ASSIGNMENT 2: ARTICLE ANALYSIS

[Justin Brockmann]

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/government-must-prepare-for-the-effects-of-the-el-nino-climate-phenomenon-expert-says/

Earth and its citizens have become increasingly more aware and affected by global climate change. Coastal countries like Thailand are experiencing record high temperatures amongst many other factors including rising sea levels, erosion, and coral reef bleaching. Professor Thon Thamrong-Nawasawat of Kasetsart University has stated it is imperative that the new government take urgent action in fighting the negative effects of climate change. Professor Thon is a well-known marine ecologist responsible for the development of new marine and coastal exploration drone technology. His primary focus has been to attempt to relocate heat resistant marine corals and breed them onto shallow, less-resistant reefs in preparation for the upcoming El Niño climate event. He also stated that fully sun-bleached reefs are irreversible. In conjunction, he suggests with urgency the government allocate more resources toward CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) technology, in order to capture carbon from gasses and repurpose it for use later.

With Thailand’s first ongoing CSS project still in a preliminary engineering stage, Professor Thon has been studying a way to create a natural CSS using certain seagrasses. His team plans to analyze ocean-based carbon, or Blue Carbon, intake by coral reef seagrasses in hopes to cultivate them and reduce greenhouse gas emission for Thailand. However, Prof. Thon emphasized that most agencies still lack the capacity and efficiency to carry out these projects as necessary, and he insists the government should increase the budget for all operations. Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that climate change is a ‘code red for humanity’, the entire globe needs to come together to achieve key climate goals before more irreversible damage is done.

For those either visiting or living in Thailand, the effects of climate change will be prevalent. Among rising temperatures, the risk for the spread of diseases like Dengue fever increases as well as other health concerns like dehydration or stroke. The environmental impact also damages key natural landmarks that would typically be cultural hotspots. As a biologist, I have been looking forward to exploring Thailand and learning about the cultural history of the land. However, these effects amongst many others will definitely create more challenges, and safety preparation is evermore necessary.

[Kate Dudman]

Replying to James post:

An interesting and promising article, which I hope matures to create opportunities for those who could benefit from such an incentive.

In the UK we are encouraged to attend job fairs after school or university with many opportunities and roles to help us pave our way for entering employment with vast sectors covered.

It is a determining thought as you stated “we may even be involved in the plan through attending expos or skills workshops with our students.” Thus not only being a resource to teach language, but potentially other areas of skilled work to further benefit the interests and skills of the students we will teach.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Kate Dudman. Reason: Response was not showing

[Chris Jose Varghese]

This is an interesting article. In Thailand, it has been the younger generations that have been at the vanguard of change and it is good to see more and more young people getting involved in politics and starting to vote because it is little by little that they can enact change. The shortcomings that many first-time voters may face can be remedied by having sufficient learning in schools on the political system and increasing awareness in universities and workplaces and making these resources easy to access.

[Connor Cruickshank]

Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/13/move-forward-galvanises-thai-voters-with-vows-of-royal-reforms
The article focuses on the hotly debated idea of the importance of democracy in Thailand ahead of the May elections. In a country with tight Lèse-Majesté laws, it is bold for the Move Forward Party to openly call for changes to the power of the military and monarchy within the world of Thai politics. The growth of this party’s popularity is credited to the number of students becoming involved in politics who are sick of having spent nine years in a military-led government.
Growing up in England where it is not uncommon for people to openly debate the role of the monarchy in modern society, one feels freer to voice their opinion. Yet, in Thai society where dissing the monarchy can lead to a heavy prison sentence, it is difficult to spark the debate of monarchy as not everyone would feel comfortable or safe discussing such a controversial topic. The article clearly expresses the youth’s role in making it easier to start a conversation concerning this topic.
When living or travelling through Thailand, it is important to be aware of the sensitive nature of discussing democracy and monarchy in modern Thai society.

[Connor Cruickshank]

Hi James. You’ve managed to summarise this article really well and I agree that this is an important area for teachers to be aware of as we can help to provide the foundations needed by rural Thai youths to succeed in entering the world of work in new industries in rural provinces. It is beneficial for young people in Thailand to see future employment prospects in their local area and not feel disadvantaged due to not living or having access to work in Bangkok and other urban centres. This will help develop other parts of the country and promote pride in whichever locality of Thailand one comes from.

[Phoenix Woolnough]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/03/optimism-is-high-for-bangkok-pride-after-thai-elections

The article points to a feeling of hopefulness for the LGBT+ community in relation to the outcome of the Thai elections. The rejection of the candidate Prayuth Chan-ocha in May signals a movement away from homophobia and transphobia in policy – especially regarding free marriage.

