Effects of bribery on natural resource efficiency in Vietnam: moderating effects of market competition and credit constraints

This article uses small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) survey data in Vietnam from 2007 to 2015 to examine the effects of bribery on the natural resource efficiency of firms facing credit constraints and market competition. We also employ the disaggregated resource intensity by water, fuel, and electricity. Creditconstrained firms are broken down into those who have had formal loan applications denied (credit rationed) and those who do not apply for formal loans due to either the process being too difficult or the interest rate being too high (discouraged borrowers). Applying instrumental variable method to take into account the endogeneity problem, the empirical results provide evidence to support the ‘sanding-the-wheels of resource efficiency’ hypothesis. Among the three natural resources, inefficiency is most evident in water consumption. Furthermore, the effects become more sizable for micro-sized and informally registered firms since they have a lower bargaining power vis-a-vis public officials. Credit constraints and market competition pressure can reduce a firm’s ability to use natural resources efficientl

The Invisible Fear: Representations of H1N1 in the Vietnamese Online Newspapers

Epidemics, from the 14th century Black Death to the 1918 Spanish Flu, are dramatic moments in history not only because of their devastating consequences, but also because of the particular responses constructed by society in an attempt to make sense of them. In this study, I aim to examine the Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic-a media sensation in 2009 and 2010- as dramaturgically structured by narrative sequences and representations that move from increasing dramatic tension to heightened crisis and onto closure in the Vietnamese online newspapers. Specifically, I explore how the disease was defined and its causes were explained, what moral connotations were conveyed, and what solutions were recommended. Social representation theories and existing works on social representations of SARS and Ebola form the framework in which I analyze the significance and implications of these issues

Welfare consequences of inconsistent monetary policy implementation in Vietnam

We develop a New Keynesian model featuring Calvo price setting and Calvo wage setting to quantify the welfare consequences of shifting trend inflation in Vietnam. To capture the characteristics of the Vietnamese economy, we use the Simulated Method of Moment and calibrate parameters jointly to match the important selected moments of Vietnamese data. The results show a severe consequence of a constant positive trend inflation and an exogenous shock to trend inflation, especially when a central bank sets a high level of inflation target. Among staggered price and wage contracts, the latter play a vital role in transmitting the adverse impacts of constant and shifting trend inflation into the economy. Based on our analyses, raising inflation targets would seem to be a bad policy prescription in Vietnam

Effects of R&D, networking and leadership roles on environmental innovation adoption in Vietnam’s SMEs

Although small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute a majority of firms, they still have little knowledge about environmental issues and generally encounter difficulties when integrating environmental aspects into their activities. Similar arguments are also highlighted by Ha et al. in the case of Vietnam. This paper, therefore, builds a guideline for promoting SMEs’ organisational environmental innovation adoption based on Environmental Standard Certification (ESC) by investigating the effects of R&D, networking, and leadership roles in Vietnam. By using SME survey data in Vietnam from 2011 to 2015, the empirical results show that R&D spending and organisational capabilities proxied by already owning ESC are positively associated with green innovation implementation. We also find that either collaboration with different partners, including competitors, banks, and public agents or communication networks, affects firms’ decisions on green innovations. The demographic characteristics of managers such as gender, educational level, and knowledge about the environmental laws play determining roles in these decisions. Finally, we advanced the literature by indicating the moderating effects of men in leadership roles and leaders with better related knowledge on the impacts of firms’ internal resources (R&D) and firms’ international orientation (export)

A nonlinear concrete damaged plasticity model for simulation reinforced concrete structures using ABAQUS

The reinforced concrete structure is typical and widely used in many fields. The behavior of concrete is nonlinear and complex. Especially, when cracks/crushings occurred in softening phase. Thus, It is important to find a damaged model of concrete with high reliability in the numerical simulation. The nonlinear behavior of concrete is the most feature used in the simulation. This characteristic is expressed through the parameters defining the yield surface, the flow potential, and the nonlinear relationship of stress-strain in the cases of tension and compression. This paper introduces a damaged concrete model that applies to the simulation of reinforced concrete structures. The reinforced concrete beam and flat slab are selected as examples to evaluate the reliability of the model presented. Through the results achieved, the model used in this paper shows high reliability and can be used to simulate more complex reinforced concrete structures

Contributions au calcul analytique et numérique des propriétés homogénéisées des composites et des milieux poreux périodiques

