Formation of readiness of bachelor chemists for professional and pedagogic interaction with students in the context of digitalisation of education

Digitalisation of education contributes to higher requirements for pedagogue’s qualification, since not only digital competency becomes necessary, but also readiness to transform the teaching process and implement new approaches to the interaction with students using digital educational components. In this regard, there are difficulties in organising professional training for students non-pedagogues with the right to carry out professional activities in the field of education, due to the specifics of their training profile. The article presents the results of the study devoted to the problem of students' readiness formation for professional-pedagogic interaction with pupils in the educational process with digital components, on the example of undergraduate students of ‟Chemistry” training direction. The search for ways to solve the indicated problem is seen in the organisation of their psychological, pedagogic, and methodological support in the process of internships. Experimental work included the development and subsequent testing of the developed programme. Its generalised structure, stages of implementation and applied methods are given in the text of the article. Comparative and contrasting analysis of the data obtained in the process of experimental work allowed drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of the experimental work. Statistical analysis allowed establishing the reliability of the obtained data, indicating the positive dynamics of forming future bachelor chemists' readiness for professional-pedagogic interaction with pupils.

Examining the Impact of Digital Components Across Different Phases of Treatment in a Blended Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Depression and Anxiety: Pragmatic Retrospective Study

Background Depression and anxiety incur significant personal and societal costs. Effective psychotherapies exist, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); however, timely access to quality care is limited by myriad barriers. Blended care therapy models incorporate traditional face-to-face therapy with scalable, digital components of care, expanding the reach of evidence-based care. Objective The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a blended care CBT program (BC-CBT) in real-world settings and examine the unique impacts of the (1) digital components of care (video lessons and digital exercises) and (2) phase of treatment (early versus late) in decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Methods This retrospective cohort analysis included 3401 US-based individuals enrolled in a BC-CBT program, who presented with clinical levels of depression and/or anxiety. The treatment program consisted of regular therapy sessions augmented by clinician-assigned digital video lessons and exercises. A growth curve model incorporating time-varying covariates examined the relationship between engagement with BCT components (ie, therapy sessions, digital video lessons, and digital exercises) during the early (weeks 0-7) and late (weeks 8-15) phases of treatment, and weekly symptom reports on depression and anxiety measures. Results On average, a significant decline in depression and anxiety symptoms was observed during the initial weeks of treatment (P<.001), with a continued, though slower, decline over subsequent weeks (P<.001). Each session completed was associated with significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.72) and depression (b=–0.83) in the early phase, as well as in the late phase (anxiety, b=–0.47; depression, b=–0.27). Significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.15) and depression (b=–0.12) were observed for time spent on video lessons (measured in 10-minute intervals) in the early phase of treatment. Engaging with exercises was associated with statistically significant increases in anxiety symptoms (b=0.03) during the early phase of treatment. However, sensitivity analyses examining the effects of exercises in isolation revealed significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.05) in the early phase, suggesting a potential suppression effect in the larger model. Conclusions Using a retrospective cohort design, therapy sessions and digital video lessons were uniquely predictive of improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms, and their effects were modulated based on the phase of treatment (early vs late). Future research should investigate whether other treatment variables, such as therapeutic alliance or familiarity with technology, are related to differential effects on various components of care.

