Healthcare consumers’ sensitivity to costs: a reflection on behavioural economics from an emerging market

Decision-making regarding healthcare expenditure hinges heavily on an individual's health status and the certainty about the future. This study uses data on propensity of general health exam (GHE) spending to show that despite the debate on the necessity of GHE, its objective is clear—to obtain more information and certainty about one’s health so as to minimise future risks. Most studies on this topic, however, focus only on factors associated with GHE uptake and overlook the shifts in behaviours and attitudes regarding different levels of cost. To fill the gap, this study analyses a dataset of 2068 subjects collected from Hanoi (Vietnam) and its vicinities using the baseline-category logit method. We evaluate the sensitivity of Vietnamese healthcare consumers against two groups of factors (demographic and socioeconomic-cognitive) regarding payment for periodic GHE, which is not covered by insurance. Our study shows that uninsured, married and employed individuals are less sensitive to cost than their counterparts because they value the information in reducing future health uncertainty. The empirical results challenge the objections to periodic health screening by highlighting its utility. The relevance of behavioural economics is further highlighted through a look at the bounded rationality of healthcare consumers and private insurance companies in using and providing the service, respectively

Off-farm Labor Supply and Health Impact of Pesticide Use: An Economic Analysis

By employing data from Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys (VHLSS) and weather data from different sources, this thesis aims to fill the gaps in the literature on off-farm labor supply, health effect of pesticide use and the economic returns to communist party membership in Vietnam. This thesis consists of four chapters. The first chapter provides a brief introduction. The second chapter considers the effect of weather on the risk perception of farmers in Vietnam by examining labor allocation decision and its effect on household income. I started by building a theoretical framework with the assumption that off-farm wage per hour is fixed and there is a risk factor in the farm production. As the result, the model shows that the farming risk pushes farmers to allocate more time for the off-farm sector in order to cope with the farming risk. On the other hand, higher marginal revenue of farm production increases the amount of time working in agricultural sector. However, the question of whether off-farm participation betters farmers cannot be answered theoretically. With data from VHLSS and weather data from the Vietnamese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development and Unisys.com, I attempt to answer this question by using a Heckman correction model. Results from the econometric model show that weather affects the off-farm participation decision of agricultural households and off-farm participation associates with higher household income. In addition, long-term climate patterns show stronger effects than short-term ones on the labor allocation decision. I also found that distance to town center reduces the possibility of off-farm participation and reduces income. The third chapter focuses on the relationship between pesticide use and health burden of farmers in Vietnam. By using the number of hospital visits and health expenditure as a proxy for health status, we found that lagged pesticide use associates with the increasing needs of medical services. Particularly, lagged pesticide uses for rice and industrial crops have the strongest effects on the health status of farmers. This is one of the most recent attempts to examine the association between pesticide use and health burden on farmers in Vietnam. In the near future, I would like to work more on confirming the causal effect of pesticide use on the health status of farmers with better data. Chapter 4 concludes

How swelling debts give rise to a new type of politics in Vietnam

Vietnam has seen fast-rising debts, both domestic and external, in recent years. This paperreviews the literature on credit market in Vietnam, providing an up-to-date take on the domesticlending and borrowing landscape. The study highlights the strong demand for credit in both therural and urban areas, the ubiquity of informal lenders, the recent popularity of consumer financecompanies, as well as the government’s attempts to rein in its swelling public debt. Given thehigh level of borrowing, which is fueled by consumerism and geopolitics, it is inevitable that theamount of debt will soon be higher than the saving of the borrowers. Unlike the conventional wisdom that creditors have more bargaining power over the borrowers, we suggest that—albeitlacking a quantitative estimation—when the debts pile up so high that the borrowers could not repay, the power dynamics may reverse. In this new politics of debt, the lenders fear to lose the money's worth and continue to lend and feed the insolvent debtors. The result is a toxic lending/borrowing market and profound lessons, from which the developing world could learn

Antibody-guided Complexes and Their Potential Applications in Poultry Research

Targeting the CD40 receptor displayed by antigen-presenting cells to deliver a specific immunogen has been successfully used to enhance immune responses, specifically increasing antibody production and enhancing antibody affinity. When tested in chickens, this platform induced specific IgG and IgA production within one week post-immunization. However, proof of conferred protective efficacy using the CD40-targeting vaccination method was still undetermined. Whole avian influenza virus was loaded onto the guided complex and immunized birds were challenged with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) to test efficacy. Furthermore, this research addresses the application of guided complexes as an alternative method for epitope mapping of microbial enzymes. Short peptide segments of the Clostridium perfringens alpha toxin were loaded onto the antibody-guided complex and immunized into chickens to induce antibody production for downstream use in neutralization assays to identify specific regions able to block the toxin’s enzymatic functions. Lastly, to expand the antibody-guided system repertoire, monoclonal antibodies against a new receptor, specifically dendritic cell (DC) marker CD205, were developed for potential use to further enhance immune response activation. Anti-CD205 monoclonal antibodies were used to develop a new in vitro DC system obtained from peritoneal exudate cells. In HPAI efficacy studies, functional antibody titers were detected up to six weeks after a single subcutaneous administration. When boosted, the antibody-guided complex conferred 100% protection in birds upon lethal H5N1 challenge. The guided system also proved useful for rapid polyclonal antibody production in chickens, which can be used in epitope mapping studies. This system favors linear peptide targets for immunization in order to maintain cost-effectiveness and short turnover time, but can still be used with conformational epitopes. Monoclonal antibodies were successfully constructed against chicken CD205 and used in a variety of immunoassays, as well as magnetic bead isolation of DCs from peritoneal exudate cell populations. Overall, these data are the first to report protective efficacy using the CD40-targeting system in chickens, the first to propose the use of guided complexes in epitope mapping, and the first to isolate DCs from peritoneal exudate using the anti-CD205 monoclonal antibodies

