Updates

More Dong for Your Buck: Rough Road Ahead?

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

One of Asia's most inflation-plagued economies, Vietnam, devalued its currency 8.5% Friday to help arrest mounting economic problems.  But analysts say Hanoi's Communist policy makers instead risk triggering a new and potentially uncontrollable round of price rises. This was excerpted from a 14 February Wall Street Journal article.  Back in December 2010, a Bloomberg article, quoting … Continue reading More Dong for Your Buck: Rough Road Ahead?

If Vietnam were your home instead of The United States you would…

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates ,

I recently came upon this site, which was created last year at first “as a way to show the magnitude of the BP Oil Spill. Through a number of conversations with visitors to the site, we realized that we had stumbled onto a very powerful concept. Representing large facts in relation to a person's own home is … Continue reading If Vietnam were your home instead of The United States you would…

What’s Hot

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , , , ,

…in Vietnam’s English language media as it relates to education.  Below is a sampling of articles that have recently appeared on English language newspaper websites here starting with the newest.  Why I quit? (Low salary is not the only thing that urges state employees to quit. If they are just working for money, many excellent … Continue reading What’s Hot

Internet Use and Top 20 Sites in Vietnam

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

Back in 1996, I remember going to one of the few Internet cafes in Hanoi, which featured exorbitant fees and very sluggish service.   In 2000, there were an estimated 200,000 Internet users in Vietnam.   As of December 2010,  26,784,035 people were online, according to the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center.  That's 30% of the  population (!).  The estimated “reach” of … Continue reading Internet Use and Top 20 Sites in Vietnam

2010 Foreign Remittances Set New Record

Mark A. Ashwill Updates ,

According to a recent Associated Press article, Vietnam received a record $8 billion in remittances last year.  One of the reasons for this is that many overseas Vietnamese sent their money to relatives in Vietnam to benefit from the higher interest rates offered by local banks.  Another reason mentioned in an interview with economist Nguyen … Continue reading 2010 Foreign Remittances Set New Record

Viet-Studies

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

Knowledge is like drugs -- if you have it, you share it with friends. Anonymous (from Viet-Studies) Attention Inside Higher Ed Readers:   Here is the link that IHE should have used to take you to the US-Vietnam Education Memo, posted on the Viet-Studies site.  One the most informative and interesting Vietnam-related websites in the world is Viet-Studies.Info, created … Continue reading Viet-Studies

Vietnam Studies Group

Mark A. Ashwill Updates

This listserv might be of interest to some of you.  As its website explains, “the Vietnam Studies Group maintains an email discussion list for scholarly topics. The list is unmoderated, but approval is required for subscription.” Members range from professional Vietnam scholars, including some “heavy hitters” who have written seminal works about Vietnam, to journalists, … Continue reading Vietnam Studies Group

Study Guides & Strategies in Vietnam

Mark A. Ashwill Commentary, Updates , ,

The Study Guides and Strategies (SGS) website, A public service helping learners to succeed since 1996, is one of the most useful and popular websites around for students and others striving to become better and more efficient learners.  Last year, the site had nearly 18 million “page views” and 8.6 million visitors, a new record.  SGS … Continue reading Study Guides & Strategies in Vietnam

Vietnam Begins 2011 with Critical Political Decisions

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

Below are some excerpts the winter 2010 Vietnomics update.    Summary Vietnam ended 2010 facing internal challenges and a chorus of foreign analysts raising questions about whether the government has the will and the wherewithal to handle them.   Fortunately, the answers will begin coming in January (though not necessarily to the satisfaction of the international business community) when … Continue reading Vietnam Begins 2011 with Critical Political Decisions

Ambassador Michael Michalak’s Farewell Press Conference

Mark A. Ashwill Updates , ,

At his final press conference on 6 January, Michael Michalak, US Ambassador to Vietnam, began his prepared remarks with these statements:  I arrived in Hanoi in August 2007. Over the past nearly three and a half years, we have together witnessed many milestones.  In trade, education, security cooperation, we have made truly amazing progress. It’s no … Continue reading Ambassador Michael Michalak’s Farewell Press Conference