Exploring the Impacts of Financial Education on Behaviour Change in Personal Finance Management: Evidence from the PUFin Educational Programme “Managing My Money”

The impacts of educational interventions towards behaviour change have been disputed in previous studies (Hensley, 2015; Collins & Holden, 2014; Hopley, 2003). This study investigated whether financial interventions result in a change in financial behaviour. It also examined the role of educational interventions in contributing to the financial well-being (FWB) of citizens through obtaining desirable behaviour change and strengthening financial capability. The participants in the study have taken part in the “Managing My Money” course (MMM). This study examined if they had made a change in their behaviour, as a result of taking part in this course. The literature review covers the theories explaining the relationship between educational interventions, behaviour change, financial capability and FWB using a range of behaviour change models, such as the “Five Stages of Change” model (Prochaska et al., 1992; Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983). A positivist approach was chosen to measure behaviour change. A survey method was applied and enriched with data from open-ended questions (Easterby-Smith et al, 2008). The deductive analysis of the open-ended responses provided a clearer picture of actual behaviour change and financial capability of students before and after the course. This research makes an empirical contribution to the behaviour change literature. It provides evidence showing the effect of financial education towards behaviour change in personal finance (Prochaska & Di Clemente, 1992; Collins & Holden, 2014; Darnton, 2008). This research also supports previous studies that an educational intervention does not always result in behaviour change (SeiLing and Shockey, 2006), but helps to prepare people to make a change. In addition, it uncovered factors that constrained people in making a change, such as knowledge and low-income (Bell & Lerman, 2005; Lyons, 2005). A conceptual framework of the relationship between educational intervention; behaviour change, financial capability and well-being is outlined. The study has implications for social marketers, where a programme of personal financial education, should be developed to promote positive behaviour change, in particular for low-income individuals to encourage an improvement in the FWB of society

Investigation of botulism in free-range duck farming in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Background: One of the most common diseases in free-range ducks in the Mekong Delta is botulism. Botulism is a poultry disease caused by botulinum exotoxin of Clostridium botulinum. Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of botulism in free-range ducks in the Mekong Delta and the risk of infection by determining the presence of C. botulinum in the farming environment. Methods: Research was carried out on 200 duck flocks with 187,050 individuals raised freely in the fields in the provinces of the Mekong Delta, including An Giang, Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Kien Giang. The ducks were diagnosed with botulism based on clinical symptoms. To demonstrate the presence of botulinum neurotoxins and identify serotype, samples of serum and/or gut were analyzed by mouse bioassay. Samples of soil (n = 600), water (n = 600), crabs (n = 216), and snails (n = 400) were taken from the grazing regions for C. botulinum analysis by PCR assay. Results: There were 1.19% (2,235/187,050) free-range ducks in the Mekong Delta positive for botulism. Clinical symptoms of botulism including limberneck, drooping eyelids–enlarged pupils, and leg paralysis were prevalent across free-range ducks, with the frequency of 87.92% (1,965/2,235), 90.07% (2,013/2,235), and 79.78% (1,783/2,235), respectively. The lesions of pulmonary edema–hemorrhage, hemorrhagic liver, and gas-producing intestines were common, accounting for 86.19% (362/420), 95.48% (401/420), and 92.14% (387/420), respectively. Botulin toxin type C was found in a considerable number of serum samples, accounting for 40.48% (51/126). Meanwhile, the percentage of serum samples containing botulin toxin types E and D was 28.57% (36/126) and 25.40% (32/126), respectively. Clostridium botulinum was detected in the farming environment specifically 17.5% (105/600) in soil, 19.67% (118/600) in water, 8.33% (18/216) in crabs, and 3.00% (12/400) in snails. Conclusion: The free-range ducks in the Mekong Delta were at high risk of botulism because of the latent presence of C. botulinum in the farming environment

Online Learning Management in Covid-19 Pandemic: Case in Vietnam

The world is dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic, which has created enormous impacts on education, especially on learning management, requiring the adjustment and implementation of an online learning system effectively.The process of digital transformation has been promoted rapidly to adapt to new conditions in Education.Nowadays the online system has facilitated students of all levels to study at anytime and anywhere owing to the development of technologies.However, the existence and limits ofonline teaching and learning have been mentioned such as the complicated implementation or limited communication of active teaching methods compared to an actual classroom. Therefore, innovative teaching strategies and models are now required to be more diverse to encourage learners to focus on the lesson.In this study, we proposed an optimal paradigm of online learning management: the combination of several supported programs to effectivelymanage the teaching process. The approach has been appliedtothe Basic Informatics course for students majoring in Primary Education at the Thai Nguyen University of Education, Vietnam, and suggesteda flexible approach to stimulate learners' enthusiasm, express opinions, and actively participate in activities for enhancing their achievements. In addition, the investigation and discussion from lecturers and students about the digital transformation challenges in learning management also were presented and proposed the necessary information for the educational process

