Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies

User-Centered Design (UCD) and graphic novel approach to fostering LGBTQ+ understanding in Thailand

Nuttcha Sumthong — 2026-09-10

This research investigates discrimination arising from limited knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ people within families, schools, and workplaces in Thailand. The aim of this study is to design, develop, and evaluate an illustrated e-book that effectively addresses gender equality concerns among young adults aged 18–24 in Thai society. The researchers applied a User-Centered Design (UCD) framework, taking user needs and goals into consideration throughout the development process. This research adopts graphic novels as instructional tools to design educational materials that promote positive attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people. A three-phase mixed-methods approach, aligned with UCD principles, was used. The study recruited 10 members of the target audience and nine LGBTQ+ people to identify user interests and preferences, developed an illustrated e-book based on their insights, and then quantitatively evaluated it through a survey of 100 young adults. Participants rated the e-book positively, reporting mean scores of 4.61/5 for design, 4.52/5 for layout and typography, and 4.53/5 for content. Furthermore, 97% of participants reported a better understanding of the LGBTQ+ community and indicated that they would recommend the e-book to others. This research contributes to existing scholarship by developing an illustrated e-book for LGBTQ+ education in Thailand that targets young adults through UCD. The design process, which involved members of the LGBTQ+ community, demonstrates how user engagement can help address sensitive social issues.

Exploring musical hybridity in fusions of lukthung and Thai pop

Kin Ho Wong — 2026-09-15

While both belong to popular music in Thailand, lukthung and Thai pop represent distinct types of songs in the eyes of contemporary Thai music audiences. This article explores the potential to enhance the impact of Thai popular music in the increasingly competitive global music market by fusing lukthung with Thai pop to reach a broader audience. Based on a case study of the JOOX 100×100 project, this study employs a mixed-methods approach that combines comparative analysis of selected lukthung fusion songs with a semi-structured questionnaire that examines participants’ preconceptions of lukthung and their responses to the selected songs. By evaluating the relationship between the reception and features of hybrids of lukthung and Thai pop, it proposes three hybridisation strategies that can be observed in lukthung fusions, namely Compensatory Blending, Sonic Masking, and Stylistic Transgression, arguing that the perception of the hybrid depends on the appeal of the interobjectivity within the hybrid and the genres involved. Ultimately, this article suggests how musical hybridity may effectively refashion lukthung, attracting more diverse attention to the genre and generating new interest in Thai popular music. In addition to providing directions for creating successful lukthung fusions, the findings are expected to enrich discussions on musical hybridity, which more often concern hybrids between musical styles from different countries or within Western genres.

Heritage-led gentrification in Southeast Asian historic cities: A comparative analysis of Chiang Mai Old City and Hue Citadel

Karuna Raksawin — 2026-09-21

This article examines heritage-led gentrification in Southeast Asia through a comparative analysis of two historic cities: Chiang Mai Old City in Thailand and Hue Citadel in Vietnam. While both cities are UNESCO-recognized heritage environments and major tourism destinations, they are shaped by contrasting governance regimes and development logics. The study examines how different political and institutional contexts influence the processes, indicators, and outcomes of heritage-led gentrification. Methodologically, the research adopts a comparative case study approach, drawing on secondary data from planning documents, spatial studies, policy reports, and scholarly literature. A consistent set of indicators—land-use transformation, property market change, demographic displacement, tourism intensity, and heritage meaning—is applied to both cases. The findings reveal two distinct trajectories. In Chiang Mai, gentrification unfolds incrementally through market-driven tourism economies, resulting in commercial conversion, rising property values, and gradual cultural displacement within a living-heritage environment. In Hue, transformation is driven primarily by state-led conservation policies, with large-scale relocation programs clearing residential areas to create a monumental imperial landscape. Despite these different mechanisms, each case demonstrates a shared paradox: the preservation of built heritage often coincides with the erosion of everyday cultural practices and social networks. Based on this comparison, the article proposes a preliminary theoretical framework distinguishing between market-mediated living-heritage gentrification and state-led monumental-heritage gentrification. This typology contributes to emerging debates on Global South urbanism by highlighting how governance regimes shape heritage transformation beyond classical Euro-American gentrification models.

