Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization and Enhanced Incomes on Demand for Food Quality in Hanoi

This study relates the demand for quality foods in Hanoi in terms of its nutritional composition, diversity, price, processing stage, source, and extent eaten outside home with urbanization and enhanced incomes. The vast differences in these foods quality parameters across different socioeconomic groups and regions in and around Hanoi city suggest the changing nature of the food quality with increased income and urbanization. One lesson learned from this analysis is that urbanization and increased income may not necessarily bring all positive changes in food quality. While the diet becomes more balanced in terms of micronutrient, the increased demand for fat-based calories, processed and restaurant foods, and drift away from fresh sources of farm and home-garden foods raised alarm for food quality and safety. These trends provide a space for government policies to intervene for the purpose of maintaining hygiene standards of food and public health.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A Case Study of BIM Application in a Public Construction Project Management Unit in Vietnam: Lessons Learned and Organizational Changes

Public construction projects in Vietnam are managed by project management units (PMUs). A PMU should consist of the board of directors, a project office, functional and project executive departments. Functional departments are in charge of investor’s responsibilities, while project executive departments are in charge of project execution. This paper discusses the practice of BIM adoption in a case study of a PMU (SPMB) in a public project. Lessons learned include the fact that, while BIM could provide certain benefits to the project, it also extended the project's duration and increased project costs. The SPMB, previously departmentalized by project phases, has changed its organizational structure by establishing a task group made up of professionals from various project executive departments, leading directly by the SPMB leaders, to address BIM issues, though only some basic uses of BIM have been applied. The functions of the project executive departments have also been adjusted due to the application of a new procurement form and the emergence of new processes, and the requirements for a new type of capability (BIM). Subsequently, other elements of the organizational design have been changed accordingly. The lessons learned contribute to the current understanding that PMUs need substantially organizational restructuring for BIM implementation effectively and efficiently while also well-prepared for negative impacts

Establishing an Assessment Criteria System for Architectural Heritage of Colonial Educational Buildings in Hanoi

A number of educational buildings were built up by the French in Hanoi during their dominance. Most of these buildings still exist in the downtown area and have become an integral part of the valuable heritage, and their preservation is increasingly imperative. To preserve and promote more efficiently the values of the colonial building heritage assets, there is a need of a set of criteria for an assessment and classification. This paper presents the development of an assessment criteria system for the architectural heritage of colonial educational buildings in Hanoi. According to the proposals, colonial educational buildings can be classified into three groups of Special Value, Notable Value, Average Value. A set of criteria including factors related to both the internal and external values of these buildings have been proposed and validated with expert judgements. Each criterion then is incorporated with a set of scores showing the value it can bring to a colonial educational building to be assessed. The set of criteria and their scores can be used by the city authority to establish regulations to preserve and promote heritage values of the colonial educational buildings in Hanoi

Life Cycle Carbon Dioxide Emissions Assessment in the Design Phase: A Case of a Green Building in Vietnam

Buildings are responsible for about 30% of the total CO2 emissions globally. To reduce this amount of CO2, developing green buildings is one of the best approaches. However, this approach is undeveloped in Vietnam due to lacking methods to evaluate design alternatives to meet the criteria of green buildings. This paper presents a life-cycle CO2 analysis (LCCO2A) as a tool to support the decision-making process in the design phase of a 75-year-lifespan green building in Vietnam. The study conducts LCCO2A for two design alternatives (with different bricks usage and glass types) and points out the reasons for the differences. Comparing the first alternative with the second one, the results show slight variations in the amount of CO2 emissions in the erection and demolition phases (with an increase of 21.81 tons and a reduction of 106.1 tons of CO2eq, respectively), and a significant difference in the operation phase (10,631.52 tons of CO2eq or 58.34% reduction). For the whole life-cycle, the second design scenario, which uses “greener” materials shows a great decrease of 10,715.81 tons of CO2eq or 37.54%. By comparing its results with the findings in the literature, this research proves the environmental dominance of green buildings over other building categories

BIM-based Competitive Advantages and Competitive Strategies for Construction Consultancy SMEs: A Case Study in Vietnam

