ARBUSCULAR MICORRHIZAL FUNGI ASSOCIATION IN TWO COFFEE FARMS WITH DIFFERENT CULTIVATION AT LAM DONG

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have an important role in agriculture because of the benefits on plant and ecosystem. However, mycorrhizal association is affected by many factors such as vegetation and farming conditions. In this study, AMF system on soil and roots of coffee were investigated from two coffee farms with different cultivation method in Lam Dong Province, one was not applied fertilizer in 4 years and the other was conventional. The density, the type of mycorrhizal spore and fungal infection rate on coffee roots are different between two coffee farms. Based on morphology, there are 119 types of AMF spore in both coffee farms and most of them belongs to genera Acaulospora, Gigaspora, Entrophospora and Glomus. Spore types RE7, W6 and W1 belonged to Acaulospora and Y5 belonged to Entrophospora appeared in both farms. Besides, spore types B7, RE10, Yc, RE1 and Y1 were recorded in high density (1-4 spores /g soil). All of them were the potential strains for developing the VAM fertilizer specialized to coffee plantation.

How does Family Matter? Investigating the Experiences of Expatriates and their Families in International Assignments

University of Technology Sydney. UTS Business School.The significance of expatriates in managing the overseas operations and providing a boundary spanning role that helps integrate the operations of a subsidiary in the wider inter-organizational global network is widely accepted in international human resource management literature. Extant literature suggests that family plays a certain role in expatriation decisions, and success or failure of expatriates. The number of expatriates that are married/partnered make up the majority of the expatriate population, and most global assignees have family concerns and are influenced by their family in many aspects of their work life. While extant literature has paid attention to the experiences of the family and their influence on the expatriates’ adjustment and performance in the host country, most of these studies have focused on expatriate families who accompany expatriates. The group of split families (where the family does not accompany the expatriates on the international assignment) has been neglected in the literature, thereby limiting our understanding of why in some instances families do not accompany expatriates, how expatriates adjust and perform their tasks in the host country without the physical presence of their families, and how split expatriate families experience international assignments. Using family systems theory, the motivations to undertake international assignments of accompanied and unaccompanied expatriates were investigated, as were the reasons why split expatriate families participate in the split situation. In addition, how families of both situations influence expatriates’ challenges and work outcomes in the host country and how these families experience international assignments were explored. Data for the study were collected using semi-structured interviews with expatriates, expatriate spouses and human resource managers or organizational representatives. The data collection was conducted in Vietnam, which hosts a large number of foreign expatriates, and is an emerging economy. The findings of this current study show that families influence the motivations, considerations, challenges and work outcomes of expatriates in both accompanying and split situations. Furthermore, the experiences of expatriates and families in the split situation are vastly different from those in the accompanying situation although similarities also exist between the two situations. The key findings focus on six major areas: work-related vs. family-driven reasons, family-centered concerns and considerations, adjustable vs. enduring challenges, crossover and spillover effects on expatriates’ work outcomes, tested emotional bonds and organizations’ lack of care for the split situation. By offering insights about split expatriate families in comparison with accompanying ones, this study contributes to the literature on expatriate recruitment, adjustment, work outcomes and family systems theory. In terms of practical contributions, the research outcomes will serve as lessons for multinational enterprises, organizations operating internationally and expatriates and their families to increase expatriation success without compromising family outcomes

A STUDY ON THE DIFFICULTIES IN WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAYS OF ENGLISH-MAJORED SOPHOMORES AT TAY DO UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

The research entitled “A study on the difficulties in writing argumentative essays of English-majored sophomores at Tay Do University” was conducted with the purpose of pointing out some common difficulties of sophomores in writing argumentative essays. The participants of this study were 90 English-majored sophomores of course 13, and two teachers who teach English language at Tay Do University. In this study process, questionnaire and interview were used as two instruments to collect the data. The results of the research would show that English majored sophomores met difficulties in term of linguistic competence (vocabulary, grammar and coherence), organization and development of an argumentative essay, and the lack of critical thinking. Article visualizations

