Principles of Modelling Development Processes at Regional Level

The paper aims to be a general analysis material on the principles of modelling sustainable development processes at the regional level, by studying sustainable development of the economy of the regions by supporting regional socio-economic activities, i.e. those processes leading to a sustainable and harmonious development of the region and which do not result in adverse impacts on the human health or the environment. In this context, a regional development plan is proposed that sets out aspects structured on the following dimensions: economy, ecology, social. The plan analyzes all these areas but, what is very important, the adopted measures include elements common to the three spheres, as it is not advisable to prioritize the sectors.

The relationship between the characteristics of Ethnic Identity and Psychosemantic Characteristics of Experiencing (‘Perezhivanie’) Interethnic Relations of Palestinian Muslims in the multinational Levant Region

This paper presents the results of analyzing the psychological patterns of the development of ethnic identity and interethnic relations in the multinational Levant Region, where interethnic confrontation between Palestinians and Israelis has been noted in recent years. The main aim of the research is to reveal the relationship between the characteristics of Ethnic Identity and the Experience (“perezhivanie”) of Interethnic Relations of Palestinian Muslims in the multicultural Levant Region. In the process of investigating into ethnic self-awareness the authors used the Leary Test, the Semantic Diff erential of “Perezhivanie” ‘Experiencing’ Questionnaire by L.R. Fakhrutdinova aimed at studying the psychosemantic characteristics of the “perezhivanie” ‘experiencing’. The research has displayed that Ethnic Identity is a self-developing phenomenon, basically infl uenced by both the infrastructural relations and positions of ethnic self-awareness, and the processes associated with the relations of ethnic self-awareness with the external environment, with other ethnic groups. The most active points of development have been identifi ed. So, in intrastructural relations, they are active as ratios of I-real and I-mirror with a stronger position of I-ideal, since practically all dimensions of I-real and I-ideal (dominance, egoism, suspicion, etc.) have shown signifi cant diff erences that testify to the points and directions of development of ethnic self-awareness; positions in the relationship between the real self and the mirror self also exerted an active infl uence. The points of confl ict of the structures of ethnic self-consciousness were found, where, when the points of development coincided, the direction of development was diff erent. Thus, suspicion, obedience, dependence, friendliness, integrative indicators of dominance and friendliness have shown themselves to be confl ict points refl ecting confl ict zones between the infl uence of an external ethnic group (mirror self) and self-development processes manifested through the ideal self. In the situation of relations with the external environment, the most active was shown by the self-mirror, which infl uences the development of the subjectivity of the ethnic group through the components of the experience of the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. The infl uence of the real self on the characteristics of the “perezhivanie” ‘experiencing’ of the PalestinianIsraeli crisis was also manifested, and therefore, through the components of the “perezhivanie” ‘experiencing’ of this impression on the development of the self-awareness of the ethnic group.

Experimental Research of Compound Monitoring on Multiple Temporary Blocking Refracturing for Long-Section Horizontal Wells

As an important energy replacement block in China, the tight conglomerate oilfields in the Mahu area are difficult to develop and are characterized by strong heterogeneity, large horizontal stress differences, and undeveloped natural fractures. However, new development processes including temporary blocking diversion and large section-multiple clusters have been implemented on the oilfields in the past few years. In 2020, two adjacent horizontal wells in the MD well area experienced a poor fracturing development effect compared with the earlier wells in this area. Analysis suggests that the main reasons are water sensitivity of the reservoir, insufficient fracturing scale, and/or interference from the adjacent old wells. To ameliorate the problem, this study presents an experimental study of multiple temporary plugging and refracturing technology in long horizontal well sections, in combination with electromagnetic and microseismic monitoring. Results from the study show a great difference between the two monitoring techniques, which is attributed to their different detection principles. Interestingly, the combination of the two approaches provides a greater performance than either approach alone. As the fracturing fluid flow diversion is based on temporary plugging diversion and electromagnetic monitoring of fracturing fluid is advantageous in temporary plugging diversion monitoring, both approaches require further research and development to address complex situations such as multiple temporary plugging and refracturing in long intervals of adjacent older wells.

Measuring Software Development Project Performance

Adopting agile methodologies to software development processes helps software companies to sustain their growth through efficiency for long term. In the digital transformation era, Industry 4.0 as part of High-Tech Strategy 2020 for Germany involves agile principles and brings the latest technological trends in production process. The purpose of this chapter is to design a proper agile project management performance measurement model for start-up software companies. First, all key performance indicators related to agile development in the literature have been listed. Then KPIs that are provided from literature review with content analysis have been reviewed and categorized by expert opinions that were collected through in-depth interviews. Seven strategic KPIs and their data collection systems are defined and designed. Lastly, process and data collection improvements are recommended in order to sustain agile development measurement model.

Markov Decision Theory-Based Crowdsourcing Software Process Model

The word crowdsourcing, a compound contraction of crowd and outsourcing, was introduced by Jeff Howe in order to define outsourcing to the crowd. It is a sourcing model in which individuals or organizations obtain goods and services. These services include ideas and development of software or hardware, or any other business-task from a large, relatively open and often rapidly-evolving group of internet users; it divides work between participants to achieve a cumulative result. It has been used for completing various human intelligence tasks in the past, and this is an emerging form of outsourcing software development as it has the potential to significantly reduce the implementation cost. This chapter analyses the process of software development at a crowdsourced platform. The work analyses and identifies the phase wise deliverables in a competitive software development problem. It also proposes the use of Markov decision theory to model the dynamics of the development processes of a software by using a simulated example.

Usability Cost-Benefit Analysis for Information Technology Applications and Decision Making

Usability is an important quality attribute for information technology (IT) applications. However, integrating usability design and evaluation as an integral part of the development processes in information technology development organizations is still a challenge. This chapter gives an overview on the usability cost-benefit analysis models and provides some example cases of the importance of usability. These models and cases can be used by usability professionals to motivate the organizational management to provide resources for usability work and to integrate usability work as part of the development process. The target audience for this chapter are professionals and researchers working in the field of IT, managers in IT development organizations, as well as managers in organizations acquiring and using IT.

Increasing People’s Capabilities by Using Design Thinking in the Decision-Making Process

A growing older population is placing new demands on the welfare system. Elder care has been criticised for its lack of resources, competence, or respect for older people. Caregiving needs to be transformed and based on older people’s real needs and what they perceive as important. However, both older people and service organisations have to be capable of participating in new development processes. Design thinking (DT) has emerged as a field of research that provides tools and processes that are helpful for supporting innovations and new ways of thinking about problems. The concept of capability (Nussbaum M. Creating capabilities: the human development approach. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2011), and how design researchers have embraced it, is discussed. The results from two case studies show that DT can support increasing capabilities among both service recipients and service providers when developing new services and digital solutions. The DT process can generate valuable knowledge about users’ needs in a resource-efficient way, as well as balancing the economic and human perspectives when developing new services. By directing more time and attention towards relevant problems, the solution might end up as something other than initially contemplated, which can increase the capability of being innovative when developing new services.