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been proven as an innovative approach to bring values to construction projects as well as stakeholders, including construction consultancy firms. BIM adoption could assist construction consultancy Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs) in enhancing their competitive capability. Using a case study with a pioneer BIM service providers  which is an SME in Vietnam (the Consultant), the paper explores the core competences for delivering BIM services in relation with potential competitive advantages. Four typical BIM market segments have been discovered, which include: i) BIM strategic services, (ii) BIM services, (iii) BIM-enabled services, and (iv) BIM tools development. Exploring six BIM cases, the realized core competences of the Consultant which are reported in the paper include the BIM-related skillful human resources (both in-house and from external), BIM know-hows, reputation, and also the benefits from a BIM network that the Consultant established as an outcome of a granted BIM research project. Focusing on only the first three market segments, the Consultant has taken advantage of their core competences to deliver differentiation and focus strategies to compete and generate competitive advantages. Cost leadership strategies were not very successful in the case study due to that the economies of scale could not be met; however, they can be considered with the provision of BIM-enabled services, when BIM services are delivered together with other consultancy and/or construction services

A theoretical BIM-based framework for quantity take-off to facilitate progress payments: the case of high-rise building projects in Vietnam

This paper aims to provide an integrated BIM-based approach for quantity take-off for progress payments in the context of high-rise buildings in Vietnam. It tries to find answers for the following questions: (1) When to start the QTO processes to facilitate the contract progress payments? (2) What information is required to measure the quantity of works to estimate contract progress payment (3) What are the challenges to manage (i.e. create, store, update and exploit)? What are the required information for this BIM use? and (4) How to process the information to deliver BIM-based QTO to facilitate contract progress payment? Design/methodology/approach - The paper applied a deductive approach and expert consensus through a Delphi procedure to adapt to current innovation around BIM-based QTO. Starting with a literature review, it then discusses current practices in BIM-based QTO in general and high-rise building projects in particular. Challenges were compiled from the previous studies for references for BIM-based QTO to facilitate contract progress payment for high-rise building projects in Vietnam. A framework was developed considering a standard information management process throughout the construction lifecycle, when the BIM use of this study is delivered. The framework was validated with Delphi technique. Findings - Four major challenges for BIM-based QTO discovered: new types of information required for the BIM model, changes and updates as projects progress, low interoperability between BIM model and estimation software, potentiality of low productivity and accuracy in data entry. Required information for QTO to facilitate progress payments in high-rise building projects include Object Geometric/Appearance Information, Structural Components' Definition and Contextual Information. Trade-offs between “Speed – Level of Detail–Applicable Breadth” and “Quality – Productivity” are proposed to consider the information amount to input at a time when creating/updating BIM objects. Interoperability check needed for creating, authoring/updating processing the BIM model's objects. Research limitations/implications - This paper is not flawless. The first limitation lies in that the theoretical framework was established only based on desk research and small number of expert judgment. Further primary data collection would be needed to determine exactly how the framework underlies widespread practices. Secondly, this study only discussed the quantity take-off specifically for contract progress payment, but not for other purposes or broader BIM uses. Further research in this field would be of great help in developing a standard protocol for automatic quantity surveying system in Vietnam. Originality/value - A new theoretical framework for BIM-based QTO validated with Delphi technique to facilitate progress payments for high-rise building projects, considering all information management stages and the phases of information development in the project lifecycle. The framework identified four types of information required for this QTO, detailed considerations for strategies (Library Objects Development, BIM Objects Information Declaration, BIM-based QTO) for better managing the information for this BIM use. Two trade-offs of “Speed – LOD–Applicable Breadth” and “Quality – Productivity” have been proposed for facilitating the strategies and also for enhancing the total efficiency and effectiveness of the QTO process

The Impact of Digital Transformation on Customer Satisfaction to Digital Banking Service of Commercial Banks in Vietnam

The present study focuses on examining the interplay and correlation between the digital transformation process as assessed by the digital banking service quality components (Ease of use, Effectiveness, Interoperability, Privacy/ Security, Empathy, Responsiveness, Reliability, Service portfolios, Service charge) and customer satisfaction for digital banking services at commercial banks in Vietnam. The predictors (independent variables) for this study are the aforementioned service quality aspects and moderator is Service charge. The outcome variable (dependent variable) is customer satisfaction. The authors combined qualitative and quantitative research techniques to develop observed variables and assess the model's fit. This study can help banking leaders evaluate and improve the quality of digital banking services in the context of financial liberalization and globalization. Keywords: Digital transformation, Digital Banking, Banking service quality, Customer satisfaction DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/15-6-04 Publication date:March 31st 202

