Duc Thang University Research Articles

Exploring Factors Affecting Public Speaking Performance of English-Majored Students at Ton Duc Thang University

This research paper aims to investigate the various factors that influence the public speaking performance of English-majored students at Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU). The study explores and analyzes the specific elements that impact students' abilities in public speaking, providing valuable insights and recommendations to enhance their public speaking skills. The research employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a survey and interviews, to gather data from a sample of 122 junior and senior English-majored students enrolled in the Standard or High-quality program at TDTU. The findings of this study shed light on the psychological, linguistic, and instructional factors that contribute to students' public speaking performance. The results indicate that factors such as anxiety, self-confidence, language proficiency, and the quality of instructional support play a significant role in shaping students' public speaking abilities. The study offers practical strategies and recommendations to address these challenges, ultimately aiming to improve the public speaking competence of English-majored students at TDTU. The insights gained from this research are expected to contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing public speaking performance and to provide the academic community with practical solutions for enhancing students' public speaking skills, which are crucial for their academic and professional success.

Teachers’ perspective and practice of using learning approaches to foster learner autonomy in Vietnam

The research paper’s primary objective was to understand teachers’ reflections on the implementation of different learning approaches, including resource-based, curriculum-based, classroom-based, technological-based, teacher-based, and learner-based approaches, to foster Learner Autonomy (LA) of Vietnamese undergraduates. Applying learning approaches to encourage LA has been widely discussed; however, there is a lack of evidence of teachers’ perspective and practice, in relation to their professional experience, of those approaches to cultivating LA. A survey was conducted at the Creative Language Center of Ton Duc Thang University (TDT CLC), Vietnam, to collect responses from lecturers who have different experience in teaching English at the tertiary level. The findings indicate that teachers, regardless of experience, focused more on classroom-based approaches, such as providing cooperative learning and peer discussion to foster LA. However, teachers with more experience tend to focus on learner-based approaches to provide more individual training and assistance to help students become more autonomous learners. Understanding the concept of learning approaches and their implementation is believed to benefit teachers, especially those with less experience, in fostering LA in their own teaching context.

Teachers’ perspective and practice of using learning approaches to foster learner autonomy in Vietnam

The research paper’s primary objective was to understand teachers’ reflections on the implementation of different learning approaches, including resource-based, curriculum-based, classroom-based, technological-based, teacher-based, and learner-based approaches, to foster Learner Autonomy (LA) of Vietnamese undergraduates. Applying learning approaches to encourage LA has been widely discussed; however, there is a lack of evidence of teachers’ perspective and practice, in relation to their professional experience, of those approaches to cultivating LA. A survey was conducted at the Creative Language Center of Ton Duc Thang University (TDT CLC), Vietnam, to collect responses from lecturers who have different experience in teaching English at the tertiary level. The findings indicate that teachers, regardless of experience, focused more on classroom-based approaches, such as providing cooperative learning and peer discussion to foster LA. However, teachers with more experience tend to focus on learner-based approaches to provide more individual training and assistance to help students become more autonomous learners. Understanding the concept of learning approaches and their implementation is believed to benefit teachers, especially those with less experience, in fostering LA in their own teaching context.

Peer Review Statement

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. • Type of peer review: Single Anonymous • Conference submission management system: Morressier • Number of submissions received: 15 • Number of submissions sent for review: 15 • Number of submissions accepted: 15 • Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 100 • Average number of reviews per paper: 1 • Total number of reviewers involved: 7 • Contact person for queries: Name: Dr. Ho Ngo Anh Dao Email: hongoanhdao@tdtu.edu.vn Affiliation: Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam

Preface

Proceeding of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Technology and Innovations (ICETI 2023) Dear Colleagues, We are delighted to present the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Environmental Technology and Innovations (ICETI 2023), which was part of the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. This event was a collaborative effort involving several prestigious institutions: Ton Duc Thang University, National Cheng Kung University, and Cheng Shiu University in Taiwan; Thammasat University in Thailand; Universiti Sains Malaysia; and Nagaoka and Hokkaido Universities in Japan. ICETI 2023 served as a multidisciplinary platform for experts from academia, industry, and research to discuss and share advancements in Environmental science and technology, Sustainable development and conservation of natural resources, Technologies for adapting to climate change, and Occupational health and safety engineering. The conference proceedings feature a series of peer-reviewed articles that uphold our discussions' high scientific standards and integrity, highlighting our authors’ significant contributions towards innovative practices and policy development in environmental stewardship. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the editorial board and reviewers, whose meticulous work guaranteed the quality of these proceedings. Their expertise was crucial to the success of this publication. We are also grateful to our keynote speakers and all participants for their invaluable insights and contributions, which greatly enriched our conference. Their diverse perspectives and experiences are essential in advancing our sustainable future agenda. Special thanks go to the conference organizers and the support staff at Ton Duc Thang University for their unwavering commitment and effort in making this conference a success. We trust that the insights shared at ICETI 2023 will inspire ongoing research and collaboration within our community. As we look forward to future conferences, we remain committed to advancing the field of environmental technology and innovation. Together, we can continue to make significant strides towards a sustainable and prosperous future for all. Editorial Board Members of the ICETI 2023 - The Manuscript Section for the IOP List of Conference Proceedings is available in the pdf.

PREFACE: The 6th International Conference in The Era of Uncertainty (ICPEU)

The honourable Vice Dean of General Affairs at Faculty of Engineering: Ir. Ismu Rini Dwi Ari, MT., Ph.D, Department Head of Regional and Urban Planning, Dr. Eng. I Nyoman Suluh Wijaya, ST., MT., the honourable keynote speakers – Dr. Joe Ravetz from University of Manchester – United Kingdom, Dr. Hebe Verrest from the Universiteit van Amsterdam – Netherlands, Prof. Kiyoshi Kobayashi drom Kyoto University – Japan, Le Minh NGO, Ph.D from Ton Duc Thang University – Vietnam, Gunawan Prayitno from Universitas Brawijaya – Indonesia, and ladies and gentlemen.Assalamualaikum Wr Wb,I would like to thank everyone in this room today for your enthusiasm and participation in the 6th International Conference on Planning in the Era of Uncertainty at Universitas Brawijaya.ICPEU is a biennial event that we have organized since 2013. We have focused on the discussion of sustainable development since the very beginning, as we truly believe that this topic is very relevant to what we, in the field of planning, face at the moment and in the future.In 2013 we started off the discussion with the big question, does planning theory can be applied thoroughly in practice? It was a very memorable discussion as we explored many interdisciplinary problems and solutions in planning. We then developed our topic to sustainable development in 2015 as we considered this as an underlying topic for all relevant problems and solutions. Again, the discussion was remarkable. Papers from different countries participated at the event. In 2017, we started publishing our papers on IOP Proceedings, which is a Scopus-indexed form of publication. We published 67 papers from different universities in different countries. And we believe that this event at this moment, will be more successful than our predecessors. The topic In the Repertoire of Desa, Kutha, and the Conversation in Between is yet another situation that we all can relate to. A problem that requires collective attention to achieve equality and sustainability in the future development of village and city.Looking back at the events that we have organized so far, we learned that the pursuit of achieving sustainability has attracted ever-growing global interest. We have received papers from South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia discussing and showcasing multi-level efforts in achieving sustainable development from different perspectives. In short, the response that we received has been overwhelmingly positive.I would like to thank our dearly sponsors, Universitas Brawijaya, the Faculty of Engineering, BRI, PLN, PT. SMI, By.U, and Linggar Prabangka for their support that have allowed us to organize this event. We received a number of 82 extended abstracts for this event, and unfortunately, we could only accept a number of 51 selected ones to be published on our upcoming IOP Publishing, Evergreen, IJPD UNDIP, JSED WIDYAGAMA, TATALOKA UNDIP, REGION UNS, TAKODA UB, CIVENSE UB, and ISBN Proceeding. Therefore, I would like to congratulate all authors that have made it this far.To close this speech, I would like to once again welcome you to Malang, I wish you a wonderful two-day seminar, and I look forward to learning new insights. Thank you very much.Wassalamualaikum Wr Wb.List of Committees are available in this pdf.

