A Thermodynamic Measure of Sustainability

A novel thermodynamic approach to the quantification of the “degree of sustainability” is proposed and discussed. The method includes a rigorous -and innovative- conversion procedure of the so-called externalities that leads to their expression in terms of the exergy of their equivalent primary resources consumption. Such a thermodynamic approach suggests a detailed re-evaluation of the concept of sustainability because it is well-known that the Second Law strictly negates the possibility for any open and evolving system to maintain itself in a “sustainable” state without availing itself of a continuous supply of low-entropy (i.e., high specific exergy) input. If a human society is modeled as an open system, its capacity to “grow sustainably” depends not only on how it uses non-renewable resources, but also on the rate at which it exploits the renewable ones. The necessary inclusion of different forms of energy- and material flows in such an analysis constitutes per se an argument in favor of a resource-based exergy metrics. While it is true that the thermodynamically oriented approach proposed here neglects all of the non-thermodynamic attributes of a “sustainable system” (in the Bruntland sense), it is also clear that it constitutes a rigorous basis on which different physically possible scenarios can be rigorously evaluated. Non-thermodynamic indicators can be still used at a “second level analysis” and maintain their usefulness to indicate which one of the “thermodynamically least unsustainable” scenarios is most convenient from an ethical or socio-economic perspective for the considered community or for the society as a whole. The proposed indicator is known as “Exergy Footprint,” and the advantages of its systematic application to the identification of “sustainable growth paths” is discussed in the Conclusions.

Perceived Efficacy of Virtual Leadership in the Crisis of the COVID-19 Pandemic

As a crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies quickly established virtual leadership systems and enabled employees to continue their work from home. This cross-sectional research addresses virtual leadership efficacy assessed by the leaders and by their employees. The findings suggest that leaders evaluate themselves significantly better than their employees, and their leadership efficacy mainly depends on their previous experience of working from home and ability to use communication technologies. This research contributes to the understanding of the factors that have the biggest influence on the belief in leadership efficacy in the context of a rapidly evolving system of remote work.

ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ВИКОРИСТАННЯ ІННОВАЦІЙНИХ МЕТОДІВ НА УРОКАХ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ В СТАРШІЙ ШКОЛІ

The article considers the use of innovative methods in English lessons on the example of personality-oriented method. The tasks of modernization of education cannot be solved without the optimal introduction of modern educational technologies in all its spheres. The use of innovative methods gives impetus to the development of new forms and content of traditional activities of students, which leads to their implementation at a higher level. Work with the use of such methods should be organized in such a way that from the very beginning it becomes a powerful psychological and pedagogical means of forming a motivational plan for students, a means of supporting and further developing their interest in the subject. It is emphasized that properly organized work of students with the use of innovations can promote in particular the growth of their cognitive and communicative interest, which in turn will enhance and expand opportunities for independent work of students to master a foreign language, both in class and after school. It is emphasized that the use of innovative forms of learning in contrast to traditional methods gives the student a major role in the acquisition of knowledge, in which the teacher is an active assistant, organizes, directs and stimulates learning activities. In his work, the teacher must not only solve educational problems, but also create conditions for students to independently creatively search, encourage them to research, develop skills of orientation in a huge information space and independent decision-making. And as a necessary condition in solving the tasks is the introduction of innovative technologies in the educational process. The constantly evolving system of information support in combination with technical support ensures the quality of the educational process. Innovative methods have become an integral part of the process of teaching and learning English. They help students to acquire the necessary skills for free use of English in a short time, namely: listening, reading, writing and communication skills. Given the importance of innovative methods, it should be noted that the central place in the teaching process is the personality of the teacher, who selects, evaluates and implements new methods. Thus, innovative methods help the teacher to solve a large number of organizational issues, to make the lesson more interesting, but innovation cannot completely replace the teacher. An analysis of other innovative trends in the teaching of English may be a prospect for further research. Key words: educational process, innovation, method, knowledge, project.

The German Social Security System for Farmers

On the one hand, the complex, constantly evolving system of German Agricultural Social Insurance guarantees each individual insured person comprehensive protection under social insurance law comparable to that for the general population. On the other hand, the state supports not only farms but agriculture as an economic sector as a whole with a reliable and massive financial contribution. The history, tasks, responsibilities, benefits, financing and organisational structure will be presented as well as prevention, special programmes and international relations. In doing so, all four branches of the German Agricultural Social Insurance System are dealt with by means of the descriptive method.

