Eastern International University

Purpose A cashless society is one of the national objectives of many countries worldwide. The Vietnamese government has approved the plans for establishing non-cash payments in the country, along with specific goals and remedies for the financial digitalization process. This paper aims to compare three phases of cashless payment evolution in Vietnam and other countries in the ASEAN region and evaluate the implementation of cashless payment solutions in Vietnam. Design/methodology/approach We assess the adoption of the cashless payment solution in Vietnam based on the three pillars proposed by Ng et al. (2021), including the implementation environment digitalization, the novelty of payment technology solutions and the status of national infrastructure. Findings The results indicate similar implementation stages of cashless payment in ASEAN nations. Although the transition in Vietnam is slower than in other countries, Vietnamese people adapt quickly to the cashless payment systems. Moreover, under the investigation of cashless payment solution implementations, Vietnam witnesses a low local implementation environment, digitalization and national infrastructure level, but a high level of payment technology novelty. The research highlights that Vietnam struggles with entrenched cash-using habits in traditional and rural markets, significant concerns about data privacy and weak national infrastructure. Originality/value This research offers valuable perspectives on adopting cashless payment systems in Vietnam, with implications for financial service providers, policymakers and consumers.

ABSTRACT This study examines how content-related variables – content attributes, perceived ease of use, imagery quality, vividness, transportation, prior experience, and social media influencer effect – influence empathy and donation intention in digital charity campaigns, with a focus on the moderating role of media format (static post versus short-form video). Guided by the Stimulus – Organism – Response (SOR) framework, a randomized online experiment with 592 participants compared emotional and behavioral responses to the same charitable message presented in two formats. Results show that perceived ease of use, prior experience, and vividness significantly enhance empathy, which in turn predicts donation intention. Content attributes, imagery quality, transportation, and influencer effect were not significant direct predictors. Multi-group analysis reveals a moderated mediation effect: static posts more effectively translate vividness, ease of use, and prior experience into empathy and donation intention, whereas short-form videos amplify the effects of transportation and influencer presence. These findings refine digital philanthropy theory by showing that leaner media can elicit stronger empathic responses than richer formats under certain conditions. The study highlights the need to align message design and media format with emotional processing goals to enhance empathy and prosocial engagement in influencer-driven charity campaigns.

Purpose This study sheds light on the multi-dimensional impact of governance quality on child health outcomes, measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR) and under-5 mortality rate (U5MR), across 63 provinces in Vietnam from 2006 to 2021. The study aims to identify which governance dimensions most significantly influence these health indicators. Design/methodology/approach Using a panel dataset spanning 16 years, this study employs the fixed effects (FE) and the two-step system generalised method of moments (SGMM) estimators to analyse the relationship between various dimensions of governance quality and child health outcomes. Governance dimensions include local participation, vertical accountability, transparency, public administrative procedures, control of corruption and public service delivery. Findings The results indicate that overall governance quality has a stronger impact on U5MR than on IMR. Specific dimensions such as local participation, vertical accountability and public service delivery exhibit stronger effects on IMR, while transparency, public administrative procedures and control of corruption have a more pronounced impact on U5MR. Practical implications Policymakers should prioritize targeted governance reforms, focusing on dimensions with the most significant influence on specific child health outcomes, to optimize resource allocation and intervention strategies. Social implications Improved governance quality can enhance healthcare delivery, reduce mortality rates and contribute to broader social well-being, particularly in vulnerable communities. Originality/value This study offers a concise understanding of how different governance dimensions uniquely affect child health outcomes. It emphasizes the need for a multi-dimensional and tailored governance approach to effectively reduce child mortality rates in Vietnam and other developing countries.

Rehabilitation is a critical field for patients in intensive care units (ICUs) or those who require physical rehabilitation exercises, including those who need to regain lower limb function. Patients who have been cured of significant healththreatening diseases require an appropriate rehabilitation strategy in order to regain their health. There are technology solutions that facilitate this procedure, such as rehabilitation bicycles, which are used to rehabilitate patients' lower limbs. However, previous systems used simple mechanisms, and when pedaling, interacting force with the patient was insufficient, decreasing the efficiency of rehabilitation. In order to solve the aforementioned constraints, a new rehabilitation cycling system is developed that uses artificial intelligence to understand the movement of the bicycle, resulting in effective force interaction with the user and boosting the patient's efficacy and recovery ability.

In DC microgrids, optimizing the hybrid energy storage system (HESS) current control to meet the power requirements of the load is generally a difficult and challenging task. This is because the HESS always operates under various load conditions, which are influenced by measurement disturbances and parameter uncertainties. Therefore, in this paper, we propose the H∞ state feedback control based on the reference modulation to improve the current tracking errors of the battery (Bat) and supercapacitor (SC) in the HESS for power tracking performance. Without altering the system control signal, the reference modulation technique combines the feedforward channel and output feedback signal directly to modulate the required currents of the Bat and SC derived from the required load power. The H∞ state feedback control based on the required Bat and SC currents modulated by the reference modulation technique is proposed to improve the current tracking errors under the influence of measurement disturbances and parameter uncertainties without a disturbance observer. The ability of the reference modulation technique to attenuate the disturbance without the use of a disturbance observer is one advantage for improving transient performance. The improvement of the HESS’s power tracking performance in DC microgrids is confirmed by study results presented under the influence of measurement disturbances for nominal parameters and parameter uncertainties.

ABSTRACT This study investigates the interplay between scarcity cues, individual motivations, and consumer behavior in the context of collectible markets, focusing on Popmart’s Labubu series. Leveraging Social Comparison Theory, we explore how self-expressive motivation (SEM) and self-presentational motivation (SPM) influence the relationship between scarcity cues and Fear of Missing Out (FoMO), and how FoMO subsequently affects consumers’ willingness to pay for premium products. A sample of 442 Labubu collectors participated in the study, providing insights into the psychological and behavioral drivers of purchasing decisions. Results from Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) indicate that scarcity cues significantly increase FoMO, which in turn has a strong positive impact on willingness to pay. SEM and SPM were found to moderate the effect of scarcity cues on FoMO, with SEM reducing and SPM amplifying this relationship. These findings highlight the importance of understanding consumer motivations and social comparison processes in developing effective scarcity-based marketing strategies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed for brands operating in limited-edition markets.