Vietnam National University Ho Chi Research Articles

The actual situation of students’ soft skills at some member universities of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

This study identifies and assesses the actual situation of students' soft skills at some member universities of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. To gather data, we surveyed 120 students at the University of Science and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The research results show that (1) Students are interested in practicing soft skills; (2) Students learn soft skills mainly through social networks, core subjects, and a number of extracurricular activities; (3) There is a wide variety of proficiency levels of groups of soft skills (the group with the highest level of proficiency is teamwork skills, and the lowest one is the group of business skills); and (4) The factors which affect students' soft skill training are their attitude, awareness and relationships with friends around. To improve the effectiveness of soft skill training for students, training units should strengthen the integration of soft skill training content in their curricular and extra-curricular training programs. In addition, students constantly improve soft skills through classroom subjects in an active way; join extracurricular activities, clubs, etc. The research results are a channel of reference to help students to improve their soft skills in order to meet learning requirements and find jobs after graduation.

The model of organization and management of intellectual property activities in Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City and the universities members - current situation and solutions

Currently, intellectual property in general and the organization and management of intellectual property activities (Intellectual asset governance) in particular are being paid special attention by most economic organizations because of their enormous contributions to the asset value of the organization. In recent years, along with the general development trend of the whole country and industries, universities, the origin of creativity, the beginning of most intellectual asset have gradually recognized the value of the contribution of IP to sustainable development, the universities have initially built and operated their Intellectual asset governance models in order to find the appropriate model as Intellectual asset governance is only effective when we have the most suitable model of governance. Given the rising trend, VietNam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) and its member universities soon tested and operated their models. After nearly 10 years of operation, no official summary report on the efficiency obtained from each model is conducted. With observable data, however, the author found that each model has its advantages and certain limitations. In this article, the author analyzes the Intellectual asset governance models in VNU-HCM and its member universities, followed by the proposal of a suitable model for corporate governance for each subject.

From practice to prediction about the trend to develop virtual classroom model on cloud computing

The model "classroom in the cloud" is implemented with the same functionalities as a traditional classroom so that global learners can experience learning without having to go to school, and can personalize schedule and learning program based on their learning demand and situation. From the perspective of social science , the article structured the method to implement and operate the virtual classroom using cloud computing technology. Besides, the article also surveyed 116 learners' satisfaction after experiencing the actual "classroom in the cloud" through the class of Japanese conversation subjects at the Department of Japanese Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City held during the social distancing period (from March 2020 to the end of May 2020) according to the regulation of Vietnam goverment. The research outcomes of virtual class implementation and the results of attitude studies, new learning method acceptance show that 58% of the students felt satisfied after participating in virtual classroom. Based on that experience, the author pointed out five predictions about the trend as well as the impact of distance learning on the learning society in the near future.

International students: potential clients for Mekong Delta Tourism

International students are becoming a significant part of global mobility. Studies from different parts of the world have shown they not only have impacts on education but also contribute to tourism. They make up a distinctive group of international tourists characterized by travelling frequency, types of tourist activities, accommodation preferences, levels of expenditure and potentials of attracting visits of friends and relatives. In other words, international tourists not only directly contribute to but could also have long term impact on the destination country's tourism. As Vietnam has proactively engage in international integration in higher education, which would result in an increase in the influx of international students, an exploratory study on this group of potential tourists is needed. Based on researches from different countries this article identifies features of international students in conducting tourist activities before proposing recommendations for more effective engagement in this group of clients with the highlights of the role of Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) and linkages among higher education institutions in Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area and the Mekong Delta.

