This thesis is a study of the contemporary forms of trance-possession rituals performed in Thai Buddhism. It explores the way in which the trance-possession rituals are conceptualised by Thai Buddhist people as having therapeutic potentiality, through the examination of the ritual efficacy that is established through participants’ lived experience. My main research question focuses on how trance-possession rituals operate within a contemporary Thai cultural context and what are the contributory factors to participants’ expressing a sense of efficacy in the ritual. This thesis proposes that applied drama can be used as a ‘lens’ to examine the participants’ embodied experiences, particularly in relation to the ritual’s potential efficacy. In addition, the thesis also draws on discourses from anthropology, to enable a clearer understanding of the Thai socio-cultural aspects. I proceed to examine the efficacy of trance-possession ritual by focusing on the Parn Yak chanting ritual and rituals in sak yant, the spiritual tattoo tradition, as the two examples. Through the interdisciplinary study as mentioned above, these rituals are investigated and interpreted through several aspects. This study uses interviews with monks, participants and people involved with rituals as well as documentary and archival research. As part of my research, I also critically reflect upon my ethnographic experiences, between 2006-2012, of a variety of these rituals that are performed in temples around central Thailand. My attendance at the Parn Yak rituals in and around Bangkok involved both complete participation as well as observation. For the rituals of sak yant tattooing, I observed a tattoo master’s practices at Wat Bang Phra temple in Nakhon Pathom province. This thesis intends to offer an alternative approach to examine participants’ experiences of efficacy during and after the rituals. The research examines the therapeutic transformation of participants through the embodied process during rituals, and suggests that participants’ embodiment during lived experience in ritual together with their historical and sociocultural context influence the ways that they articulate their sense of efficacy in the ritual. The thesis offers insights and ideas for further exploration of Thai Buddhist rituals as culturally therapeutic performances.

Abstract not available

The development of a reduced energy Thai style fresh pork sausage has been achieved by replacing fat with carbohydrate and water. Replacing fat in the processed meat formulation with other ingredients is known to alter the product qualities. The addition of carbohydrate, namely mung bean vermicelli, as a fat replacement is suggested to improve the water holding capacity, cooking yield and textural properties as well as reduce the fat and total energy content. This research developed a standard processing methodology for a characteristic Thai fresh pork sausage. The research evaluated the potential of mung bean vermicelli in the formulation of a reduced energy Thai style fresh pork sausage. The reduced energy sausage was developed by replacing fat with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% soaked mung bean vermicelli. Quality characteristics of the sausages (chemical, textural and sensory) were evaluated and compared with control sausages (20% fat). The results of the present study indicated that soaked mung bean vermicelli offset many of the characteristic changes usually brought about by fat reduction. The sausages had a decreased cooking loss and an improved yield as well as a reduction in energy content. In addition, they maintained the textural and sensory characteristics of the control Thai style fresh pork sausages. / Master of Science (Hons)

Research and literature on teaching adults primarily discusses longer courses within the sphere of formal education, that is formal tertiary education and non-formal education (typically work-place or work-related learning). While both these fields provide a rich source of general information, it is difficult to find research texts that specifically deal with teaching adults in a seminar environment, that is, a planned, one-off learning event ranging in length from three hours to two days. While some research has focused on Thai culture in general and the nature of Thai university teaching in particular, very little has been published concerning the teaching of Thai adults, whether in a formal setting such as a university or college, or in a non-formal, work-place or work-related setting. This research reflects an effort to compensate for this pronounced lack of research in teaching adults in a short course environment and the paucity of research on teaching Thai adults. Using a case-study method, fifteen Western or Western-educated Thai trainers in the Thai short-course market were interviewed to determine the characteristics of an effective short-course trainer instructing courses in English. Based on a semi-structured interview format, with questions framed from the literature review, eight key characteristics were determined that reflect the qualities of an effective trainer in the Thai market. Centered on the vital role played by trainers' knowledge of the participants and their culture, the characteristics identified by the research highlight the need to foreground key aspects of participant culture when planning and presenting a short course in the Thai business community. While content expertise and teaching skills remain important, the key to effectiveness lies in acquiring and skillfully applying a knowledge of participants that goes beyond needs analysis to include a generic knowledge of the social norms that identify Thais as a cultural group throughout the training process. The eight characteristics are discussed in detail, and while some aspects of these are consistent with the conventional wisdom discussed in the literature review, most arose from the analyses of comments provided by the interviewees. This discussion leads into a number of recommendations for new trainers in this market and concludes with insights into further areas of study that could prove useful in Thai and other cultures, and for educators involved in short- or long-course events.

