Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies (FORMER NAME SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, HUMANITIES, AND ARTS)

Interreligious dialogue for the earth: Ecological spirituality in the poetry of Mary Oliver and Thich Nhat Hanh

Darin Pradittatsanee — 2024-01-30

This paper examines the poetry of two contemporary writers from divergent religious backgrounds: American poet Mary Oliver (1935–2019) and Vietnamese Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh (1926–2022). Taking a comparative approach to examine the writers’ ecological spirituality, it attempts to examine how Oliver and Nhat Hanh envision self, nature, God, and spirituality in Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (2017) and Call Me by My True Names: The Collected Poems of Thich Nhat Hanh (1999) respectively. It demonstrates striking affinities of the two poets’ visions, arguing that they are kindred spirits despite their different religious backgrounds. It examines how each writer’s perception of self and nature is founded upon their religious ideas and how their spirituality is, in turn, enhanced by this ecological vision. While Oliver’s spirituality is based upon her belief in God’s immanence in nature and thus her view of nature as God’s body, the Buddhist notion of interbeing is the bedrock of Nhat Hanh’s perception of self in relation to other things. Both similarly emphasize the significance of contemplative practice in nature as a means to achieve an insight into divinity or interbeing. Furthermore, this paper shows how the reading of the two writers in juxtaposition with each other invites an interreligious dialogue of the Buddhist and Christian poets. It employs its comparative analysis of the two writers as a case study to reflect upon possibilities for a fruitful interfaith dialogue in our attempt to nurture our spiritual lives and foster our bonds with nature.

Translanguaging in advertising: An examination of separate and flexible bilingualism in Tamil newspaper advertisements

A Pooja — 2024-02-22

The rapidly changing world of advertising relies heavily on language to engage its audience effectively. The trend of translanguaging, the adaptive and integrated employment of languages, is increasing in the advertising sphere. This research investigates language patterns in Tamil newspaper advertisements, categorizing them into separate and fluid bilingual types using Mark Sebba's model. The investigation centers on translanguaging variations in bilingual contexts, highlighting prevalent language dynamics. The study encompasses 147 commercial advertisements from the Tamil newspaper Dinakaran, published between 2022 and 2023. The findings show widespread use of flexible bilingual strategies in Tamil written media, underlining language’s evolving role in advertisement content. The observed dynamic language practices in advertisements stem from globalization, providing marketers with linguistic tools to foster language inclusivity, cultural relevance, audience involvement, and direct communication with readers. This research stands out in its reassessment of bilingual tactics in advertisements, uncovering translanguaging varieties not previously studied in Tamil print media. It concludes by acknowledging potential challenges to translanguaging in advertising, such as inaccuracies, lack of direct equivalents, and cultural and linguistic nuances. This study stresses the dynamism, flexibility, and influence of translanguaging practices in advertisements on audience engagement in a multilingual context. The study is significant as it provides the practical and theoretical implications of flexible bilingual practices for scholars, advertisers, and linguists working in bilingual advertising.

Development of a geo-informatics database system to support urban conservation and rehabilitation: A case study of Mueang Ratchaburi district, Thailand

Supharerk O-in — 2024-03-06

This research aims to investigate and process information of important buildings with historical and cultural values in the old town of Mueang Ratchaburi district in Ratchaburi province, Thailand and to develop a database system to support urban conservation and rehabilitation. This research was qualitative using a field survey and in-depth interviews with 15 government and private agencies who were involved in the conservation of important buildings in the area. Data was then collected and analyzed to develop a geo-informatics database system to support the urban conservation and rehabilitation of these important buildings. The results showed that there were a total of 43 historic sites and important buildings in the district, of which 19 were already registered with the Fine Arts Department. Many of these important buildings, 16 sites in total, were located in the Na Mueang subdistrict. A database was then developed in the geographic information system by creating a database on Google Sheets so that users could easily add, delete or edit information. A connection was then made to the AppSheet platform to enable viewing on both smartphones and web browsers. It was found that users could update, manage, and view data on the map. Users could also search information, calculate the route and duration, and connect to the links to see the registration documents that appear in the Royal Thai Government Gazette for buildings registered with the Fine Arts Department.