Tourist perceptions and service design for sustainable community forests

Sakol Teeravarunyou — 2026-09-28

This study investigates tourist perceptions and service design at Suan Pa Ket Nom Klao, a peri-urban community forest in Samut Prakan, Thailand. The research aims to enhance visitor experiences while promoting sustainable tourism, inclusive access to green spaces, and responsible consumption. Guided by User Experience (UX) theory, the Tourist Experience Model, and the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, the study adopts a multidimensional approach to ecotourism development. Three key objectives were pursued: (1) to evaluate visitors’ perception and activity categorization, (2) to examine relationships among tourist experience dimensions, and (3) to compare three thematic models—ecology, culture and art, and wellness—based on visitor preferences. Following the implementation of low-impact tourism interventions, including forest walkways, stingless bee displays, and eco-friendly souvenir services, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 128 visitors. Findings reveal that visitors reported higher satisfaction with wellness and cultural activities than with ecological ones. Learning opportunities and perceived service quality were strongly linked to overall satisfaction. Although ecological activities were appreciated, they require improved interactive engagement and more diverse souvenir offerings. The resulting integrated framework offers a practical guide for aligning service design with ecological stewardship, cultural enrichment, and economic sustainability.

Strategic factors for digital citizenship development among students in Catholic schools in Nakhon Sawan Diocese, Thailand

Vichian Puncreobutr — 2026-09-28

This mixed-method research aims to study the digital citizenship development activities and the strategic factors for digital citizenship development among students in Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese, Thailand. The qualitative part of the research involved document analysis and in-depth interviews with experts. The quantitative part was conducted with a sample of 1,477 teachers and students from Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese. The statistics applied consist of descriptive statistics (mean, S.D.) and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). The research findings are as follows: 1) The digital citizenship development activities organized by Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese are integrated into the curriculum. These curriculum enhancement activities cover 8 aspects of digital citizenship: digital citizen identity, screen time management, cyberbullying management, cybersecurity management, privacy management, critical thinking, digital footprint, and digital empathy; 2) The factor analysis, conducted using Principal Component Analysis and orthogonal rotation via the varimax method, identified 4 factors: Cybersecurity in the Digital World Development Strategy, Rational Decision-Making in the Digital World Strategy, Empathy in the Digital World Development Strategy, and Screen Time Management in the Digital World Development Strategy. Together, these four factors constitute 62.449 percent of the variance; 3) The digital citizenship development strategy for students in Catholic schools in the Nakhon Sawan Diocese aligns with the guidelines of the Congregation for Catholic Education and the teachings of Pope Francis on the use of digital technologies in our daily lives. It also aligns with the vision of educational administration outlined by the Catholic Education Council of Thailand. Therefore, this strategy can be applied across all Catholic schools.

Art toys as cultural translation systems: A participatory design framework for community-based tourism and product branding

Soraj Pruettikomon — 2026-10-08

Art toys have become highly influential across Asia, particularly in China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, where culturally inspired character design has been used to strengthen tourism branding and enhance community product value, generating economic impact worth billions of baht. In Thailand, however, the application of art toys for community development and tourism promotion remains limited and lacks systematic design guidelines. This study aims to develop design guidelines for art toys based on regional cultural capital in Thailand to support tourism promotion and enhance community products. A mixed-methods research design was employed, including field observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, expert evaluation, and questionnaires. The study involved 510 participants across three regions of Thailand: Central, Northeastern, and Southern. Cultural identity and regional symbolic animals were used as key inspirations for art toy character development and packaging prototypes for community products. Qualitative findings reveal that art toys derived from local identity effectively communicate cultural narratives and strengthen place recognition. Quantitative results indicate high levels of tourist satisfaction, emotional engagement, and purchase intention. The study demonstrates that art toys function as contemporary mediators that translate local identity into marketable forms, thereby enhancing community product value and supporting the creative economy. The findings contribute to a practical design framework for art toy development in tourism and community product contexts in Thailand. The framework emphasizes community participation, cultural capital integration, and intellectual property management to ensure sustainable implementation and scalability across regions.

