Research in Vietnam: the experience of the humanities and social sciences

Vietnam’s low level of research productivity is especially pronounced in the humanities and social sciences. Though previous research has suggested various possible explanations, to date there has been no detailed investigation of the topic. This investigation explored the publishing experiences of a selected sample group of 20 high-achieving and well-regarded Vietnamese scholars from the humanities and social sciences. For these participants, a commitment to research and publishing derived mainly from a personal sense of academic identity, a desire to complement their teaching role by doing research, and a wish to contribute to Vietnam’s social and economic development through their research. Few of them reported feeling institutional pressure to publish, though some reported that their university was now providing financial incentives for publishing in high-impact journals. Disincentives to publishing included funding limitations, and especially limitations associated with approval mechanisms within universities. Interference with the freedom to publish was reported to occur, but none of the participants appeared to be too concerned about political censorship. It was widely considered to be easier to have research reported in national than in international peer-reviewed journals because of the difference in academic standards. A lack of confidence with writing in English was also reported by some participants to be a constraint on publishing in international journals

Enhancing inclusion, experience, and academic performance: peer-to-peer mentoring for equity group students in an Australian regional university

This chapter describes an undergraduate peer-to-peer mentoring program, UniMentor, at a regional Australian university, which aims to support students in equity groups. Key benefits identified are: enhanced retention rates; improved academic performance; and strengthened social networks. While the focus is on commencing students (mentees), significant positive outcomes for thirdyear mentors are also apparent. Internal and external challenges that may influence access to mentoring among students include shifting institutional support and roles and curriculum change. Enablers include training, clarity of purpose, strong support networks, and fostering student sense of ownership. The effect of disciplinary culture on uptake and effectiveness of mentoring is also important. Overall, the program compares well against published frameworks of successful student mentoring. Nevertheless, critical questions remain regarding the effectiveness of general versus targeted mentoring programs for students in equity groups

Trade and growth in SACU countries: A panel data analysis

Recent research from the IMF and the World Bank suggests that restrictive trade policies could lead to poor economic growth in many developing countries. This paper exploits over 30 years of panel data from five Southern African Customs Union (SACU) countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Swaziland – to investigate the possible link between trade liberalization and economic growth. The paper contributes to the literature by introducing multiple indicators of liberalization to estimate the possible relationships between trade openness and economic growth. In particular, we use four different trade liberalization indicators: (i) tariffs, (ii) real effective exchange rates (REER), (iii) trade ratios, and (iv) adjusted trade ratios. The results from our fixed-effect regression models indicate that there is little, if any, compelling evidence that trade liberalization has had a positive impact on the economic growth on SACU countries over the last 30 years

Demarketing an iconic national park experience: receptiveness of past,current and potential visitors to selected strategies

Tourism in national parks is essentially about providing memorable nature-based experiences for visitors. However, often there are limits to the numbers of people that can enjoy an iconic experience at a given site in a national park. Summiting a mountain has the propensity to provide an iconic experience for visitors but can be accompanied by management issues, including visitor safety, environmental impacts and even cultural sensi- tivities. While there are a range of possible management interventions, one approach is to actively demarket the experience. Published studies on the demarketing of national parks to date have primarily been conceptual, with limited empirical research exploring stakeholders ’ perceptions of available strategies and virtually no research on visitor perceptions. This manuscript assesses the receptiveness of past, current and potential visitors to de- marketing an iconic experience, speci fi cally summiting Wollumbin - Mount Warning, Australia. Findings from an on-site survey of visitors (n = 794) and an on-line survey of past, current and potential visitors (n = 990) re- vealed some potential for the use of access fees to demarket the summit experience. While there was also some support for additional experiences to complement the summit option, current visitors noted they were still likely to climb the peak. Higher levels of receptiveness to modi fi ed and alternative experiences were apparent among past and potential visitors. To reduce numbers on the summit of Wollumbin – Mount Warning, demarketing needs to be used with a suite of other management strategies. This manuscript\u27s successful application of the marketing mix framework for inventorying demarketing strategies can serve as a model for other park contexts. Future research should extent the work to other contexts and to an exploration of the perceived bene fi ts and costs of a wider range of demarketing strategies. Management implications: • Better understanding and control of the media and messages communicated about particular park experi- ences pre-visit • Use of pricing together with modi fi ed experience options to demarket experiences to current visitors • Development, testing and promotion of alternative experiences to demarket visitor experiences to potential visitors • Stakeholder consultation that prioritizes Indigenous cultural values • Demarketing that is grounded in and aimed at facilitating sustainable visitor managemen

