Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences

About: Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences is a education organization based out in Hanoi, Vietnam. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Vietnamese & Poverty. The organization has 228 authors who have published 222 publications receiving 1690 citations. The organization is also known as: VASS.

An Son and the Neolithic of Southern Vietnam

Abstract: Between 4500 and 3500 years ago, partially intrusive Neolithic populations in the riverine basins of mainland Southeast Asia began to form mounded settlements and to develop economies based on rice cultivation, fishing, hunting, and the domestication of animals, especially pigs and dogs. A number of these sites have been excavated in recent years and they are often large mounds that can attain several meters in depth, comprising successive layers of alluvial soil brought in periodically to serve as living floors. The site of An Son is of this type and lies in a small valley immediately north of the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. Excavated on five occasions since 1978, and most recently in 2009, it was occupied from the late third into the late second millennium b.c . An Son has produced evidence that attests the domestication of pigs and dogs in all layers apart (perhaps) from the most basal one, which was not investigated in 2009, together with the growing of rice of the subspecies Oryza sativa japonica , of Chinese Neolithic origin. The oldest pottery has simple incised and punctate zoned decoration with parallels in central Thailand, especially in the basal phases at Nong Nor and Khok Phanom Di. From its middle and later occupation phases (1800–1200 b.c .), An Son has produced a number of supine extended burials with finely decorated pottery grave goods that carry some unique forms, especially vessels with wavy or serrated rims. The An Son burials represent a Neolithic population that expressed a mixture of both indigenous Hoabinhian and more northerly (probably Neolithic southern Chinese) cranial and dental phenotypes, perhaps representing a likely ancestral population for some of the modern Austroasiatic-speaking populations of mainland Southeast Asia.

Ethnic minority poverty in Vietnam

Abstract: Although economic reform has brought remarkable progress in poverty reduction in Vietnam, the scale and depth of ethnic minority poverty in Vietnam presents one of the major challenges to achieving the targets for poverty reduction set out in the Socio-Economic Development Plan, as well as the millennium development goals. The authors first review a series of monetary and non-monetary indicators which show the living standards of the ethnic minorities are improving but still lag seriously behind those of the majority Kinh-Hoa. The minorities' lower living standards result from the complex interplay of overlapping disadvantages, which start in utero and continue until adult life. Next an analysis of the drivers of the ethnic gap, in terms of both differences in characteristics and differences in returns to those characteristics, is undertaken. Mean and quantile decompositions show that at least a half of the gap in per capita expenditure can be attributed to the lower returns to characteristics that the ethnic minorities receive. The reasons underlying such differences in returns are discussed, drawing on both quantitative analysis and the large number of qualitative studies on ethnic issues in Vietnam. Finally, some of the short and longer term policy measures which the authors believe could help to counter ethnic disadvantages in the nutrition, education, and employment sectors are discussed. The authors also emphasize the importance of promoting growth that is geographically broad and socially inclusive without which, the current disparities between the Kinh-Hoa and the ethnic minorities will continue to grow.

An open database of productivity in Vietnam's social sciences and humanities for public use.

Abstract: This study presents a description of an open database on scientific output of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities, one that corrects for the shortcomings in current research publication databases such as data duplication, slow update, and a substantial cost of doing science. Here, using scientists’ self-reports, open online sources and cross-checking with Scopus database, we introduce a manual system and its semi-automated version of the database on the profiles of 657 Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities who have published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2008 to 2018. The final system also records 973 foreign co-authors, 1,289 papers, and 789 affiliations. The data collection method, highly applicable for other sources, could be replicated in other developing countries while its content be used in cross-section, multivariate, and network data analyses. The open database is expected to help Vietnam revamp its research capacity and meet the public demand for greater transparency in science management. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on anxiety and depression symptoms of young people in the global south: evidence from a four-country cohort study.

Abstract: Objective To provide evidence on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young people who grew up in poverty in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Design A phone survey administered between August and October 2020 to participants of a population-based longitudinal cohort study established in 2002 comprising two cohorts born in 1994-1995 and 2001-2002 in Ethiopia, India (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Peru and Vietnam. We use logistic regressions to examine associations between mental health and pandemic-related stressors, structural factors (gender, age), and lifelong protective/risk factors (parent and peer relationship, wealth, long-term health problems, past emotional problems, subjective well-being) measured at younger ages. Setting A geographically diverse, poverty-focused sample, also reaching those without mobile phones or internet access. Participants 10 496 individuals were approached; 9730 participated. Overall, 8988 individuals were included in this study; 4610 (51%) men and 4378 (49%) women. Non-inclusion was due to non-location or missing data. Main outcome measures Symptoms consistent with at least mild anxiety or depression were measured by Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (≥5) or Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (≥5). Results Rates of symptoms of at least mild anxiety (depression) were highest in Peru at 41% (32%) (95% CI 38.63% to 43.12%; (29.49-33.74)), and lowest in Vietnam at 9% (9%) (95% CI 8.16% to 10.58%; (8.33-10.77)), mirroring COVID-19 mortality rates. Women were most affected in all countries except Ethiopia. Pandemic-related stressors such as health risks/expenses, economic adversity, food insecurity, and educational or employment disruption were risk factors for anxiety and depression, though showed varying levels of importance across countries. Prior parent/peer relationships were protective factors, while long-term health or emotional problems were risk factors. Conclusion Pandemic-related health, economic and social stress present significant risks to the mental health of young people in LMICs where mental health support is limited, but urgently needed to prevent long-term consequences.