Background: In the martial art of Muay Thai, techniques are used with hands, elbows, knees and kicks. The contestants are divided into different weight classes and experience levels. The Swedish martial arts association has decided that techniques with elbow are not allowed in B-class. Why is it so? Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the martial arts delegation decision to restrict techniques with elbows to the head in the B-class is justified. To do this, comparison of peak force and impulse between elbow techniques and already authorized techniques with hand and kick was compared. Method: Ten Muay Thai practitioners of high class (Class A and Class B) hit a punching bag fitted with a triaxial accelerometer. The force was calculated by multiplying the mass of the bag with acceleration resultant. The peak force was taken out and compared between the techniques. A high-speed camera was used to record the techniques. The contact time was calculated through video analysis and through analyzing the power data of the techniques. The contact time was used to calculate the impulse. Results: Peak force for technique with the hand was 135 (SD 757) N greater than for technique with elbow. Peak force for technique with kick was 348 (SD 835) N less than the technique with elbow. The differences were not statistically significant. For impulse calculated by video analysis, technique with hand was 18 (SD 13) Ns greater than for technique with elbow and technique with kick was 13 (SD 27) Ns greater than for technique with elbow. Analysis of the force data showed the same trend. Technique with hand was 14 (SD 9) Ns greater than technique with elbow and technique with kick was 4 (SD 19) Ns greater than for technique with elbow. Impulse difference between hand techniques and elbow techniques was statistically significant. Conclusion: Techniques with elbow does not generate statistically significantly greater peak force or impulse than already permitted techniques. The martial arts delegation decision should be reviewed. / Bakgrund: Inom kampsporten Muay Thai används tekniker med händer, armbågar, knän och sparkar. De tävlande delas in i olika viktklasser och erfarenhetsklasser. Svenska kampsportsdelegationen har beslutat att armbågstekniker inte får användas inom B-klass. Varför är det så? Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka ifall kampsportsdelegationens beslut om att begränsa tekniker med armbågar mot huvudet i B-klass är berättigad. För att göra detta jämfördes maxkraft och impuls mellan armbågstekniken och redan tillåtna tekniker med hand och spark. Metod: Tio Muay Thai utövare av hög klass (klass A och klass B) slog mot en boxningssäck utrustad med en treaxladaccelerometer. Kraften räknades ut genom att multiplicera säckens massa med accelerationsresultanten. Maxkraften togs ut och jämfördes mellan teknikerna. Det användes en höghastighetskamera för att spela in slagen. Kontakttiden räknades ut genom videoanalys och genom analys av kraftdata. Kontakttiden användes för att räkna ut impulsen. Resultat: Maxkraften för teknik med hand var 135 (SD 757) N större än för teknik med armbåge och för teknik med spark var 348 (SD 835) N mindre än för teknik med armbåge. Skillnaderna var inte statistiskt signifikanta. För impuls beräknad genom videoanalys var teknik med hand 18 (SD 13) Ns större än för teknik med armbåge och teknik med spark var 13 (SD 27) Ns större än för teknik med armbåge. Analys av kraftdata visade samma trend. Teknik med hand var 14 (SD 9) Ns större än teknik med armbåge och teknik med spark var 4 (SD 19) Ns större än för teknik med armbåge. Impulsskillnaden mellan hand och armbåge var statistisk signifikant. Slutsats: Teknik för armbåge genererar inte statistiskt signifikant större maxkraft eller impuls än för redan tillåtna tekniker. Kampsportsdelegationens beslut bör ses över.