Bangladeshi young people\u27s ecoliteracy in postcolonial times

This research explores Bangladeshi young people’s ecoliteracy and how such literacy is socially and culturally influenced. At present, Bangladesh has no particular policy document on environmental education for school education. The theoretical foundations of this study are in the intersecting areas of socioecological theory and postcolonial theory. A child-framed ethnographic methodology was used as the overarching mode of enquiry. The study was conducted in two districts of Bangladesh—Dhaka and Jessore—involving 28 co-researchers and 84 participants aged between 14 and 15 from four different secondary public and private schools. The young people revealed a rich tapestry of ecoliteracy. While ecological knowledge was limited among some young people, environmental issues such as climate change were revealed as an omnipresent consciousness in Bangladeshi culture. The research revealed a deep level of systemic environmental inaction due to traditional and colonial concepts of the environment and education, which continue to dominate Bangladeshi culture

Endurance masters athletes: A model of successful ageing with clinically superior BMI?

Master athletes (30yrs and older) are aged individuals who exercise regularly and compete in organized competitive sport. The long-term physical activity/exercise should afford these individuals health benefits, one of which should be apparent in body mass 1/11 index (BMI), a simple index for identifying overweight and obese athletes. Purpose: To investigate the BMI of endurance masters athletes and determine if this cohort demonstrated clinically favourable BMI as compared to sedentary controls or the general population. A systematic review of electronic databases (CINAHL, Cochrane, Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science) for studies where BMI was measured in either masters athletes, World Masters Games athletes or veteran athletes. Results: Database searches identified 7,465 studies, of which nine met our inclusion criteria. The mean BMI of all the studies was found to be significantly (p\u3c0.001) lower in masters athletes as compared to controls (23.4 kg/m (±0.97) versus 26.3 kg/m (±1.68)). Additionally, for all studies mean masters athlete BMI was classified as normal (BMI \u3e18.5 to \u3c25.0 kg/m ) whereas the majority (77.8%) of the controls BMIs were classified as overweight (BMI \u3e25.0 to \u3c 30 kg/m2). In all studies, masters athletes had lower BMI compared to controls, this difference was found to be significant in 44.4% of the studies, where significance was not found masters athlete BMI was -2.6% to -18.6% lower than controls. In all studies, the mean BMI was lower in masters athletes (as compared to controls) and this favourable BMI would afford masters athletes reduced risk with regard to the development of a number of cardiometabolic diseases, osteoarthritis and certain types of cancer

Global citizenship: Defining capabilities for speech-language pathology

Purpose: This paper outlines the findings of a scoping review of the literature relating to global citizenship. The purpose of the review was to develop a working definition and associated capabilities for assessing global citizenship among speech-language pathologists (SLPs), which may also prove helpful to other health professionals and for educating tertiary students. Method: Using Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework, key databases were searched, namely Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Subsequently the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms were applied for coding and categorising initial research findings. Articles were individually appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool (CASP). Result: Of the 2126 articles identified, 21 articles were determined to satisfy the search criteria. The literature revealed nine capabilities associated with global citizenship appropriate for health professionals including SLPs. Conclusion: Based on the findings, a working definition is determined for assessing professional global citizenship capabilities, which will prove useful for improving occupational standards, for charting competencies, and ultimately enhancing professional capability

