Can Vietnam Achieve One of its Millennium Development Goals? An analysis of schooling dropouts of children

The objectives of this study are to identify the underlying determinants of the schooling dropout in Vietnam and to project its trend in the future up to 2015. Our examination is largely based on the three Vietnam’s Living Standard Surveys conducted in 1992/93, 1997/98 and 2001/02 and the conventional framework of educational investment at the household level. The major determinants of the schooling dropout choice by households are found to be variables of child’s characteristics (such as age, working time, primary education, and number of siblings) and household economic situation (such as parental education, household’s per capita expenditure, and cost of schooling). In general, the effects of these determinants on the schooling dropout probability are statistically significant. In particular, the schooling dropout probability has been very sensitive to the changes in the household’s per capita expenditure and the direct costs of schooling, whereas recently the other determinants have had only minor impacts. In terms of schooling, girls have benefited more than boys did from their household's per capita expenditure increase, while they have suffered more than boys did from an increase in the direct cost of schooling. These differences, however, recently have narrowed substantially. The dropout situation is also regional specific and hence, a comprehensive approach is needed to deal with it. Moreover, at present the low quality of education is serious problem. Together with the parents' incorrect perception of and the community’s attitude to education values, this may increase the possibility of children’s schooling dropout. The dropout situation is also very much dependent on the public funding for education, which is still not effective in reducing the household current excessive financial burden and still biased against the poor regions. The projection outcomes of the schooling dropout probability of children in the future up to 2015 is very much depending on the assumptions of the changes in the household’s per capita expenditure and the cost of schooling. When the growth rate of the cost of schooling is much higher (for example, by 1.2 percentage points) than that of the household’s per capita expenditure, the dropout rate would first decrease and increase again after 2010. The tentative assessments suggest that in these cases, there is a chance for Vietnam to achieve the national targets of the primary and lower secondary net enrolment rates in 2010. However, Vietnam could very hardly to achieve the MDG on the universal completion of primary education in 2015 and moreover, the achievements recorded by 2010 would be deteriorated. Regarding the scenarios, where the pace of changes in the cost of schooling is lower than that of the household’s per capita expenditure, the projections seem to provide a rather bright picture in terms of achieving the national education targets in 2010 and the MDG on education in 2015. The projections also show that there is a reason to be more optimistic about the elimination of the gender gap in education by 2010.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40162/3/wp776.pd

Description of Hoplolaimus bachlongviensis sp. n. (Nematoda : Hoplolaimidae) from banana soil in Vietnam

Background The genus Hoplolaimus Daday, 1905 belongs to the subfamily Hoplolaimine Filipiev, 1934 of family Hoplolaimidae Filipiev, 1934 (Krall 1990). Daday established this genus on a single female of H. tylenchiformis recovered from a mud hole on Banco Island, Paraguay in 1905 (Sher 1963, Krall 1990). Hoplolaimus species are distributed worldwide and cause damage on numerous agricultural crops (Luc et al. 1990Robbins et al. 1998). In 1992, Handoo and Golden reviewed 29 valid species of genus Hoplolaimus Dayday, 1905 (Handoo and Golden 1992). Siddiqi (2000) recognised three subgenera in Hoplolaimus: Hoplolaimus (Hoplolaimus) with ten species, is characterized by lateral field distinct, with four incisures, excretory pore behind hemizonid; Hoplolaimus (Basirolaimus) with 18 species, is characterized by lateral field with one to three incisures, obliterated, excretory pore anterior to hemizonid, dorsal oesophageal gland quadrinucleate; and Hoplolaimus (Ethiolaimus) with four species is characterized by lateral field with one to three incisures, obliterated; excretory pore anterior to hemizonid, dorsal oesophageal gland uninucleate (Siddiqi 2000). Since then, Hoplolaimus puriensis Ali, Shaheen & Pervez, 2009 has been described (Ali et al. 2009). Up to now, there have been two species of genus Hoplolaimus reported in Vietnam, viz H. seinhorsti and H. chambus (Nguyen and Nguyen 2000). New information Hoplolaimus bachlongviensis sp. n. was isolated from banana soil in Bach Long Vi Island, Vietnam. The female of this species is described and illustrated below. Some diagnostic characters of this species include body slightly curved ventrally, offset lip region exhibiting three to four annules, lateral field reduced, pharyngeal glands with six nuclei, excretory pore anterior to hemizonid, epiptygma absent, intestine not overlapping rectum and male was not found