While Thailand is known to be an LGBT+ paradise given its nightlife and Boys’ Love series, there are many limitations faced by people in the community. Young people in particular, via pro-democracy protests, have impacted the public debate. They call for more gender-inclusive laws to be passed to erode such barriers.

This apparent social change impacts those living in Thailand; it suggests the possibility of a more welcoming society due to the calls of the younger generation.

[Phoenix Woolnough]

I think the position of the monarchy in Thailand compared to that of England is an interesting comparison to be made. While both retaining a constitutional role, it is interesting to see the extent to which openness in opinion is more possible in England compared to Thailand.

[William Rolfe]

Article: https://www.sasktoday.ca/central/local-arts/makruk-thailands-take-on-chess-4093860

My chosen article is on ‘Makruk’ – Thailand’s own version of chess. The article discusses how this form of the game differs from international chess and mentions some comments by Vladimir Kramnik, a chess world champion, on this version. Chess is an international game and as a traveller and chess player, I seek locals to play with whenever I visit a different country and I am very enthusiastic to practice and learn this new form of the game.

Makruk is similar to international chess in many ways; you win by checkmating the king in the same way, white still moves first and some pieces like the knight, king, and rook move the same. The differences between Makruk and chess come from how the other pieces (In international chess – the bishop, the pawns, and the queen) move and a complicated turn limit rule which can be invoked by either player when there are no pawns left on the board. The most significant change in Makruk is the setup of the pawns and the rules they follow. Pawns begin on the third row of the board (As opposed to the second) and automatically promote to a queen when they reach the sixth row of the board, moreover, pawns cannot move two spaces on their first move, and hence en-passant doesn’t exist in Makruk. Additionally, while in Chess the queen is the strongest piece in Makruk she is demoted to the weakest piece.

While I have been using the piece names familiar to Chess players, in Thai the pieces have different names that mean different things. Some names are similar such as the king (khun, meaning lord), and the knight (ma, meaning horse, spoken in high tone as you may remember from earlier in the course). The rest of the pieces have completely different meanings. The word for the bishop is khon meaning nobleman, the word for the rook is ruea meaning boat, and the name for the queen is met meaning seed, which may explain its reduction in power from chess. Lastly, the word for the pawns is bia meaning cowrie shell and when a pawn promotes it is called bia-ngai. Cowrie shells were formally used as a form of currency in Thailand.

Vladimir Kramnik described Makruk as being a slower and more strategic version of the game that plays like the endgame of a traditional chess match. After playing a few games online I can see why that is, many pieces can only move one square at a time making it slower to penetrate your opponent’s defenses and cut off squares to achieve a checkmate. By immersing myself in Makruk and actively seeking out opportunities to play this unique form of chess, I can truly embrace the rich diversity of the game across cultures and make my chess-playing experiences back home more enriching and memorable.

[William Rolfe]

This was a very interesting article to pick Kate and it is very relatable to the world we live in today where technology is becoming ever more prevalent in how we do our daily lives. I agree that in the classroom incorporating technology is going to be crucial going forward not only as it offers unique ways to teach that are not practical in physical forms but also as children are finding technology fun and entertaining (The article mentions children playing Fortnite and using Tiktok) it will increase engagement by presenting learning opportunities using these forms. Naturally, a larger budget for tech will provide better resources for teachers to use in the classroom but, as the article mentions, a large budget is not necessary to begin incorporating technology in class. If students already have access to smartphones and the internet this provides a budget-free way to endless possibilities of new websites and apps children can learn from. My concern with this is the same concern I have with smartphones being used in English schools, which is that less affluent children may have slower, or no, technology which will mean they receive less benefit from these forms of teaching.

[Lara Onar]

I find it interesting to hear that Thailand is working towards a more lgbt-friendly environment which has been heavily pursued by the younger generation. Whilst feelings of hopelessness are always inevitable when pushing a movement, it is intriguing to learn that despite said hopelessness the Thai lgbt youth have been persistent enough in their endeavours to lead Thai politics to reject the homophobic and transphobic policies of Prayuth Chan-ocha. This alone sugests a positive road ahead for the lgbt population of Thailand and the youth in general, as acceptance creates a safer and more welcoming environment for all.

