Common mistakes in pronouncing English consonant clusters: A case study of Vietnamese learners

Pronunciation plays a significant role in English teaching and learning around the world and this particular field has received much attention from several scholars. The study was conducted to investigate common mistakes made by Vietnamese university learners while pronouncing English consonant clusters. This is a quantitative study with the participation of 39 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. To collect data for the study, a pronunciation test was employed. The results show that the common mistakes made by the learners varied, depending on the types of consonant clusters. Specifically, clusters containing voiceless plosives led to the highest mispronunciation. There was also a tendency to simplify the complex clusters of three-consonant by deleting the first, second consonant, or in some cases, both. Accordingly, this study suggests pedagogical implications for teachers and learners in similar contexts in Vietnam in acquiring the pronunciation of English

Lax Compliance of Goodwill Impairment Accounting in the Early Year after IFRS Implementation

After some decades of discussing in recognizing, measuring and reporting goodwill in the financial reports, Hong Kong finally has promulgated HKAS 36 - Impairment of Assets, for the convergence of IFRS including IAS 36. This is absolutely applicable to all transactions of business combinations beginning on or after 1st January, 2005. The adoption of HKAS 36 has resulted in significant changes and more complexity in terms of techniques and in the nature of disclosures relating to goodwill and its impairment to the reporting first-time adopters. The traditional method by adopting “capitalize and amortize” has been replaced by impairment testing regime based on subjective assumptions. Therefore, it is more likely to have inconsistent compliance by the first-time adopters in their transition period under the new reporting approach. Thus, this study has the purpose of examining the compliance levels under a variety of provisions of HKAS 36. By using the data of annual reports of Hong Kong listed firms, first-time adopters, the research found the material levels of non-compliance and substantial changes in the quality of note-form disclosures bearing on impairment testing process. Further study on post transition period is identified and discussed. Keywords: Goodwill, Impairment, Financial Reporting Standard, Hong Kon

High school administrators' and teachers' perceptions of their educational action research skills

Educational action research has attracted significant attention from teacher-researchers and school administrators in recent years due to the method's effectiveness in teaching practices. Besides, educational action research skills are regarded as one of the essential aspects of doing action research. The present study aims to examine administrators' and teachers' perceptions of their educational action research skills; compare educational action research skills between the trained and the untrained groups and between the group that conducted the research and the group that did not. Quantitative research was used in this research. The study used the 11-item scale to survey 255 respondents (16 administrators and 239 teachers) from eleven high schools in Binh Duong province, Vietnam. The descriptive analysis was used to assess perceptions of high school administrators and teachers on their educational action research skills. Our results indicate that administrators and teachers assess their educational action research skills at very good. The trained group's educational action research skills are higher than the untrained group. Educational action research skills of the group conducted research are higher than the group that did not. The present findings provide more information on educational action research among administrators and teachers in Binh Duong province. Educational action research training programs, workshops, and educational policies should be implemented to reinforce and promote educational action research skills

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES OF OPHIOCORDYCEPS SOBOLIFERA

The aim of study was to determine preliminary phytochemical analysis and the antioxidant potential of Ophiocordyceps sobolifera. The antioxidant activity of Ophiocordyceps sobolifera was evaluated using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and total antioxidant activity methods. Phytochemical analyses revealed the presence of steroids, triterpenoids, alkaloids, phenolics, flavoinods, protein, carbohydarte and saponins. The antioxidant activity of the ethanol extracts and water extracts showed high antioxidant activity with the lowest half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values to 0.70 from 0.95mg/mL, realtively. Total antioxidant capacity of the O. sobolifera showed contained from 5.52 ± 0.14 to 12,71 ± 0.23 mg GA/g or from 3.55 ± 0.15 to 7.87 ± .05 μmol AS/g. These data suggest that O. sobolifera is a natural source of antioxidants

High school administrators’ and teachers’ perspective of evaluation criteria for action research in the field of education

