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Hiện nay, Việt Nam đã hội nhập sâu rộng vào nền kinh tế thế giới, cho nên các biến số kinh tế vĩ mô ở môi trường bên ngoài sẽ tác động mạnh mẽ đến nền kinh tế trong nước. Trong bối cảnh đó, quá trình thực thi các chính sách vĩ mô ngày càng trở nên khó khăn, vì vậy, điều hành chính sách cần tuân thủ theo quy tắc nhất định. Tại Việt Nam, chính sách tiền tệ là một trong những công cụ vĩ mô quan trọng điều tiết kinh tế. Nghiên cứu đã áp dụng quy tắc Taylor và quy tắc McCallum kiểm chứng số liệu trong giai đoạn 2007 - 2016 tại Việt Nam để phân tích quá trình thực hiện chính sách tiền tệ của Ngân hàng Nhà nước (NHNN) Việt Nam trong thời gian qua. Kết quả cho thấy NHNN đã có những nguyên tắc nhất định trong điều hành chính sách tiền tệ nhằm đạt được các mục tiêu và tăng tính hiệu quả của CSTT. Các tác giả đã đề xuất một số kiến nghị đối với NHNN trong thời gian tới.

Các tác giả sử dụng phương pháp nghiên cứu định tính trong bài viết để đánh giá thực trạng xuất khẩu và năng lực cạnh tranh xuất khẩu của sầu riêng Việt Nam tại thị trường Đài Loan. Nghiên cứu chỉ ra rằng, kim ngạch, sản lượng và giá cả xuất khẩu sầu riêng của Việt Nam đang gia tăng mạnh mẽ tại thị trường Đài Loan, tuy nhiên, kết quả vẫn còn rất khiêm tốn so với tiềm năng xuất khẩu sang thị trường này. Năng lực xuất khẩu sầu riêng của Việt Nam đang gia tăng, nhưng vẫn thấp hơn nhiều so với các đối thủ cạnh tranh. Việt Nam không bị bất lợi thế về thuế quan so với các đối thủ cạnh tranh tại Đài Loan. Tuy nhiên, các quy định kiểm dịch động thực vật và tiêu chuẩn kĩ thuật chính là rào cản thương mại lớn nhất đối với sầu riêng của Việt Nam tại thị trường Đài Loan.

Bài viết nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng của danh tiếng truyền thông đến hiệu quả tài chính của ngân hàng thương mại Việt Nam giai đoạn 2012 - 2018 thông qua ba kênh gồm tài sản, chấp nhận rủi ro và đa dạng hóa thu nhập. Kết quả hồi quy cho thấy danh tiếng truyền thông không có ảnh hưởng đến hiệu quả tài chính, ngay cả khi kiểm soát vấn đề nội sinh bằng biến công cụ. Cụ thể, danh tiếng truyền thông không ảnh hưởng đến tiền gửi và khoản vay, nợ khó đòi và đa dạng hóa thu nhập. Kết quả nghiên cứu của nhóm tác giả tại Việt Nam có thể giải thích do sự hạn chế trong đo lường danh tiếng truyền thông hoặc tính lỏng lẻo của mối liên hệ giữa danh tiếng truyền thông và hiệu quả tài chính. Nhưng đối với các ngân hàng thương mại, danh tiếng truyền thông chỉ là một trong những nguồn lực tạo dựng lợi thế cạnh tranh.

Employee engagement is one of the most important issues in human resource management in order to ameliorate the turnover intention in organizations. Employers often face different challenges of finding ways to increase the interaction with their employees in order to have good labor force. This paper investigates the effects of different factors on employment engagement in Vietnam industries. The results indicate that work-life balance and work stress positively impact on employee engagement. However, our results do not confirm that working condition could positively impact on employee engagement nor did we find any evidence to believe that relationship with supervisor could positively impact on employee engagement. In terms of mediation effect, work-life balance, in this survey, mediates the relationship between working condition and employee engagement. Also, work-life balance mediates the relationship between the relationship with supervisor and employee engagement. Moreover, work stress mediates the relationship between working condition and employee engagement. Finally, work stress mediates the relationship between relationship with supervisor and employee engagement.

Do firms pay more taxes after formalization? The answer to this question is nontrivial. Tax noncompliance can be a persistent behavior among formerly informal firms. Analyzing the relationship between formalization and tax payments can also be challenging if nonswitching and switching firms have different characteristics. I use a panel dataset built from five small and medium-sized enterprise surveys conducted in Viet Nam from 2005 to 2013. By comparing nonswitching informal firms to switchers, I show that switchers are more likely to pay taxes and to pay a higher amount, thereby confirming heterogeneity. By comparing switchers before and after formalization, I find that formalization increases tax payment likelihood by 20% and the tax amount paid by 93%. A control function approach indicates that my results are robust to potential endogeneity of formalization. Therefore, this paper provides supportive evidence for a key public policy rationale to promote formalization: increased tax revenues.

Global biodiversity-related conventions have positively influenced nature conservation in Vietnam. Adherence to international policies and strategies is one of the critical motivations for reducing biodiversity loss. As highlighted in Aichi Target 11, protected areas are central for this effort and Vietnam is not an exception. In this study we reflect on and suggest how this Target can be most effectively pursued in Vietnam. Of which, besides remaining the status of special-use forests, uplifting protection forests, especially focusing on forest areas which are in rich biodiversity condition, to special-use forests category should be a priority.

