Due to a combination of increasing demand for agricultural products and the proliferation of bootleg pesticide products, pesticide use in the Vietnamese agricultural industry has skyrocketed in the last couple of decades. While consumers are continually demanding blemish-free, “commodified” products that are usually only achievable with the use of pesticides, there are also rising concerns […]
Beauty is in The Eye of Society: Perceptions of Beauty in Vietnam
One of the first things I noticed when I first arrived in Vietnam is how all the women are covered from head to toe…when it is scalding outside! This initial observation led to my interest in the perceptions of beauty in Vietnam and how they are different from those of the U.S. I am now […]
Reflections on the concept of “Home”: Where Money, Livelihood, and Culture Intercept
During our housing tour, it wasn’t my first time in this area of District 7. I went to the same area for shopping with my coworkers and was amazing by the development and the enormous size of the Western style mall. I felt like I was back in America, wasting time and money in the […]
A Tale of Two Riverbanks: Perspectives on Development in Ho Chi Minh City
A few days ago, my roommate and I were riding along the Saigon River on a wide and immaculately paved highway in District 1. The road had two separate lanes; one was for cars and the other for motorbikes, and the traffic lights were configured to account for both types of vehicles. The sides of […]
Haste Makes Waste: Observing Consumer Trash Habits in Ho Chi Minh City
Like many other developing countries, Vietnam faces environmental degradation due to its rapid economic growth. One major problem is improper waste management exacerbated by an increasing urban population and changing consumer habits. With higher incomes come changing consumer habits, more convenience foods, and more waste. This waste is usually plastics, Styrofoam and other food packaging […]
Peddlers’ Livelihoods: Mobile Street Vendors in Ho Chi Minh City
“A street vendor is broadly defined as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having a permanent built-up structure from which to sell” (Bhowmik, 2005). A street vendor has the flexibility to be stationary by means of occupying a space or mobile from moving from one spot to the next. An […]
Changing Consumption Patterns: Economic and Waistline Growth
Research Question: In consideration of recent rapid economic growth, globalization and Westernization in Vietnam, what is the state of Ho Chi Minh City residents attitudes and habits around food and what are the implications of evolving consumption patterns? My research will mainly focus on the western fast food chains in contrast with street vendors and […]
Internal Revenue Service? No. IRS Stands for Informal Recycling System!
Shortly after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to study abroad for a semester I began to notice the plethora of men digging through garbage cans in parks to pull out bottles, cans, and other recyclable materials. Two months later, and my curiosity has only grown. For this reason I chose to write a […]
Supply and Demand: Urbanization conflicts in Ho Chi Minh City
Economic reform in Vietnam through out the past decade has brought about lots of changes, many of which have been very beneficial while others have caused problems. Industrialization and urbanization have had their benefits economically but have also had some negative effects. As big cities such Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi develop there is a […]
PDA: Public Displays of Affection (and Pre/Post Doi Moi Attitudes)
Research Question: How have perspectives on Vietnamese women’s sexuality changed over the last century and how does that translate to current public displays of affection in Vietnamese urban youth? Confucianism, Doi Moi, and French Colonialism have all impacted women’s attitudes towards sexual relationships differently over the last century. My goal in this research project is […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 6
- Next Page »