Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Burapha University

Speechless: On the Struggle to Narrate Depression

Atchara Rakyutidharm — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

Narratives are a powerful tool that humans use to communicate, organize their thoughts, and make sense of their lives. For individuals with depression, creating and sharing personal narratives can aid in healing emotional pain and alleviating feelings of isolation. However, they often face challenges in articulating their experiences. This article explored how cultural structures could constrain the ways in which people with depression express their suffering. It also highlighted three common features found in their narratives: 1) Difficulty finding words to describe emotions, 2) confusing and fragmented narratives, and 3) silence or refusal to communicate. These narrative patterns reflected power relations between individuals and social structures, potentially reinforcing a sense of powerlessness among patients. Attentive listening and providing space for narrative expressions were important components of the healing process. They helped restore a sense of agency to patients as the narrators of their illness experiences, while also enabling listeners to better understand the complexity of those experiences.

The History of Agenda-setting on Gays and Transgender Women in Thai Print News Media During 1924-1989

Kangwan Fongkaew, Peter A. Jackson — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research aimed to examine the history of agenda-setting on gays and transgender women in Thai print news media during 1924-1989. The study employed the agenda-setting theory, collecting data through purposive sampling from print news media in the National Library of Thailand. An analysis of the number of the news reports regarding gays and transgender women was conducted using Atlas.ti software. The study identified a total of 610 news reports on gays and transgender women. The agenda-setting of news reports could be categorized into 11 dimensions: news outlet, year of publication, gender identity, type of news presentation, position in the newspaper, news presentation format, location, news presentation style, perspective of the report, status of gay and transgender women in the news, and news source. The findings revealed that throughout the history of Thai print news media, the media have paid limited attention to, and shown little seriousness in reporting content related to gay men and transgender women. Such content was predominantly framed as soft news and presented through negative perspectives, portraying them as victims and as social problems. In addition, most reports relied heavily on secondary sources. These tendencies may have influenced public perception in accordance with the media agenda set during each historical period.

Developing the M-Four Brand Identity to Attract Young Customers

Natwipa Sinsuwarn, Pannarai Pana, Duongphorn Khidkring, Yuwadee Sirimak — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research aimed to study: 1) the development process of the M-Four brand identity and 2) the satisfaction levels of young customers towards the M-Four brand identity. A mixed-methods research approach was employed. A qualitative study collected data through in-depth interviews with key informants, chosen via purposive sampling: two brand owners involved in brand communication, and two experts in marketing and brand design, to study the brand identity development process. A quantitative research collected data by an online questionnaire survey with 100 female participants aged 18-24 years, chosen via convenience sampling, to study their satisfaction with brand identity. The research results found that the M-Four brand identity development process has three stages: 1) brand situation analysis; 2) brand design; 3) brand identity creation. The results of the study also showed that the majority of young customers expressed greater satisfaction with the new brand identity compared to the traditional one across all dimensions. Their overall satisfaction level was the highest (M=4.23, S.D.=0.83). Young customers demonstrated a preference for the new brand identity, which they found to be more memorable than the traditional version. It also generated more attention and greater desire for purchasing apparel products compared to the traditional version.

Tourism Potential and Active Aging for Supporting Community-Based Tourism in Muang District, Prachinburi Province

Thichakorn Kasornbua — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research aimed to assess tourism potential and active aging to support community-based tourism in Muang District, Prachinburi Province and to establish development guidelines for tourism in the area. Data were collected from a population and sample group of 105 people, divided into two groups. The first group consisted of 85 randomly sampled senior citizens aged 60 and over, with 87 complete surveys ultimately collected. The second group consisted of 20 people involved in community tourism development. Data from this group were collected using interviews and focus group discussions. The assessment of tourism potential focused on four key dimensions: natural attractions and learning opportunities, local lifestyle and cultural uniqueness, accessibility and available facilities, and tourism-related limitations. The findings indicated that the community possesses several favorable attributes that support its development as a potential tourist destination. Specifically, the area is adjacent to Khao Yai National Park, has distinctive cultural practices such as traditional knife forging and banana trunk carving and is easily accessible via road connections to major attractions in the province. Furthermore, the study evaluated the capabilities of elderly residents in three dimensions: health status, community participation, and economic security, revealing that senior citizens could play a key role in supporting community-based tourism.The recommended development strategies included enhancing infrastructure, training elderly individuals in guiding and community management, and promoting active participation among both local residents and senior citizens to foster sustainable tourism development.