Canh tác nông nghiệp bền vững đặt ra những thách thức lớn trong việc tiếp cận những ứng dụng sinh học có tính hiệu quả cao và thân thiện với môi trường. Nấm rễ nội cộng sinh (AMF) hình thành mối quan hệ với hầu hết các loài thực vật cạn và cây lúa được trồng trong điều kiện ngập nước đóng góp nhiều ý nghĩa quan trọng đối với canh tác nông nghiệp và xử lý môi trường sinh thái. Bài tổng quan về lĩnh vực nghiên cứu nấm rễ nội cộng sinh này được thực hiện nhằm tổng hợp lại tình hình nghiên cứu nấm rễ nội cộng sinh tại Việt Nam hiện nay, từ đó đề xuất các hướng nghiên cứu mới nhằm khám phá tiềm năng của AMF giúp hỗ trợ cây trồng về hấp thụ nước và dinh dưỡng khoáng trong đất cũng như hạn chế kim loại nặng, tăng cường sức chống chịu của cây trồng trong các điều kiện bất lợi của môi trường (nhiệt độ cao, nhiễm mặn, khô hạn, nghèo dinh dưỡng) thông qua đó tăng năng suất cây trồng. Cuối cùng, những tác động tích cực của AMF còn đặt ra cơ hội mới trong việc sản xuất phân bón sinh học nhằm giảm thiểu sự phụ thuộc vào phân bón hóa học trong trồng trọt.

The semantic status of proper names in linguistics and language philosophy has been comprehensively studied. It has long been held that proper names are mainly used to refer to certain entities, not to describe them. However, while Millian theorists claim that proper names do not possess a lexical meaning but directly refer to a certain entity, Fregean scholars assert that proper names do carry meanings, and the problem is just about the “meaning” employed. This paper argues that the Mill-Frege dichotomy can be bridged from the Vietnamese perspective by using proper name specifics of the Vietnamese language, and that as a cultural universal, names convey both denotational and connotational contents. However, the content of names can only be determined in each specific language community based on clarification of traditional and cultural values embodied in the naming process.