大規模アンサンブルシミュレーションに基づく気候変動の不確実性を考慮した洪水リスクの評価

この数十年で、気候変動による異常気象とそれに起因する自然災害は、自然環境や私たちの生活に対する脅威の一つとして急速に関心を集めるようになった。こうした自然災害の中でも、洪水は世界的に頻発しており、世界各地で甚大な被害を引き起こしている。さらに、洪水による災害は、将来的により頻繁に発生し、より深刻な被害を発生させると考えられている。特に河川の氾濫原の住民や、早期の洪水警報システムが整備されていない地域で生活している人々は、洪水による影響を最も大きく受ける。日本では、近年、短時間での極端豪雨による洪水氾濫が頻発し、大きな被害をもたらしている。顕著な例として、2016年8月には北海道で大規模な洪水が発生した。また2019年10月には日本の中部から東北地方にかけて多数の河川で深刻な洪水と地すべりが発生した。これらの被害により、尊い人命と資産が失われた。日本の北端に位置する北海道では、過去には1981年8月、近年では2016年8月の洪水において、石狩川流域は甚大な被害を受けた。石狩川流域内は石狩平野が大部分を占め、その中流域から下流域にかけては北海道のみならず全国で最も生産性の高い農業地域となっていることから、北海道の社会経済的発展に重要な役割を果たしている。そのため、本研究では、北海道の石狩川流域を対象とし、気候変動による極端豪雨の降雨量の変化と、それに伴い大規模洪水を引き起こす河川流量の変化を推定することを目的としている。石狩川流域とその主要な支川における不確実性を考慮した極端豪雨のデータとして水平解像度5kmの大量アンサンブル降雨情報(d4PDF)を用いた。また、石狩川とその主要支川の河川流量の推定には統合洪水解析システム(IFAS)を用いた。さらに、千歳川流域の洪水氾濫の変化についても、d4PDFと降雨-流出-氾濫モデル(RRI)を用いることで、石狩川からの背水影響を考慮した氾濫計算を行った。本研究では、豪雨と洪水の評価に高解像度の大規模アンサンブル気候シミュレーションを使用したことが特徴である。これは、100年に一度以上の低頻度で生起する極端豪雨と、それによって発生する深刻な洪水を予測することができる。さらに、大規模アンサンブル気候シミュレーションを用いることにより、極端豪雨時の降雨の不確実性を適切に評価することができる。本研究において判明した結果は、河川流域管理、特に氾濫原における洪水被害の軽減といった気候変動への適応策に役立てることが期待される。In recent decades, extreme weather events associated with climate changes have rapidly become one of the global concerns threatening natural environments and human life. Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster on earth, causing massive damage all over the world. Flood disaster is considered to become more frequent and higher intensity in the future. In particular, people who live in floodplain areas, or lack early flood warning systems are the most affected by flooding. In Japan, flood inundation disasters due to short-term extreme rainfall have occurred frequently and caused considerable damage in recent years. Notable severe flood events in recent years in Japan can be mentioned as the large-scale flood event in August 2016 in Hokkaido, or severe flooding and landslides occurred in many river basins in central-northern parts of Japan in October 2019, causing great loss of life and property. The northernmost Japanese island, Hokkaido has recorded severe floods and caused massive damage, such as the flood event in August 1981, and recently in August 2016. The Ishikari River basin plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of Hokkaido. The Ishikari Plain occupies most of the basin’s area and is located around the central and downstream basin area, which is the most productive agricultural area not only in Hokkaido, but also entire Japan. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the change in extreme rainfall and severe floods associated with climate change, choosing the Ishikari River basin, Hokkaido, Japan as a case study. Change in extreme rainfall and river floods in the Ishikari River basin, as well as in its main sub-basins is evaluated using the Integrated Flood Analysis System (IFAS) coupled with the large-ensemble rainfall dataset with a super high-resolution of 5 km as an input data to the model. In addition, change in flood inundation in the Chitose River basin, a tributary of the Ishikari River is also evaluated using the Rainfall–Runoff– Inundation (RRI) model and a large-ensemble rainfall dataset of 5 km (d4PDF). Owing to the topographical characteristics of its low-lying area, the Chitose River basin is frequent affected by backwater from the Ishikari River and experiences severe flood inundation. The remarkable point of this study is to use the large-ensemble and super high-resolution climate simulations for extreme rainfall and severe floods assessment. It could predict extreme rainfall and severe flood events with return periods equal to or larger than 100 years. Simulation with large ensemble members could properly verify the uncertainty in the estimation of the probability of extreme events. The results of this study are expected to provide useful information for river basin management, particularly for climate change adaptation and flood damage mitigation in floodplain areas.室蘭工業大学 (Muroran Institute of Technology)博士（工学

