nervous system, and muscle treatments. On natural resource management and environment, there were soil maintenance by using vetiver grasses, and natural resource management. As for arts, there were Manora and shadow puppet shows. Lastly on industry and handicrafts, there were products made from coconut shells and shadow puppet crafts. The development of a database on local scholars in Phatthalung Province, local wisdoms, learning aids on local wisdoms, and maps for locations of local wisdom resources could be searched from keywords, condition setting, and categories. The evaluation of the database on local scholars in Phatthalung Province revealed that, in the overall view, users were satisfied with the system at the high level which were on the following aspects: efficiency of the system, its utilization, and design, respectively.