Fusarium is one of the most important fungal genera of plant pathogens that affect the cultivation of a wide range of crops. Agricultural losses caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) directly affect the income, subsistence, and nourishment of thousands of farmers worldwide. For Viet Nam, predictions on the impact of Foc for the future are dramatic, with an estimated loss in the banana production area of 8% within the next five years and up to 71% within the next 25 years. In the current study, we applied a combined morphological-molecular approach to assess the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic position of the different Foc isolates collected in northern Viet Nam. In addition, we aimed to estimate the proportion of the different Fusarium races infecting bananas in northern Viet Nam. The morphology of the isolates was investigated by growing the collected Fusarium isolates on four distinct nutritious media (PDA, SNA, CLA, and OMA). Molecular phylogenetic relationships were inferred by sequencing partial rpb1, rpb2, and tef1a genes and adding the obtained sequences into a phylogenetic framework. Molecular characterization shows that c. 74% of the Fusarium isolates obtained from infected banana pseudostem tissue belong to F. tardichlamydosporum. Compared to F. tardichlamydosporum, F. odoratissimum accounts for c.10% of the Fusarium wilt in northern Viet Nam, demonstrating that Foc TR4 is not yet a dominant strain in the region. Fusarium cugenangense -- considered to cause Race 2 infections among bananas -- is only found in c. 10% of the tissue material that was obtained from infected Vietnamese bananas. Additionally, one of the isolates cultured from diseased bananas was phylogenetically not positioned within the F. oxysporum species complex (FOSC), but in contrast, fell within the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex (FFSC). As a result, a possible new pathogen for bananas may have been found. Besides being present on several ABB 'Tay banana', F. tardichlamydosporum was also derived from infected tissue of a wild Musa lutea, showing the importance of wild bananas as a possible sink for Foc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of Viet Nam, is 96.2 million, of which 13.8% are carriers of thalassemia genes. Thalassemia/hemoglobinopathies carriers exist at different frequencies in all 54 ethnic groups of the country. Gene carrier rate and globin gene mutation rate varies ethnically and topographically. The ethnic groups in the Northern Highland region have high rates of α0- and β0-thalassemia (α0- and β0-thal), while those in the Southern Middle region have high rates of α+-thalassemia (α+-thal) and Hb E (or codon 26) (HBB: c.79G>A). The lowest is found in La Hu (0.23%), while the highest is found in Raglai (88.6%). Thalassemia prevention and control programs were introduced using prenatal and neonatal diagnosis for the prevention of new thalassemic births. Most existing thalassemia patients are undergoing supportive treatment with regular blood transfusions and iron chelation. Curative treatment by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is available but is limited to a minority of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees, their movements, and the problems associated with their survival and maintenance in combat scenerios were a constant element of the American War in Việt Nam. Traditional Vietnamese village structure with its communal character created the perfect situation for revolutionary movements and their ensuing conflicts. These same villages then became targets for search and destroy operations and later wholesale clearing operations in which entire populations were forced into resettlement. This is a case study of the movement of a population from a kin-structured, land- and reciprocity-based enclave, to a resettlement hamlet. No longer sheltered from the larger world, these hamlets represent forced assimilation into an expanding world economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sourced breeders from domesticated broodstocks have played an essential role in the steady development of shrimp culture in many countries. In the present study, two experiments were performed in Tra Vinh province, Vietnam, to compare the culturing benefits of sourced breeding stocks from domesticated and non-domesticated Penaeus monodon broodstock. The first 90-day experiment was randomly arranged with three repetitions in six earthen ponds (1,500-2,000 m²). Experimental shrimp (PL12) were stocked at a density of 20 ind. m-2. The second experiment was randomly designed with three repetitions in six composite tanks (6.0 m³). PL15 of experimental shrimp were cultured at a density of 30 ind. m-2 for 120 days. Grobest pellet feed (40 % protein) was used in both experiments. At experiment termination, the mean weight (26.09 g) and length (15.68 cm) under pond culture, as well as respective values of 15.57 g, and 13.21 cm under tank culture, for D-shrimp were significantly higher than those of W-shrimp (p<0.05). Similarly, the survival rate (84.33 %), FCR (0.98), and yield (3,558 kg ha-1) under pond culture, as well as the survival rate (87.59 %) and yield (470 g m-3) under tank culture, of D-shrimp were significantly better than those of W-shrimp (p<0.05). These results prove that the grow-out culture of shrimp postlarvae from domesticated broodstocks resulted in superior performance to those from wild broodstocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The semantic status of proper names in linguistics and language philosophy has been comprehensively studied. It has long been held that proper names are mainly used to refer to certain entities, not to describe them. However, while Millian theorists claim that proper names do not possess a lexical meaning but directly refer to a certain entity, Fregean scholars assert that proper names do carry meanings, and the problem is just about the "meaning" employed. This paper argues that the Mill-Frege dichotomy can be bridged from the Vietnamese perspective by using proper name specifics of the Vietnamese language, and that as a cultural universal, names convey both denotational and connotational contents. However, the content of names can only be determined in each specific language community based on clarification of traditional and cultural values embodied in the naming process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research aims: This study estimates the role of research and development (R&D) expense with respect to the export intensity of Vietnamese enterprises. Design/Methodology/Approach: Building upon the resource-based review, this study postulates that the R&D expenses of an enterprise are positively associated with the export intensity of the enterprise. Data extracted from the Vietnam General Statistics Office Survey of 306 exporting Vietnamese firms were used to test the proposed hypothesis. Research Findings: Both Robust Standard Errors and Tobit Regression models reveal that the hypothesis is strongly supported with the control of firm-level and national-level factors. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study provides a new insight about the role of R&D expense with respect to the export intensity of the enterprise in transition economies. Practitioner/Policy Implications: This study suggests firms to continuously engage in innovation to gain a sustainable competitive advantage when exporting to other countries. Research limitation/Implication: Further research may consider a bigger sample size and utilise time-series or panel data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After entering Indochina, Japan retained the French-Indochina colonial administration and started controlling Indochina through this administrative system. The biggest expectation of Japan towards French-Indochina was the guaranty of rice supply to satisfy requirements and in addition to take a stand in preparation for southward advance and the pursuance of the Second Sino-Japanese War. However, at that time, the mechanisms of rice distribution within French-Indochina were held by Overseas Chinese merchants who expanded the Anti-Japanese movement. As overseas Chinese had extensive economic power but held sensitive political positions in Indochina as "Asiatiques Étrangers", Japan designated that gaining the co-operation of the Overseas Chinese was an important task in order to guarantee food supply and to construct the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere. By examining the actions and reactions on both sides (Japan and France) from political and economic view-point with regard to overseas Chinese, this paper aims to clarify the nature of this relation -- a competitive relation under the form of co-operation, and there is a hint of contempt, compromise and opposition between two sides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marxism was introduced into Vietnam through Leninism, followed by Russian and Chinese revolutionaries a century ago. Karl Marx's legacies are the theoretical basis for the Labour Party of Vietnam, followed by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which led the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national independence and winning two wars before the final unification. In the nation's construction, Marxism also played a significant role, which is associated with ups and downs in socio-economic development both before and after the Renovation (Doi Moi). Since the start of Doi Moi and with international events that occurred after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there have been a lot of voices among researchers and politicians about a reassessment of the legacy of K. Marx. There is a need for a justified assessment of what is still relevant so that we can continue to develop those things and to enrich the legacy of Marxism. Also, it is also necessary to assess issues that may be outdated. This article adds a contribution to this assessment work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: Los estudios sobre cadenas mundiales de valor identifican seis tipos de gobernanza para abordar los déficits de trabajo decente (Gereffi y Lee 2016). Sobre la base de sus investigaciones en el sector de la confección de Bangladesh, Honduras y Viet Nam, el autor sostiene que los más eficaces son los que mitigan las asimetrías de poder en la cadena, como la gobernanza pública, sustentada en el poder del Estado, la negociación colectiva de amplia cobertura y los acuerdos internacionales multipartitos vinculantes. Las lagunas de gobernanza de los regímenes nacionales de relaciones laborales y los patrones y estrategias de resistencia de los trabajadores marcarán cuál es el más idóneo para cada caso. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé: Gereffi et Lee (2016) distinguent six mécanismes de gouvernance susceptibles de remédier aux déficits de travail décent dans les chaînes de valeur mondiales. En s'appuyant sur des travaux relatifs au Viet Nam, au Honduras et au Bangladesh, l'auteur affirme que, pour être véritablement efficace, la gouvernance en question doit permettre de rééquilibrer le rapport de force entre les partenaires en présence. Trois mécanismes remplissent cette condition: la gouvernance publique, les conventions collectives de large portée et les accords multipartites globaux contraignants. L'option la plus adaptée dépend du régime de relations professionnelles et des caractéristiques et stratégies du mouvement ouvrier dans le pays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on global value chains (GVCs) has identified six governance mechanisms for addressing decent work deficits (Gereffi and Lee 2016). Drawing on research in Bangladesh, Honduras and Viet Nam, this article argues that the most effective governance mechanisms are those that mitigate GVC power asymmetries. Three such mechanisms are: (1) public governance, because it harnesses the power of the State; (2) encompassing collective bargaining agreements; and (3) multi‐actor global binding agreements. Variations in governance gaps in national labour relations regimes, and patterns and strategies of worker resistance will shape which mechanism most effectively addresses decent work deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increased burden of malnutrition on global health, there is a need to set clear and transparent priorities for action in food systems at a global and local level. While priority settings methods are available for several adjacent domains, such as nutrition and health policies, setting priorities for food system research has not been documented and streamlined. The challenges involve food systems' multisector, multi-stakeholder and multi-outcome nature. Where data exists, it is not easy to aggregate data from across food system dimensions and stakeholders to make an informed analysis of the overall picture of the food system, as well as current and potential food system trade-offs to inform research and policy. Once research priorities are set, they risk staying on paper and never make their ways to concrete outputs and outcomes. In this paper, we documented and assessed the inclusive process of setting research priorities for a local food system, taking Vietnamese food systems as a case study. From this exercise, we examined how priority setting for food systems research could learn from and improve upon earlier priority setting research practices in other domains. We discussed the lessons for research and policies in local food systems, such as the need for a concrete follow-up plan accompanying the priority setting process.

