AN INVESTIGATION OF VIETNAMESE EFL TEENAGE LEARNERS’ KNOWLEDGE OF COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS: IMPLICATIONS FOR IDIOM INSTRUCTION

This article explores the EFL teenage learners’ knowledge of common English idioms in a Vietnamese context. Seventy-six teenage students between 14 to 17 years old, including 33 males and 43 females participated in an idiom test. The test consisted of 50 idioms selected from common English proficiency test books and the lists of common idioms by Grant (2007) and Liu (2003). Descriptive statistics showed that the students had very limited idiomatic knowledge. This finding uncovers the needs for idiom instruction. Based on the literature, the current paper proposes an instructional direction for improving their knowledge of idioms.  Article visualizations

Vocational Orientation and the Need for Establishing Career Counselling Office in Vietnamese Schools

School psychology is a field that has been receiving a lot of attention recently in Vietnam as it prepares to restructure the general education curriculum. In particular, vocational orientation and career counseling are most concerned due to the emergence of new subjects in the educational curriculum - Experimental and Vocational Orientation Activities. The objective of this study is to investigate the current situation of vocational orientation problems and the need for career counseling of Vietnamese high school students to provide evidence to develop the school counseling activities and the School Psychology in Vietnam. This is a quantitative study used a questionnaire to examine the current situation of vocational orientation problems and the need for career counseling of 1200 high school students in Vietnam to illustrate the importance of vocational orientation work. The results showed that Vietnamese high school students faced many vocational orientation problems and wanted support from school counselors. But the reality did not meet the needs of students: Vietnamese schools lacked a team of school counselors both in quality and quantity, also lack of school counseling offices in almost high schools. This result is expected to contribute to the development of the School Psychology in Vietnam, but firstly, to promote the establishment of counseling office at least one office per school

An Empirical Study of Affective Commitment: the Case of Machinery Enterprises in Hochiminh City

The study aims to investigate the impact of participation in decision-making (PDM) and perceived organizational support (POS) on affective commitment in machinery enterprises. The study applies structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the research hypotheses. The authors surveyed 220 employees who work in machinery enterprises to collect data for the research. The study results indicate that both PDM and POS positively impact affective commitment. The findings provide empirical evidence to support the theoretical models that PDM and POS have a positive effect on affective commitment. The findings have implications for management theory: PDM and POS are the key antecedents of affective commitment. The findings also have implications for practical management in the machinery enterprises that managers should practice both PDM and POS to increase affective commitment

IELTS Reading: Perceived Challenges and Strategies by Vietnamese University English Majors

This study focused on identifying Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ perception of their challenges in doing the IELTS reading test and corresponding strategies to cope with these challenges. The study involved eighty-nine English majors at Can Tho University, and data were collected via a questionnaire administered to all participants and interviews conducted with 10 random students. The results showed that Vietnamese EFL students encountered a number of challenges in doing IELTS reading tests, among which lack of vocabulary and time constraint for the tests were two most noticeable difficulties. The results also revealed that the students in the study frequently employed text related, question related, and general practical strategies for doing the reading test in IELTS. Based on the findings, more opportunities to expose students to tests as well as an integration of instruction on test-taking  strategies were suggested. Keywords: EFL Vietnamese students, IELTS reading test, reading strategies, test-taking techniques DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-28-03 Publication date:October 31st 202

The Impact of Personal Financial Literacy on the Choice of Lending Channel by Vietnamese Householders Who Just Escaped Poverty

Purpose: The Newly-Escaped-Poverty-List householders (NEPLH) in Vietnam served as the survey subjects for this study, which sought to determine the impact of "Personal Financial Literacy" on "The Probability of Using Lending Services of Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (P_VBSP)" and "The Probability of Using Informal Private Lending Services (P_ILC)".   Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected from 186 respondents, by structured online questionnaire with convenient non-probability sampling technique.  Aspects of personal financial literacy (FLi) such as personal financial knowledge (FL1), personal financial skills (FL2), personal financial attitude (FL3), and personal financial behavior (FL4) are measured. When respondents were divided into groups based on subgroup criteria (CVj), such as gender, age, marital status, role in the family, career, education level, religion, and number of years since being removed from the list of poor households, ANOVA techniques were used to examine differences in various aspects of personal financial literacy. The impact of FLi and subgroup variables (CVj) on P_VBSP and P_ILC was assessed using the binary logistic regression analysis technique.   Findings: Research results show that  there is a statistical difference in the average score of FL1, FL2, FL3 and FL4. The research findings also show that FL2, FL4, and "Career Status – CAR" have a positive impact on P_VBSP, while "Aged group - AGE", "Education level - EDU", and "Number of years since being removed from the list of poor households - YEAR" have a negative impact on P_VBSP. Meanwhile, the P_ILC is positive influenced by the AGE factor and moves in the opposite direction of FL2, FL4, EDU, and YEAR.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The research findings provide the basis for governance implications as well as policy recommendations to promote financial literacy among the NEPLH in Vietnam, encouraging them access policy lending services from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, and at the same time help them stay away from informal private lending services, thereby helping them to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable economic development family.   Originality/value: A theoretical framework for personal finance literacy, including (i) financial knowledge, (ii) financial attitude, (iii) financial skills, and (iv) financial behavior, has been developed by the authors after reviewing earlier studies. At the same time, it is more significant to measure financial literacy by objective assessment than relying on the subjective self-assessment of each respondent in the context of actual study in Vietnam. In the model analyzing the influence of personal financial literacy on the decision of Newly-Escaped-Poverty-List householders in choosing the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies or Informal Private Credit Channels, the authors also took into account additional factors including gender, age group, marital status, role in the family, career, education level, religion, and number of years since being removed from the list of poor households