Examining the Impact of Digital Components Across Different Phases of Treatment in a Blended Care Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Depression and Anxiety: Pragmatic Retrospective Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Depression and anxiety incur significant personal and societal costs. Effective psychotherapies exist, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT); however, timely access to quality care is limited by myriad barriers. Blended care therapy models incorporate traditional face-to-face therapy with scalable, digital components of care, expanding the reach of evidence-based care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a blended care CBT program (BC-CBT) in real-world settings and examine the unique impacts of the (1) digital components of care (video lessons and digital exercises) and (2) phase of treatment (early versus late) in decreasing symptoms of anxiety and depression. METHODS This retrospective cohort analysis included 3401 US-based individuals enrolled in a BC-CBT program, who presented with clinical levels of depression and/or anxiety. The treatment program consisted of regular therapy sessions augmented by clinician-assigned digital video lessons and exercises. A growth curve model incorporating time-varying covariates examined the relationship between engagement with BCT components (ie, therapy sessions, digital video lessons, and digital exercises) during the early (weeks 0-7) and late (weeks 8-15) phases of treatment, and weekly symptom reports on depression and anxiety measures. RESULTS On average, a significant decline in depression and anxiety symptoms was observed during the initial weeks of treatment (<i>P</i>&lt;.001), with a continued, though slower, decline over subsequent weeks (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). Each session completed was associated with significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.72) and depression (b=–0.83) in the early phase, as well as in the late phase (anxiety, b=–0.47; depression, b=–0.27). Significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.15) and depression (b=–0.12) were observed for time spent on video lessons (measured in 10-minute intervals) in the early phase of treatment. Engaging with exercises was associated with statistically significant increases in anxiety symptoms (b=0.03) during the early phase of treatment. However, sensitivity analyses examining the effects of exercises in isolation revealed significant decreases in anxiety (b=–0.05) in the early phase, suggesting a potential suppression effect in the larger model. CONCLUSIONS Using a retrospective cohort design, therapy sessions and digital video lessons were uniquely predictive of improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms, and their effects were modulated based on the phase of treatment (early vs late). Future research should investigate whether other treatment variables, such as therapeutic alliance or familiarity with technology, are related to differential effects on various components of care.

More Than a Gimmick - Digital Tools for Boardgame Play

Despite increasing interest in the use of digital tools in boardgames for both commercial and research purposes, little research has to date explored how and why these tools are used. We interviewed 18 professionals working in the boardgame industry to explore the combination of digital tools and tabletop play, which affords new experiences and opportunities for both players and designers. We generated five key themes from the interview data. Participants engaged with ontological questions about the fundamental nature of games; they showed strong opinions about the use of digital tools; they discussed the impacts of digital tools for game design as well as in their design practice; they raised concerns about the costs to develop and maintain such tools; and they considered how they affect the in-game player experience. From these themes, we generate five design principles for digital tools for boardgame play: traceability, completeness, integration, privacy, and materiality. Grounded in empirical data, these design principles guide game designers and researchers seeking to explore this novel design space. Our research focuses attention on the role of digital components in play and on the need for thoughtful implementation that considers the entire lifecycle of the game, from development through publication and, ultimately, archival access.

Usability Enhancement of SMS Interface for Illiterate Users

This article analyzes several User Interface (UI) designs and puts forward some more general design principles for interfaces designed for low-literate users. The results of this study highlight the importance of text-free interfaces compared to text-based interfaces for the illiterate and low-literate population. The study developed a Short Message Service (SMS) interface consisting of many design elements, including graphical icons, voice, and text reduction. The participants were more satisfied with the designed SMS interface as compared to the traditional text-based interface of SMS. We believe that if the user interface is appropriately designed, users will not need formal literacy, computer skills, or any external help to operate the application. It has been shown that an interface with minimal or no text but one or more graphics, audio, and digital components is helpful for users with low literacy rates.

Digitalization in Buildings and Smart Cities on the Way to 6G

The energy turnaround created a high volatility in the energy production based on renewable energy. To integrate renewable energy economically in buildings and smart cities an additional concept of energy storage and energy supply based on energy management concepts must be claimed. The political views have changed during the last years and energy efficiency in buildings is seen important because 35% of greenhouse gas is produced by the final energy consumption. The deployment of local energy production concepts is an important step to energy turnaround. To generate and distribute energy effectively in buildings, digital components such as sensors, actuators, meters, and energy management systems must be installed in the buildings and the digital components must be able to communicate via communication networks. The paper describes systems for local energy generation, necessary communication networks for buildings and smart cities and digitization applications in industrial buildings. As an example of energy management, the Oktett64 system is presented, which is based on Enterprise IT technology and has implemented AI and blockchain technology. Digitalization with platforms such as Oktett64 are based on technologies that are superior to today's often commercially available Programmable Logic Controllers. The article also shows how the future mobile communications standards 5G beyond and 6G can offer special solutions for the digitization of buildings in their edge clouds.

