Vietnam-North Korea : communism could not unite them, can capitalism?

For more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/Dr. Huong Le Thu, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, explains that “Today, the relationship may have an opportunity for a new chapter – one that is based not on a common ideology, but by a desire for economic growth and development.

Inequality in Vietnamese Urban-Rural Living Standards, 1993-2006

Using data from five waves of the Vietnam Household Living Standard Survey, we find evidence of significant urban-rural expenditure inequality. Urban-rural inequality in Vietnam increased dramatically from 1993 to 1998, and peaked in 2002 before reducing slightly in 2004, and significantly in 2006. The urban-rural gap also monotonically increases across the expenditure distribution. We use a variant of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition method, applied to the unconditional quantile regression method of Firpo, Fortin and Lemieux (2009), to explain the components of the per capita expenditure differentials between urban and rural households at selected quantiles of the distribution. We also compare these estimates with those at mean obtained by OLS. Our results show a number of factors contributing significantly to the high urban-rural gap. These include inter-group differences in education, household demographic structure, industrial structure and their related returns. Adjusting the average characteristics of rural households to those of urban households will reduce about a half of the overall urban-rural expenditure gap. A significant part of the remaining unexplained component lies in the intercept differences; that is, the inter-group differences in other factors not captured in the model that favor urban households.urban-rural inequality, Vietnam, unconditional quantile regression, Oaxaca decomposition

On the Governance of Innovation: Institutional Ownership vs. Stock Price

Firms can change their outstanding shares to manage their stock price levels. Those with lower stock prices tend to attract more speculative trading, which causes higher price volatility and may force their managers to excessively focus on short-term earnings at the expense of R&D and other long-term projects. Thus, I hypothesize that keeping high stock price levels allows firms to (i) limit speculative traders’ influences on stock prices and thus mitigate investor short-termism, and (ii) enhance R&D productivity. Indeed, I find that high-priced firms are less likely to cut R&D to reverse an earnings decline, less likely to fire their CEOs, and have more innovation. All these findings are robust after controlling for institutional ownership, a factor that has been shown in the literature to have a correlation with share price and also have a significant impact on R&D policies and innovation. For robustness checks, I examine stock splits, which allow mangers to re-set their stock price levels, and IPOs in which managers set an offering price range before shares are publicly traded. Consistent with my hypothesis, I discover that innovative firms are less likely to split their stocks, and that innovation declines after firms split their stocks. Furthermore, IPO firms that set higher offering prices, not those that attract more institutional ownership, have more future innovation. Thus, the results imply that, rather than being “forced” or “assured” by institutional investors to innovate as the extant literature suggests, managers of innovative firms actively support high stock price levels to foster innovation

VIETNAMESE LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS AMERICAN AND BRITISH ACCENTS

English possesses different varieties due to its worldwide usage which challenges the tendency of favorite accents among EFL classrooms in non-English speaking countries. However, learners show more positive familiarity and preference for General American English (GA) and British English, Received Pronunciation (RP) which are grouped as the inner-circle of English. This study investigated 53 students in a university in southern part of Vietnam. They were asked to complete an online questionnaire which examined their evaluations of two accents on different traits of status and solidarity, their preference and familiarity. A verbal guise technique is employed with two female native speakers. The data was analyzed by SPSS with different T-tests and ANOVA. The study revealed that the respondents showed greater recognition and evaluations for GA which associated with prestige, familiarity and social attractiveness. Nearly two-thirds of participants revealed a preference to the American speaker although more than half of them did not recognize where she was from

Activity of fungal and bacterial endophytes for the biological control of the root-knot nematode <em>Meloidogyne graminicola</em> in rice under oxic and anoxic soil conditions