Preface

PrefaceSince the Doi Moi policy launched in 1986, Vietnam opened up the country’s economic liberalization over the past 3 decades. While achieving remarkable economic growth, Vietnam has faced considerable challenges in environmental and resources management. The rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization has placed an increase in pressures on the environments and available resources, through excessive exploitation and use. Further, the utilization, management and use of environment and natural resources have increasingly drawn much attention from both researchers and managers under the effects of global climate change impacts. The application of advance technologies and management practices have become a vital of concern in the age of the 4th industrial revolution with an emerging of advance technologies.We would like to welcome you to the International Conference on Environment, Resources and Earth Sciences (ICERES 2020) in associated with the National GIS Conference 2020 (GIS for Smart Cities towards Sustainable Development) which the will be held during 1 – 5 December 2020 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. ICERES 2020 is co-organized by HCMUT, Nong Lam University (NLU) and Esri Vietnam in which. The Conference is financially supported by Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Nong Lam University and Esri Vietnam.The main objective of the conference is to provide a platform for researchers, academicians, engineers, businessmen, managers, and postgraduate students in the field of environmental and resources management, geospatial technologies, and earth sciences to present their recent studies and latest research results. In addition, this conference aims to provide a setting environment for scientists and managers to exchange new ideas, innovative thinking, and to explore applicable experiences via face-to-face discussions, as well as establishing collaborative research projects or business relations, and to enable partners for their future collaborations.The conference program was organized into ten (10) sessions covering topics of environment and natural resources management, geospatial technologies, and earth sciences, imcluding: Smart Cities, Digital Twin Cities (Cyber Cities), Smart Building; (ii) Application of GIS in State Management; (iii) Disaster Reduction and Risk Management; (iv) Environment, Natural Resources Management and Sustainable Development; (v) 3D GIS, Laser Scanning, and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR); (vi) Digital Imagery Processing (Satellite, UAV, Air plane); (vii) IoTs, AI, and Big Data for WebGIS; (viii) Integration of Lidar and GIS; (ix) Building Information Model (BIM) Technology; and (x) Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Overall, the conference has attracted more than 138 papers, and among them, 46 high-quality papers were recommended to submit for the IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science proceedings book for peer-reviewing. Then, the double-blind review process was carried out for the 46 papers, in which each paper has been reviewed for its merit and novelty by at least two reviewers and one editor by matching the content areas. As a result, a total of 25 papers have been finally selected for this proceedings book. We believe that this proceedings book provides a broad overview of recent advance studies in the fields of environment, natural resources, disaster reduction and risk management, sustainable development, geospatial technologies (GIS and remote sensing) and earth resources for readers.Finally, we would like to express our sincere thanks to (i) Department of Science and Technology – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City; (ii) the Rector of HCMUT (Assoc. Prof. Mai Thanh Phong); (iii) the Rector of Nong Lam University (Prof. ) for their help and assistance in administrative works and other supports. Special thanks go to Kayleigh Parsons for always responding promptly. We would like to thank all the reviewers for their timely and rigorous reviews of the papers and thank all the authors for their submissions.Ho Chi Minh City, November 2020Armando A. ApanLe Van TrungNguyen Kim LoiVo Le PhuTanita SuepaGarik GutmanNguyen Danh ThaoLe Van ThangVo Quang MinhLam Dao Nguyen

Factors Affecting Student Satisfaction with Higher Education Service Quality in Vietnam

<p style="text-align: justify;">Higher education plays an important role in providing students with knowledge and skills to enter the labor market. The quality of higher education, the satisfaction of the quality of higher education has been concerned by many individuals and organizations. The study aims to explore the factors affecting student satisfaction with the quality of higher education services in Vietnam. Research data was collected from survey results by questionnaires from 396 students of An Giang University, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. SPSS 20, AMOS 24 software is used for analysis and evaluation of scales through Cronbach's Alpha reliability coefficient; exploratory factor analysis EFA; CFA confirmatory factor; SEM linear regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results of the SEM model study show that there are six factors affecting student satisfaction with the quality of higher education services in Vietnam, including teaching staff; facilities and teaching facilities; ability to serve; educational activities; student support activities; education programs. From the research results, discussions on educational administration are proposed to improve student satisfaction with the quality of higher education services in Vietnam.</p>

Learners’ and employers’ feedback on Library and Information Science training program, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Updating training program to meet practical requirements is one of the important tasks of educational institutions. A study accordingly was conducted to find out employers’ and learners’ feedback to the Library and Information Science training program, Faculty of Library and Information Science, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The study employs a survey research method through the use of questionnaires for 38 fourth-year Library and Information Science students, combined with the results from questionnaires and group interviews with 15 employers who are working in libraries and information centres in Ho Chi Minh City. Research results show that there is a consensus among employers and students on the training program. They provided positive feedback on the program. The study also found differences in opinions between employers and students. Despite positive feedback, changes to the curriculum objectives, learning outcomes, curriculum framework, and subject content still need to be made to ensure the practicality of the program. The study also helps to draw some experiences for future surveys.

