Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies

Tangible realism: Mattie Do’s filmmaking style in contemporary Lao genre cinema

Surasak Boon-arch — Tue, 05 May 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research closely examines the filmmaking style of Mattie Do, Laos’s first female director. Despite the constraints of a nascent industry and the absence of formal film-school training, her work marks a significant development in Southeast Asian genre cinema. While regional horror often channels cultural anxieties, Do’s films reconfigure these tropes into what this study conceptualizes as Tangible Realism, foregrounding the lived experiences of Lao modernity. Drawing on textual analysis of Chanthaly (2012), Dearest Sister (2016), and The Long Walk (2019), together with insights from a personal communication with the director and an in-depth interview with her long-time collaborator, Voravaj Varazatiravatt, this study systematically deconstructs the films based on six stylistic elements: narrative structure, casting, cinematography, set design, sound, and editing. The analysis reveals that Do’s aesthetic is a deliberate auteurist strategy grounded in a philosophy of “basic truths and possibilities.” Unlike conventional horror, she prioritizes internal psychological conflict and ambiguous resolutions. Her distinct style—marked by naturalistic repertory casting, intimate eye-level cinematography, and domestic “key house” settings—transforms supernatural motifs into critiques of gendered agency and intergenerational trauma. By highlighting how an outsider’s perspective can reshape cinematic conventions, the article argues that this aesthetic mode enables contemporary Lao cinema to remain locally rooted while resonating with global audiences. These findings have implications for how alternative modes of authorship in low-budget industries are understood and for regional film policy that seeks to balance local authenticity with global circulation.

AI dependency and its impact on critical thinking and writing skills in the context of GfL: A cross-national perspective

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0700

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in learning and writing German has been expanding rapidly. Although AI has been increasingly employed to assist in writing tasks, concerns have emerged regarding its potential impact on users’ ability for critical thinking and writing independence. Moreover, examples of comparative research between educational and cultural context are limited. This research investigates learners’, teachers’ and lecturers’ perceptions regarding the influence of AI dependency on critical thinking and German writing in Indonesia, Thailand, Algeria, and Germany. The research design is a cross-national descriptive survey, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data. A web-based questionnaire consisting of closed- and open-ended questions was used for data collection. A total of 174 participants were recruited. Quantitative data were tested using non-parametric tests, and qualitative responses were thematically analyzed. The findings reveal significant differences in people’s perceived reliance on AI across countries. Participants from Indonesia and Thailand reported higher AI use than those from Germany, while respondents from Algeria indicated a moderate level. For all countries, AI was perceived as helpful in increasing grammar precision and structuring ideas in German writing. Meanwhile, there were mixed opinions on critical thinking. Some participants felt that AI assisted in critical thinking, while others were concerned that frequent use reduced the ability to reason independently when writing. In conclusion, AI seems to play a significant complex role in the writing process. Although it can improve writing efficiency, care must be taken to ensure that critical thinking and writing skills are not weakened.

AI and digital Buddhist sculpture: Performance, roles, and technology acceptance based on the TAM framework in the context of Thai arts and culture

Mon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 +0700

The objectives of this study are to: 1) assess the efficiency of an AI system created for producing digital Buddhist sculptures; 2) investigate the role of AI in the context of Thai art and culture; and 3) assess the acceptance of AI technology by digital sculpture designers. A total of 180 undergraduate students (novice designers) and 30 professional digital Buddha sculptors were surveyed using quantitative methods. In addition to the surveys, a qualitative assessment was performed through interviews with nine subject matter experts. The results of the efficiency assessment indicate that the AI system has high accuracy, produces designs quickly, and provides support for designers in creating complex designs. The findings in relation to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) demonstrate that perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use will have a significant impact on users’ intention to adopt the technology. Results of the qualitative assessments demonstrate that the AI system is able to create sculptures that adhere to Thai Buddhist artistic codes and symbols to some degree; however, expert guidance is necessary to maintain the spiritual significance and semantic meaning of the artwork. Thus, when applying AI in Thai art and culture, it is recommended that collaborations be established between the developers of AI systems and experts in the field of Thai art and culture to ensure the integrity of the culture. AI should be utilized as a complementary tool to augment designers’ creative process in a sustainable manner.

Artificial intelligence precision: Understanding Islamic profit-and-loss sharing contracts for early learners

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0700

As artificial intelligence increasingly serves as an educational shortcut for learners navigating complex subjects, this study evaluates whether the practical efficacy of these platforms aligns with current expectations. Specifically, we examine the capacity of ChatGPT to accurately explicate Mudarabah and Musharakah, the foundational profit and loss sharing contracts in Islamic finance. To assess this systematically, the core knowledge of these contracts was categorised into five critical dimensions: general comprehension, legal basis, specific terms and conditions, contract typologies, and practical industry applications. In January 2024, structured prompts were submitted to the free public version of ChatGPT, specifically GPT version 3.5, and the generated responses were rigorously evaluated on a scale from 0 to 5. These outputs were benchmarked against the standardised reference texts used for certifying Shari’ah supervisors. The results reveal significant limitations in the factual accuracy of the model. Most notably, the terms and conditions dimension, a critical component of Islamic financial compliance, yielded a validity score of less than 2. With an overall average validity score of just 2.53, the findings indicate that ChatGPT is currently too unreliable to serve as an independent foundational learning tool in this domain. Ultimately, while artificial intelligence offers compelling educational potential, this study underscores the necessity of exercising strict caution when relying on autonomous tools to navigate highly specialised, deeply nuanced intersections of religion and finance.

Active learning across proficiency levels in Thai as a foreign language conversation courses: Undergraduate students’ perceptions and experiences in Taiwan

Yuwadee Tirataradol, Suriya Sriphrom, Sasa Watanapokakul — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Active learning (AL) has been widely recognized as an effective pedagogical approach in higher education; however, limited research has examined how language proficiency shapes students’ perception of AL in Thai as a foreign language (TFL) conversation courses, particularly in international contexts such as Taiwan. This mixed-methods comparative study investigated undergraduate students’ perceptions of AL implementation in Intermediate Thai Conversation 2 (ITC2) and Advanced Thai Conversation 2 (ATC2) at a public university in Taiwan, with particular attention to proficiency-related differences. Quantitative data were collected through an online questionnaire completed by 30 students (17 from ITC2 and 13 from ATC2) and analyzed using non-parametric procedures, including descriptive statistics (median and interquartile range), the Mann-Whitney U test, and rank-biserial correlation. Qualitative insights were obtained from semi-structured interviews and examined through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that students in both courses reported consistently high to very high levels of positive perceptions across all instructional steps and key dimensions of the instruction. Yet, statistically significant differences emerged in the instructional steps of Experiencing by Observing, Experiencing by Doing, and Reflection, as well as in the key dimension of collaboration and interaction, with advanced learners demonstrating higher positive perceptions. Qualitative evidence suggests that higher-proficiency students were better equipped to engage with cognitively demanding and interaction-intensive tasks, whereas intermediate learners experienced greater linguistic strain, task-related anxiety, and reliance on scaffolding. These findings suggest that language proficiency functions as a mediating factor in learners’ cognitive and affective responses to AL structures in conversation classrooms.