Luang Prabang Province Research Articles

The Creation of Value-added on Wood Carving Handicraft in Luang Prabang city, Luang Prabang Province

The study aims to investigate: the purchasing behavior of customers in Luang Prabang district and province, the perspectives of entrepreneurs and consumers who purchase goods to enhance the value of wood carving craft products in Luang Prabang district and province and Adding value to wood carving craft items that influences customers' decisions to buy in Luang Prabang district and province. employing interviews as a method to gather information from 3 merchants of wood carving craft products and 385 respondents' questionnaires. The frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, and multiple regression equation. The study's findings revealed: Customer behavior in choosing to buy wood carving craft products as a gift or souvenir, ordering them from the store, and recognizing that information from online advertising media influences his decision to buy. Products that the customer may choose from include wood carving handicrafts for other people's daily lives, low-image elephant products, fish and gold fish products, high-image elephant products, and horse products. The product has the same features as before, but price is a deciding factor when making a purchase, so there's no need to mark the product with a purchase value of between 500,001 and 1,000,000 kip and require a cash payment. Entrepreneurs' thoughts on adding value to handcrafted wood-carving goods. Three Entrepreneurs believe that adding value to wood carving craft goods is important in six areas: designing the product, using wood as a raw material, branding, design, service, and production. Customers' perceptions of the entrepreneur's ability to create added value across six dimensions are influenced in part by the following factors: product quality; service quality; design and production; and modeling. Three factors creating additional value in terms of products, design, and production were involved in the manufacture of wood carving craft products that influence customers' purchase decisions.

Factors Affecting the Creation of added Value for the Processing of Cinnamon Products of the People in Nambak District, Luang Prabang Province

In this Research aim to study the situation of creating added value by transforming cinnamon into cinnamon products, the factors that affect the creation of added value by transforming cinnamon into cinnamon products and the development direction in creating added value by transforming cinnamon into cinnamon products of the people of Nambak District, Luang Prabang Province. which uses qualitative and quantitative study methods using questionnaires from a sample group of 174 people. Then bring the data to analyze and organize the data in order to find descriptive statistics and reference statistics using SPSS version 22.0 program to analyze the data, the data as a result of the study as follows: 1) The result were situation of creating added value by transforming cinnamon into a cinnamon product. Most of the workers used in the production of cinnamon are family members. Most of the packing and labeling do not have a logo. Cinnamon sticks are different from others because they have sesame seeds or many other products. Raw cinnamon is collected by ourselves. In one year, we can produce enough cinnamon sticks to meet the needs of customers. Cinnamon sticks are not advertised. Most of the production and distribution of cinnamon sticks is in the form of self-production and self-sale, producing more than 11,000 cinnamon sticks per year, the customers who come to buy cinnamon sticks are domestic tourists, the problem of producing cinnamon sticks is that there are no raw materials as needed. 2) Factors that affect the creation of added value for the processing of cinnamon products of the people of Nambak District, Luang Prabang Province, it was found that there are 4 factors that affect the entrepreneurial, capital and the aspect of creating added value with Brand with statistical significance. 3) The way to create added value is to have promotions and provide more information or get back when the customer is not satisfied and to create a brand that is trustworthy, memorable, should have a story and repeated purchases from consumers, should consider raw materials by selecting local raw materials that have a story and a distinctive difference and value, should focus on premium and increased demand so as to produce more cinnamon sticks.