Culture in multisensory computing: dividing the body for a digital future

This paper examines the ways in which computer science and a selection of multisensory digital devices modulate the term culture. Three self-identified, ‘cultural computing’ devices are examined: ZENetic, Alice’s Adventures and GRIOT’S Japanese Renku. The devices variously configure relationships between bodies and culture so that the body is thought to provide a window into particular cultures, as well as a universal tool of their transmission. These delineations of the term culture occur in continuity with surrounding political histories and projects, including racial and ethnic ones. Dividing the body between the extra cultural and the culturally specific works to secure the communicability as well as the exclusivity of cultural practices. It is an instance of what Merleau-Ponty terms a divergence, a gap within the body between two imbricated parts. In this way, these devices present culture as a source of innovation that combats global and abstracted computing practices

The effect of manual therapy and exercise on age-related lung function: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: Ageing is associated with a range of anatomical and physiological changes. Establishing whether a change is part of \u27normal\u27 ageing or the early signs of disease will affect management strategies. Progressive stiffening of the thoracic spine, decreasing chest wall compliance and declining lung function begin as early as 40 years of age. Administering an intervention such as manual therapy, which has the potential to mitigate age-related changes in the thoracic spine and chest wall, has the potential to improve thoracic compliance and lung function. The aims of this trial are to investigate whether manual therapy can mitigate the effects of age-related changes in lung function and whether there is a difference in effect between different forms of manual therapy.Methods: The study design is a randomised controlled trial of 372 people with no history of respiratory disease between the ages of 50 and 65 years. The cohort will be divided into three equal groups. The first group will receive a simple 10-min treadmill walking program (Ex). The second group will receive joint mobilisation (MB) of the thoracic spine and ribs plus the same walking program (MB + Ex). The third group will receive joint manipulation (MT) of the thoracic spine and ribs plus the same walking program (MT + Ex). All interventions will be administered a total of six times over a 3-week period. The primary outcome measure is lung function: forced expiratory volume in the 1st second and forced vital capacity. The secondary outcome measures include chest wall expansion (tape measurements) and quality of life measurements (36-Item Short Form Health Survey). Outcome measurements will be taken by blinded assessors on four occasions over a 9-week period. Adverse event data will be gathered at the beginning of each intervention session.Discussion: This randomised controlled trial is designed to investigate whether manual therapy can mitigate the effects of age-related changes in lung function and whether there is a difference in effect between different forms of manual therapy. This is the first fully powered trial designed to test this hypothesis on healthy males and females in this age range

Undergraduate research in nursing and health sciences: Curriculum design from first principles

Background/Objective: Multidisciplinary learning within the framework of undergraduate education has recently been recognised as essential in developing an integrated and resilient healthcare system for the future. This inquiry seeks to derive common learning outcomes for a new multidisciplinary foundation research methods unit for undergraduate health sciences students.Methods: An outcomes-based design was used to determine the learning outcomes from first principles. All academics across multiple health disciplines at a regional university in Australia were invited to a series of meetings to brainstorm a set of common graduate capabilities and the scaffolds required to achieve them. Meetings were carefully documented and agreed to by consensus after member checking. A thematic analysis was undertaken to identify emergent themes. The capabilities themes were checked for alignment with the institutional graduate attributes and the thresholds of learning outcomes (TLOs) set out by the Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching. Results: Three broad theoretical constructs emerged from the thematic analysis for the graduate capabilities: (i) health practitioners as evidence consumers (i.e. knowledge translation); (ii) health practitioners as evidence producers, (i.e. knowledge creation) and; (iii) ethical practice. Conclusions: This study derived a set of learning outcomes from first principles, while applying an outcomes-based curriculum design methodology. This may be a useful approach for finding common learning outcomes within a multidisciplinary health educational framework. Such structures and processes may not only help to provide students with a solid foundation for learning content that they have in common with other disciplines, but may also to facilitate interprofessional communication in future practice