On Building a Community to Exchange and Share Sustainable Fashion Applications

Sustainable development is a standard plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, set forth by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all United Nations member states and agreed to in 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call to action for all developed and developing countries in relation to global cooperation. Many factors cause environmental pollution, but the fashion industry is considered by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the second most polluting industry in the world. It accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and transportation. In particular, the factors that strongly affect the environment in the fashion industry are the textile materials, the fabric dyeing industry, and the rapid development of fast fashion. The data was collected through an online survey of 101 fashion consumers and interviews with nine target audiences who need to buy and sell used clothes or are interested in buying and selling used clothes or sustainable fashion. Sustainable design is not a new concept, but it is still quite strange to the Vietnamese. Consumer ignorance about sustainable consumption and the harmful effects of the fashion industry on planet Earth is a big reason why consumers constantly plunge into the shopping vortex. The problem of wasteful and unsustainable fashion consumption is a big global problem at a time when the fashion industry is gradually emerging into the sustainable fashion movement. This is an opportunity to build a community by connecting consumers through their essential needs, helping them raise awareness, change their behavior, and make each individual part of a sustainable fashion community. They are thus contributing to sustainable development in the future. Keywords: SDGs, sustainable fashion, sustainable consumption, communit

Optimization of Main Factors Affecting Construction Waste by the Supply Chain Management

A survey report of the Vietnam Urban Environment and Industrial Zone Association reveals that every day in 2009, about 1,000 tons of construction waste were generated in Hanoi and 2,000 tons Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It is forecasted that the coming years would see a vigorously growing amount of construction waste as a result of the plan to dismantle and renovate old apartment buildings in major cities. So, in this research we developed a supply chain management strategy for the waste controlling in the construction industry. While the bulky volume of construction wastes poses a great environmental threat to urban areas, response to it remains meager. Hence, this paper presents four primary factors affecting the management of construction wastes in Vietnam using fuzzy logic

UTJECAJ UVJETA POSTUPKA DOBIVANJA MLJEVENE TROSKE TALJENJEM UGLJENA U VISOKOJ PEĆI UZ UPORABU GEOPOLIMERA

In this study, the material characterization of Vietnamese ground coal slag and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), such as particle size distribution, chemical composition, bulk density and particle density are shown. The geopolymer specimens were prepared by mixing an 80 m/m% mass of solid materials (ground coal slag and GGBFS in a different ratio) with 20 m/m % of a 10M NaOH alkaline activator. A systematic experimental series was carried out in order to optimize the preparation process. In that series, the heat curing temperature was 60°C for 6 hours, and then selected specimens were heat treated at a high temperature (1000 °C) for 1 hour. After 7 days of ageing, the physical properties of the geopolymer (compressive strength, specimen density) were measured. Also, after 180 days of ageing, the pH values of water in the geopolymer leaching preparation were determined. The results show that the geopolymer can be used for refractory applications due to its good heat resistance properties. However, geopolymers that were heated at 1000 °C had lower compressive strength, specimen density and pH values of water containing the geopolymer than those that were cured at 60 °C.U ovome istraživanju donose se obilježja vijetnamskih granulata ugljene troske i troske željezne rude na osnovi njihove veličine, kemijskoga sastava i gustoće. Uzorci geopolimera pripremljeni su miješanjem 80 % m/m (mase otopljenoga / masa otopine) ugljene i željezne troske (u različitim omjerima) s 20 % m/m 10M NaOH kao alkalnoga aktivatora. Sustavnim serijama eksperimenata optimiziran je postupak pripreme, pri čemu je temperatura iznosila 60 °C tijekom 6 sati, nakon čega su odabrani uzorci zagrijavani 1 sat na 1000 °C. Nakon sljedećih 7 dana izmjerena su fizička svojstva geopolimera (tlačna čvrstoća, gustoća). Zatim je poslije 180 dana određena pH-vrijednost vode korištene u postupku ispiranja geopolimera. Rezultati su pokazali kako geopolimeri mogu biti korišteni za namjene u vatrostalnim uvjetima zahvaljujući toplinskim svojstvima. Također, geopolimeri koji su zagrijavani na 1000 °C imaju niže vrijednosti tlačne čvrstoće, gustoće i pH-vrijednosti vode u njima od onih koji su grijani na 60 °C

