This study examines the cost and benefit (i.e., income) of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) rubber plantations in Thailand. The study attempts to identify the challenges to the implementation of FSC standards in rubber plantations in the country. A total of 60 rubber farmers in two Southern provinces, namely, Songkhla and Rayong, were interviewed through a standardized questionnaire to gather primary data. The study found that small-, medium- and large-sized FSC rubber plantations were worth investing in. All sizes of rubber plantations had similar values of benefit cost ratio (BCR). It was also found that the values of the discount payback period (DPP) of the three forms of FSC rubber plantations were 9-12 years, while the large rubber plantations had the highest internal rate of return (IRR) (19.0%). It implies that the large-size plantations had the highest values. The rubber farmers in the study area reported that they are facing a number of problems and hardships in implementing FSC standards, lacking knowledge and understanding of FSC, especially for preparing documentation. Therefore, the Thai government should take proper policy initiatives to remove all the problems and barriers in implementing FSC standards for the sustainable rubber production in the country.
This study aims to examine the level of students’ satisfaction toward the services (i.e. accommodation facilities, transportation facilities, and recreation and sports facilities) provided by the public universities in Bangladesh. The study also aims to identify the major service factors that influence students’ satisfaction in public universities in the country. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at six public universities to obtain primary data. A standardized questionnaire was distributed to a total of 500 randomly selected students to collect the data. Several statistical tools, namely, reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that recreation and sports facilities have the strongest impact on students’ satisfaction in the public universities in Bangladesh. Transportation facilities also have positive and significant impact on student’s satisfaction. However, the study found a negative correlation between accommodation facilities and students’ satisfaction indicating that students are not satisfied with the accommodation facilities provided by the public universities. The findings of this study provide an insight about students’ satisfaction that might be useful to authorities of the public universities and other higher educational institutions in designing policies for various services and facilities to be provided to their students.