Journal of Social Sciences Naresuan University

Book Review: High-risk Feminism in Colombia: Women’s Mobilization in Violent Contexts

2024-01-09T14:08:27+07:00

Bangkok in the Time of Covid-19: The Consideration of the Covid-19’s Impacts from the Production of Space Perspective

2023-07-07T16:54:58+07:00

This research studies the impacts of the production of space during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangkok. Based on the adaptation of Henri Lefebvre's notion of the production of space, the research analyzed the interactions of state, private sectors, and people. Research findings showed that varying processes involving the relations between the Thai state, private sectors and general population reproduced Bangkok's urban spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state announced several laws, policies, and regulations governing urban space in a reactive attempt to control the spread of the disease. The adjustment of the legal framework severely altered the production of urban space through the closure of numerous private and public spaces and restrictions on people's mobility. The closed spaces before the pandemic and subsequent legal restrictions comprised the economic relationships between the private sectors and the people. To justify closing urban spaces, the state deployed the rhetoric of security and public health, positing COVID-19 as a threat to national security. Through such rhetoric, the state utilized existing security laws such as emergency decrees and curfews to maintain the closer of urban spaces. In doing so, the state reproduced urban space through securitization and medicalization without clear knowledge about the relations between the virus and space itself. The results of the state's draconian production of urban space created extreme difficulties for the private sector and the everyday lives of the people compared to their lives before the pandemic.

A Study of the Relationship between Stress and Mental Health of Students at Naresuan University During the Spread of the Covid-19

2023-05-25T11:29:11+07:00

The purposes of this research were to study the relationship between stress and mental health status of Naresuan University students during the outbreak of the Coronavirus 2019. It was a survey with a sample of 550 students conducted online by using a personal information questionnaire, the Suanprung Stress Test-20 and the Thai General Health Questionnaire. The results showed that most of the students in this study, 207 out of 550, were moderately stressed (average of 34.71) and, 166 out of 550, had mental health problems (average of 12.51). The most students had mental health problems of anxiety and insomnia followed by physical symptoms, severe depression, and social disability. From the study of the differences in stress and mental health classified by personal factors, it was found that different gender, age level and average monthly income had no correlation with stress and mental health. The study also found that stress and mental health problems had a statistically significant positive relationship at the .01 level during the outbreak of the Covid-19. In conclusion, the Covid-19 had an effect on stress and mental health of Naresuan University students with a moderate positive correlation with statistical significance at the .01 level.

Street-Level Policy Entrepreneurship and Digital Technology Promotion for Migrant Health Risk Communication Policy Implementation

2023-11-13T09:25:31+07:00

This study aims to explore how Street-level Policy Entrepreneurs (SLPEs) utilized their strategies, skills, and attributes to promote the use of digital technology strategies for migrant health communication policy implementation. It focused on the implementation activities of SLPEs in Phetchabun and Tak where there were high concentrations of COVID-19 patients and migrants. This study used a comparative case study design which included interviews with 24 SLPEs from the two provinces. It was found that the pandemic accelerated policy actors’ adoption of entrepreneurial practices and qualities in promoting the use of digital technology strategies and coping with the implementation challenges. The unique policy context of the two provinces also promoted different utilization of entrepreneurial strategies, skills, and attributes among SLPEs in order to gain social, political, and intellectual capital for policy implementation. This research contributes to the knowledge regarding policy implementation theory and street-level policy entrepreneurship during a public health crisis as well as future pandemic preparation.

History of Bias and the Production of Knowledge in the West: God, Science, Rationality, Cognition, Postcolonialism, and Posthumanism

2023-10-10T14:22:47+07:00

This research article examines the history of bias and the production of knowledge in the West from the Medieval period to Posthumanism. It studies scholarly works from the 15th to the 21st centuries, alongside seminal international documents post-World War II. It selects the most famous works of each era based on their historical importance, including those that reflect evident bias. The research finds that knowledge biases shift according to social contexts, thereby influencing characteristics of each era’s knowledge and reflecting evolving human identity. Christian biases in the Middle Ages laid the groundwork for scientific discovery, gaining prominence from the 15th to the 19th centuries with empirical pursuit and social rules as natural laws, perpetuating human dominance in decision-making. Due to wars and economic instability during the 20th century, biases and flawed judgements were acknowledged as inherent facets of human nature. Over subsequent decades, the post-colonial approach has both bolstered and questioned a universal knowledge that posits its own impartiality. As the 21st century ushers in the era of Posthumanism, where technology and artificial intelligence constitute new living conditions, there is a concerted effort to dismantle bias in the hierarchy of human knowledge. This movement strives to redefine humans in a position of equality with non-humans.

