The Impact of Land Fragmentation in Rice Production on Household Food Insecurity in Vietnam

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of land fragmentation in rice production on household food insecurity in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on the effect of land fragmentation on household food insecurity in rice production. This study uses a relatively rich panel dataset of rice farming households across different regions from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) 2012, 2014, and 2016. The research applies the ordered probit model to identify land fragmentation and other factors affecting household food insecurity at different food insecurity levels. Findings indicate that land fragmentation and rice seed types are positively correlated with household food insecurity. Importantly, the odds of an increase of 1% fragmentation land index increase the probability of household food insecurity at a very high level of 4.79% after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Other factors such as total cultivated area, access to credit, and household savings help reduce household food insecurity. These findings suggest that the government needs to foster the process of consolidating fragmented rice plots to help households produce efficiently and reduce food insecurity for their families. In addition, other approaches such as increasing farm size for each rice farmer and access to credit can increase the probability of food security for rural households in Vietnam

The Impact of Land Fragmentation in Rice Production on Household Food Insecurity in Vietnam

The objective of this study is to examine the impact of land fragmentation in rice production on household food insecurity in Vietnam. This study provides the first evidence on the effect of land fragmentation on household food insecurity in rice production. This study uses a relatively rich panel dataset of rice farming households across different regions from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) 2012, 2014, and 2016. The research applies the ordered probit model to identify land fragmentation and other factors affecting household food insecurity at different food insecurity levels. Findings indicate that land fragmentation and rice seed types are positively correlated with household food insecurity. Importantly, the odds of an increase of 1% fragmentation land index increase the probability of household food insecurity at a very high level of 4.79% after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity. Other factors such as total cultivated area, access to credit, and household savings help reduce household food insecurity. These findings suggest that the government needs to foster the process of consolidating fragmented rice plots to help households produce efficiently and reduce food insecurity for their families. In addition, other approaches such as increasing farm size for each rice farmer and access to credit can increase the probability of food security for rural households in Vietnam

A Numerical Study of the Effect of Component Dimensions on the Critical Buckling Load of a GFRP Composite Strut under Uniaxial Compression

In the practical design of thin-walled composite columns, component dimensions should be wisely designed to meet the buckling resistance and economic requirements. This paper provides a novel and useful investigation based on a numerical study of the effects of the section dimensions, thickness ratio, and slenderness ratio on the critical buckling load of a thin-walled composite strut under uniaxial compression. The strut was a channel-section-shaped strut and was made of glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite material by stacking symmetrical quasi-isotropic layups using the autoclave technique. For the purpose of this study, a numerical finite element model was developed for the investigation by using ABAQUS software. The linear and post-buckling behavior analysis was performed to verify the results of the numerical model with the obtained buckling load from the experiment. Then, the effects of the cross-section dimensions, thickness ratio, and slenderness ratio on the critical buckling load of the composite strut, which is determined using an eigenvalue buckling analysis, were investigated. The implementation results revealed an insightful interaction between cross-section dimensions and thickness ratio and the buckling load. Based on this result, a cost-effective design was recommended as a useful result of this study. Moreover, a demarcation point between global and local buckling of the composite strut was also determined. Especially, a new design curve for the channel-section GFRP strut, which is governed by the proposed constitutive equations, was introduced to estimate the critical buckling load based on the input component dimension

Enhancing Damage-Sensing Capacity of Strain-Hardening Macro-Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete by Adding Low Amount of Discrete Carbons

The effects of adding micro-carbon fibers on the electro-mechanical response of macro-steel fiber-reinforced concretes (MSFRCs) under tension were investigated. Two MSFRCs were investigated and they had identical mortar matrix but different fiber contents: MSFRC1 and MSFRC2 contained 1.0 and 1.5 vol.% fibers, respectively. The volume contents of added micro-carbon fibers were 0 to 1.5 vol.% in MSFRC1 and 0 to 0.75 vol.% in MSFRC2, respectively. The addition of 0.5 vol.% micro-carbon fibers, in both MSFRC1 and MSFRC2, produced significantly enhanced damage-sensing capability and still retained their strain-hardening performance together with multiple micro cracks. However, when the content of carbon fibers was more than 0.5 vol.%, the MSFRCs generated tensile strain-softening behavior and reduced damage-sensing capability. Furthermore, the effects of temperature and humidity on the electrical resistivity of MSFRCs were investigated, as were the effects of adding multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the damage-sensing capability of MSFRCs

PHÂN TÍCH CÁC YẾU TỐ ẢNH HƯỞNG ĐẾN KHẢ NĂNG TIẾP CẬN TÍN DỤNG CHÍNH THỨC CHO HỘ NUÔI TÔM Ở HUYỆN QUẢNG ĐIỀN, TỈNH THỪA THIÊN HUẾ

