Every year thousands of families experience a major life-changing event when they are torn from their homeland and become refugees. Little is known about how the refugee experience impacts the family and how members perceive it affects their sense of family identity. The construct of family identity as proposed by Bennett, Wolin, & McAvity (1988) includes: (a) family membership, (b) quality of day to day life, and (c) an elusive historical dynamic that includes recollections and beliefs about a family's past. The purpose of this study was to explore the third component, that is, how family history affects family identity. This was done by asking family members how they perceive that their experience, the discrete event of being refugees, shaped, and continues to shape, their sense of family identity. Seventeen members from ten refugee families who fled Cambodia and Vietnam and who subsequently resettled in the United States between 1975 and 1990, were interviewed. Transcripts were qualitatively analyzed. Findings support the two primary components of the family identity construct as well as the existence of a third component. The experience of being a refugee influences (in both expected and unexpected ways) how members perceive their family identity. / Graduation date: 1997

“Beyond the Battlefield: Direct and Prosthetic Memory of the American War in Viet Nam” examines shifts in American, Viet Namese, and Philippine memorial, literary, and cinematic remembrance of the war through the cultural lenses of later wars: the Gulf War (1990-1991) and the “War on Terror” that began in 2001. As opposed to earlier portrayals of the American War in Viet Nam (1964-1975), turn-to-the-twenty-first-century representations engage in an ever-broadening collected cultural memory—a compilation of multifaceted, sometimes competing, individual and group memories—of the war. “Beyond the Battlefield” begins with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (1982) because it serves as the impetus for active participation in the reception and creation of memory. It traces a multifaceted collected cultural memory pattern through the stages of recognition for servicewomen, American women, Viet Namese Women, and reconciliation between soldiers and civilians as well as between Americans and the Viet Namese—veterans and civilians alike. Ultimately, a collected cultural memory of the war encourages prosthetic memory—memories of the war acquired via mediated representation by those with no direct experience in or hereditary connection to the war. Prosthetic memory permits an ongoing memory of the war that refuses to relegate the war to the forgotten past.

The ongoing transformation of centrally planned societies into market economies poses many difficult questions regarding large scale institutional reform. How far to go, how fast, and in which order? Until now, the debate has been mainly theoretical. As the reforms progress, however, we need to compare the theoretical predictions with the empirical evidence. Financial intermediation is one sector in which the gap between socialism and capitalism is particular large, and the development of commercial banking has often proved to be a bottleneck in the reform process. Empirical examination of financial reform is therefore urgent. This dissertation explores the development of the Vietnamese state banks during the early 1990s. It highlights the lengthy process of altering the formal model and informal rules governing the bank organizations. The official socialist ideology is the source of many problems. First, it means that state ownership remains, enabling the government to intervene easily in the banks’ operations. The ideology’s informal role is arguably even more important, because it leaves unclear how bankers should act when profit maximization conflicts with social responsibility. Uncertainty will prevail as long as bankers and banking authorities have only partially converted to a new set of norms. Accordingly, the formal financial sector will fail to florish. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.</p><p></p><p>A revised version of this dissertation has been published as: Román, Lisa, Institutions in Transition – Vietnamese State Bank  Reform, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston 1999.</p>

Neonatal mortality remains a problem worldwide, despite the existence of low-cost and evidence-based interventions. Unfortunately, the translation of these interventions into practice is deficient. The aim of this thesis was to study aspects of knowledge translation (KT) before and during the Neonatal Knowledge Into Practice (NeoKIP) trial in Quang Ninh, Vietnam. Over a period of three years, this trial evaluated the use of facilitators from the Women’s Union who supported maternal and newborn health groups (MNHG) comprised of eight local stakeholders, as an intervention for improved neonatal survival. In the first two studies (before intervention) we assessed primary health care staff’s knowledge and material preparedness regarding evidence-based neonatal care and explored how primary health care staff translated knowledge into practice. The last two studies (during intervention) were process evaluations aimed at describing the implementation, process and mechanism of the NeoKIP intervention. Primary health care workers achieved 60% of the maximum score in the knowledge survey. Two separate geographical areas were identified with differences in staff levels of knowledge and concurrent disparities in neonatal survival, antenatal care and post-natal home visits. Staff perceived formal training to be the best way to acquire knowledge but asked for more interaction between colleagues within the healthcare system. Traditional medicine, lack of resources, low workload and poorly paid staff constituted barriers for the development of staff knowledge and skills. Eleven facilitators were trained to cover eight facilitator positions. Of the 44 MNHGs, 43 completed their activities to the end of the study. In total, 95% of the monthly meetings with a MNHG and a facilitator were conducted with attendance at 86%. MNHGs identified 32 unique problems, mainly families’ knowledge/behavior, and implemented 39 unique actions, mostly regarding communication. MNHGs experienced that the group was strategically composed to influence change in the communes and facilitators were identified as being important to sustaining activities over time. The facilitators’ lack of health knowledge was regarded as a deficit in assisting the MNHGs, but their performance and skills increased over time. This low-cost model, building on local stakeholder involvement, has the capacity to be scaled up within existing healthcare structures.