Guest editorial: Disruptive and innovative technologies for sustainable development in the built environment

The built environment entered the digital realm over the past decades, and it is now time for a true digital revolution. Assessment of its challenges and readiness towards digital transformations, both disruptive and innovative, presents potential competitive advantage over the competition, economic and environmental benefits and strategic vision. Future growth and economic capacity rely on human resource capacity, international competitiveness and incorporating sustainable standards (Fan et al., 2021). This comes with significant risks while disruptive technology, such as 3D printing technology, continues to impact the global supply chain and logistics industry (Beltagui et al., 2020). By incorporating specifically required skill sets in disruptive technology and using modern educational practices, a new mindset where disruptive technology is approached with rigour and ambition, and both hard/soft skills can be developed as specific assets to improve organisational and individual capabilities. The Brookings Institute has indicated that America will require 100 million jobs with significant digital skills. Two-thirds of the jobs created in the last decade require either high or moderate digital skills (Muro et al., 2017). The lack of enough qualified workers has been highlighted as a cause of limiting tech job growth in America (TechServe Alliance, 2018). A lack of “soft skills” will severely hamper the effort to reduce the digital skill gap. Other studies, mostly using developed country data, recognise that machines may transform the tasks underlying jobs, leaving 95% of jobs intact, but with a different profile (Arntz, 2016) and that automation will require a broad range of knowledge; most of which is less about computer programming and more about digital literacy (technical knowledge) and human skills (Cunningham and Pimhidzai, 2018)

DNA barcoding for identification of some fish species (Carangidae) in Vietnam coastal area

Carangidae family has got about 148 species belonging to 32 genera. In Vietnam, Carangidae is of high commercial value and playing an important role in the ecosystem. In the context Vietnam has received yellow card for seafood since Nov. 2017 by the EU, in which one of the main reasons was related to the restriction of traceability. In this study, DNA barcoding technique of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene was used to classify 56 specimens of Carangidae from three coastal areas (Northern, Central and Southern) in Vietnam to evaluate the effectiveness compared to the morphological classification method. Results showed that 21 species belonging to 16 genera were determined by the COI barcode while 18 species (16 genera) were determined when using morphological method. Seriola quinqueradiata and Trachinotus anak were newly recorded in Vietnam. From 56 sequences with 660 bp of mtDNA (COI), total 27 haplotypes were detected; haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π) were 0.903 ± 0.00060 and 0.14%, respectively. The DNA barcodes of COI gene of 21 species in Carangidae which were developed in this study could be used as a basis for comparison and traceability of their products. In addition, the results showed the high potentiality in using COI barcode to identify Carangidae fish in Vietnam

XGV-BERT: Leveraging Contextualized Language Model and Graph Neural Network for Efficient Software Vulnerability Detection

With the advancement of deep learning (DL) in various fields, there are many attempts to reveal software vulnerabilities by data-driven approach. Nonetheless, such existing works lack the effective representation that can retain the non-sequential semantic characteristics and contextual relationship of source code attributes. Hence, in this work, we propose XGV-BERT, a framework that combines the pre-trained CodeBERT model and Graph Neural Network (GCN) to detect software vulnerabilities. By jointly training the CodeBERT and GCN modules within XGV-BERT, the proposed model leverages the advantages of large-scale pre-training, harnessing vast raw data, and transfer learning by learning representations for training data through graph convolution. The research results demonstrate that the XGV-BERT method significantly improves vulnerability detection accuracy compared to two existing methods such as VulDeePecker and SySeVR. For the VulDeePecker dataset, XGV-BERT achieves an impressive F1-score of 97.5%, significantly outperforming VulDeePecker, which achieved an F1-score of 78.3%. Again, with the SySeVR dataset, XGV-BERT achieves an F1-score of 95.5%, surpassing the results of SySeVR with an F1-score of 83.5%