The Effects of UV Light and Methyl Salicylate on Phytochemical Constituents and Nutritional Traits in Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Background: Mutagenesis has also been used to improve many desirable traits such as earliness, darkness, resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, seed yield and oil quality. There are numerous mutagen agents, both chemical and physical, available to create and obtain valuable mutations in crop plants. Methods: The experiment was done at the laboratory of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University in Vietnam from September 2021 to December 2022. This study examined the effects of ultraviolet B-light (UV-B) and methyl salicylate (MeSA) treatment on phytochemical constituents (total phenols and flavonoids) and nutritional characteristics (protein and fat content) in a common bean cultivar, GRIS2. Result: The results show that UV irradiation for 3 hours increased the phenolic content in M1 seeds when compared to the control and other treatments. Furthermore, compared to the control and other treatments, UV-B irradiation for up to 5 hours increased the phenolic, protein and lipid content in the pod (in the immature pod, mature pod and seed). Alternatively, treatment with MeSA considerably decreased the levels of these same compounds. Treating the seed with 0.05 mM MeSA did increase the flavonoid content. These findings demonstrate the potential of UV-B treatment for improving bean nutritional quality. On the other hand, the negative general implications of the higher MeSA treatment suggest exogenous treatments should be kept at lower concentrations to ensure the minimization of nutritional losses.

Assessment of the Physical, Chemical, Yield and Nutritional Quality Traits of Tropical, Temperate and Wild Dry Bean Species in Vietnam

Background: Assessing agronomic and nutritional characteristics is one of the primary goals for assisting plant scientists in selecting promising grain legume crops for future food and nutritional security and increasing the income of smallholder farmers. Methods: The experiment was conducted from September 2021 to February 2022 at the greenhouse of GRIS, Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam. Yield components, agronomic characteristics and biochemical and nutritional parameters of two varieties of tropical beans (Velvet White Bean and Red Cowpea), two varieties of temperate beans (Dwarf Stick Bean and Soybean) and two varieties of wild beans when grown in Vietnam were evaluated in the present study. Result: The results revealed the presence of a wide range of phenotypic variations in dry bean germplasm. The biochemical and nutritional properties of the bean types investigated revealed that the Velvet White Bean had a higher phenol content (0.42 mg GAE g-1) and a lower phytic acid concentration (2.87 µg mL-1) than the other species. The Dwarf stick vean had the highest flavonoid concentration among the types (0.017 mg RE g-1) while the crude protein content of soybean (38.2 mg g-1) was the highest. These findings serve as a foundation for breeders in selecting promising legumes to breed for Vietnam.

4th International Conference on Green Environmental Engineering and Technology (ICONGEET2022) November 17-18, 2022 · Seoul, South Korea