The scope, scale, and socio-environmental impacts of wildlife crime pose diverse risks to people, animals, and environments. With direct knowledge of the persistence and dynamics of wildlife crime, protected area rangers can be both an essential source of information on, and front-line authority for, preventing wildlife crime. Beyond patrol and crime scene data collected by rangers, solutions to wildlife crime could be better built off the knowledge and situational awareness of rangers, in particular rangers' relationships with local communities and their unique ability to engage them. Rangers are often embedded in the communities surrounding the conserved areas which they are charged with protecting, which presents both challenges and opportunities for their work on wildlife crime prevention. Cultural brokerage refers to the process by which intermediaries, like rangers, facilitate interactions between other relevant stakeholders that are separate yet proximate to one another, or that lack access to, or trust in, one another. Cultural brokers can function as gatekeepers, representatives, liaisons, coordinators, or iterant brokers; these forms vary by how information flows and how closely aligned the broker is to particular stakeholders. The objectives of this paper are to use the example of protected area rangers in Viet Nam to (a) characterize rangers' cultural brokerage of resources, information, and relationships and (b) discuss ranger-identified obstacles to the prevention of wildlife crime as an example of brokered knowledge. Using in-depth face-to-face interviews with rangers and other protected area staff (N = 31, 71% rangers) in Pu Mat National Park, 2018, we found that rangers regularly shift between forms of cultural brokerage. We offer a typology of the diverse forms of cultural brokerage that characterize rangers' relationships with communities and other stakeholders. We then discuss ranger-identified obstacles to wildlife protection as an example of brokered knowledge. These results have implications for designing interventions to address wildlife crime that both improve community-ranger interactions and increase the efficiency of wildlife crime prevention.

Bài viết nghiên cứu về quan hệ kinh tế Việt-Nga giai đoạn 2001-2018 trên các lĩnh vực: Thương mại, đầu tư, hợp tác năng lượng dầu khí và rút ra những đặc điểm như sau: (i) Quan hệ kinh tế Việt-Nga được kết nối từ quá khứ đến hiện tại, được thúc đẩy bởi quan hệ chính trị - ngoại giao tốt đẹp; (ii) Quan hệ kinh tế Việt-Nga diễn ra giữa hai nền kinh tế thị trường chuyển đổi nhưng có sự chênh lệch rất lớn về quy mô, trình độ phát triển và sự khác biệt các giá trị, chiến lược; (iii) Đặc điểm nổi bật của quan hệ kinh tế song phương Việt-Nga đã có sự thay đổi tổng thể, chuyển từ nguyên tắc ý thức hệ sang nguyên tắc tin cậy lẫn nhau và bình đẳng cùng có lợi; (iv) Quan hệ kinh tế Việt-Nga mặc dù đã đạt được kết quả tích cực, xong chưa tương xứng với tiềm năng, lợi thế của mỗi nước, với quan hệ hữu nghị truyền thống và đối tác chiến lược toàn diện, hiệu quả hợp tác kinh tế chưa đạt tầm với mục tiêu chính trị đề ra.

Background: Cryptococcal meningitis has high mortality. Flucytosine is a key treatment but is expensive and rarely available. The anticancer agent tamoxifen has synergistic anti-cryptococcal activity with amphotericin in vitro. It is off-patent, cheap, and widely available. We performed a trial to determine its therapeutic potential. Methods: Open label randomized controlled trial. Participants received standard care – amphotericin combined with fluconazole for the first 2 weeks – or standard care plus tamoxifen 300 mg/day. The primary end point was Early Fungicidal Activity (EFA) – the rate of yeast clearance from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Trial registration https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03112031. Results: Fifty patients were enrolled (median age 34 years, 35 male). Tamoxifen had no effect on EFA (−0.48log10 colony-forming units/mL/CSF control arm versus −0.49 tamoxifen arm, difference −0.005log10CFU/ml/day, 95% CI: −0.16, 0.15, p=0.95). Tamoxifen caused QTc prolongation. Conclusions: High-dose tamoxifen does not increase the clearance rate of Cryptococcus from CSF. Novel, affordable therapies are needed. Funding: The trial was funded through the Wellcome Trust Asia Programme Vietnam Core Grant 106680 and a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship to JND grant number WT097147MA.

