Critical Factors Affecting Construction Price Index: An Integrated Fuzzy Logic and Analytical Hierarchy Process

Nowadays, many construction engineering and technology enterprises are evolving to find that prosperity is driven and inspired by an open economy with dynamic markets and fierce multifaceted competition. Besides brand and product uniqueness, the ability to quickly provide customers with quotes are matters of concern. Such a requirement for prompt cost estimation of construction investment projects with the use of a construction price index poses a significant challenge to contractors. This is because the nature of the construction industry is shaped by changes in domestic and foreign economic factors, socio-financial issues, and is under the influence of various micro and macro factors. This paper presents a fuzzy decision-making approach for calculating critical factors that affect the construction price index. A qualitative approach was implemented based on in-depth interviews of experts in the construction industry in Vietnam. A synthetic comparison matrix was calculated using Buckley approach. The CoA approach was applied to defuzzified the fuzzy weights of factors that affect the construction price index. The research results show that the top five critical factors affecting the construction price index in Vietnam are (1) consumer price index, (2) gross domestic product, (3) basic interest rate, (4) foreign exchange rate, and (5) total export and import

Social capital and job search success: The case of undergraduates in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

The literature has proven the positive role of social capital on job search success, but the researchers' community has not been convinced completely because social capital is not always good. Moreover, only certain dimensions of the two latent variables were analyzed in the previous research though they are multidimensional. This paper approached the social capital and job search success multidimensionally by applying Partial Least Square - Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) to explore the path that social capital impacts on job search success. The primary data of 400 undergraduates in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam were used in the model. The results have confirmed the positive role of bonding social capital and general trust in acquired job quality, job search cost and job search convenience

The Distribution of Microplastics in Beach Sand in Tien Giang Province and Vung Tau City, Vietnam

Microplastics threaten the ecosystem because of undesirable properties such as non-biodegradability, easy-to-absorb persistant organic compounds, etc. They are found worldwide in marine, fresh water and beach sand environments. In this study, microplastics in beach sand samples from two sites in Tien Giang province and two sites in Vung Tau city were investigated. The results showed that the microplastics amount was 0 to 295 pieces/kg dry sand and they mainly distributed near estuarine areas. Microplastics were more prevalent at bathing sites than non-bathing sites. In Tien Giang fragments were the most dominant among the three types of shapes (fragments, fibers, granules) at 60.2%. In Vung Tau granules were most prevalent at 71.7%. The composition of the plastics was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. It was revealed that PE, PP and PS were the main types of plastics found in the sampling sites.

Social Capital and Corporate Performance: Evidence from State Capital Enterprises in Vietnam

The research has been conducted to explore the combination of three intangible resources, including social capital, entrepreneurship, and resilience capability on the performance of State Capital Enterprises (SCEs) in Vietnam. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are applied in the study. An in-depth interview of ten CEOs at SCEs in Vietnam was made to explore new indicators for the contextual latent variables in the research models. By employing the data from the authors’ survey of 568 SCEs in Vietnam in 2019, using Cronbach’s alpha, confrmatory factor analysis (CFA) and path analysis (SEM), the mechanism that social capital impacts on SCE performance has been analyzed. In addition to the direct role, social capital indirectly affects corporate performance through entrepreneurship and resilience capability. It was found that social capital has a larger impact on entrepreneurship than resilience capacity. However, the contribution of resilience capacity to the frm performance is much more than the entrepreneurship’s in Vietnamese context. This study enriches the theory by proposing a measurement scale of the contextual latent variables as a result of in-depth interviews with experts using a qualitative analysis technique. In addition, the path analysis fndings suggest practical implications for managers to effectively use their resources in SCEs

Investigating determinants of quality of life: The case of older people in Ho Chi Minh City