Effectiveness of a Health Media Literacy Promotion Program Related to COVID-19 on Students' COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors at One Lower Secondary School

Tanawat Prommachote, Arishai Akraudom, Weerapong Pounglek — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This study aimed 1) to develop an online health media literacy promotion program that influences COVID-19 preventive behaviors, and 2) to compare the effects of the program on preventive behaviors. The research instruments consisted of 1) an online health media literacy program, and 2) an online health media literacy assessment form. The sample comprised 90 lower secondary school students aged 12-14 years from a school in Saraburi Province. The sample size was determined using the G*Power program, and participants were selected through simple random sampling. The sample was divided into two groups: 45 students in the experimental group and 45 students in the control group. The experimental group participated in the program according to the experimental conditions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, percentage, and standard deviation. The results revealed that 1) the developed program incorporated five essential skills: accessing, analyzing, evaluating, creating, and participating, and 2) the experimental group demonstrated significantly better COVID-19 preventive behaviors than the control group at the 0.001 significance level (t=-13.23). Additionally, the experimental group’s post-program behaviors were significantly improved compared to their pre-program behaviors (t=16.717)

Functions of Metaphors in “Deaw 13” Performance (13th Stand-Up Comedy)

Thammawat Phatthanasutinon — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research aimed to analyze the metaphors and their functions in Udom Taepanich’s 13th stand-up comedy performance, using the metaphor function framework proposed by Goatly (1998). The data were collected from a 2-hour-and-52-minute performance available on Netflix. The study found that the functions of the metaphors identified were categorized into four roles: ideational function, interpersonal and ideational function, interpersonal function, and textual function. It was found that the metaphors often served more than one function simultaneously. Among these, the interpersonal-and-ideational function and the interpersonal function played a crucial role in creating humor, satire, and irony regarding social issues-key features of this stand-up comedy. The findings also indicated that metaphors did not merely convey abstract concepts, but also facilitated the interaction between the performer and the audience, as well as contributed to textual coherence within the performance segments.

Linguistic Strategies for Expressing Humor on the "Khai" Facebook Page

Nattarika Kongmueng, Khajita Sripoom — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research article aims to study linguistic strategies for expressing humor on the Facebook page “Khai.” The research studied 379 advertising posts collected from 2019-2022. The posts in which the combined number of “like” and “laugh” reactions exceeds 80 percent of all reactions to that post were selected for analysis in this study. The results found that the Facebook Page “Khai” used two key linguistic strategies for expressing humor: 1) Lexical strategies, consisting of nine sub-strategies: swear words, slang, transliteration, dialects, onomatopoeia, phonetic distortion, register mismatch, jargon and naming; and 2) Pragmatic and discourse strategies, comprising 10 sub-strategies: rhetorical questions, plot twists, sexual innuendo, implication, illogical association, parody, satire, self-praise and self-deprecation, figurative languages, and mixed strategies. These linguistic strategies make the product advertisements on the "Khai" Facebook page significantly more interesting.

News Presentation Strategies on TikTok by News Agencies

Nisararat Wilailuk — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This research aimed to study 1) the factors related to news presentation on TikTok by news agencies and 2) the news presentation strategies of news agencies on TikTok. This research was qualitative research based on the analysis of contents published through the TikTok accounts of seven sample groups: @onenews31, @brighttv, @ch7hd_news, @tna.mcot, @springonline, @thestandardth, and @workpointnews23, along with in-depth interviews with eight organization representatives. The data were collected from August 2023 to July 2024, a total period of 1 year. The research results found that 1) the factors related to news presentation could be divided into two aspects: external factors and internal factors, and 2) news presentation strategies could be categorized into three aspects: content selection, production planning, and content publishing. These strategies can be applied to enhance the efficiency of news presentation on TikTok to align with the characteristics of the platform and the behaviors of current message recipients, leading to more powerful news communication in terms of accessibility, ease of understanding, and benefits to the public.