Background: Many tuberculosis (TB) patients incur catastrophic costs. Active case finding (ACF) may have socio-protective properties that could contribute to the WHO End TB Strategy target of zero TB-affected families suffering catastrophic costs, but available evidence remains limited. This study measured catastrophic cost incurrence and socioeconomic impact of an episode of TB and compared those socioeconomic burdens in patients detected by ACF versus passive case finding (PCF).Methods: This cross-sectional study fielded a longitudinal adaptation of the WHO TB patient cost survey alongside an ACF intervention from March 2018 to March 2019. The study was conducted in six intervention (ACF) districts and six comparison (PCF) districts of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. Fifty-two TB patients detected through ACF and 46 TB patients in the PCF cohort were surveyed within two weeks of treatment initiation, at the end of the intensive phase of treatment, and after treatment concluded. The survey measured income, direct and indirect costs, and socioeconomic impact based on which we calculated catastrophic cost as the primary outcome. Local currency was converted into US$ using the average exchange rates reported by OANDA for the study period (VNĐ1 = US$0.0000436, 2018-2019). We fitted logistic regressions for comparisons between the ACF and PCF cohorts as the primary exposures and used generalized estimating equations to adjust for autocorrelation.Results: ACF patients were poorer than PCF patients (multidimensional poverty ratio: 16 % vs. 7 %; p = 0.033), but incurred lower median pre-treatment costs (US$18 vs. US$80; p < 0.001) and lower median total costs (US$279 vs. US$894; p < 0.001). Fewer ACF patients incurred catastrophic costs (15 % vs. 30 %) and had lower odds of catastrophic cost (aOR = 0.17; 95 % CI: [0.05, 0.67]; p = 0.011), especially during the intensive phase (OR = 0.32; 95 % CI: [0.12, 0.90]; p = 0.030). ACF patient experienced less social exclusion (OR = 0.41; 95 % CI: [0.18, 0.91]; p = 0.030), but more often resorted to financial coping mechanisms (OR = 5.12; 95 % CI: [1.73, 15.14]; p = 0.003).Conclusions: ACF can be effective in reaching vulnerable populations and mitigating the socioeconomic burden of TB, and can contribute to achieving the WHO End TB Strategy goals. Nevertheless, as TB remains a catastrophic life event, social protection efforts must extend beyond ACF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol is a commonly used substance among Vietnamese medical students, especially males. Vietnamese male medical students drink more alcohol, report more intentions to binge drink, and experience more alcohol-related problems than females. As medical students' alcohol consumption may influence their attitudes and medical practice relating to alcohol counseling and prevention, research about the cultural and drinking norms underlying the drinking behavior of Vietnamese male medical students is warranted. This study aims to explore the norms underlying drinking behavior of Vietnamese male medical students. A qualitative study including 32 in-depth interviews with Vietnamese male medical students at a medical university. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. This study found Vietnamese male medical students considered alcohol consumption as a way to show their masculinity and become accepted by groups. Given these beliefs and adherence to norms, they followed rules to force others to consume more alcohol or be intoxicated in drinking occasions among medical students. This study showed the importance of gender and group norms in influencing Vietnamese male medical students' alcohol consumption. These norms should be considered in future research and interventions addressing alcohol use among this target population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International integration is an inevitable and objective trend, strongly attracting the participation of all countries and regions in the world. With its vastness and complexity, international integration has had a strong impact on all nationalities, all fields of social life, especially for the economy. For Vietnam, international integration has brought opportunities and opportunities, and at the same time also created real challenges and risks in economic development. Therefore, the urgent issue now is to fully and deeply identify and have reasonable strategies, take advantage of opportunities, overcome risks in order to develop economic in integration and development has important theoretical and practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nghiên cứu được thực hiện nhằm đánh giá tác động về mặt định lượng của Hiệp định thương mại tự do Việt Nam - EU (EVFTA) đến tăng trưởng xuất khẩu mặt hàng thủy sản của Việt Nam sang thị trường EU. Nghiên cứu sử dụng phương pháp phân tích định lượng thông qua mô hình SMART với dữ liệu về kim ngạch xuất khẩu thủy sản và kịch bản thuế quan cắt giảm về 0% khi EVFTA có hiệu lực. Với dữ liệu về kim ngạch xuất khẩu thủy sản của 9 nhóm hàng thủy sản (mã HS 6 chữ số) và các thông số cần thiết, kết quả phân tích cho thấy có sự gia tăng của xuất khẩu thủy sản Việt Nam sang thị trường EU khi EVFTA có hiệu lực. Từ đó, nghiên cứu đề xuất một số hàm ý nhằm thúc đẩy hoạt động xuất khẩu thủy sản của Việt Nam sang EU trong thời gian tới.