Estimation of the soil erosion and sediment trapping using Gerlach troughs in different Land Uses in Luangprabang Province

This study aims to study sediment loss in different areas by collecting data from the Reservoir and Gerlach troughs in the Luangprabang Province, Laos The implementation of this experiment was a selection of study areas to install soil sediment retention tools (Gerlach trough) according to 6 treatments such as T1: No teak+Ruzi grass; T2: No teak + Fallow; T3: Teak with low understory density + Natural regrowth; T4: Teak with low understory density + Ruzi grass; T5: Teak with high understory density+ Natural regrowth; T6: Teak with high understory density+ mixed fodder cover (Ruzi and Napier grass). In 3 replicates/treatments by RCBD design, a total of 18 instruments will be installed by installing them in a row on both sides of the soil, to trap the soil sediment that flows with the water, then there will be a collection of samples that can be collected, and then filter the soil sediment and dry it at a temperature of 105 degrees, for a period of 48 hours and calculate the amount of soil sediment loss in the area. Results found that the highest soil loss (sediment) was in the area planted teak with low understory density + Natural regrowth (T3) followed by the area planted teak with low understory density + Ruzi grass, (T4), and the lowest soil loss was in the area no teak+Ruzi grass (T1) and the area no teak + fallow (T2). While the highest surface water runoff was in the area planted teak with low understory density + Natural regrowth (T3) and the area planted teak with low understory density + Ruzi grass, (T4). On the other hand, factors that are related to surface water runoff and soil sediment loss such as percentage of land cover density, slope of the land, and residue or humus on the land were found that the area no teak with planted Ruzi grass and the area no teak with fallow (natural growth) had lowest rate of surface water runoff and lowest soil sediment loss compared to other areas. It can be concluded that the land cover factor has an important role in helping to reduce surface water runoff and help prevent soil sediments from being lost to runoff in agricultural land and upland cultivation.

The Participation toward on Corporate Social Responsibilities of the guesthouse business in the Luang Prabang city Luang Prabang Province

The objectives of this research were to study the operating conditions of guesthouse business in the Luang Prabang city, to study The Participation toward on Corporate Social Responsibilities of the guesthouse business in the Luang Prabang city Luang Prabang Province and to analyze the Corporate Social Responsibilities participation influences the operation of the guesthouse business in the Luang Prabang city Luang Prabang Province. The research was conducted by using a questionnaire as an instrument for collecting data from 124 Guesthouse Entrepreneurs/executives in the Luang Prabang city, Luang Prabang Province. The Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was 0.968. The statistics used for data analysis were frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, multiple regression analysis. The results found that: In terms of success in the operation of the guesthouse business, it was found that the overall the business has a high level of success consisted of marketing, internal Management, products\services and Financial Perspective. Participation toward Corporate Social Responsibilities of the guesthouse business in Luang Prabang city. Overall, the Guesthouse business had been involved in social responsibility at a higher level. With a lot of responsibility towards on Good corporate governance of the organization, the Conducting business with fairness in the organization, the corporate consumer responsibility, the Environmental carrying and the participating development in community and social. The Social responsibility in terms of environmental responsibility and the participating development in community and social had influences the financial /returns of the Guesthouse business, the participating development in community and social had influences in the Marketing of the guesthouse business, social responsibility in terms of the Conducting business with fairness in the organization and the participating development in community and social had influences in the management and Products\Services of the guesthouse business in the Luang Prabang city.

Analyze Factors Affecting Room Pricing of Accommodation in Luang Prabang Province

The study of “Analyze Factors Affecting Room Pricing of Accommodation in Luang Prabang Province”. The objectives of the study are the overview Luang Prabang tourism, hotel and guesthouse statistics, in particular to investigate the way which room rates are determined. Data was collected from Agoda website by survey in May 2108. The sample size is 204 hotel and guesthouse that consists of 1,326 observations. Based on Hedonic Pricing Model for estimation and data analyzing for Ordinary Least Square (OLS) by Stata 13. Our result of finding included that there were 643,319 tourists (2016) from domestic and foreign countries. The total number of hotels and guesthouses accounted for 415 (2016) which includes 65% and 35% of domestic and foreigner firms respectively. The room rates of hotel and guesthouse are between $ 2 and $ 400 per night. The results illustrate that the factors determined the hotel and guesthouse room rates in Luang Prabang are 17 variables; for instance, colonial style, deluxe room, river view, room size, number of rooms, guest limited, bed king, wooden parquet floor, free cancellation, car park, front desk 24 hours, swimming pool, and massage. Which these variables are most statistically significant. Furthermore, the symbol of variables is similar on our prediction; expecting some variables are the heritage site area, Wi-Fi and 24 hours security which is not statistically significant. In addition, Free airport transfer service is statistically significant; apart from, the symbol of variable is not the same on our prediction.

