MACRO-ZOOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE IN RELATION TO METAL ACCUMULATION AND WATER QUALITY IN TRUC BACH LAKE

Urban lake pollution is one of the serious issues due to suffering of waste discharged from householders. However, there is a gap of knowledge about the diversity of zooplankton species and how metals accumulate in zooplankton in urban ecosystems. We addressed this by determining the rule of blooming macro-zooplankton in Truc Bach lake and levels of two essential metals: copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) and of three non-essential metals: arsenic (As), and lead (Pb) in water samples were determined. The results showed that Cladocerans and copepods are macro-zooplankton dominant species in Truc Bach Lake. Water temperature significantly affects the variety of copepod blooming. Arsenic concentration in water collected from the lake exceeded the safety level of current Vietnamese regulation. As concentration in macro-zooplankton positively correlated with metal concentrations in the water (p 0.05) while the concentration of Cu, Zn, and Pb in water has no significant correlation with the metal in zooplankton’s body. The relative abundance of adult copepods in Truc Bach lake had a negative correlation with As concentration in water (p = 0.01). The higher As concentration in water, the lower relative abundance of copepods was found in the sample

On Building a Community to Exchange and Share Sustainable Fashion Applications

Sustainable development is a standard plan for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and in the future, set forth by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was adopted by all United Nations member states and agreed to in 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an urgent call to action for all developed and developing countries in relation to global cooperation. Many factors cause environmental pollution, but the fashion industry is considered by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the second most polluting industry in the world. It accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions due to the energy used in production, manufacturing, and transportation. In particular, the factors that strongly affect the environment in the fashion industry are the textile materials, the fabric dyeing industry, and the rapid development of fast fashion. The data was collected through an online survey of 101 fashion consumers and interviews with nine target audiences who need to buy and sell used clothes or are interested in buying and selling used clothes or sustainable fashion. Sustainable design is not a new concept, but it is still quite strange to the Vietnamese. Consumer ignorance about sustainable consumption and the harmful effects of the fashion industry on planet Earth is a big reason why consumers constantly plunge into the shopping vortex. The problem of wasteful and unsustainable fashion consumption is a big global problem at a time when the fashion industry is gradually emerging into the sustainable fashion movement. This is an opportunity to build a community by connecting consumers through their essential needs, helping them raise awareness, change their behavior, and make each individual part of a sustainable fashion community. They are thus contributing to sustainable development in the future. Keywords: SDGs, sustainable fashion, sustainable consumption, communit

Do Corporate Social Responsibilities Support Its Financial Performance? Evidence of the Listed Firms in Vietnam

In the latest decades, corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are incrementally noticed in emerging countries regarding to the surge of globalization and the advance of social concerns. However, there exist opposing arguments on how CSR practices influence a firm’s financial performance (CFP), either in theoretical or empirical perspectives, causing many managers’ hesitation in CSR engagement. This study, therefore, examines the impacts of CSR on CFP, considering the individual effect of each CSR endeavor by using the data from listed firms’ financial statements during the period 2015-2019 and panel regression analysis methods. The findings reveal inconstant effects of different CSR activities on CFP. Specifically, a firm’s fulfillment of shareholders’ and customers’ interests contributes to raise its profitability, while its engagement in the benefits of employees and creditors causes a reduction in financial returns. Interestingly, the correlations between firms’ responsibilies towards regulators and suppliers and CFP are statistically insignificant. Furthermore, we make pairwise marginal comparisons to identify the distinctions of CSR-CFP relations across industries. The results only indicate that listed firms in Utilities sector have the lower level of CSR intensity than those in Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors. The implications and limitations are also discussed in this study

A Study on the Impact of the Usage of Cost Information on Business Performance of Enterprises in Vietnam

Purpose: The primary objective of the research was to investigate the correlation between the utilization of cost information and business performance of enterprises in Vietnam, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.   Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted, involving a sample of 380 participants consisting of CEOs, CFOs, managers, board of directors, and individuals in charge of accounting and finance departments. The study employed a structure equation model to analyze the relationship between the use of cost information and business performance.   Findings: The study revealed a significant and positive impact of cost information utilization on business performance among the surveyed enterprises in Vietnam. Additionally, the study provided recommendations for enterprises in Vietnam on how to make use of cost information for various purposes, including planning, evaluating, decision-making, and cost control, to optimize their business performance.   Research, Practical & Social implication: The study's results suggest that utilizing cost information effectively can lead to improved business performance and may provide valuable insights for Vietnamese enterprises on how to navigate the challenging and competitive post-Covid-19 economic environment.   Originality/value: The research employed a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach, and a test for univariate normality demonstrated an outstanding critical skewness ratio value. Furthermore, the kurtosis indicated that the data followed a normal distribution, making it suitable for analysis. Since SEM employs rigorous criteria to evaluate model fit, it can be inferred that the measurement model exhibited a high level of fit. The findings affirm the beneficial impact of utilizing cost information on business performance and offer significant recommendations for Vietnamese businesses in the current post-COVID era

