Understanding Industrial Relations Transformation in Vietnam: A multi-dimensional approach

Vietnam has been in transition from a command economy to a market economy since the late 1980s but the socialist industrial relations institutions remained largely unchanged until 2005 when workers in the most internationally exposed provinces began to agitate for improved wages and conditions, without the support of the formal trade unions. Labour activism resulted from substantial changes in labour relations at firm level and, at the same time, created pressures on the existing national IR settings for reform. Seeking to understand these momentous events in Vietnam has required a multi-dimensional approach to examining not only the roles of industrial relations actors in this process of change but also how they reacted to each other at different levels in shaping their strategies and influencing the process of transformation of industrial relations in Vietnam. In order to understand the relationship between the changes in labour-management relations at firm level and the IR institutional reform at the national level, a multi-dimensional approach has required analysis at three levels: firm, regional and national. The research utilised a multi-case method including a foreign-owned electronics firm and a state-owned garment firm in Hanoi. These two firms were selected because they revealed similarities in industrial relations changes, but there were also crucial differences which could be understood when located within wider analysis of the two globalising provinces, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. This process enabled the thesis to compare the provincial governments’ responses to firm-level labour relations changes and their various levels of influence on the national institutional reform. At the national level, the revisions of the Labour Code and related industrial relations institutions in 2006 and 2009 were examined within the overall political economy context of Vietnam. Hence, the research analysed the forces underlying the recent industrial relations reforms. The thesis concluded that the adaptation of industrial relations approaches by management and labour at the micro-level was not dependent on institutional changes. Rather, the on-going process of gradual IR transformation has been the outcome of interactions and negotiations between the micro-level and the macro-agencies with the meso-actor. In the case of Vietnam, although labour activism at the firm level has become the most important driving force for reforming national institutional settings, the provincial governments have also played a crucial role in mediating the changes in employment relations at workplace and have influenced the national policy-making process

Prevalence of arterial hypertension in Vietnamese seafarers aboard merchant vessels: a cross-sectional study

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality globally. It is a major riskfactor for major cardiovascular events such as stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, kidney failure,and blindness. The aim of this research is to assess the prevalence and some factors related to arterialhypertension on Vietnamese seafarers aboard merchant vessels.Materials and methods: Seven hundred eight Vietnamese seafarers working aboard merchant ships wereexamined at the Institute of Marine Medicine before going to sea during the period from January 2022to December 2022. It was a cross-sectional descriptive epidemiological study. The following parameterswere measured: blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, buttock circumference to assess theprevalence of hypertension, overweight, and obesity. Seafarers we directly interviewed about workplaceon ships and physical exercise, smoking tobacco, alcohol abuse, and anxiety symptoms to identify severalfactors associated with hypertension.Results: The prevalence of hypertension in seafarers was 32.9%, prehypertension 26.4%, overweight32.4%, obesity 13.3%, abdominal obesity 47.7%. Factors related to hypertension of seafarers included: jobduration at sea > 10 years, odds ratio (OR) = 8.23 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.34–17.27); non-officers,OR = 2.11 (95% CI 1.45–2.82); engine room crew, OR = 2.11 (95% CI 1.45–3.58); obesity, OR = 3.34(95% CI 2.15–5.63); abdominal obesity, OR = 9.12 (95% CI 4.23–18.45); current smoking, OR = 1.32(95% CI 1.02–1.99); irregular exercise, OR =1.43 (95% CI 1.03–2.18); anxiety symptoms, OR = 1.56 (95%CI 1.08–2.27).Conclusions: Hypertension is a health problem for Vietnamese seafarers. To minimise hypertension, seafarersneed to adjust their lifestyle, increase regular exercise and improve psychological issues on board

Effects of water scarcity awareness and climate change belief on recycled water usage willingness: Evidence from New Mexico, United States

The global water crisis is being exacerbated by climate change, even in the United States. Recycled water is a feasible alternative to alleviate the water shortage, but it is constrained by humans’ perceptions. The current study examines how residents’ water scarcity awareness and climate change belief influence their willingness to use recycled water directly and indirectly. Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics was employed on a dataset of 1831 residents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an arid inland region in the US. We discovered that residents’ willingness to use direct recycled potable water is positively affected by their awareness of water scarcity, but the effect is conditional on their belief in the impacts of climate change on the water cycle. Meanwhile, the willingness to use indirect recycled potable water is influenced by water scarcity awareness, and the belief in climate change further enhances this effect. These findings implicate that fighting climate change denialism and informing the public of the water scarcity situation in the region can contribute to the effectiveness and sustainability of long-term water conservation and climate change alleviation efforts

Spatiotemporal evolution of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants during large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19, Vietnam, 2021

We analyzed 1,303 SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequences from Vietnam, and found the Alpha and Delta variants were responsible for a large nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 in 2021. The Delta variant was confined to the AY.57 lineage and caused >1.7 million infections and >32,000 deaths. Viral transmission was strongly affected by nonpharmaceutical interventions

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Labour Rights in Unilever's Supply Chain: From compliance to good practice. An Oxfam study of labour issues in Unilever's Viet Nam operations and supply chain

This new Oxfam report, based on research in Viet Nam, explores the reality on the ground in Unilever's operations and wider supply chain, and compares the findings with the company's high-level policy commitments. The company co-operated fully with the study, providing access to its staff, operations, data and suppliers. This enabled Oxfam to assess the labour standards in the context of international standards and local conditions. The study focused on issues which are important to workers but difficult for companies to measure and manage: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining; a Living Wage; and Working Hours and Contract Labour

Labour Rights in Vietnam: Unilever's progress and systemic challenges

In 2011, Oxfam published a study into the gap between Unilever's high-level policies on labour rights and the reality on the ground for workers in Vietnam. Oxfam has reviewed the progress made since 2011 and found that the company's overall commitment to respecting human and labour rights has been strengthened as a result of effective leadership across the business.In this report, Oxfam identifies three key issues that need to be tackled for Unilever to move to the next level of social impact and responsible sourcing and for the good intentions of their policies to translate into real impact for the lives of workers throughout their supply chain.Unilever's suppliers in Vietnam have not yet bought into the business case for changes in labour rights and improved standards.Further work is needed to improve incomes and gender diversity.The systemic issues covered in this report affect entire sectors. Unilever understands this and has committed to tackle the root causes of negative human rights impacts and to report its progress publicly

A Random Forest Approach for Evaluating Forest Cover Changes Outside Dikes with Sentinel Images

International audienc

STROBE statement—Checklist of items that should be included in reports of <i>cross-sectional studies</i>.

STROBE statement—Checklist of items that should be included in reports of cross-sectional studies.</p