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This paper examines whether children and main caregivers of overseas migrant fathers have fewer or more mental health symptoms compared to those of non-migrant fathers. The sample includes 997 households from the 2008 Child Health and Migrant Parents in South-East Asia project. The mental health measurements are the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Self-Reporting Questionnaire. Compared to children of non-migrant fathers, those of migrant fathers are more likely to demonstrate conduct problems and hyperactivity/inattention. Factors which appear to impact a caregiver's mental health include the physical health status of children, caregiver's education level and household economic status. To reduce the risk of mental health problems on left-behind children, our findings imply the importance of encouraging and educating left-behind families to monitor the children's psychological well-being, especially those in father-migrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work foregrounds changing state development policies in Thailand as a way to consider the complex drivers and motivations within internal migration. Using uncertain outcomes of state development and broader socio-cultural divisions as structure, ethnographic data detail the ways personal agency marks one's aspirational character and possible futures in the pursuit of well-being and economic security. Ultimately, I argue that ongoing state development efforts to reduce poverty, increase socio-economic equity, and facilitate people's capacity to cope with daily life confront enduring challenges. Reframing development must address people's existential needs and consider how structural precarity interrelates with persistent socio-cultural inequities and prejudices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationships among social capital, citizen participation, and public sector performance in Thailand. The findings indicate that social networks, a core component of social capital, tend to increase the motivation and ability of Thai citizens to participate in public affairs and thereby tend to increase the effectiveness of public goods provision. Provincial and local authorities do not tend to improve public goods and services a great deal as government resources increase. In Thailand, where the accountability of the public sector is often weak, social capital and citizen participation therefore can improve public sector accountability and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration by nature can lead to1 integration. This is possible when a nation-state takes a clear stand on the practices of multiculturalism. Most Asian countries have failed to adopt multiculturalism and rather practice the policy of assimilation. Yet multiculturalism has become popular as this concept incorporates recognition of ethnic and national minorities and supports their cultural identity. Due to longstanding conflict in the southernmost provinces of Thailand, various data suggests that many Malay-Muslims migrated to the upper southern provinces of Thailand in recent years. In this context, internal migration occurred mainly for economic as well as security reasons. Consequently, in some provinces demographic numbers have changed. In the near future, there may be changes in Thai society, especially in the upper southern provinces. The main purpose of this study is to ascertain how the government accommodates internal migration especially in upper southern provinces. In order to develop a multicultural society, the Thai government should nurture minority issues in various ways. Apart from the government, Thai civil society—comprising academics and NGOS—has addressed it from their own perspectives. Still, there is no comprehensive approach to deal with this issue. Aside from the lack of cultural and political integration, Thai society may face severe related challenges to migration in the next decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who participates in political violence? In this study, we investigate the issue at the micro-level, comparing individuals who have used violence in political uprisings with those who have not. We develop our argument from the observation that men are strongly overrepresented in political violence, although most men do not participate. Literature on masculinities emphasizes the role of honor and its links to different forms of violence, such as domestic abuse, criminal violence, and violent attitudes. Building on this literature, we discern two separate but related aspects of honor: honor as male societal privilege and control over female sexuality, that is, patriarchal values, and honor as ideals of masculine toughness, that is, the perceived necessity for men to be fierce and respond to affronts with violence or threats of violence in order to preserve status. We argue that patriarchal values combined with ideals of masculine toughness together constitute honor ideology, which contributes in turn to the explanation of who participates in political violence. We present new and unique individual-level survey data on these issues, collected in Thailand. We find that honor ideology strongly and robustly predicts a higher likelihood of participating in political violence among male political activists. A number of previous studies found a macro-level relationship between gender equality and peacefulness in a society. This study provides evidence for one micro-level mechanism linking gender equality and political violence at the macro level. Based on these results, we conclude that honor ideology endorsement is a driver of violence in political conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores domestic volunteer tourism in Thailand and how it relates to moral politics and recent political struggles. Volunteer tourism typically entails middle class Thais, who reside in the country's capital or other urban cities, traveling to remote villages to perform volunteering activities. Through an ethnographic account, the article shows how these trips provide an opportunity for volunteers to experience and embody the ideals associated with the notion of the 'volunteer spirit' and how volunteer tourist trips tend to reproduce the kind of subjectivity and power relations that help to preserve, rather than challenge, the political status quo. In particular, the article highlights the ways in which popular volunteer discourse and practice correlate closely with the politics of 'good people' (khon di), which promotes 'moral rule' by 'good people' rather