Teachers’ perspectives of, and strategies for, promoting the social and emotional learning of preschoolers: A comparative study of Thailand and the republic of Korea

Sasilak Khayankij — 2024-03-06

Social and emotional learning has emerged as an important competency in the national curricula of several countries, inducing their schools to shift their focus solely from academic development to include promoting social and emotional learning competencies. This study compared how Thai and Korean pre-service and in-service pre-K teachers perceive social and emotional learning and implement social and emotional learning strategies in classrooms. The sample was 336 Thai and Korean senior early childhood education students and Thai and Korean pre-K teachers; the return rate was 67% (224 people). Data from an e-questionnaire and 12 semi-structured interviews were analyzed. Thai pre-service teachers had a lower mean score compared with other groups (significance level .05). All groups implemented social and emotional learning in daily routines rather than in just direct teaching. Some variables (age, practicum experience, teaching experience, social and emotional learning studies in teacher training degree, special educational needs teaching experience) positively correlated at a low level to teachers’ perspectives of social and emotional learning and strategies for promoting social and emotional learning in young children; the number of preschoolers in the classroom had a low-level negative correlation. Therefore, teacher preparation programs and professional development should train teachers to use a variety of social and emotional learning strategies in the classroom.

Enhancing critical learning through an adaptive web application: A case study of lower secondary school students studying artificial intelligence technology

Siwanit Autthawuttikul — 2024-03-12

This research aims to develop and study the effects of an adaptive web application on critical learning of artificial intelligence technology in students under the Suphan Buri and Nakhon Pathom Secondary Educational Service Area Office. The sample was divided into two groups: 4,264 lower secondary school teachers that were surveyed to create a needs analysis on media use, teaching management and readiness to use technology and a second group of 709 lower secondary school students who volunteered to use the adaptive web application. The research instruments consisted of 1) an opinion and guidelines survey for developing the adaptive web application, 2) an adaptive web application to enhance learning of artificial intelligence, 3) a learning style assessment, 4) a critical learning test on artificial intelligence technology, and 5) a student opinion questionnaire. Data were analysed using content analysis, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, need assessment, one-way ANOVA, and hypothesis tests by paired sample t-test. The results showed that 1) the conditions for media use, teaching management and readiness to use technology were at a high level; 2) there was no significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores at 0.05 significance; 3) there was no significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores among the student learning styles at 0.05 significance; 4) there was no significant difference in the frequency of media use classified by learning style at 0.05 significance; and 5) the students’ opinions toward learning activities via an adaptive web application was at the highest level (M = 4.59, SD = 0.49).

Examining the models of social entrepreneurs in Nam Noi community, Hat Yai district, Songkhla province

Utai Parinyasutinun — 2024-04-01

This qualitative research aimed to exam the models of social entrepreneurs in the Nam Noi community, of Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. The qualitative methods of interview, focus group discussions, participant observation, and knowledge-sharing forums were used as field data collection tools. Informants for the research comprised 70 people, consisting of 3 social entrepreneurs, 25 villagers, 4 community leaders, 1 local administrative officer, 5 academics, 5 social movement activists, and 27 students. The data were also collected from related literature reviews and area studies. The data analysis was mainly based on the content analysis approach. The study found that social entrepreneurs in the Nam Noi community were entrepreneurs who operated businesses to respond to their own needs and to help solve community problems. Moreover, whether considering any of the models of social entrepreneurs, be it the pioneer, cooperator, social network creator, inspiration, or changemaker, all of them utilized social innovations such as social networks, computer programs, or online social media that impacted the community’s economic, social, and environmental aspects. They also corresponded with the sustainable development goals in the following aspects. First, people's development resulted from academic cooperation through educational institutions. Second, the planet's development resulted from the change in food containers. Third, prosperity and development resulted from the rotation of money, income distribution, and community economic stimulation. Fourth, peace development resulted from family strengthening, contributing to peace and happiness for people in the community. Fifth, partnership development resulted from the creation of social media networks for a better community. All of these innovations helped people in the community have a better quality of life.

