Vietnamese Society Research Articles

An enlightening tripartite event in Hanoi: Third Indochina Academy of Dermatology Conference, World Health Academy Dermatology Summit, and the Vietnamese Society of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

Dermatologic TherapyVolume 31, Issue 4 e12643 Letter to the Editor An enlightening tripartite event in Hanoi: Third Indochina Academy of Dermatology Conference, World Health Academy Dermatology Summit, and the Vietnamese Society of Dermatology Annual Meeting Robert A. Schwartz, Corresponding Author Robert A. Schwartz roschwar@cal.berkeley.edu orcid.org/0000-0003-3036-3825 Dermatology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey Correspondence Robert A. Schwartz MD, MPH, DSc (Hon), FRCP Edin, Dermatology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. Email: roschwar@cal.berkeley.eduSearch for more papers by this author Robert A. Schwartz, Corresponding Author Robert A. Schwartz roschwar@cal.berkeley.edu orcid.org/0000-0003-3036-3825 Dermatology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey Correspondence Robert A. Schwartz MD, MPH, DSc (Hon), FRCP Edin, Dermatology, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey. Email: roschwar@cal.berkeley.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 20 July 2018 https://doi.org/10.1111/dth.12643Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume31, Issue4July/August 2018e12643 RelatedInformation

Technology Acceptance and Future of Internet Banking in Vietnam

The technology acceptance model (TAM) has long been applied to investigate consumer attitudes towards novel solutions and identify incentives that increase their willingness to adopt them. A cumulative tradition has already been developed in this stream of research. Using a modified TAM model, the authors explore factors that affect the intention of Vietnamese banks and their clients to adopt internet banking services. Currently, there is a number of factors hindering the diffusion of internet banking, particularly the underdevelopment of the technological infrastructure, the lack of investment, and the habits of the majority of providers and consumers of services to interact via traditional formats.The study finds out that the adoption of internet banking could be encouraged by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and, finally customer satisfaction. Among the important factors to ensure these conditions are an advanced customer support system, user-friendly interface, promptness of services, and transparency of banking operations. Among the recommendations put forward by the authors, special attention is given to the requirements for the skills of bank personnel, the need for continuous training, and the establishment of targeted strategic indicators at the public level that facilitate the embeddedness of internet banking in the life of Vietnamese society.

Impact of perceived course of illness on the desire for social distance towards people with symptoms of schizophrenia in Hanoi, Vietnam

In Vietnam, stigmatisation and discrimination of patients with mental illness are highly prevalent. This study explores whether the perception of course of illness of people with symptoms indicating schizophrenia is associated with the desire for social distance in the Vietnamese public. A population-based survey (n = 455) using unlabelled vignettes for schizophrenia was carried out in the Hanoi municipality in 2013. First, a factor analysis was performed to group items indicating perception of prognosis. Second, a linear regression analysis was used to search for correlations between these expectations and desire for social distance. The factor analysis revealed three independent factors of perception of course of illness: (1) loss of social integration and functioning, (2) lifelong dependency on others, and (3) positive expectations towards treatment outcome. Both factors with negative prognostic perceptions (1&2) were associated with more desire for social distance. The results indicate a link between social acceptance and the perceived ability to maintain a social role including a capability of reciprocity within the Vietnamese society. Additionally, these findings highlight the importance of preserving social functioning in any treatment approach for patients with schizophrenia, which includes psychosocial intervention and rehabilitation programs.

Affects, dons cérémoniels et structures sociales

This article proposes to describe and analyze a central emic notion of contemporary Vietnamese society, the tình cảm, which refer to the emotional charge involved in a relationship. This affect is described through the lens of the flow of ceremonial gifts which constitute one of the principal means of expressing tình cảm in northern rural Vietnam. By testing the Spinozist approach of Lordon in The Society of Affects (2013), this paper shows how tình cảm are expressed, how they are a driver of social action and in which social structures they are produced.

Non-commercial surrogacy among close relatives in Vietnam: policy and ethical implications

Altruistic surrogacy among close relatives has been legal in Vietnam since the beginning of 2015. Following the revision of the Marriage and Family Law, there have been dozens of cases of surrogacy, and instances of successful pregnancy and childbirth have also been reported. Although surrogacy was completely prohibited in 2003, numerous local brokers offered commercial surrogacy services. Today, surrogacy is permitted under very limited conditions, and commercial surrogacy is prohibited. However, brokers continue to offer illegal commercial surrogacy services, and some even present its incidence may be increasing. In terms of women’s roles, Vietnamese society places the highest value on motherhood, and childless couples are stigmatized. Thus, the demand for surrogates is high in Vietnam, rendering it difficult for family members to meet the needs of all those seeking these services. This article considers the consequences and implications of the new surrogacy policy in Vietnam based on field research.