Objective: The World Health Organization’s guidelines on viral hepatitis testing and treatment recommend prioritizing high prevalence groups. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection disproportionately affects people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men, but data on female sex workers (FSW) are limited. The study aimed to determine active HCV infection and risk factors associated with HCV exposure among Vietnamese FSW. Methods: We surveyed 1886 women aged ≥ 18 years from Haiphong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City who had sold sex in the last month. We tested for HCV antibody and HCV core antigen as markers for exposure to HCV and active infection, respectively. Results: Across these provinces, high prevalence of HCV exposure (8.8–30.4%) and active infection (3.6–22.1%) were observed. Significant associations with HCV exposure were HIV infection (aOR = 23.7; 95% CI: 14.8–37.9), injection drug use (aOR = 23.3; 95% CI: 13.1–41.4), history of compulsory detention (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.4–4.2) and having more than 10 sex clients in the last month (aOR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.2–3.2). Among FSW who reported never injecting drugs, HIV infection (aOR = 24.2; 95% CI: 14.8–39.4), a history of non-injection drug use (aOR = 3.3, CI: 1.8–5.7), compulsory detention (aOR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.2–4.0) and having over 10 sex clients in the last month (aOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.3–3.7) were independently associated with HCV exposure. Discussion: FSW have elevated HCV risks through sex- and drug-related pathways. These findings highlight the need to offer FSW-targeted HCV interventions and ensure their access to HIV prevention and treatment.

Abstract Background Despite great success in significantly reducing the malaria burden in Viet Nam over recent years, the ongoing presence of malaria vectors and Plasmodium infection in remote forest areas and among marginalised groups presents a challenge to reaching elimination and a threat to re-emergence of transmission. Often transmission persists in a population despite high reported coverage of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), the mainstay control method for malaria. To investigate what factors may contribute to this, a mixed-methods study was conducted in Son Thai commune, a community in south-central Viet Nam that has ongoing malaria cases despite universal LLIN coverage. A cross-sectional behavioural and net-coverage survey was conducted along with observations of net use and entomological collections in the village, farm huts and forest sites used by members of the community. Results Most community members owned a farm hut plot and 71.9% of adults aged 18+ years sometimes slept overnight in the farm hut, while one-third slept overnight in the forest. Ownership and use of nets in the village households was high but in the farm huts and forest was much lower; only 44.4% reported regularly using a bednet in the farm and 12.1% in the forest. No primary anopheline species were captured in the village, but Anopheles dirus (s.l.) (n = 271) and An. maculatus (s.l.) (n = 14) were captured as far as 4.5 km away in farm huts and forest. A high proportion of biting was conducted in the early evening before people were under nets. Entomological inoculation rates (EIR) of An. dirus (s.l.) were 17.8 and 25.3 infectious bites per person per year in the outdoor farm hut sites and forest, respectively, for Plasmodium falciparum and 25.3 in the forest sites for P. vivax. Conclusions Despite high net coverage in the village, gaps in coverage and access appear in the farm huts and forest where risk of anopheline biting and parasite transmission is much greater. Since subsistence farming and forest activities are integral to these communities, new personal protection methods need to be explored for use in these areas that can ideally engage with the community, be durable, portable and require minimal behavioural change.

Nasopharyngeal cancer is the most common cancer of head and neck cancer in Vietnam. The infection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been reported to be the cause of nasopharyngeal tumorigenesis. In Vietnam, the studies relevant to EBV, especially the molecular of EBV, are still limited. In the current study, the databases were systematically analyzed to establish the scientific basis for the molecular of EBV which could be applied in further studies. This study was focused on the analysis of three families of EBV genes, included EBNAs, LMPs and EBER based on a meta-analysis. As the result, most studies were focused on the detection of EBNA-1, LMP-1 and EBER. The frequencies of EBNA-1, LMP-1 and EBER were 92.12%; 78.93% and 88.12%, respectively. Moreover, a random effect model was applied to calculate the OR and RR: EBNA-1: RR=20.10; OR= 332.75; LMP-1: RR=3.63; OR=17.9 and EBER: RR=5.4; OR=46.11. Those results indicated that the presence of EBV genes was significantly associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. According to the method, PCR was the common method used for the detection of the EBV genes’ presence. Moreover, the nasopharyngeal biopsy was the main source of samples enrolled in nasopharyngeal cancer studied. In summary, we successfully conducted the molecular database about the presence of EBV genes, included the frequency, OR and RR value to be the scientific database for further studies relevant to nasopharyngeal cancer in the Vietnamese population.

Nowadays, Vietnam is one of the few countries in the intertropical area, whose forests are on the increase. Yet, during the 20th century, these forests were faced with deep threats, leading to their decline. One of these threats was the war, which is often mentioned as a major factor of deforestation, with irremediable consequences. However, is the war the only threat which affected the Vietnamese forests ? This article is based on results obtained of PhD research, which focused on landscape dynamics and their factors (practices and policies) in a province of central Vietnam, Thùa Thiên Huê. This research shows that the war contributed to the forest decline but, above all, this process was accelerated after the war, due to civilian practices. Since 1990’s, the trend was reversed, at the instigation of the authorities. Replantations were encouraged, and, consequently, the forest area was able to increase. However, these plantations are realized with fast-growing species and thus they may also represent a new threat to spontaneous forests, even if they have environmental as well as economic benefits.

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV remain a major causes of morbidity and mortality globally. We conducted an analysis of TB/HIV surveillance data to describe the trends in HIV testing coverage and HIV positivity rate among TB patients in Viet Nam, 2011–2017. Main text This was a descriptive study based on review and analysis of surveillance data from the National Tuberculosis Control Programme from 2011 to 2017. During this period, 721 342 TB cases were diagnosed. Of these, 520 490 (72.2%) had a previously documented HIV status or were tested for HIV during TB care and treatment. The proportion of TB patients whose HIV status was reported increased, from 58.5% in 2011 to 82.9% in 2017 (P value for trend = 0.014). The proportion of TB patients infected with HIV decreased, from 8.0% in 2011 to 3.7% in 2017 (P value for trend = 0.018). Conclusions The proportion of TB patients with a reported HIV status was increased from 2011 to 2017, however HIV testing coverage remained below the National Tuberculosis Control Programme targets (≥ 90%). National Tuberculosis Control Programme needs to focus on ensuring every registered TB patients has a documented HIV status, ensuring full coverage of HIV testing as part of routine TB care.

