APPLYING ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP) TO SELECT CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION METHODS IN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract: According to Conference of the Parties 22 (COP22) statement, climate change adaptation is the concern of not only an individual but also the whole society. Since the climate change issue is a multidimensional problem, decision-making in climate change adaptation is a complex process. In this paper, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of three main group of decision-support tools, namely Expert preference, Monetary valuation, and Multi-criteria analysis (MCA). The paper recommends MCA in general and AHP in particular as effective tools to compensate for the disadvantages of other techniques as well as to overcome the challenges and requirements from the climate change adaptation decision-making process.Keywords: climate change, AHP, MCA, monetary valuation, expert preferenc

An Empirical Analysis of the Relationship among Social Institutions and Juvenile Arrests in Virginia

The United States has unusually high rates of violence among developed nations, including the victimization of and perpetration by youth. Using Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) as the theoretical framework, this study analyzes the relationships between social institutions and crime and the interactive relationships among the institutions in a sample of Virginia localities. Multivariate analyses are conducted to produce additive and multiplicative models, and simple slope analyses are conducted to clarify interaction/moderation effects. Findings yield mixed support for IAT. Localities with higher levels of monthly welfare per recipient (a measure of polity) have lower juvenile violent crime arrest rates, and welfare moderates the relationship between income inequality and juvenile violent crime arrests. Controlling for all variables, no support was found for the direct effects of any other institution on juvenile violent crime arrests. Policy recommendations include maintenance of welfare programs and improvement of work participation supplementary programs

Consumer Ethnocentrism, Country of Origin, Product Evaluation and Purchase Intention for Foreign Apparel Brands: the Study of Vietnam

Objectives This study attempts to explore the consumer ethnocentric and country of origin impacts on consumer behavior in the context of Vietnam. First, the study seeks to measure the variability of ethnocentric tendencies across demographic segments. Second, the study aspires to investigate the influence of country of origin on the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and foreign product evaluation. Third, the study aims to explore whether consumer ethnocentric tendencies impact purchase intention for foreign apparel products. Summary The study adopted a quantitative design to construct the instrument. With the data collected on a sample size of 101, the independent samples t-test, the moderated multiple regression and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient were utilized to test the interrelationship between demographics, consumer ethnocentrism, country of origin, foreign product evaluation and purchase intention for foreign products. Conclusions The findings show that country of origin has positive influences on foreign product evaluation as a predictor not as moderator. Demographics does not vary with consumer ethnocentrism. Consumer ethnocentrism does not have significant influences on purchase intention for foreign products. The results leads to the need for further research

Mediascapes and national imaginaries: LGBT characters in the media in Vietnam

In this thesis, I study representations of LGBT characters in Vietnamese contemporary movies and series. I examine the evolution of LGBT representations under various impacts of globalisation in the negotiation of identities. The aim is to understand the dynamics of change in Vietnamese queer imaginaries as they are shaped by cultural constraints. This will give insight into the disjunctions between legal, societal and cultural discourses that form tensions around LGBT issues in Vietnam, the concerns of society, and how the people involved are dealing with these issues within the boundaries of the nation-state. Another key goal is to understand the role that LGBT media plays in the development of more visible LGBT politics in Vietnam. I employ mainly textual analysis and discourse analysis to read Vietnamese movies, television and web series. The corpus of media texts includes 37 mainstream and alternative Vietnamese queer movies, television shows and web series that were shown over 15 years from 2004 to 2019 and which attracted the attention of the media in the country. LGBT characters in these films are either main or supporting roles. Specifically, I read LGBT characters’ appearance, behaviour, language, problems in their personal, family and social life, and how the public has received these representations, as evidenced by online discussions. Through the textual analysis of these films and series, I aspire to make sense of the dynamics of recent changes in Vietnamese LGBT representations and the mediascape we inhabit today. The significance of the study is to fill gaps in the knowledge of LGBT issues related to media coverage in Vietnam. Research findings indicate that LGBT media representations in Vietnam were framed within dominant heteronormative norms. In addition, media representations of LGBT people in Vietnam are strongly influenced by the global LGBT movements and the circulation and adaptation of notions of gender and sexuality from Anglophone cultures

