Factors Influencing the Community Strength in Ban Tha Di Mi, Chiangkhan District, Loei Province

Abstract

        The process of strengthening the community comes from the concept of foundation development. As the community is an important social foundation, the strength of the community should be developed by creating new knowledge through the transfer, exchange, and learning between people in the community. The purposes of this study were: 1) to study the conditions and problems affecting the strength of the community in Ban Tha Di Mi, Chiangkhan District, Loei Province; 2) to study the level of factors that influence the strength of the community in Ban Tha Di Mi, Chiangkhan District, Loei Province; and 3) to study factors that influence the strengthening of the community in Ban Tha Di Mi, Chiangkhan District, Loei Province. A mixed method was used in this study, with a sample of 285 people living in Ban Tha Di Mi, Chiangkhan District, Loei Province. The collected data were analyzed using statistical methods, including frequency distribution, percentage, mean and standard deviation calculation, and multiple regression analysis with a significance level of 0.05.

         The research showed factors influencing the strength of the Ban Tha Di Mi community in Chiang Khan District, Loei Province, overall are at a high level. Classified by personal factors, opinions on knowledge management factors and community strengthening were overall at a high level. Results of multiple regression analysis indicated that knowledge management was correlated with community strength with an adjusted R² of 0.649, implying that the model's prediction was 64.90% at a significant level of 0.05. To set a policy for strengthening the community, the people in the community should be involved in the planning process. Moreover, local organizations should support the use of technology for strengthening the community.