Tạp chí Khoa học Xã hội và Nhân văn Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

The paper presents (1) a general view of the history of the development of objective multiple choice testing methods in accordance with the development of measurement science, and the evaluation process of the learners’ academic performance by this method; (2) the process of applying classic and modern test theories to analyze and evaluate the quality of multiple choice test bank for the module of Introduction to Anthropology by the RASCH model and QUEST software, which is implemented by the determination of difficulty degree of the questionnaires, the quality of the wrong opinions, the degree of difference among the test questions, the correlation factors between the test score and the whole score, the probability of each option being chosen, the measurement scale for the learners’ competence, the "threshold level" of the difficulty level for a multiple choice question, the calculation error, the reliability of the test, etc. and thereby (3) some solutions made towards the optimal application of the objective multiple choice tests at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.

The area occupied by woody crops in Spain has undergone an enormous increase in size and, more importantly, a profound green revolution that generates enormous harvest volumes that nourish the important national agro-export sector, where products such as olive oil, wine and almonds reach a notable significance. The processes of intensification follow a common pattern, which involves the occupation of the flattest and most fertile soils by firms with an ownership structure favourable for investment; the use of new varieties; and the design of denser planting patterns in which irrigation is an indispensable element and mechanization ubiquitous. The management of digitized spatial information has allowed us to map the evolution of the land uses of the olive grove, the vineyard and the almond orchard in each of the provinces where the regional specialization in these crops is greatest. This has allowed us to learn the key spatial/temporal aspects of these processes of change that are far from complete and that have led to a profound modification of agricultural landscapes, such that fragmentation and polyculture are giving way to geometry, compactness and the concentration of monoculture.  

Developing educational institution culture contributes much to the training of learners to become adaptable and useful, moral citizens with lifelong-learning spirits and skills, with standard lifestyle, with awareness and fighting capacity, who can actively and effectively contribute to the development of local communities and of the country. First of all, the article aims to (1) outline the theoretical background of educational institution culture, (2) overview some core values and norms that are of interest in building educational institution culture in the 21st century so as to improve morality, lifestyle and lifelong learning spirits for learners (high school as well as undergraduate students), and then (3) suggest the development and promotion of core values and integrate them into all activities of the educational institutions to achieve the goal of whole-person training via the general analysis of some schools and universities in Binh Duong province. The research group summarizes some relevant contents from various documents, does discourse analysis of some statements in the institutional official websites, studies and observes some schools and universities in Binh Duong province that has attracted a lot of immigrants from many places in Vietnam. The research results show that, due to the big increase in scale and in the needs for the development of schools and universities in terms of quantity and quality, educational institution culture increasingly becomes an urgent issue in Binh Duong province, in which the values of morality, humanity and lifelong learning should be deeply and widely developed. The leaders of educational institutions need to be trained for the procedure and tools of developing educational institution culture.

The article summarizes the main arguments in J. Habermas’ theory of communicative action, identifying three functions that communicative action can perform: to be used to convey information, to establish social relationships with others, and to express one’s opinions or feelings. By analyzing the category of “communicative rationality” with religious issues in the public sphere, in relation to language, discourse ethics, it is shown that the public sphere is the environment where dialogues in all areas take place to meet the needs of citizens. (According to Habermas, Kant was the first philosophy to give to public sphere “its completed theoretical structure” in a text of political philosophy, entitled “What is Enlightenment?”). Religions may not directly influence politics, but still, have the function of directing in society. J. Habermas determines that religion cannot be restricted to the private sphere, but must actively participate in the public sphere, where interactions and dialogues take place, as a catalyst for the process of solidarity to exist, to bring a new life force to the world. It is the place for members of society to have conversations and engage with each other. The theory of communication by J. Habermas is timely contemplation with a deeply humane spirit.

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.

In the higher education environment, lecturers play an extremely important role in higher education of universities. Assessing the higher education quality based on many standards such as the training program, the facilities, the teaching staff, the supporting staff to the learners, the measures of quality improvement, ... In which, improving the qualified lecturers who meet the training needs and implementing the strategic goals of each university is as one of the requirements important. Assessing lecturers' competences is considered one of the mandatory requirements for measuring the quality of university education. The assessment of lecturers' competences is based on a variety of criteria, in which the competences of teaching, scientific research and community service are considered the core competences of the lecturer. The paper presents the necessity of proposing criteria for assessing lecturers' competences. Besides, the paper also analyzes some of the basic criteria for assessing lecturers' competences. Then, some solutions are proposed to apply these criteria in assessing the competences of lecturers at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University-Hochiminh.

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.

Population aging is the most important trend of the 21st century in the world. Vietnam has officially entered the period of population aging since 2014 with the fastest aging rate. “Population aging” is a noticeable topic in Vietnam today. And in fact, according to many researchers, the number, especially the number of in-depth researches and applicable researches are still limited. Based on the inheriting of precedence researches and the result of my fieldwork study conducted in nursing homes in Ho Chi Minh city, from a new viewpoint, the paper aims to explore the traditional role of elderly care of the family in relationship with using nursing home today. Until now, the traditional family has played the main role in elderly care in Vietnam. In the context of changing society under the impact of urbanization and industrialization today, studying about the traditional role of elderly care of family, the relationship between family and the trend of "socialization" of elderly care, the changes and predicted future trend when compared with Japan, etc. would be necessary. The research result shows that the Vietnamese still have a strong negative attitude toward elderly care homes, and the traditional role of the family of elderly care is still deeply maintained. But at the same time, some basic changes have also confirmed, such as the change in traditional filial piety, the strengthening of the role of social services such as elderly care homes, etc. It can be said that this is the outstanding characteristic of the status of elderly care in Vietnam today. And based on comparing with other countries, the study also shows that in order to find an effective elderly care model in Vietnam, it is necessary to pay much attention to the relationship with the family.

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.

An Giang is one of leading agricultural provinces An Giang is one of leading agricultural provinces of the Mekong Delta. With the extension of agricultural land over 79.95% of the entire province’s surface area and 69,25% of the population living in rural areas (Statistical Yearbook of An Giang Province, 2016), An Giang possesses all characteristics of rural settlements. Field observation shows that the development of rural tourism is, in many ways, proper to actual conditions of the province. Recently developed, rural tourism has brought positive change to provincial tourism industry, as well as to social, cultural and economic life of rural communities. Moreover, rural tourism has been contributing to the success of the governmental program of Building New Countryside. This paper analyzes the potential, actual situation and specific products of rural tourism in An Giang, in order to propose a suitable exploitation of rural specific tourism products for the province.