Issue #3 (Volume 10 2026)

Type of the article: Research Article

This study examines how institutional policy support, academic work environment, access to professional development opportunities, and academic compensation and incentives are associated with individual academic performance among political science faculty in Vietnam, while also testing the mediating role of individual professional development. The analysis is based on 415 valid survey responses collected from political science faculty working in Vietnamese higher education institutions and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results show that academic compensation and incentives emerge as the strongest positive predictors of individual academic performance (β = 0.301), followed by academic work environment (β = 0.289), individual professional development (β = 0.189), institutional policy support (β = 0.165), and access to professional development opportunities (β = 0.081). Individual professional development also positively predicts academic performance and partially mediates the relationships between the four contextual factors and academic performance. The model explains 30.7% of the variance in individual professional development and 52.0% of the variance in individual academic performance. These findings suggest that incentive systems, supportive academic environments, and meaningful professional development are important factors associated with academic performance among political science faculty in Vietnam.

Acknowledgment(s)
This research is sponsored by the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences under Grant No. KHXH/NV/2025-28.

Type of the article: Research Article

In the context of the knowledge economy and globalization, one key factor in regional economic development is universities’ intellectual capital. In this regard, the purpose of this article is to analyze the relationship between universities’ intellectual capital and socio-economic differences across Kazakhstan’s regions. The research used an integrated index of universities’ intellectual capital developed in the authors’ previous study, factor and cluster analysis, and regression modeling. The research database includes data from the National Bureau of Statistics for 20 regions of Kazakhstan for 2015, 2020–2023. The findings suggest that an increase in the universities’ intellectual capital index is associated with an increase in gross regional product per capita (β = 87.32). The results demonstrate that the population’s nominal incomes were statistically insignificant, indicating no clear short-term association with income redistribution. Instead, the Gini coefficient increases significantly, suggesting higher levels of observed inequality and a possible concentration of benefits among higher-income groups in regions with high levels of university intellectual capital. More specifically, a 1-unit increase in universities’ intellectual capital is associated with a 0.371-point increase in the Gini coefficient. Moreover, the results of the cluster analysis show a high level of socio-economic imbalance between regions with high and low levels of university intellectual capital. The quantile regression suggests that universities’ intellectual capital is positively associated with economic growth but is also related to higher levels of social inequality. The results suggest the need for a differentiated regional policy to support the development of regional universities and ensure inclusive development.

Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (AP23488456 “Imbalances in the development of the economy and social sphere of problem regions of Kazakhstan and their risks: factors, assessment, possible scenarios, leveling mechanisms”, 2024–2026).

Type of the article: Research Article

Higher education plays an important role in advancing the sustainable development paradigm. The corresponding contribution of universities is measured, in particular, by the QS Sustainability Rankings, which summarizes nine comprehensive indicators for assessing various aspects of sustainability. The study aims to analyze the structure of the QS Sustainability Rankings for leading global universities and identify the indicators that most significantly distinguish the ranked profiles of these institutions. The study covered the top 30 universities in the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2026 (31 universities due to tied ranking scores). The Pearson coefficient showed a fairly strong pairwise relationship with the ranking score for indicators such as “Equality”, “Environmental Research”, “Impact of Education”, and “Employability & Opportunities”; however, the typology of university profiles is more complex. Therefore, based on the principal component analysis method, the indicators most strongly associated with the variation of universities in the Ranking were identified: “Health and Wellbeing”, “Knowledge Exchange”, and “Environmental Sustainability”. A cluster analysis showed that university profiles in the QS Sustainability Rankings vary across clusters: cluster I (17 institutions) is predominantly oriented toward strengthening social impact, cluster II (7 institutions) toward strengthening environmental impact, and cluster III (7 institutions) has a mixed orientation. Therefore, based on classification analysis, a combination of indicators (“Environmental Sustainability”, “Impact of Education”, “Health and Wellbeing”) was identified as most strongly distinguishing the obtained clusters, that is, differentiating the ranked profiles of leading universities. Other institutions can use this to substantiate the priorities of their sustainable transformation strategy.