Factors Influencing on Students’ Learning Problem at Primary School in Phonthong District, Luang Prabang Province

This research focuses on factors as problems influencing student learning quality at primary school in Phonthong District, Luang Prabang province. The objective included 1) the level of importance of the problems to the student’s learning quality at primary school in Phonthong District, Luang Prabang province, and 2) factors as problems influencing student learning quality at primary school in Phonthong District, Luang Prabang province. The study was conducted with 25 primarry school and 535 primary students from grade 3 to grade 5. This quantitative research utilized questionnaires for data collection and the data were analyzed using the descriptive statistic by Program SPSS and inferential statistics by Program MATLAB. The results that the condition of learning problems of primary school students in Grade 3 - Grade 5 in Phonthong District, Luang Prabang Province as a whole is a moderate level of problems such as student's personal, academic behavior, parents' attention to the student's education, the location of the school, the relationship between students and friends in the classroom, the relationship between the student and the teacher and the teacher's behavior towards the student as a whole are moderate level. So, the most problematic factors for primary school students are the parents' attention to the students' learning, the teacher's behavior towards the students, the student's learning habits, the school's location factor, the relationship between the students and the teacher, the relationship between the students and their friends in the class and finally the personality factors of the students respectively.

The Development of Using Lao Language for Communication of Teacher in Phonethong District, Luangprabang Province Academic year 2020 - 2021

The purposes of research are: 1) to develop the teaching of Lao language for communication for teachers at Phonthong secondary School, Phonethong District, Luang Prabang Province, 2). to examine the results of theteaching of Lao language for communication for teachers, and 3). to investigate the teachers’ satisfaction with the learning activities in teaching Lao language for communication for teachers at Phonthong secondary School, Phonethong District, Luang Prabang Province. This study model was the measurement of before and after the pilot activities which employed the one – Group Pretest – Posttest Design for data collection. The target group consisted of 23 Lao language teachers at Phonthong Secondary School, Phonthong District, Luangprabang Province for the academic year 2021. The instruments used for the study comprised of 1) lesson plans on the subject of Lao language for communication for teachers. 2) pre – post tests of training achievement, 3) a questionnaire for eliciting the teachers’ opinions concerning their satisfaction towards the learning activities on the Lao language teaching for communication for teachers, and 4) the assessment form of ability to speak the Lao language for trainees and the collected data was analyzed by means of calculating arithmetic mean, standard deviation and percentage. The result vealed that: 1. The learning activities using teaching the Lao language for communication for teachers as was statistically significant at 0.00 difference with the, mean (after learning) of 12.83 and S.D. of 2.33 (12.83, SD=2.33) which is higher than the mean ( before learning ) of 15.91 and S.D. of 1.96 (15.91, SD=1.96) which is in accordance with the established assumptions. 2. The participants showed the “highest” level of satisfaction towards the learning activities using the teaching of the Lao language for communication for (4.51, SD=0.61). However, when considering each aspect, it could be seen that the participants show the highest “highest” level of satisfaction towards the measurement and evaluation (4.56, SD= 0.60), followed by the environment aspect (4.55, SD= 0.53), teaching and learning activities, application, lesson content and teaching methods (4.50, SD= 0.54), (4.49, SD= 0.61), (4.46, SD= 0.61), (4.43, SD= 0.56) respectively, and they were also concistant with the established assumptions.

