Science & Technology Development Journal - Social Sciences & Humanities

Competency requirements for Vietnam’s academic librarians: a content analysis of job advertisements from 2015 to 2021

Huyền Thị Ngô — 2021-09-03

In the context of the constantly changing information and technology environment, academic libraries are gradually transforming from a traditional model to a modern one with the rise of digital technology application. This shift has affected the role of academic librarians and has resulted in competency requirements from employers. This study collected 63 academic librarian job advertisements published on online channels between 2015 and April 30, 2021 in order to explore the competency requirements for Vietnam's academic librarians in recent years. The study employed descriptive statistics analysis, calculating the frequency of occurrence of the collected job advertisements' content. For vacancies, the research found that the positions that appeared most often in the job advertisements were librarians and digital librarians. At the same time, the observed libraries only recruited staff positions. There was a lack of job advertisements for library manager positions. Regarding job duties and responsibilities, research results showed that job advertisements mainly mentioned professional activities, information resource management and information services. In terms of required competencies, job advertisements indicated the following requirements: (1) bachelor's degree in Library and Information Science or Information Management, (2) the English language, (3) computer and information technology skills, (4) work experience, (5) professional knowledge and skills such as professional expertise, training, technology and marketing, (6) management knowledge and skills, (7) teamwork and interpersonal skills, and (8) attitudes, for example a sense of responsibility.

Value chain approach to develop craft village tourism – case study of Que Son cassava noodle, Quang Nam province

Loan Ngô Thanh — 2021-09-05

In recent years, craft villages are one of the attractive cultural resources to be exploited for tourism activities. Many localities have taken advantage of this resource to develop tourism in order to enhance people's livelihood. This paper opts for cassava noodle artisanal production in Que Son district, Quang Nam province, as a case study. Que Son's cassava noodle traditional village was established quite a long time ago; however, this special resource has not been yet effectively exploited to create tourism products. Using the value chain analysis method, the authors aim to study how stakeholders involve in tourism activities' implementation and operation. The value chain approach will contribute to both sectors, agriculture and tourism. In addition, the authors also use an in-depth interview method with the local government and enterprises to collect opinions about a model to develop craft village tourism. The findings show the potential for cassava noodle village to become a touristic site by linking stakeholders, under the coordination of Caromi – a cassava noodle factory. This paper also proposes the value chain framework to indicate the stakeholders' role and benefits when participating in craft village tourism.

Developing the sustainable community-based tourism in Ly Son Island, Ly Son District, Quang Ngai Province

Ngo Thi Thu Trang — 2021-11-07

Community-based tourism (CBT) has become a potential form of tourism in rural areas around the world and in Vietnam, where local communities are the main subject exploiting tourism resources to create tourism products provided for tourists and, the benefits from tourism activities are equally distributed to them. Based on the unique potential tourism resources, local communities and other stakeholders in Ly Son Island (Ly Son District, Quang Ngai rovince) are actively developing the CBT in association with the orientation of tourism becoming a spearhead economic sector, creating a driving force for the socio-economic development of the district. However, in recent years, the CBT development in Ly Son Island has revealed limitations, inefficiencies, and lack of sustainability in exploiting tourism resources as well as product quality. Although researches on sustainable tourism have been quite popular in the world, specific research on sustainable CBT in islands, especially in ones in Viet am, is rarely mentioned. This study used deep interviews, ethnographic fieldwork, and the assets-based community development (ABCD) method to analyze the potential and status of the CBT development in Ly Son Island, thereby suggesting sustainable development orientations from three angles: economic efficiency, improvement of local community capacity, and environmental sustainability.

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

Nguyễn Thị-Như Ngọc — 2021-11-07

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.

Conceptions of the digital scholarship of the university community at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City

Thoa Thi Kim Ninh — 2021-11-07

Developing the digital scholarship, particularly the application of digital technologies to academic activities, has become a common trend at universities around the world. Universities in Vietnam are no exception to that trend. The results of the study presented in the paper are part of a larger research project conducted to propose a model of digital scholarship services for the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. This paper mainly focuses on the research results related to the conception of the university community at the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City towards the concept of the digital scholarship. To achieve the goal, the study employed in-depth interviews to collect data from a sample of 31 purposely selected individuals, including university administrators, library managers, lecturers, graduate and undergraduate students, from the six member universities of the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City and the Central Library. The research results show that there are three main points of view regarding the concept of the digital scholarship within the University Ho Chi Minh City's university community: (1) The digital scholarship is the application of technologies to all academic activities; (2) The digital scholarship is the application of technologies to a type of academic activities, such as teaching and learning, or the provision and use of digital materials; (3) The digital scholarship is the application of technologies in the management of universities' academic activities. The research results also indicate that there is still part of the university community, which has been unaware of or unfamiliar with the concept of the digital scholarship.

Khmer people’s perception of cultural changes in the New Year festival (A case study in Don Xuan Commune, Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh Province)

Nhu Thi Quynh Nguyen — 2021-11-07

The New Year festival (Pithi Chol Chnam Thmay) of the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam is a traditional one, which has undergone changes under the influence of modern society. This paper was based on the survey results of 42 correspondents representing 42 Khmer households in Don Xuan Commune, Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh rovince to investigate their perception of cultural changes in celebrating the New Year festival. The quantitative and qualitative research result have reflected Southern Vietnam Khmer people's perception of changes in the content, form, and festival audiences, namely that (1) few Khmer people find the changes in the activities of the New Year festival, (2) Khmer people have limited understanding of the significance of the New Year festival activities, (3) the process of transmitting traditional culture values of the New Year festival is one-way, passive, and incomplete, and (4) young Khmer people tend to migrate to big cities for their livelihood, which separates them from the traditional cultural space of the Khmer people. This paper aims to provide the realistic data, contributing to the practical assessment of the economic and cultural life of the Khmer people in Don Xuan Commune, Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh rovince nowadays as well as offer helpful suggestions on the formulation of ethnic policies and the preservation of the intangible culture of the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam.

Using SERVQUAL model to analyse cultural tourist satisfaction: Case study of Dak Lak province, Vietnam

Nghia Huu Le — 2021-11-21

In the context of the tourism boom globally, the competition among destinations has been an obstacle for tourism planners, marketers. Tourist satisfaction has become one of the crucial solutions to this topic. From the perspective that service quality plays a vital role in enhancing the tourist experiences at a place, the paper examines the case study of Dak Lak. Though Dak Lak, a region in Central Highlands, Vietnam, has bounteous cultural tourism resources, cultural tourist's needs and expectations have not been investigated via academic inquiry. Therefore, this paper approaches the SERVQUAL model to identify the actual gap between tourist expectation and tourist satisfaction. The study opts for quantitative research with 196 participants in the questionnaire. The results show a positive relationship between tourist expectation and tourist satisfaction for the cultural tourism type. Through the research, local government and businesses can develop additional services to enhance visitor experiences.

Current status of agricultural tourism development in Con Chim - Tra Vinh

BAO TIEU HO — 2021-12-15

Con Chim is a small islet with unspoiled beauty on the Co Chien river. Agricultural tourism activities in Con Chim officially exploits from September 2019, which is an attractive tourist destination today. This article aims to understand the current situation of agricultural tourism development in Con Chim. Field survey research methods, combined depth interviews and synthesizing secondary data on agricultural tourism are employed in this study. The results of the study show that agricultural tourism activity in Con Chim is developing at an early stage. All households are consensus when participating in the supplying of agricultural tourism products, accompanied by the effective management of the Department of Culture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh province and the professional advice of experts. This article contributes to an empirical study to the theory of agricultural tourism destination development and contributes to affirming that the model of agricultural tourism will be more likely to develop successfully when there is effective participation of all stakeholders. However, whether this operation is sustainable and stable in the long term, there needs to be more further research and a longer-term observation of tourism activities in Con Chim.

Allocating the transferable skills in the training program matrix

Cao Thi Chau Thuy — 2021-12-15

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

Phuoc Huu Le — 2021-12-15

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.

Japan's perception and use of the soft power in international relations

Khang Nguyen Tran — 2021-12-30

Power or the ability to influence other actors has always been a topic of great interest in international relations. In the context of globalization with the connection between countries in close correlation and interdependence, the nature of power has changed significantly. According to Professor Joseph Nye (Harvard University), power gradually shifts the focus from the classical form of coercion and bribery to the use of attraction and persuasion. The ability to gain what you want through attraction and persuasion, with cultural, political, and diplomatic values, is called “soft power” by Joseph Nye. By using the concept of the soft power as the research orientation, the article analyzes the case of Japan in achieving positive influences in international relations. Through conducting field surveys and expert interviews, the study provides the analysis on Japan's perceptions and practice in the use of the soft power. Japan has effectively used the internal strength as well as promoted the external advantages to form a solid position of the soft power in the world. From the lessons of Japan's experience, the study offers some suggestive discussions about the development of the soft power for Vietnam.

Proposing an online education competence framework for Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City lecturers

Dai Tan Nguyen — 2021-12-31

As long as the history of education, human always use the most developed technologies in the society for helping to resolve the difficulties in teaching, learning and evaluation, especially to develop the distance education. Since the late 1990s, has arrived the 5^th generation of distance education on the base of Internet and World Wide Web technologies. In the new context, higher education institutions' lecturuers must be more competent in terms of instructional methods using digital technologies and tools, to promote the learners' ability of self-directed, active and interactive learning, helping them to develop transversal competencies such as problem solving, collaborative work, innovation, etc. For enhancing teachers' online education competencies, there has to be comprehensive standards or frameworks to clearly define the target competencies and to build a full continuous professional development program for the whole institution's staff, adequate to the requirements of the actual digital era. This article aims to propose an online education competence framework for Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City lecturers based on synthesis of digital frameworks of other countries.

Research competency-based model for lecturers at universities: literature review

Bui Ha Phuong — 2021-11-07

Scientific research is one of the compulsory tasks for lecturers. The results of the lecturer's scientific research tasks are based on each lecturer's general competence and lecturers' research competence in particular. The lecturers' scientific research competence is reflected in the quantity and quality of scientific research outputs and in the outcomes of scientific and technological tasks. Currently, the development of scientific research competence of lecturers at universities is carried out through many various forms and measures. In particular, the building of a model of lecturers' scientific research competence is one of the necessary factors to evaluate the competence of human resources in general and the scientific research competence of lecturers in particular. The paper focuses on clarifying the theoretical basis of some models of research competence of lecturers at universities. By using the method of literature review, the paper aims to analyze some advantages and limitations of each model in order to provide references and suggestions for new research directions in this field. The research outputs of this paper contribute to the building of scientific research competence for lecturers at Vietnamese universities.

Improving the quality of scientific research associated with teaching and learning activities at universities

Huynh Quoc Thang — 2021-12-30

In order to meet the requirements of the industrialization and modernization of the country in the new situation, scientific research activities associated with teaching and learning at universities are very important. The context of the industrial revolution 4.0 along with the process of international integration increasingly requires a comprehensive view to further improve the quality of this activity as an important content of the university culture building strategy of each school in the new period. On the basis of inheriting some previous research results by the main method of direct participation, the field surveys combined with the references to the secondary and primary documents with the summary reports, as well as the in-depth interviews with some scientists, educational administrators, etc., and at the same time, through the interdisciplinary approach of education combined with pedagogy, psychology, culturology, sociology, etc., and based on the common views and guidelines of UNESCO, the Communist Party and the State of Vietnam on education, the article mainly focuses on the case study of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City) and Nguyen Tat Thanh University to find out common issues related to research topics at universities (public and private) in the current period. On that basis and from the classic arguments in relation to the principles of education compared with actual requirements, the article initially outlines the contents, which need to be promoted or adjusted and improved in both awareness and understanding about management and organization, do not only contribute to a clearer definition of the methods and methodologies for improving the quality of scientific research in human resource training in the different fields of science and engineering and technology, but also step by step go deeper into specific specialized fields such as culture, art, physical training and sports, tourism, etc., which is a growing trend in universities today.

The Journey of River (Nguyen Ngoc Tu) from Perspectives of Ecocriticism

Nguyet Thi Anh Tran — 2021-11-07

According to Cheryll Glotfelty, simply put, ecocritisim is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment. Ecocritisim argue the ecological theory of human sciences, which take the "anthropocentrism". It takes an "earth-centrered'' approach to literary studies. This article, we want to "read" River Nguyen Ngoc Tu from the core ideas of ecocritism. By demythologizing the adventure, traveling on the Di river is a journey to realize the loss of nature, to realize the barrenness. On the journey to explore the Di river, the character recognizes the impact of climate change on the fate of the people who live there. Nguyen Ngoc Tu chose a gay character to tell about the trip on the Di river, she wrote the sadness of a world that could disappear. River creates a new sensation when Nguyen Ngoc Tu wrote about the Southern space: a highly controversial view of anti-romanticism, ecotourism, and de-mythology. Author has posed a direct way of environmental issues and the life of man in the age of environmental crisis.

Ethnic Consciousness with the assumption of thinking paradigm in cultural issues that ethnic minorities of Viet Nam are facing

Trần Kỳ Đồng — 2021-12-15

From the viewpoint of anthropology, conducting surveys on ethnic consciousness is not only visually collecting and analyzing anthropological data, but also studying natural factors and history of the mode of production belonging to a particular form of human community, in which, people share the same history of territorial defense, beliefs, customs, a collective personality established and maintained consciously that formed the unique cultural nuances of each ethnic – especially ethnic minorities. The alienation (being alien to oneself) in the consciousness of ethnic minorities in Vietnam is taking place. Nature and spiritualites are transformed into an essence alien to man, into a means of sustaining one's individual existence. Cultural preservation must promote cultural development. However, the space of modern life has caused interruptions in the flow of the memory-history-nation heritage. There should be an alarm that the spiritual time and space of traditional rituals and legends – a unique feature of the connection between culture and the manifestations of ethnic consciousness – are faded away in Vietnam nowadays If we identify culture as spiritual endogenous elements, it will be neccesary to posit a theory shaping ethnic thinking into two paradigms - “preservation for autogenesis” and “accompanying for development” - in order to re-determine the cultural values of ethnic people that need to be preserved.

Irrigation in the western region of Cochinchina under the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1867)

Nguyen Ngoc Huyen — 2021-12-30

In the first half of the 19th century, when regional relations had many fluctuations, the Nguyen Dynasty implemented the resolute policies to protect the Southwest border and dug canals along the border to defend the territory. The responsibility and obligation to protect the sovereignty of the military force were strictly regulated in the Gia Long Code completed in the 11th Gia Long year (Lunar year 1812). The Nguyen Dynasty made the total land recording directory of the entire Luc Nam Ky province (1836), established and consolidated the administrative organization, and completed the social management apparatus from the village (commune) to the intermediate local administrative unit between a district and a commune, district, and province. In addition to the administrative apparatus, the Theravada Buddhist pagoda of the Khmer, cultural institutions, and folk beliefs of the Vietnamese were formed and operated: the tutelary deity temple, the Taoist temple, and the Mahayana Buddhist pagoda. The institutions, cultural facilities, and folk beliefs help calm people's minds, stabilize society, and contribute to the exercise of Vietnam's sovereignty over new lands. The digging of canals, embankment of roads, and development of water and road transport such as Thoai Ha canal (1817), Vinh Te canal (1819-1824), and Vinh An canal (1843-1844) created artificial moats combined with natural ones to protect the territory. Facing the invading force of the French colonialists, the Nguyen Dynasty gradually ceded the provinces of Cochinchina to the French in 1862, 1867, and 1874 although this showed the inability of the Nguyen Dynasty, legally, especially in the international legal sense, these treaties are evidence of Vietnam's indisputable territorial sovereignty over the land of Cochinchina. France could not sign a treaty dividing part of a country's territory if the country did not have sovereignty over that territory, which proved the ingenious leadership of the Nguyen Dynasty at that time, specifically King Minh Mang. Although he was in Phu Xuan capital (Hue), he extended his power to the whole country, carried out a drastic administrative reform, and reorganized the entire state apparatus under the Nguyen Dynasty. Thanks to that, Dai Nam became a country that unified administrative territories and rituals from the exercise of sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea.

