The institutional context influencing rural-urban migration choices and strategies for young married women and men in Vietnam

This report draws together secondary data and informed opinion relating to the wider context in which young married rural-urban migrants must craft strategies for managing their reproductive and family lives. In contrast to long standing patterns of male migration, the increasing numbers of migrants and the emergence of new forms of migration mean that young married women are increasingly moving for work too. The report outlines the wider situation in which these dynamics are occurring: the growing inequalities in the context of doi moi, the declining barrier that household registration poses to mobility, and the changing opportunities for work in the city. It also reviews changing gender relations in Vietnam with particular attention to changes in marriage and marital relations, in sexuality and fertility and in parenting. Finally it explores how changes in social entitlements in Vietnam may affect these migrants with special attention to maternal health, child health and children’s education. The report concludes that migrants with young families and new marriages face a plethora of barriers and opportunities that they must negotiate and that the strategies they formulate are dynamic and involve complex trade-offs

THE INFLUENCE OF FOOD IMAGE ON TOURIST SATISFACTION AND WORD-OF-MOUTH INTENTION: THE CASE OF DALAT, LAM DONG PROVINCE, VIETNAM

Local food influences destination choice and enhances destination attractiveness. This study explores the links among food image, tourist satisfaction, and word-of-mouth (WOM) intention regarding local food in Dalat, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. A quantitative method was applied to a sample of 327 domestic tourists chosen by convenience sampling. A model was proposed and then tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results confirm the existence of significant relationships among food image, tourist satisfaction, and WOM intention. Tourist satisfaction is influenced by three significant dimensions of food image: food safety and health, restaurant service, and food taste and popularity. This study explores how restaurant service influences both tourist satisfaction and WOM intention. A negative relationship between food safety and health and WOM intention was found. Moreover, the results demonstrate that tourist satisfaction has a critical effect on WOM intention. The study also suggests some managerial implications for enhancing the use of local food and its image to encourage tourist satisfaction and WOM intention

Family strategies and dilemmas for low-income rural-urban labour migrants

This policy brief summarises the findings of a qualitative study into the family relations of labour migrants across their peak child-bearing years. It evidences how wives/mothers and husbands/fathers manage their relations with spouse and children when they have to ‘go away’ for work. These strategies and dilemmas have implications for the impact of migration on the wellbeing both now and over the longer term for Vietnam

On simultaneous diagonalization via congruence of real symmetric matrices

Simultaneous diagonalization via congruence (SDC) for more than two symmetric matrices has been a long standing problem. So far, the best attempt either relies on the existence of a semidefinite matrix pencil or casts on the complex field. The problem now is resolved without any assumption. We first propose necessary and sufficient conditions for SDC in case that at least one of the matrices is nonsingular. Otherwise, we show that the singular matrices can be decomposed into diagonal blocks such that the SDC of given matrices becomes equivalently the SDC of the sub-matrices. Most importantly, the sub-matrices now contain at least one nonsingular matrix. Applications to simplify some difficult optimization problems with the presence of SDC are mentioned

Dietary manipulation of cuticular hydrocarbons in the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar)

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dietary hydrocarbon in Reticulitermes flavipes. Pure hydrocarbons were added to filter paper and fed to R. flavipes for two weeks followed by a chase period. Cuticular and internal hydrocarbons were extracted and isolated. Cuticular and internal hydrocarbons were analyzed using a HP 5890 gas chromatograph. Hydrocarbons were identified using internal standard and Agilent ChemStation software.Findings and Conclusions: Cuticular and internal hydrocarbon profiles were altered with dietary hydrocarbons. Dietary hydrocarbons that were used included n-alkanes, alkenes, and methyl-branched hydrocarbons and were applied as a single hydrocarbon, a combination of hydrocarbons, or at different concentrations. Dietary hydrocarbons were incorporated into both hydrocarbon pools within the first 24 hours of feeding and were still in the termite system at 63 days. Results show that dietary hydrocarbons can be transferred from treated termites to their non-treated nestmates through their social behaviors. Altered cuticular hydrocarbon profiles affected cuticular water balance in desiccation experiments. Treated termites had a significantly higher total body water loss than the control termites and suffered 100% mortality after 24 hours. Control termites only had 50% mortality after 24 hours in the desiccation experiments. Cuticular permeability (CP) values indicated that adding a short-chain hydrocarbon or alkene and methyl-branched hydrocarbon to R. flavipes's diet caused a greater cuticular water loss compared with the control termites in the first 2 hours. Altered cuticular hydrocarbon profiles did not have an effect at a moderate relative humidity (55 degrees C) but did confirm results from the desiccation experiment where 100% mortality was observed after 24 hours. Further studies need to be conducted to examine how altered cuticular hydrocarbons affect termite behavior and water balance in field conditions, and whether dietary hydrocarbons can be implemented for termite management

VIETNAMESE STUDENT RESEARCHERS’ EXPECTATIONS OF THEIR SUPERVISOR AND SUPERVISION PROCESS

In Vietnam, scientific research is no longer just the work of scientists, graduate students, scholars, or lecturers; tertiary students are also encouraged to conduct scientific research. Therefore, the scientific research work of students receives more attention from educators. The research on carrying out scientific research of students is also therefore increasing. However, researchers do not seem to have paid enough attention to the role of supervisors during the supervision process. The evidence is that there are few studies on supervisors in Vietnam. Therefore, this study was conducted to learn about the role of supervisors from the student's perspective and expectations. Specifically, this study was conducted quantitatively with the use of a questionnaire consisting of 49 questions with a 5-point Likert scale. A total of 100 English-major students at a university in Southwest Vietnam participated in this study by answering the questionnaire. The results from the questionnaire show that students had high expectations from their supervisors. Specifically, students expect their supervisor to be someone who respects their opinions, has good scientific research knowledge, can give constructive comments, and is always willing to help them when needed. Based on research findings, supervisors are encouraged to participate in professional development training related to scientific research to improve their research knowledge and skills. Along with that, supervisors need to be aware of their role during the process of guiding students to do scientific research.  Article visualizations