Factors influencing the Co-production in water management policies: A multi-case study in Nan province and Phayao province, Thailand

Suwida Nuamcharoen — 2024-04-02

The issue of sustainable development has garnered significant international attention, with the United Nations (UN) playing a central role in promoting this agenda through the establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The objectives of this study were twofold. Firstly, it aimed to investigate the factors that influence co-production and assess their impacts on sustainability. Secondly, this study aimed to provide suggestions for policymakers and implementers on how to enhance co-production factors to achieve greater sustainability outcomes. The research focused on two case studies in Thailand: water management in Ban Tun sub-district, Mueang district in Phayao province, and water management in Rong Ngae village in Worranakorn sub-district, Pua district in Nan province. A qualitative research approach was employed, utilizing in-depth interviews, non-participatory observations, and focus group discussions. Triangulation was employed to ensure data validity, and semi-structured interviews were used as the data collection tool. Content analysis and qualitative data analysis software were employed for data analysis. The findings revealed co-production in both the formulation and implementation of water management policies relating to sustainable outcomes. These outcomes were influenced by societal norms, cultural factors, existing policies, and knowledge, which shaped the relationships among the communities, stakeholders, and agencies involved in water management. The factors affecting co-production and its sustainability in the multi-case study's sustainable development policy were identified as follows: 1) contextual factors, including societal standards, culture, and existing policies and knowledge; 2) inputs, comprising water management knowledge and collaboration involving resources, technology application, and legal regulations; and 3) outputs, encompassing the expansion of knowledge and the development of competencies. The study emphasizes the need to boost knowledge expansion and competency through collaborative knowledge-sharing and academic involvement. It suggests that promoting inclusive participation and equal collaboration among stakeholders enhances co-production and sustainable outcomes.

Policy recommendations for workers returning to their hometowns: A case study of Phitsanulok province, Thailand

Thannapat Jarernpanit — 2024-04-17

This article examines the socio-economic impacts and experiences of the workers who returned home in Phitsanulok province during the COVID-19 crisis in Thailand from 2021 to 2022. The study utilizes a mixed-methods approach, including quantitative research involving 385 workers returning home in nine districts of Phitsanulok province, as well as qualitative research through in-depth interviews with 18 workers. The analysis of the collected data incorporates the concepts of social mobility and public policy. The findings reveal that a significant proportion of the workers who returned home, mainly aged between 23–40 years, chose to return to their hometowns for a period exceeding 12 months. These individuals were primarily recent graduates and low-skilled workers employed in the service and industrial sectors. They mostly belonged to the lower middle class, with an average monthly income ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 baht. The study highlights the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, including income reduction, increased household debt, and a decline in overall quality of life. As a result, the research puts forth policy recommendations aimed at the state welfare policy, advocating for the establishment of an income welfare system, the promotion of local industry development to foster employment opportunities, the facilitation of reskilling and upskilling initiatives aligned with 21st-century occupations, and the decentralization of power to local authorities to enhance the quality of life and public services for the local population.

Does Tamil Nadu’s free bus travel policy impact women’s lives?

Jilly Philippa Joel Premkumar — 2024-04-17

Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality by 2030, and various national and state policies and programs are being implemented with a gender-inclusive perspective. Women often rely on male members of the family to meet their needs and due to COVID-19 pandemic losses and ongoing price hikes on essential goods, many working women in the informal sector, such as domestic workers, construction workers, agricultural workers and daily wage employees, are finding it difficult to survive. Poor women who are destitute, separated, widowed, disabled or migrated are the worst affected as they have no choice but to work and earn money to survive. Women pushing for their livelihood means their mobility is more important in the face of job losses and economic opportunities. Also, in the face of rising petrol and diesel prices, transportation costs have been identified as a key burden for families, which many women have been unable to afford. In this context, the Tamil Nadu government announced free public bus travel for women in June 2021 in an attempt to alleviate travel costs and enhance women's work participation rates. This research paper investigates the economic and social impact of the 'Free Bus Travel Policy' on women in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu, by using a mixed method design adopting both quantitative survey (150) and qualitative interviews (30). The free bus travel policy has impacted women's economic and social lives, especially among women from lower-income groups, and the majority of them have agreed that this scheme has increased their access to economic resources, mobility, and financial independence. However, the scheme suffers limitations such as lack of proper time management, lack of suitable infrastructure, and lack of frequent buses that are to be provided to have an effective implementation of the scheme.