VLSI Architecture for Designing a True Random Number Generator with Modified Parallel Run Length Encoding

The secured communication is a means to provide privacy and security for the data being transmitted. The cryptographic system has thus become a vital and inevitable platform for achieving data security in our day to day life ranging from the generation of one time passwords, session keys, signature parameters, ephemeral keys. The encryption level is entirely dependent on the unpredictability of the digital bit streams. The paper focuses on generating true random number sequences using hardware, so as to safeguard the encryption keys patterns for digital communications. These sequences are generated using purely digital components supported by an efficient VLSI architecture. The implementation of the proposed model is done using Mojo-V3, supported by Xilinx ISE software platform. The generated random sequences will further undergo some post processing operations, viz; Von-Neumann correction (VNC) and Parallel Run Length Encoding (PRLE), to eliminate the bias in bit stream and also to compensate the high power dissipation respectively.

CONSTRUCTION OF DIGITAL COMPONENTS OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

The article highlights the main aspects and objectives of crisis management, which involves the use of specific management, financial and organizational methods and tools to maintain the appropriate level of economic security of domestic construction companies in the digitalization of the economy. Under these conditions, the creation of such a decision support system, which would allow timely identification of the state of the managed system, even with limited information and indirect signs of increasing crisis trends, as well as to create a basis for predicting possible consequences. These tasks are solved in the process of diagnosing the financial condition of the enterprise as part of crisis management. The crisis management system has properties that determine the features of the management mechanism: flexibility and adaptability, the ability to diversify and timely situational response, as well as the ability to effectively use the potential of the enterprise and informal management methods. These features of the mechanism of crisis management are provided by solving diagnostic tasks, which include timely recognition of symptoms, factors and causes of the crisis, classification of the latter, expert assessment of crisis measures and prospects for the development of the object of management. Diagnosis of financial condition is a multifactorial system of support for management decisions, based on a fundamentally new antisipative concept of management. Such a system is designed to provide comprehensive identification, analysis, elimination and forecasting of enterprise problems in order to ensure the adoption of advanced management decisions aimed at achieving its strategic and tactical goals.

Accounts receivable from the chemical enterprises: factor analysis

This research analyzes the impact of certain factors upon the accounts receivable from chemical enterprises. The subject of this article is the accounts receivable, while the object is the Russian chemical enterprises. The goal lies in building a regression model of the dependence of accounts receivable from chemical enterprises on the explanatory factors selected in the course of analysis. The internal factors include sales revenue, net profit, accounts payable, management expenses, return on total assets, etc. The external factors include gross domestic product, monetary supply, and Networked Readiness Index. The author creates an econometric model based on the financial report data for 44 enterprises, and statistical information for the period from 2015 to 2019. The result of modeling reveals a considerable impact of such indicators as monetary resources, accounts payable, and management expenses upon the size of accounts receivable. The conclusion is made on the expansion of digital components of management expenses in the context of the goal of research. The novelty of this article is substantiated from the perspective of application of the acquired results for forecasting the level of accounts receivable and more effective management of the payables policy of the enterprise. It is noted that the internal financial and economic indicators have most impact upon the size of accounts receivable from chemical enterprises.

Nightlife in Smart Public Spaces

Every smart city has digital technology, but not every city has a digital technology called ‘smart'. This chapter focuses on the impact of digital technologies on nightlife in public spaces. The literature describes the third place as a dramatic zone of situations that articulate current events, referring to the urban nightlife atmosphere as a type of transformation of daily life. The conclusion reveals the importance of understanding cognitive and environmental adaptations to describe daily social life at night. The main finding is that smart city elements differ in terms of technological and digital components. The right description of smart cities and nightlife design will help to plan and develop public spaces in cities.