สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 Editorûs Note iii The theme of this issue of the Journal is Harmony in Cultural Diversity. It is an accepted fact that each culture has its own characteristics due to many factors such as the religious belief, environment, climate. As one individual is different from another but can live in harmony with other individuals, it is possible that many cultural units can live in harmony in a community, society, nation and the world. It is up to human beings to choose between harmony and conflict. The right choice will bring peace while the wrong choice will cause wars and casualties. If we believe that understanding will bring sympathy and love, that knowledge will widen our horizon and improve the quality of life, essays and articles in this issue of the Journal of the Royal Institute may contribute some degree of benefit to the readers. As the Institute is composed of three academies : Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Academy of Science and Academy of Arts, there are works from all the three academies. These works may interest readers from various fields of knowledge, from social sciences, language and literature, to science and medicine. It is hoped that the interdisciplinary feature of the journal will promote understanding and colaborations between experts of various disciplines. In the age of globalization, the need to colaborate and look further than oneûs own field is quite urgent. Harmony in cultural diversity is also necessary in any society so that peace and understanding among global beings can be achieved and maintained. As this issue of the Journal is planned for the celebration of the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the Kingûs 7 th Cycle Birthday Anniversary, December 5, 2011, two poems are published to wish Him all the best, on behalf of the Editorial Board and the Thai people. Srisurang Poolthupya Editor, Fellow of the Royal Institute (1)-(6)_mac9 4/26/12, 8:07 PM 3