In the context of transitional Vietnam, although cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been shown to cause a large burden of mortality and morbidity in hospitals, little is known about the magnitude of its burden, risk factor levels and its relationship with socio-demographic status in the overall population. This thesis provides a preliminary insight into population-based knowledge of the CVD epidemiology in rural Vietnam and contributes to the development of methodologies for monitoring it. The ultimate goal of the work is to facilitate the formulation of evidence-based health interventions for reducing the burden of the CVD epidemic in Vietnam and elsewhere. This work was located in Bavi district, a rural community in the north of Vietnam. Studies on cause-specific mortality and risk factors were conducted within the framework of an ongoing Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) (called FilaBavi). The cause-specific mortality study used a verbal autopsy (VA) approach to identify causes of death in FilaBavi during 1999-2003. The risk factor study, conducted in 2002, employed the WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance of non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors (WHO STEPS). Findings indicated that Bavi district, as an example of rural Vietnam, was already experiencing high rates of CVD mortality and associated risk factors. Mortality results indicated a substantial proportion of deaths due to CVD, which was the leading cause of death (20% and 25.7% of total mortality in 1999 and 2000, respectively and 32% of adult deaths during 1999-2003), exceeding infectious diseases. Hypertension was found to be a serious problem in terms both of its magnitude (14% of the population) and widespread unawareness (82% of the hypertensives). Smoking prevalence was very high among men (58% current daily smokers) and might be expected to cause a considerable number of future deaths without urgent action. CVD mortality and some risk factors seemed to be rising among disadvantaged groups (women, less educated people and the poor). The combination of DSS and WHO STEPS methodologies was shown to have potential for addressing basic epidemiological questions as to how NCD and CVD mortality and associated risk factors are distributed in populations. Given this evidence, actions to prevent CVD in Bavi and similar settings are clearly urgent. Interventions should be comprehensive and integrated, including both primary and secondary approaches, as well as policy-level involvement. Further studies, continuing on similar lines, plus qualitative approaches and deeper cross-site comparisons, are also needed to give further insights into CVD epidemiology in this type of setting.

The project identifies how the female owners of small and medium sized businesses deal with the issue of work and family balance in Vietnam – a developing country in Asia.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to explore the Vietnamese market for Electronic Road Tolls. Company X is a world wide supplier of electronic toll systems. They are focusing on systems that will reduce traffic congestion in cities or congestion created by road charge toll systems. Company X has been active in the South East Asia for over 10 years. Now they want to explore new markets in this region. The company is interested in developing countries where road infrastructure is expanding. Since Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia Company X is interested in if it is a market they should enter.   Research questions:  Should Company X enter the Vietnamese market? If yes, which entry strategy should be used entering this market?   Method: To analyze Company X’s internal and external environment I have used different theoretical methods, PEST analysis, Micro / Macro environmental analysis and with the SWOT framework I have summarized recommendations based on the facts I have gathered. I have also investigated different entry strategies to see what is most suitable for a Company X. I have collected data via interviews, literature and internet sources.   Result &amp; Conclusions: Short term Company X has the opportunity to come in with their products into Vietnam with a co-operation with Competitor A. They will set up a test system at one toll plaza between the airport and Hanoi with two lane dedicated for EFC and Company X is their first choice if they are competitive. This will give them the opportunity to be first on this market to implement microwave equipment in Vietnam and an opportunity to set the standard in the country for the future.  Suggestions for future research: The empirical data in this thesis is mainly gathered from secondary sources. The information would have been more accurate with more primary data.   Contribution of the thesis: This thesis shows that large investments in road infrastructure are coming up in Vietnam. This thesis also shows that currently there is low activity from competitors using the same technology and this was not previously known by Company X.