Stressors and Coping Styles Among Chronic Hemodialysis Patients in Vietnam

The purpose of this study was to understand stressors experienced and coping styles used by 30 hemodialysis patients in Vietnam and to examine the relationship among stressors, coping styles, and demographics (age, gender, and length of treatment). A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted. Data collection took place in a government hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. The hospital has 60 hemodialysis machines. The hemodialysis department serves 450 scheduled hemodialysis patients and 60 emergency cases per day. Stressors were divided into two groups: physical and psychosocial. Differences between physical and psychosocial stressors were obtained by dividing raw subscale scores by the number of items in the scale. The mean psychosocial stressor score was higher (1.23) than the mean physical stressor score (1.02). The most frequent stressors were limitation of fluid (1.7), decrease in social life (1.57), limitation of food (1.57), and sleep disturbances (1.57). The least reported stressors were reversal in family roles with the children (.27), fear of being alone (.73), reversal with spouse (.77), and frequent hospitalization (.77). The most common coping style used was emotive and the least common was evasive. The most common coping method used by hemodialysis patients was “Told yourself not to worry because everything would work out fine.” “Told yourself the problem was someone else’s fault” was the least common coping method used. End stage renal disease necessitating hemodialysis could have a significant impact on patients’ quality of life. It is important for hemodialysis providers to understand the stressors these patients experience and the coping methods they use to manage these stressors. Providing sufficient education prior to initiating hemodialysis treatment is an important part of helping patients to manage their stress. The more patients understand about their disease and the impact hemodialysis treatment would have on their lives the more their stress could be managed. Education could specifically be targeted to help patients manage changes to diet, sleep, and their social lives

Anaerobic biodegradability of organic solid substrates by steam explosion or co-digestion

Organic solid waste is such a dominant source which accounts for nearly 50% of the total disposal solid waste. Besides, the fossil fuels, as a main source of energy production, are running out while the global energy demand is growing rapidly. The requirement for an alternative sustainable energy source is crucial to meet this demand, while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. Anaerobic digestion for biogas recovery from organic solid waste has become an attractive technology to solve those problems with high economic and environmental benefits. In this study, several organic solid substrates including concentrated domestic sludge, industrial sludge from slaughterhouse, spent coffee grounds, microalgae and aquatic weeds were selected to evaluate their biodegradability by steam explosion or co-digestion. Biochemical methane potential tests were conducted in batch assays to verify the biomethane production of each substrate in each strategy. The results showed that industrial sludge from slaughterhouse produced highest methane yield at 745 mL/gVS without any pre-treatment because its component consists of high proportion of lipids. The lowest methane yield was obtained for aquatic weeds mainly due to its high lignocellulosic content in the cell wall. These results supported for the assumption that lipid-rich materials may have higher methane potential in comparison with lignocellulosic materials. Steam explosion at 180°C for 30 minutes did not show a substantial improvement in the methane yield but the process promoted the methane production rate of domestic sewage sludge and aquatic weeds so that reduced the lag phase time, which further shortened the hydraulic retention time of the tests. Some inhibition processes were assessed including acceptable air content inside the vessels and the precision of the triplicates. Those assessments were important in eliminating some inhibited conditions during the digestion process as well as validating the result of biochemical methane potential test.Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Tecnología del Medio AmbienteGrado en Ingeniería Químic

Description of Geocenamus vietnamensis sp. n. (Nematoda : Merliniidae) from Vietnam

A new species of the genus Geocenamus was isolated from soil and root samples from the rhizosphere of Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae) in Quang Nam province, Vietnam. This species is characterized by a round-to-hexagonal labial disc, the presence of a labial region, which is continuous or slightly offset from the body with six sectors, lateral sectors of first labial annulus being smaller than the submedian sectors, the presence of six to seven labial annules; the absence of deirids; stylet length 24 to 28 mu m long, body length 776 to 979 mu m long; lateral field with six to eight lateral lines, without areolation at mid-body and with areolation in outer bands at the tail region and a pointed tail terminus. Geocenamus vietnamensis n. sp. most closely resembles G. boghiae in having a non-sclerotized head framework and lacking a bursa in the males. It can be clearly distinguished from all other species of the genus Geocenamus by these characteristics. The combination of morphology, morphometric features, and phylogenetic trees, based on D2-D3 of 28S and ITS rDNA sequences, showed that this new species can be clearly separated from all other sequenced species. This record is the first for Geocenamus in Vietnam