Vietnamese medical students and binge drinking: a qualitative study of perceptions, attitudes, beliefs and experience

ObjectivesTo explore the perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and experiences related to Vietnamese medical students’ binge drinking.DesignA qualitative study comprising semi-structured focus groups/interviews with medical students and semi-structured interviews with key informants....

Public attitude towards restrictions on persons with mental illness in greater Hanoi area, Vietnam.

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to protect human rights in psychiatry. Within the last years, considerable effort has been made to reduce restrictive measures in mental health settings. Reducing restrictive measures within mental health care has also moved increasingly into the focus of public debate. This study aims, for the first time in a Southeast Asian sample, to explore whether socio-demographic factors affect public attitudes toward restrictions on mentally ill people in Hanoi, Vietnam. A general population-based survey (self-report questionnaire) was carried out in 2013 in the greater Hanoi area. The survey sample ( N = 813) was recruited according to the latest published census (2009) and micro-census (2013) in Vietnam and Hanoi with regard to the socio-demographic factors gender, age, urbanity, household size and marital status. Multinomial logistic regressions for odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to examine the influence of epidemiological variables, like gender and age, on the public attitude toward restrictions imposed on mentally ill people in Vietnam. This study found, for the first time in a large Vietnamese sample, that gender and age were associated with public attitudes toward restrictions on mentally ill people. In detail, significantly fewer men endorsed compulsory admission to a hospital and abortion than Vietnamese women. In addition, endorsement of abortion was significantly higher in older people. The results offer some insight into roles of women in the Vietnamese society and might reflect the traditional gender expectations in Vietnamese families. Moreover, the results emphasize the need for supporting female psychiatric patients and their families within their communities and in the Vietnamese society.

'Cultural Additivity' and How the Values and Norms of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism Co-Exist, Interact, and Influence Vietnamese Society: A Bayesian Analysis of Long-Standing Folktales, Using R and Stan

Every year, the Vietnamese people reportedly burned about 50,000 tons of joss papers, which took the form of not only bank notes, but iPhones, cars, clothes, even housekeepers, in hope of pleasing the dead. The practice was mistakenly attributed to traditional Buddhist teachings but originated in fact from China, which most Vietnamese were not aware of. In other aspects of life, there were many similar examples of Vietnamese so ready and comfortable with adding new norms, values, and beliefs, even contradictory ones, to their culture. This phenomenon, dubbed “cultural additivity,” prompted us to study the co-existence, interaction, and influences among core values and norms of the Three Teachings – Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism – as shown through Vietnamese folktales. By applying Bayesian logistic regression, we evaluated the possibility of whether the key message of a story was dominated by a religion (dependent variables), as affected by the appearance of values and anti-values pertaining to the Three Teachings in the story (independent variables). Our main findings included the existence of the cultural additivity of Confucian and Taoist values. More specifically, empirical results showed that the interaction or addition of the values of Taoism and Confucianism in folktales together helped predict whether the key message of a story was about Confucianism, β_{VT⋅VC} =0.86. Meanwhile, there was no such statistical tendency for Buddhism. The results lead to a number of important implications. First, this showed the dominance of Confucianism because the fact that Confucian and Taoist values appeared together in a story led to the story’s key message dominated by Confucianism. Thus, it presented the evidence of Confucian dominance and against liberal interpretations of the concept of the Common Roots of Three Religions (“tam giao đồng nguyen”) as religious unification or unicity. Second, the concept of “cultural additivity” could help explain many interesting socio-cultural phenomena, namely the absence of religious intolerance and extremism in the Vietnamese society, outrageous cases of sophistry in education, the low productivity in creative endeavors like science and technology, the misleading branding strategy in business. We are aware that our results are only preliminary and more studies, both theoretical and empirical, must be carried out to give a full account of the explanatory reach of “cultural additivity.”