Can Vietnam Achieve One of its Millennium Development Goals? An analysis of schooling dropouts of children

The objectives of this study are to identify the underlying determinants of the schooling dropout in Vietnam and to project its trend in the future up to 2015. Our examination is largely based on the three Vietnam’s Living Standard Surveys conducted in 1992/93, 1997/98 and 2001/02 and the conventional framework of educational investment at the household level. The major determinants of the schooling dropout choice by households are found to be variables of child’s characteristics (such as age, working time, primary education, and number of siblings) and household economic situation (such as parental education, household’s per capita expenditure, and cost of schooling). In general, the effects of these determinants on the schooling dropout probability are statistically significant. In particular, the schooling dropout probability has been very sensitive to the changes in the household’s per capita expenditure and the direct costs of schooling, whereas recently the other determinants have had only minor impacts. In terms of schooling, girls have benefited more than boys did from their household's per capita expenditure increase, while they have suffered more than boys did from an increase in the direct cost of schooling. These differences, however, recently have narrowed substantially. The dropout situation is also regional specific and hence, a comprehensive approach is needed to deal with it. Moreover, at present the low quality of education is serious problem. Together with the parents' incorrect perception of and the community’s attitude to education values, this may increase the possibility of children’s schooling dropout. The dropout situation is also very much dependent on the public funding for education, which is still not effective in reducing the household current excessive financial burden and still biased against the poor regions. The projection outcomes of the schooling dropout probability of children in the future up to 2015 is very much depending on the assumptions of the changes in the household’s per capita expenditure and the cost of schooling. When the growth rate of the cost of schooling is much higher (for example, by 1.2 percentage points) than that of the household’s per capita expenditure, the dropout rate would first decrease and increase again after 2010. The tentative assessments suggest that in these cases, there is a chance for Vietnam to achieve the national targets of the primary and lower secondary net enrolment rates in 2010. However, Vietnam could very hardly to achieve the MDG on the universal completion of primary education in 2015 and moreover, the achievements recorded by 2010 would be deteriorated. Regarding the scenarios, where the pace of changes in the cost of schooling is lower than that of the household’s per capita expenditure, the projections seem to provide a rather bright picture in terms of achieving the national education targets in 2010 and the MDG on education in 2015. The projections also show that there is a reason to be more optimistic about the elimination of the gender gap in education by 2010.Vietnam, education, MDGs

Ageing and inter-generational relationships in Vietnam

This thesis investigates the intergenerational relationships of people aged 60 and over in the context of rapid population ageing and social change in Vietnam. The country is experiencing significant economic development and rising incomes while maintaining strongly embedded Confucian values and norms on family relationships, including respect for older people and filial piety. These relationships have been affected by the social disruptions of war, and continue to change with modernisation, urbanisation and other social processes that have contributed to modifying traditional norms and values for intergenerational relationships. Changing forms of the family, notable declines in multigenerational households and the rise of the modified extended family have been extensive over recent decades. This thesis aims to examine the variations and changes in living arrangements and intergenerational support exchange, social relationships (association, affection and consensus) and the life satisfaction of older people. The thesis applies concepts in sociology and multidisciplinary gerontology to a comprehensive set of secondary data that inform different aspects of the thesis topic. These include the Vietnam National Ageing Survey 2011 (VNAS 2011) (n = 2,789), the Vietnam Family Survey 2006 (VFS 2006) (n = 13,689), the WHO-SAGE INDEPTH survey 2006–2007 (WSI 2007) (n = 5,030) and the Regional Ageing Survey 1996–1997 (RAS 1996 – 1997) (n = 1,770). VNAS 2011 was used as the primary data source for the thesis as it was the first nation-wide survey on older people in Vietnam. To examine the living arrangements of older people, VNAS 2011 and RAS 1996–1997 have been analysed to investigate determinants and consequences of living arrangements. A majority of older people were found to be living in multi-generational households in 2011 (45%), but the proportion had declined from 56% in 1996–1997. Conversely, the proportions living alone or living only with a spouse have been rising. These findings reflect declining family size along with growing ‘independence’ among older people as they gain more economic resources and better health. No longer married older people are seen more in multi-generational households, living only with children or living alone than those who are married. Older people living alone or only with a spouse were found more in rural than urban areas. Multi-generational households were reported more in cities, which may be because of housing constraints in these areas. Changes in cultural preferences for living arrangements have been enabled by rising resources of the older and middle generations. The investigation provides support for an intergenerational exchange interpretation as a strong association was found between older people’s resources and vulnerabilities and support exchange with their children. As per traditional patrilineal norms, eldest adult sons were expected to continue living in their ageing parents’ households after marriage while they and their wife provide financial and practical support. Older people who have more resources were found to receive more financial support, but they receive less assistance in care and housework from adult children than older people who have fewer resources. Older people who have more resources also provided more assistance to adult children by doing housework and providing grandparenting, especially among those who live in multigenerational households. Social relationships between generations were reported to be changing rather than weakening. Adult children, regardless of their gender, were reported to pay more direct visits to older parents when they live nearby. When they live far apart, the distance was overcome by remittances and telephone communication as well as occasional visits. Daughters were found to be more frequently in their contact with parents than sons when living in separate households. The findings suggest a gender-basis for emotional relationships between generations within families. This thesis found that life satisfaction in later life is best predicted by older people’s health, economic status and living conditions as well as the social relationships among generations. The thesis also provides evidence on the ongoing importance of affectual solidarity between generations and the importance to older people’s life satisfaction of feeling respected by younger generations and participating in making important decisions in the family. This study is one of the first comprehensive studies of intergenerational relations in Vietnam. It suggests the value of an intergenerational approach for policy development towards older people and family relationships as well as the value of an age-friendly environment for older people, particularly for those who are vulnerable. Caution is required in applying the research findings to future generations of older people, who would have had different life experiences