SỰ NỞ HOA CỦA LOÀI VI KHUẨN LAM ĐỘC RAPHIDIOPSIS RACIBORSKII TẠI HỒ BUÔN PHONG, TỈNH ĐẮK LẮK

This study investigates species biodiversity composition, morphological characteristics and fluctuation in cell density of cyanobacterial Raphidiopsis raciborskii, and cylindrospermopsin toxin concentration in Buon Phong reservoir. The cylindrospermopsin concentration in the reservoir was identified by using the ELISA test. The results show that 23 species of cyanobacteria in 10 genera, 5 families, 3 orders (Chroococcales, Oscillatoriales, Noctoscales) were identified. Straight filamentous Raphidiopsis raciborskii bloomed all year round in the reservoir with cell densities of 53,6 ×106–58,3 × 107 cells/L. The results of the ELISA test show that cylindrospermopsin toxin in the reservoir existed during the 12 months of the studied period, ranging from 0.04 to 0.72 µg/L. Although the toxin concentration is below the hazard level (1 µg/L), the presence of cylindrospermopsin in the reservoir poses a potential risk because the reservoir water is used for domestic, livestock and aquaculture activities.Nghiên cứu này điều tra thành phần loài, đặc điểm hình thái, sự biến động mật độ tế bào của vi khuẩn lam (VKL) Raphidiopsis raciborskii và hàm lượng độc tố cylindrospermopsin trong hồ Buôn Phong. Hàm lượng độc tố được xác định bằng phương pháp ELISA. Kết quả cho thấy sự có mặt của 23 loài VKL phân bố trong 10 chi, 5 họ và 3 bộ (Chroococcales, Oscillatoriales, Noctoscales). Raphidiopsis raciborskii tồn tại dưới dạng sợi thẳng, nở hoa quanh năm với số lượng tế bào 53,6 × 106–58,3 × 107 tb/L. Độc tố cylindrospermopsin tồn tại trong suốt 12 tháng nghiên cứu với hàm lượng 0,04–0,72 µg/L. Mặc dù hàm lượng độc tố vẫn nằm dưới mức độ nguy hại (1 µg/L), nhưng sự xuất hiện độc tố trong nước hồ chứa cho thấy rủi ro tiềm tàng do đây là nguồn nước được sử dụng cho sinh hoạt, chăn nuôi và nuôi trồng thủy sản

Review on membrane module configurations used for membrane distillation process

Nowadays, with the salient advantages of the seawater desalination process, membrane distillation (MD) technology has received increased interests to achieve desalination application. As a heat-based technology, by using the hydrophobic membrane, MD provides high efficiency in the desalination process of seawater, RO water and other solutes with high concentrations of dissolved solids. Besides, this is an alternative technology to significantly reduce the environmental impacts of traditional desalination technologies commonly used, such as distillation or reverse osmosis. In many factors affecting the desalination capacity of the membrane distillation system, membrane module configuration has a strong influence in evaluating the economic and technical efficiency of the technology. This review aims to assess the suitability of MD technology under different perspectives on the current types of membrane module configurations that include flat sheet, tubular, hollow fibre and spiral wound membranes. In addition, the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of the membrane module configurations will guide further studies to improve the shortcomings of existing MD technologies

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Methane Emissions and Related Physicochemical Soil and Water Parameters in the Peat Swamp and Melaleuca Forests of U Minh Thuong National Park in Vietnam

U Minh Thuong National Park is a key site for wetland biodiversity conservation in Vietnamese Mekong Delta. This paper outlines a field experiment carried out in U Minh Thuong National Park in the dry season 2019. The study aimed to compare methane emissions and related physicochemical soil and water parameters between the Peat swamp forest and Melaleuca forest. The results show that both water and soil parameters at 8 examined sites in Melaleuca forest and Peat swamp forest fluctuated highly over the sampling intervals. The average hourly C-CH4 emission rates in Melaleuca forest (26.58 Eg/m2/h) was higher than that in Peat swamp forest (21.18 Eg/m2/h). Generally, water level and redox potential were important factors regulating emissions of methane gases. The Eh values were all negative values, ranged between ∁E96.5 ± 22.75 EV and ∁E7.75 ± 15.37 EV, indicative of high electron activity and intense anaerobic. Peat swamp forest’s soil had relatively higher organic matter, CEC, TN and TP values than Melaleuca forest’s soil. The COD values fluctuated between 197.3 ± 51.78 Eg/L and 396.8 ± 25.77 Eg/L, indicative of organic pollution of surface water. It is suggested shorter time measurement (at least twice a day) of methane emission for more accurate evaluation

Oxidation of carbon nanotubes using for Cu(II) adsorption from aqueous solution

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) synthesized by chemical vapour deposition without using hydrogen were oxidized with 0.1 M potassium permanganate at 40oC for 2 hours and exhibited high CuII adsorption capacity from aqueous solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms were used to characterize the oxidized CNTs. After oxidizing, the obtained CNTs were used to remove CuII from aqueous solution. With CuII initial concentration of 20 mg.L-1, at pH of 4 and adsorbent dosage of 0.2 g.L-1, the oxidized CNTs exhibited high CuII adsorption ability with maximum adsorption capacity of 174.4 mg.g-1