The Role of Foreign Direct Investment in Empowering Thai Labor Potential: A Socioeconomic Perspective Based on the Absorptive Capacity Framework

Saksiri Saokomut — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This study aims to investigate the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in enhancing labor productivity in Thailand’s industrial sector. Utilizing secondary data from the World Bank's 2016 Enterprise Survey, which comprises a sample of 657 industrial establishments nationwide, the study employed multiple regression analysis using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation method to examine the relationship between FDI, human capital, and labor productivity. The results show that FDI has a significantly positive effect on labor productivity at the 0.05 significance level, particularly in establishments with low-to-medium-skilled labor. Furthermore, the size of the establishment and the proportion of skilled labor also significantly and positively influence labor productivity at the at the 0.01 and 0.10 significance levels, respectively. However, the analysis of the interaction term between FDI and the proportion of skilled labor yielded a statistically significant negative coefficient at the 0.01 significance level. This suggests that the positive effect of FDI on labor productivity diminishes as labor skills increase. This finding aligns with the concept of absorptive capacity, which posits that a country's ability to absorb foreign technology transfer is conditional upon its domestic level of human capital. The study concludes by suggesting that attracting FDI should be strategically coupled with developing the low-to-medium-skilled workforce to bolster technological absorptive capacity and foster sustainable economic growth.

Developing a Community Learning Network and Local Wisdom to Expand Opportunities and Reduce Inequality among the Aging Population in the Border Areas of Surin Province

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

In the border areas of Surin Province, people face problems due to limited access to services. The aging population is unemployed, has low income, and lacks opportunities for participation, resulting in multidimensional inequality. These issues led to the following research objectives: 1) To synthesize local knowledge and wisdom in the border area of Surin Province; 2) To develop a network of learning communities and local wisdom; and 3) To study the components and success factors in the development of a learning community network. The researchers employed a mixed-methods approach. The qualitative component involved fieldwork, including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 15 key informants (local wisdom scholars, community leaders, and village representatives). This phase aimed to explore local knowledge and wisdom to support the design of learning activities, followed by a workshop with a target group of 50 participants to help develop the network. The quantitative component involved collecting questionnaire data from a sample of 385 respondents, focusing on the components and success factors of community network development. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including percentages, means, and standard deviations. The study found that: 1) Local wisdom was primarily held by the elderly due to their lifelong learning and accumulated experience. It could be classified into six areas: rituals and traditions, arts and culture, handicrafts, food, agriculture, and herbal medicine. 2) The development of a community learning network and the promotion of local wisdom were carried out in four steps: 2.1) preparing the community (including community analyses, setting common goals, and planning activities); 2.2) conducting workshops to foster a learning community; 2.3) monitoring; and 2.4) evaluation. 3) The components and success factors in developing the community network included: 3.1) community leaders; 3.2) local wisdom; 3.3) cooperation; 3.4) networking; and 3.5) community resources and capital.

The Development of a Phonics-Based Pronunciation Innovation to Enhance Young Learners’ English Pronunciation

Jiraporn Sukkrong, Kanjana Chanphram, Nanthanut Wiangin — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This quasi-experimental study employed a one-group pretest-posttest design with 90 Grade 1 students randomly selected from three schools in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province during the first semester of the 2025 academic year. The objectives were to develop a phonics-based pronunciation innovation set meeting the 80/80 criterion, compare students’ pronunciation achievement before and after use, and survey their satisfaction. The research tools included the innovation set, pronunciation tests, and a satisfaction questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired-samples t-test, and effect size. Findings showed that innovation reached an efficiency score of 80.60/80.93, students significantly improved their pronunciation (t=-12.805, p<0.001, d=1.46), and reported the highest level of satisfaction, confirming the innovation’s effectiveness and practical value.

The Islamic Resonance of Universal Morality: A Comparative Analysis of A Christmas Carol

Nattapat Pattana — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0700

This article highlights the alignment of Islamic principles and Western morality by undertaking a comparative analysis of the moral principles in A Christmas Carol and their compatibility with fundamental tenets of Sunni Islam. This qualitative research employs thematic analysis to revisit the morality in A Christmas Carol, and then, comparative analysis is used to examine the compatibility of the morality found in the story and Sunni Islamic doctrines. The themes of charity, communal responsibility, repentance, and eschatological accountability are central of the story. When compared with Islamic ethics, those themes deeply echo the Islamic concepts of repentance (Tawbah), brotherhood (Ukhuwah Insaniyyah), charity (Zakat and Sadaqah), and belief in the Day of Judgment (Qiyamah), respectively. This provides evidence that morality in A Christmas Carol is not limited to Christian or secular humanist themes. It echoes the moral universality in which people of different beliefs share in common. can serve as a bridge for cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue, highlighting the universal nature of core values across seemingly disparate religious traditions.