A new theoretical model of government backed venture capital funding

Government involvement in the venture capital (VC) market has become an important catalyst of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of young and innovative firms. There is an extensive literature describing the VC model, but the models of its government backed variants are not comprehensively discussed. The article focuses on the model of purely government backed venture capital (GVC) and hybrid venture capital (HGVC). The conclusion of this article is that, by the logic of their models, GVCs are destined to underperform than private VCs. Many articles see HGVCs as a step forward compared to GVCs, as they involve private participants. The novelty of the current article lies in bringing out the drawbacks deriving from the system of hybrid venture capital funding by creating a complex theoretical framework of the HGVC model. We show that due to the crowding in of private participants, this scheme creates a two-goal system where the private profit maximising interests conflict with the economic policy goals. The complex system of HGVC is exposed to increased moral hazard issues that might lead to higher distortions than GVC. The conclusions are especially relevant in the case of developing industries.

A framework to foster analysis skill for self-directed activities in data-rich environment

Self-direction skill is considered a vital skill for twenty-first-century learners in both the learning context and physical activity context. Analysis skill for self-directed activities requires the students to analyze their own activity data for understanding their status in that activity. It is an important phase that determines whether an appropriate plan can be set or not. This research presents a framework designed to foster students’ analysis skill in self-directed activities, which aims (1) to build a technology-enabled learning system allowing students to practice analyzing data from their own daily contexts, (2) to propose an approach to model student’s analysis skill acquisition level and process, and (3) to provide automated support and feedback for analysis skill development tasks. The analysis module based on the proposed framework was implemented in the GOAL system which synchronized data from learners’ physical and reading activities. A study was conducted with 51 undergraduate students to find reliable indicators for the model to then measure students’ analysis skills. By further analyzing students’ actual usage of the GOAL system, we found the actual activity levels and their preferences regarding analysis varied for the chosen contexts (learning and physical activity). The different context preference groups were almost equal, highlighting the utility of a system that integrates data from multiple contexts. Such a system can potentially respond to students’ individual preferences to execute and acquire self-direction skill.

Theoretical and methodological foundations of literary-artistic and linguistic education as a system

The article reveals the theoretical and methodological foundations of literary-artistic and linguistic education as a system. Several definitions of key concepts are analyzed: "system", "literary-artistic education", "language education". The system status of literary-artistic and linguistic education required highlighting its component element: teleological (ELA ideal/goal, ELA goal system, ELA standards), technological (operational block – learning activities and opportunities) and epistemological (theories, concepts, principles, ideas, precepts).

Research of the goal system of an interactive form of education (on the example of teaching Russian as a foreign language in a Master’s Degree Programm)

Interactive learning, according to a review of scientific and methodic literature, is the most effective way to optimize the educational process at different stages of its formation, and es-pecially when teaching foreign languages and Russian as a foreign language. However, along with the highlighted values and advantages of interactive learning, there are a number of significant problems, the reason for which lies in insufficient attention to the systemic organization of the in-teractive learning process, which also creates an obstacle to building an effective management system for the evolution of this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to identify patterns, conditions and factors that influence the formation and development of interactive learning. As a result of applying the methods of content analysis of literature and the categorical method “Order of goals”: 1) interactive learning is presented in the form of 3 categories (OK, Pk, IK), each of which reflects its qualitative certainty; 2) the goals of each category are determined; 3) a qualitative model of the object is constructed, where the interactive learning itself is a system, and the selected categories are subsystems; 5) revealed a typology of possible contradictions between the goals of each subsystem and the system as a whole; 6) predicted possible consequences and resolution of contradictions for the development of interactive learning. The results obtained make it possible to effectively resolve the contradictions arising in the system of goals of the object and between their carriers, and to create a model for managing the functioning of the interactive learning. It is concluded that the description of the methods of productive resolution of the revealed contradictions will allow building a qualitative process of training optimization, including foreign languages and Russian as a foreign language.

Developing Goals and Indicators for the Design of Sustainable and Integrated Transport Infrastructure and Urban Spaces

This paper aims to provide a framework for policy-makers and transportation and urban design professionals to evaluate alternative urban plans and infrastructure design, allowing them to select a set of locally relevant indicators to help assess scenarios considering sustainable development and overall system performance improvement in line with specific project goals. Using methods of systematic review, content analysis, multi-criteria analysis, and expert consultation, a three-level goal system is proposed, leading to the generation of 64 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), both qualitative and quantitative, and an indicator set of 227 items. To allow stakeholders to apply their own set of indicators, the approaches and tools of measuring these indicators as well as the ways of using this indicator set are presented to assist decision-makers in evaluating and choosing optimal plans and designs.

ON JUDGE’S TRIAL DISCOURSE IN CHINESE COURTROOM FROM GOAL-DRIVEN PERSPECTIVE

Any act has certain goal, and the judge’s trial discourse is a structured and layered goal system. Judges normally adopt some discourse strategies to reach their trial goals. Based on our trial corpora, we find judges commonly adopt some strong goal-driven discourse strategies, such as question-answer strategy, power control strategy, presupposition strategy, repetition strategy, and interruption strategy, etc., in order to realize their trial goals as well as discourse goals. Strategy in effect refers to means, with which the goal of discourse is to be achieved. As words are intended for both the expression and the achievement of goals, the choice of a means or a strategy relies on the decision of the goal. Only from this perspective is the link between strategy and goal meaningful, and in this sense, strategy means rhetoric. This paper aims to study the judge’s discourse strategies adopted in trials in Chinese courtrooms from the perspective of the goal principle.

Nonconscious Nudges: Encouraging Sustained Goal Pursuit

A person can use a variety of strategies to sustain the pursuit of a conscious goal (e.g., deliberate on the goal, monitor goal progress, increase goal commitment). However, less is known about how to sustain the pursuit of a nonconscious goal, a reality that is reflected in the common finding that nonconscious goal pursuit typically persists for only one choice episode. This research investigates two factors that help sustain the pursuit of a nonconscious goal: increasing the level of goal activation prior to goal pursuit and limiting the extent of goal deactivation after a goal-consistent behavior. When one of these two factors is present, nonconscious goal pursuit is sustained, as evidenced by a longer sequence of goal-consistent choices. Five studies compare and contrast strategies for sustaining conscious and nonconscious goal pursuit and provide insight into how the goal system manages the pursuit of a nonconscious goal. In addition, the findings inform when a consumer is more or less likely to pursue opposing goals across sequential choices (e.g., being virtuous after being indulgent).