[Lara Onar]

The article (https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/thailand-democracy-protests-gender-equality/) addresses the pro-democracy protests which opposed the Thai military, and women being the centre of this fight had been able to address issues regarding sex-based inequalities. As time develops it is inevitable that a society’s ethics, morals, and equalities develop. Thus, whilst there are inequalities the female population seek to change this, hence providing two sides to this article.
Primarily, the article discusses the struggles women face such as period poverty and most importantly the abortion law which only allows abortion if women’s pregnancies put their health at risk. Thus, clearly denying women freedom over their own bodies. In addition to this, women are (or at least were during the time of the article) prevented from entering the military or police force and are underrepresented in the government.
Secondarily there is a narrative, presented with an activist by the name of Supeecha Baotip, on the ways in which the female generation are seeking to eradicate lingering inequalities. They look to make Thai society aware of the importance of having autonomy over one’s own body.
Thus, as a whole this article gives a summary of the state of women’s rights in politics and how the strength of female activism seeks to abolish stigma and laws which are not progressive.
As a woman this article is automatically relevant to me as women experience struggle globally purely based off their sex. Yet as a traveller from Europe (perhaps deemed a more progressive part of the world in terms of women’s rights) my eyes will be opened to the different struggles that Thai women face compared to women in England.

[Luca Rayment Gomez]

Article: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/op-ed-education-inequality-the-state-school-teachers-dilemma/
This article addresses the struggles and inequalities within the Thai education system.
The first point the article addresses is the academic performances of students in Thai schools. The articles states that Thai schools average quite low (in terms of academic ratings) compared to other countries. Discussing the reasons for this, Hemmarach Sruangsombut, a headmaster in a small rural school, says that this low score is due to the “same old structure” of rankings and teaching presented in Thai education. In addition, Sruangsombut says that these ratings aren’t truly representative of the academic levels in schools, and the inequalities in education are also a cause of the low ratings.
This leads to the second point addressed in the article, namely the inequality in Thai schools. There is currently a huge lack of resources available for rural schools, which results in difficulties providing a high enough standard of education. The government don’t provide these smaller schools with enough funding nor teachers. In addition to this, many rural schools are being merged by the government which, alongside the lack of funding and teachers, causes a large disparity between the number of teachers compared to the number of pupils. The biggest problem this gives is pupils not receiving the best standard of teaching that they deserve.
As someone who is going to travel and teach in Thailand, it is very important to be aware of the current state of education, especially as teachers aim to give the best they can provide without the shadow of inequality present in the educational system.

[Luca Rayment Gomez]

It was very interesting reading about Makruk and to see the ways it differs from chess. It is amazing seeing how games and art forms change as they get introduced to different parts of the World, and sometimes similar games and ideas appear independently in various parts of the World with no evidence of them coming from the same root (much how the concept of zero was independently introduced in various different places).
I wonder how easily chess players can adapt to Makruk, and how easily Makruk players can adapt to chess?
I hope the opportunity arises to learn and play Makruk while in Thailand!

[Georgina Wilson]

“Thailand’s tuk-tuks go green amid rising demand for electric models” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/19/thailands-tuk-tuks-go-green-amid-rising-demand-for-electric-models
This article focusses on the rise of electric tuk-tuks in Thailand. It explains that since Thailand has high levels of certain air pollutants (4x WHO guidance values in 2021), especially within its busier cities such as Bangkok and Chiang Mai, companies are looking to push for vehicles with fewer harmful emissions. Tuk-tuks are a standout sight in Thailand, but are usually diesel engine-run which is noisy and polluting, therefore companies such as Muvmi are planning to increase their numbers of electric tuk-tuks from around 300 to over 1000 in the capital. The benefits of this (less risk of respiratory illness, fewer environmental pollutants) would be significant to the urban populations, including those travelling to Thailand drawn to these tourist cities, and those moving there for work. The article mentions that people can prefer electric models since they are often cheaper than taxis to hire and more spacious.

However the article does not ignore that these electric tuk-tuks have disadvantages. They are more expensive to buy at 400,000 baht, while a traditional one is only 150,000 baht. They also have lower range and are harder to re-charge in busy cities. Tuk-tuks alone will also likely not fix pollution levels in Thailand or climate change on the whole as the Thai grid is not powered by a very high percentage of renewables. Despite the logistical and infrastructure issues, it is still important to work towards; those visiting Thailand may expect to see more electric versions of the iconic vehicle on their travels in the future. I think it is crucial for people travelling there to be conscious and considerate of their environmental impact and the effects their choices can have on local populations both now and in the future, in order to be more sustainable travellers.

[Georgina Wilson]

Great and consice summary of what sounds like a fascinating article. I find it really interesting to hear of how these female activists are striving for equality, especially with such important and socially relevant topics such as bodily autonomy, and accessibility in both career choice and political representation for women. I agree that it is of great importance to learn about and recognise both shared and differing experiences when travelling to another country.

[Author]

Posts