What Shapes Undergraduate Students’ Satisfaction in Unstable Learning Contexts?

This paper investigates what determinants, and to what extent, they influence students’ satisfaction in unstable learning contexts. Using a national-scaled sample of Vietnamese HEIs with a sound theoretical background, we find that regardless of instabilities from external shocks, the key factors that shape students’ satisfaction are fixed by traditional norms (self-efficacy, infrastructure, lecturer) rather than occasional factors occurring from each event. We find in particular that self-efficacy is the most influential factor for students’ satisfaction and friendship is the most prominent element that enhances students’ self- efficacy. Overall, this paper enriched the literature on student satisfaction, especially during unstable contexts. Thus, it has important implications for educators and HEIs stakeholders in management planning in the time to come

Studying of The Viability of Selected Probioitcs in Soy Milk to Develop A Functional Beverage Product

In this research, Lactobacillus casei (L.casei) and  Lactobacillus plantarum (L.plantarum) were added into two soymilk products. The number of survival probiotics as well as the effects of probiotic strains, soymilk brands and additives to the quality of final product were also studied. The initial number was added around 107 to 108(CFU/ml) into Fami and Vinasoy soy milk. The number of survival probiotics was stable during the first four weeks with about 107 (CFU/ml) and then decreased to around 106 (CFU/ml) in the sixth week. In term of soymilk’s quality, the pH decreased dramatically while the Brix fell slowly after storing seven days in both soymilk products. The influence of food additive-fructose oligosaccharides adding to microencapsulate probiotics was also examined to increase storage time and final product quality

Food Loss and Food Waste as Global Issues

The entire world is facing significant challenges in the coming decades. It has been demonstrated that many countries must prepare themselves to face a considerable rise in food consumption and corresponding food waste. There must be a cooperation of consumers, retailers, producers and government to solve this complex issue. Their efforts to decrease food waste would offer a significant sustainable alternative to scale up food manufacturing that leading to a stabling food security internally and internationally. Governments and businesses should develop food loss and food waste prevention throughout the entire supply chain. There should be a higher effort on decreasing post-harvest losses in early stages in the food value chain in the developing countries. Meanwhile, in the developed countries, the government should have policies to reduce food waste at consumer level which could minimize food being unnecessarily thrown away. Governments should also support the establishment of independent organizations which could facilitate and assess efforts to decrease food waste, such as the WRAP in the UK in grocery and hospitality supply chain. Keywords: food loss, food waste, food value chain, reuse, cycl

Food Loss and Food Waste as Global Issues

ABSTRACTThe entire world is facing significant challenges in the coming decades. It has been demonstrated that many countries must prepare themselves to face a considerable rise in food consumption and corresponding food waste. There must be a cooperation of consumers, retailers, producers and government to solve this complex issue. Their efforts to decrease food waste would offer a significant sustainable alternative to scale up food manufacturing that leading to a stabling food security internally and internationally. Governments and businesses should develop food loss and food waste prevention throughout the entire supply chain. There should be a higher effort on decreasing post-harvest losses in early stages in the food value chain in the developing countries. Meanwhile, in the developed countries, the government should have policies to reduce food waste at consumer level which could minimize food being unnecessarily thrown away. Governments should also support the establishment of independent organizations which could facilitate and assess efforts to decrease food waste, such as the WRAP in the UK in grocery and hospitality supply chain.Keywords: food loss, food waste, food value chain, reuse, cycl

Efficiency of Farmer Organisations in Supplying Supermarkets with Quality Food in Vietnam