Impacts of Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services on Local livelihoods in A Luoi District, Thua Thien Hue Province, Viet Nam

This paper analyses the impacts of the national Payment for Forest Environmental Services (PFES) policy in A Luoi district, Thua Thien Hue province, Viet Nam. There are mixed impacts of PFES in A Luoi district. While some surveyed households have experienced increases in income since PFES, for many other incomes have fallen. Our findings show PFES impacts on local communities and individuals are limited because most forest areas are managed by state agencies, leaving only 17.9% of PFES payments being channeled to these groups, while the rest goes to state government agencies and commune people’s committees. This disparity in PFES payments has further widened the income gap between state agencies and local households.  PFES payments currently contribute little to household incomes, averaging only 2.64% of total earnings. PFES has little impact and additionality in advancing land tenure security and reducing natural forest product exploitation for generating income as impacts are similar to those found in non-PFES villages. PFES poverty reduction impacts vary from village to village, but in general, percentages of poor households receiving PFES payments range from 1% to 59%

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

Preparation and characterization of magnesium hydroxyapatite coatings on 316L stainless steel

Magnesium hydroxyapatite coatings (MgHAp) were deposited on the surface of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) substrates by electrodeposition technique. Different concentrations of Mg2+ ion were incorporated into the apatite structure by adding Mg(NO3)2 into electrolyte solution containing 3×10-2 M Ca(NO3)2, 1.8×10-2 M NH4H2PO4 and   6×10-2 M NaNO3. With Mg2+ concentration 1×10-3 M, the obtained coatings have 0.2 wt% Mg2+. The influences of scanning potential ranges, scanning times to deposit MgHAp coatings were researched. The analytical results FTIR, SEM, X-ray, EDX, thickness and adhension strength showed that MgHAp coatings were single phase of HAp, fibrous shapes, thickness 8.1 µm and adhesion strength 7.20 MPa at the scanning potential ranges of 0÷-1.7 V/SCE and scanning times of 5 scans. Keywords. 316L SS, Electrodeposition, MgHAp

Using metagenomics tool to evaluate the enrichment efficiency of methanogens in marine sediment in Truong Sa archipelage, Khanh Hoa province, Vietnam

Methanogens (archaea bacteria that produce methan) play an important role in the anaerobic digestion of organic waste, however, in marine environment, the low density of methanogens makes anaerobic digestion very slow. In this study, we used methagenomics tool to evaluate the enrichment efficiency of methanogens communities in marine sediments as a basis for building a anaerobic microbial formulation to treat organic waste in marine environment. The results of determination of methanogen density by MPN method have shown that methanogen has been accumulated with higher density (up to 3.2.107 MNP/ml) through 2 times of enrichment in artificial seawater with CH3COONa 10 mM substrate. In addition, metagenomics data have also shown a decrease in the number of archaea species through each enrichment, indicating that methanogenic species have gradually dominated the microbial community. This is the first study on using metagnenomics tools to evaluate the enrichment of methanogens in marine sediment samples in Truong Sa archipelago, Vietnam. Metagenomics data help provide more reliable evidence in microbial studies, especially in obligate anaerobes such as methanogens

Theoretical basis for reasonable population distribution in Tho Chu archipelago

Tho Chu archipelago is one of administrative units of Kien Giang province, Hon Nhan- one of its islands - is selected to become A1 base point of baseline for Vietnam territorial waters. If Tho Chau district is established, it will contribute to identifying sovereignty of Vietnam Southwest sea area following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, creating favourable conditions for islands’ socio-economic development, developing culture, enhancing effects of administration work and life quality of population in this island, firmly protecting sea border, securing island and sea sovereignty… However, the establishment of Tho Chu district appears in the context of streamlining administrative apparatus and limitation of capital for infrastructure construction in district level. This article focuses on the analysis of some factors affecting a reasonable population distribution in order to meet the requirement of building the Tho Chu into a district-level administrative unit in Kien Giang province