РАЗВИТИЕ МОЛОДЕЖНЫХ ИНТЕРНЕТ-ИЗДАНИЙ ВО ВЬЕТНАМЕ

Transformation processes are taking place in the modern Vietnamese society associated with the development of virtual space and the emergence of electronic newspapers and magazines. This transformation also affects the youth audience, more receptive to everything new. Due to the fact that electronic publications have a greater impact on the youth audience than traditional newspapers and magazines, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as prospects for development, are considered. The author studies the most popular online publications in Vietnam - Vietnamnet, Vnexpress, 24h.com, Thanhnien.com.vn, Tuoitre.com. The paper analyzes their content in terms of significance for the youth audience.

Tourist and Local Resident Preferences for the Northern Yellow-Cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) Conservation Program in the Bach Ma National Park, Central Vietnam

Successful biodiversity conservation is closely linked to the support received from society. Therefore, a better understanding of public preferences for conservation activities facilitates successful conservation efforts. The objective of the study is to determine the preferences of tourists and local residents regarding the proposed conservation program of the northern yellow-cheeked gibbon ( Nomascus annamensis) and its economic value in the Bach Ma National Park, as well as to examine the factors that determine their willingness to pay (WTP) for the gibbon conservation. The WTP was estimated with the dichotomous choice contingent valuation method, and data were collected using face-to-face interviews with 710 participations, including 352 Vietnamese tourists and 358 local residents. The logistic regression model was applied to predict the probability of WTP for the program. A number of factors were found to be significant predictors of WTP that included bid level, visit, awareness, knowledge, distance, family size, and education. The mean WTP amount was estimated at about $US3.81/tourist and $US 2.93/household for one-time support of the gibbon conservation program. A significant difference was also found between the tourists and local residents in terms of the estimated WTP. Our findings suggest that there is a strong public support within Vietnamese society for the conservation of gibbons, which should be considered in the design of social policies for biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

‘Vietnam is my country land, China is my hometown’: Chinese communities in transition in the south of Vietnam

ABSTRACTStudies of Southeast Asian Chinese are voluminous; yet, those about the Chinese in Vietnam are comparatively few. This article provides an updated account of the Chinese Vietnamese with focuses on the Chinese associations in the South of Vietnam and the shifting Chinese identity. Many have discussed the Chinese Vietnamese who fled Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s, however, little is known about the plights of the Chinese inside Vietnam during those decades. This article elaborates on their situations in the post-unification decade in Ho Chi Minh City and the subsequent changes after the doi moi reforms in the 1990s. It will show how a liberalized economy and accommodative ethnic policies have resulted in a more proactive relationship between the Chinese minority and the Vietnamese society, which consequentially led to changes in the relationship between the Chinese in Vietnam and China.

Acculturation and severity of depression among first-generation Vietnamese outpatients in Germany.

Challenges of migration, particularly concerning the process of acculturation are associated with an increased risk of mental illness. Vietnamese migrants constitute the largest Southeast Asian migrant group in Germany, yet there is no data on the relationship between the mental health status and acculturation among this population. Therefore, the present study examines the relationship between two well-established dimensions of acculturation, that is, dominant society immersion (DSI) and ethnic society immersion (ESI), the four resulting acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization), and severity of depression. A sample of N = 113 first-generation Vietnamese outpatients from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for Vietnamese migrants in Germany was studied regarding their self-reported depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)) and acculturation (Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS)). Consistent with the hypotheses, patients reported less severe depressive symptoms, when they reported higher orientation toward the German and the Vietnamese society. Moreover, the results showed that integrated patients reported a lower severity of depression compared to marginalized patients, who reported the highest severity of depression. The findings indicate that among a sample of first-generation Vietnamese patients with depression, an orientation to both, the mainstream society and one's heritage society might serve as a potential resource. The rejection of any orientation to any society is associated with an increased risk for depression.

The International Ceramics Trade and Social Change in the Red River Delta in the Early Modern Period

Abstract Nishimura Masanari argued that the construction of enclosed-type levees caused the water level of the Red River to rise in seventeenth-century northern Vietnam, and he suggested that this phenomenon triggered social changes that brought about the establishment of Vietnamese “traditional society,” represented by the autonomous villages of the Red River Delta. Nishimura’s archaeological discussion of the transition from horseshoe-shaped levees to enclosed-type levees suggests new ways of studying socioeconomic change in early modern Vietnam. This article examines the utilization of the dry riverbed area of the Red River near Hanoi and tracks changes in the position of the levee near the neighboring villages of Bát Tràng and Kim Lan from the seventeenth century onward. The article shows that Nishimura’s argument concerning the levee network makes it possible to locate the establishment of early modern Vietnamese society in the “Age of Commerce.”

The Impact of Sinolanguage Towards Vietnamese Society in the Early xxth Century: Through the Study of Sinolanguage in the NÔM Customary Documentation

The Impact of Sinolanguage Towards Vietnamese Society in the Early xxth Century: Through the Study of Sinolanguage in the NÔM Customary Documentation

Vietnam. Essential trade: Vietnamese women in a changing marketplace By Ann Marie Leshkowich Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, Pp. 252. Photos, Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Essential trade: Vietnamese women in a changing marketplace By ANN MARIE LESHKOWICH Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2014, Pp. 252. Photos, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Ann Marie Leshkowich's anthropological writings on postwar Vietnam have been among the most insightful about the shifting dynamics of class and gender in the fast-changing country. Her sharp analyses based on astute observations and long years of engagement with social and economic life in the urban milieu of Ho Chi Minh City should be required reading for scholars and students of contemporary Vietnamese society. Essential Trade will soon become a classic. Its meticulously crafted ethnography of female traders in the signature market of the city, Ben Thanh, tells us as much about everyday lives and economic practices as about the political-economic transformations that have been shaping these lives and practices in past decades. Leshkowich carried out the first stretch of her ethnographic research on Ben Thanh market between 1995 and 1997 and after that revisited the market and maintained relationships with the women traders in her study over a decade. She was thus able to document long-term developments in the market, although the dynamics of the mid-1990s seem central to her arguments. The mid-1990s were fascinating times, with much reshuffling and experimentation in a society that had just emerged from decades of central planning, war and internal geographical and ideological divisions. Almost a decade following the formal introduction of economic reforms (doi moi), the political economy remained laden with anxieties about an unknown future in which past regional and class antagonisms and ideological forces continued to loom large alongside the greater penetration of global ideas, linkages, and institutions. The Vietnamese state was taking further steps in advancing what it termed market socialism, a system in which a market economy operates under the Communist Party's political monopoly. As a symbolic marker of Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Thanh market represents a space that simultaneously invokes a traditional past (despite it being an emblem of colonial civilisation) and a future in which the South regains its stature as the economic engine of the country, a place infused with the contradictions of the new economy. In Leshkowich's skilful ethnography, the lives and livelihood strategies of women traders in Ben Thanh market do not just bear the marks of the uncertain political economy of post-war Vietnam, they are agents in the reproduction and remaking of it. Central to her analysis of their trading practices, which includes managing the relationship to local cadres and the state, their family life, spirituality and consumption, is the notion of essentialism, the idea that socially and historically contructed categories are taken as naturally given. Accordingly, certain qualities are attributed to particular groups in society as innate characteristics, creating a social and moral order in which some are necessarily of lower value than the other. …

Balancing costs and benefits in Vietnam’s hydropower industry: a strategic proposal

PurposeOne of the main strategic targets in the national power development plan of Vietnam is to give priority to hydropower. However, there is evidence that the most “at risk” in Vietnamese society have, to date, broadly failed to benefit from hydropower development but rather have become more vulnerable. This paper aims to broaden the perspective of decision makers (government agencies, investors and banks) in the hydropower industry regarding the environmental and social impacts of unrestrained development and the critical need to not only reduce disaster risk for communities but also provide a sustainable model for Vietnam’s energy demand.Design/methodology/approachThis position paper presents a critique of public policy in Vietnam related to hydropower industry, undertaken alongside an analysis of socio-economic community resilience and disaster risk reduction literature.FindingsSmall hydropower investment must be delayed until measures are put in place to ensure that multi-stakeholder risk is a central component of the investment dialogue. Current pricing policies are not aligned with the hydropower development management, and this erects barriers to environmentally and socially conscious decision-making.Practical implicationsThis paper suggests that the development of small hydropower projects must be curtailed until new measures are put in place. This has practical implications for investors, policy makers and residents of affected areas. The authors argue for a significant shift in government strategy toward building resilience as opposed to growth and profit at any cost.Social implicationsConscious of Vietnam’s energy demands and development goals, this paper investigates the context of increasing disaster risk and ecological pressures, as well as social injustice relating to the hydropower industry. This kind of analysis can support future efforts to reduce disaster risk and the vulnerability of marginalized groups in Vietnam.Originality/valueThe authors present a comprehensive review of Vietnamese hydropower from a disaster resilience perspective and provide analysis that will be useful in further research in this emerging area.