Preface The 4th International Conference on Green Environmental Engineering and Technology (IConGEET 2022) was a hybrid conference and physically took place in Seoul, Korea on 17-18th November 2022. IConGEET2022 was jointly organised with the 4th International Conference on Green Engineering and Technology (IConGeTech2022). The conference was organized by the Sustainable Environmental Research Group (SERG), Centre of Excellence Geopolymer and Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), Universiti Malaysia Perlis. The conference received international and local collaboration, support and participation from the National Institute for Research and Development in Environmental Protection (INCDPM) Romania, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam as well as local universities in Malaysia.It brought together researchers, practitioners, engineers and students worldwide in hope to extend networking, integrate knowledge and exchange ideas among participants. This year, the theme “Driven Technologies toward Sustainable Environment” is driving exciting breakthroughs to help sustaining our planet. Overcoming the engineering challenges of high performance, interoperability and security is critical to delivering next-generation solutions for decreasing emissions, minimizing waste and preventing pollution. Over 70 distinguish researchers, practitioners, engineers and students from across the country have presented their current and intriguing research in the scope of civil and environmental technologies and management, which evolved around five major areas: water and wastewater technology, green technology, air pollution and climate change, environmental management and protection as well as environmental sustainability and development.The conference has gained incredible success due to collective efforts from the organizing committees, the co-organizers, the reviewers, presenters, and all participants. We would like to thank all the reviewers involved in ensuring each contributed paper were refereed and accepted based on interests, relevance, innovation and pure contribution towards environmental engineering and technology fields. Putting together, the success of the conference is a team effort. I am grateful to all the committee members who worked very hard to make this event a successful one. Finally special thanks go to the Universiti Malaysia Perlis for the continuous support throughout the conference event.List of Editors, Organisers, Committee, Organizing & Technical Committee are available in the pdf.

FROM STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON INQUIRY-BASED LEARNING TO INNOVATION IN DEVELOPING ENGLISH ORAL COMPETENCE AT TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

The research aims at providing background theory, depicting a clear picture of the Inquiry-based Learning approach through survey as well as interviews, and making some suggestions for more effective application to English-majored students at Ton Duc Thang University. The results of the survey demonstrate that students have positive attitudes towards this approach as it helps them enhance their learning autonomy, expertise knowledge, creative, and soft skills such as teamwork, critical thing skills, problem-solving skills, creative skills.. In addition, the interviews from students, lecturers, and managerial staff elicit that the Inquiry-based Learning approach is helpful in teaching and learning as it enables students to be more active in learning, doing research, and interacting between lecturers and students, which results in apparently better learning outcomes. Based on these practical surveys, this paper provides some implications of Inquiry-based Learning activities for English-majored students and English Language Teaching.

Students’ perceptions of applying critical thinking to learning and practicing English speaking skills

This study aims to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ understanding and perceptions of applying critical thinking to their practice of speaking skills. Although some research papers have been implemented to understand the impact of critical thinking on learners’ language skills, the study specifically investigates how critical thinking can affect speaking ability amongst learners of low-English levels who are from a non-English-speaking country, according to their perceptions. The participants are 190 undergraduate students whose English proficiency was pre-intermediate and who were enrolled in English for IELTS preparation programs at the Creative Language Center (CLC) of Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam. A survey was sent to collect information about students’ learning experiences and opinions on their performance of speaking skills integrated with critical thinking. The findings highlighted some challenges when students used critical thinking while practicing oral communication skills, including their habits of learning and insufficient opportunities to practice the skills. Also, students’ awareness of the important role of critical thinking in improving their speaking performance and confidence was successfully noted.

 Publications on COVID-19 from Vietnam during 2020 and 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, published research from Vietnam related to the pandemic was analysed using bibliometrics. Objectives: To examine the status of research on COVID-19 by authors from Vietnam. Methods: The following bibliometric aspects were considered in the analysis: international collaboration, institutions from Vietnam and their partner institutions worldwide, subjects and topics, types of documents, and individual authors. The basis of the study was data obtained from the Scopus database between 2020 and 2021. The data were analysed using Microsoft Excel, R, and VOSviewer, and the emerging trends illustrated through descriptive analysis and science mapping.  Results: Between 2020 and 2021, researchers from Vietnam co-authored 1034 documents related to COVID-19, amounting to 0.35% of the total of 296,148 such documents published worldwide as ascertained from the Scopus database. Vietnam’s top country collaborators in that research were USA, Australia, the United Kingdom, India, and Taiwan ROC. The top Vietnam institutions were Duy Tan University, Ton Duc Thang University, and the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City. The research from Vietnam covered many subjects, from medicine and natural sciences to social sciences and economics. Eight clusters of topics related to COVID-19 were identified. In terms of citations, the most highly cited documents were the outcome of collaboration with international authors. Lastly, the study ranked top authors based on either the number of publications or the number of citations.  Conclusion: This study provides a preliminary picture of studies related to COVID-19 co-authored by researchers in Vietnam. The picture may help the Vietnam government in devising appropriate strategies for post-COVID-19 restoration of the country’s socio-economic status.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON BLENDED LEARNING APPLICATION IN ENHANCING ENGLISH ORAL COMPETENCE AT TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

