Reaction of Currencies to Trade War

Recently, China has announced plans for reciprocal tariffs on $50 billions of 106 products that imported from the United States as the second response to President Donald Trump’s increasing tariffs on Chinese exports. Only in a few months, the two influential countries have consecutively announced punishment policies on each other’s exports in order to protect their advantages. The economic war between the two most powerful economies have great impact not only on currencies of themselves but also on those of other countries. After each policy was announced, different countries have their currencies fluctuated differently. The change in exchange rate is impacted by a country’s international trading, investment and competitiveness Therefore, the project focuses on the impact of the economic war between the United States and China on the US Dollar, the Chinese Yuan and currencies of some East Asian Countries, which include the Korean Won, the Japanese Yen, the Singapore Dollar, and the Vietnamese Dong. This project will also examine how those East Asian currencies change relatively to the US Dollar and the Chinese Yuan to evaluate their trend, sensitivity and volatility towards punishment policies. The research will also determine the accuracy of predicted factors and whether the United States or China is the aggressor and has more impact on the East Asian currencie

FDI in Vietnam

The South East Asian region is fast becoming a destination for investment. The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) of worldwide countries into ASEAN countries has increased significantly. According to the World Bank, among the South East Asian countries, Vietnam is considered as the new most promising market. From 2011, the net inflow of foreign investments into Vietnam has outstandingly increased, especially from East Asian countries, such as South Korea and Japan. Therefore, this paper will focus on how Vietnam become the more appealing market than some of the other ASEAN countries through the country’s competitive economic strengths. The paper will analyze and compare FDI positions, circumstances and competitive economic strengths of Vietnam to some of the other ASEAN countries’. In addition, the recent trade war between the US and China is also considered as a positive factor that helps increase generally FDI in ASEAN and specifically FDI in Vietnam. Hence, the paper will also analyze and compare the impact of the recent trade war on the inflow of foreign investments into Vietnam. Finally, this paper will present some challenges that Vietnam needs to consider to keep its promising position in attracting FDI

Development of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) seed production and culture technology in the Mekong Delta Region of Vietnam: A review of the JIRCAS Project at Cantho University.

The Mekong Delta of Vietnam is a region rich in aquatic resources having high potential for aquaculture development. Inland aquaculture in the Mekong Delta has greatly increased since the last decade. Fish culture carried out in combination with other agricultural activities such as animal husbandry and rice cultivation, and intensive aquaculture in ponds and cages have been the dominant forms of fish production. However, the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has recently become a species of economic significance and the target of aquaculture activity in the Mekong Delta. M. rosenbergii is cultured throughout the region in the rice fields, ponds, orchard gardens and in pens along river banks. The major constraints in this industry are seed supply and culture techniques, becoming the major obstacles for the further development of the culture of this species. In a collaborative research project implemented between the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and Cantho University (CTU) since 1994, studies have been carried out on various aspects relating to the establishment of M. rosenbergii seed production and culture technology. The project is now in the middle of its second phase and has generated a great deal of scientific and practical information. This paper presents an overview of the achievements of this project

Factors Affecting the Profitability of Cement Manufacturing Enterprises in Tuyen Quang Province

This study focuses on analyzing the factors affecting the production and business efficiency of cement manufacturing enterprises in Tuyen Quang province. Production and business efficiency is measured by profitability ratios including return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and return on sales (ROS). Using a quantitative research method through estimating a linear regression model based on data of two cement manufacturing companies in the period 2019-2021, the research results show that the factors affecting business efficiency of cement manufacturing enterprises in Tuyen Quang province include size of enterprise, cost ratio, average collection period, inventory turnover, fixed assets turnover and debt ratio

Chemical constituents from the leaves of Styrax argentifolius H.L. Li and their antioxidative activity

Searching for bioactive agents from medicinal plants, the phytochemical investigation on the EtOAc extract of the Vietnamese Styrax argentifolius leaves has resulted in the isolation and structural determination of five compounds, including one nor-neolignan egonoic acid (1), one lignan (+)-pinoresinol (2), one sterol (20R)-3β-hydroxysitgmasta-5,22-dien-7-one (3), and two triterpenoids lupeol (4), and 2α,3α,24-trihydroxy-urs-12-en-28-oic acid (5). The chemical structures of these secondary metabolites were elucidated by NMR and MS spectral data. All isolated compounds were first observed in S. argentifolius species. Sterol 3 and triterpenoid 5 were detected in genus Styrax for the first time. With the IC50 value of 19.10 µg/mL, compound 2 possessed the strong activity in DPPH radical scavenging assay