The Impact of Increased Import Competition from the People’s Republic of China on Income Inequality and Household Welfare in Viet Nam

This paper examines the surge of imports from the PRC to Viet Nam from 2000 to 2014 in order to evaluate the effects of increased exposure to trade with the PRC on income inequality and household welfare in Viet Nam. Using household level data from the Viet Nam Household Living Standard Survey and combining it with measures of trade exposure, we find that increased imports led to a fall in inequality at the provincial and district level. We distinguish between intermediate and final goods and find similar results. In order to better understand the relative gains and losses across income groups, we apply a quantile regression approach. Our results indicate that increased imports were more often positively correlated with household income for households located in the lower quantiles. In contrast, for households in the upper quantiles the correlation is either negative or less pronounced

Economic performance of Vietnam, 1976-2000: New evidence from input-output model

This study provides a concise introduction to the economic history of Vietnam from 1976 to present. We identify different phases of the development of the Vietnamese economy, from its unification after a Vietnam war to the current phases of the transition (1989-2000) and propose a specific pattern of transition in the case of Vietnam. This research is the first attempt to make a synthesis quantitative analysis of socio-economic aggregate data during different phases of the Vietnamese economy in 1986-2000, in which different national input-output tables (1989, 1996 and 2000) in constant prices have been employed. The economic performances are investigated from three aspects: (i) evolution of domestic final demand; (ii) evolution of international trade structure and (iii) the technological change. The analysis shows economic history of Vietnam from 1986 up to present as a continuous evolutionary process and integration in to the international market is inevitable. Government programmes only played a vital role of accommodator to the economic changes of the Vietnamese economy.Input-output analysis, Vietnamese economy, Economic history, Transition economy, Macro-economic policy

EFFECT OF PERTURBATION ON THE CRITICAL REYNOLDS NUMBER IN NON-ISOTHERMAL PIPE FLOW

Heat transfer tests with perturbed flow indicate that the nature or the function Nu = f(Re) for the main Nusselt number permits to distinguish between laminar, transient and turbulent domains of non-isothermal air flow. Values of critical Reynolds numbers Recr and Re' cr separating laminar from transient, and transient from turbulent domains, resp., have been found to depend on the perturbation frequency. \With increasing frequency, Recr values decrease. A relationship has been given for determining Recr Experimental observations agree with conclusions drawn from the Tollmien - Schlichting theory or stability of laminar flows

Simultaneous state and input estimation with application to a two-link robotic system

This paper addresses the problem of estimating simultaneously the state and input of a nonlinear system with application to a two link robotic manipulator - the Pendubot. The system nonlinearity comprises a Lipschitz function with respect to the state, and a nonlinear term which is a function of both the state and input. It is shown that under some conditions, an observer can be designed to estimate simultaneously the system&rsquo;s state and input. Simulation and experimental results, obtained around the inverted equilibrium position, are presented to demonstrate the validity of the approach.<br /