High-absorptance high-emittance anodic coating

A colored anodic coating for use on surfaces of substrates, e.g. aluminum substrates in which it is desirable to maintain a high solar absorptance (a) and a high infrared emittance (e), particularly in low earth orbit space environments. This anodic coating is preferably a dark colored coating, and even more preferably a black coating. This coating allows a touch temperature within an acceptable design range to preclude burning of an astronaut in case of contact, but also allows a solar radiation absorption in an amount such that an a/e ratio of unity is achieved. The coating of the invention comprises a first layer in the form of an acid anodized colored anodic layer for achieving a high solar absorptance and a second or high emittance layer in the form of a clear acid anodized layer for achieving a high emittance. The entire coating is quite thin, e.g. 1-2 mils and is quite stable in a hostile space environment of the type encountered in a low earth orbit. The coating is obtained by first creating the high emittance clear anodized coating on the metal surface followed by anodizing using a colored anodizing process

Situation of Policies Accessing Basic Social Services in Ethnic Minirity Area in Lai Chau Province

Lai Chau is a border province, which is a large beneficiary of social security policies compared to others in Vietnam. There are 20 ethnic groups living together, including four ethnic groups with very few people (Gong, Mang, La Hu, Si La) and ethnic minorities account for over 85% population. Besides that, their life has been facing many difficulties such as harsh natural conditions, rugged terrain, underdeveloped socio-economic conditions. It can be admitted that the poverty rate is high, and the implementation of the ethnic minority policy is limited. Moreover, the situation of free migration and the activities of criminals in ethnic minority areas, especially the Hmong ethnic minority areas are still complicated...For these reasons, the implementation of support policies for accessing basic social services(BSS) on health, education, housing, clean water have received attention, direction, and active implementation from Party committees and local authorities at all levels. Hence, many ethnic minority households can have opportunities to access these BSS, even though the implementation process has certain limitations

CARE Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID-19

Vietnam reported its first known case of COVID-19 on 23 January 2020. As of 19 May, the country had 324 confirmed cases, with 263 recoveries and no deaths. In Vietnam, COVID-19 presents a range of contextual challenges including high numbers of migrant workers, high numbers of employees in the garment industry, many people working in the informal sector, and linguistically and culturally diverse ethnic minorities. The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, informal workers, garment factory workers, and ethnic minorities are further marginalising these groups, exacerbating poverty and inequality and increasing their exposure to other social, economic and protection risks. Women in Vietnam have historically been underrepresented in public decision-making processes, a trend that is reflected in high-level decision-making structures on COVID-19. This means that even as women are disproportionately affected by the crisis, they have less say in how their country should respond to it

CARE Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID-19 VIETNAM

Vietnam reported its first known case of COVID-19 on 23 January 2020. As of 19 May, the country had 324 confirmed cases, with 263 recoveries and no deaths. In Vietnam, COVID-19 presents a range of contextual challenges including high numbers of migrant workers, high numbers of employees in the garment industry, many people working in the informal sector, and linguistically and culturally diverse ethnic minorities. The impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers, informal workers, garment factory workers, and ethnic minorities are further marginalising these groups, exacerbating poverty and inequality and increasing their exposure to other social, economic and protection risks

Assessing Eutrophication in the Coastal Bay by ASSETS Index Model

Xuan Dai is a coastal bay in Phu Yen Province, Vietnam. The bay has an area of 80 km2 and a considerable depth from 8 to 18 m. This is an ecologically diverse area with great potential for aquaculture and fishing, which brings significant benefits to the people in the region. For years, the excessive development of aquaculture has enriched the water in the bay, resulting in mass deaths of lobsters. In this study, the ASSETS index model has been applied to Xuan Dai Bay to determine the trophic status and the natural and man-made processes related to eutrophication. The study results showed that the core zone of Xuan Dai Bay (CZ) was classified with a high influencing factor, with a high eutrophic condition, with a “no change” future outlook, and with a bad final overall ASSETS grade. Ky Lo Estuary (KLE) presents a low pressure, a low eutrophic condition, a “no change” future outlook, and a good final ASSETS index. These mean that CZ had a poor tropic status or the eutrophication happened in this system; whereas, KLZ presented a good tropic condition or no eutrophication. A basic management plan and early warning monitoring should take into consideration the condition of the water body to preserve the good tropic condition in KLZ, especially during dry seasons. For CZ, three groups of solutions have been proposed, including nutrient management, ecosystem restoration, and further researches. The results of the study also reveal the significance and benefit of applying integrated methods in water quality assessment and management in coastal zones. Deep understanding of water retention time, typology, nutrient loading, and the land/water uses of a system is the key factor for atrophic status management strategy

An Extended RFM Model for Customer Behaviour and Demographic Analysis in Retail Industry

Background: Customer segmentation has become one of the most innovative ways which help businesses adopt appropriate marketing campaigns and reach targeted customers. The RFM model and machine learning combination have been widely applied in various areas. Motivations: With the rapid increase of transactional data, the RFM model can accurately segment customers and provide deeper insights into customers’ purchasing behaviour. However, the traditional RFM model is limited to 3 variables, Recency, Frequency and Monetary, without revealing segments based on demographic features. Meanwhile, the contribution of demographic characteristics to marketing strategies is extremely important. Methods/Approach: The article proposed an extended RFMD model (D-Demographic) with a combination of behavioural and demographic variables. Customer segmentation can be performed effectively using the RFMD model, K-Means, and K-Prototype algorithms. Results: The extended model is applied to the retail dataset, and the experimental result shows 5 clusters with different features. The effectiveness of the new model is measured by the Adjusted Rand Index and Adjusted Mutual Information. Furthermore, we use Cohort analysis to analyse customer retention rates and recommend marketing strategies for each segment. Conclusions: According to the evaluation, the proposed RMFD model was deployed with stable results created by two clustering algorithms. Businesses can apply this model to deeply understand customer behaviour with their demographics and launch efficient campaigns

Guide to Participatory Scenario Planning (PSP): Experiences from the Agro-Climate Information Services for women and ethnic minority farmers in South-East Asia (ACIS) project in Ha Tinh and Dien Bien province, Vietnam

The Participatory scenario planning (PSP) workshop is a valuable knowledge-sharing platform through which stakeholders, including those who support the implementation of PSP (i.e., meteorological and agricultural services) and those who access and use the climate information (i.e., technical experts, and farmers) meet to discuss adaptation actions within the context of climate information. The PSP approach was developed under CARE International’s Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP). It was then adapted to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia under the Agro-Climate Information Services for women and ethnic minority farmers in South-East Asia (ACIS) project by CARE International in Vietnam and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Vietnam

Impact of HIV/Aids on Child Mortality before the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy Era: A Study in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo

Few studies have documented the contribution of HIV/AIDS to mortality among children under 15 years. From June 30 to October 19, 2001, all child deaths (n = 588) registered to the morgue and/or hospitals of the city of Pointe-Noire, Congo, were investigated using a combined approach including an interview of relatives and postmortem clinical and biological HIV diagnosis. Twenty-one percent of children were HIV positive, while 10.5% of deaths were attributed to AIDS. The most common causes of death in HIV-infected children were pneumonia (30%), pyrexia (22%), diarrhoea (16%) and wasting syndrome (16%). Infant mortality rate was estimated 6.3 times higher in children born to HIV-infected mothers compared to HIV-uninfected mothers. This study provides a direct measure of HIV/AIDS as impact on child mortality using a rapid and reliable method. A significant number of deaths could be prevented if HIV infection was diagnosed earlier and infants were provided with antiretroviral treatments