When digital literacy meets negative bias: Understanding the adoption of online information and sentiment on X

Rila Setyaningsih — 2026-10-19

Digital platforms increasingly mediate how citizens engage with public policy, shaping not only access to information but also the formation of collective interpretations and sentiments. In the context of Indonesia’s Free Nutritious Meal (Makan Bergizi Gratis: MBG) program, this study examines the relationship between individual digital literacy and online information adoption, while simultaneously mapping public sentiment and discourse dynamics on X. Employing a concurrent mixed-methods design, the study combines an online survey of 385 social media users drawing on the DigComp 2.2 framework and the Information Adoption Model with large-scale social media analysis of 87,589 MBG-related mentions on X collected between April and August 2025 using Drone Emprit. Regression analysis revealed that digital literacy significantly predicts information adoption regarding the MBG program (β = 0.581, R² = 0.549, p < 0.001), indicating that digital literacy explains 54.9% of the variance in information adoption and substantially enhances individuals’ capacity to evaluate and accept policy-related information. While digital literacy supports information adoption at the individual level, the overall online discourse surrounding MBG remained predominantly negative, suggesting a disconnect between individual informational competence and collective sentiment formation. Sentiment analysis further revealed that public discourse was predominantly negative (56%), compared with positive (43%) and neutral (1%) expressions, with significant surges observed in May and July 2025. Network analysis additionally revealed that negative sentiment is concentrated around accounts with high centrality and influence, thereby amplifying critical narratives through networked interactions. These findings highlight a structural tension between individual informational competence and collective sentiment formation in digital communication environments. This research contributes to the existing body of work on digital communication and public policy by illustrating that initiatives aimed at improving digital literacy should be complemented by network-aware communication strategies, such as influencer engagement and real-time discourse monitoring, to bolster public trust and legitimacy in extensive policy interventions.

Edo-period biographies of the Buddha and their illustrations reconfigure Gotamī (Kyōdonmi) from devoted sister to jealous adversary

Namsai Tantisuk — 2026-10-20

This study examines Edo-period biographies of the Buddha to analyze Gotamī’s (Kyōdonmi’s) roles and visual representations, focusing on how they reflect contemporary social contexts. Nine Edo-period biographies of the Buddha were included: (1) Shaka no honji (1643); (2) Shakahassōmonogatari (1666); (3) Shakahassōki tsuketari butsumomayafujin (Kateibunko version, 1669); (4) Shaka ichidaidenki kusui (1692); (5) Shaka goichidaiki eshō (1797); (6) Shaka ōkeryaku genge (1805); (7) Shaka goichidaiki zue (1845); (8) Shaka hassō yamato bunko (1845–1871); and (9) Hasshūkigen shakajitsuroku (1854). Based on analyzing these works, focusing on episodes in which Gotamī harbors malice toward Maya, this study identifies two narrative models: (1) the traditional depiction of Gotamī as the devoted younger sister who cared for Prince Siddhartha and eventually became the first bhikṣuṇī; and (2) the jealous elder sister plotting against her younger, more favored sister Maya, the Buddha’s mother, before ultimately repenting. The latter model, which emerged in the mid-17th century and persisted into the 19th, aligns with general Japanese notions of sibling hierarchy (and rivalry), wherein elder daughters traditionally held authority. Some biographies have expressed Gotamī’s envy symbolically through the imagery of a serpent, a commonly used motif in Edo society. In time, Gotamī’s visual representations have shifted from conventional “Chinese codes” to more realistic portrayals, paralleling the broader transformation of depictions of foreigners in 19th-century Japan, reflecting social change and artists’ encounters with foreigners.

Contexts, future time perspectives, and senior entrepreneurship in Thailand

Thitikan Khamwan — 2026-10-26

Senior entrepreneurship is a significant phenomenon resulting from population ageing, with senior entrepreneurs increasingly playing an important role in economic activity. The selection of entrepreneurship pursuit amongst older people depends on the context in which they reside and their perception of future time, as entrepreneurial motivations can change across the lifespan. This exploratory qualitative research explores the role of institutional, spatial, and social contexts and draws on the lifespan theory of motivation—socioemotional selectivity theory—to discuss entrepreneurship in later life in Thailand. The research participants consisted of 19 individuals aged 50 years or over who commenced micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in Thailand, a country that became an aged society in 2022 and has a less generous welfare state. The findings suggest that institutional, spatial, and social contexts influence senior entrepreneurs to engage in entrepreneurial activities in several ways. Despite the perception of limited future time, older individuals facing financial adversity may, at times, prioritise financial motives by entering entrepreneurship, challenging the central assumption of socioemotional selectivity theory. Research into senior entrepreneurship in the Thai context emphasises that the phenomenon is complex and context-dependent. This study provides insights into how context influences older individuals’ decisions to become business owners in Thailand and how entry into entrepreneurship helps them address those challenges that come with age.