The objective of the study is to identify factors influencing access to formal credit for the surveyed shrimp farmers in Quang Dien district. Based on 100 shrimp farmers interviewed, the study used the Probit model to show six factors that have significant effects on the probability of shrimp farming households accessing formal credit. Factors influencing access are the assessment of the increase in food prices, the household's capital needs, the age of the household head, the satisfaction of the loan amount, the level of satisfaction with bank staff. The study also pointed out that the loan limit has not met the demand of the household because the investment rate for this activity is quite high. Improving the qualifications, attitudes and skills of bank staff to more effectively support shrimp farmers, and increasing access to formal credit should also be focused on in the coming time.Nghiên cứu này xác định các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến khả năng tiếp cận tín dụng chính thức cho hộ nuôi tôm được khảo sát tại huyện Quảng Điền. Dựa trên mẫu điều tra 100 hộ nuôi tôm, chúng tôi đã sử dụng mô hình Probit và chỉ ra sáu nhân tố có ảnh hưởng đáng kể đến xác suất tiếp cận tín dụng chính thức của các hộ. Các nhân tố có tác động thúc đẩy tiếp cận tín dụng là mức độ đánh giá về sự tăng lên của giá thức ăn, nhu cầu vốn của hộ, tuổi của chủ hộ, mức độ hài lòng về số tiền vay, mức độ hài lòng về thái độ của nhân viên ngân hàng. Nghiên cứu cũng chỉ ra hạn chế về mức vay chưa đáp ứng được mong muốn của hộ do suất đầu tư cho hoạt động này khá cao. Nâng cao trình độ, thái độ và kỹ năng của nhân viên ngân hàng để hỗ trợ hiệu quả hơn cho người nuôi tôm, và gia tăng tiếp cận các nguồn tín dụng chính thức cũng cần được chú trọng trong thời gian tới

Nonlinear Stability Analysis of Eccentrically Stiffened Functionally Graded Truncated Conical Sandwich Shells with Porosity

This paper analyzes the nonlinear buckling and post-buckling characteristics of the porous eccentrically stiffened functionally graded sandwich truncated conical shells resting on the Pasternak elastic foundation subjected to axial compressive loads. The core layer is made of a porous material (metal foam) characterized by a porosity coefficient which influences the physical properties of the shells in the form of a harmonic function in the shell’s thickness direction. The physical properties of the functionally graded (FG) coatings and stiffeners depend on the volume fractions of the constituents which play the role of the exponent in the exponential function of the thickness direction coordinate axis. The classical shell theory and the smeared stiffeners technique are applied to derive the governing equations taking the von Kármán geometrical nonlinearity into account. Based on the displacement approach, the explicit expressions of the critical buckling load and the post-buckling load-deflection curves for the sandwich truncated conical shells with simply supported edge conditions are obtained by applying the Galerkin method. The effects of material properties, core layer thickness, number of stiffeners, dimensional parameters, semi vertex angle and elastic foundation on buckling and post-buckling behaviors of the shell are investigated. The obtained results are validated by comparing with those in the literature

Factors Driving the Adoption of Coping Strategies to Market Risks of Shrimp Farmers: A Case Study in a Coastal Province of Vietnam

Shrimp farmers in Vietnam respond passively to market risks, such as input and output price shocks. This study provides a better understanding of market risks, risk management strategies adopted by shrimp farmers, the factors driving their choice of strategies, and how such strategies affect farm performance. Random sampling was used to collect information from a sample of 246 shrimp farmers. Several analytical methods were combined, including descriptive analysis, coefficient of variance estimation for market risks, and a logistic regression model to uncover factors behind farmers’ decisions to adopt risk management strategies. To cope with market risks, shrimp farmers frequently adopt two risk management strategies: changes in farming technology and practices, and agricultural input contracts. Overall, 54.9% of shrimp farmers only used a single strategy, whereas the others used combined risk management strategies. Age, farm size, membership in a farmers association, participation in training, gender, price of output, price of seed, price of fertilizer, distance from farm to the market center, and shrimp type were identified as factors driving the probability of using combined risk management strategies

Factors Driving the Adoption of Coping Strategies to Market Risks of Shrimp Farmers: A Case Study in a Coastal Province of Vietnam

Shrimp farmers in Vietnam respond passively to market risks, such as input and output price shocks. This study provides a better understanding of market risks, risk management strategies adopted by shrimp farmers, the factors driving their choice of strategies, and how such strategies affect farm performance. Random sampling was used to collect information from a sample of 246 shrimp farmers. Several analytical methods were combined, including descriptive analysis, coefficient of variance estimation for market risks, and a logistic regression model to uncover factors behind farmers’ decisions to adopt risk management strategies. To cope with market risks, shrimp farmers frequently adopt two risk management strategies: changes in farming technology and practices, and agricultural input contracts. Overall, 54.9% of shrimp farmers only used a single strategy, whereas the others used combined risk management strategies. Age, farm size, membership in a farmers association, participation in training, gender, price of output, price of seed, price of fertilizer, distance from farm to the market center, and shrimp type were identified as factors driving the probability of using combined risk management strategies

Firm Risk and Tax Avoidance in Vietnam: Do Good Board Characteristics Interfere Effectively?

This paper investigates the role of board characteristics in the relationship between tax avoidance behavior and corporate risk tolerance to elucidate the importance of corporate governance mechanisms. The applied methodology is System-GMM for 334 listed corporations in Vietnam from 2008 to 2020 to avoid endogenous problems in our models. The main findings are that higher (lower) corporate risk-taking is related to higher (lower) corporate tax avoidance if the size of the board of directors and the supervisory board are larger (lower) than six and three members, respectively. Furthermore, if the board independence ratio is lower than 48.63%, an increase in corporate risk-taking leads to increased tax avoidance. Our results support the argument that the influence of corporate risk-taking on tax avoidance behavior is governed by governance structure. Therefore, the practical implications will be towards building the optimal governance mechanism for enterprises in Vietnam