Factors affecting the level of bank competition : empirical evidence in Vietnamese commercial banks

Purpose: There is increasing interest in the trends and requirements associated with improvement in the competition of commercial banks. Many studies have been conducted on this topic in Vietnam as well as in the rest of the world. In the present study, the factors affecting the level of competition in the banking system in Vietnam have been studied. Design/Methodology/Approach: We employ the Bayesian Multilevel Generalized Linear Model to identify the factors affecting the level of competition in the banking system in Vietnam. Findings: The findings show that the eight variables that affect the level of competition in Vietnam commercial banks were identified, including previous-year competition, equity on total assets ratio, loans on total assets ratio, operating expense on the operating income ratio, return on equity, bank size, economic growth, and inflation rate. Moreover, the results demonstrated that during the 2008–2009 crisis, there was a positive relationship between the crisis and the Lerner index. Practical Implications: Based on the research results, we provide policy implications to improve the competitive status of commercial banks in Vietnam. Originality/Value: The results of the present study would serve as a basis for assisting the policy-makers and the other stakeholders to better understand the current state of bank competition and the factors affecting the level of bank competition, which would assist them in formulating strategies and solutions to improve bank competition in Vietnam.peer-reviewe

Non-commutative deformations and quasi-coherent modules

We identify a class of "quasi-compact semi-separated" (qcss) twisted presheaves of algebras A for which well-behaved Grothendieck abelian categories of quasi-coherent modules Qch(A) are defined. This class is stable under algebraic deformation, giving rise to a 1-1 correspondence between algebraic deformations of A and abelian deformations of Qch(A). For a qcss presheaf A, we use the Gerstenhaber-Schack (GS) complex to explicitely parameterize the first order deformations. For a twisted presheaf A with central twists, we descibe an alternative category QPr(A) of quasi-coherent presheaves which is equivalent to Qch(A), leading to an alternative, equivalent association of abelian deformations to GS cocycles of qcss presheaves of commutative algebras. Our construction applies to the restriction O of the structure sheaf of a scheme X to a finite semi-separating open affine cover (for which we have an equivalence between Qch(O) and Qch(X)). Under a natural identification of Gerstenhaber-Schack cohomology of O and Hochschild cohomology of X, our construction is shown to be equivalent to Toda's construction in the smooth case

Approximation of the inverse kinematics of a robotic manipulator using a neural network

A fundamental property of a robotic manipulator system is that it is capable of accurately following complex position trajectories in three-dimensional space. An essential component of the robotic control system is the solution of the inverse kinematics problem which allows determination of the joint angle trajectories from the desired trajectory in the Cartesian space. There are several traditional methods based on the known geometry of robotic manipulators to solve the inverse kinematics problem. These methods can become impractical in a robot-vision control system where the environmental parameters can alter. Artificial neural networks with their inherent learning ability can approximate the inverse kinematics function and do not require any knowledge of the manipulator geometry. This thesis concentrates on developing a practical solution using a radial basis function network to approximate the inverse kinematics of a robot manipulator. This approach is distinct from existing approaches as the centres of the hidden-layer units are regularly distributed in the workspace, constrained training data is used and the training phase is performed using either the strict interpolation or the least mean square algorithms. An online retraining approach is also proposed to modify the network function approximation to cope with the situation where the initial training and application environments are different. Simulation results for two and three-link manipulators verify the approach. A novel real-time visual measurement system, based on a video camera and image processing software, has been developed to measure the position of the robotic manipulator in the three-dimensional workspace. Practical experiments have been performed with a Mitsubishi PA10-6CE manipulator and this visual measurement system. The performance of the radial basis function network is analysed for the manipulator operating in two and three-dimensional space and the practical results are compared to the simulation results. Advantages and disadvantages of the proposed approach are discussed

Effect of Capital Structure on the Profitability of Plastic and Packaging Companies Listed in Vietnam

Purpose: The study aimed to analyse the impact of capital structure on the profitability of plastic and packaging companies listed on the Vietnam Stock Exchange - VNX (HNX, HoSE and Upcom).   Theoretical framework: The study inherits previous studies on the relationship between capital structure and profitability to determine the capital structure that affects profitability.   Design/methodology/approach: Using Qualitative Research (Synthetic Methods; Statistical methods, description; Inductive and interpretive methods) and quantitative research methods (linear regression methods).   Findings: The author has identified two independent variables that represent a capital structure that strongly affects the profitability of enterprises, including: (1) Short-term debt ratio (STD); (2) Long-term debt ratio (LTL).   Research, practical and social implications: Based on the research results, the author offers several discussions and assessments on the critical role of adjusting the optimal capital structure for plastic and packaging companies, in addition to financial solution recommendations aimed at improving profitability for companies.   Originality/value: Through a study of 30 plastic and packaging manufacturing companies, corresponding to 360 observations in the period of 2010 – 2021

Decomposition of Carbon Dioxide in a Capacitively Coupled Radio Frequency Discharge

Decomposition of CO2 was studied in a capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge using Martian Simulant Gas mixture that contains 95% CO2. The discharge was operated at a gas pressure of 3 to 6 Torr and a discharge power density of less than 2.0 W/cm3. The main mechanism of the CO2 decomposition process is the electron impact dissociation and the rate of the process depends on the electron density, Ne, the concentration of CO2, and the reduced electric field, E/N. A self-consistent model was established to describe the CO2 decomposition process based on these parameters. The model gave the microscopic description of the discharge in terms of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and electron mean energy Te, electron density N e, and dissociative rate coefficients. In addition, the CO2 decomposition rate depends on all complex gas reactions during the discharge. A simplified set of major gas reactions was used to describe the rate of CO2 decomposition in the discharge. The validity of the model was successfully verified by comparing the calculated results with the experimental results. The discharge characteristics such as Te, Ne, and E/N, were determined by using the Langmuir probe technique, while the discharge temperature, Tg, was determined by using the CO rotational temperature that was obtained from the CO rotational emission spectrum, and compared with results obtained from the thermocouple measurements. The steady-state gas composition was measured using a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Measurement of gas composition in the discharge condition was within 5% of the prediction from the model. Due to a high power efficiency to decompose CO2 by using an RF discharge, one direct application of the study is to produce oxygen on the planet Mars. In such an experiment, oxygen was extracted and diffused through a silver membrane used as one of the electrodes during discharge. The oxygen flux produced by the present discharge condition was shown to reach about 5.0 × 10−14 cm−2s−1. The study of the CO2 decomposition can be used in developing the optimum RF discharge conditions that yield the maximum oxygen flux production