Evaluating the use of LoLa in European conservatoires: The SWING project

The research presented in this article reports on the SWING project, a qualitative case study initiated by The Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) into the use of LoLa (low-latency audio-visual streaming) for instrumental music teaching between conservatoires. LoLa is a software package that allows musicians to perform and interact together synchronously in real-time with high-quality audio, something not currently possible with standard videoconferencing platforms. LoLa is a relatively new technology and there is limited research available on how effective it is when used for instrumental music teaching. Trials of LoLa technology were conducted in three conservatoires in Austria, Italy and Slovenia in early 2019. Follow-up interviews were conducted with music teachers, students and technicians to understand their experiences of using the technology, what changes took place in the teaching, and to determine the potential and limitations of LoLa for teaching in conservatoires. Participants in the trials reported overall satisfaction with the system, with many being surprised at the high quality. The findings showed that LoLa can expand the possibilities for artistic development by facilitating synchronous interaction between teachers and students in different conservatoires. These possibilities include one-to-one lessons, group masterclasses, examinations, and opportunities to rehearse and perform synchronously with musicians from other institutions. This aligns with current research which calls for a reappraisal of the traditional one-to-one conservatoire studio lesson.

Presence, Absence, and Alterity: Fire Space and Goffman’s Selves in Postdigital Education

The literature on space in higher education has arguably been dominated by the concept of ‘learning spaces’. In this paper, I will argue that this construct, while appearing student-focused and creative, is ideologically circumscribed by an underlying social constructivism. Following Bayne et al. (2014), I draw on science and technology studies to consider social topologies, in particular regional space, network space, and their proposed fluid space, and the work of Law and colleagues on the category of fire space, derived from Bachelard’s (The Psychoanalysis of Fire, 1964) disquisition on the nature of fire. I work with this construct in an analysis of postdigital education, in particular looking at synchronous interaction via video conferencing software such as Zoom. Linking this analysis to the work of Goffman and his concept of the lecturer selves (Goffman in Forms of Talk, 1981), I argue that the concept of fire space may allow for a more nuanced and accurate account of the flickering, contingent nature of (co) presence, absence, and alterity, allowing for a more immanent account of digital interaction in ‘distance’ or ‘online’ education.

Evaluation of the Implementation of Online Learning during the Pandemic at SETUKPA LEMDIKLAT POLRI

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the input stages of antecedents, transactions process, and outcomes in education and training as one of the programs in SETUKPA LEMDIKLAT POLRI. This type of research is qualitative using the Countenance Stake evaluation model which consists of three stages, namely: antecedents, transactions, and outcomes. The subjects in this study consisted of 30 trainees who were selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected through interviews, and observations. The results showed that at the antecendent evaluation stage, educators are still lacking in innovating online learning planning adjustments with models or learning schemes that are planned in advance. At the transaction evaluation stage, indicators of online learning strategies and interactive online learning do not meet the evaluation standards. The training participants stated that it was less than optimal and the synchronous interaction that occurred in the online KBM conducted by the Setukpa Lemdiklat Polri. At the outcome evaluation stage, indicators of student satisfaction with online learning, not meet the specified standards. This can be seen from the absence of a discussion forum to measure the satisfaction of online learning activities that are followed by students and the absence of online learning assessments by Gadik in the Setukpa Lemdiklat POLRI environment.

Application of digital tools to enhance tax administration processes

The article discusses approaches to organizing the process of tax administration, reveals the problems and prospects of tax administration through the use of digital tools. The theoretical aspects of tax administration are investigated, the subject and subjects of tax administration are described, the functions and conditions for the implementation of administration processes are revealed. The main problems of tax administration that directly affect tax production are outlined, including: difficult integration of digital tools into the Russian tax space, synchronous interaction of tax administrations on the transfer of necessary data, and others. The main platforms and automated systems used in the practice of tax administration are characterized. Examples of use and statistics of the positive dynamics of tax collection after the introduction of digital resources are given. The ways of overcoming the existing problems, the solution of which will increase the efficiency of tax administration, thereby reduce arrears, increase the collection of tax payments and, as a consequence, increase the revenue side of the state budget.

Multibeam spherotron

The article proposes two types of multibeam spherotron-diotron based on a two-spherical resonator (an early article suggested a spherotron-diotron with non-synchronous interaction on a bi-spherical resonator, where the electron beam in this generator passes along the resonator z axis from the outer sphere to the inner one and interacts with the longitudinal (axial) electric resonator field). The first spherotron type has electron beams going from outer to inner sphere with slope ϧ about the z-axis: ϧ=0, π/8, π/4. The electrons interact with the resonator field through the emergence of quadratic forces in the field increasing along the electron motion. The second type (inverted spherotron) has electron beams located in half arc of the equatorial resonator plane, and the electrons move from the inner sphere to the outside. The interaction in it is carried out due to the spatial electron phasing. Both spherotron types achieve efficiency of 30 % at ultra-high pulse power and tens of kuloampère of total beam currents. The data presented in the article indicate the prospects of broad application for the inverted spherotron by the following indicators: extreme ease of design; no precision gratings or combs are required with a step significantly shorter than the wavelength; no focusing magnetic systems are required; electronic efficiency from 26 to 45 % is ensured. Note that the spherotron is fundamentally a highpower device (10-100 MW in a 1-10ns pulse) for in order to maintain the efficiency of non-synchronous interaction, one needs a high strength of the electromagnetic field, which is achieved only with a high-power device.

Channel-levee evolution in combined contour current–turbidity current flows from flume-tank experiments

Turbidity currents and contour currents are common sedimentary and oceanographic processes in deep-marine settings that affect continental margins worldwide. Their simultaneous interaction can form asymmetric and unidirectionally migrating channels, which can lead to opposite interpretations of paleocontour current direction: channels migrating against the contour current or in the direction of the contour current. In this study, we performed three-dimensional flume-tank experiments of the synchronous interaction between contour currents and turbidity currents to understand the effect of these combined currents on channel architecture and evolution. Our results show that contour currents with a velocity of 10–19 cm s−1 can substantially deflect the direction of turbidity currents with a maximum velocity of 76–96 cm s−1, and modify the channel-levee system architecture. A lateral and nearly stationary front formed on the levee located upstream of the contour current, reduced overspill and thus restrained the development of a levee on this side of the channel. Sediment was preferentially carried out of the channel at the flank located downstream of the contour current. An increase in contour-current velocity resulted in an increase in channel-levee asymmetry, with the development of a wider levee and more abundant bedforms downstream of the contour current. This asymmetric deposition along the channel suggests that the direction of long-term migration of the channel form should go against the direction of the contour current due to levee growth downstream of the contour current, in agreement with one of the previously proposed conceptual models.