The Maritime Silk Road is considered the beginning of all international maritime trade routes, not only in terms of trade; the Maritime Silk Road is also the foundation for human discoveries and understanding about geography, nature, politics and society of many parts of the world. Thanks to its significantly geopolitical and geo-cultural position; from a very early age, Hoi An trading port (Vietnam) has participated and played an important role on this arterial route. This article will focus on clarifying the birth as well as the role of Hoi An to the Maritime Silk Road from) early 16th century to the end of 18th century.
Scholarship on China's role in the Mekong region tends to focus on investment, trade, aid and immigration flows, while its cultural expansion receives little attention. The establishment of Confucius Institutes (CIs) in the Mekong region can be seen as an effort on the part of China to enhance the strength of its cultural power in relation to its neighbors. While Thailand and Cambodia appear to be widening their doors to welcome the institutes, other countries in the region tend to be reserved about accepting this special cultural vehicle from China. This article examines the activities of Confucius Institutes in the context of the growing presence of China in the Mekong region. By focusing on Thailand as a special case, the paper provides an initial assessment of the extent, nature and effect of China's Confucius Institutes, which is aimed at understanding how China develops its soft power assets in the Mekong region. The establishment of Confucius Institutes in Thailand and other countries in the Mekong region does, however, play an important role in connecting China's mainland and overseas Chinese communities in the region. Furthermore, by placing Confucius Institutes in the educational systems of these countries. China is increasing its diplomatic presence in the neighboring countries. and thereby enlarging its soft border. (Issues Stud/GIGA)
Based on fieldwork conducted in various locations in Vietnam, this article examines the different types of Chinese migration to Vietnam since the normalization of Vietnam-China relations in 1990. The article notes differences between the old and new Chinese migration. Recent Chinese migration is characterized by the diversity in the composition of migrants. Furthermore, recent Chinese migration is fuelled by the government's "go-out strategy" and is closely linked with increasing flows of investments, economic aid, trade and culture from China.
This article is based on interviews with 12 shoeshine boys in Hanoi, Vietnam, aged 11 to 16. All but one had finished primary school, and all were working to help support their families. Their childhood narrative is characterized by family obligations which motivated them to work hard and conscientiously, taking responsibility for their own day-to-day survival. It is a childhood narrative different from the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) vision of a childhood free of labor and protected from abuse and risk, but it is also different from the image of children working in the streets as homeless and deviant, abusing drugs and stealing. This narrative underlines the need to recognize different childhood experiences when addressing the rights and health of working children. (Original abstract)
Background: Using social media (SM) for educational purposes might improve academic performance. Aim: This paper aims to describe health science students' use of SM for educational purposes and its association with their academic performance. Methods: Two hundred ninety-seven undergraduate health science students completed a self-administered questionnaire comprising 4 sections related to social media. Results: Almost all students (99.7%) reported using SM for learning, most (90.9%) of them daily. The most preferred type of SM learning was Facebook. Most students thought that using SM for learning is convenient and useful. They suggested there should be 1 Facebook account for each subject, that every classmate could access to obtain knowledge from lecturers and to interact between students and lecturers. The logistic regression model showed that the more time students practiced following the advice on posted information, the more likely they were to achieve a GPA at distinction level or above (OR = 4.2; OR = 5.4, and OR = 9.4, respectively with times of practicing). Conversely, the students who used SM for learning less than once a month were less likely to obtain a GPA at distinction level (OR = 0.5). Conclusions: Almost all health science students used SM to support learning and use of SM for learning was associated with higher academic performance.
Hospital wastewater contains pharmaceutical residues, chemicals, and pathogens that cause coloration and nourish pathogenic microorganisms. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a medical wastewater treatment system at Military Hospital 175 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) that combined a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system with nanofiltration (NF). The influent of the system was the wastewater discharged from the operating rooms of the hospital. The system has a capacity of 50 L/day and operates at three organic load rates (OLR) of 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 kgCOD/m3day (COD: Chemical oxygen demand), in which each load rate operates for 40 days. The results showed that most nutritional criteria generally achieved positive results. Specifically, the average COD removal was shown to be consistently high throughout the three phases at 94%, 93.3%, and 92.7%, respectively. For removal of nitrogen, the system demonstrated efficiencies of 75%, 79%, and 83%, respectively, to three phases. The log removal value (LRV) for Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria were higher than four throughout the study period. The average removal efficiency for color and total iron was approximately 98% and 99%, respectively. The water quality after treatment, especially after NF, meets the Vietnamese standard of grade A. The arrangement in which the MBR preceded NF was also found to limit the amount of soil and solids entering subsequent treatment, which therefore improved the efficiency of NF, as demonstrated by the stability of post-NF transmembrane pressures throughout three cycles renewed by two backwashes. ; Published version
Hospital wastewater contains pharmaceutical residues, chemicals, and pathogens that cause coloration and nourish pathogenic microorganisms. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a medical wastewater treatment system at Military Hospital 175 (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) that combined a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system with nanofiltration (NF). The influent of the system was the wastewater discharged from the operating rooms of the hospital. The system has a capacity of 50 L/day and operates at three organic load rates (OLR) of 0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 kgCOD/m3day (COD: Chemical oxygen demand), in which each load rate operates for 40 days. The results showed that most nutritional criteria generally achieved positive results. Specifically, the average COD removal was shown to be consistently high throughout the three phases at 94%, 93.3%, and 92.7%, respectively. For removal of nitrogen, the system demonstrated efficiencies of 75%, 79%, and 83%, respectively, to three phases. The log removal value (LRV) for Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria were higher than four throughout the study period. The average removal efficiency for color and total iron was approximately 98% and 99%, respectively. The water quality after treatment, especially after NF, meets the Vietnamese standard of grade A. The arrangement in which the MBR preceded NF was also found to limit the amount of soil and solids entering subsequent treatment, which therefore improved the efficiency of NF, as demonstrated by the stability of post-NF transmembrane pressures throughout three cycles renewed by two backwashes. ; Published version