Explaining Vietnam in Da 5 Bloods to Globalize Antiracism and Improve Activist Storytelling

This research critiques the misrepresentation of Vietnamese people in the Vietnam War film Da 5 Bloods (2020) and deconstructs the filmmaking process leading to it. I will identify and resolve ideological limits in the filmmakers as well as external challenges in production that constitute this false African-American fictionalization of another minority outside the United States. In doing so, I reject a hasty inclusivity that misunderstands different experiences with racial oppression and emphasize the efficiency of a respectful identification with injustice among different minorities worldwide. By advocating for a decentering of the American trajectory of antiracism and refocusing on non-American ones, I also hope to inspire a more critical and less reliant consumption of predominant cultural sources about the Vietnam War within the United States. My outline for a new screenplay that moves away from the flawed racial dynamics in Da 5 Bloods will exemplify how the antiracist theme can be globalized with a more responsible narrative voice, informed by more than one perspective

Pre-harvest factors affecting fruit quality in sweet oranges with an emphasis on albedo breakdown

Albedo breakdown known as creasing, a physiological disorder, due to abnormal separation of cells leading to the formation of irregular fractures in the white tissue (albedo) causing the creases of sweet orange rind. It causes serious economic losses to the sweet orange growers in Australia and in other orange producing areas of the world.Fruit quality, particularly albedo breakdown has been influenced by various factors such as plant water relations, genetic factors, plant nutritional status and plant growth regulators. My research investigated the development of the incidence and the severity of albedo breakdown during fruit maturation and ripening, the effects of severity of albedo breakdown on fruit quality among locations and cultivars of ‘Navel’ sweet orange. I also elucidated the influence of deficit regulated irrigation, exogenous application of surfactants added in calcium solution, exogenous application of boron and the role of ethylene in the incidence of albedo breakdown, textural properties of the rind and fruit quality of ‘Navel’ sweet oranges.The incidence and the severity of albedo breakdown increased rapidly after commercial harvest. The incidence and severity of albedo breakdown in ‘Washington Navel’ orange differed from location to location, with the lowest at Harvey as compared to three other locations. Regardless of locations and cultivars, the severity of albedo breakdown did not affect juice content, soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, citric acid and malic acid except for decreasing succinic acid and increasing tartaric acid. Locations and cultivars significantly influenced these fruit quality parameters.The application of deficit irrigation (50% and 75% water supply of control trees) improved fruit quality in terms of increased soluble solids concentrations and acidity levels without affecting percentage of juice, pH of juice, ascorbic acid and individual organic acids in ‘Navelina’ sweet orange. The enhancement of the uptake of Ca in leaf, rind, and pulp of the fruit and the reduction in the incidence of albedo breakdown were obtained with the application of different surfactants added into aqueous solutions of 2% Ca(NO[subscript]3)[subscript]2 starting from 81 days after full bloom (DAFB) at 10-day intervals. Among four tested surfactants, ‘Tween 20’ (0.05%) was the most effective in enhancing Ca uptake, reducing albedo breakdown and improving textural properties of rind and fruit firmness while maintaining the other important fruit quality attributes in ‘Washington Navel’ sweet orange.The foliar application of boron enhanced the concentration of boron and calcium in the leaf, rind and pulp. The single spray application of boron in early summer at 600 mg.L[superscript]-1 was the most effective in increasing boron concentration in the leaf, rind and pulp of fruit, reducing the incidence of albedo breakdown and improving textural properties of rind and fruit firmness without affecting any the other fruit quality attributes in ‘Washington Navel’ sweet orange.Rind of fruit with albedo breakdown produced the higher ethylene production than the normal fruit. The exogenous application of ethylene inhibitors including AVG (200 mg.L[superscript]-1) and CoSO[subscript]4 (300 mg.L[superscript]-1) reduced the incidence of albedo breakdown and improved the rind textural properties in ‘Washington Navel’ sweet orange. Ethylene seems to be involved in the incidence of albedo breakdown.In conclusion, the severity of albedo breakdown did not affect the major attributes of fruit quality in ‘Navel’ sweet oranges. The applications of deficit irrigation, exogenous 2% Ca(NO[subscript]3)[subscript]2 containing ‘Tween 20’ as a surfactant and the exogenous spray application of boron (600 mg.L[superscript]-1) influenced the incidence and severity of albedo breakdown without affecting other fruit quality parameters. Ethylene seems to be associated with the incidence of albedo breakdown in ‘Washington Navel’ sweet orange

Iterated Belief Change and the Levi Identity

Most works on iterated belief change have focussed on iterated belief revision, namely, on how to compute (K star x) star y. However, historically, belief revision has been defined in terms of belief expansion and belief contraction that have been viewed as primary operations. Accordingly, what we should be looking at are constructions like: (K+x)+y, (K-x)+y, (K-x)+y and (K-x)-y. The first two constructions are relatively innocuous. The last two are, however, more problematic. We look at these sequential operations. In the process, we use the Levi Identity as the guiding principle behind state changes (as opposed to belief set changes)

Robust Adaptive Control of 3D Overhead Crane System

In this chapter an adaptive anti-sway controller for uncertain overhead cranes is proposed. The system model including the system uncertainties and disturbances is introduced firstly. Next, the adaptive controller which can guarantee tracking the desired position of the trolley as well as the anti-sway of the load cable is established. In this chapter, the system is proven to be input-to-state stable (ISS) which is supported by Lyapunov technique. The proposed algorithm is verified by using Matlab/Simulink simulation tool. The simulation results shown that the presented controller gives the good performances (i.e., fast transient response, position tracking, and low swing angle) when there exist system parameters variation as well as input disturbances

Effect of bioinspired surface microstructures on hemodynamics and platelet adhesion

Occlusion by thrombosis due to the absence of the endothelial cell (EC) layer is one of the most frequent causes of failure of artificial vascular grafts. Bioinspired surface structures may have a potential to reduce the adhesion of platelets contributing to hemostasis. The aim of this PhD research was to design a suitable microstructured surface mimicking the EC morphology for synthetic vascular grafts that inhibits the platelet adhesion and aggregation, the main cause of thrombosis

The Current Status of Secondary School Teacher’s Perception of Happiness in Nam Dinh Province during the Implementation Period of the 2018 General Education Program

In the current context of a major revolution in the Vietnamese education system, teachers’ perception of happiness makes an important criterion in evaluating effectiveness of the changes made to educational programs. The initial investigation of the positive effects of this renovation was conducted on the scale of Nam Dinh province and the results show multidimensional sources of information. In addition to positive information, there is still information that raises many questions for leaders to pay attention to. The outcome of the investigation suggests the evaluation of “The job is meaningful” is 3.10 out of 5 points, which is the lowest in assessment criteria. Meanwhile, the rates for “Completely disbelieve” and “Slightly disbelieve” in happiness of their profession in the future take up a large proportion (24.4%). However, other criteria namely “Being satisfied with current position” and “Feeling motivated with the job” received higher evaluation scores, respectively 4.05/5 points and 4.11/5 points. Via the results of the research, the author is looking forward to appropriate actions taken by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam with a view to enhancing the perception of happiness among teachers