Students’ readiness for international academic mobility programs: Evidence from Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM

As a major aspect of internationalization, international academic mobility has been among the most discussed issues in higher education worldwide in recent years. However, while more and more institutions in many countries show substantial interest in implementing international academic mobility programs, the practices seem to be surprisingly in slow progress in Vietnam higher education . The current study, therefore, aims to fill up the gap by exploring the reality of implementing international academic mobility programs and surveying students’ readiness as well as expectations for international academic mobility programs in the setting of the faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University- HCM city. Using data from a semi-structured interview with the faculty dean, a semi-structured interview with 5 students having just coming back from an international academic mobility program to the Philippines in early 2020 and a questionnaire among 78 students coming from 4 continuous cohorts, the findings evidence that (1) Intra-national mobility programs outperform the international ones, (2) Students expect more orientational activities and support from the faculty, (3) Students show high level of readiness for international academic mobility programs, (4) Students are more open-minded in choosing where to go and what to do during international academic mobility programs. Recommendations are well elaborated at the latter part of the study as references for institutions that are considering internationalizing their curricular. The study hopefully sheds light on the feasibility of implementing international academic mobility programs in the setting of Vietnam higher education

Investigating EFL students’ self-directed learning: Evidence from a state university during Covid-19 pandemic

Self-Directed Learning (SDL) occupies a strong position in language education in many countries. Yet, little evidence has been given on this approach among English majors in the setting of Vietnam. The current cross-sectional study, therefore, is an effort to fill up the gap by exploring students’ levels of self-directedness in learning and their correlation with academic performance at a state university. The study employed the Self-Rating Scale of Self-Directed Learning (SRSSDL) with five domains consisting of 60 items developed by Williamson (2007) to get responses from 90 English-majored students of 04 cohorts. The data were then analyzed through SPSS, using Independent-sample T-test and One-way ANOVA. Results of the study evidenced that (1) Investigated students were found to be at moderate and high levels of SDL, (2) No difference in SDL scores was found between male and female students, (3) No considerable difference in SDL scores was found among students of different academic years in the same program, (4) There was a direct correlation between students’ SDL level and their academic performance. Based on the findings, recommendations are well elaborated as references for teachers who are considering leveraging their students’ self-directedness in learning. The study hopefully contributes to the existing literature on self-directed learning in language education

Influence of damping coefficient into engine rubber mounting system on vehicle ride comfort

This study presents a method to improve vehicle ride comfort using additional damping coefficient values for an internal combustion engine (ICE) rubber mounting system. To analyze the effect of the adding damping coefficient values into the rubber mounting system on vehicle ride comfort, a full-vehicle vibration model with 10 degrees of freedom is established under the combination of road surface roughness and ICE excitations. The damping coefficient values are added into ICE rubber mounting system which are respectively analyzed and evaluated according to the international standard ISO 2631-1 (1997). The study results do not only evaluate the influence of the adding damping coefficients on vehicle ride comfort but also suggest the optimal design solution for ICE mounting system to improve vehicle ride comfort

A Framework for Assessing Environmental Incidents in Coastal Areas: A Case Study in the Southeastern Coastal Area of Vietnam

As developing dynamic regions, coastal areas have a high potential for environmental incidents, especially chemical spills, which may permanently threaten livelihoods and coastal ecosystems. Establishing an appropriate methodological framework for assessing environmental incidents in coastal areas, ensuring increased predictability and minimising potential consequences is a trend of interest to scientists. In this study, the environmental risk assessment model was applied to develop a framework for assessing environmental incidents in coastal areas due to chemical spills from the mainland based on hazard, exposure and vulnerability factors (i.e., sensitivity and adaptability). Using the multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) method approach, suitable criteria, their optimal weights and the risk factors were determined. Modelling, remote sensing, and geographic information system (GIS) methods were used simultaneously for data collection, evaluation, and mapping. A case study was conducted in the coastal area of southeastern Vietnam, which comprises 27 subregions. These were classified into four environmental incident levels: low, medium, high, and extreme. Their prevalence was 70.37%, 3.70%, 7.41%, and 18.52% in the rainy season, and 74.07%, 7.41%, 7.41%, and 11.11% in the dry season, respectively. Based on analysis results and consultation with managers and experts, pertinent and practical solutions were proposed to reduce the risk of environmental incidents in subregions with high and extreme incident levels. Our results are expected to support policymakers in decision-making related to the sustainable development of the study area and complete the methodology framework for assessing environmental incidents in coastal areas due to multiple hazards