From Third Benefactor to Ko So 3: Dynamic of Teacher Professional on Power and Social Status in Thai Society

2022-11-01T13:52:37+07:00

This research, “From third benefactor to Ko So 3: Dynamic of Teacher This research, “From third benefactor to Ko So 3: Dynamic of Teacher Professional on power and social status in Thai society”, aims to present the role and status of teachers in light of shifting political, social, and economic structures while also illuminating the dynamics of teacher production in Thai society. The research method used was a historical approach through documentary studies. The results were as follows: The teaching profession has developed over time. Their position frequently favors authority and is influenced by religious elements and beliefs. Early on, teachers' pay was comparable to that of other government employees, but they also received perks for their families. Following the 1997 decade's educational reforms, the teaching profession has seen an increase in pay and advancement opportunities thanks to the "academic rank" system, which pays them more. Teachers were kept apart from the labor movement by their affiliation with the Ministry of Education and adherence to the bureaucratic system. In the civil servant culture, demanding to negotiate with management, who serves as the supervisor, or integrating them into discussions may generate issues at work because it puts you in direct conflict with the person who will be issuing punishment. As a result, many government educators must resolve issues on behalf of people. There is a possibility of discrimination against teachers and other personnel who work in a school but are not part of the government system. The Teacher Savings Cooperatives, which have been around for a while and are financially stable, make up a particularly powerful group of instructors. The need for a teachers' union has become louder in recent years. This circumstance also exemplifies the teaching profession's support for political movements at the national level.

Headless Mountain: Poverty Traps Associated with a Long-standing Fight Against Stone Mining of the Khaolaoyai-Phajandai Conservation Group

2023-11-01T09:26:13+07:00

This paper analyzes key issues related to Khaolaoyai-Phajandai Conservation Group’s long-standing battle against stone mining capitalism. It presents 10 case studies by using a qualitative research method. The study found that their nearly 30-year opposition against the mining management policy has trapped themselves in cross-generational poverty, especially those from poverty-stricken and fragile households due to the deterioration of natural resources producing their food security. They have also lost chances for seeking income and time to care for family members. Having lost their family heads through assassinations has even more reduced their potential to overcome poverty, while giving in to the mining encroachment make them suffer from explosions and indented head of the mountain. This mountain is the symbol of “this place”, having long represented their presence and community identities, which have been being destroyed. Their emotional distress has become a crux of social suffering that is intertwined with economic distress, all of which have already been transmitted across at least three generations.

US and China Geostrategic Rivalry on Myanmar: A Comparative Study on before and after 1988

2022-10-06T13:26:08+07:00

The focus of this study was to examine how the geostrategic rivalry between the United States and China influenced the dynamics of relations with Myanmar, during two significant periods: the era of Ne Win spanning from 1962 to 1988, and the post-Ne Win period from 1988 to 2012. China, through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), embarked on infrastructure projects such as road construction connecting Yunnan to Sittwe, an Indian Ocean port in Myanmar. Myanmar, as a key player, found itself positioning at the crossroads of the competition between these two major geopolitical actors. This study employed a qualitative research methodology based on content analysis, gathering secondary data, within the conceptual frameworks of Realpolitik and Hedging Strategy. The study’s findings revealed a nuanced evolution in the relations between Myanmar and China. Before 1988, apprehensions regarding the spread of the Communist influence, particularly through the Communist Party of Burma, kept the two nations at a distance. However, driven by the need for foreign investments to bolster economic reforms, Myanmar forged trade agreements with China, resulting in a closer alignment in the post-1988 period. Conversely, Myanmar and the United States initially fostered relations based on shared political ideologies, particularly in the pre-1988 era, emphasizing trade and financial assistance to counter the growing threat of Communism in the region. However, the post-1988 period witnessed increasing pressure from the US through trade sanctions and embargoes. Despite these challenges, the U.S. continued to support Myanmar's democratization process.