This thesis provides a syntactic and semantic analysis of bare arguments and classifiers in Thai as well as accounting for its nominal word order. Adopting the Nominal Mapping Parameter (Chierchia 1998), it is argued that Thai nouns are names of kinds. Kinds are of type <s,e>, which are allowed to appear without overt determiners in argument position. For this reason, Thai nouns cannot directly combine with a quantifier without the help of a classifier. The study shows that Thai arguments behave like English bare arguments (bare plurals and mass nouns) in that they exhibit scopelessness and can be interpreted with different meanings such as weak indefinite, generic and kind interpretations. Unlike English bare arguments, the Thai counterparts may also have a definite interpretation. This is because Thai lacks an overt definite determiner. In addition, the thesis provides a unified analysis for the occurrence of Thai classifiers in different contexts. It is assumed that a classifier occurs in a quantified context to provide a portion of a kind (Krifka 1995, Chierchia 1998). The thesis further proposes that a classifier occurs in a non-quantified context where there is no overt numeral when the noun phrase is specific. A specific noun phrase includes those appearing with a demonstrative, the numeral ‘one’ or a modifier. As for the word order within the nominal domain, it is proposed that the noun, although merged at the bottom of the Specific Phrase underlyingly, always appears in the initial position to check an uninterpretable nominal feature in the Specific head.

This thesis provides a syntactic and semantic analysis of bare arguments and classifiers in Thai as well as accounting for its nominal word order. Adopting the Nominal Mapping Parameter (Chierchia 1998), it is argued that Thai nouns are names of kinds. Kinds are of type <s,e>, which are allowed to appear without overt determiners in argument position. For this reason, Thai nouns cannot directly combine with a quantifier without the help of a classifier. The study shows that Thai arguments behave like English bare arguments (bare plurals and mass nouns) in that they exhibit scopelessness and can be interpreted with different meanings such as weak indefinite, generic and kind interpretations. Unlike English bare arguments, the Thai counterparts may also have a definite interpretation. This is because Thai lacks an overt definite determiner. In addition, the thesis provides a unified analysis for the occurrence of Thai classifiers in different contexts. It is assumed that a classifier occurs in a quantified context to provide a portion of a kind (Krifka 1995, Chierchia 1998). The thesis further proposes that a classifier occurs in a non-quantified context where there is no overt numeral when the noun phrase is specific. A specific noun phrase includes those appearing with a demonstrative, the numeral ‘one’ or a modifier. As for the word order within the nominal domain, it is proposed that the noun, although merged at the bottom of the Specific Phrase underlyingly, always appears in the initial position to check an uninterpretable nominal feature in the Specific head.

The study of body part metaphors provides a convenient way to examine human conceptual structuring because we start from what we as humans share. This study collected and compared Thai and English body part metaphors: one hundred and eighty-four English body part expressions and four hundred and eighty-eight Thai body part expressions were considered.The data are discussed in terms of the body part involved, the underlying conceptual metaphors, and syntactic and morphological form. The data show that basically, Thai and English share many conceptual metaphors, and there are a number of equivalent expressions in both languages, such as hua-hoog [head-spear] `spearhead', and waan-caj [sweet-heart] `sweetheart.' Furthermore, it was found that most body part metaphors are built on three different aspects of body parts: physical constitution, location and nature of involvement. In some contexts, more than one of these bases is involved in the same expression.Other similarities include sharing some of the same morphological and syntactic forms, using the same body parts; relative frequency of individual body parts; having completely equivalent expressions, and having pairs of opposite expressions. Differences involve having some different morphological and syntactic forms; the number of conventional body part metaphors found in translation-equivalent texts, with Thai having many more than English; a difference between the two languages in distribution across written vs. spoken texts; having similarly glossed expressions with different metaphorical meanings; level of markedness for an otherwise equivalent expression; and degree of explicitness in the components of an expression.Finally, applications of the findings to the teaching of English to Thai speakers and vice versa are discussed. I conclude that systematic attention to the bases of metaphorical expressions to facilitate learning is to follow the time-proven practice of linking the old to the new. / Department of English