Design and fabrication of a moving robotic glove system

This paper presents the research, design, and manufacture of a robotic hand to control movement with a glove. The moving glove-controlled robotic hand is based on two main parts: the hand mechanism and the control circuit. The control glove unit includes an Arduino nRF24l01 microcontroller module and five flex sensors for five fingers. These sensors are used to collect data about the curvature of each finger. Then those data will be received by the Arduino microcontroller and sent by the nRF24l01 module. The hand's microcontroller will process that information and control five servo motors so that the five fingers of the robotic hand are moved. The result of this research is to produce a robotic hand that accurately simulates the curvature of a user's finger and mimics the motion of a glove well. Moreover, the robot hand can grip objects of different sizes (from 0.1 to 1 kg) and shapes, from which this robot helps users easily manipulate objects

Factors affecting corruption in the public sector: evidence from Vietnam

This research utilizes a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to comprehensively examine the intricate interactions among various factors influencing corruption in Vietnam's public sector. The findings reveal that certain factors, including inadequate anti-corruption policies and enforcement, a lack of accountability and transparency in anti-corruption endeavors, and significant income disparities between public officials and anti-corruption measures, significantly and positively impact the cultural and social norms associated with anti-corruption. Additionally, insufficient cultural and social standards exert a notable and positive influence on the level of corruption in the public sector. The outcomes of this study provide valuable insights for developing effective policies and strategies that promote accountability, transparency, and good governance to combat corruption in Vietnam's public sector

WILL OF PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH CITY FOR THE LEARNING AND ETHICAL TRAINING OF STUDENTS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ADMINISTRATION

Learning the revolutionary ethics of President Ho Chi Minh is learning the struggle and training yourself for noble revolutionaryideals; learning and following the ideology of solidarity; learning the will to fight in the spirit of radical revolution; continuous attack;learning deep sympathy for the people, for each person; learn a burning hatred for wicked, greedy, and selfish people; learn a firmbelief in the power of the masses; learn ideology, spirit, will, motto, method, labor perspective, learn frugality, integrity, impartiality,learn diligence, simplicity, purity and health in life

How Digital Natives Learn and Thrive in the Digital Age: Evidence from an Emerging Economy

As a generation of ‘digital natives,’ secondary students who were born from 2002 to 2010 have various approaches to acquiring digital knowledge. Digital literacy and resilience are crucial for them to navigate the digital world as much as the real world; however, these remain under-researched subjects, especially in developing countries. In Vietnam, the education system has put considerable effort into teaching students these skills to promote quality education as part of the United Nations-defined Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4). This issue has proven especially salient amid the COVID−19 pandemic lockdowns, which had obliged most schools to switch to online forms of teaching. This study, which utilizes a dataset of 1061 Vietnamese students taken from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s “Digital Kids Asia Pacific (DKAP)” project, employs Bayesian statistics to explore the relationship between the students’ background and their digital abilities. Results show that economic status and parents’ level of education are positively correlated with digital literacy. Students from urban schools have only a slightly higher level of digital literacy than their rural counterparts, suggesting that school location may not be a defining explanatory element in the variation of digital literacy and resilience among Vietnamese students. Students’ digital literacy and, especially resilience, also have associations with their gender. Moreover, as students are digitally literate, they are more likely to be digitally resilient. Following SDG4, i.e., Quality Education, it is advisable for schools, and especially parents, to seriously invest in creating a safe, educational environment to enhance digital literacy among students