Encompassing both urban and rural processes, the peri-urban interface (PUI) provides a unique and challenging arena for environmental management. As the urban core expands, the PUI industrializes and urbanizes, undergoing rapid social, economic, and environmental changes. One of the results of this transformation is often an increase in pollutants and environmental degradation. In the twenty years since the initiation of its reforms towards a more market-oriented economy, Vietnam has seen significant growth, much of this occurring within the industrial sector in and around urban hubs such as Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Rapid urbanization and industrialization has occurred with limited control, and a trend has emerged where industrial activity has moved out of the urban core and into the PUI. Despite ongoing efforts, the government of Vietnam, as in other Asian countries, is unable to fully regulate firms illegally releasing untreated and often highly polluted wastewater. The result is that farmers in HCMC’s PUI must now contend with lower crop yields or even failures – and food safety concerns due to an influx of pollutants in irrigation waters. Combining a rights-based approach and a good governance approach, this research describes the constraints on both farmers and government officials that prevent a resolution of farmers’ pollution problems. These constraints are argued to stem from systemic water governance issues in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam. They include poor communication between farmers and government officials, limited farmer participation in water management, a lack of integration between government agencies, little government accountability and transparency, and water management priorities that favour economic growth over environmental health. It is argued that strengthening farmers’ water rights could address these issues. However using a rights based approach would first require addressing gender inequities in community affairs, institutional changes to ensure the recognition of farmers’ rights in practice, compensating those harmed by pollution, and educating farmers on the legal system and the water rights it provides. In addition to addressing a general lack of literature on water governance in Vietnam, this research has implications for literature regarding peri-urban environmental management, good water governance, and the rights based approach. This research suggests that the challenges present in the PUI exacerbate and thus illuminate poor water governance practices that extend beyond the local scale. It also suggests that water rights be used as a possible platform to achieve good water governance. Lastly, it explores the potential challenges of implementing a rights based approach.

Encompassing both urban and rural processes, the peri-urban interface (PUI) provides a unique and challenging arena for environmental management. As the urban core expands, the PUI industrializes and urbanizes, undergoing rapid social, economic, and environmental changes. One of the results of this transformation is often an increase in pollutants and environmental degradation. In the twenty years since the initiation of its reforms towards a more market-oriented economy, Vietnam has seen significant growth, much of this occurring within the industrial sector in and around urban hubs such as Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Rapid urbanization and industrialization has occurred with limited control, and a trend has emerged where industrial activity has moved out of the urban core and into the PUI. Despite ongoing efforts, the government of Vietnam, as in other Asian countries, is unable to fully regulate firms illegally releasing untreated and often highly polluted wastewater. The result is that farmers in HCMC’s PUI must now contend with lower crop yields or even failures – and food safety concerns due to an influx of pollutants in irrigation waters. Combining a rights-based approach and a good governance approach, this research describes the constraints on both farmers and government officials that prevent a resolution of farmers’ pollution problems. These constraints are argued to stem from systemic water governance issues in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam. They include poor communication between farmers and government officials, limited farmer participation in water management, a lack of integration between government agencies, little government accountability and transparency, and water management priorities that favour economic growth over environmental health. It is argued that strengthening farmers’ water rights could address these issues. However using a rights based approach would first require addressing gender inequities in community affairs, institutional changes to ensure the recognition of farmers’ rights in practice, compensating those harmed by pollution, and educating farmers on the legal system and the water rights it provides. In addition to addressing a general lack of literature on water governance in Vietnam, this research has implications for literature regarding peri-urban environmental management, good water governance, and the rights based approach. This research suggests that the challenges present in the PUI exacerbate and thus illuminate poor water governance practices that extend beyond the local scale. It also suggests that water rights be used as a possible platform to achieve good water governance. Lastly, it explores the potential challenges of implementing a rights based approach.

This thesis examines the bilateral trade between Vietnam and twenty three European countries based on a gravity model and panel data for years 1993 to 2004. Estimates indicate that economic size, market size and real exchange rate of Vietnam and twenty three European countries play major role in bilateral trade between Vietnam and these countries. Distance and history, however, do not seem to drive the bilateral trade. The results of gravity model are also applied to calculate the trade potential between Vietnam and twenty three European countries. It shows that Vietnam’s trade with twenty three European countries has considerable room for growth.