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RELICS OF DAK R’LAP DISTRICT, DAK NONG PROVINCE, IN THE REGIONAL PREHISTORIC CONTEXT

This article systematizes the documentation of prehistoric archaeological relics and artifacts from Dak R’lap District, Dak Nong Province. The article also presents the results of investigations, new discoveries, and surveys conducted by the author together with archaeologists from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology. The author outlines the characteristics, properties, and dates of relics and artifacts; describes the locations, roles, and close relationship of relics and artifacts discovered in Dak R’lap District with the prehistory of Dak Nong in particular and the Central Highlands and Southeast in general. This research provides more data for the construction of prehistoric archaeological maps; facilitates researching, compiling, and educating on local history; and promotes sustainable cultural tourism development in Dak Nong Province in general

Entrepreneurial Finance: Insights from English Language Training Market in Vietnam

Entrepreneurship plays an indispensable role in the economic development and poverty reduction of emerging economies like Vietnam. The rapid development of technologies during the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has a significant impact on business in every field, especially in the innovation-focused area of entrepreneurship. However, the topic of entrepreneurial activities with technology applications in Vietnam is under-researched. In addition, the body of literature regarding entrepreneurial finance tends to focus on advanced economies, while mostly neglecting the contextual differences in developing nations. Therefore, this research contributes to these topics by investigating the main characteristics of a high potential market for entrepreneurs in Vietnam, which is the English language training market (ELTM). It also aims at indicating the impacts of technology on the entrepreneurial firms within this market, with an emphasis on financing sources. To answer the research questions, this study employs a qualitative analysis and conducts 12 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and researchers in the field. The key findings in our study highlight the main contributing factors to the growth of the market, both universally and context-specific for a developing nation like Vietnam. It also lists the leaders in each market segment and the industry’s potential profit margin. The results also show that most entrepreneurs in the ELTM utilized private sources of finance rather than external ones, such as bank loans. It again confirms the idea from previous works that even with the rapid development of the economic and technological landscape, entrepreneurial activities in general barely benefit from additional sources of funding. However, it also points out the distinct characteristics of the ELTM that may influence these financing issues; for example, English training services usually collect revenues from customers before delivering their classes. This is of advantage for entrepreneurs in this area and helps significantly reduce the financial barriers. These findings, which are among the first attempts to contribute to a better understanding of entrepreneurial opportunities in the Industry 4.0 in Vietnam, provide valuable insights for policymakers and entrepreneurs, as well as investors