than a more democratic and inclusive kind of politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugee camps are frequently perceived as spaces of emergency and exception. However, they are also spaces where millions of people live their everyday lives, sometimes for extended periods of time. As such, refugee camps are political spaces where struggles over the right to influence life in the camps and shape how they are governed are continuously ongoing. In this context, what are the opportunities for political participation for refugees living in camps? How and to what extent are refugees able to carve out political space where they can engage with and affect their lives and their situations? This paper addresses these questions through an analysis of refugee camps in Thailand. Drawing on Foucauldian analytics, the analysis demonstrates how key strategies employed to govern refugees, namely spatial confinement and development interventions are also creatively subverted by refugees and appropriated as bases for resistance and political mobilization. The article provides new insights into the relationship between power and resistance, demonstrating how specific technologies of governance create opportunities for subversion, reinterpretation, and appropriation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of drugs is considered to be crucial and it has become a significant issue in Thailand. This study aims to study drug use behavior and causal factors influencing drug use behaviors of children and juveniles in the Juvenile Observation and Protection Center and the Juvenile Training Schools. Quantitative research method was adopted for this study. The sample groups were children and juveniles in the Juvenile Observation and Protection Center and in the Juvenile Training Schools. The results of the study found that, all causal factors; attitude towards drugs use behavior, perceived behavioral control, intention to commit to drug use behavior and outweighing factor could explain the variability of intent at 51% and could also explain the variability of drug use behaviors of children and juvenile at 54%, whereas, independent variables in relation to perceived behavioral control do significantly influence intent towards drug use behaviors. This study recommends guidelines for executives in planning a policy for those involved in the implementation of prevention, providing a therapeutic and rehabilitative solution for children and youths involved with drugs. Eventually, this study will be useful and beneficial for taking care of children and youths in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for credence goods, such as ‘‘green’’ products, especially when they are premium priced. This article reports research on exactly how, and how much, trust influences consumer decisions to buy new green products. It identifies consumer trust as a distinct volition factor influencing the likelihood that consumers will act on green intentions and strongly emphasizes the needs to manage consumer trust as a prerequisite for the development of a market for green products. Specifically, based on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is found that lack of consumer trust is a barrier for the development of a market for organic food in Thailand. Two focus groups and ten in-depth interviews revealed low knowledge about and low trust in organic food, certification, control, and labeling. Further, a mall-intercept survey (N=177) revealed that lack of (especially) system trust reduces consumer expectations about benefits of buying organic food, and it makes them less likely to buy organic food. Mistrust in the control system and in the authenticity of food sold as organic has a significant negative impact on self-reported buying behavior. Implications for policy and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand has experienced dramatic growth of large national and international modern food retailers, such as supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores in large cities and regional centres in the last two decades. Nevertheless, Thai consumers continue to purchase perishables (fruits, vegetables and animal products) from fresh markets (wet markets, talat sot) contradicting predictions from analysts that modern food retail chains will rapidly replace fresh markets as the preferred venue for purchasing all types of foods. This paper examines trust in food retail systems as an under-explored dimension lying behind the continued patronage by Thais of fresh markets to purchase perishable items. It derives from a research program commenced in 2005 that includes fieldwork visits, interviews and questionnaires. In the context of the Thai food retail transition, we propose that trust affects relationships between consumers and (1) individual fresh market-based vendors, (2) the food products sold at fresh markets and (3) the food retail system more broadly. If fresh markets can be maintained in the face of sustained pressure from modern national and international food retailers, Thais will continue to use them. Meanwhile, trust is a relatively unrecognised dimension that is supporting the continued existence of traditional food retail formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore and offer possible explanations for trends in the incarceration of women and men in Thailand from 2003 to 2013. Women in Thailand are far less likely than men to be in prison but fluctuations in incarceration saw gender gaps expand/contract over the decade. Exploration of variation in the composition of prison populations, arrest and sentencing suggest that regardless of gender, changing responses to less serious types of offending, especially drug crimes, are driving incarceration. More broadly, rather than any fundamental transformation in the offending of women or men per sea, imprisonment is being impacted by shifts in law, policy and criminal justice practice. War on drugs' policies, changes to parole and use of the Royal Pardon provide plausible explanations for the trends we report. The question of whether or not women have been disproportionately impacted by Thailand's punitive approach to drug crime is also explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is soon to become a reality for Southeast Asia. Thailand is, literally, at the centre of this radical change in politics, culture, business opportunities and, most especially, education. Never before has another change in the region ever forecast such a major impact on the Land of Smiles. Equally, never before has Thailand faced an alteration