CRAFTING A NEW SELF IN DIASPORA: A STUDY OF THE 1.5 GENERATION OF VIETNAMESE AMERICANS

This dissertation is a study on the identity construction process of members of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans by examining their personal narratives. With a focus on strategies used by informants when crafting their narratives instead of looking at narratives as evidence of experience, this project has significant contribution to migration studies, transnational studies, and Asian American Studies because it provides a different approach to narratives and narrative analysis in studying identity and identity formation. The findings show that to members of the 1.5 generation narratives serve as sites where they can make sense of their disrupted and chaotic life, and where they highlight their struggles to survive in a new homeland with a haunting past. Narrative is a process of identity formation. To members of the 1.5 generation, it is an especially important site for making sense of disrupted and chaotic lives, in order to survive in a new homeland with a haunting past

Advances in Smart Technologies for Structural Health Monitoring of Cable-stayed Bridges

This study deals with the general problem of developing smart technologies for vibration and impedance-based structural health monitoring (SHM) of cable-stayed bridges. The following approaches are implemented to achieve the objective. Firstly, vibration- and impedance-based SHM methods suitable for cable-stayed bridge are briefly outlined. Secondly, smart sensors are designed for vibration- and impedance-based SHM. Thirdly, the practicality of the smart sensor system is evaluated on a real cable-stayed bridge, Hwamyung Bridge in Korea. The system's performance is experimentally analyzed under various cable forces and weather conditions. Finally, the experimental modal parameters are identified by numerical modal analyses of the target bridge. Also, its structural parameters are estimated from the vibration-based structural identification using experimental modal parameters

Comparing Labor Productivity of Vietnam to Some Asian Countries

In Vietnam, social labor productivity is an indicator of the National Statistical Indicator System (specified in the Law on Statistics), which is calculated by the average GDP per employed worker per year. Research results show that in the 2016-2020 period, labor productivity of the whole economy has improved markedly, with an average increase of 5.78%/year in the 2016-2020 period. However, Vietnam’s labor productivity still has internal limitations that have not been overcome. In comparison with selected Asian countries, Vietnam’s labor productivity has a low absolute value despite its relatively high growth since 1991. In most of the sectors compared, it is basically at the lowest level. As a result, proposing solutions to improve and enhance labor productivity aimed at promoting sustainable economic growth in Vietnam in the coming time is an urgent issue for the development of the country

EFL LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION ABOUT PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES IN ENGLISH MORPHOLOGY

Affix knowledge is crucial for enhancing word knowledge in English morphology. Understanding the meaning of affixes not only helps develop knowledge of words but also helps master grammar. This study uses a questionnaire to assess the knowledge of prefixes and affixes and determine students' awareness of affixes. The 21 students participating in the study were all students of the 45th course, majoring in high-quality English. A survey about affix identification was given to participants, to determine their definitions and perceptions of prefixes and suffixes in English morphology. The results show that students can identify a common affix but have difficulty with strange affixes. However, to understand affixes well and be good at morphological awareness, students need to cultivate and understand the theoretical aspects of this knowledge. Another inference of these findings is favorable in the discussion part.  Article visualizations

IDENTITY PRESENTATION IN STORIES OF PAST AND PRESENT: AN ANALYSIS OF MEMOIRS BY AUTHORS OF THE 1.5 GENERATION OF VIETNAMESE AMERICANS

This paper investigates how authors of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans represent their identity in their memoirs. The analysis shows that the condition under which each author came to the United States, either as an anticipatory or an acute refugee, influences the way each memoir is constructed in terms of timeline and content. In particular, this study shows that the authors choose different themes such as conversion, imagined space and food to talk about the process of adaptation in the new world. Along with the themes, either linear or disruptive timeline is deployed as a way to represent their refugee condition. Together, they constitute a diverse and unique identity representation of the 1.5 generation of Vietnamese Americans

DARK SOIL PITS AND GRAVES IN VOLCANIC CAVE C6.1, KRONG NO, DAK NONG PROVINCE: DOCUMENTATION AND DISCUSSION

Dark soil pits and graves are critical documents discovered in volcanic cave C6.1. As a result of the investigation and excavation of cave C6.1 conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019, we have discovered vestiges of nine dark soil pits and seven relatively intact graves, together with teeth and other human remains scattered in the cultural layer. This is an important source of information on the racial composition of the prehistoric inhabitants of the Central Highlands during the Neolithic period, as well as the paleoenvironment, environmental adaptations, and flora and fauna that prehistoric inhabitants exploited for their livelihoods. This article introduces documents and reconstructs the socioeconomic picture of the prehistoric inhabitants of cave C6.1. It also contributes scientific documents for the general conservation and promotion of heritage to develop sustainable cultural tourism in Dak Nong Province

Factors affecting the adoption of climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) in the North Central Coast of Vietnam

Climate-smart aquaculture (CSAq) is considered an appropriate and effective adaptation approach for the coastal aquaculture sector under the climate change phenomenon. This study, applying probit model, aims to assess the influence of several factors on the farmers’ decision to apply CSAq practices in extensive coastal shrimp farming. Data were collected from interviews with 200 households who have both already applied and have yet to apply CSAq practices in five coastal districts of Thanh Hoa Province. The results showed six key factors that influenced the decision of the farmers to apply CSAq practices: availability of household labor; access to information on CSAq practices; market price of products applying CSAq practices; economic efficiency; ability to ensure food security; and improved pond environment when applying CSAq practices. These factors explained 69.41% of their decision to apply CSAq, among which economic efficiency had the greatest impact (30.2%). Market prices and access to information about CSAq are also important factors with respective levels of influence at 16.0% and 14.9%. The result implies that strengthening access to CSAq information and improving technical understanding of CSAq practices are important solutions to upscale CSAq in the North Central Coast of Vietnam

Banking Relationship Ties to Firm Performance: Evidence from Food and Beverage Firms in Vietnam

This paper is aimed at analyzing the effects of banking relationship on performance of Vietnamese firms in Food and Beverage (F&B), one of the highest potential sectors. Panel data of 170 observations covers 34 F&B firms listed in the Vietnam stock exchanges in the period 2014-2018. The fixed effect model (FEM) is applied. The key findings are: First, short-term loan financing, leverage, and fixed asset ratios all negatively impacted on F&B firm performance, while firm size and net profit margin had positive impacts. These findings were consistent with previous studies. Second, the opposite results with previous studies were: (i) negative corelation of ROE and number of banks firms working with, as F&B firms were inefficient in selecting bank partners; (ii) positive relation of short-term liabilities ratio and ROA/ROE, as F&B firms utilize other non-bank liabilities shortly; (iii) foreign ownership had negative relationship with ROA& ROE. Foreign investors did not have significant roles in most F&B firms. Third, long-term borrowing from banks, state ownership and ages all insignificantly correlated with firm performance. Recommendations to F&B firms include: (1) Reduce the short- term loans and fixed assets investment, while increase the cheap equity funding sources via shareholders (2) Be selective in working with banks to have better fees and interest saved with banks. (3) Utilize other short-term liabilities, including payables and advances – the low-cost funding sources. F&B firms have good bargaining powers in requesting advances from their clients. (4) Have smart buy-in strategies on foreign ownership