Digital Archaeological Archiving in Baden-Württemberg, Germany: an evolving system

Since 2005, the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg has been collecting semi-structured archaeological digital project data with the aim of one day turning that data into a real long-term digital archive. This process is still ongoing. In the last 15 years appropriate data formats have been defined, and the transition from CAD to GIS as the mainstay of project recording in Baden-Württemberg has been made. The research-driven development of the Software Survey2GIS (GNU GPL), initiated by the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg, facilitates on the one hand an easy-to-use transition of field data into GIS and on the other better control of data formats. We are learning to cope with increasingly more complex data - laser scan, LIDAR and sfm data. The recent advent of commercial archaeology in the state of Baden Württemberg is another factor with which we are confronted. We have experimented with the best methods of convincing archaeologists, technicians and ancillary staff of the necessity of saving their data in a central repository - for example friendliness, even occasional coercion, as well as the guarantee of recoverable data if the deposition rules are followed. The boundary of each saved excavation or survey project is uploaded to the State's own cultural heritage GIS-Application - ADAB - where it can be accessed by researchers. A simple click within the polygon will invoke metadata about the project as well as a selection of quintessential photos. The excavation archive in Baden-Württemberg is, as yet, by no means a fully accessible, usable 'real' digital archive. But we are succeeding in saving the data in a structured manner for future transition into that 'real' archive - hopefully as a pilot project within the framework of the federally financed NFDI infrastructure.

Simulating the evolution of the topography–climate coupled system

Landscape evolution models simulate the long-term variation of topography under given rainfall scenarios. In reality, local rainfall is largely affected by topography, implying that surface topography and local climate evolve together. Herein, we develop a numerical simulation model for the evolution of the topography–climate coupled system. We investigate how simulated topography and rain field vary between “no-feedback” and “co-evolution” simulations. Co-evolution simulations produced results significantly different from those of no-feedback simulations, as illustrated by transects and time evolution in rainfall excess among others. We show that the evolving system keeps climatic and geomorphic footprints in asymmetric transects and local relief. We investigate the roles of the wind speed and the time lags between hydrometeor formation and rainfall (called the delay time) in the co-evolution. While their combined effects were thought to be represented by the non-dimensional delay time, we demonstrate that the evolution of the coupled system can be more complicated than previously thought. The channel concavity on the windward side becomes lower as the imposed wind speed or the delay time grows. This tendency is explained with the effect of generated spatial rainfall distribution on the area–runoff relationship.

Application of Fuzzy Logic to Assess Banks' Credit Risk

The banking system is a constantly evolving system. The information environment of the bank is growing, the volumes of processed information are increasing due to the growth of users and banking products. To reduce risks, banks make a financial assessment of the situation of individuals and legal entities. The aim of the work is to develop fuzzy multi-connected models designed to predict the receipt of a positive or negative decision to receive a banking product. The decision is made based on scoring. Scoring consists in assigning points for completing a certain questionnaire developed by underwriters of credit risk assessors. Based on the results of the points gained, the system automatically makes a decision on approving or refusing to issue a loan. Different banks have diffe¬rent scoring models. Purpose of the study. The paper considers the use of fuzzy models for making a decision by a bank to issue a banking product that implements the concept of “soft computing”. Methods. The use of fuzzy logic methods in credit scoring is not new, but it is not widely used in practice because it is expensive to integrate into existing systems. Each bank uses its own indicators of the client's financial reliability in scoring. Most of the indicators in banks are the same, but when deciding to issue different banking products, they have different numerical values. The data of the standard scoring methodology of a real bank were taken as the initial data. To predict a bank's decision to issue a banking product to a client, a fuzzy model was applied, production rules were proposed, and membership functions were determined. The model focused on the simultaneous processing of incoming data from multiple clients and for different banks and different scoring models. Results. The developed mathematical model for assessing the client's rating and predicting the decision to receive a banking product based on the fuzzy inference rule. The obtained results are proposed to be used in a multi-banking web-oriented system of providing banking products to corporate clients.

Cultural Heritage Education in UNESCO Cultural Conventions

The aim of the article is to analyse UNESCO conventions dealing with culture and assess the visibility and importance of cultural heritage education in these conventions and their implementation. First, it briefly presents the role of UNESCO in the area of culture and education, together with the UN Agenda 2030 and the challenges faced currently. Next, it discusses the existing UNESCO cultural conventions and their educational dimension with reference to the conventions’ provisions and aims. Each convention refers to education in the activities undertaken by States Parties, providing various tools and measures tailored to the scope of the convention. The article concludes that despite a lack of synergy and creation of education-related programs in convention-related siloes, UNESCO has managed to create a uniform and evolving system of educational measures aimed at various stakeholders and focus on various levels of awareness. Cultural heritage education is an imminent part of activities undertaken within States’ obligations and should involve various stakeholders, building networks and existing in synergy with other actions or campaigns based on different conventions.

Time and classical equations of motion from quantum entanglement via the Page and Wootters mechanism with generalized coherent states

We draw a picture of physical systems that allows us to recognize what “time” is by requiring consistency with the way that time enters the fundamental laws of Physics. Elements of the picture are two non-interacting and yet entangled quantum systems, one of which acting as a clock. The setting is based on the Page and Wootters mechanism, with tools from large-N quantum approaches. Starting from an overall quantum description, we first take the classical limit of the clock only, and then of the clock and the evolving system altogether; we thus derive the Schrödinger equation in the first case, and the Hamilton equations of motion in the second. This work shows that there is not a “quantum time”, possibly opposed to a “classical” one; there is only one time, and it is a manifestation of entanglement.