evelopment the Professional Competence of Students on the Continuous Natural Scientific Education in the Uzbekistan

The article summarizes the experience of teaching natural science disciplines for various areas of training of students in pre-university educational institutions. The purpose of the disciplines “Chemistry”, “Physics” and “Biology” is to form a holistic natural science worldview among students, which determines both the scope of tasks and the list of general cultural and general professional competencies being formed. The study revealed that in lyceums that implement continuing education in the “college-university” and “lyceum–university” systems, it is advisable to study general subjects of the natural science cycle at two levels: basic and advanced degrees. The study showed that in the course of general education natural science disciplines, it is advisable to allocate professionally significant information in a separate block (module).

Level-Based Learning Algorithm Based on the Difficulty Level of the Test Problem

These days, because of the coronavirus, all countries are introducing online university systems. Online universities have the advantage of allowing students to take classes anytime, anywhere, 24 h a day, but lectures are given in a non-face-to-face manner between instructors and students. Thus, while students are taking classes on a web-based basis, the problem arises that concentration on the lectures is significantly reduced. Therefore, in order to solve these problems, in this paper, we propose a level-wise learning algorithm based on the difficulty level of the test problem, and we present the simulation results. In order to improve this problem, in this paper, we propose an automatic music recommendation algorithm based on fuzzy reasoning that can improve the level of learning and lecture concentration, and we show our results on developing a web-based, smart e-learning software. As a result of computer simulation, it was proved that the learning test method, considering by level the difficulty of the test and the incorrect answer rate, was more effective than the existing test method, judged the student’s grades fairly, and improved the risk of unfairly failing the test by 30%.

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on College Campuses: Initial Efforts, Lessons Learned, and Research Needs

Wastewater surveillance for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, and nursing homes) scales. This paper explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation. We present the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resources, and impacts from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions. Our analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of local information needs, sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members.

Education for Sustainable Development: Glocal Implications for Universities

The editorial overviews the key research aspects of embedding sustainable development into university systems worldwide. The JLE editors dwell upon the pivotal role of higher education in transferring knowledge, skills, and underlying values in promoting Sustainable Development Goal No.4 (Quality Education for Sustainable Development). The editorial analysis is underpinned by the most cited Scopus-indexed articles (Top-50 as of March 2021) on sustainable development in higher education. JLE potential authors will find some recommendations on the subject field gaps and key directions to be published in the journal upcoming issues.

The Efficiency of Race-Neutral Alternatives to Race-Based Affirmative Action: Evidence from Chicago’s Exam Schools

Several K-12 and university systems have adopted race-neutral affirmative action in place of race-based alternatives. This paper explores whether these plans are effective substitutes for racial quotas in Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which now employs a race-neutral, place-based affirmative action system at its selective exam high schools. The CPS plan is ineffective compared to plans that explicitly consider race: about three-quarters of the reduction in average entrance scores at the top schools could have been avoided with the same level of racial diversity. Moreover, the CPS plan is less effective at adding low-income students than was the previous system of racial quotas. We develop a theoretical framework that motivates quantifying the inefficiency of race-neutral policies based on the distortion in student preparedness they create for a given level of diversity and use it to evaluate several alternatives. The CPS plan can be improved in several ways, but no race-neutral policy restores minority representation to prior levels without substantially greater distortions, implying significant efficiency costs from prohibitions on the explicit use of race. (JEL H75, I21, I28, J15)

Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on college campuses: Initial efforts, lessons learned and research needs

BackgroundWastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, nursing homes) scales.ObjectivesThis research aims to understand the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation.MethodsThis paper presents the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resource needs, and lessons learned from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions.DiscussionOur analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of information needs, local sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members.