FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS IN VIET NAM

Microfinance plays an important role in the nation's financial inclusive system. Therefore, the development of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) increasingly receives the attention of governments, especially in developing countries. In which, financial sustainability is one of the determinants which measures the development of microfinance institutions (MFIs). In this research, the institutionalist approach is applied with the purpose of developing empirical evidence for the determinants that affect the financial sustainability of MFIs in Viet Nam. Financial sustainability is analyzed through the evaluation criteria of the investors and the wholesale lending organizations. The Fixed Effect Model is applied to determine the factors that affect the financial sustainability of MFIs in Viet Nam. Quantitative results show that the financial sustainability of MFIs is governed by five factors, including (i) the growth rate of MFIs’ outstanding loans, (ii) the efficiency of MFIs’ performance, (iii) the ratio of borrowers to the number of staffs of MFIs with a positive impact; (iv) the debt-to-equity ratio of MFIs; and (v) the incremental cost per client of the MFIs with negative effec

Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam

Using a panel sample of manufacturing firms from small- and medium-sized enterprise surveys between 2009 and 2013, we estimate the causal effects on firm outcomes of human resource management practices at the firm level in Vietnam. Employing a fixed-effects framework for the estimation, we find that on average a firm that provides the training for new workers gains roughly 13.7%, 10% and 14.9% higher in output value per worker, value added per worker and gross profit per worker respectively than the counterpart. Moreover, an additional ten-day training duration for new employees on average leads to 4.1% increase in output value per worker, 3.0% rise in value added per worker and 3.0% growth in gross profit per worker. We also uncover that a marginal 10% of HRM spending results in about 2% and 1.6% rises in output value per worker and value added per worker, respectively. Nevertheless, we find no statistically significant impacts of incentive measure on firm outcomes. The estimated results are strongly robust to various specifications

Human Resource Management Practices and Firm Outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam

Using a panel sample of manufacturing firms from small- and medium-sized enterprise surveys between 2009 and 2013, we estimate the causal effects on firm outcomes of human resource management practices at the firm level in Vietnam. Employing a fixed-effects framework for the estimation, we find that on average a firm that provides the training for new workers gains roughly 13.7%, 10% and 14.9% higher in output value per worker, value added per worker and gross profit per worker respectively than the counterpart. Moreover, an additional ten-day training duration for new employees on average leads to 4.1% increase in output value per worker, 3.0% rise in value added per worker and 3.0% growth in gross profit per worker. We also uncover that a marginal 10% of HRM spending results in about 2% and 1.6% rises in output value per worker and value added per worker, respectively. Nevertheless, we find no statistically significant impacts of incentive measure on firm outcomes. The estimated results are strongly robust to various specifications

A novel control method to maximize the energy-harvesting capability of an adjustable slope angle wave energy converter

This paper introduces a novel control approach to maximizing the output energy of an adjustable slope angle wave energy converter (ASAWEC) with oil-hydraulic power take-off. Different from typical floating-buoy WECs, the ASAWEC is capable of capturing wave energy from both heave and surge modes of wave motions. For different waves, online determination of the titling angle plays a significant role in optimizing the overall efficiency of the ASAWEC. To enhance this task, the proposed method was developed based on a learning vector quantitative neural network (LVQNN) algorithm. First, the LVQNN-based supervisor controller detects wave conditions and directly produces the optimal titling angles. Second, a so-called efficiency optimization mechanism (EOM) with a secondary controller was designed to regulate automatically the ASAWEC slope angle to the desired value sent from the supervisor controller. A prototype of the ASAWEC was fabricated and a series of simulations and experiments was performed to train the supervisor controller and validate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach with regular waves. The results indicated that the system could reach the optimal angle within 2s and subsequently, the output energy could be maximized. Compared to the performance of a system with a vertically fixed slope angle, an increase of 5% in the overall efficiency was achieved. In addition, simulations of the controlled system were performed with irregular waves to confirm the applicability of the proposed approach in practice

Proposition and experiment of a sliding angle self-tuning wave energy converter

The hydraulic power-take-off mechanism (HPTO) is one of the most popular methods in wave energy converters (WECs). However, the conventional HPTO with a fixed direction motion has some drawbacks which limit its power capture capability. This paper proposes a sliding angle self-tuning wave energy converter (SASTWEC) to find the optimal sliding angle automatically, with the purpose of increasing the power capture capability and energy efficiency. Furthermore, a small scale WEC test rig was fabricated and a wave making source has been employed to verify the sliding angle performance and efficiency of the proposed system throughout experiments

The Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS): A Strategic Approach to Studying Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

The effect of newly emerging or re-emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin in human populations can be potentially catastrophic, and large-scale investigations of such diseases are highly challenging. The monitoring of emergence events is subject to ascertainment bias, whether at the level of species discovery, emerging disease events, or disease outbreaks in human populations. Disease surveillance is generally performed post hoc, driven by a response to recent events and by the availability of detection and identification technologies. Additionally, the inventory of pathogens that exist in mammalian and other reservoirs is incomplete, and identifying those with the potential to cause disease in humans is rarely possible in advance. A major step in understanding the burden and diversity of zoonotic infections, the local behavioral and demographic risks of infection, and the risk of emergence of these pathogens in human populations is to establish surveillance networks in populations that maintain regular contact with diverse animal populations, and to simultaneously characterize pathogen diversity in human and animal populations. Vietnam has been an epicenter of disease emergence over the last decade, and practices at the human/animal interface may facilitate the likelihood of spillover of zoonotic pathogens into humans. To tackle the scientific issues surrounding the origins and emergence of zoonotic infections in Vietnam, we have established The Vietnam Initiative on Zoonotic Infections (VIZIONS). This countrywide project, in which several international institutions collaborate with Vietnamese organizations, is combining clinical data, epidemiology, high-throughput sequencing, and social sciences to address relevant one-health questions. Here, we describe the primary aims of the project, the infrastructure established to address our scientific questions, and the current status of the project. Our principal objective is to develop an integrated approach to the surveillance of pathogens circulating in both human and animal populations and assess how frequently they are exchanged. This infrastructure will facilitate systematic investigations of pathogen ecology and evolution, enhance understanding of viral cross-species transmission events, and identify relevant risk factors and drivers of zoonotic disease emergence

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke