EDITORIAL FOREWORD

The fifth number of volume two is the third issue in English of the VNU Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities since it was introduced in October, 2015. It consists of six research articles, two discussions, a book review and information related to academic activities and conferences held recently by VNU-USSH.

The research section is opened by Edward Cohen’s article on current debates and literatures about mental health in Vietnam and proposes some suggestions for prevention strategies and services for people with mental health in Vietnam that are important for social work approach in Vietnam.

Almost in the same direction in searching for the social supports for the people with mental health, Tran Thanh Nam and Bahr Weiss show the research findings on the application of multi-systematic therapy for adolescents with conduct problems. The outcomes of this therapy are significant and helpful for comparing families with low and high levels of functioning.

Tran Duc Thanh, in the third articles, presents his research work in area of tourism by applying the KSAP techniques to identify the voice of community and local people on the tourism development.

In an original research on Sino-Nom text, Rostislav Berezkin and Nguyen To Lan discuss the origins and features of the earliest extant Vietnamese versions of the Princess Miaoshan story, and compared it with different Vietnamese and Chinese versions. The findings of research can open further discussion and research orientation.

In the following article on education, Robert A Gable, tries to look for suitable activities to support young teachers by equipping them with teaching skills, the evidence based practice, internship, couching and making the long term engagement of teachers to the teaching methods.

The last paper in this section is a collective contribution of Hoang Cong Tri, Pham Minh Thien Phuong and Nguyen Thanh Hung who discuss the topic on the spontaneous settlement in Ho Chi Minh city from the management perspective. It serves a good case for urban studies in the context of rapid urbanization in the process of industrialization and modernization of today Vietnam.

In the discussion section, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha identifies the factors that impact on the early retirement decisions of employees in Vietnam, and suggests the extension of working period as the possible solutions to deal with the shortages of workforces caused by the population ageing in the next decades.

Having reviewed previous communication studies Phan Quang Anh has recommended the updated understandings on the role of theory and theoretical framework for doing social research in the higher education of Vietnam.

The publication of this issue in English shows the significant and continuous efforts by editorial board, authors, contributors, reviewers, and VNU-USSH.

The sixth issue of 2016 of the journal will be in Vietnamese, and available in this coming December.

The editorial board welcomes all comments, supports, suggestions and new submission for the development of the journal.

EDITORIAL BOARD