Type of the article: Research Article

Cybercrime is an increasingly visible digital safety concern for young adults in Vietnam, particularly for university students who rely heavily on social media for communication, learning, and risk-related information. This cross-sectional study examines the associations between social media use, legal awareness of cybercrime, media influence and misinformation exposure, family-school education, personal safety anxiety, and cybercrime risk perception and preventive awareness. Data were collected from 746 adult respondents in Vietnam, almost all of them were undergraduate students aged 18-24, and analyzed using EFA, CFA, CB-SEM, and bootstrap resampling. The results indicate that personal safety anxiety is the strongest correlate of cybercrime risk perception and preventive awareness. Family-school education, legal awareness, media influence and misinformation exposure, and social media use are also positively associated with both anxiety and the outcome construct. Indirect associations through personal safety anxiety were observed for all four antecedents, with the strongest indirect association involving family-school education. The findings should be interpreted as associational rather than causal because the data are cross-sectional and self-reported. The study contributes to socio-legal and communication research by showing how informational, legal, educational, and emotional factors jointly relate to cybercrime-related awareness among Vietnamese university students.

Type of the article: Research Article

The rapid development of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and data-driven economic models has heightened concerns about personal data protection and social responsibility in Vietnam. In this context, this study aims to assess Vietnam’s legal framework for personal data protection and propose policy reforms to enhance social responsibility. Social responsibility is understood as responsible data governance achieved through the implementation of principles of transparency and accountability, thereby enhancing trust, and through risk-based governance that both respects traditional rights and ensures that data flows are not hindered in the digital context. The study employs theoretical legal analysis and comparative law methods to examine comprehensive legal frameworks for personal data protection, particularly Vietnam’s Personal Data Protection Law 2025 and Japan’s Personal Information Protection Law. The results show that Vietnam’s personal data protection regime remains hampered by fragmented regulations and an overly consent-based approach, and that the fundamental principles of the legal framework for protecting personal data are merely symbolic and formal on paper due to weak enforcement and monitoring mechanisms. In contrast, Japan’s experience demonstrates the effectiveness of a centralized supervisory body, a guidance-based management model, risk-based governance, and regular legal review cycles in promoting socially responsible data use. Based on these findings, the study proposes policy recommendations for Vietnam, focusing on improving the structure of a synchronized and unified legal framework for personal data protection; establishing a data governance mechanism based on risk management principles; and creating an independent agency to coordinate the development, monitoring, and implementation of the law nationwide.

Type of the article: Research Article

Generative artificial intelligence increasingly supports knowledge work in education and professional settings, yet its usefulness remains underexplored among people who combine study and employment. This study examines how working students perceive ChatGPT’s usefulness in selected professional applications. The study uses data from a quantitative online survey of 419 working students from five age groups conducted in Poland between April and June 2024. The questionnaire measured current and expected usefulness of ChatGPT in selected professional roles, motives for use, and the most frequently used version of the tool. The analysis used Kruskal-Wallis tests, post-hoc multiple comparisons, Cochran’s Q test, planned McNemar comparisons, Pearson’s chi-square tests, and effect-size measures. Most respondents used the Free version (n = 329), while smaller groups used Premium (n = 67) or Other variants (n = 23). Information retrieval was the most frequently reported motive for using ChatGPT (n = 298; 71.1%), followed by assistance in learning new skills (n = 249; 59.4%). Age-related differences appeared in the current assessment of ChatGPT as a customer relations specialist (p = 0.0018) and secretary (p = 0.0083), with respondents aged 40-50 assigning higher ratings in these roles. Younger respondents reported using ChatGPT for skill development more often than older respondents (p < 0.001). ChatGPT version also differentiated use: Premium users more often reported routine document preparation, code generation, and data analysis, while Other-version users more often reported code generation and data analysis. The findings show that working students perceive ChatGPT primarily as a knowledge-support tool rather than a substitute for professional roles.

Type of the article: Research Article

The growing demand for practice-oriented workforce development has increased the importance of dual education in vocational education and training systems. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between students’ satisfaction with learning outcomes and their intention to stay in their current job within dual education programs in the vocational education and training (VET) system in Kazakhstan. The methodological approach is based on a quantitative research design using survey data collected from 440 students enrolled in four VET institutions in Almaty. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS software was employed to test the proposed hypotheses and assess the relationships between the studied variables. The results demonstrate that enterprise internship satisfaction positively affects general learning satisfaction (β = 0.380), job involvement (β = 0.274), and intention to stay in the current job after graduation (β = 0.142). Job involvement has the strongest effect on intention to stay with the employer (β = 0.416) and significantly increases learning involvement (β = 0.636). However, general satisfaction with learning outcomes does not directly influence intention to stay in the current job. The findings indicate that practical workplace experience and active integration into the work environment are more important determinants of students’ intention to stay with their current employer than general perceptions of educational quality. The study contributes to understanding the role of dual education in strengthening workforce retention intention and early career commitment in vocational education contexts.