Networked Professional Learning Communities as Means to Flemish Secondary School Leaders’ Professional Learning and Well-Being

Whereas Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a frequently applied professional learning tool in education, their use is often limited to an application among (a) teachers and (b) within-schools. This article contributes to the nascent research evidence on PLC usage for principal professional learning. As outcomes align with PLCs’ phased development, this article grasps the learning processes that unfold, the catalyst states that emerge and the overarching role that a process coach can adopt in this collective learning effort. Three distinct PLCs comprising of Flemish secondary school principals were systematically observed over the course of one to two years. In interviews and questionnaires, members (n = 14) reported on their experience with PLC activities, group dynamics and their personal professional well-being. Networked learning proved a worthwhile method as positive outcomes of PLC participation were predominantly found in a perceived augmentation of professional well-being and the acquisition of inspiration and ideas. Actual co-construction among principal participants appeared harder to establish as several organisational, group developmental and leadership prerequisites were found to apply. As this study was based on three in-depth case studies, it remains to be confirmed whether its conclusions apply to all school principals in Flanders and can be generalised to their counterparts internationally.

Medicinal Plants, Phytochemicals, and Their Impacts on the Maturation of the Gastrointestinal Tract

The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is the first point of contact for ingested substances and thus represents a direct interface with the external environment. Apart from food processing, this interface plays a significant role in immunity and contributes to the wellbeing of individuals through the brain-gut-microbiota axis. The transition of life from the in utero environment, to suckling and subsequent weaning has to be matched by phased development and maturation of the GIT; from an amniotic fluid occupancy during gestation, to the milk in the suckling state and ultimately solid food ingestion at weaning. This phased maturation of the GIT can be affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors, including diet. Despite the increasing dietary inclusion of medicinal plants and phytochemicals for health benefits, a dearth of studies addresses their impact on gut maturation. In this review we focus on some recent findings mainly on the positive impact of medicinal plants and phytochemicals in inducing precocious maturation of the GIT, not only in humans but in pertinent animals. We also discuss Paneth cells as mediators and potential markers of GIT maturation.

Tourism worldmaking and market post-truth: Borat’s new spirit of capitalism

The article develops a theoretical framework for the critical examination of cinematic tourist design. Considering ‘film-induced tourism’ as part of a bigger system involving the design of mobilities, it interrogates the connection between the aesthetic and ethical principles that end up informing the engineering of national hospitality in media platforms. The design, which is managed by a ‘worldmaking authority’ or network encompassing the host nation state and international tourist and media markets, conforms to the rationalised rules of what Boltanski and Chiapello termed the ‘new spirit of capitalism’, which mobilises romantic ideals of individual freedom to sell landscapes and exotic cultural characters. The phased development of such mobilities conforms to contingency and is indifferent to the welfare of particular social groups. The model is exemplified through the phased design of mobilities out of two films with virulent sexist and antisemitic content centred on the journeys of the fictional Kazakh journalist Borat to the United States.

Structural management models of technological innovations

In order to define the parameters of structural innovations of the technological core of the economic system, a formalized criterion of the effectiveness of these innovations has been proposed, a model of the technological core has been developed, as well as mathematical methods of its analysis. The developed model uses the cross-sectoral balance sheet of the national accounts of the economy. The analysis of the model consists in calculating the preferred structure of the technological core and calculating plans for its phased development.

Organization and holding of events

Every day around the world held a lot of events: exhibitions, conferences, presentations, festivals, etc. which requires professional skills, communication skills and creativity. In the textbook are given classification of activities, the technology for phased development and examples of some of them. Meets the requirements of Federal state educational standards of higher education of the last generation. Designed for students on specialties and directions of the service sector, and also for teachers, professionals, various agencies and all who have to organize events.

Mechatronic device of AI systems

The purpose of this work is to demonstrate the phased development of a mechatronic device, to describe the development process of the device design and software, to demonstrate the application of the theory of selected sections of mathematics and physics in robotics, and, in particular, linear algebra, geometry, computational mathematics, discrete mathematics and mechanics. The study was based on the mechatronic device, which had been designed by the youth team of the Republic of Belarus in preparation for the international robotics competition “First Global Challenge 2019”, which became the winner of this event. The article describes in detail the statement of the problem at this competition, identifies the basic requirements for the robot being built, provides a general description of the stages of building the device both during the design process and during the immediate implementation of the project, as well as substantiates the engineering decisions that were made during the design process. The stages that are of the greatest interest in terms of applying the theory of applied physics and mathematics are described in more detail. Particular attention is paid to the design and development of structural modules, as well as to the development of software for controlling the device. The robot is an experimental model that can be used in further research in the field of artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation systems, and is also a potential platform for teaching robotics at the level of specialized secondary and higher education.

VALUE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HISTORICAL SPATIAL PLANNING STRUCTURE OF MURMANSK (1920s – THE END OF 1950s)

The main stages of development of spatial planning structure of Murmansk in the 1920s–1950s are determined. Archival documents and the main historically developed urban planning situations, the logic of its historical development is revealed based on the analysis of the stages of development of the city. The features of the original relief and its influence on the formation of the spatial planning structure of the city are considered. The specificity of the structure of Prospect Lenina, the main planning axis of Murmansk, is characterized; its importance in the phased development of the spatial structure of the historic city center is noted. Valuable components of the structure are identified, namely, time-stable planning nodes, as well as architectural elements - dominants, accents, plastic details that form the silhouette and rhythm of the streets. The spatial and planning structures of Murmansk and Leningrad of 1930s –1950s are compared and similarities and differences are determined to identify the architectural and planning specifics of Murmansk. The author makes a suggestion for adjustment the protection zones of the historic city center. The article provides photo materials, archive photos, schemes of the phased development of the spatial planning structure and its valuable elements, as well as maps of cultural heritage sites with existing protection zones of the historical center of Murmansk and with suggestions for adjustment.