Chapter 7 Clusters of Modern and Local Industries in Vietnam

Since the introduction of the Doi Moi ('renovation') economic reform in 1986, Vietnam has experienced a transformation of its economic management, from a central planning economy to a market-oriented economy. High economic growth, created by the liberalization of activities in all sectors of the economy, has changed the economic structure of the country, and the once agriculture-based and poverty-stricken land now generates a midlevel income and possesses many industrial bases. Economic growth has also changed the landscape of the country. Business complexes have been built in metropolises like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and rice fields have been converted into industrial zones. As the number of enterprises increased, areas began to emerge where many enterprises agglomerated. Some of these 'clusters' were groups of cottage industry households, while many others were large-scale industrial clusters. As Porter [1998] argues, industrial clusters are the source of a nation's 'competitive advantage'. McCarty et al. [2005] indicate that in some key industries in Vietnam, some clusters of enterprises have been created, although the degree of agglomeration differs from one industry to another. Using industry census data from 2001, they include dot density maps for the 12 leading manufacturing industries in Vietnam. They show that most of the industries analyzed are clustered either in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City (or both). Among these 12 industries, the garments industry has the greatest tendency to cluster, followed by textile, rice, seafood, and paper industries. The fact that industrial clusters have begun to form in some areas could be a positive sign for Vietnam's future economic development. What is lacking in McCarty et al. [2005], however, is the identification of the participants in the industrial clusters. Some argue for the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam's economic development (e.g. Nguyen Tri Thanh [2007], Tran Tien Cuong et al. [2008]), while others stress the impact of foreign direct investments (FDI) (for example, Tuan Bui [2009]). Adding information about the participants in the above cluster study (and in other studies of spatial patterns of location of enterprises) may broaden the scope for analysis of economic development in Vietnam. This study aims to reveal the characteristics of industrial clusters in terms of their participants and locations. The findings of the study may provide basic information for evaluating the effects of agglomeration and the robustness of the effects in the industrial clusters in Vietnam. Section 1 describes the characteristics of economic entities in Vietnam such as ownership, size of enterprise, and location. Section 2 examines qualitative aspects of industrial clusters identified in McCarty et al. [2005] and uses information on the size and ownership of clusters. Three key industries (garments, consumer electronics, and motor vehicle) are selected for the study. Section 3 identifies another type of cluster commonly seen in Vietnam, composed of local industries and called 'craft villages'. Many such villages have been developed since the early 1990s. The study points out that some of these villages have become industrialized (or are becoming industrialized) by introducing modern modes of production and by employing thousands of laborers.

Key quality factors and travellers profiles at interurban interchanges

La planificación y las políticas de transporte no pueden descuidar la calidad del servicio, considerando que influye notablemente en el cambio modal del coche hacia otros medios de transporte más sostenibles. El concepto se aplica también a los intercambiadores de transporte público, los nodos del sistema donde se cruzan las distintas redes del transporte público y privado. Aunque se han logrado numerosos avances para medir y evaluar la calidad en el sector del transporte público, se han dedicado relativamente pocos esfuerzos a investigar estos aspectos relacionados con la calidad de los intercambiadores del transporte público. Este trabajo de investigación se concentra en la calidad del servicio de la transferencia modal en los intercambiadores interurbanos, según la perspectiva de los viajeros. Su objetivo es identificar los factores clave de la calidad del servicio y los perfiles de los viajeros en los intercambiadores. La investigación es exploratoria y ofrece información acerca de la percepción de los viajeros intermodales relacionada con los aspectos de la calidad, aportando nuevos elementos y datos para adentrarse en estudios más detallados. La metodología del trabajo combina técnicas de análisis estadístico multivariante para analizar los datos de las encuestas sobre la satisfacción de los clientes y se subdivide en tres etapas. En primer lugar, se ha implementado el análisis de correspondencias múltiples para explorar los constructos latentes relacionados con la satisfacción de las características cualitativas de los intercambiadores interurbanos, identificando así los factores clave de la calidad. En segundo lugar, se ha aplicado un análisis de conglomerados de k-medias sobre los factores clave de calidad para clasificar a los viajeros en grupos de usuarios de transportes homogéneos, de acuerdo con su percepción de satisfacción, identificando de este modo los perfiles de los viajeros. Por último, se han formulado sugerencias y recomendaciones sobre la calidad para respaldar la formulación de políticas, estableciendo las prioridades para los intercambiadores interurbanos. La metodología se aplicó en cuatro intercambiadores interurbanos (estaciones de ferrocarriles o de autobuses ) en Madrid, Zaragoza, Gothenburg y Lion, analizando los datos recogidos mediante una encuesta de satisfacción del cliente llevada a cabo en 2011 en los cuatro casos de estudio, donde se interconectan distintos medios de transporte público y privado, de corta y larga distancia. Se recogieron datos sobre la satisfacción de los viajeros con 26 criterios de calidad, así como información sobre aspectos socio-económicos y pautas de comportamiento de viajes. Mediante el análisis de correspondencias múltiples se identificaron 4-5 factores clave de calidad en cada intercambiador, que se asocian principalmente con el sistema de emisión de billetes, el confort y la interconexión, mientras que los viajeros no perciben los temas clásicos como la información. Mediante el análisis de conglomerados se identificaron 2-5 perfiles de viajeros en cada intercambiador. Se reconocieron dos grupos de viajeros en casi todos los casos de estudio: viajeros de cercanía/trabajadores y turistas. Por lo que concierne a las prioridades para apoyar a las partes interesadas en la formulación de políticas, la expedición de billetes es el factor clave para los intercambiadores interurbanos españoles, mientras que la interconexión y los aspectos temporales se destacan en los intercambiadores de Francia y Suecia. Quality of Service can not be neglected in public transport planning and policy making, since it strongly influences modal shifts from car to more sustainable modes. This concept is also related to Public Transport interchanges, the nodes of the transport system where the different sub-systems of public passenger transport and personal vehicles meet. Although a lot of progress has been generally done to measure and assess quality in public transport sector, relatively little investigation has been conducted on quality at PT interchanges. This research work focusses on Quality of Service in the use of transfer facilities at interurban interchanges, according to current travellers’ perspective. It aims at identifying key quality factors and travellers profiles at interurban interchanges. The research is exploratory and offers insight into intermodal travellers’ perception on quality aspects, providing new elements and inputs for more definitive investigation. The methodology of the work combines multivariate statistical techniques to analyse data from customer satisfaction surveys and is subdivided in three steps. Firstly, multiple correspondence analysis was performed to explore latent constructs as concern satisfaction of quality attributes at interurban interchanges, thus identifying the so-called Key Quality Factor. Secondly, k-means cluster analysis was implemented on the key quality factors to classify travellers in homogeneous groups of transport users, according to their perception of satisfaction, thus identifying the so-called Travellers Profiles. Finally, hints and recommendations on quality were identified to support policy making, setting priorities for interurban interchanges. The methodology was applied at four interurban interchanges in Madrid, Zaragoza, Gothenburg and Lyon, analysing the data collected through a customer satisfaction survey carried out in 2011 at the four railway or bus stations where different modes of public and private transport are interconnected covering both short and long trips. Data on travellers’ satisfaction with 26 quality attributes were collected, as well as information on socio-economical and travel patterns. Through multiple correspondence analysis were identified 4-5 key quality factors per interchange. They are mainly related to ticketing, comfort and connectivity, while classical issues, as information, are not perceived as important by travellers’. Through cluster analysis were identified 2-5 travellers profiles per interchange. Two groups of travellers can be found in almost all case studies: commuter / business travellers and holiday travellers. As regards the priorities to support stakeholders in policy making, ticketing is the key-issue for the Spanish interurban interchanges, while connectivity and temporal issues emerge in the French and Swedish case studies.

PALI—a database of Phylogeny and ALIgnment of homologous protein structures

PALI (release 1.2) contains three-dimensional (3-D) structure-dependent sequence alignments as well as structure-based phylogenetic trees of homologous protein domains in various families. The data set of homologous protein structures has been derived by consulting the SCOP database (release 1.50) and the data set comprises 604 families of homologous proteins involving 2739 protein domain structures with each family made up of at least two members. Each member in a family has been structurally aligned with every other member in the same family (pairwise alignment) and all the members in the family are also aligned using simultaneous super­position (multiple alignment). The structural alignments are performed largely automatically, with manual interventions especially in the cases of distantly related proteins, using the program STAMP (version 4.2). Every family is also associated with two dendrograms, calculated using PHYLIP (version 3.5), one based on a structural dissimilarity metric defined for every pairwise alignment and the other based on similarity of topologically equivalent residues. These dendrograms enable easy comparison of sequence and structure-based relationships among the members in a family. Structure-based alignments with the details of structural and sequence similarities, superposed coordinate sets and dendrograms can be accessed conveniently using a web interface. The database can be queried for protein pairs with sequence or structural similarities falling within a specified range. Thus PALI forms a useful resource to help in analysing the relationship between sequence and structure variation at a given level of sequence similarity. PALI also contains over 653 ‘orphans’ (single member families). Using the web interface involving PSI_BLAST and PHYLIP it is possible to associate the sequence of a new protein with one of the families in PALI and generate a phylogenetic tree combining the query sequence and proteins of known 3-D structure. The database with the web interfaced search and dendrogram generation tools can be accessed at http://pa uling.mbu.iisc.ernet.in/~pali.

Evolution of single and double Wolbachia symbioses during speciation in the Drosophila simulans complex.

Maternally inherited bacteria of the genus Wolbachia are responsible for the early death of embryos in crosses between uninfected females and infected males in several insect species. This phenomenon, known as cytoplasmic incompatibility, also occurs between strains infected by different symbionts in some species, including Drosophila simulans. Wolbachia was found in two species closely related to D. simulans, Drosophila mauritiana, and Drosophila sechellia, and shown to cause incompatibility in the latter species but not in D. mauritiana. Comparison of bacterial and mtDNA history clarifies the origins of bacterial and incompatibility polymorphisms in D. simulans. Infection in D. mauritiana is probably the result of introgression of an infected D. simulans cytoplasm. Some D. simulans and D. sechellia cytoplasmic lineages harbor two bacteria as a consequence of a double infection which probably occurred in a common ancestor. The descendant symbionts in each species are associated with similar incompatibility relationships, which suggests that little variation of incompatibility types has occurred within maternal lineages beyond that related to the density of symbionts in their hosts.

Comparison of glacial/interglacial carbonate concentrations in Atlantic sediments

To assess the regional effects of glaciation on sedimentation in the Atlantic Ocean we compare sediment types, distributions, and rates between Recent (core top) and last glacial maximum (LGM: ~18,000 years B.P.) stratigraphic levels. Based upon smear slides and carbonate analyses in 178 cores we find that glacial age carbonate content is generally lower than Recent. During both the Recent and LGM, carbonate content shows an east/west asymmetry with western basins exhibiting lower carbonate values. Input of ice-rafted detritus into the North Atlantic during LGM time interrupts this topographic control on carbonate distribution considerably farther south than at present; in the South Atlantic this effect is minor. Comparison of LGM and Recent sediment distributions indicates that the LGM seafloor was dominated by biogenic oozes, calcareous clays, and clays, while the Recent is dominated by biogenic oozes and marls. Coarse-grained detritus is much more prevalent in LGM sediments, derived not only from glacial input but also from fluvial and aeolian sources. Sedimentation rates, calculated from LGM to Recent sediment thickness in cores, are <4 cm/1000 yr for most of the ocean. Higher rates are typical of the continental margin off the Amazon River, the North American Basin, and a small region off west equatorial Africa.

Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies appropriations for 2012 : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, first session /

Shipping list no.: 2011-0348-P (pt. 1,3), 2011-0350-P (pt. 2), 2012-0156-P (pt. 4).

Measurement efficiency and productivity in SAS/OR

This paper explores the use of the optimisation procedures in SAS/OR software with application to the measurement of efficiency and productivity of decision-making units (DMUs) using data envelopment analysis (DEA) techniques. DEA was originally introduced by Charnes et al. [J. Oper. Res. 2 (1978) 429] is a linear programming method for assessing the efficiency and productivity of DMUs. Over the last two decades, DEA has gained considerable attention as a managerial tool for measuring performance of organisations and it has widely been used for assessing the efficiency of public and private sectors such as banks, airlines, hospitals, universities and manufactures. As a result, new applications with more variables and more complicated models are being introduced. Further to successive development of DEA a non-parametric productivity measure, Malmquist index, has been introduced by Fare et al. [J. Prod. Anal. 3 (1992) 85]. Employing Malmquist index, productivity growth can be decomposed into technical change and efficiency change. On the other hand, the SAS is a powerful software and it is capable of running various optimisation problems such as linear programming with all types of constraints. To facilitate the use of DEA and Malmquist index by SAS users, a SAS/MALM code was implemented in the SAS programming language. The SAS macro developed in this paper selects the chosen variables from a SAS data file and constructs sets of linear-programming models based on the selected DEA. An example is given to illustrate how one could use the code to measure the efficiency and productivity of organisations.

A seismic shift? An evaluation of the impact of new media on perceptions of freedom of expression and privacy

New media platforms have changed the media landscape forever, as they have altered our perceptions of the limits of communication, and reception of information. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp enable individuals to circumvent the traditional mass media, converging audience and producer to create millions of ‘citizen journalists’. This new breed of journalist uses these platforms as a way of, not only receiving news, but of instantaneously, and often spontaneously, expressing opinions and venting and sharing emotions, thoughts and feelings. They are liberated from cultural and physical restraints, such as time, space and location, and they are not constrained by factors that impact upon the traditional media, such as editorial control, owner or political bias or the pressures of generating commercial revenue. A consequence of the way in which these platforms have become ingrained within our social culture is that habits, conventions and social norms, that were once informal and transitory manifestations of social life, are now infused within their use. What were casual and ephemeral actions and/or acts of expression, such as conversing with friends or colleagues or swapping/displaying pictures, or exchanging thoughts that were once kept private, or maybe shared with a select few, have now become formalised and potentially permanent, on view for the world to see. Incidentally, ‘traditional’ journalists and media outlets are also utilising new media, as it allows them to react, and disseminate news, instantaneously, within a hyper-competitive marketplace. However, in a world where we are saturated, not only by citizen journalists, but by traditional media outlets, offering access to news and opinion twenty-four hours a day, via multiple new media platforms, there is increased pressure to ‘break’ news fast and first. This paper will argue that new media, and the culture and environment it has created, for citizen journalists, traditional journalists and the media generally, has altered our perceptions of the limits and boundaries of freedom of expression dramatically, and that the corollary to this seismic shift is the impact on the notion of privacy and private life. Consequently, this paper will examine what a reasonable expectation of privacy may now mean, in a new media world.

A case study of a liberal Jewish day school's middle school transition

The Jacobson Sinai Academy is a Liberal Reform Jewish Day School, in North Miami Beach, Florida. When the Academy was started over 18 years ago it was designed as a K–6 school. This was in keeping with the existing model for Reform day schools at the time and met the needs and desires of the early founders. The philosophy of the school addressed meeting the needs of the individual child as well as the fostering of Judaic values and traditions in an academically nurturing and experiential setting. Upon graduation, students moved from the Academy to a variety of public and private options, all of which served the needs of the families at the time. In recent years, due to numerous factors within the community, parents voiced concerns as to where their children would continue their education during the critical middle school years. As a result of these concerns, and through the efforts of a dedicated group of parents and lay leaders, the decision was made to add an upper school component to the existing elementary configuration. This study is a qualitative case study which chronicles the organizational change effort that was undertaken for this purpose to determine facilitating conditions and impediments leading to the change. The analysis serves to inform others wishing to advance such an undertaking. ^ Results of the study indicated that certain conditions are necessary for the successful implementation of any change effort. The culture of the organization must be acknowledged and is a primary factor to be considered when advancing change. Collaboration with those committed to the enterprise must occur, and this in turn can lead to an agreed upon philosophy which expresses the diversity of needs and values of all of those involved. Resistance, while expected from certain individuals within the organization, can be overcome through the efforts of key players who assume leadership positions that are transformational in nature. Additionally, the rationale for middle schools, and the need for this one in particular, are factors which led to the success of this initiative. ^

The politics of professional sports facility subsidies in Florida

Political leaders in urban settings regularly confront difficult decisions over how to distribute public funds. Those decisions may be even more controversial when they involve public subsidies of professional sports facilities. Yet, state and local governments in the United States have granted billions of dollars in financial and land-based subsidies for professional sports facilities over the past two decades, raising questions about how these types of corporate welfare decisions are made by local leaders. Scholarship on urban politics and community power suggests a number of theories to explain political influence. They include elitism, pluralism, political economy and growth machines, urban regimes, coalition theory, and minority empowerment. My hypothesis is that coalition theory, a theory that argues that public policy decisions are made by shifting, ad hoc alliances within a community, best describes these subsidy decisions. ^ To test this hypothesis I employ a public policy process model and develop a framework of variables that is used to methodically examine four sports facilities funding decisions in two Florida counties between 1977 and 1998: Joe Robbie Stadium and the American Airlines Arena in Miami-Dade, and the Ice Palace Arena and the Raymond James Stadium in Hillsborough County. The framework includes six variables that permit a rigorous examination of the actors involved in the decision, their interactions, and the political environment within which they operate. The variables are formal political structure, informal sector, subsidy proponents, subsidy opponents, public policy options, and public opinion. ^ This research rests on qualitative data gathered from interviews of public and private officials involved in subsidy decisions, public records, and media reports Employing a case study analysis, I offer a rich description of the decision making process to publicly fund sports stadiums and arenas in Florida. My findings confirm that the best theory to explain decisions to subsidize sports facilities is one in which short-term, temporary coalitions are formed to accomplish policy goals. ^