Modelling uncertainty in population monitoring data

Uncertainties in ecology are pervasive, and therefore, communicating the level of uncertainty for any inference derived from scientific research is key to sound decision-making and management of species and ecosystems. Characterising uncertainty is part of converting information into knowledge and has the added benefit of identifying fruitful avenues of further investigation. Without such care in accounting for uncertainties, we risk making misleading conclusions and inappropriate management decisions. In this thesis, it is argued strongly that rather than being something to avoid discussing, reducing uncertainty is fundamental to good ecological science. Uncertainty can come from a number of sources. Parameter estimation for demographic studies has inherently high uncertainty due to substantial variation between individuals, years, and spatial locations thus requiring considerable resources to obtain accurate estimates for survival, reproduction and growth. In some cases, certain life stages may be unseen during sampling procedures, such as seeds in the soil seed bank, or if non-breeding components of the population are not present in the selected sampling sites. While the potential sources of uncertainty are diverse, I attempted to cover a range of key areas of uncertainties relevant to ecologists over the course of this thesis. Specific areas of uncertainty were targeted using case studies to provide examples to demonstrate how these uncertainties can be addressed and how they can be used to aid inferences and provide recommendations for future data collection procedures. First, I highlighted the prevalence of authors excluding a cryptic but important life stage, the dormant seed bank, from their data collection procedures and population models (Chapter 2). The evolution of seed banks acts as a bet hedging strategy, improving the persistence of plant populations in variable environments, thus it is crucial that we are able to address this potential knowledge gap to avoid misleading conclusions. The consequences of this exclusion on model parameters such as population growth rates and extinction risks were explored using a joint empirical and simulation approach, combining information from the published literature with Monte Carlo simulations. These simulations explored a range of assumptions that need to be considered when including a seed bank into the model, such as seed longevity, viability and germination rates. A key result of these simulations is that our perspective regarding the importance of the seed bank can differ, further depending on the species and the type of demographic year. For example, inclusion of the seed bank and demographic uncertainty in seed bank parameters were found to have little effect for stable populations with high post-seedling survival. In such cases, the seed bank can be excluded, however this should be accompanied by appropriate justification either through literature confirmation that dormancy is not existent or demonstrated via simulations that it is of little consequence. Conversely, seed banks had a more demonstrable impact on growth and extinction rates for variable populations, particularly when populations experience poor demographic years. The use of simulations and published literature can thus be an effective means to explore uncertainties resulting from the presence of cryptic life stages. Second, I explored and demonstrated the use of multivariate auto-regressive state-space (MARSS) models as a versatile framework for capturing and addressing several sources of uncertainty including observation errors, and show how these models can be used to update and improve monitoring design (Chapter 3). MARSS models were constructed for a common, ephemeral plant using a 9 year time series dataset from multiple study sites within the Simpson Desert to explain trends over time and space. Modelling multi-dimensional time series data allowed the identification of spatial sub-population structure with respect to location and fire history, and the incorporation of population structure making use of count data for above ground plants and the seed bank. Model results suggested population dynamics to be driven primarily by geographical location possibly reflecting differences in soil conditions, local competition and local microclimate, overshadowing variation caused by fire history. The seed bank was also found to be characterised by high observation error with low environmental variability, while the converse was true for the above ground population estimates. Knowledge regarding the relative uncertainty of the above and below ground abundance estimates and the spatial distribution of population dynamics can then be used to provide guidelines for future monitoring efforts. For example, it may be more strategic to sample the seed bank less frequently as it less variable over time, and instead focus on obtaining more accurate counts when it is sampled to offset the high observation error. Additionally, the level of spatial heterogeneity in the Simpson Desert provides some justification for expanding spatial replication. Third, the validity of using visual cover estimates as a means of monitoring vegetation and environmental changes was assessed. Visual cover estimates are particularly susceptible to observation error, and previous studies on the repeatability and reliability of such measurements have raised concerns over their value in ecological monitoring and decision making. I made use of two primary long-term monitoring datasets on spinifex grasslands, each obtained with different motivations, methods of data collection, and varying degrees of spatial and temporal coverage to assess the consistency of spatial and temporal trends between these datasets. Thus it could be determined whether the different sampling strategies and observation errors produced inconsistent and conflicting results. Observation errors were found to be quite large, often exceeding variation due to environmental changes. However, when these errors are accounted for, trends in the spatial dynamics of spinifex cover were consistent between the datasets, with population dynamics being driven primarily by time since last fire. Models also showed similar population traces over time, reflecting the effects of major temporal drivers such as rainfall and fire history. These findings vindicate visual cover estimates as a useful source of information provided that uncertainties in the measurements are appropriately addressed. Finally, I shift the focus from single species analyses and apply dynamic factor analysis (DFA) to a large, multispecies database of abundances over time, which reduces the temporal dynamics of a large number of species to a small number of common trends. In producing these trends, interpretation of large multispecies data is greatly simplified. Furthermore, the common trends groups species with similar temporal responses, thus revealing where there is potential to borrow strength across species to supplement those that are less well sampled. Five common trends were identified for each site, and crucially, these trends were strongly associated with life form which showed distinctive signatures in the shape of their trends. Forbs and grasses for example demonstrated high levels of synchrony in their responses to rain events, although the signal for shrubs and subshrubs was weaker. These responses were also found to differ over relatively large (>20km) spatial scales. Thus plant life form is a reasonable predictor of changes in abundance over time and offers some justification for borrowing information to supplement data from poorly sampled species, provided the data are within the same locality. The results of this thesis underpin the value of acknowledging, measuring and managing uncertainties, and that these uncertainties can be used advantageously to guide inferences, extract value from datasets thought to be unreliable, provide justification for sourcing additional sources of information or excluding others, and inform future data collection protocols. Several methods for addressing uncertainty are highlighted, such as the use of simulations when data are unavailable, powerful state-space modelling techniques to account for observation error, and identifying opportunities for supplementing data from the literature, similar sites or species with similar dynamics. There are several more options available for reducing and managing uncertainty, and it is ultimately up to the researcher to first recognise where uncertainties are likely to exist, explore their options, and decide how such uncertainties are to be addressed

HEROISM IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S SHORT STORIES

Ernest Hemingway, a distinguished writer, is well-known for his writing theory called the “Iceberg Principle.” This theory is used to introduce the concept of Heroism, which depicts the images of heroes differently from the traditional stereotype. His novels and collections of short stories were written permeating the Iceberg Principle. Among them, In Another Country, Old Man at the Bridge, and The Old Man and the Sea characterized the heroes with their unique characteristics which readers needed to dig out to get a deeper insight into man’s fate with emotional overtones. The current study, with a qualitative and descriptive approach, illuminates Heroism in these short stories. The results show that there are five aspects that Hemingway applied to reflect his Heroism including age, life tragedies, isolation, persistence, and stoicism. Besides, throughout the three stories, one can see the development of Hemingway's heroes as they strive to reach perfection during his literary career.  Article visualizations