From a Political to an ‘Ideological’ Machine: A Case Study of the 2023 General Election, Phitsanulok Province

2024-03-25T15:01:28+07:00

This research article aims to study the Phitsanulok political movements and behaviors of a political machine in terms of voter mobilization in the year 2023. Research data were collected by a qualitative research method, including documentary research, in-depth interviews of 19 key informants who were involved as a political machine, including participant and non-participant observations. Research findings showed that Thai structural changes (political economy landscape), institutional change (constitutional amendments and a new electoral system), and technological change (social media) connected all political actors in an electoral process into a closer relation. This led to transformative political behaviors of the political machine of Phitsanulok, from personal favoritism, beneficial reciprocity, and patronage system into upholding political ideologies and party favoritism. However, the political machine did not fade away; it adjusted its operations and processes. As a result, the election in Phitsanulok province in 2023 had changed the political machine into the voter mobilization based on the ideology contestation between conservatism and liberalism, at both local and national levels. Each party and its representatives had opportunities to create an 'open' political space that had not been taken by any political groups.

Editorial Note

2024-06-12T12:54:22+07:00

None

The Construction of Memory Through Food: The Studies of Memory, Space, and Senses

2023-05-10T13:27:35+07:00

This article presents a study method that uses food as cultural material to construct both individual and collective memories in society. The main purpose is to review concepts, theories, and case studies for understanding the process of constructing memory that can be changed or provoked by food. This article applies memory as a starting point of food meaning’s construction, particularly the perspective that employs food as a center of study to describe social structure and culture. This is an explanation of the relationship between food and memory related to the concept in anthropology of food that illustrates the development of food studies over different periods of time. Furthermore, it reviews the process of constructing memories through sensory perception, such as taste and smell, are important perspectives for studying food. Lastly, this article is trying to connect the importance of space in constructing memory that link with food, memory, and particular places. Thus, this article offers the origins of the memory construction through food and demonstrates an alternative method of study for comprehending and exploring a new area of food study that has not received much attention.

Market, Fictitious Commodities, and the Rebellions in Lanna under the Governance of Siam

2023-11-07T12:59:22+07:00

Following Karl Polanyi’s analysis in his The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time, this paper argues that the Phaya Phap rebellion in 1889 and the Ngiao rebellion in 1902 were the consequences of the movement pushed by the Siamese government to establish the self-regulating markets in Lanna. During this period, Siam implemented various policies in order to expedite the commodification process in forest areas, labor, and money referred to by Polanyi as fictitious commodities. As a result, markets that had been embeded as a part of the society were compelled to be disembedded market. This great transformation destroyed the fabric of society which had bonded people with all subjects around them. Both rebellions hence occurred as countermovements aiming at preserving and restoring the eroding social relations.

Political Space of Ethnic Groups in National Election

2023-09-20T15:41:56+07:00

Politics in national election involves power and benefits. Different strategies are utilized by politicians and political parties to compete for gaining votes from voters and win over other competitors, aiming for achieving essential positions in the government, power, and benefits. Therefore, it is difficult for grassroot peoples who are marginal groups to enter national political affairs. However, ethnic politicians have played evident roles in the national elections in 2019 and 2023. This article presents the historical development and essential roles of ethnic politicians at a national level. The author found that ethnic groups who were considered marginal in the Thai society have created political space in the national political affairs, by becoming political contenders in both local constituencies and party-list candidates for different political parties. The two recent national elections in Thailand have shown that the process of becoming members of political parties and competition for getting elected were not smooth. Among the ethnic politicians, political affairs entailed fragmentation of ethnic political runners to side with different parties and competed against one another. However, a few ethnic politicians got elected to create political space in the national parliament, due to the popularity of the Moving Forward Party. Information presented in this article were collected from the following of ethnic politicians’ movements in social media, observation, and formal and informal interviews before, during and after both elections.

Motherhood Concepts and The Capitalist Patriarchy: Mothers in Thai Society

2022-09-24T10:37:40+07:00

The concept of capitalist patriarchy in socialist feminism examines the relationship between patriarchal ideology and capitalism, interrelated systems that inevitably affect motherhood in society. This includes the capitalist model of motherhood that leads to the marginalization of mothers beyond societal norms, resulting in motherhood denial. Simultaneously, it leads to the emergence of outlaw mothers within society. This article aims to present a review of motherhood concepts within the framework of socialist feminism and reflect the image of motherhood in Thai society through studies that reveal diverse motherhood ideologies in society. Using the framework of capitalist patriarchy under the aforementioned conditions in Thai society allows us to observe the ongoing relationship between patriarchal ideology and capitalism. At the same time, maternal identity and negotiation with gendered conditions are being constructed in Thai society, this article ultimately aims to expose the intersectionality of structures and ideologies not only concerning motherhood but also encompassing gender, social class, and economic.