Not getting by: Poverty management and homelessness in Miami

Urban inequality has emerged as one of the dominant themes of modern life and globalization. More than three million people experienced homelessness in the United States last year; in Miami-Dade, more than 15,000 individuals were homeless. Surviving extreme poverty, and exiting or avoiding homelessness, involves negotiating a complex mix of public and private assistance. However, a range of factors influence what types of help are available and how they can be accessed. Frequently, larger social structures determine which resource are available, leaving many choices entirely out of the individual's control. For single men, who are ineligible for many benefits, homelessness can be difficult to avoid and even harder to exit. My study seeks to better understand how adult, minority men living in extreme poverty in Miami-Dade negotiate their daily survival. Specific research questions address: Do black and Hispanic men who are homeless or at risk of homelessness have different personal characteristics and different experiences in avoiding or exiting homelessness? How does Miami's response to extreme poverty/homelessness, including availability of public benefits and public and private service organizations, either maximize or constrain the choices available to this population? And, what is the actual experience of single, adult men who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, in negotiating their daily survival? A mixed methods approach combines quantitative survey data from 7,605 homeless men, with qualitative data from 54 semi-structured interviews incorporating the visual ethnography techniques of Photo Elicitation Interviewing. Results show the differences experienced by black and Hispanic men who are poor and homeless in Miami. Findings also highlight how the community's official and unofficial responses to homelessness intersect with the actual experiences of the persons targeted by the policies and programs, challenging preconceived notions regarding the lives of persons living in extreme poverty. It adds to the existing body of literature by focusing on the urban Miami context, emphasizing disparities amongst racial and ethnic groups. Findings are intended to provide an empirically grounded thesis that humanizes the subjects and illuminates their personal experiences, helping to inform public policy around the needs of extremely poor populations.

Institutions, Innovation, and Grassroots Change: Alternatives to Transnational Governance in the Global South

Transnational governance has been advanced as a viable option for regulating commodities produced in emerging economies—where incapable or unwilling states may undersupply institutions requisite for overseeing supply chains consistent with the quality, safety, environmental, or social standards demanded by the global marketplace. Producers from these jurisdictions, otherwise left with few venues for securing market access and price premiums, ostensibly benefit from whatever pathways transnational actors offer to minimize barriers to entry—including voluntary certification for compliance with a panoply of public and private rules, such as those promulgated by NGOs like the Fair Trade Federation or multinational retailers like Wal-Mart. Yet, such transnational “sustainability” governance may neither be effective nor desirable. Regulatory schemes, like third-party certification, often privilege the interests of primary architects and beneficiaries—private business associations, governments, NGOs, and consumers in the global North—over regulatory targets—producers in the global South. Rather than engaging with the international marketplace via imported and externally-driven schemes, some producer groups are instead challenging existing rules and innovating homegrown institutions. These alternatives to commercialization adopt some institutional characteristics of their transnational counterparts yet deliver benefits in a manner more aligned with the needs of producers. Drawing on original empirical cases from Nicaragua and Mexico, this dissertation examines the role of domestic institutional alternatives to transnational governance in enhancing market access, environmental quality and rural livelihoods within producer communities. Unlike the more technocratic and expert-driven approaches characteristic of mainstream governance efforts, these local regulatory institutions build upon the social capital, indigenous identity, “ancestral” knowledge, and human assets of producer communities as new sources of power and legitimacy in governing agricultural commodities.

The beginning of tourism in La Palma Island: Sixty years of the XX century

The sixties was a time of great interest for tourism development on the La Palma island. Various actions of public and private, as the policy of building a new airport, various tourist resorts, the tourism plan of 1968 or insular government also creating public entity "La Palma, Tourism SA” in 1969, will be the basis for future development of tourism on the island and will result push for private investment in this economic sector. Indeed, in the sixties, private investors had opened two hotels, while at least three others over a hundred beds each, weren´t finished.

Numerical prediction of thermal and dynamic characteristics of a fireinduced ceiling-jet

The aim of this thesis is to test the ability of some correlative models such as Alpert correlations on 1972 and re-examined on 2011, the investigation of Heskestad and Delichatsios in 1978, the correlations produced by Cooper in 1982, to define both dynamic and thermal characteristics of a fire induced ceiling-jet flow. The flow occurs when the fire plume impinges the ceiling and develops in the radial direction of the fire axis. Both temperature and velocity predictions are decisive for sprinklers positioning, fire alarms positions, detectors (heat, smoke) positions and activation times and back-layering predictions. These correlative models will be compared with a 3D numerical simulation software CFAST. For the results comparison of temperature and velocity near the ceiling. These results are also compared with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis, using ANSYS FLUENT.