ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research could only be set up, conducted and distilled into a thesis through the interaction with others. From this interaction I could draw different forms of support and input. Therefore I would like to express my appreciation to different persons who have played a role for the realization of this research. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Edwin de Jong, Dr. Luuk Knippenberg, Judith Westeneng and Dr. Detlev Haude for their assistance during the preparation, conduction and writing phase of this research project. I also want to thank Theo van der Weegen for his comments on the statistical analysis of the survey. In Thailand, it was of great help to be supported by the faculty of Humanities and Social Science, especially by the lecturers from the Social Development department Dr. Dusadee Ayuwat and Dr. Buapun Promphakping. Conducting a research in an unknown environment can only be successful if 'insiders' are of assistance. In my case, this assistance was vital for the success of the research out of three reasons. First of all, I was barely acquainted with the cultural context of Thailand and the Isan. Secondly, I was not able to communicate with people directly since I had no command of the Thai language. Thirdly, the amount of the surveys that were to be take