Information on the thesis "Factors Affecting the Population Quality of the Pà Thẻn Ethnic Group in Quang Bình District, Hà Giang Province" by graduate student Đỗ Thị Thanh Hương, majoring in Sociology.1. Student's Full Name: Do Thi Thanh Huong 2. Gender: Female 3. Date of Birth: April 16, 1974 4. Place of Birth: Tuyen Quang 5. Decision to Recognize Student: No. 1700/QD-XHNV-KH&SDH dated November 19, 2009, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. 6. Changes during Training: None 7. Thesis Title: Factors Affecting the Population Quality of the Pa Then Ethnic Group in Quang Binh District, Ha Giang Province 8. Major: Sociology; Code: 60 31 30 9. Scientific Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, Head of the Department of Sociology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. 10. Summary of the thesis results: This thesis is a research study on the population quality of the Pa Then ethnic group (a very small minority group – under 10,000 people) in Tan Bac commune, Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province. The study selected 11 indicators related to physical health, intelligence, mental health, and population structure to measure population quality according to the formula: PQI = 1/11(I1 + I2 + ... ... I11) = 0.554. It reached an average level. The study analyzed 4 factors affecting population quality: - Social policies: The Party and the State have implemented policies for ethnic minorities to narrow the gap in living standards between ethnic minorities in mountainous areas and the Kinh people in the plains. People are provided with health insurance and receive free medical examinations and treatment. In recent years, there have been no infectious disease outbreaks in the area, and the health of the people has improved. The Pà Thẻn ethnic group has a good understanding of population control and family planning, having only 1-2 children. The entire district has achieved universal secondary education, however, school facilities are still lacking. 69% of households own televisions, but they can only receive central television channels. The province's socio-economic development programs and goals are mainly disseminated to the ethnic group through commune officials, village heads, and officials of local associations. - Natural environment: In the study area, the weather is harsh, with some years experiencing prolonged periods of severe cold lasting 1-2 months. Nearly 50% of households still use water from troughs and streams, affecting people's health. - Customs and traditions: The Pà Thẻn fire-jumping festival (in the 10th lunar month) has both entertainment and sacred/mystical significance. This festival is a prayer for health, a bountiful harvest, and the warding off of disease. The Pa Then ethnic group has a unique cultural and artistic tradition related to wedding customs, clothing, etc., which positively impacts the spiritual life of the people. - Socio-economic conditions: 99% of households are engaged in agriculture with low incomes, 39.1% of households face food shortages during lean seasons, and 17.2% of households live in temporary housing, affecting the quality of the population. To improve the quality of the Pa Then population in Ha Giang, it is necessary to strengthen training in scientific and technical knowledge in production and livestock farming, expand the market for brocade weaving products, and invest in infrastructure to build communication channels to effectively reach the ethnic people. 11. Practical applications: The study analyzed the factors affecting the quality of the Pa Then ethnic population, contributing recommendations to relevant agencies as a basis for developing policies to improve the quality of the population of ethnic minorities in general and the Pa Then ethnic group in particular. 12. Published works related to the thesis: Article: “Some factors affecting the lives of the Pa Then ethnic people in Quang Binh, Ha Giang” at the “The Role of Sociology in the Development of Society” conference of the Vietnam Sociological Association, held on May 26, 2012 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS
1. Full name: DO THI THANH HUONG 2. Sex: female 3. Date of birth: April 16, 1974 4. Place of birth: Tuyen Quang 5. Admission decision number: 1700/QD-XHNV-KH&SĐH dated November 19, 2009 of the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Hanoi 6. Changes in academic process: None (List the forms of change and corresponding times) 7. Official thesis title: Factors affecting the population quality of Pa Then ethnic minority in Quang Binh District, Ha Giang Province 8. Major: Sociology 9. Code: 60 31 30 10. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Hoa, Dean of Faculty of Sociology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Hanoi (Full name, academic title and degree) 11. Summary of the findings of the thesis: The thesis is a study into the population quality of Pa Then ethnic minority (with less than 10,000 people in total) in Tan Bac Commune, Quang Binh District, Ha Giang Province. The author selected 11 indicators related to physical, mental, spiritual and structural aspects of the population to measure the population quality using the following formula: PQI = 1/11 (I1 + I2 + ...... I11) = 0.554. This is an average level. The study analyzed four factors affecting the population quality, including: - Social Policy: The Party and State have policies for ethnic settlements in order to narrow the gap in living standards between the mountainous ethnic people and Kinh people in deltas. The ethnic minorities are given health insurance and free medical treatments. For recent years, the locality has had no epidemics and the public health has improved. Pa Then ethnic minority has good awareness of the work on population and family planning and each family has from one to two children. The district has achieved universal lower secondary education but school facilities are poor. About 69% of households have televisions but they can only catch the central television channels. Socio-economic development objectives and programs of the province are disseminated to ethnic people mainly through the commune officers, hamlet chiefs, and staff of mass organizations in hamlets. - The natural environment: the weather conditions are harsh in the study area. Sometimes the temperature drops low for one to two months. Nearly 50% of households still use water from streams or open ducts which affects the public health. - Customs and traditional practices: The festival of Pa Then fire dance (in the 10th month of the lunar calendar) is both entertaining and spiritually worshiping. This is a prayer ceremony for good health and good harvests and to ward off disease. Pa Then ethnic people have their own cultural traditions and arts and procedures related to marriage, dress and others that have had positive impacts on their spiritual life. - Economic and social conditions: 99% of households do farm work with low income. 39.1% of households suffer from food shortages during the cultivation seasons. 17.2% of households live in temporary houses. These facts have affected the population quality. To improve the population quality for Pa Then ethnic people in Ha Giang, it is necessary to strengthen the training of scientific and technical knowledge in production and animal husbandry and expand the market for ethnic weaving products. It is also necessary to invest in construction of facilities for communication channels to reach people effectively. (Summarize them with stress on the new findings, if any) 12. Practical applicability, if any: The study analyzed the factors that affect the population quality of Pa Then ethnic people and contributed recommendations to the authorities to develop policies to improve the population quality of ethnic settlements in general and Pa Then ethnic people in particular 13. Further research directions, if any: 14. Thesis-related publications: (List them in chronological order) Do Thi Thanh Huong (2012) Some factors impacting the life of Pa Then ethnic people in Quang Binh, Ha Giang, paper presented at the seminar The role of sociology in the development of society of the Vietnamese Sociology Association held at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University in Hanoi on May 26, 2012.