Jobs-Housing Balance Dimension in the New Resettlement Areas Affected by the Hydropower Construction Project Case of: Samavkhyxay Village, Xieng Ngeun District, Luang Prabang Province

This study was conducted in Samackhysay Village, Xiengngun District, Luang Prabang Province, emphasizing the dimension of jobs-housing balance in the new resettlement areas of residents affected by the hydropower construction project and the resettlement process. 655 households have been moved from 10 villages. The methodology of the study employed a questionnaire with 250 households. The quantitative and qualitative approaches have been utilized with Binary Logistic Model in order to examine the relationships between housing and workplaces/balancing dimensions. Results of this study revealed that after the resettlement was completed, there are some positive and negative impacts illustrated, for instance, the community-level infrastructure has been updated with roads, schools, clinics, electricity, and water supply for the positive manners. Regarding the negative image, people are hard adapting to the new environment, the shortage of agricultural land and workplaces have been located far away from their residences, and their expenses increased with their longer trips to workplaces. The results also confirmed that the imbalance factor between jobs-housing is a crucial dimension of the resettlement of new locations. The Logistic Model revealed some critical issues regarding the inequalities of ethnicity, location of the original village, level of education, occupation, distance to the workplace, income, and conditions of homes and vehicles. The obvious change is that new occupations in the new resettlement area are workers compared to farmers. The outcomes of the study can be used as a guideline for creating a balance between housing and workplaces, especially the allocation of agricultural areas and the provision of occupations that are appropriate for the people to create a balance, to become the model village for the development and sustainability in the future.

Tourism Adaptation Strategy During the Crisis from Covid-19 Pandemic at Ngoi District, Luang Prabang Province

This study is about " Tourism adaptation strategy during the crisis from Covid-19 pandemic at Ngoi district, Luang Prabang Province" was studied in a qualitative format with an interview questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The results of the study found that the state of tourism in Ngoi City during the spread of the Covid-19 disease in Ngoi District is that tourists have dropped to 99.15%. Ngoi by training personnel and open the reception of tourists in the green tourism area and speed up the implementation of Lao safe tourism standards, most of the businesses that provide tourism services have closed their businesses by turning from the service business to farming and raising animals and starting to reopen in December 2021 and the local people are turning from the service profession to tourism to agriculture. raise animals and collect forest products of Dong, from the analysis of the tourism environment of Ngoi District and found that Ngoi District has strengths that can cope with this crisis situation more than weaknesses and there are also favorable opportunities from the external environment that can restore and develop the tourism situation in Ngoi District to normal people quickly. The use of corrective strategy (WO Strategy), the use of defensive strategy (ST Strategy) and the use of receiving strategy (WT Strategy) so that stakeholders in Ngoi district can adapt to the situation.

Accounting issues in Calculating Taxes on Corporate Entities revenue of Entrepreneurs in Luang Prabang Municipality, Luang Prabang Province

In this study, the research team studied the accounting issues in calculating tax on corporate entities’ revenue of entrepreneurs in Luang Prabang Municipality, Luang Prabang Province. The purposes are to study the level of accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax of entrepreneurs. To compare the level of accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax of entrepreneurs by individual factors, the population used in the research was the accounting staff or entrepreneurs who calculated the corporate income tax of the business entities registered with the enterprises, a simple number of randoms 254 totally. The statistics used in the data analysis included descriptive and parameter reference statistics with the following values: frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, one-way ANOVA test, and paired test by LSD method. The results of the research were as follows: 1) The level of accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax of business entities is as follows: Overall, it is at a moderate level which analyzed each aspect is sorted from large to small: the calculation of the depreciation of property prices in several levels, the improvement of accounting expenses tax is at a moderate level and the improvement of accounting income to a tax at a moderate level. ( 2 ) Comparison of the level of accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax of entrepreneurs by classification according to personal factors such as classified by level of education found entrepreneurs there are different levels of education in accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax varies two aspects are to improve the accounting expenses to be tax and to improve the accounting income to be tax and to classify according to the work experience of the entrepreneur found entrepreneurs with different work experience there are accounting problems in calculating the corporate income tax varies two aspects are the adjustment of accounting expenses to tax and the calculation of the depreciation of property prices.