Two endophytic Fusarium moniliforme isolates Fe1 and Fe14, an endophytic bacterium Bacillus megaterium Bm and a rhizosphere Trichoderma isolate T30 with known antagonistic activity toward the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne graminicola were studied for bio-enhancement of rice under glasshouse conditions. The level of colonization of Fe1 and Fe14 in the rice root under oxic and anoxic soil environments was investigated. The fungi were inoculated twice to the rice seeds using seed treatment and soil drenching methods at a rate of 106 cfu/ seed and 105 cfu/ seedling respectively. Both Fe1 and Fe14 isolates colonized well in the rice roots under oxic and anoxic soil water regimes with colonization rate ranged between 50-89%. The fungi colonized all parts of the roots though the preferable zone was the root periphery. The level of colonization decreased over time, from 56% after 8 weeks to 27% after 12 weeks of incubation. Both isolates did not show consistent effect on the growth of rice. The mechanisms of action of the endophytic F. moniliforme isolate Fe14 was studied intensively under glasshouse conditions. In these experiments, Fe14 was also inoculated twice by seed coating and soil drenching techniques. The fungus reduced nematode penetration into the rice root significantly by up to 55% compared to the control. In a split-root experimental design, the fungus showed induced systemic resistance in rice when one half of the root system was treated with fungal spores while the other half was inoculated with the root-knot nematode. Root exudates from fungal treated plants showed repellent effect toward M. graminicola in a plastic test chamber. Fe14 also altered nematode development expressing by significantly higher number of males in fungal treated plants. Furthermore, Fe14 reduced the number of females and number of eggs per female compared to those of the control treatment. In addition, Fe14 exhibited high level of biocontrol under anoxic soil conditions by reducing the total number of nematodes in the endorhiza significantly by 45%. Influence of inoculation time and method on biocontrol efficacy of Fe14 was also evaluated. In the first test, the ability of Fe14 for early protection of M. graminicola was tested in comparison to other antagonistic fungi. Out of the five fungi tested, F. moniliforme Fe1 and Fe14, F. oxysporum Fo162, Fusarium F28 and Trichoderma T30, only Trichoderma T30 was able to reduce nematode infestation in rice seedlings when both nematode and fungi were inoculated at sowing. However, Fe14 remained its biocontrol activity against the rice root-knot nematode 10 weeks after fungal inoculation. The effectiveness of different inoculation methods of Fe14 was also investigated. Both seed treatment and soil drenching methods led to similarly significant reductions in nematode damage. Double inoculations of Fe14, one at sowing and the other one repeated three weeks later did not result in significantly higher biocontrol level compared to single inoculation at sowing. To enhance biocontrol efficacy, Fe14 was combined with Trichoderma T30 and the endophytic bacterium B. megaterium Bm in various greenhouse experiments. The three antagonists were first tested for their compatibility in vitro. No clear mutual exclusive was observed in any pair tests. Dual application of Fe14 and T30 in vivo reduced nematode infestation significantly compared to the control but the difference between single and combined treatments was not significant. Similarly, when Fe14 was combined simultaneously or in a staggered time manner with T30 and Bm, galling severity caused by M. graminicola significantly reduced by 20-70% compared to the control. However, none of the combinations led to significantly higher level of biocontrol compared to single applications and thus, single treatments of each biocontrol agent was adequate.Wirksamkeit pilzlicher und bakterieller Endophyten für die Bekämpfung der Wuzelgallennematode Meloidogyne graminicola an Reis unter aeroben und anaeroben Bedingungen Für die biologische Kontrolle von Meloidogyne graminicola unter kontollierten Bedingungen wurden zwei endophytische Isolate von Fusarium moniliforme (Fe1 und Fe14), ein endophytisches Bakterium Bacillus megaterium Bm und ein Rhizosphärenisolat Trichoderma T30 mit bekannten antagonistischen Wirkungen genutzt. Die Kolonisationsraten von Fe1 und Fe14 in der Reiswurzel unter aeroben und anaeroben Bedingungen wurden untersucht. Der Pilz wurde zweimal an die Reissamen inokuliert, jeweils durch Samenbeizung und Tauchinokulation mit einer Rate von 106 cfu/ Samen und 105 cfu/ Pflanze. Beide Isolate Fe1 und Fe14 kolonisierten die Reiswurzeln undter anaeroben und aeroben Bedingungen mit Raten von 50 bis 89%. Der Pilz kolonisierte alle Teile der Wurzel, wobei die hauptsächliche Besiedlung an der Wurzelperipherie lag. Die Kolonisation ging über die Zeit zurück, von 56% nach 8 Wochen auf 27% nach 12 Wochen Inkubationszeit. Beide Isolate zeigten keinen Effekt auf das Wachstum der Reispflanzen. Die Wirkungsweise des Endophyten F. moniliforme Isolat Fe14 wurde unter Gewächshausbedingungen intensiv untersucht. In diesen Experimenten wurde der Pilz ebenfalls zweimal durch Samenbeizung und Tauchinokulation zu den Pflanzen gegeben. Der Pilz reduzierte die Nematodenpenetration signifikant um bis zu 55% im Vergleich zur Kontrolle. Durch ein experimentelles Design in welchem die Wurzeln räumlich voneinander getrennt wurden, wurde eine induzierte Resistenz an Reis nachgewiesen. Hierbei wurde nur eine Hälfte des Wurzelsystems mit Sporen des Endophyten behandelt und die andere Hälfte mit Nematoden inokuliert. Wurzelexudate der pilzlich behandelten Pflanzen zeigten eine abweisende Wirkung gegen M. graminicola in Plastiktestkammerversuchen. Fe14 verursachte eine Verschiebung des Geschlechtsverhältnisses. Die Anzahl der Weibchen und die Anzahl der Eier pro Weibchen wurde im Vergleich zur Kontrollvariante reduziert. Zusätzlich wurde eine sehr starke biologische Konrolle durch Fe14 unter anaeroben Bedingungen erziehlt. Die Anzahl der Nematoden in der Endorhiza wurde um 45% reduziert. Der Einfluß der Inokulationszeit und -methode auf biologische Kontrollaktivität von Fe14 wurde ebenfalls untersucht. Im ersten Test wurde die Fähigkeit von Fe14 für die frühzeitige Kontrolle von M. graminicola im Vergleich zu anderen antagonistischen Pilzen untersucht. Von den fünf getesteten Pilzen, F. moniliforme Fe1 und Fe14, F. oxysporum Fo162, Fusarium F28 und Trichoderma T30, konnte nur Trichoderma T30 die Nematodenpopulation reduzieren, wenn Nematode und Pilz zur Saat inokuliert wurden. Die Effektivität verschiedener Inokulationsmethoden wurde an Fe14 ebenso untersucht. Sowohl die Samenbeizung als auch die Tauchinokulation führten zur signifikanten Reduktion der Nematodenpopulation. Um die biologische Kontrollaktivität zu erhöhen, wurde Fe14 mit Trichoderma T30 und B. megaterium kombiniert. Dadurch wurde die Vergallung der Wurzeln um 20-70% signifikant reduziert, jedoch zeigten sich keine Unterschiede in der Reduktion der Nematodenpopulation durch einzel oder kombinierte Inokulation der verschiedenen Organismen

