Digital gaming culture in Vietnam: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

New information and communication technologies continue to spread rapidly into the Asian marketplace, which has led to new patterns of leisure consumption, one of the most popular being digital gaming. However, in Vietnam there is limited research on gaming as a leisure activity. The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of digital gaming in Vietnam to better understand how it is practiced in this culture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five gaming industry figures and gamers. Thematic analysis was used to guide data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that glocalisation, socialised gaming practices and competitiveness characterise the Vietnamese gaming experience. The distinct culture of Vietnam combined with globalised gaming consumption habits has created new modes of play culture, and hence leisure experiences that are growing in pervasive and influential ways.     

TECHNICAL CHANGE IN PRODUCTION PROCESSES OF THE SEQUENTIAL INTERINDUSTRY MODEL

Transient processes important to understanding technical change are modeled using a time-varying version of the Sequential Interindustry Model, SIM. A simple process of technical change is explored, where a new production technique replaces an old one for one of an industry's production processes. Using several measures internal and external to the industry the model can help in understanding the complex processes of technical change, point to difficulties in their analysis, and suggest guidance to further examinations. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Eighth International Conference on Input-Output Techniques, Sapporo, Japan, July 1986.     

International Students in Asia: Travel Behaviors and Destination Perceptions

This study investigates the incidence of international student travel in Taiwan. It was found that Chinese, Asian and other international students behave somewhat differently from respondents in prior studies conducted in Western settings. Cultural background influenced the travel behaviors of international students as well as their perceptions of Taiwan as a tourism destination. The visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market induced by Asian respondents offers greater tourism-related potential than the travel activity that students themselves undertake. The contrary was found for non-Asian students where the student-induced VFR market is small and prospectively less attractive than the student market. The Chinese international student travel market and induced VFR market showed less potential than anticipated, perhaps because of the embryonic stage of diplomatic and commercial relations between Taiwan and mainland China.