WASHINGTON – If the heat makes you cranky, take heart: you're not alone, according to a study out Thursday in the US journal Science that links rising tempers to hot temperatures.The link could have worrying implications as the Earth's climate warms, researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and Princeton University warned. While making predictions about the future is always iffy, lead author Solomon Hsiang said the current trend is clear: hotter weather makes people more violent. Hsiang and his fellow researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 60 studies across a range of disciplines, including archeology, climatology, political science and economics. One study, for instance, showed that, during the hotter and drier periods of the El Nino southern oscillation, "the probability of any country in the tropics starting a new civil war doubles."Other studies showed the incidence of interpersonal conflicts – from murder to rape to domestic violence and other types of … [Read more...] about Feeling a bit violent? Maybe it’s hot outside
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Hanoian and Saigonese shoppers – emotional vs rational
People in HCM City tend to spend more time shopping online while those living in Ha Noi are more price sensitive, iPrice’s research on online shopping habits has revealed.The study uses data from one million visitors on iprice.vn from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016.According to the research, the majority of online shoppers in the country’s two largest cities are aged 25-34, followed by students and young working adults aged 18-24. Women are shown to prefer shopping online compared with men.The report reveals that Saigonese people spend 36 per cent more time on researching products and brands in comparison with Hanoians. This study is backed by the fact that Saigonese people are more open to choices than Hanoian shoppers, with more brands having penetrated in HCM City.On Black Friday, traffic from Hanoians and Saigonese increased by 80 per cent and 67 per cent, respectively, indicating the price sensitivity of Hanoians during sales, despite the fact that there are more … [Read more...] about Hanoian and Saigonese shoppers – emotional vs rational
Local firms dominate e-commerce in Viet Nam
The study, conducted from April to June this year, compared 50 e-commerce websites in Viet Nam in various parameters including traffic (based on Similarweb), application downloads and social media followers.The survey found that eight of the 10 biggest e-commerce merchants in terms of traffic are local firms who are already familiar with Vietnamese customers such as The Gioi Di Dong (Mobile World), Sendo, Tiki, Vat Gia, FPT Shop, Dien May Xanh, A Day Roi and Nguyen Kim.Lazada and Shopee, who are operating across South East Asian countries, are the only international firms in the top 10.The three biggest e-commerce websites in Viet Nam are Lazada, The Gioi Di Dong and Sendo which have strong parent companies backing them. While Lazada was bought by Alibaba, Sendo is under the umbrella of FPT Online and The Gioi Di Dong has been a popular retail brand in Viet Nam for more than 10 years.It has been noticed that many international companies find it challenging to enter the Vietnamese … [Read more...] about Local firms dominate e-commerce in Viet Nam
Top 10 ICT events of 2014 in Viet Nam
The Information Technology Journalist's Club announced the top ten domestic information and communication technology (ICT) stories of 2014 at a ceremony in Ha Noi on December 29. The list of events is as follows:1. The Vietnamese-made mobile game Flappy Bird created a global fever. Released in late January for Android phones, iPhones and iPads, and created by Nguyen Ha Dong, a young independent game developer, Flappy Bird became a worldwide phenomenon. Though Dong later took the game down, saying it failed to bring excitement to players as he had expected, Google listed Flappy Bird as one of the top keywords searched in 2014. US entertainment website The Richest also named Dong one of the top ten internet millionaires in the world.2. Viet Nam Communications Joint Stock Corporation (VCCorp)'s system was hacked, causing losses of VND20 to 30 billion (US$1.41 million). On October 13, many online newspapers and websites managed and operated by VC Corp stopped working as a result of … [Read more...] about Top 10 ICT events of 2014 in Viet Nam
Social network management app wins Facebook Hackathon contest
A group of engineers from Gamota JSC won the US$80,000 FbStart award, creating a social network management application that came out the victor at the Facebook Hackathon contest.The contest was co-organised by Facebook and UP Co-working Space in Ha Noi.The award includes VND20 million in cash, Facebook’s services and sponsors for startups.Nguyen Tai Tue, the group leader, told VietnamPlus that instead of spending time filtering comments, the application allows fanpage managers to read only important comments based on a keyword-filtering algorithm.In addition, the application can also filter spam and rude comments by automatically blocking accounts that repeat comments many times.Especially, the application can help users track rival fanpages to detect photo copyright infringement.In the 24 hour contest, the team could only finish the beta version of the product with basic functions, said Tue, adding that he plans to finish the product in the future.Viet Nam is emerging as a major … [Read more...] about Social network management app wins Facebook Hackathon contest