In this work, we determine the macroscopic properties of thermal transfer and mass transport in periodic heterogeneous materials. All the results are established in the framework of periodic homogenization, for which, the macroscopic properties are deduced by solving elementary problems for the irreducible cell. Various contributions are provided, leading to the derivation of new closed-form expressions for the effective properties or by developing numerical tools. In the first part, we determine the nonlinear filtration properties of porous media. At the microscopic scale, the fluid flow obeys to the Navier-Stokes equation. By expanding the solution into power series, we obtain, after homogenization, a polynomial type macroscopic filtration law. All the constitutive coefficients of are determined by solving a hierarchy of cell problems by means of a numerical approach based on the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm. The problem of conductivity of periodic composites reinforced by spherical inclusions is thereafter considered by an analytic approach. We solve the Lippmann-Schwinger integral equation using Neumann series and a constant polarization in the inclusion. Closed-form estimate of the macroscopic conductivity are then obtain for different spatial configurations: cubic lattice and isotropic distribution of inclusions. In the last part, we determine the thermal transfer properties by conduction and convection of porous media fulfilled by a viscous fluid. Again, numerical tools based on FFT are considered to solve the unit cell problems and to compute the diffusivity tensorCe travail est dédié au calcul des propriétés de transfert thermique et de transport dans les milieux hétérogènes périodiques. Les résultats sont établis dans le cadre d'homogénéisation périodique pour lequel les propriétés macroscopiques sont obtenues par la résolution de problèmes élémentaires pour la cellule irréductible. Plusieurs contributions sont ainsi apportées, visant à établir de nouvelles estimations par des approches analytiques ou en développant des méthodes numériques adaptées. Ainsi dans une première partie, on s'intéresse à la modélisation des propriétés non linéaires de filtration dans les milieux poreux. A l'échelle microscopique l'écoulement est régi par l'équation de Navier-Stokes. En développant la solution en série, on obtient par homogénéisation, une loi de filtration polynomiale. Tous les coefficients constitutifs de cette loi sont alors obtenus en résolvant en cascade des problèmes élémentaires sur la cellule à l'aide de schémas itératifs utilisant sur la transformée de Fourier rapide. On propose ensuite de nouvelles expressions analytiques pour les propriétés de conductivité thermique de composites périodiques renforcés par des inclusions sphériques. On résout l'équation intégrale de Lippmann-Schwinger par des développements en série de Neumann et en choisissant une polarisation constante dans les inclusions. Des expressions analytiques sont alors obtenues pour diverses configurations spatiales : réseaux cubiques et répartitions aléatoires isotropes. Dans la dernière partie de ce travail, on détermine les propriétés de transfert thermique par conduction et convection dans les milieux poreux saturés par un fluide. A nouveau, on propose des schémas de résolution basés sur la transformée de Fourier rapide pour le calcul du tenseur de diffusivité de milieux poreu

THE PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION ON EFL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS OF READING COMPREHENSION

This study aims to investigate whether the use of a text-taking strategy could enhance EFL high school learners' reading comprehension. It draws on the test-taking strategies suggested by Cohen and Upton (2007), to focus on the two main aspects, (1) the influence of applying test-taking strategies on EFL high school students’ reading comprehension tests and (2) their attitudes toward these strategies. In the pretest-posttest one-group design and descriptive quantitative research, the reading comprehension test and the questionnaire were used to collect the data of 90 EFL high school students in a school in rural Can Tho City. These students were assigned to apply test-taking strategies in a workshop every week in the second Semester of 2021-2022. The findings showed that (1) participating students’ reading comprehension scores improved after following the test-taking strategies after 07 weeks; and (2) students were positive about their being active in their testing practice despite certain challenges. As a result of such positive attitudes, they had high motivation for continuing their practice test-taking strategies for the future examination.  Article visualizations

Improving the Quality of Teaching Physical Education Courses at Universities

This manuscript explores the advantages and limitations of teaching physical education courses at universities and proposes strategies to enhance the quality of teaching. The advantages of improving the quality of physical education teaching include flexible selection of sports subjects, enhancing positive attitudes towards learning, continuous development and improvement of lecturers, testing and evaluation standards, and innovative teaching methods. The limitations identified are limited curriculum content, teaching plans dependent on weather conditions, limited lecturer team, and lack of motivation among some students. To enhance the quality of teaching physical education, the manuscript proposes enhancing the role and significance of physical education in universities and adjusting and improving the content of the physical education program through innovative teaching methods, such as introducing new elective subjects, adapting teaching content and methods to student needs, and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between departments

An application of measuring visual and non-visual sensorial experiences of nature for children within primary school spaces : child–nature–distance case studies in Glasgow, Scotland

Purpose: Proximity to nature is essential to a child’s development. Well-designed educational environments are crucial to supporting this proximity, particularly in the early years of schooling. The purpose of this paper is to measure children’s experiences of nature within three primary school spaces at various locations in Glasgow, Scotland. The methodology for measuring children’s visual and non-visual sensory experiences is developed to evaluate the connection between naturalness values and spatial environmental qualities across varying “Child–Nature–Distance” ranges. Design/methodology/approach: The approach associates children’s multiple layers of sensory modalities with particular attributes of the spatial environment within primary schools to determine the level of naturalness that children experience, in both internal and external spaces. Findings: The study finds that children’s experiences are significantly influenced by factors relating to urban setting, built environment master planning, architectural features and interior design. Research limitations/implications: Apart from primary school architecture for children, this methodology could be fully developed to the comprehensive human–nature relationship under the impacts of physical features and societal of other diversified environments in a future study. However, the offering reasonable primary school architecture for a proper children’s multi-sensorial experience with natural environment cannot thoroughly established with a quantitative aspect by the present study only. More qualitative research is recommended to examine the process of altering from “cause” to “perceived” nature of users’ cognitions, attitudes and behaviours within the exposure proximity to nature. Practical implications: The methodology for measuring visual and non-visual sensorial experiences of nature, and its application to children’s learning and leisure spaces within primary school architecture could offer a tool for assessing current schools, and evaluating future design proposals for new schools. Originality/value: The authors argue that the applicationof this method can support design decision making for refurbishing schools at the micro level, and in planning urban development involving proposals for new schools at the macro level

Children's experiences of nature in primary school environments : contextual influences and child-nature-distance ranges

The aim of this study is to measure the extent of children’s direct experiences of nature within primary school environments, in relation to contextual differences according to urban, social, and pedagogical aspects. In order to achieve this, we have identified primary schools in Glasgow and Ho Chi Minh City as case studies, allowing the collection of information provided by parents of children studying in six investigated schools, and demonstrating the application of the ‘Child-Nature-Distance’ methodology. The results indicate: - a global trend in declined natural experiences of children across different social contexts; - educational approaches and urban environments importantly dominate the opportunities for children to be in contact with nature in both living and studying environments. In primary school spaces (indoor and outdoor), findings also indicate that children’s multi-sensorial natural experiences are significantly influenced by factors relating to a school’s neighbourhood areas, its built environment master planning, architectural features, and its interior design. These findings have decisive implications for the decision-making process involved in primary school architecture, and an enhanced ability to (re)connect children and nature