Exploring Novice Thai EFL Lecturers’ Perceptions of Intercultural Communication Competence

With the rapid changes of world population, people are likely to come into contact with others with diverse backgrounds and experiences.  Accordingly, Thai graduates are often required to have intercultural communication skills. The skills are parts of professional communication skills that the students should be acquired so as to respond to employers’ demand. As such, institutions are placing more consideration on intercultural communication competence (ICC). This study, therefore, aims to: 1) investigate teachers’ perceptions of ICC; and 2) investigate how teachers integrated ICC into their classes/lessons. Six novice EFL teachers from Thai universities were interviewed. Then, the interview data was transcribed and grouped into themes. According to the findings, overall, the participants have various understanding of ICC. For the ICC’s integration, participants’ answers can be categorized into five main groups, which are: 1) intercultural attitudes, 2) knowledge, 3) skills of interpreting and relating, 4) skills of discovery and interaction, and 5) critical cultural awareness. This study shows the teachers’ perceptions of ICC and how they could integrate ICC in classes. The results also reveal that the teachers are willing to intercorporate activities regarding ICC into their teaching contexts.  Pedagogical implications of this study are proposed. On the basis of these findings, the pedagogical implications and suggestions are included in this paper

The Recent Economic Performance and Poverty Reduction in Vietnam

This study aims to determine the factors of sector gains and labor shifts on poverty of Vietnam, and examine how far the effects of these two factors on poverty reduction have changed over time. The empirical analysis utilizes data from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey in 1998 and 2002. As a result, agricultural sector has been central to the strong poverty reduction experienced by Vietnam over the last decade. Around 60% of the aggregate decline in poverty indicators originated from improvement in income of farmers. Lower poverty incidence of all the remaining sectors jointly accounted for around 30% and 20% of the national fall in poverty indices in 1993-1998 and 1998-2002 respectively. In contrast, as a result of quicker movements from low productivity sectors to higher productivity ones, labor shifts evolved as a more important contributing factor to poverty reduction in the same period. The highest concentration and severity of the two farmer groups, and their impressive participation in the reduction of aggregate poverty as pointed out in this study convey a strong message to policy makers, which implies that policies to reduce poverty in Vietnam must continue to reach farmers if a considerably further reduction in poverty is to be achieved

New H∞ control design for polytopic systems with mixed time-varying delays in state and input

This paper concerns with the problem of state-feedback H∞ control design for a class of linear systems with polytopic uncertainties and mixed time-varying delays in state and input. Our approach can be described as follows. We first construct a state-feedback controller based on the idea of parameter-dependent controller design. By constructing a new parameter-dependent Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF), we then derive new delay-dependent conditions in terms of linear matrix inequalities ensuring the exponential stability of the corresponding closed-loop system with a H∞ disturbance attenuation level. The effectiveness and applicability of the obtained results are demonstrated by practical examples

Implicit Neural Multiple Description for DNA-based data storage

DNA exhibits remarkable potential as a data storage solution due to its impressive storage density and long-term stability, stemming from its inherent biomolecular structure. However, developing this novel medium comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in addressing errors arising from storage and biological manipulations. These challenges are further conditioned by the structural constraints of DNA sequences and cost considerations. In response to these limitations, we have pioneered a novel compression scheme and a cutting-edge Multiple Description Coding (MDC) technique utilizing neural networks for DNA data storage. Our MDC method introduces an innovative approach to encoding data into DNA, specifically designed to withstand errors effectively. Notably, our new compression scheme overperforms classic image compression methods for DNA-data storage. Furthermore, our approach exhibits superiority over conventional MDC methods reliant on auto-encoders. Its distinctive strengths lie in its ability to bypass the need for extensive model training and its enhanced adaptability for fine-tuning redundancy levels. Experimental results demonstrate that our solution competes favorably with the latest DNA data storage methods in the field, offering superior compression rates and robust noise resilience.Comment: Xavier Pic and Trung Hieu Le are both equal contributors and primary author

Multiple description video coding for real-time applications using HEVC

Remote control vehicles require the transmission of large amounts of data, and video is one of the most important sources for the driver. To ensure reliable video transmission, the encoded video stream is transmitted simultaneously over multiple channels. However, this solution incurs a high transmission cost due to the wireless channel's unreliable and random bit loss characteristics. To address this issue, it is necessary to use more efficient video encoding methods that can make the video stream robust to noise. In this paper, we propose a low-complexity, low-latency 2-channel Multiple Description Coding (MDC) solution with an adaptive Instantaneous Decoder Refresh (IDR) frame period, which is compatible with the HEVC standard. This method shows better resistance to high packet loss rates with lower complexity

