Does rising import competition harm Vietnam’s local firm employment of the 2000s?

This study considers for the first time the role of rising import competition on employment in Vietnam. Using a time differenced and instrumental variables approach, our study shows that import competition results in employment contraction. Firms operating in industries that face greater import competition have reduced employment. We also find strong evidence of a negative impact of import competition for small and very small firms, as well as in the period before Vietnam’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession. Our results also reveal that previous studies at the industry-level can provide biased estimates because of not controlling for the heterogeneity of firm characteristics

Towards Green Tourism Development: Customers’ Perception of Using Plastic Products in the 5-star Hotels in Ho Chi Minh City

In recent years, green tourism has become a development trend, attracting the attention of the community, tourism businesses and tourists in many countries around the world. However, the approach of green tourism development in Vietnam is still limited in terms of scale and participants. This article examines the situation of using plastic products and the plastic waste treatment in the 5-star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City. Specifically, this study aims to explore the perception of customers of the use of plastic products. By doing so, the study contributes to clarifying the current situation of green tourism development in the hotel sector in the study area. The authors used the research methods of questionnaire, semi-structured interview and non-participant observation to conduct this study. Research results show that although the use of plastic products in hotels is still high, the plastic waste treatment is not thorough because of high treatment costs. But, the hotels tend to change policy on the treatment of plastic waste in an environmentally friendly manner. Besides, customers’ perception of plastic products is completely positive related to their attitudes when using, the willingness to pay and the desire to access more environmentally friendly services and products in the hotel sector. Based on the results, the article also discusses and suggests implications and approaches to developing products and services in hotels towards the development of green tourism and sustainable tourism in the future

The initial study of EBNA-2 polymorphisms in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Vietnam

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is the main cause of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). EBNA-2, one of the most important genes participating in the formation of NPC, also helps EBV evade an attack on the immune system. EBNA-2 has 4 variants including E2-A, E2-B, E2-C and E-2D, of which E2-A and E2-C are the characterized variants for NPC. This study aimed to evaluate the variations of EBNA-2 in NPC biopsy samples of Vietnamese patients. This initial study used 10 biopsy samples, which were positively confirmed to NPC, collected from Cho Ray Hospital. Nested PCR – nucleotide sequencing was applied to analyze the variants of EBNA-2. The results showed that 8 out of 10 samples, accounting for 80%, were positive to EBNA-2. Additionally, only two variants, E-2A and E-2C were detected in our study, in which, E2-A subtype was identified as the predominant subtype. These findings would provide initial data about potential contribution of EBNA-2 polymorphisms to etiology of NPC in Vietnamese population

Beyond the homestay: women’s participation in rural tourism development in Mekong Delta, Vietnam

This study examines the impact of the homestay tourism program in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, on women’s participation and empowerment in rural tourism development. As part of this study, 22 interviews were conducted with homestay owners to explore the benefits and challenges of women’s involvement in this type of tourism. The findings show that homestay tourism program has helped women to generate extra income, strengthen family ties, and increase their social influence while reducing domestic violence. However, cultural expectations and gender roles continue to pose challenges. This study underscores the importance of women’s participation in homestay tourism program and provides suggestions for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in tourism development. The study highlights the potential of women’s involvement in creating a sustainable and inclusive tourism industry and calls for further research and action to promote gender equality and women’s rights in tourism. The findings have practical implications for policymakers and practitioners in the tourism sector

Results of magnetotelluric survey for studying geothermal system in the Bang area, Quang Binh province