This study focuses on English loanwords in Thai, particularly the treatment of consonants in different environments, namely onset/coda simplification, laryngeal features, medial consonants, and liquid alternation, within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT: Prince and Smolensky 1993/2004). The major objectives are: (1) to examine the way English loanwords are adapted to a new environment, (2) to investigate how conflict between faithfulness and markedness constraints is resolved and in what ways through OT grammars, and (3) finally to be a contribution to the literature of loan phonology in OT since there has not been much literature on English loanwords in Thai within the recent theoretical framework of Optimality TheoryThe data are drawn from an English-Thai dictionary (Sethaputa 1995), an on-line English-Thai dictionary, an English loanword dictionary (Komutthamwiboon 2003), and earlier studies of English loans in Thai by Udomwong (1981), Nacaskul (1989), Raksaphet (2000), and Kenstowicz and Atiwong (2004).The study has found that Thais replace unlicensed consonants with either auditory similar segments or shared natural class segments, as in /v/ in the English and [w] in word borrowing due to auditory similarity, /g/ in the English source replaced by [k] because of shared place of articulation. Vowel insertion is found if the English source begins with /sC/ as in /skaen/ scan -> [stkc cn]. Since Thai allows consonant clusters, a second segment of the clusters is always retained if it fits the Thai phonotactics, as in /gruup/ `group' -4 [kruip]. In coda, consonant clusters must be simplified. Consonant clusters in the English source are divided into five main subgroups. Sometimes Thais retain a segment adjacent to a vowel and delete the edge, as in /lcnzi lens -4 [len].However, a postvocalic lateral [1] followed by a segment are replaced by either a nasal [n] or a glide [w]. In terms of repair strategies, the lowest ranked faithfulness constraints indicate what motivates Thais to have consonant adaptation. MAX-I0, DEP-I0, IDENT-I0 (place) reveal that segmental deletion, insertion, and replacement on the place of articulation are employed to deal with marked structures, respectively. The two lines of approaches (Positional Faithfulness, Positional Markedness) have been examined with respect to segments bearing aspiration or voicing. The findings have shown that both approaches can be employed to achieve the same result. In medial consonants, ambisyllabic consonants in the English source undergo syllable adaptation and behave like geminates in word borrowings in Thai. Most cases show that ambisyllabic/geminate consonants in loanwords are unaspirated. A few cases are aspirated.The study has revealed that there is still more room for improvement in 0T. The standard OT allowing only a single output in the surface form is challenged. Some English loanwords have multiple outputs. For instance, /aesfoolt/ `asphalt' can be pronounced either [26tf6n] or [26tf6w]. Another example is the word /k h riim / `cream' can be pronounced as [k h riim], [khliim], and [khiim]. To account for these phenomena requires a sociolinguistic explanation. / Department of English

'(De)contextualising Buddhist Aesthetics' is a practice-led artistic research project focusing on the interchanging transition between Buddhist and artistic practices. Essentially inspired by the concept of vipassana meditation, I created a series of performances involving repetitive actions centring on the tasks of re-arranging readymade objects into multiple precarious configurations. Many exercises challenge the laws of gravity and other physical limitations of objects, as well as encouraging the learning experience through the process of trial and error. During the course of mindful observation of the performing body and objects, the mental state gradually gains moments of stillness and silence, which approach the meaning of emptiness (suññata) in Buddhism. Repeated failures generate intermittent feelings of exhaustion and disappointment, which naturally become part of the progress, and can be personally used to develop insight into the notions of impermanence and the non-self derived from dhamma (Buddhist teachings). The video and photography documentations were edited and altered to generate a visual experience that echoes my thoughts and feelings developed during the proceedings; these moving images later inspired other series of hand-made artworks, including collages, drawings and paintings on paper and canvas, exhibited as part of the installations. Various techniques were applied so these objective components resonate a comparative experience of uncontrollability and controllability: dynamic and stillness, fast pace and slow rhythm, abstract and representation. Some two-dimensional pieces are transformed to three-dimensional and their displays keep changing from location to location, and from time to time, in conjunction with an unstable state of the mind. All artworks were created in various formats and interrelate and inform each other. They act together as evidence of the endless journey of artistic learning, which also mirrors the concept of self-learning in Buddhist meditation.