{"title":"Mobile Technology in the Lives of Thai Immigrants in Germany","authors":"Sirima Thongsawang","doi":"10.14764/10.ASEAS-2016.2-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the role of mobile technology in the lives of Thai immigrants in Berlin. By using qualitative research methods, this research investigates how new digital and social media applications have affected the organization of Thai immigrants on both individual and institutional levels, with a particular focus on the Royal Thai Embassy in Berlin. Mobile technologies today are widely used in the diaspora, by both individuals and social institutions, to maintain relationships with the homeland and to promote national affairs. Both individual Thai immigrants and official staff of the embassy rely significantly on Internet sites, particularly on social networking sites such as Facebook, to gain information on Thailand and to expand their networks. This paper explores changes in communication and their implications for Thais and their respective institutions in Germany.","PeriodicalId":37990,"journal":{"name":"Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2016-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-2016.2-8","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
This paper examines the role of mobile technology in the lives of Thai immigrants in Berlin. By using qualitative research methods, this research investigates how new digital and social media applications have affected the organization of Thai immigrants on both individual and institutional levels, with a particular focus on the Royal Thai Embassy in Berlin. Mobile technologies today are widely used in the diaspora, by both individuals and social institutions, to maintain relationships with the homeland and to promote national affairs. Both individual Thai immigrants and official staff of the embassy rely significantly on Internet sites, particularly on social networking sites such as Facebook, to gain information on Thailand and to expand their networks. This paper explores changes in communication and their implications for Thais and their respective institutions in Germany.
期刊介绍:
The Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies (ASEAS) is an international, interdisciplinary and open access social sciences journal covering a variety of topics (culture, economics, geography, politics, society) from both historical and contemporary perspectives. Topics should be related to Southeast Asia, but are not restricted to the geographical region, when spatial and political borders of Southeast Asia are crossed or transcended, e.g., in the case of linguistics, diaspora groups or forms of socio-cultural transfer. ASEAS publishes two focus issues per year and we welcome out-of-focus submissions at any time. The journal invites both established as well as young scholars to present research results and theoretical and methodical discussions, to report about on-going research projects or field studies, to publish conference reports, to conduct interviews with experts in the field, and to review relevant books. Articles can be submitted in German or English.