This paper presents the first results from the application of magnetotelluric method (MT) using the new equipment MTU 2000 (Canada) and analysis software to investigate the structure of geothermal area around the Bang hot water source (Quang Binh province). Results of data analysis by MT 1D and 2D models to a depth of 20 km show low resistivity zone in the southwest of Bang hot water (100°C) and allow for interpreting the structural elements of athehydro- geothermal system. This includes a very low resistivity layer at depth of 2 km suggesting a clay cap (heat resistive shield), a relatively low resistivity zone at depth ≥ 2 km reflecting  fractured rocks containing geothermal fluid and hot steam. A lower resistivity body at depth of 12-14 km located about 1.5 km from the hot water source indicates the existence of a heat source or a hot mass of intrusive magma., commonly thought to be sources of typical hydro- geothermal systems potential for energy exploitation. The obtained results not only provide new information for better understanding geothermal resource in the surveyed area, but also point out the methods and technology needed to improve the effectiveness for assessing potential of geothermal resources elsewhere in Vietnam.ReferencesBản đồ Địa chất và khoáng sản Việt Nam tỷ lệ 1:1.000.000. Cục Địa chất và Khoáng sản Việt Nam xuất bản 2004. Lưu trữ Địa chất. Cumming W., 2009: Geothermal resource conceptual models using surface exploration data. In: proceedings, 34th workshop on geothermal reservoir engineering, Stanford University. Data Processing User guide. Phoenix Geophysic Ltd. 2005, 201p. Di Pippo R., 2012: Geothermal Power plant. Principles, applications, case studies. 3rd edition. Elseverdirect, 579p. Doan Van Tuyen, Tran Anh Vu, Nguyen Thi Kim Thuong, 2014: Geochemical Characteristics of Geothermal Hot Water Sources on the Territory of Vietnam. Proceeding, Thirty-Eighth Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering Stanford University, Stanford, California, February 24-26, 2014 SGP-TR-202. Duchkov A.D., Nguyen Trong Yem, Dinh Van Toan, and Trinh Viet Bac, 1992: First estimations of heat flow in northern Vietnam. Soviet Geology and Geophysics, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp 92-96. Flynn T., Quy H. H., 1997: Assessment of the geothermal resources of Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Geothermal resources Council Transactions, vol.21, 341-345. IGA report, 2013: Geothermal Exploration best practices: A Guide to resource data collection, analysis, and presentation for Geothermal projects. He Lijuan, 1999: Analysis of heat flow along a transect across the South China Sea. Geothermal Training Programme, Reports 1999, Number 5, 125-140. Hoang Huu Quy, 1998: Overview of the Geothermal potential of Vietnam. Geothermics, Vol.27, n.1, 109-115. Koenig J. et al., 1981: Evaluation of the potential for Geothermal Energy Resources in the SR of Vietnam. Berkeley, CA. Kulinich G.G., Zabolotnikov A.A, Markov Yu., 1989: Cenozoic evalution of the Earth crust and orogeny in South- Eastern Asia (Tiếng Nga). MTU2000: User guide. Phoenix Geophysic Ltd. 2000, 36p. Munoz Gerard, 2014: Exploring for Geothermal Resources with Electromagnetic Methods. Surv Geophys (2014) 35:101-122, Springer, DOI 10.1007/s10712-013-9236-0. Pellerin et al., Johnston M, Hohmann W., 1996: A numerical evaluation of electromagnetic methods in geothermal exploration. Geophysics 61(1996):121-130. Thomas Mathews, et al., 2008: Study on the sozio-economic framework for the use Geothermal energy in Vietnam. Proceedings of the 8th Asian Geothermal Symposium, Hanoi. Trần Huyên, Trương Minh, Nguyễn Tiến Bào, 1999: Về chế độ địa nhiệt ở các bể trầm tích thềm lục địa Việt Nam. Tạp chí Kinh tế Địa chất và Nguyên liệu khoáng. Cục Địa chất và Khoáng sản Việt Nam. Số 18 tháng 2 năm 1999, tr.16-25. Võ Công Nghiệp (chủ biên), 1998: Danh bạ các nguồn nước khoáng và nước nóng Việt Nam. Cục Địa chất và Khoáng sản Việt Nam. Hà Nội, 300tr. Zhdanov M., 2009: Geophysical Electromagnetic Theory and Methods. Methods in Geochemistry and Geophysics, Volume 43. ISSN: 0076-6895 Elsevier, 831pp. WinGLink User guide. Geosystem 200, 182p. www.geosystem.net.

Ordered Mesoporous Carbons as Novel and Efficient Adsorbent for Dye Removal from Aqueous Solution

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) were successfully synthesized by using hard template and soft template methods. These materials were characterized by XRD, TEM, and N2 adsorption-desorption Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). From the obtained results, it is revealed that the obtained OMCs samples showed high surface area (>1000 m2/g) with high pore volume, mainly mesopore volume (1.2–2.4 cm3/g). Moreover, OMCs samples had similar structure of the SBA-15 silica and exhibited high MB adsorption capacity with qm of 398 mg·g−1 for OMCs synthesis with hard template and 476 mg·g−1 for OMCs synthesis with soft template, respectively. From kinetics investigation, it is confirmed that MB adsorption from aqueous solution obeys the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation

Microscopic Observation Drug Susceptibility Assay (MODS) for Early Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Children

MODS is a novel liquid culture based technique that has been shown to be effective and rapid for early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). We evaluated the MODS assay for diagnosis of TB in children in Viet Nam. 217 consecutive samples including sputum (n = 132), gastric fluid (n = 50), CSF (n = 32) and pleural fluid (n = 3) collected from 96 children with suspected TB, were tested by smear, MODS and MGIT. When test results were aggregated by patient, the sensitivity and specificity of smear, MGIT and MODS against “clinical diagnosis” (confirmed and probable groups) as the gold standard were 28.2% and 100%, 42.3% and 100%, 39.7% and 94.4%, respectively. The sensitivity of MGIT and MODS was not significantly different in this analysis (P = 0.5), but MGIT was more sensitive than MODS when analysed on the sample level using a marginal model (P = 0.03). The median time to detection of MODS and MGIT were 8 days and 13 days, respectively, and the time to detection was significantly shorter for MODS in samples where both tests were positive (P<0.001). An analysis of time-dependent sensitivity showed that the detection rates were significantly higher for MODS than for MGIT by day 7 or day 14 (P<0.001 and P = 0.04), respectively. MODS is a rapid and sensitive alternative method for the isolation of M.tuberculosis from children