The chapter has studied different cultural elements to understand the valuation process and found that each element has its role in the process. Each functions in a way that relates to others resulting in behaviours towards the objects.
First of all, value is a core belief in individuals. They are beliefs held by individuals and social groups on what is good and desirable. Values turn into actions as they influence people to select to behave or react according to the values they hold. In the process of value judgement, values as core belief interact with the value (worth, goodness) of the object. If the value the objects hold is compatible with values (the belief of what is good) in individuals or social groups, the objects would be valued and individuals would engage with the objects. On the contrary, if the values conflict with values individuals hold, rejection and abandonment can be expected.
Secondly, attitude is an opinion towards objects. So, it is more specific and superficial than value. Attitude is connected to value as judgement towards specific objects is also based on belief. Attitude is shaped by information and experience individuals receive, and when processed with the core beliefs or values the individuals hold, it determines what the attitude is like. So, it can be said that attitude and value collaborate in the process of the valuation.
Thirdly, perception is a state individuals can be aware of and which can be personalised, so it does not need to be accurate nor reach the state of attitude.
However, perception can be influential especially in subjects to which individuals do not pay attention such as archives, the case of this research. The vague perception of archives can impact the level of engagement towards the materials. That is why this research also looks at perception because, for many people, the word ‘archives’ gives them only some feelings or limited understandings. Perception is how individuals are aware of something, and so it works at a similar level to attitudes but is not
necessarily as clear.
Fourthly, the bigger framework where all entities mentioned above are situated is belief system or worldview. It works as a lens individuals use to see the world, different things and themselves inside. While worldview is the system of beliefs, ideology is the system of ideas. These frameworks influence people’s values and
attitudes. Different systems of ideology or worldview reveal how values are set as norms or patterns of behaviours for people to live together. They help the valuation process to be more predictable though it does not mean that individuals holding the same religions or culture would make the same judgement.
All elements are concepts defined and studied by psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists to understand how the human mind works. For this research, these concepts are treated in an instrumental manner and will be applied to the actual situation of how archives are valued in societies.
Figure 3 Different entities working in valuation process
2.7 Conclusion
The literature review has explored different elements in the valuing process, namely value, attitude, perception, worldview and ideology. Their definitions, nature and how they are studied have been discussed. These elements were defined and studied to understand the work of the human mind and its influence on resulting behaviour. In the scope of this research, value and attitude are the main entities of the study. This is because value is necessarily the core belief in one’s mind that could or could not be compatible with values supported by the objects. In the same way, attitude plays an important role in the valuation process as it is directly involved with the object. The chapter has discussed the possibilities where these two entities can change. The
Attitude Value
(core belief)
Value (worth)
Object Worldview
understanding of value will be used in the discussion in chapter 3 to further examine the compatibility between values in Thai society and archival value. In chapter 4, knowledge from this literature review on perception and attitude will be used to examine survey participants and interviewees from the data collection. Then, other entities involved with the valuation are considered, namely perception, ideology and worldview. In chapter 5, ideologies and worldviews will be studied in different aspects relating to archives. Also, I will consider value change which takes place as social change. In chapter 6 and 7, value and attitude change theory will be discussed for potential change in the Thai context.
Chapter 3
Compatibility of Thai Values and Values in Archives and Archival Practices 3.1 Introduction
In chapter 2, values are identified as core beliefs. Values are held by individuals or mutually held in societies. As a part of culture, these values determine decision making and patterns of behaviour. Thus, it is worth examining how they influence people’s behaviour as well as their perceptions and reactions towards objects (which may also culturally have values attached to them). There is a congruence between values as belief or preference of individuals and social groups and values supported by archival systems, because the ways archives function and are designed depend on individual values and societal structure.
Archives are materials encompassing the acts of records creation, recordkeeping and use. These are put into practice to support different values and have different
functions in a society. Although the practices involving the materials are similar, the purposes and designs of archival systems are culturally made by humans to serve culture.
According to the preliminary study in chapter 1 where some problems in the Thai recordkeeping system are identified, Thai values in general are of questionable
congruence with values found in archives and Western archives management systems, which are universally accepted as forming the basis of standards for professional practice. This analysis will proceed by identifying Thai values and their origin, looking also at social change and its effects on values. Values originate in how
individuals look at their lives, how they see the world and how they see their positions in the world. The study of values is thus related to worldview, religious belief, and philosophy as well as different factors including personal experience. Thus,
examining this issue will also benefit from the application of the Schwartz’s Value Survey (SVS), the psychological value framework discussed in the previous chapter.
In addition, to examine the values attached to the Western recordkeeping system, Western (specifically British) values in the system will be identified. I will focus on social values rather than individual values. Certainly, it is difficult to assume that different groups of people in a society all hold certain values. One society can have
many different types of value systems or patterns, but there is definitely a dominant pattern accepted as the main value system, which most people agree on for living together due to shared historical background, belief, and ways of life. These values have been expressed in each society’s standards such as norms, folklore or even laws (Phongsaphit 78). The different social norms point out that in one society some behavioural patterns are accepted and some are not; this can be different in another society.
That is why the context needs to be considered before any system is implemented, but Thailand for one has failed to examine the value congruence mentioned above. The values examination in this chapter aims to provide one such understanding of the different systems and of the Thai cultural context.