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Over the past decades, the Vietnamese government has strategically encouraged the import of the 'Western' curriculum through the so-called Advanced Programmes. It is envisioned that by learning from the more advanced systems such as Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK, Vietnamese universities will be able to overhaul their outdated curriculum and embark on a shortcut to the league of global rankings. Drawing on 21 interviews with Vietnamese and foreign staff and students in two Advanced Programmes imported from the US, this article reviews these programmes' twelve-year implementation to explore the challenges arising and the roles of local academics in implementing and mediating the curriculum. The research revealed considerable challenges in imparting 'Western' knowledge to the local context due to ideological and practicality differences. However, it is the process through which academics mediated between the international content and local students' needs that enables practical internationalisation of the imported curriculum.

Two approaches to grammar instruction are often discussed in the ESL literature: direct explicit grammar instruction (DEGI) (deduction) and indirect explicit grammar instruction (IEGI) (induction). This study aims to explore the effects of indirect explicit grammar instruction on EFL learners' mastery of English tenses. Ninety-four eleventh-graders were conveniently selected and randomly assigned into either the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG). A pre-post tests design was used to collect the data. Before and after the treatment, the following tests were administered: rule analysis, grammar, and speaking. A delayed written test was given to both groups to assess students' retention of structure acquired; in addition, a questionnaire was provided to the EG to investigate their perception on the treatment. The results indicated that the EG significantly outperformed the CG in the analysis of grammar rules and the oral proficiency, except for the use of grammar structures in a pre-defined context. Convincingly, there was a positive correlation between the grammar rules and their subsequent use. This validates the cause and effect of grammar rules' acquisition and the use of them in receptive and productive stages. Also, the EG had favorable attitudes towards the instruction. This study may provide practical implications and techniques for improving EFL students' grammar performance in high schools in Vietnam.

As neoliberal ideals of deregulation, accountability, quality and financial autonomy take hold of education worldwide, higher education institutions (HEIs) in developing economies are adopting strategies to improve educational quality; attract local and international students; enhance institutional ranking and global competitiveness; and, more critically, increase their income. These strategies include internationalising education and developing partnerships with high-ranking universities, particularly those in English-speaking countries. Introducing English as a medium of instruction (EMI) has been a key element of these strategies. Using language-in-education planning as an analytical framework, this study investigates how a Vietnamese public university deployed EMI as a strategy to navigate through the new regime of institutional autonomy (IA) mandated by the government in the context of neoliberal approaches to HE reform. We argue that this top-down policy reform challenged Vietnamese universities to find ways to become autonomous. Although the pursuit of autonomy may lead to financial success, it may also result in HEIs not giving due consideration to questions of educational quality. Furthermore, in the absence of adequate structural planning, IA may have a negative impact on HEIs and the HE system in the country.

BackgroundThe emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) threatens global malaria elimination efforts. Mass drug administration (MDA), the presumptive antimalarial treatment of an entire population to clear the subclinical parasite reservoir, is a strategy to accelerate malaria elimination. We report a cluster randomised trial to assess the effectiveness of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) MDA in reducing falciparum malaria incidence and prevalence in 16 remote village populations in Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, where artemisinin resistance is prevalent.Methods and findingsAfter establishing vector control and community-based case management and following intensive community engagement, we used restricted randomisation within village pairs to select 8 villages to receive early DP MDA and 8 villages as controls for 12 months, after which the control villages received deferred DP MDA. The MDA comprised 3 monthly rounds of 3 daily doses of DP and, except in Cambodia, a single low dose of primaquine. We conducted exhaustive cross-sectional surveys of the entire population of each village at quarterly intervals using ultrasensitive quantitative PCR to detect Plasmodium infections. The study was conducted between May 2013 and July 2017. The investigators randomised 16 villages that had a total of 8,445 residents at the start of the study. Of these 8,445 residents, 4,135 (49%) residents living in 8 villages, plus an additional 288 newcomers to the villages, were randomised to receive early MDA; 3,790 out of the 4,423 (86%) participated in at least 1 MDA round, and 2,520 out of the 4,423 (57%) participated in all 3 rounds. The primary outcome, P. falciparum prevalence by month 3 (M3), fell by 92% (from 5.1% [171/3,340] to 0.4% [12/2,828]) in early MDA villages and by 29% (from 7.2% [246/3,405] to 5.1% [155/3,057]) in control villages. Over the following 9 months, the P. falciparum prevalence increased to 3.3% (96/2,881) in early MDA villages and to 6.1% (128/2,101) in control villages (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.41 [95% CI 0.20 to 0.84]; p = 0.015). Individual protection was proportional to the number of completed MDA rounds. Of 221 participants with subclinical P. falciparum infections who participated in MDA and could be followed up, 207 (94%) cleared their infections, including 9 of 10 with artemisinin- and piperaquine-resistant infections. The DP MDAs were well tolerated; 6 severe adverse events were detected during the follow-up period, but none was attributable to the intervention.ConclusionsAdded to community-based basic malaria control measures, 3 monthly rounds of DP MDA reduced the incidence and prevalence of falciparum malaria over a 1-year period in areas affected by artemisinin resistance. P. falciparum infections returned during the follow-up period as the remaining infections spread and malaria was reintroduced from surrounding areas. Limitations of this study include a relatively small sample of villages, heterogeneity between villages, and mobility of villagers that may have limited the impact of the intervention. These results suggest that, if used as part of a comprehensive, well-organised, and well-resourced elimination programme, DP MDA can be a useful additional tool to accelerate malaria elimination.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01872702.

Over the past decades, the Vietnamese government has strategically encouraged the import of the 'Western' curriculum through the so-called Advanced Programmes. It is envisioned that by learning from the more advanced systems such as Australia, Canada, the US, and the UK, Vietnamese universities will be able to overhaul their outdated curriculum and embark on a shortcut to the league of global rankings. Drawing on 21 interviews with Vietnamese and foreign staff and students in two Advanced Programmes imported from the US, this article reviews these programmes' twelve-year implementation to explore the challenges arising and the roles of local academics in implementing and mediating the curriculum. The research revealed considerable challenges in imparting 'Western' knowledge to the local context due to ideological and practicality differences. However, it is the process through which academics mediated between the international content and local students' needs that enables practical internationalisation of the imported curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the normative view that Quadruple Helix collaborations (with government, academia, industry and civil society) such as living labs are prescribed to enhance regional innovation performance, there is scarce knowledge of the sustainability of such collaborations from the perspective of the stakeholders who are supposed to engage in such initiatives. To address this gap, the purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the implementation of the Quadruple Helix for innovation from a stakeholder perspective, by understanding the expectations as well as the perceived benefits and challenges of the collaboration. Through a qualitative research design, this paper presents an in-depth case study of a living lab in the region of Catalonia. Our results challenge the normative view of Quadruple Helix approaches and of living labs; we also offer suggestions to manage future collaborations and to inform further evidence-based policy. On the whole, partnership leadership and coordination are critical to bridge the expectation-implementation gap towards stakeholder satisfaction and collaboration sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]