Blended learning has become an extremely popular instruction in diverse educational contexts, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic. This instruction has created opportunities for both teachers and students to interact together, which has led to the complete unity among them and has brought beneficial results in education. In this article, the authors would like to investigate students’ feedback and their attitudes towards the application of Blended Learning in enhancing English oral competence at Ton Duc Thang University. The research shows the paramount importance of Blended Leaning in helping students enhance their learning ability generally and their oral competence specifically. It, in addition, elicits some of the big hurdles during the implementation, teaching and learning as well as proposes some feasible solutions for future application in this context. Through deep interviews with students, lecturers and managerial staff, the authors would like to elicit its positives and negatives withdrawn from practicality as well as suggest some recommendations to help improve the teaching quality generally and students’ English oral competence specifically.

Rice backcross population assessment for iron tolerance through phenotypic and genotypic analyses

Iron toxicity has become a serious issue affecting rice (Oryza sativa L.) production in many irrigated lowland areas. The selection of Fe2+-tolerant rice cultivars under iron toxicity conditions and the identification of molecular markers are good approaches to obtaining tangible results. This study aimed to identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that were associated with iron tolerance traits in a rice backcross population. A total of 117 seedlings from the backcross (BC3F2) of ‘OM6830’/‘AS996’//‘AS996’ were phenotyped at the 4-week-seedling stage at Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The rice population was screened in Yoshida nutrient medium supplemented with FeCl2 at a concentration of 150 mg L−1 under greenhouse conditions. Phenotypic analysis was conducted by scoring two parameters, namely, root length and leaf bronzing. Genotypic analysis was carried out on the BC3F2 population by using four markers, i.e., RM6, RM240, RM252, and RM451, for association analysis with iron tolerance. A total of 23 BC3F2 lines were selected on the basis of their higher tolerance (score 1) for Fe2+ compared with the tolerant parental line ‘AS996’. The markers RM6 and RM240 were highly polymorphic and identified different Fe2+-tolerant lines in the BC3F2 population. Among the BC3F3 progeny derived from the selected 23 BC3F2 lines, BC3F3-7 was identified as the most Fe2+-tolerant line. BC3F3-15 was also found to be Fe2+ tolerant. Both lines showed good development capability and provided high yields under stress conditions. These tolerant BC3F3 lines could be further screened with additional SSR markers in future breeding programs aiming to increase rice production in iron-contaminated areas of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

Innovations in Water Management for Sustainable Development of Higher Education Institutions: Experience from Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam

Ton Duc Thang University (TDTU), which was established in 1997, is a fully autonomous public university in Vietnam. After over 22 years of development, TDTU is now the number one university in Vietnam for all aspects. In 2019, TDTU was ranked the 1st in Vietnam and ranked 165th in the world on sustainable development by UI GreenMetric World University Rankings (UI GreenMetric). Among six categories of UI GreenMetric, including: setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transport, and education, the water category of TDTU achieved 725 points out of 1000 maximum points (72.50%). This paper presents water management of TDTU, focusing on water conservation, water recycling, the use of water efficient appliances and piped water consumption. Specifically, the paper highlights innovations in water management that TDTU has implemented during the past few years. The paper concludes that sustainable water management makes great contribution to sustainable development of a higher education institution

Data update for Vietnam economics research institutions as of October 2021

Research data in Vietnam have been fragmented, and this is a long-standing fact. Although several universities repeatedly claim that they have been the leading players in economics research, actual data may not support their claims. In a recent attempt, Dr. Le Van Ut of Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City compiled a data set to figure out Vietnamese scholars’ internal capacity. Nonetheless, this report covers too large a spectrum that economics research has little weight. In fact, only one person represents the humanities and social sciences in Dr. Ut’s 22-person lifetime achievement list, and only a handful in his 2021 most influential list.