“Above must be above, and below must be below”: enactment of relational school leadership in Vietnam

Over the past 20 years, relational theories of leadership have gained increased traction in the global discourse in educational leadership. This is observable in the increased frequency with which scholars have begun to construct leadership within the sociocultural and institutional systems of different societies. This study addressed the question, “How is effective school leadership constructed in the multi-faceted education context of modern day Vietnam?” We employed a multi-site case study research design to collect qualitative data from several stakeholder groups in three Vietnamese schools. Analysis centered on describing and synthesizing how principal leadership was constructed in these settings. This study “contextualized school leadership” by describing how leadership themes of managing relationships, preserving harmony, and teacher empowerment were shaped by institutional, political and socio-cultural forces in Vietnamese society. The findings support the importance of contextualizing leadership in order to understand differences in how “effective school leadership” is constructed and understood across different societies.

Foundational Myths in the Republic of Vietnam (1955–1975): “Harnessing” the Hùng Kings against Ngô Đình Diệm Communists, Cowboys, and Hippies for Unity, Peace, and Vietnameseness

Many Vietnamese consider the Hung Kings, who allegedly ruled from 2879 to 258 BCE, to be their ancestors and the founders of their nation. Not concerned with the historicity of the Hung Kings, this article focuses on the role of the narrative of the Hung Kings in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) between 1955 and 1975. During different periods of the RVN, attitudes toward the Hung Kings varied from a denial of their importance to attempts to use them to mobilize people for agendas that ranged from anti-Communism to antiwar sentiment to anti-Westemism. Those not inclined to employ this narrative questioned its historicity. Those who did employ it relegated proof of the kings' historical existence to secondary place. By bringing the Hung Kings into their discourses they were establishing them not necessarily as historical but primarily as a sockl fact transmitted through collective memory. Based on archival materials and publications, this article examines the agendas of those who harnessed the Hung King narrative. It also compares the Hung Kings' status in the RVN to that in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), highlighting differences and similarities between the two. I argue that the Hung Kings represent the complexity of South Vietnamese society and of the idea of being Vietnamese. This is the first study of the Hung Kings in South Vietnam.

Towards a sustainable plan for new tube houses in Vietnam

In Vietnam, the history of cities can easily be seen through their urban patterns, landscapes and housing typologies. Most recently, the economic reform in 1986 has resulted in huge impact on the Vietnamese society. The rapid economic growth and privatisation of the market has resulted in the appearance and significant development of the “new tube house” which soon became the most dominant housing type in Vietnam. Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, has a long history and also is very rich in architectural styles and typologies which are reflected in its urban pattern. However, there is no actual clear boundary in urban scale as the new tube houses are scattered all over the city and they are adapted differently to the contexts. This paper aims to investigate how the traditional urban tube houses in Hanoi transformed into the new tube house and, on the other hand, present the results of a survey conducted in Vietnam on how these houses respond to the Vietnam local climate and perform in terms of energy consumption.

THE USE OF MEDICINES IN TREATING HYPERTENSION IN HUE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Background: Hypertension is a common condition in the world as well as in Viet Nam. If hypertension isn’t treated well, it can cause many serious complications. Controlling target blood pressure will bring positive effects on reducing mortality rate and also disabilities caused by diseases related to hypertension. Objectives: (1) Analyzing the use of medicines in treating hypertension. (2) Evaluating the effects of medicine usage in treating hypertension at the hospital of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Materials and methods: 388 patients were diagnosed as having hypertension with inpatient care at the Cardiovascular Department of Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy’s hospital, using cross-sectional descriptive study methods. Results: All antihypertensive drugs in the research were contained in the antihypertensive list recommended by Vietnamese Society of Cardiology. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and calcium channel blocker were the two most popular drug groups (96.6% and 71.4%, respectively). The rate of using multi-therapy regimens was higher than the rate of using uni-therapy regimens in both initial therapies (64.7%>35.3%) and final therapies (61.9%>38.1%). The rate of patients having interactions between antihypertensive drugs and the other kinds of drugs was 7.5%. The rate of patients having reasonable prescriptions was 84.3%. Evaluating the effects of medicine usage in treatments showed that the rate of patients reaching target blood pressure before leaving the hospital was 67.3%. Most patients were evaluated as having good prognosis after treatment, up to 81.7%. Conclusions: All antihypertensive drugs in the research were contained in the antihypertensive list recommended by Vietnamese Society of Cardiology. The rate of using multi-therapy regimens was higher than the rate of using uni-therapy regimens. The rate of drug interactions was quite low; most patients were evaluated as having good prognosis after treatment. Key words: hypertension, antihypertensive drugs.