In Vietnam, entrepreneurial business is increasing more, but few businesses exist after starting businesses. This causes the country and people’s waste of resources. This study explores the success factors of entrepreneurs by studying two typical cases, one travel service company and one paint manufacturing company, and then draws practical lessons from them. The study results find out 5 groups of factors affecting the success of entrepreneurial companies in Vietnam, such as Entrepreneurs’ management capabilities; Entrepreneurs’ skills; support from family and friends; The support from society and Business activities. The research results suggest managerial implications for companies operating in specific activities to be suitable for the entrepreneurial context in Vietnam. It is also a reference document for establishing entrepreneurial companies in Vietnam, individuals who intend to start a business as well as researchers of this field.

Viet Nam is ranked No 5 in global plastic waste contribution to the marine environment. The long coastline in Viet Nam provides a livelihood for millions of households as well as food security for the whole country. The use of plastics per capita increased nearly elevenfold, from 3.8 kg/person in 1990 to 41 kg/person in 2015. The two highly populated cities (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) alone generate 80 tonnes of plastic waste every day. Landfilling is the primary treatment method of solid waste while recycling is still limited. Tax for plastic bags exists, but implementation is not efficient. Application of Extended Producer Responsibility still faces many constraints. Regular monitoring and data collection related to the status of marine plastic waste pollution are inadequate. Moving forward Viet Nam needs to focus on a number of issues including strengthening the legislation, raising awareness, promoting research on innovative recycling technologies, and promoting international cooperation. This paper investigates current issues, challenges, and constraints in managing plastic waste in Viet Nam and makes recommendations for improvement. The paper utilises an unsystematic narrative overview as the research method.