Income Diversification and Financial Performance: The Mediating Effect of Banks’ Size, Ownership Structure, and the Financial Crisis in Vietnam

Research aims: This study focuses on the correlation between income diversification and financial performance, taking into account banks’ size, type of ownership, and the financial crisis.Design/Methodology/Approach: This study uses financial data of 29 commercial banks in Vietnam during the period from 2005 to 2018. This research employs a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regression.Research findings: The results do not find statistical evidence of a direct effect of banks’ income diversification on their financial performance. However, when considering the classification factors, such as the bank’s size and ownership type, the findings show that big banks and state-owned banks could take advantage of diversification strategies to boost their profitability. Moreover, the study has proven that income diversification generates a significant positive effect on banks’ financial performance during the crisis time.Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study provides a theoretical evidence on the direct effect of income diversification on a bank’s financial performance concerning banks’ size, ownership type, and the financial crisis.Practitioner/Policy implication: Further, this research also offers the bank’s managers, policymakers, and investors an insight of good banks’ financial performance in the context of an unstable economy.Research limitation/Implication: The limitations still exist in this research, such as (1) the number of banks participating in the research sample was a predictable limitation; (2) this research mainly focused on financial variables but ignored the variables representing the managers’ behavior and the banks’ organizational structure; (3) the future studies can focus on these aspects to explore further the hidden picture of diversification strategy and banking performance

Propagating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with coffee plant by using the herbaceous host

Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of important industrial crops. Additionally, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide many benefits for plants such as increasing nutrient uptake, enhancing tolerance in drought and stress condition, etc. Therefore, preservation and propagation of AMF spores collected from coffee’s rhizosphere are necessary for coffee cultivation. The AMF preservation on coffee plant is not feasible because coffee is a long-term plants, which led to study on symbiotic ability of AMF on several short-term host plants (maize (Zea mays), plantain (Plantago spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), beggarticks (Bidens pilosa), and bahia grass (Pensacola bahia)) to maintain AM association. Investigation of symbiosis ability with four types of AMF spores showed that maize had the highest rate of fungal infection. The total number of AMF spore per 50g soil after 3 months of inoculation on maize reached 352 spores, which was 4.1 times higher than that of the origin while the lowest figure recorded in bahia grass is with only 2.3 times

AN ANALYSIS OF TECHNICAL FACTORS AND FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY OF INTEGRATED IMPROVED EXTENSIVE SHRIMP FARMING SYSTEMS IN CA MAU PROVINCE, VIETNAM

The study was conducted from May to September 2020 to evaluate technical factors and the financial efficiency of integrated shrimp farming models. Forty-five inte grated rice-shrimp rotation farming and fortyfive integrated mangrove-shrimp farming households in Ca Mau were subjects of the survey. The results show that farm sizes were relatively large (2.47-5.30 ha). Stocking density was 4.70 ind./m2 (shrimp-rice) and 17.8 ind./m2 (mangrove-shrimp), reaching the productivity of 229.3 and 267.8 kg/ha/crop, respectively. Besides, the rice-shrimp model harvested 1.36 tons/ha/crop of rice and 11.8kg/ha/crop of crab. The mangrove-shrimp model could harvest 69.3kg/ha/crop of crab, 79.3 kg of wild shrimp and 73.5 kg of wild fish. The total production cost for the rice-shrimp model was 6.80 million VND/ha/crop, producing a profit of 33.4 million VND/ha/crop. The mangrove-shrimp model required a production cost at 19.9 million VND/ha/crop and brought a profit of 60.1 million VND/ha/crop. The productivity of shrimp was influenced negatively by stocking density, positively by cultured area (rice-shrimp model), and the ratio of forest area (for mangrove-shrimp model)