SOME FIXED POINT THEOREMS FOR GENERALIZED α\alpha-GERAGHTY CONTRACTION TYPE MAPPINGS IN BB-METRIC~SPACES AND SOME APPLICATIONS TO THE NONLINEAR INTEGRAL EQUATION

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the notion of a generalized $\alpha$-Geraghty contraction type mapping in $b$-metric~spaces and state the existence and uniqueness of a fixed point for this mapping. These results are generalizations of certain the main results in [D.~\DJ uki\'{c}, Z.~Kadelburg, and S.~Radenovi\'{c}, \emph{Fixed points of Geraghty-type mappings in various generalized metric spaces}, Abstr. Appl. Anal. \textbf{2011} (2011), 13 pages] and [O.~Popescu, \emph{ Some new fixed point theorems for $\alpha$-Geraghty contraction type maps in metric spaces}, Fixed Point Theory Appl. \textbf{2014:190} (2014), 1 -- 12]. Some examples are given to illustrate the obtained results and to show that these results are proper extensions of the existing ones. Then we apply the obtained theorem to study the existence of solutions to the nonlinear integral equation

Optimization of compressed air assisted-turning-burnishing process for improving machining quality, energy reduction and cost-effectiveness

The burnishing process is used to enhance the machining quality via improving the surface finish, surface hardness, wear-resistance, fatigue, and corrosion resistance, and it is mostly used in aerospace, biomedical, and automotive industries to improve reliability and performance of the component. The combined turning and burnishing process is therefore considered as an effective solution to enhance both machining quality and productivity. However, the trade-off analysis between energy consumption, surface characteristics, and production costs has not been well-addressed and investigated. This study presents an optimization of the compressed air assisted-turning-burnishing (CATB) process for aluminum alloy 6061, aimed to decrease the energy consumption as well as surface roughness and to enhance the Vicker hardness of the machined surface. The machining parameters for consideration include the machining speed, feed rate, depth of cut, burnishing force, and the ball diameter. The improved Kriging models were used to construct the relations between machining parameters and the technological response characteristics of the machined surface. The optimal machining parameters were obtained utilizing the desirability approach. The energy based-cost model was developed to assess the effectiveness of the proposed CATB process. The findings showed that the selected optimal outcomes of the depth of cut, burnishing force, diameter, feed rate, and machining speed are 0.66 mm, 196.3 N, 8.0 mm, 0.112 mm/rev, and 110.0 m/min, respectively. The energy consumption and surface roughness are decreased by 20.15% and 65.38%, respectively, while the surface hardness is improved by 30.05%. The production cost is decreased by 17.19% at the optimal solution. Finally, the proposed CATB process shows a great potential to replace the traditional techniques which are used to machine non-ferrous metals

The impact of knowledge management on innovation performance of small and medium enterprises – An empirical study in Lam Dong province

In the context of today’s globalization, Vietnamese enterprises, especially small and medium ones (SMEs), have to face with many challenges and have to innovate for survival and development. The global integration process also means that local enterprises have to compete with foreign enterprises with advanced knowledge and modern management skills. Therefore, in order to ensure sustainable development, local enterprises should be ready with knowledge management (KM) practices in order to achieve high efficiency and strong competitive advantages. This research is to explore the impact factors on the innovation performance of SMEs in Lam Dong province. Based on the previous model of Berraies et al. (2014), some factors of KM processes impacting on the innovation performance of Vietnamese SMEs are explored and evaluated. Measurement scales are inherited selectively to suit the context of this research. The analysis results of this study showed that the innovation performance of SMEs was affected by the knowledge creation process. This result pointed out the knowledge creation process was affected by some KM enabling factors, such as trust, collaboration, learning, reward, decentralization, formalization, IT support and T-shaped skills. From this result, some recommendations for improving the innovation performance of Vietnamese SMEs by KM approach are also suggested

Assistive technologies for the older people: Physical activity monitoring and fall detection

The advancements in information and communications technologies (ICT) and micro-nano manufacturing lead to innovative developments of smart sensors and intelligent devices as well as related assistive technologies which have been directly contributing to improving the life quality, from early detection of diseases to assisting daily living activities. Physical activity monitoring and fall detection are two specific examples where assistive technologies with the use of smart sensors and intelligent devices may play a key role in enhancing the life quality, especially improving the musculoskeletal health which is an essential aspect of health and wellbeing; and it is more important for the older people. This paper presents and dis-cusses about how sensors and wearable devices, such as accelerometers and mobile phones, may be employed to promote the musculoskeletal health. Assistive technologies and methods for physical activity monitoring and fall detection are discussed, with the focus on the fall detection using mobile phone technology, and assessments of the loading intensity of physical activity in a non-laboratory environment. The possible research directions, challenges and potential collaborations in the areas of assistive technologies and ICT solutions for the older populations are proposed and addressed