The Impact of the World Trade Organization （WTO） Regime on Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） Flows to Vietnam： A Gravity Model Approach

Foreign direct investment （FDI） has taken an important role in Vietnam＇s development process since the launch of Renovation in 1986. After Vietnam＇s accession to the World Trade Organization （WTO）, a large amount of FDI capital flowed into the country, up to 143,950.3 million USD. Wherein, there was a switching of FDI capital from the manufacturing sector to the service one in tandem with a downward trend in the agriculture. Like the previous duration, Vietnam＇s FDI capital sources came mostly from Asia-Pacific region and European economies （net capital, technology exporters） probably caused by Vietnam＇s integration emphases on dynamic Asia-Pacific region. Geographical location of FDI was characterized by a concentration on the three main key economic regions： the Red River Delta （surrounding Ha Noi, Hai Phong, and Quang Ninh）, the Central region （surrounding Da Nang）, and the Southeast of the country （surrounding Ho Chi Minh City） owing to good infrastructure, abundance of skillful labor force, and large market size. By constructing a gravity model, using descriptive, quantitative methods and applying them to recent data set by Vietnam＇s authorities and the international organizations during the period from 1995 to 2011 of 18 Vietnam＇s major country partners, the author finds evidence broadly consistent with the prediction that the WTO has had a positive impact on FDI flows to Vietnam.

The Roughness of Model Function to the Basis Functions

The roughness of the model function f（x） to the basis functions has been identified. When the model function is continuous segment, its roughness does not depend on the behavior of the first segment, but depends on ＂h＂, the shift in the slope of two consecutive segments. If the distribution of design is uniform, f（x） is continuous segment function, and h is constant, then the maximum roughness is h2/192 obtained at the midpoint of the observations. Suppose that we have a sequence of designs {Pn（x）} then its corresponding distribution {Fn （x）} converges weakly to some distribution F（x）. Let D（f） be a set of discontinuous points off（x）, it is possible to take the limit of the roughness if D（f） has zero （dF）-measure. The behavior of maximum roughness of the discontinuous segment function has been studied by using grid points.

Investigation of Thermodynamic Properties of Zirconia Thin Films by Statistical Moment Method

The moment method in statistical (SMM) dynamics is used to study the thermodynamic quantities of ZrO2 thin films taking into account the anharmonicity effects of the lattice vibrations. The average lattice constant, thermal expansion coefficient and specific heats at the constant volume of ZrO2 thin films are calculated as a function of temperature, pressure and thickness of thin film. SMM calculations are performed using the Buckingham potential for the ZrO2 thin films. In the present study, the influence of temperature, pressure and the size on the thermodynamic quantities of ZrO2 thin film have been studied using three different interatomic potentials. We discuss temperature and thickness dependences of some thermodynamic quantities of ZrO2 thin films and we compare our calculated results with those of the experimental results.

Applying MUSIC Model to Explore Students＇ Academic Motivation in an ESP Course

Students＇ academic motivation in a course is one of the most important factors to evaluate the success of the course. Measuring such a type of motivation has been proven to be complicated and open for debate. In this study, MUSIC Model of academic motivation developed by Jones （2009） was employed to conduct a survey on 214 third-year students of a police university after their Medical English course. Given five major components in the MUSIC Model derived from research and theory that are critical to student engagement in academic settings, including empowerment, usefulness, success, interest, and caring, the study reveals interesting results for considering the effectiveness of an ESP course. Some implications for instructors about how to engage students in a course have been also drawn out. It is believed to be practically helpful for those delivering ESP courses in non-English major universities in Vietnam.