A survey of the current status of the signage of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City system

Linguistic landscape plays an important role in the globalization of the higher education environment. In particular, the signage system is seen as a fundamental part of the linguistic landscape, contributing to the promotion of university systems’ images and identities in the world. However, there has not been sufficient attention on the signage use at many universities in Vietnam, and one of them is the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City system (VNUHCM). This survey aims at examining the current status of the signage use at four of the six VNUHCM member universities. Using quantitative methods, the paper synthesized and analyzed 564 signs, including monolingual ones in Vietnamese and in English, bilingual ones in Vietnamese and English, and multilingual ones which were all collected via fieldwork during the first quarter of 2020. Based on the signage guidelines of some globally popular university systems in the top of the QS Rankings 2021, the paper points out it is the lack of a signage guide manual at the VNUHCM system that leads to inconsistencies in the signage use at its member universities. Then, the survey findings reveal some specific problems and suggestions with the hope to encourage the improvement of the linguistic landscape at the VNUHCM system. Also, the research may serve as a useful reference for other universities in Vietnam.

Allocating the transferable skills in the training program matrix

Bachelors not only can achieve their learning outcomes in the domains of knowledge, skills, and professional competencies, but also have to demonstrate transferable skills. Transferable skills are recognized as a great contributing factor to the success of each individual in work and life. Learners at the bachelor's level are trained to develop a number of the transferable skills to meet the requirements of society such as communication skills, teamwork skills, problem solving skills, critical skills, etc. These skills are often integrated into teaching professional subjects and educational activities. Therefore, determining the learning outcomes of the transferable skills and the matrix represents the contributions of subjects to the implementation of the learning outcomes – the training program matrix has a guiding role for teaching, learning, and assessing activities. The discussions were set up for determining the learning outcomes of the transferable skills and allocating the subjects to implement those skills, from the current situation of the 12 training programs in the fields of social sciences and humanities at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. The limitations identified from the discussions indicate that there needs to be improvements in determining the learning outcomes and building the matrix for the transferable skills. On that basis, the recommendations for stakeholders are also proposed in the article.

The lecturers’ belief on ethical standards of Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Ethical standard of lecturers is very important issue in teaching and training process of any country. In Vietnam, in the context of fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training, this issue has attracted more attention from both the political system and the whole society. In order to establish the ethical standards of the teaching staff in the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM), on the basis of literature review and questionnaire survey, the article focuses on the belief analysis of undergraduate lecturers, including three makeup elements of ethical standard: (1) Political qualities and civic responsibility, (2) Professional ethics, (3) Lifestyle. The results show that the scale of criteria for each group has high reliability and the lecturers of VNU-HCM highly appreciate the importance of these criteria. However, perceptions and attitudes in recognizing these criteria also depend on some factors, in which gender, age and expertise are the three factors that create significant differences in the lecturers’ belief of ethical criteria. The data of the article will provide a scientific and practical basis for the development of a set of ethics guidelines and a code of conduct for the VNU-HCM teaching staff. It is also an essential reference resource for the Vietnamese higher education system in general.

