Immigration and crime: do Asian immigrants bring more crimes to Australia?

The link between the increased Asian immigration to Australia and crime rates has been subjected to debates in Australian contemporary society. With the concern of Australia being overwhelmed by Asians, some politicians, scholars and the public strongly oppose the increase in Asian immigrants. Most of anti-Asian debates are however based on rather subjective claims that Asian immigrants bring more crimes and social disorders to Australia, and these claims have not been supported by any convincing empirical research. Applying multivariate regression analysis, this paper statistically examines the relationship between Asian population, Asian immigrants and crime rates in six states and two territories of Australia from 1981 to 2004. After controlling for the relevant factors such as the population size, state-specific fixed effects, and a measure of urbanisation, the results are mixed. On the one hand, an increase in Asian immigrants has no effect on crime against persons and crime against properties. On the other hand, an increase in the size of Asian population has a statistically significant effect on crime against persons

APPLICATION OF GOOGLE EARTH SOFTWARE FOR TEACHING STUDENTS OF GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM IN THE DIRECTION OF CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

Applying information technology to teach students majoring in Geography pedagogy in a university environment in the direction of capacity development has contributed to improving training efficiency and quality. By analyzing and synthesizing documents combined with pedagogical experiments in the classroom, the article introduces Google Earth and the application of Google Earth to teach some geography modules for students of geography pedagogy at the An Giang University, Ho Chi Minh City National University, in the direction of capacity development. Through lessons and tests, assessments help students improve their general and specific competencies in Geography. In addition, the article also proposes some recommendations to allow lecturers to use Google Earth to teach Geography at universities more effectively.  Article visualizations

Tourism impacts of poverty alleviation on ethnic households: Comparing difference between Cham, Khmer, and Chinese ethnic households in An Giang province, Viet nam

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of tourism on poverty alleviation in minority households and to propose tourism development solutions to effectively reduce poverty for ethnic groups. This study surveyed ethnic households in An Giang Province, Vietnam, where the majority of Khmer, Cham, and Chinese households live in crowded conditions, and tourism was identified as an alternative means of poverty alleviation for the households.   Theoretical framework:  Different ethnic groups, according to Kyle et al. (2019), have different perspectives on tourism in general and ethnic neighborhood tourism. Academic research on poverty alleviation in tourism has advanced from concept to development model (Jin et al., 2019), influencing factors, and implementation path (Jin et al, 2019; Guo, 2020). Even if no jobs are created, investment in tourism infrastructure can connect villagers to the larger economy, which will benefit local agriculture. (Lor et all 2019, Hall, 2007; Li et al., 2016; Oraboune, 2008). Aside from focusing solely on household income and consumption, Sen (1999) emphasized the importance of addressing the problem of capability deprivations in any effort to reduce poverty. For this reason, household capacity must be taken into consideration when assessing poverty reduction among different households. According to Duong & Dung (2018) and Ngoc (2018), the factors influencing livelihoods include objective and subjective household factors, while Nui (2019) indicated that the choice of household livelihood strategy differs depending on the household's economic level. Farmers will face a wide range of influencing factors when implementing livelihood strategies, and as a result, the livelihood outcomes experienced by each farmer will differ, Tuan and Dung (2015). Based on the literature review and the situation in the study area, it is evident that comparative studies on the level of poverty reduction among ethnic minority households have few research documents; therefore, the implementation of this study is insufficient.   Design/methodology/approach:  The research was done in Tinh Bien, Tri Ton, An Phu, Tan Chau, and Chau Doc, An Giang. This was chosen as the study site because ethnic households exist there, affecting tourism development. Fieldwork was done in 2021 and 2022. The second phase allowed for data verification and gap filling. In the first phase, the sampling technique evolved as the author became more familiar with case studies and could assess the number of persons to approach given time restrictions. Questionnaires were utilized to acquire data. The 390 samples of questionnaires were from Tinh Bien, Tri Ton, An Phu, Tan Chau, and Chau Doc by employing Taro Yamane's algorithm to determine the number of households to survey.  Post hoc one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the poverty reduction impact of tourism on three groups of households by assessment of the different demographic characteristics of the respondent.   Findings:  The findings reveal that the poverty reduction impact of tourism on ethnic households differs before and after tourism implementation; ethnic households feel the poverty reduction impacts more strongly after tourism development. When comparing the impact of poverty reduction on economics, access to essential social services, livelihoods, and socio-cultural factors, Khmer, Chinese, and Cham households have significantly lower levels of poverty. Meanwhile, tourism has a greater impact on poverty alleviation in Khmer households than it does in Cham households, and Chinese groups wield more power than Khmer groups. When comparing the Human, Social, Natural, Financial, and Institutional assets of three ethnic minority households to understand the causes of different poverty alleviation, the Chinese have the most of all five assets, followed by the Khmer, and finally the Cham.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  Tourism has provided an additional source of income for ethnic minority households in Vietnam, thereby reducing poverty, according to the study's findings. Despite this, the level of poverty reduction among ethnic minority households is contingent on the household's livelihood assets, which include human capital, social capital, natural capital, financial capital, and institutional capital. Due to a lack of education, professional tourism skills, and access to information technology, the human capital of ethnic minority households is limited. To enhance the efficacy of tourism development and alleviate poverty among ethnic minority households, it is necessary to improve means of subsistence.   Originality/value: The results indicate that the number of publications is growing, and the management and business area is the one that contributes the most, with the countries that produce in co-authorship also providing the most publications