Inequality in Vietnamese Urban-Rural Living Standards, 1993-2006

We investigate urban-rural inequality in Vietnam using data from the Vietnam Living Standard Surveys between 1993 and 2006. We find that mean per capita expenditure of urban households is consistently twice as much as that of rural households and that th

Vietnam and the Search for Security Leadership in ASEAN

Indonesia has traditionally been viewed as a de facto leader of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the regional body remains the cornerstone of Indonesian foreign policy. The paper addresses the question of whether other member states have become influential actors or even sectoral leaders in their own right by playing a direct role in a particular aspect of ASEAN affairs. This question is addressed by examining the regional policies of Vietnam, a country that has been mostly neglected in the existing ASEAN literature despite its strategic weight. The paper focuses on the evolving role of Vietnam in ASEAN and highlights its diplomatic initiatives, as well as various conditions to evaluate its potential to take up a leading security role in the regional body in the years to come

THE STATUS OF READING CULTURE OF STUDENTS THANH HOA UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM

Reading culture is extremely important in the process of studying and researching in universities. As a factor promoting the process of self-study, student research helps to innovate teaching and learning methods in the direction of learner-centered. The following article presents issues about the current situation of the reading culture of students - students studying at Thanh Hoa University of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Outline strengths, limitations and propose a solution. Some solutions contribute to the development of reading culture for students - students at the school