Generosity development model of an organic food community in Thailand

Patcharapunt Maneesiri — 2024-04-19

Learning and sharing in a dynamic society causes exchanges and generosity within groups. This qualitative study aimed to explain the generosity development patterns of an organic urban market and a CSA group, and to show the spiritual values in an organic food community reflecting upon the learning mechanism of co-existence. The research employed a qualitative approach using in-depth interviews among 38 participants selected using the snowball technique. The core method was managed using content analysis. Based on the findings, generosity development was defined as a learning process for relationship construction. This process possessed three special characteristics. Firstly, it constituted an individual learning process characterized by high adaptability wherein agents could accept various exchange situations. Secondly, interactions between two agents were noted to reflect every moment to transformative learning in a relationship status. These two case studies satisfied their own exchange together to maintain relationships. Lastly, a middleman’s participation was observed, who facilitated dialogs to be crystal clear for sharing food safety and food security issues. It could be noted that the key success was the learning obtained from transformative individual characteristics to group constructions. The consequence of the learning process produced trading exchange activity and a paradigm shift of all stakeholders towards sympathy, empathy, and generosity. As a result, the investigation of the social interactions between producers and consumers of organic vegetables possessed value in the social interactions occurring through consumption. Furthermore, interaction reflects a learning process leading to co-management and harmonious coexistence among people.

Ethnic folktale-based materials development for secondary students’ learning

Prommin Songsirisak — 2024-04-19

Despite scholarly literature’s attempts to promote cultural inclusiveness in education, school textbooks are being contextualized with globalization, rather than ethnicization, which is far beyond many ethnic students’ cultural backgrounds. In response to this exclusion, 15 folktales were collected from four ethnic groups in Chiang Rai province, Thailand to develop ethnic folktale-based multilingual materials. 30 secondary ethnic students were asked to respond to the importance of the materials for their learning using a set of questionnaires and open-ended questions. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and open and axial coding techniques. The results indicated that the students had highly positive attitudes towards the ethnic folktales. They expressed that they could learn multicultural knowledge from these folktales which related to their ways of life, ideologies, beliefs, identities, and moralities. Through the learning of these ethnic folktales, they felt that they were able to better improve their ways of thinking, attitudes about the real world, appreciation of their ethnic cultural values, and local wisdom, which lead to their better multicultural understanding and a stronger sense of belonging. These were reflected in their positive desire to sustain, revitalize, and to make these folktales accessible to others. Additionally, this study advocates developing multilingual cultural materials to benefit students’ learning in schools.

Visual rhetoric: An alternative method of designing Luoshan shadow creative products

Taotao Xu — 2024-04-22

The Luoshan shadow puppet, which has a long history in China, is a multifaceted art form incorporating carving, performance, and painting. This art has also resulted in the production of numerous creative products. In the digital information age, visual symbols play an increasingly important rhetorical role in the Luoshan shadow creative products. The Luoshan shadow creative products have been designed to combine traditional cultural elements with modern aesthetics practically and artistically. This paper aims to investigate how visual rhetoric influences design innovation in the Luoshan shadow creative products and explain how it is used to design these creative products. A thematic analysis of comments and suggestions from 16 designers and academics was carried out, and a framework of roles and strategies for visual rhetoric to influence the Luoshan shadow creative product was suggested. The proposed framework incorporates a visual rhetorical approach and shows how it influences creative product designs. The exploration in this study adheres to a visual rhetorical model, with these approaches classified into four levels of innovation: innovative visual thinking, new visual connections, form following emotion, and formal restructuring to improve visual appeal. The framework also shows how the connection and overlap of visual rhetorical approaches contribute to how these products innovate and create new visual meanings.