Enriching Students’ Vocabulary through Reading Short Story Case Study of the 1st Year Student at Faculty of Education, Souphanouvong University

The purpose of this research was to investigate (1) the enrichment of students’ English vocabulary through reading short story technique of the first-year students at Department of Language Pedagogy, Faculty of Education, Souphanouvong University, Luangprabang Province, Laos, in academic year 2019-2020, and (2) the students’ reaction toward the use of short stories in enriching their English vocabulary. The participants of this study were the first-year students with the total number of 28 students. Pre-test and post-test and observation were employed to be the instruments of this study. The mean score, percentages and T-values for both pre-test and post-test were calculated through the SPSS program. The result of data analysis was clearly shown with the mean score of the pre-test was 17.03 and S.D was 4.59 while the mean score of the post-test was 22.42 and S.D was 4.20. Based on the result of the data analysis, the mean sore of the post-test was greater than the mean score of pre-tests. Also, the observation results showed that students enjoyed and engaged in the reading activities provided while and after using this technique. This can be concluded that the use of short stories is one of the effective techniques that would be useful in classes, and is also be able to engage learners to learn English - vocabulary with an interesting and effective way in Learning English.

The Efficacy of Staff members'Work Performance at Northern Finance College Luang PrabangProvince

The purpose of this research were 1) to study the performance efficiency of the Northern Finance College, 2) to study the motivation of staff members' work the Northern Finance College, 3) Analyze the relationship between motivation factors in work performance and work performance efficiency of employees of Northern Finance College, Luang Prabang Province, and 4) to study the factors affecting the working efficiency of the Northern Finance College. The sample group was 47 people from the Northern Finance College. The questionnaire was used as a tool for collecting the data. The data collected was analyzed by using the frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. This was used to test the hypothesis for each pair in order to see which pair was different with Multiple Regression Analysis.The results of the research found that the work efficiency of the employees of the Northern Finance College in Luang Prabang province is generally very good, such as the quantity of work, the quality of work and the time. The motivation to perform the workas a whole has many levels of motivation, in which the most motivation is the success in work, followed by the creative and challenging nature of the work and the least motivation is the advancement in the career. The relationship between the motivation factor in work performance and the performance of employees of the Northern Finance University in Luang Prabang Province is related in the same direction which is the motivation for success in high work, motivation from receiving respect, motivation from career advancement, from the work environment and from work responsibility.The motivation factor for work performance is the success factor in work and the responsibility factor in work has an effect on the work efficiency of the staff of Northern Finance College in Luang Prabang province.

Factors Affecting the Decision to Purchase Teak Products for Consumption by Consumers in Luangprabang District, Luang Prabang province

This research aims to investigate the situation of consumers purchasing teak products and decision to buy teak product in LuangPrabang. Using a questionnaire to gather data from a sample group of 380 individuals who have purchased teak products. And using the SPSS program to analyze the percentage of these consumers. The results of the study found that the situation when buying teak wood products is: ceiling edge 98.68%, ceiling wood 92.10%, kitchen cabinet 69.21%, chair 55.26%, table 54.73%, stairs 53.94%,bed 52.89%, plane wood 52.63%, door edge 47.36%, window frame 28.68%, door frame 26.31%, pillar wood 9.21%, air intake 6.57%, and finally sofa 4.73%. Expenses for more than 5 million kip cover 68.80%, 3 to 5 million cover 78.00%, 1 to 3 million cover 70.00%, and lower than 1 million kip cover 54.80%. 95% of buyers choose to buy in front of the store, 59% call to order for the store to pick up and deliver, and 49% order online. The study also found that 95% of the reasons are because rose wood or led wood is hard to find and the price is expensive; 65% of Luang Prabang is still plentiful of teak; there is a lot of teak wood; and teak wood is beautiful and lighter than other wood; and 35% because there is no choice.Result also found that the factors that making consumers decide to buy teak products are quality, appearance, easy to find and purchase, price and detail of the product with a statistical significance level of less than .05.