Rainwater as a source of drinking water: A resource recovery case study from Vietnam

A successful Rainwater For Drinking (RFD) system was implemented at Ton Duc Thang University, Vietnam. In technical design, uncertainties in water quality were resolved with multiple barriers and IT-assisted monitoring to maintain safe drinking water. From a social perspective, the university was the most effective platform for RFD promotion and education. Further, contributions from the beneficiary resolved the lack of a sense of ownership and economic problems by using local labor and materials. The results demonstrated the possibility of using rainwater as drinking water, allowing it to be promoted for Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG6) achievement.

Critical Analysis of the Role of Micronutrient - Zinc on Covid-19 Activity

Mohammadreza Mohseni1, Mahsa Rastegar Moghaddam Mansouri2, Sivakumar J T Gowder3,4* Author Affiliations 1Lifestyle Gym, Tehran, Iran 2Faculty of Sports Sciences, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran 3Bionanotechnology Research Group, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 4Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Received: September 22, 2020 | Published: September 29, 2020 Corresponding author: Sivakumar J T Gowder, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam DOI: 10.26717/BJSTR.2020.30.005007

Waste Management System Using IoT-Based Machine Learning in University

Along with the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), waste management has appeared as a serious issue. Waste management is a daily task in urban areas, which requires a large amount of labour resources and affects natural, budgetary, efficiency, and social aspects. Many approaches have been proposed to optimize waste management, such as using the nearest neighbour search, colony optimization, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization methods. However, the results are still too vague and cannot be applied in real systems, such as in universities or cities. Recently, there has been a trend of combining optimal waste management strategies with low-cost IoT architectures. In this paper, we propose a novel method that vigorously and efficiently achieves waste management by predicting the probability of the waste level in trash bins. By using machine learning and graph theory, the system can optimize the collection of waste with the shortest path. This article presents an investigation case implemented at the real campus of Ton Duc Thang University (Vietnam) to evaluate the performance and practicability of the system’s implementation. We examine data transfer on the LoRa module and demonstrate the advantages of the proposed system, which is implemented through a simple circuit designed with low cost, ease of use, and replace ability. Our system saves time by finding the best route in the management of waste collection.

Scientific Research Productivity and Quality of Vietnamese Higher Education Institutions Analysis Based on Integrated Database of Web of Science and Scopus

This study develops integration of the WoS and Scopus articles of Vietnamese authors into the Vietnam Citation Gateway system of Vietnam National University Hanoi; sets up a merging tool to filter the duplication for these two databases and establishes their bibliometric and citation index. Based on this integrated database, the reality of international publications of Vietnam and Vietnamese universities in the period of 2014-2018 was analyzed, benchmarked and discussed. For the first time, a completed data on WoS & Scopus publications has been established. Accordingly, in 2018, the annual productivity of international publications in Vietnam has almost reached the number of 10,000 articles, of which higher education institutions contribute up to 70%. The rate of increase in WoS & Scopus articles has strongly increased every year (34.7% for the Vietnam, in general, and 41.6% for higher education institutions, in particular). The growth of research productivity was also described for young universities such as Ton Duc Thang University and Duy Tan University. In terms of research quality, Vietnam has an average citation index of 9.2, which is comparable to that of Asian higher education institutions. This analysis allows classifying research-oriented universities and high impact research fields for Vietnam. Specially, this work also emphasizes the relation between university autonomy and the improvement of research productivity and quality.