This article compares protections relating to the non-disclosure of the identity of juveniles involved in the criminal justice systems of Viet Nam and Victoria (Australia). Both jurisdictions are committed to the principle of having an open court for the trials of juveniles. Nevertheless, being mindful of recommendations made by human rights bodies such as the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child – which promotes a closed court for these cases – both jurisdictions also recognise the importance of protecting the identity of juveniles on trial for criminal offences. They seek to balance their competing commitments to open court hearings and the protection of privacy through severely restricting the publication of information that could identify juvenile defendants. However, a review of the law and practices in both jurisdictions identifies different impacts and a number of problems. While restrictions on the publication of identifying information works effectively in Victoria, relevant laws are regularly breached without prosecution in Viet Nam. Significantly, existing protections in both Viet Nam and Victoria are almost exclusively focused on the trial phase and very few effective protections exist at earlier points, such as arrest and interrogation. This was highlighted by a focused investigation of pre-trial detention (bail), which revealed that while the practical operation of bail processes in Victoria is relatively stronger than in Viet Nam, statutory reform is required in both jurisdictions to strengthen legal protections against disclosure. In summary, the analysis demonstrates that it is possible to effectively protect the identity of juvenile defendants at the trial phase in an open court system provided that laws prohibiting the publication of identifying information are enacted, observed and enforced. In Viet Nam, significant changes in attitudes and practices are required to achieve this. Moreover, reform is required in both jurisdictions if the identity of juveniles involved in criminal justice proceedings is to be protected at the pre-trial phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of non-native species, together with their pervasiveness, necessitates a means of identifying which species are most likely to pose an elevated risk of becoming invasive. This is amongst the first applications of the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) decision support tool in Southeast Asia, and specifically for Vietnam. In total, 30 extant and horizon non-native aquatic species were screened for their potential invasiveness in Vietnam. A threshold score of 6.75 was identified for distinguishing between species likely to pose a high and low-to-medium risk of becoming invasive in Vietnam for both the basic risk assessment (BRA) and the climate change assessment (BRA + CCA) components of the screening process. However, the absence of nationally-consistent predictions on climate change impacts in Vietnam restricted the applicability of the climate change assessment component. Based on the BRA threshold, of the 30 species screened, 25 were classified as high risk, four as medium risk, and one as low risk. For the BRA, the highest-scoring species were Hypostomus plecostomus, Pomacea canaliculata and Lithobates catesbeianus. This study reliably identified and discriminated between non-invasive and potentially invasive aquatic species in Vietnam, thereby providing appropriate AS-ISK score thresholds with which to guide policy and decision-making. This suggests that the AS-ISK could be successfully employed to screen non-native aquatic species in other parts of Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the calls to incorporate the changing sociolinguistic reality of English in classroom practices, textbooks can serve as a powerful tool for equipping learners with knowledge of world Englishes and intercultural communication skills. This article explores the extent to which a set of locally produced English textbooks in Vietnam have oriented towards the English as an international language (EIL)-informed pedagogy and prepared students to use English for intercultural communication. The findings indicate that despite the fact that international communication may involve a broad spectrum of global English users, the books tend to focus merely on preparing students to use English for communication with Anglophone English users, thus only partially meeting the learners' multiple communicative needs in the real world. Our findings highlight the importance of moving towards an EIL oriented approach in ELT materials development and use, as well as promoting discourses of multilingualism and globalization, and avoiding ideological biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on fieldwork between 2012–2019 in a northern Vietnamese village, this article documents the striking ways villagers have dealt with an enduring concern of those who inhabit the complex moral world of post-/ late-socialism: how to handle choices that involve thinking and acting like neoliberal subjects. I focus on a relatively undocumented livelihood strategy villagers call đa gi năng, a term with striking moral connotations that means "keeping multiple livelihood strategies and never putting all eggs in one basket." This strategy is inspired by a locally specific reference point: the well-being of the family, perceived in Xuan as both the achievement of substantial material improvements for the family and the protection of its hard-won security against unpredictable state policies. It is this reference point that grants villagers remarkable moral freedom, both to actively pursue substantial material comfort for the family by means of rational market calculations and independent decisions without being troubled by moral frameworks that treat neoliberalism as problematic, and to evade with explicit moral confidence the state's push to fully embrace neoliberal spirits and commit everything to a single profitable yet risky enterprise. I argue that the well-being of the family is the paramount moral value in Xuan. While the existing scholarship has focused mostly on how paramount values facilitate cultural reproduction of a Durkheimian kind, this article shows that the family as the paramount value can grant freedom. Although subjects are confined within the moral domain the paramount value creates, it is within that confined space that they can find the freedom to choose the kind of self they wish to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vietnamese customs is a topic that has been researched by ethnologists and historians since the end of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Although there have been many outstanding achievements, there are still many gaps in research. Our article explores the problems in a low-lying countryside with its own characteristics, through sources of documents about customs that have never been investigated until now - the custom documents of Bach Sam Commune. The content includes 8 issues of focus in the villages, including: worship practices, funeral, wedding, officers in different positions, patrol, robbery, study promotion, and issues about land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to a growing literature body of studies aimed at explaining socio-economic-related health inequality in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), with a focus on older people who are commonly affected by socio-economic gradient in later life. It identifies factors associated with self-reported NCDs and examines socio-economic-related health inequality in self-reported NCDs between rural and urban Vietnamese older people. This cross-sectional study utilised data from the Viet Nam Ageing Survey. A sample of 2,682 older people aged 60 and over (urban = 703, rural = 1,979) was analysed. Concentration indices were computed to measure socio-economic inequalities in self-reported NCDs. Concentration index decomposition analysis was performed to determine the relative contributions of the determinants to explaining those inequalities. Significant socio-economic inequalities in self-reported NCDs favouring the rich were found, in which the degree of inequality was more pronounced in urban areas than in their rural counterparts. Household wealth and social health insurance were the main drivers contributing to increased socio-economic inequalities in self-reported NCDs in urban and rural areas, respectively. Among disadvantaged groups, older people living alone, with lowest wealth and with social health insurance had highest probability of reporting at least one NCD for both areas. Public policies aimed at narrowing wealth gaps and expanding and improving principle roles of social health insurance should prioritise the most disadvantaged groups in order to achieve health equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The events of 1978 shaped much of Viet Nam's political and economic environment for more than a decade. After the triumph of the war for national independence in 1975, Viet Nam hoped for a new era of sustained peace and economic development. However, soon after, in 1978, Viet Nam found itself bogged down in another war against the Khmer Rouge to the West, defending against a surprise Chinese invasion to the North and bearing the brunt of economic sanctions from the U.S. and allies. Viet Nam's sole lifeline was economic and military aid from the Soviet bloc. Economic and political isolation crippled the country's economy and continued until Viet Nam launched comprehensive reforms in 1986 and withdrew from Cambodia in 1989. Given the critical importance of the events in 1978 and their consequences, this piece aims to review the happenings, their causes and lessons learned for contemporary diplomacy, particularly for small-to-medium sized countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of species of the dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis is difficult because several species have been poorly described, others misidentified in the literature, and the type species, O. siamensis, has not been described by contemporary taxonomic methods. In the present study, it is argued that Ostreopsis sp. 6 as described by previous authors is similar to the type species, and we offer an emended description of O. siamensis by LM, SEM, and molecular analyses of nuclear LSU and ITS rDNA based on material collected a few hundred kilometers from the type locality in the Gulf of Thailand and along the Vietnamese east coast. Ostreopsis siamensis is genetically different from the species reported as O. cf. siamensis in the literature and the latter should be described as a separate species. It is also concluded that with the poor knowledge of the morphological variability of many species of Ostreopsis, O. siamensis may not be distinguished from other similar‐sized species by its morphological features, and hence molecular data are needed for reliable identification. The species Ostreopsislenticularis and Ostreopsis cf. ovata were also found and described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the growing popularity and consumption of Korean popular culture, known as Hallyu (Originating from Chinese, the Korean term, Hallyu is "Hàn lưu" in Vietnamese and pronounced similarly. During our interviews, we used the latter term, and in our survey we referred to "Korean cultural products") (Korean Wave) amongst young Vietnamese women and examine its socio-cultural implications. To this end, we used in-depth interviews and a survey questionnaire as the main methods of data collection and endeavored to identify the trends and meaning of young women's consumption of Hallyu products in Vietnam. Findings suggest that these signify the following: (i) the emergence of a new generation of womanhood in Vietnam and their empowerment as modern consumers who navigate consumer choices and complement information through the use of diverse channels, and (ii) their desire to construct a modern and cosmopolitan femininity and lifestyle underpinned by the changing role and status of women in the country. These findings add to a growing body of literature on the transnational consumption of media and goods as well as on women's empowerment, especially in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]