Column sparks debate on nation’s meat-eating habits
Last week, Viet Nam News asked readers to provide their comments on the column written by Joel Brinkley, a Stanford University professor, which criticised Viet Nam's meat-eating habits as the reason for the dearth of wild animals in the country. Here are some of the responses: Adam Bray, American, Mui Ne, Phan Thiet:There were many problems with Joel Brinkley's story, from incorrect statements, to exaggerations made from extreme examples and conclusions based on anecdotes presented out of context. However, not everything Mr. Brinkley said was untrue. For instance, Viet Nam does indeed have a very serious problem with wildlife trafficking. Addressing the question of whether we should respect the cultural practice of eating dog and rat in Viet Nam, I would say no, not any more than we should respect or hold in esteem the culture of eating sheep testicles or wild possums in the United States. Or, for that matter, of eating cheeseburgers and hot dogs. I don't mean by this to imply … [Read more...] about Column sparks debate on nation’s meat-eating habits
Lixil Vietnam showcases products at Vietbuild 2015
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Lixil Vietnam is showcasing products at Vietbuild 2015, an international exhibition of construction and building materials, real estate and interior and exterior design, in the capital.The company is an affiliate of Lixil Group, Japan's largest manufacturer of building materials and housing equipment with more than 75,000 employees world-wide.Lixil Vietnam General Director Shinji Ito said, "Vietbuild is the only exhibition for our industry in Viet Nam. Therefore it plays an important role in the marketing and promotion activities of Lixil.""We have seen lots of improvement at Vietbuild expos in the past few years. Therefore, we have increased the size of our display booth by about 60 per cent at Vietbuild Ha Noi and Vietbuild HCM," he said, describing these events as good opportunties for his company to advertise its latest products and technologies to customers.Ito said feedback from customers at the events would also help Lixil to improve product quality, … [Read more...] about Lixil Vietnam showcases products at Vietbuild 2015
Online shopping becomes an open book
by Le HaAs information technology improves and the internet becomes more popular, more people are starting to shop online. Book sellers have been quick to capitalise and online book stores are widespread. They are even using book sales to attract buyers to other products, including souvenirs, clothes, sports equipment, card games, electronics, technology appliances and even furniture.This has left the true book lovers a little disheartened. While it is more convenient for some customers to order and receive goods at home, there is also a downside.Just type the key words "on-line bookstore" or "e-book shopping" into a Google search and you will find hundreds of websites selling books – such as Fahasasg, Vinabook, Sahara, phuongnambook, Tiki, Chibooks, Meta, Phanthi, Nhanvan, DaiViet or Sieuthisach365 … [Read more...] about Online shopping becomes an open book
Learning to love the simple things in life
Walk this way: Zen students follow masters on a walk around Sui Pagoda. — VNSPhotos Minh Thu Singing one's praises: Zen masters sing with their students. In praise of vegetarianism: Students queue up in silence for their vegetarian dinner. Sui Pagoda in Ha Noi holds Zen courses for the public. Students learn how to be open-minded, compassionate and tolerant – but be warned, the … [Read more...] about Learning to love the simple things in life
US surveillance is ‘off the tracks’: lawmakers
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers on Wednesday blasted US intelligence agencies for trampling on privacy rights and vowed to impose limits on the government's authority to scoop up Americans' phone records. At a House Judiciary Committee hearing, members from both parties berated senior officials over the collection of bulk phone data as beyond the limits of the US Constitution as well as legislation adopted by Congress. "I think that very clearly, this program has gone off the tracks legally," said Representative Zoe Lofgren of California. The hearing focused on the government's far-reaching surveillance activities that have come under intense scrutiny after leaks from a former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden, who revealed the National Security Agency (NSA) was collecting phone "meta-data" and trawling through Internet traffic to look for terror suspects. But senior justice and intelligence officials insisted the data mining of phone records was reviewed by a secret court, in line … [Read more...] about US surveillance is ‘off the tracks’: lawmakers