of such magnitude and found itself at a major disadvantage. Countries throughout the region are making sweeping changes in their educational systems to try and prepare their coming generations with the skills and abilities needed to compete not only in the AEC but also globally. Thailand, however, seems to be moving in the opposite direction - most poignantly in adult higher education - thus severely disadvantaging young adults who are expected to impact and lead their country into the future. How can Thailand face the reality of the AEC and forego its own preconceived notions and prejudices so that true, lasting educational progress can be made, avoiding the knee-jerk response of saying something is being done without actually doing anything? What are the nuances of previous hindrances compared with progressive models for improvement? How can competency and quality be selectively and accurately measured for effective change and, again, avoid saying something and not doing anything? This paper covers such issues and establishes a framework for validating not the curriculums themselves but the manner in which curriculum is presented, utilized, and evaluated in a mode that is legitimate and productive for competing on the world stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper examines the extent to which Thailand's current general or equalization grant program has helped reduce local fiscal disparity. Theoretically, the general grant transfers ought to be inversely related to local revenue-generating capacity. However, based on the 2010–2012 local government financial data from Khon Kaen province, this paper finds that local jurisdictions with high fiscal capacity and income per capita tend to receive more equalization grant per capita than the fiscally and economically disadvantaged localities. Descriptive statistics, the Gini coefficients, and fixed-effects econometric model are used to examine the relationship between general grant transfers and local fiscal capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this research are to explain why Thai university students use social media and how differences between groups of respondents moderate the structure of relationships. Four core latent constructs were investigated in this study: behavioural intention (BI), subjective norms (SN), perceived ease of use (PEOU), and perceived usefulness (PU). Two moderating variables, gender and age, were employed to answer the research questions. Respondents (n = 600) in three universities in Bangkok, Thailand, were selected and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was employed to analyse the data. The results show that behavioural intention is influenced by perceived ease of use, subjective norm, and perceived usefulness respectively. Perceived usefulness is also influenced by perceived ease of use. Moreover, our study affirms that the path from subjective norm to behavioural intention is moderated by age. This path is stronger for older people than for younger people. Discussions, limitations, and recommendations for future research are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although alcohol has long been a feature of Thai society, historical evidence indicates that excessive drinking on a regular basis is a relatively recent phenomenon. During the nineteenth century, there were significant quantitative and qualitative changes in both alcohol consumption and production in Siam, due largely to the introduction of new alcoholic beverages and methods of distillation by Chinese immigrants and Western entrepreneurs. As public drunkenness became more common, excessive drinking was blamed for an apparent increase in violent crime throughout the kingdom. This paper examines how the Thai government tried to manage the upsurge in drunken behaviour and the obstacles it faced in doing so. Most of these problems stemmed from the limits on the kingdom's fiscal and judicial sovereignty imposed by the unequal treaties it had signed with the Western imperial powers; as such, they are indicative of Siam's semi-colonial status during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the revolution of 1932 that ended absolute monarchy, Thailand has experienced sporadic military interventions, with 19 coups and coup attempts over those decades. This article explains these military interventions by emphasising the cultural aspects of Thai coup-making at the elite level. Concretely, the article shows that episodic military interventionism—supported by significant and persistent military influence in politics—is now part of a distinctive elite coup culture. In contrast to other so-called ‘coup-prone’ states, Thailand has largely accommodated military interventionism, especially by accepting the defence of the monarchy as a justification for toppling elected governments. Thailand's reluctance to redemocratise, and the haphazardness of the resulting institutional configurations, suggests that Thailand's elite—and, to some extent, the public as well—have deeply internalised the ultimate acceptability of coups. The test of this arrangement may come with the end of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's reign and the potential realignment of military influence in Thai society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the meaning of poverty in different periods, as defined by the use of language. It examines the creation of codes as a representation of escape from poverty. The author shows variations in the meaning of poverty in Thai society as three overlapping layers: deprivation, used to evaluate the poor in a straightforward way; development poverty, used for negotiating with the government in the sense of receiving development benefits; and social poverty, used to set social hierarchies. All three meanings have become integrated and have been selectively used in differing contexts in everyday life. However, they each share the feature of comparing differing degrees of wealth relating directly to divisions in social class. This reflects people's awareness of the poverty gap in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An estimated 1.5 million citizens of Burma reside as refugees or migrants in Thailand, where harsh treatment, harassment and social stigmas contribute to a climate of precarity. Although one possible course of action for any community under strain is political mobilisation, for migrants from Burma in the northern city of Chiang Mai, high degrees of exploitation and insecurity have generated an overwhelming disinterest in political issues. The article examines