Application of the Beck Depression Inventory – II, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale và Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index on student of School of Medicine – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City: a pilot study

Objective: The study aims to applicate of the Beck Depression Inventory - II (BDI-II), Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) on medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 61 students of the School of Medicine - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City from 17th to 20th June, 2021. The survey by self-completed questionnaires through Google Form. The survey questionnaire is made up 2 parts: Part 1 includes 4 questions to collect background information of research participants such as age, gender, school year, major of study; Part 2 includes 60 questions to assess 3 mental health problems: depression (including 21 questions), anxiety disorders (including 20 questions) and sleep disorders (including 19 questions and divided 7 sections). Results: Our study surveyed 61 students of the School of Medicine - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, aged from 19 to 25 years old (the average age of the participants recorded was 22.03 + 1.63). About ⅔ of the participants are female, the participants are relatively evenly distributed in all 3 majors currently training at the Faculty of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, including Medicine, Pharmacy and Odonto-Stomatology. The results of our study were noted: the BDI-II records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.86; The SAS records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.88 and the PSQI records the internal reliability coefficient of Cronbach's alpha is 0.63. Conclusions: The BDI-II, SAS and PSQI show good reliability and consistency. Recommended for practical use in surveying depression, anxiety disorders and sleep disorders among medical students in Vietnam.

Improving the quality of lecturers at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM

The quality of education and training is determined by many factors including the quality of human resources, especially teaching staff. They do not only play the role of teachers, experts in the field of expertise, but also are advisors, lecturers who are also leaders in renovating the curriculum and teaching methodology to meet educational goals of the University and the society, etc. However, in addition to the achievements in human resource development, the quality of the teaching staff remains inadequate, failing to meet the needs of the University and the society in the context of globalization. Therefore, to overcome the limitations and improve the quality of education and training, it is urgent to need specific and comprehensive solutions to improve the quality of lecturers at higher education institutions in general and at USSH, VNU-HCM in particular. Therefore, in this article, the author presents: 1/ Some difficulties and limitations in improving the quality of teaching staff at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City; and 2/ Proposing some solutions to improve the quality of USSH lecturers to contribute to improving the quality of education and training to meet the needs of international integration in the current period.

Practice regarding disposal of expired and unused medicines among students of University of Science, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Expired and unused medicine can be mistakenly reused. This fact endangers the health, especially the elderly and young children. Currently, Vietnam has no regulations and guidelines on how to collect and dispose expired/unused medicines in households. Consequently, how expired/ unused medicines are disposed remain unknown. This study was conducted to investigate the students practice of disposing medicine. The survey was conducted in March 2020, using the "snowball" method on the social networks to spread the google form questionnaires to 525 students of University of Science. Survey results showed that 73.5% of students were keeping at least one unused over-the-counter drug at home while only 36.5% of students kept prescription drugs. The most common medications keeping unused at home are pain relievers and antipyretics (nonprescription groups) and antibiotics (prescription groups). Regarding the expired drugs, more than 80% of students said that they would throw away, nearly 10% keep at home, and 5% return to the pharmacy. For unwanted medicines, 70% of respondents keep at home, 20% will dispose and 15% will give to others. The most common way of the medicine disposal is to dispose together with the household solid waste. The study recorded that 84% students dispose medicines in household waste bin and 8% (likely living in rural area) burn with household solid waste. Disposing medicines with solid waste mean that the large amount of medicines would end up in the landfill. This raised a risk of groundwater contamination from the leachate in landfills. Nearly 80% of students participating in the survey believe that issuing and disseminating instructions for drug disposal and setting up collection points at hospitals and pharmacies is necessary. The study proposed a method to dispose of expired/unused medicines at

Vietnam’s university culture in the present context viewed from the requirements of identity construction (the case of USSH, VNU-HCM)

Education is the foundation and motivation of development of a country. In the current context of globalization, facing the demands of development and integration, the important role of education is most evident in the field of higher education. In higher education, a university, which is considered to be strong and is expected to fulfill its mission, must be a university with a strong culture and a distinctive identity. Upon that criterion, in this article, the author investigates Vietnamese universities from the perspective of organizational culture, emphasizing the requirements of constructing cultural identity in both subjective and objective aspects. This issue is relatively new, especially in the context of studying university culture in Vietnam; therefore, the article mainly introduces the theoretical framework of constructing cultural identity, in the case of university cultural identity from the perspective of organizational culture. The paper chooses the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (USSH, VNU-HCM) -- one of the major humanities and social sciences training centers in the country -- as a case study with the hope that it can help to understand university culture in Vietnam from the requirements of identity construction in the context of globalization and cultural integration today.