Proposing the evaluation criteria for linguistic errors through surveying the Chinese-Vietnamese translation by students at the elementary level: a case study at the Faculty of Chinese Linguistics and Literature, USSH, VNUHCM

Le Minh Thanh — 2021-12-30

In the course of translation-related subject teaching, we have found that the translation teaching at the Faculty of Chinese Linguistics and Literature, USSH, VNUHCM has not had a consensus on the evaluation criteria for the Chinese-Vietnamese translation in accordance with the teaching environment, which makes it difficult for both teachers and learners in the teaching and learning process. Therefore, specifying the error scale is essential for the objective assessment of students' learning outcomes. With the goal of building an error scale as a basis for evaluation, the study uses the actual data on linguistic translation errors collected from learners' Chinese-Vietnamese translation practice, combined with Chinese-Vietnamese translation theories (selecting the criteria that can be applied to the teaching environment) and translation analysis methods, thereby proposing the suitable criteria for the error scale of evaluating the Chinese-Vietnamese translation at the elementary level. The research results suggest the criteria for identifying common linguistic errors in the Chinese-Vietnamese translation at the elementary level. In addition, these results will support teachers better in marking and evaluating elementary-level translation tests as well as helping learners better understand common errors in the process of learning and practicing elementary-level translation.

Cultural tourism villages: the strategy for the rural tourism development associated with the new rural construction

Ngo Thi Thu Trang — 2021-11-07

Along with the development of the rural tourism, cultural tourism villages have developed in a number of countries around the world. In Vietnam, cultural villages are known after implementing the "One Commune One Product" (OCOP) program, which focuses on piloting the ten models of cultural tourism villages associated with the national target program of building the new rural construction (NRC). The model of the cultural tourism village is an expression of the specifications of local tourism products on the basis of promoting the internal values of each region and creating an income increase for rural areas in order to fulfill the income criteria, which are hard to achieve in the process of the new rural construction. Cultural tourism village is the convergence of cultural values, landscapes, customs and products of the typical region. By taking a practical approach in supporting the development of cultural tourism village projects in some localities such as Ben Tre, Dong Thap, and Ca Mau, the author presents the viewpoints and orientations in the development of cultural tourism villages in Vietnam, thereby contributing a scientific basis to proposing solutions to develop the rural tourism in association with the new rural construction.

Cultural diplomacy in mass culture since the beginning of the 21st century: The case of China

Vu Quoc Lieu — 2021-11-21

Cultural diplomacy is a type of diplomacy with cultural means to help with creating and maintaining "soft power" of a certain nation in relations with the others or in international relations in general, in addition to "hard power" of military means. This type of diplomacy has been widely recognized since the 1970s with Joseph Nye’s works and has been an important part of practical activities of many nations in both the West and the East, including China, although the academia and government in every country usually have their own definitions and strategies which are developed from the original by Nye. In almost the same time, the world has witnessed the rise of what called "popular culture" (or "mass culture"). Radically different from "high culture" (or "culture culture") related to the high class kept in textbooks, classrooms and libraries, mass culture is based on the industrial means to meet with the demand of mass consumption. From the beginning of the 21st century, the development of mass culture has even more rapidly thanks to the rise of information technology, mass media and social networks, setting a new theme to every cultural movement including cultural diplomacy. In this essay, we are supposed to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of cultural diplomacy, which deeply relates to political power in the theme of mass culture, which aims to mass consumption in order to make mass profit in the first 20 years of this century, especially with Chinese cultural diplomacy as a typical case. This very beginning discussion may draw attention to the relations between mass culture and cultural diplomacy in the world nowadays and to putting forward to further solutions to this relation.