This study was conducted to investigate the factors affecting the quality of life in terms of the health of the elderly in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. Health production theory was used to form the analytical framework for the study. The data set of 300 surveyed elderly people, which was randomly drawn from the list of 841,000 older people in HCMC by Excel random function, was used for quantitative analysis, including Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and linear regression. Research results show that gender and marital status are not statistically significant while education, employment, bonding, bridging, and linking social capital statistically significant impact on the quality of life of the elderly. Specifically, the level of education improves the quality of life while employment reduces the quality of life. This finding is an important implication for policies related to the retirement age of employees. The research results have also provided empirical evidence on the potential of social capital, a resource existing in the network of relationships, in improving the quality of life besides other traditional resources. This finding is an important basis for policymakers in mobilizing social capital resources in the context of resource scarcity

Disputes in Managing Projects: A Case Study of Construction Industry in Vietnam

The construction industry in developing countries like Vietnam, which incorporates small and medium construction enterprises, is typically more prone to disputes and contract dispute-related lawsuits. A dispute may occur at any time in the life cycle of the project. It is sometimes solved with the intermediation of a lawyer or directly by stakeholders. Understanding the causes of disputes in a construction project not only improves the efficiency of a company but also increases the success of projects. This study was carried out using a questionnaire survey at construction projects in Ho Chi Minh City. Sample data with 117 observations were analyzed to find the disputing factors in construction projects: diversity of working style among the parties; reluctance to work; and poor teamwork. Correlation coefficient on a rank of factors between design consultant and contractor; Design consultant and project owners are positively correlated. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) analysis identified six groups of factors in construction disputes: cooperation, technology, economics, productivity, information, and behavior. The findings are useful for enterprise practice and provide participants with an overview of sources of dispute. Thus, a more complete risk management plan can be formulated, which will accelerate project progress and improve the likelihood of success

Interactions of Phlebopus spongiosus with several soil fungi and antibacterial activity of its culture broth

An edible ectomycorrhizal fungus Phlebopus spongiosus have been found in pomelo orchards (Citrus maxima). The culture broth of Ph. spongiosus became darker after ca. 3 weeks of inoculation. The dry production of culture broth extract (culture extract) was 0.30 ± 0.09 g per culture (20 ml broth in a 50 ml flask). Both 5% and 10% solution of the culture extract shows the antibacterial activities on growth of all tested Gram positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus thuringiensis and a Gram negative bacterium Gluconobacter oxydans but not on the other Gram negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Asaia bogorensis. On PDA plates, Ph. spongiosus showed the inhibition on the growth of soil fungi Penicillium citrinum and Aspergillus niger, whereas it was invaded by that of a mycoparasite Trichoderma viride. Further studies on physiological and ecological characteristics and principal components for the activities of culture exudates in laboratory is necessary to find the applicable profits from this fungus

Propagating arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with coffee plant by using the herbaceous host

Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of important industrial crops. Additionally, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide many benefits for plants such as increasing nutrient uptake, enhancing tolerance in drought and stress condition, etc. Therefore, preservation and propagation of AMF spores collected from coffee’s rhizosphere are necessary for coffee cultivation. The AMF preservation on coffee plant is not feasible because coffee is a long-term plants, which led to study on symbiotic ability of AMF on several short-term host plants (maize (Zea mays), plantain (Plantago spp.), rice (Oryza sativa), beggarticks (Bidens pilosa), and bahia grass (Pensacola bahia)) to maintain AM association. Investigation of symbiosis ability with four types of AMF spores showed that maize had the highest rate of fungal infection. The total number of AMF spore per 50g soil after 3 months of inoculation on maize reached 352 spores, which was 4.1 times higher than that of the origin while the lowest figure recorded in bahia grass is with only 2.3 times

Optimization of Main Factors Affecting Construction Waste by the Supply Chain Management

A survey report of the Vietnam Urban Environment and Industrial Zone Association reveals that every day in 2009, about 1,000 tons of construction waste were generated in Hanoi and 2,000 tons Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. It is forecasted that the coming years would see a vigorously growing amount of construction waste as a result of the plan to dismantle and renovate old apartment buildings in major cities. So, in this research we developed a supply chain management strategy for the waste controlling in the construction industry. While the bulky volume of construction wastes poses a great environmental threat to urban areas, response to it remains meager. Hence, this paper presents four primary factors affecting the management of construction wastes in Vietnam using fuzzy logic