Action research becomes an appropriate and effective professional development method and strategy to promote inquiry knowledge and solve the problem that leads to action or change. Teachers participating in action research could gain a better insight into themselves as teachers, be motivated to continuous professional growth, and boost their self-confidence as professionals. The main objective here is to examine high-school administrators' and teachers' perceptions of the necessity of evaluation criteria for pedagogical action research. This research surveyed 255 respondents, including 16 administrators and 239 teachers from high-schools in Binh Duong province, Vietnam, with the 11-item questionnaire. The main finding indicated that all high-school administrators and teachers participating fully agree that novelty, effectiveness, and applicability are necessary criteria to evaluate quality of pedagogical action research in Vietnam. Our study contributes to the general discussion about necessary and appropriate criteria for evaluating the quality of pedagogical action research in Vietnam

A Research on the Quality of Public Transportation Services by Bus in Vietnam

This study was conducted to assess the status of the quality of public passenger transport services by bus in Hanoi. Data were collected from regular passengers using buses as a means of transportation in the city, including passengers standing at stations, waiting shelters and on vehicles to make trips and students of some universities who use buses as a means of transportation. We employ descriptive statistics and hierarchical analysis to learn about the topic of research. The results indicate that the quality of public transport services by buses in Hanoi, which was judged by passengers quite well. In particular, the safety level, convenience, security and hygiene is up to 70%, which was higher than the highest quality level. Quality of fast level and reliability are low. Keywords: quality of services, public passenger transport, buses, Vietnam. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-13-04 Publication date:July 31st 201

Sex discrimination based on morphological traits in Mystus mysticetus Roberts, 1992

This study supplemented the way of sex determination of fish based on the regression relationship of some morphological indicators of Mystus mysticetus. A total of 425 fish specimens were collected by trawl nets at Cai Rang - Can Tho and Long Phu - Soc Trang from January to July 2022. After collection, the fish were transferred to the laboratory to determine their total length (TL), standard length (SL), eye diameter (ED), eye distance (DE), body height (BD), head length (HL), and mouth width (MD) before anatomy for sex determination based on gonads. The regression analysis results of TL-SL, TL-ED, TL-DE, TL-BD, TL-HL, and TL-MD showed that SL, DE, and MD could be used to determine the sex of this fish species because SL and DE were dominant in growth in males, and MD was prevalent in females. In addition, SL could be used to determine the sampling time and HL to determine the distribution environment

Effect of Polypyrrole on the Electrical, Dielectric and Mechanical Properties of Waterborne Epoxy Coatings

In this context, conducting composite based on waterborne epoxy system and polypyrrole (PPy) was investigated. The polypyrrole was synthesized by chemical oxidation polymerization. Its morphology and chemical structure were confirmed by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Then, PPy was well-dispersed in the epoxy coating and had a good compatibility with the matrix. The effects of PPy on dielectric, electrical and mechanical properties of epoxy/PPy composites was examined. The dielectric constant and electrical conductivity of the coatings increased with addition of PPy fillers. Over to 15 wt. % of PPy loading, the volume resistivity of samples slightly decreased from 6.7 × 1010 to 1.5 × 1010 Ω cm. In contrast, the presence of PPy diminished both impact and abrasion resistance of the epoxy/PPy composites, down to 160 kg cm and 10.2 L/mil, respectively, but they stayed acceptable for the coatings. The results reveal that the epoxy containing polypyrrole is suitable for various electrical and dielectric applications

In vitro antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds from Calocybe indica

Nowadays, the use of mushrooms in medicine is ubiquitous and has achieved particular success. The antioxidants in mushrooms can deactivate free radicals. This study assesses the antioxidant potential of mushroom Calocybe indica with the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging methods and the total antioxidant capacity. The mushroom’s ethanol extract exhibits acceptable activity with a low IC50 value (240.11 μg/mL), approximately 2.9 times lower than that of the mushroom Ophiocordyceps sobolifera extract. The ABTS scavenging rate of the extract is around 60% at 500 µg/mL, and the total antioxidant capacity is equivalent to 64.94 ± 1.03 mg of GA/g or 77.42 ± 0.42 μmol of AS/g.  The total phenolics, flavonoids, polysaccharides, and triterpenoids are equivalent to 29.33 ± 0.16 mg of GAE/g, 17.84 ± 0.11 mg of QUE/g (5.04 ± 0.04%), and 4.96 ± 0.04 mg of oleanolic acid/g, respectively. Specifically, the total triterpenoid content has been reported for the first time. The mushroom can have potential biomedical applications