Visiting Scholars, 2009-10

Attasith Boonsawasd
Research Topic: "Thai Linguistics: Buyi/Bouyei Grammar"
UCLA Faculty Mentor: Shoichi Iwasaki, Asian Languages and Linguistics
Mr. Boonsawasd is a Ph.D. student in the Institute of Language and Culture for Rural Development, Mahidol University, Bangkok Thailand.  He is the recipient of the Royal Golden Jubilee Scholarship of the Thailand Research Fund.  He can be reached at boonsawasd_78@hotmail.com.

Sothy Eng
Research Topic: "Demographic Issues in Cambodia"
UCLA Faculty Mentor: Patrick Heuveline, Sociology
Dr. Sothy Eng, a Cambodian national, was a Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA's California Center for Population Research from January 2010 - December 2010. He received his Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from Texas Tech University in 2009. His research interests focus on roles of culture, historical context and family and how they influence behavior, attitudes and achievement. His dissertation is entitled: "Social capital and school adjustment among children in Cambodia: A close look at parental attitudes and beliefs." Previously he had received an MA degree from the same department in 2005, writing a thesis entitled: "Academic achievement among high school students in Cambodia: Does maternal trauma matter?" He received his BA in Psychology from Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2002. Besides his academic interests, Dr. Eng is also an amateur photographer. His photo essay won 1st place at the 89th Annual Southwestern Social Science Association Conference in its Visual Sociology Photo Essay Competition in 2009. He serves as the official photographer for National Council on Family Relations during its annual conference in addition to his professional activities at the conference.  He can be reached at http://sothy-eng.com/default.aspx.

Mellissa Withers
Research Topic: "Fertility Preferences in Bali, Indonesia"
UCLA Faculty Mentors, Profs. Don Morisky and Paula Tavrow, UCLA School of Public Health
During 2009-10 and continuing into 2010-11, Mellissa Withers finished an analysis of longitudinal data collected in Bali and submitted a manuscript titled “"Who meets their intentions to stop childbearing? Results of a longitudinal study in rural Eastern Bali, Indonesia” to “Health Care for Women International.” She also submitted another manuscript titled “Do ambivalent women have an unmet need for family planning? A longitudinal study from Bali, Indonesia” to the Journal of Women’s Health.  A third project is another manuscript relating to the qualitative portion of her dissertation on Balinese women’s fertility preferences. Finally, she will finish another analysis from a study she conducted on maternal health in Bali, which was not incorporated into her dissertation.  She can be reached at mellwit@yahoo.com.