The development of supermarkets in Vietnam, as in other emerging countries, goes along with an increasing concern on the part of purchasers for food quality. The paper investigates whether farmer organisations are able to help small-scale farmers get access to supermarkets, and the role that supermarkets and public support play in their emergence and development. It is based on case studies involving a number of stakeholders marketing vegetables, flavoured rice and litchi fruit in Vietnam. The interviews investigated patterns of horizontal and vertical coordination that link farmers to supermarkets, the distribution of costs and benefits between farmers and traders along the chains in relation to the strategy of quality differentiation. Eight farmer associations that work in the form of private commercial organisations are regular supermarket suppliers for the selected products. Their ability to supply supermarkets is related to the combination of functions they make available to their members, especially as regards training to improve quality (appearance, taste, safety), quality promotion and control, for which they receive public support, as well as their participation in flexible contracts with supermarkets, shops and schools. Supermarket supply through farmer associations increases farmer incomes when compared with traditional chains, yet the situation is reported to change with the increase in supermarket competition. The paper argues that changes in farmer organisation are not only due to supplying supermarkets, but also to public and international support to food quality improvement, which have been of benefit to supermarkets.Agribusiness, Industrial Organization,

Expanding the Use of Fly Ash as an Admixture in Concrete in Vietnam

To bolster the drive for economic and social development in Vietnam, 31 coal-fired power plants were constructed to meet the demand for electricity. According to a survey by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, approximately 20.5 million tons of coal ash will be generated in 2020. A part of the generated coal ash was recycled as landfill; however, the rest lies unused or discarded, causing serious environmental pollution. Since fly ash (FA) forms a major component of coal ash, it is necessary to establish methods for the safe, continuous, and effective use of FA. This study compared the Vietnamese National Standards with the Japanese Industrial Standards from the perspective of using FA as an admixture in concrete. Japanese FA was used in the experiments. Consequently, by using suitable amounts of chemical admixtures and adjusting the ratio of FA as a cement replacement and as a fine aggregate replacement, structural concrete can be manufactured, and the required quality can be assured

THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY IN POLAND: AN INVESTIGATION OF SOCIAL CAPITAL

Unlike previous migration studies that extensively concerned the adaptation issue, this study focuses on the social bases, investigating the configuration of the social capital of the Vietnamese community in Poland. It mainly concerns two main components of social capital: social networks and social trust. The data for empirical analyses in this study are employed from a research project examining the integration of the Vietnamese into the political sphere in Polish society. The project applies a mixed-research method design to collect quantitative data through an original social survey with 347 respondents and qualitative data from 15 semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal the social capital of the Vietnamese in Poland with a striking characteristic of a high level of bonding ties, primarily relying on close relations such as family or ethnic organizations to seek support and placing a very high level of confidence in family members. Nevertheless, this study also uncovers the accumulation of bridging social capital through developing out-group contacts and participating in cross-ethnic associations among the Vietnamese. The results of this study have significant implications for understanding the attachment tendency of the Vietnamese in Polish society

Expanding the Use of Fly Ash as an Admixture in Concrete in Vietnam

To bolster the drive for economic and social development in Vietnam, 31 coal-fired power plants were constructed to meet the demand for electricity. According to a survey by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, approximately 20.5 million tons of coal ash will be generated in 2020. A part of the generated coal ash was recycled as landfill; however, the rest lies unused or discarded, causing serious environmental pollution. Since fly ash (FA) forms a major component of coal ash, it is necessary to establish methods for the safe, continuous, and effective use of FA. This study compared the Vietnamese National Standards with the Japanese Industrial Standards from the perspective of using FA as an admixture in concrete. Japanese FA was used in the experiments. Consequently, by using suitable amounts of chemical admixtures and adjusting the ratio of FA as a cement replacement and as a fine aggregate replacement, structural concrete can be manufactured, and the required quality can be assured

Nonlinear post-buckling of thin FGM annular spherical shells under mechanical loads and resting on elastic foundations

This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear buckling and post-buckling of thin annular spherical shells made of functionally graded materials (FGM) and subjected to mechanical load and resting on Winkler-Pasternak type elastic foundations. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and compatibility equations for annular spherical shells are derived by using the classical thin shell theory in terms of the shell deflection and the stress function. Approximate analytical solutions are assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and Galerkin method is applied to obtain closed-form of load-deflection paths. An analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical properties and combination of loads on the stability of the annular spherical shells