this relationship in five main sections. The first presents the two key concepts that structure the analysis: precarity and political mobilisation. The second examines the context of migration from Burma to Thailand, focusing both on the climate of unrest found in much of Burma and on Thailand's treatment of migrant workers, its non-participation in core international legislation and its sub-standard migrant registration system. The third explains how this study of Burmese migrants in Chiang Mai was undertaken and reviews the ethical considerations required in a study of vulnerable groups. The fourth documents the study's findings and presents migrants' testimony. The fifth seeks to explain the link between precarity and political passivity in this case, and considers the wider implications. The concluding section restates the core finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project Thai Health-Risk Transition: A National Cohort Study seeks to better understand the health implications of modernisation and globalisation forces impacting on Thailand. As part of its 'look-back' component this paper seeks, using available life tables, to document the country's post-war mortality transition. The onset of transition through mass campaigns of the late 1940s and 1950s is first discussed before attention turns to the life tables. They are predictably far from flawless, but careful analysis does permit trends that have seen around 30 years added to life expectancy to be traced, and age patterns of improved survivorship and their relation to initiatives to improve health to be examined. The broad benefits generated by mass campaigns, ongoing improvements in infant and early childhood mortality, and a phased impact of the expansion of primary health care in rural areas on adult survival prospects after the mid-1970s are demonstrated. The paper also investigates the consequences for mortality of a motorcycle-focused rapid increase in road fatalities in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that developed after 1984. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Estimates of Thai crude birth and death rates date from 1920, when the former was around 20 per thousand higher than the latter, implying natural increase of two per cent per annum. Such disequilibrium cannot have been the norm over the long-term historical past, when population growth must have been comparatively slow. This paper explores the bases for likely past relative equilibrium between Siamese birth and death rates, then seeks to explain the disequilibrium apparent by 1920. Classic demographic transition theory postulates initially high birth and death rates, this equilibrium eventually being broken by falling mortality. In Thailand, however, there is likely to have been both significant mortality decline and appreciable fertility increase after 1850, as the virtual elimination of indigenous warfare, rapid growth of the export rice economy and the demise of slavery and corvee labour created a new domestic environment. Characterized by more dispersed, often frontier, settlement, this environment was unprecedentedly sedate and settled, afforded ordinary households a previously unknown level of control over their resources of labour, and generated optimism about prospects for the next generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I read the politics of popular religion in Thailand through the case studies of magic monks and spirit mediums, which have been traditional key actors in the popular religious domain and have maintained their lasting popularity in the country in the 1990s and 2000s. Positioning my argument in the context of the much-criticized commercialization of Buddhism, I accentuate that magic monkhood and spirit mediumship have exhibited themselves as culturally defined channels of, and strategies for, individuals' religious self-empowerment. In the politics of negotiating and contesting for their religious identities and selfhood, the continued popularity of magic monk and spirit medium has exposed the conventional practices and ideologies of class and gender relations, which apparently favour men over women and, thus, countered attempts by ordinary disciples and followers to move out of their socially marginalized positions in both religious and socioeconomic worlds. In other words, the politics of Thai popular religion point to the affirmation or negotiation of existing religious and socioeconomic structures, but never the resistance against them. The consensus voice in this terrain of everyday life's religious practices emphasizes strong desire and a quest for material wealth and mundane success more than anything else. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the idea of Isan (Northeastern Thai) ethnoregional identity, and its relationship with two major alternative ideas: Thai identity and Lao identity. Drawing on ethnolinguistic research, the paper argues that Isan identity is a problematic political construct, reflecting ambiguous self-understandings and self-representations on the part of Northeasterners. Northeasterners are engaged in a negotiation process about their relationships with Thai and Lao identities, relationships fraught with cultural, social and political ramifications. The study suggests a more nuanced appreciation of the ambiguities of Isan identity than has yet been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of rural areas from zones of production to arenas of consumption is well established in the literature focusing on the developed world. Less so the developing world. The paper opens by providing a critique of the construction of the rural idyll in Thailand, tracing this back to what is sometimes suggested to be the first piece of Thai literature, an inscription dated to 1292. The discussion then turns to show how this construction of a (imagined) rural past infuses ideas about the present and the policies promoted by local NGOs and others. The consumption of rural Thailand by new classes, tacitly embodying this imagined past, is exemplified by reference to two case studies; a hotel with a ‘working’ rice farm and an elite school. The infiltration of new groups into rural Thailand, with new agendas has, in some instances, created tensions while also providing new opportunities for traditional rural classes. The paper concludes by considering, using Thailand as an exemplar, whether understandings of trajectories of rural change based largely on work undertaken in the North can be applied to countries of the South. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]