Multi-scale Modelling of Organic Photovoltaics System P3HT:PCBM

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

GC-MS analysis and cytotoxic activity of the n-hexane fraction from Curcuma sahuynhensis Škornick. & N.S.Lý leaves collected in Vietnam

Curcuma sahuynhensis Škornick. & N.S.Lý is an endemic plant in Vietnam that has been used by the Sa Huynh people as a spice and medicine to cure illnesses linked to digestive disorders. Very little information is available so far about the chemical composition and biological effects of C. sahuynhensis. To find new pharmaceutical ingredients, the in vitro cytotoxic effect and the chemical profile of C. sahuynhensis leaf extract were investigated. In this study, the percolation method and liquid-liquid dispersion technique were used to extract dry sample powder. The chemical composition was detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The Sulforhodamine B and MTT methods were used to determine the cytotoxic activity. The chemical composition analysis showed that the leaf extract contained 14 components. The major components in the n-hexane extract were 6,10,14-trimethylpentadecan-2-one, phytol, 1-ethylbutyl hydroperoxide, isoborneol, 1-methylpentyl hydroperoxide, and neophytadiene. On human cancer cell lines, namely MFC-7, SK-LU-1, Hela, MKN-7, and HL-60, the leaf extract showed dose-dependent cytotoxic activity, with IC50 values ranging from 221.70±10.24 to 369.42±10.60 ?g/mL. The present study provides significant information on the chemical components and cytotoxic effects of the n-hexane extract from C. sahuynhensis leaves. The findings will continue to be crucial in future research on the evaluation of secondary metabolite compound analysis for cancer therapeutic effects

FATTY ACID COMPOSITION AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CAMELLIA NINHII SEED OIL COLLECTED IN LAM DONG PROVINCE

The seed oil of Camellia ninhii was studied for the first time on its fatty acid composition by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and antioxidant activity by the DPPH method. The results show that unsaturated fatty acids account for the largest amount, especially oleic acid with 45.43% of the total sample analyzed. In addition, other fatty acids, palmitic, linoleic, pentadecanoic, and two aromatic acids, benzoic and cinnamic, were present. The sample of C. ninhii seed oil exhibited mild antioxidant activity against DPPH free radicals with IC50 = 0.94 mg/mL

Foreign Ownership and Stock Return Volatility in Vietnam: the Destabilizing Role of Firm Size

This study aims to examine the relevance of foreign ownership to stock return volatility in the Vietnam stock market over ten years (2008 - 2017). After applying the fixed effects regressions and the extended instrumental variable regressions with fixed effects, we find that foreign ownership decreases the volatility of stock returns. However, the stabilizing impact of foreign ownership on stock return volatility becomes weaker in large firms since the coeffcient of the interaction term between firm size and foreign ownership turns out to be significantly positive. The estimated results remain robust when we use the future one-year volatility, other than the current one, as an alternative measure of the dependent variable

Potential Usage of Rice Husk Ash-Cement Based Soil in Subbase and Base Courses in Road Construction

This paper presents an experimental study of rice husk ash-cement-based soil for layers in roadway construction. Rice husk ash (RHA) used in this study is a by-product of rice milling. In this work, twelve proportion mixes were used in this work with varying quantities of RHA (0-30%) and Portland cement blended amounts of 4, 6, 8%. The specimens were prepared by the Proctor mould method, conditioned at room temperature, and tested in soaked and unsoaked conditions. Specified curing periods of 7, 14, 28 days were applied for all types of specimens. Some engineering tests were carried out such as proctor compaction, unconfined compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and the stiffness of stabilized soil. Test results indicated a general decrease in the maximum dry density (MDD) and increased optimum moisture content (OMC) with an increase in RHA content. Adding cement and RHA significantly improved the geotechnical properties of stabilized soils, including compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, elastic modulus. In addition, the combination of 80% soil and 20% RHA and 6% cement can be used as the optimum proportion which satisfied the grade 3 of soils stabilized with inorganic adhesive substances, chemical agents, or reinforced soil for road construction, as indicated in the current Vietnamese standard