Correction: Identify factors affecting foreign direct investment capital in the southern key economic region

Article “Identify Factors Affecting Foreign Direct Investment Capital In The Southern Key Economic Region” (DOI: https://doi.org/10.32508/stdj.v22i2.1051) by Tran Thi Kim Dao, Nguyen Van Luan is added the acknowledgement section as below:
 
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
 This research is funded by Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under grant number C2019-34-02.

The theme of nature in The Thorn Birds

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (1937-2015) is one of the most popular Australian novels in Vietnam, which is mentioned in the curriculum of Australian Studies – a major of the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City). In general, the themes which mainly attract readers’ attention are the great love story between Meggie Cleary – a beautiful, tough woman and Ralph de Bricassart – an ambitious Catholic priest, and (or) an inevitable tragedy resulted from the conflict between the love for God and that for man. However, exerting much focus on human relationships in The Thorn Birds makes it hard to see another important “figure” – nature – as well as the relationship between human and nature in the West of Australia, the main setting of the novel where the climate is harsh, unique and sometimes unpredictable. Since the theme of nature accounts for a large content of the novel, The Thorn Birds is likely to be an interesting subject to eco-critical studies. In this paper, from the perspective of ecocriticism, we try to point out how the theme of nature is treated in this novel, including how the figure of nature being depicted, how the human-nature relationship being dealt with and how nature is embracing human life and “telling” human stories. We also indicate the possible connection between literature and daily human life, and between a 1977 Australian novel which tells us the stories of the natural cycle, the bushfires, the imported animals, etc. and the unusual wildfires which occurred in this country at the beginning of the year 2020. In addition, by evaluating as a typical Australian novel from eco-critical perspectives, we hope to introduce a new approach to conduct research on Australian literature at the Department of Australian Studies and for other researches of literature major in the University.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step

This special issue of Asian Studies is dedicated to Confucianism in Vietnam. The idea of this topic has a rather long history. It can be traced back to the second biennial conference of the World Consortium for Research on Confucian Cultures (WCRCC), which took place in Vietnam in 2016 and was hosted by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University––Ho Chi Minh City under the theme “Confucianism as a Philosophy of Education for the Contemporary World”.

The efficiency of implementing financial autonomy at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh: situation and solution

In the world, university autonomy is considered the advanced governance method targeting improving the quality of higher education. In Vietnam, university autonomy, in particular, financing among public universities, has been experiencing the positive outcomes in line with both world trends and general guidelines of Vietnam’s Communist Party. As one of two National universities in Vietnam, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh has been given a high level of autonomy in terms of training, research, financing, international relations, organization, and personnel since it was founded. Its current effectiveness has, however, witnessed negative results in the autonomous aspect, particularly financing. This paper examines the current situation to point out weaknesses and the cause of such weaknesses in financial autonomy effectiveness of Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh; this paper also offers some policy implications including (i) reforming the legal framework towards university autonomy, namely financial autonomy among public tertiary education; (ii) financing allocation reform from the state budget; (iii) improved financial autonomy mechanism at Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh; (iv) re-organizing the apparatus and improving personnel quality at Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh; (v) strengthening monitoring and internal control.

Perceptions of Faculty Members on the Leadership Capacity of their Students at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Perceptions of Faculty Members on the Leadership Capacity of their Students at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

New records for the liverwort and hornwort flora of Vietnam, 1

After the examination of the Cryptogam collection in the Herbarium of the University of Science, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (PHH), 25 species proved to be new to Vietnam, including one hornwort and 24 liverworts. Among them, four genera:DenotarisiaGrolle,GongylanthusNees,LeiomitraLindb. andLepicoleaDumort. are new records for the country. Diagnostic characters and illustrations are given for some taxa, as well as locality notes and habitat descriptions are provided for each collecting area.