Explaining the Sino-Vietnamese Alliance and Conflicts from 1950-1979

Since the end of the World War II, China and Vietnam had been “brotherly comrades,” yet they went to war in 1979. This paper argues that fluctuations in the Sino-Vietnamese relationship around the Vietnam War occurred largely as a result of converging and diverging core national interests of China and Vietnam. Chinese foreign policy, particularly toward Vietnam, was principally driven by security interests. During the first two Vietnam Wars, the presence of the capitalist powers, especially the United States, in Vietnam directly threatened China’s territorial security. Therefore, China actively collaborated with North Vietnam to fight against the so-called “containment” policy. However, mutual distrust and conflicting post-war ambitions in Indochina fueled tensions between the two countries, leading to the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979

An approximate method for analysing non-linear systems subject to random excitation

A solution technique based on the representation of the response of the non-linear system by a polynomial of the response of the linearized system is presented. The relation between the original non-linear system and the linearized system is introduced by considering the so-called extended moment equations and their closed set is to be solved to determine unknowns. For the Vanderpol oscillator subject to white noise excitation, the technique gives good approximation to the response moments as well as the probability density function

Household waste unit pricing

Wie in vielen Entwicklungsländern wird auch in Vietnam das Entsorgen des Haushaltsmülls in den Mülldeponien als die geeignetste Methode für die Abfallentsorgung gesehen. Allerdings verursachen die Mülldeponien eine Reihe von Umweltprobleme und Interessenkonflikte. Deswegen ist – neben den Deponien selbst - eine effektive Verwaltung des in den Deponien zu lagernden Abfalls unabdingbar. Eine effektive Abfallverwaltung hilft nicht nur bei der Minimierung der Umwelt-Verunreinigungen durch Deponien, sondern erhöht somit indirekt auch die Lebensdauer dieser Deponien. Die Reduzierung des Haushaltsmülls wird in diesem Zusammenhang als die zentrale Lösung betrachtet. In vielen Ländern erwies sich die Einführung des Preises pro Einheit des Haushaltsmülls (Household waste unit pricing) als wirksame Maßnahme zur Verstärkung des Bewusstseins der Bevölkerung für die Notwendigkeit zu Reduzierung des Haushaltsmülls. Die Methodologie dieser Diplomarbeit ist empirische Forschung durch Umfrage. Die Umfrage wurde in einigen ausgewählten Gemeinden der 6 Bezirke der Stadt Da Nang in Vietnam, wo sich die Khanh Son Mülldeponie befindet, durchgeführt. Die Studie befasst sich zunächst mit der Einstellung der Bevölkerung zur Verwaltung und Reduzierung des Haushaltsmülls. In weiterer Folge wird die aktuelle Situation der Haushaltmüll-Verwaltung in den betroffenen Gemeinden untersucht. Schließlich wird Auswirkung der Einführung des Preises pro Einheit des Haushaltsmülls in Vietnam näher betrachtet. Diese Diplomarbeit wendet die Methoden der logistischen Regression sowie der Spearman Korrelation an und zeigt die Wirksamkeit sowie die Probleme des vorgestellten Konzepts “Preise pro Einheit des Haushaltsmülls“. Maßnahmen zur Lösung der angezeigten Probleme werden ebenso identifiziert. Diese Arbeit könnte somit zu einer Verbesserung der institutionellen Reaktionen zu Fragen der Müllentsorgung, insbesondere im Bereich der Hausmüllentsorgung in Vietnam, beitragen.As in many developing countries, landfill is considered to be the most suitable waste disposal method in Vietnam. However, landfill and its related issues have caused a number of serious environmental conflicts. To manage the municipal waste disposed to landfill properly and effectively in order to minimize the associated pollutions and prolong the duration of landfill, it requires a comprehensive and challenging solution to those conflicts. Reducing the household waste, therefore, should be considered as prerequisite in solving these conflicts. Household waste unit pricing is proved in many countries to be an effective measure in reducing the household waste and improving people´s awareness of household waste management. In this thesis, an empirical research through a survey in the communities of all 6 urban districts of Da Nang city in Vietnam, where Khanh Son landfill located, is conducted. The survey focuses on general awareness of household waste of the people in these communities, as well as on the local current situation of household waste management, and on the introduction of the household unit pricing in Da Nang. The logistic regression model and Spearman correlation are presented in the thesis to identify the factors determining the effective implementation of household waste unit pricing. The obstacles occurred when introducing household waste unit pricing and the measures to deal with them are also addressed. The findings of this study could contribute to the improvement of the institutional responses to waste management issues in Vietnam, especially in the field of the household waste management

The First Record of Metaphire Birmanica (Rosa, 1888) in Vietnam, with Notes on Several Earthworm Species

The Amynthas and Metaphire species recorded in Vietnam have been rechecked based on original descriptions and preserved specimens. As a result, Metaphire birmanica (Rosa, 1888) is recorded in Vietnam for the first time. The species is recognized by having three pairs of spermathecal pores in 5/6/7/8, male pores in xviii, presence of copulatory pouches, no genial markings, and manicate intestinal caeca. In addition, three species have been rechecked and re-assigned to different genera, namely Amynthas tripidoporophoratus (Thai & Nguyen, 1993) comb. nov., Metaphire dranfocana (Do & Huynh, 1993) comb. nov., Metaphire anhumalatana (Thai & Huynh, 1993) comb. nov

Does hotter temperature increase poverty and inequality? Global evidence from subnational data analysis

Despite a vast literature documenting the harmful effects of climate change on various socioeconomic outcomes, little evidence exists on the global impacts of hotter temperature on poverty and inequality. Analysis of a new global panel dataset of subnational poverty in 134 countries finds that a one-degree Celsius increase in temperature leads to a 9.1 percent increase in poverty, using the US$1.90 daily poverty threshold. A similar increase in temperature causes a 1.4 percent increase in the Gini inequality index. The paper also finds negative effects of colder temperature on poverty and inequality. Yet, while poorer countries—particularly those in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa—are more affected by climate change, household adaptation could have mitigated some adverse effects in the long run. The findings provide relevant and timely inputs for the global fight against climate change as well as the current policy debate on the responsibilities of richer countries versus poorer countries