Factors Affecting the Weaving Wisdom Management of the Weaving Group Members in Luang Prabang Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

The purpose of this research was to study basic personal, social, economic and factors related to weaving wisdom management of members of Luang Prabang Weaving Group. Lao People's Democratic Republic By collecting data from members of the weaving group of Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR; The data was collected by the questionnaires from 326 samples of weaving group in 15 villages The sample group were sampled using a computational method and using descriptive statistics to analyze frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation and conducting Enter Multiple Regression Analysis The findings of this study revealed that sampling average age group are 50.12 years old; 82.8 percent of sampling group are weaving as their major job; 85 percent are registered as weaving group members; and had 29.35 years of experience, the annual family income from weaving activities totaling around 20,279 Thai Baths (THB) and the factors related to knowledge management of weaving wisdom among weaving group members in Luang Prabang Province Lao People's Democratic Republic. It was found that all 15 independent variables had 47.50 percent (R2 =0.475) of weaving wisdom knowledge management of the members of the weaving group in LuangPrabang Province. The remaining 52.50 percent were influential from other factors not determined in this study. and when considering the independent variables affecting knowledge management of weaving wisdom in Luang Prabang province. statistically significant It was found that there were altogether 3 variables, with 2 positive effects, namely the position in the village. Receiving information about weaving and negatively affecting one variable, experience about weaving. which has a statistically significant correlation at the 0.05 level.

The Physical and Chemical Properties of Natural Drinking Water in Phonexay District, Lao PDR

This study aims to determine the physical, chemical and biological properties and capacity of the commercial purifier (TerraClear ceramic water purifier) of natural drinking water. The present study was conducted in three villages of Phonexay district, Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR where the purifiers were provided for the target households. The surface water was collected before and after purifications. The collected samples were sent to the laboratory of the Water Supply Company for the analysis of physical, chemical and biological compositions. The result showed that: The compositions of physical. pH, Conductivity (uS/cm), Turbidity (NTU), Color (TCU) before purifications were 7.56, 261.00, 6.38, 5.66 The values after purifications were 7.50, 239.00, 0.45, 0.66 The compositions of chemical. Fluoride (mg/L), Nitrate (mg/L), Nitrite (mg/L), Total Hardness (CaCo3: mg/L), Arsenic (mg/L), Iron (mg/L), Manganese (mg/L) before purifications were 0.15, 1.13, 0.01, 132.00, 0.00, 0.05, 0.01 The values after purifications were 0.02, 0.36, 0.002, 18.00, 0.00, 0.02, 0.01 The compositions of biological. Coliform bacteria (100ml), E-Coli (100ml) before purifications were 53.33, 2.33 The values after purifications were 0.00, 0.00, respectively. The natural surface water in the northern province of Lao PDR is not seriously harmful in some areas as well as in the remote areas in terms of biological, physical and chemical contaminations. Moreover, this study confirmed that using the TerraClear ceramic water purifier was safe for drinking water for people and its exceeded chemical compositions which could be harmful to human health were also purified. Further research is recommended to classify more details and varies of other related biological and chemical contaminations.

Dental Survey for Children of Luang Prabang Province, Laos

Dental Survey for Children of Luang Prabang Province, Laos

Sustainable Tourism in the World Heritage Town Luang Prabang, Lao PDR

This paper discusses the role of local institutions in promoting sustainable tourism in Luang Prabang, Laos, with a focus on SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. The study uses qualitative research methods to gather from stakeholders and examines the synergies and trade-offs among various SDGs, the strategies for balancing different priorities, the importance of positive stakeholder relationships and consultations, and the future challenges facing the tourism industry in Luang Prabang. The socio-economic development plan for Luang Prabang Province prioritizes political stability, protection of cultural and natural heritage, sustainable agriculture, education and healthcare, hydroelectric power, and commercial and financial development. Despite challenges, Luang Prabang Province has made significant progress in implementing its socio-economic development plan over the past two years. However, several challenges still need to be addressed, including economic growth lacking rationality, income and development disparities between urban and rural regions, inadequate educational and healthcare services, preservation of cultural heritage and effective management of tourism resources, inadequate labor skills development and land management, budgetary constraints, deficiencies in policies and mechanisms for private investment, and the impact of social deprivation on progress and development. The province aims to address these challenges by enhancing political education and training, prioritizing rural development and employee welfare, eliminating poverty and uplifting living standards, seeking input from diverse ethnic backgrounds, addressing political resistance and limitations, and cultivating the province to attain prosperity and resilience.