Empowering a local economy in Indonesia through tourism and good practice

Achmad Room Fitrianto — 2024-04-23

This article explores how a group of stakeholders worked collaboratively on an economic initiative to develop an abandoned limestone mine site in Sekapuk village, Gresik, Indonesia. A sustainable livelihood framework using qualitative methods is used in the analysis. The fieldwork reveals that in Sekapuk, village-owned companies and village officials cooperated to maximise the utility of their assets and economic advantage by designing and implementing two community programs. The first program, known as the TAPLUS (Tabungan Plus) Savings and Investment Plan, used community funds for converting an abandoned limestone mine site into a viable tourist destination. The second program sought to empower women economically by enabling single mothers to access low-interest, soft loans. The program provided these women and other women’s groups with the means by which they could become involved in tourism activities at village level. Through implementation of these initiatives, the Sekapuk community benefitted in a variety of ways; by repurposing an abandoned mine as a domestic tourist destination for economic gain and by empowering residents of the village.

Guidelines for developing needed skills and competencies of the elderly in Thailand

Wirathep Pathumcharoenwattana — 2024-04-23

This article is part of a study on skills and competencies needed for the elderly, aiming to propose guidelines for developing the needed skills and competencies for the elderly in Thailand. Qualitative data was collected using two procedures. Firstly, a literature review was conducted, analyzed, and synthesized using a document analysis form. Secondly, the needed skills and competencies of the elderly and the guidelines for developing the skills and competencies was investigated and confirmed using focus group discussion questions. The research findings are as follows: 1) the government should form a committee to formulate laws, rules, and regulations that promote the participation of various sectors to develop the skills and competencies; 2) the government should set up the representative mechanism to develop life and work skills and competencies; 3) the government should create an elderly database system and develop a central database system; 4) the government should set the criteria and methods for motivating the elderly to develop needed skills and competencies throughout their lives; 5) an integrated working group should formulate practical guidelines for concrete development of essential skills and competencies; 6) the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society should urgently issue policies regarding digital justice for people of all ages, especially the elderly population; and 7) the Ministry of Education should formulate policies, mechanisms and measures to enhance and develop the skills and competencies that are essential, as well as prepare people of all ages to fully enter the aging society of Thailand.

The implications of digital communication between parents and teachers from a teachers’ point of view

Nur Aini Khoo binti Ahmad Fuad Khoo — 2024-04-27

Digital communication has been popular among general Malaysian users. It comes as no surprise that digital communication is taking over in educational settings. Parent-teacher communication is very important, because both parties play a big role in children's learning wellbeing. Thus, this study explores the advantages and disadvantages of using WhatsApp groups as a digital communication tool for parent-teacher communication. Because WhatsApp groups are not yet considered a formal medium, there are no rules or regulations in place to govern communication. Therefore, this study aims to guide teachers on managing digital communication between parents and teachers so that the alternative can be utilised efficiently. This qualitative study involved six teacher informants responsible as class teachers for any grades or levels in national and government primary and secondary schools located around Johor Bahru. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analysed using thematic analysis. Based on the findings, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using WhatsApp groups among parents and teachers. WhatsApp groups offer benefits such as information being delivered easily and quickly; parents and teachers accessing information in WhatsApp groups from various locations; and immediate interaction between parents and teachers. The conveniences that WhatsApp group functions offer can foster cooperation between parents and teachers. However, there are several disadvantages to using WhatsApp groups that are the unintentional extension of teachers' working hours caused by the flexibility of WhatsApp groups, an invasion of teachers’ privacy and its contribution to any discussions on trivial matters. WhatsApp groups should set rules and restrictions to improve the groups' effectiveness and efficiency for parents and teachers. Teachers should serve as the group's host and administrator in order to preserve the semi-formal relationships between parents and teachers. Because teachers' healthy work-life balance is also important, establishing good practice for managing WhatsApp groups is essential.