Heat Stress Affects Seed Set and Grain Quality of Vietnamese Rice Cultivars during Heading and Grain Filling Period

Environmental stress trigger a variety of rice plant response, ranging from alters seed set, grain yield and grain quality during flowering and grain filling stage.  Efforts are required to improve our understanding of the impact of heat stress on rice production, which are essential strategies in rice cultivation. This article investigated the seed set, yield components and grain yield of Vietnamese rice cultivars (Indica germplasm) under high temperature environment during the flowering and grain filling stage. Six rice cultivars, including popular cultivars and new cultivars of Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, and one popular extraneous cultivar with differences in maturing time, were grown in pots at high temperature (HT) and natural temperature condition as control (CT). All rice cultivars were subjected to the high temperature starting from the heading stage to the harvest maturity, applied by greenhouse effect. The greenhouse has about 25 cm window opening on 3 sides for air ventilation. The seed set rate of the heat-sensitive rice genotypes decreased significantly under HT, leading to a significant reduction in grain yield. The lowest seed set was recorded in “OM4900” (44.3%) and “OM18” (39.9%) under high temperature environment. The lower yield in all rice cultivars at an elevated temperature resulted in a dramatic decrease of filled grains and contributed to a loss of 1000-grain weight. ‘“OM892” is a potential rice cultivar for heat tolerant breeding program due to the seed set percentage was above 80% in both HT and CT conditions. High temperature during the grain filling stage resulted in a decreased amylose and increased chalkiness for all OM cultivars

Supporting students to adjust to academic culture in the UK.

A short journalistic style article on supporting students to adjust to academic expectations in the UK

Challenges of Implementing Outcome-Based Assessment in Vietnamese Higher Education – A Qualitative Inquiry

This qualitative study investigates the key challenges faced by university lecturers in implementing outcome-based assessments (OBA) in higher education institutions in Vietnam, a country currently undergoing significant educational transformation. Utilizing a qualitative research design, the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 lecturers from diverse academic fields in a institution. The data were thematically coded and interpreted through the lenses of Constructivism, Institutional Theory, and Diffusion of Innovations Theory. Nine major challenges emerged from the findings, including pedagogical hurdles, lack of training and resources, institutional constraints, and technological limitations. These challenges are contextualized within the existing theoretical frameworks and related literature. The study offers critical insights that are deeply rooted in cultural, institutional, and structural variables. These findings are pertinent for educators, administrators, and policymakers in Vietnam and potentially for those in similar educational settings, and they hold broader implications for professional development, institutional policies, technological infrastructure, and cultural shifts within the educational landscape

In-action reflective teaching in Vietnam: A qualitative exploration of practices, influences and implications

Reflective teaching plays a crucial role in the field of education though its intricacies in particular cultural contexts like Vietnam are still little understood. This study aims to investigate reflective teaching practices in more detail within the context of Vietnamese education.  This study used a qualitative methodology and semi-structured interviews with twelve Vietnamese teachers, each representing a different stage of their careers to shed light on the many forms of in-action reflective practices and their implementation, benefits, drawbacks and even cultural influences. The results of this in-depth investigation provided an overview of the wide range of in-action reflective practices that are actively used in the classroom.  The enhancement of adaptive teaching methodologies and the bolstering of student engagement are prominent among the many advantages that were noted.  Teaching in the Vietnamese context also presents unique challenges. Teachers often struggle with the demands of multitasking, the complexities of navigating uncertainties in real-time classroom scenarios   and the predominant challenge of managing large class sizes. Moreover, it was surprising to learn how many Vietnamese cultural, social   and educational factors influenced teacher understanding and use of in-action reflection.  The understanding of reflective teaching practices is enhanced by the research findings which also have broad implications for areas such as instructional strategies, teacher preparation programmes, academic research perspectives and even the development of educational policies.  The study strongly emphasizes the pressing need for more context-specific investigations into reflective teaching and underscores the indispensable role of reflection in fostering an environment conducive to effective teaching and learning