The Concepts of Women's Empowerment in Child Malnutrition Programs in Luangprabang Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic.

In several developing countries, such as Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), the fight against malnutrition is carried out through programs that involve collaboration between internal (national) and external (international) actors. These actors may have different perceptions on what is one of the pillars of these programs: the empowerment of women, especially mothers of young children. Little is known about these differences and the impact of these differences on the empowerment component of collaborative projects and the perception of its impact on the reduction in malnutrition in the country. A multiple case study was performed. Data collection was carried out in Vientiane Capital and Luangprabang province. The data were obtained from (1) documents, (2) semi-structured interviews with representatives of internal and external organizations, and (3) focus group discussions and individual interviews with mothers of children under five years old. Analysis consisted of characterizing the empowerment component of nutrition programs of internal and external organizations, as well as mothers, based on an OXFAM's adapted conceptual framework on women's economic empowerment. The study revealed a common understanding among government and external organizations regarding the significance of promoting women's empowerment for reducing child malnutrition in Lao PDR. However, variations were observed in the interpretation of specific determinants of women's empowerment, specifically in relation to women's autonomy and the role of social capital. The perspective of internal actors includes the political ideology and traditions that make Lao PDR a distinct country. This perspective dominates the nutrition programs conducted under the collaboration of internal and external actors. In Lao PDR, the concept of women's empowerment in nutrition programs conducted through collaboration between internal and external actors and targeting young Lao mothers gives prominence to political and socio-cultural factors.

Long-term monitoring of forest cover change resulting in forest loss in the capital of Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR.

Loss of forest cover has an important impact on global climate change. This study investigated variation in forest cover in Luang Prabang district, the capital of Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR, using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) satellite imagery over the period 1988-2021. The maximum likelihood classification technique was used to classify Landsat images of the years 1988, 2001, 2011, and 2021 and was evaluated for accuracy using the kappa coefficient for each year (0.860, 0.869, 0.878, and 0.950, respectively). The potential of classification based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) to detect changes in natural forest and cultivated forest cover compared with supervised classification was also evaluated. The natural forest cover of the study area was estimated at 84.09% (687.82 km2) of the total land area in 1988. This number decreased to 56.93% (465.69 km2) in 2001 and subsequently increased to 60.85% (497.77 km2) in 2011 and 66.49% (543.92 km2) in 2021. Cultivated forest cover in 1988 was 4.96% (40.58 km2) and increased to 16.84% (137.76 km2) in 2001, however it decreased to 13.57% (110.97 km2) in 2011 and 9.67% (79.10 km2) in 2021. Severely reduced forest cover is often associated with the expansion of agriculture on the forest edge. Logging and charcoal production are other problems that contribute to the reduction of forest cover. Overall, our results show the necessity of forest management, rational land-use planning policy, and increased community awareness of conservation and sustainable development of forest resources in the study area in the future.

Anauchen (?) kozari n. sp., a new Hypselostomatid species from Laos (Gastropoda: Stylommatophora: Pupilloidea)

AbstractAnauchen (?) kozari n. sp. is described from Luang Prabang province, central Laos. This new species is temporarily placed in the genus Anauchen due to the similarity of its apertural barriers to those of A. messageri (Bavay & Dautzenberg, 1904). Boysidia gereti Bavay & Dautzenberg, 1904 is a junior synonym of Anauchen rochebruni (Mabille, 1887) (originally described as Hypselostoma).