CSA: Thực hành nông nghiệp thông minh với khí hậu ở Việt Nam

During the last five years, Vietnam has been one of the countries most affected by climate change. Severe typhoons, flooding, cold spells, salinity intrusion, and drought have affected agriculture production across the country, from upland to lowland regions. Fortunately for Vietnam, continuous work in developing climate-smart agriculture has been occurring in research organizations and among innovative farmers and entrepreneurs. Application of various CSA practices and technologies to adapt to the impact of climate change in agriculture production have been expanding. However, there is a need to accelerate the scaling process of these practices and technologies in order to ensure growth of agriculture production and food security, increase income of farmers, make farming climate resilient, and contribute to global climate change mitigation. This book aims to provide basic information to researchers, managers, and technicians and extentionists at different levels on what CSA practices and technologies can be up scaled in different locations in Vietnam

Orange Peel Essential Oil Nanoemulsions Supported by Nanosilver for Antibacterial Application

This study is devoted to the synthesis of King Orange peel essential oil in water nanoemulsions combined with nanosilver by ultrasonic method supported by mechanical stirring for antibacterial application. The samples were characterized by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Ultraviolet–visible (UV-Vis), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Dynamic light scattering (DLS) methods. According to the above-experimental results, it was found that the emulsions based on orange essential oil (without nanosilver) and the ones combined with nanosilver have the average particle size from 66.2 nm and 42.9 nm, respectively. The obtained nanoemulsions were also tested to examine their antibacterial ability against Escherichia coli (E. coli) by the disc diffusion method. It has been also found that nanoemulsions based on orange essential oil supported by nanosilver have the superior antibacterial ability, compared with individual components of the materials

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p < 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p < 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p < 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p < 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p < 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p < 0.001), and high PB score (p < 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors

The Eleventh and Twelfth Data Releases of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Final Data from SDSS-III

The third generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III) took data from 2008 to 2014 using the original SDSS wide-field imager, the original and an upgraded multi-object fiber-fed optical spectrograph, a new near-infrared high-resolution spectrograph, and a novel optical interferometer. All of the data from SDSS-III are now made public. In particular, this paper describes Data Release 11 (DR11) including all data acquired through 2013 July, and Data Release 12 (DR12) adding data acquired through 2014 July (including all data included in previous data releases), marking the end of SDSS-III observing. Relative to our previous public release (DR10), DR12 adds one million new spectra of galaxies and quasars from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) over an additional 3000 deg2 of sky, more than triples the number of H-band spectra of stars as part of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), and includes repeated accurate radial velocity measurements of 5500 stars from the Multi-object APO Radial Velocity Exoplanet Large-area Survey (MARVELS). The APOGEE outputs now include the measured abundances of 15 different elements for each star. In total, SDSS-III added 5200 deg2 of ugriz imaging; 155,520 spectra of 138,099 stars as part of the Sloan Exploration of Galactic Understanding and Evolution 2 (SEGUE-2) survey; 2,497,484 BOSS spectra of 1,372,737 galaxies, 294,512 quasars, and 247,216 stars over 9376 deg2; 618,080 APOGEE spectra of 156,593 stars; and 197,040 MARVELS spectra of 5513 stars. Since its first light in 1998, SDSS has imaged over 1/3 of the Celestial sphere in five bands and obtained over five million astronomical spectra. \ua9 2015. The American Astronomical Society