Applying Relatedness to Explain Learning Outcomes of STEM Maker Activities

A growing interest has been observed among K-12 school educators to incorporate maker pedagogy into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to engage students in the design and making process. Both cognitive engagement and emotional engagement of students can be promoted through satisfying the psychological need of relatedness that concerns a sense of connection and belonging. How to support relatedness would influence the effective development of students’ cognitive competencies, namely creativity and critical thinking, and non-cognitive characteristics, namely interest and identity. Therefore, the present study investigated how two relatedness support strategies—real-world problems (RWP) and mentoring influence the development of student’s STEM-related cognitive competencies and non-cognitive characteristics in STEM marker activities. We implemented a 7-week intervention study with three classes of Grade 9 students (aged 13–15 years) in Hong Kong (n = 95). Three intervention conditions were designed in the experiment, comprising textbook problem (TBP), RWP, and RWP with mentoring (RWPM). Our analysis showed that (i) the differences in creativity among the three groups were non-significant, (ii) the RWP and RWPM groups showed stronger critical thinking than the TBP group, and (iii) the RWPM group exhibited stronger STEM interest and identity than the other two groups. This study revealed the effectiveness of adopting RWP strategy in developing secondary students’ perceived cognitive competencies (e.g., creativity and critical thinking) and the feasibility of employing a mentoring mechanism for cultivating learners’ perceived non-cognitive characteristics (e.g., STEM identity and interest). Hence, we also offered practical suggestions for teachers.

Giving feedback in the new CBME curriculum paradigm: Principles, models and situations where feedback can be given

The new competency based medical education represents a paradigm shift from a teacher centered to a student centered learning of outcome competencies paradigm and so both the students and the teachers are unfamiliar with it. Giving and receiving feedback is central to the competency development framework. Only through frequent, timely and appropriate feedback there will be effective development of cognitive competence in its lead up to performance of competence. These concepts are illustrated to convey the importance of giving feedback to students. As the teachers are expected to practice giving feedback to students, they were opportunistically asked prior to a faculty development workshop what their priority learning needs about giving feedback are. Based on this a focused review of literature was done to collect the information on the various models of giving feedback, the principles for giving feedback, the possible situations in curriculum delivery where teachers can and should give feedback to students.The literature revealed some good practice models for giving feedback to the naïve as well as the mature students in ambulatory and clinical teaching settings as well as on their performance as revealed by their test results. Models of counseling which has strong element of feedback on the learner’s performance and helping them choose the way forward after identifying the problem is also shared.

The FCFA Currency: An Eminently Linguistic Issue

In a situation of illiteracy at a rate of 54%, with over 80% of the population not speaking French (ANSD, 2013), it is very difficult to carry out effective development policies in Senegal without taking into account the language issue. From this point of view, the FCFA currency, which is expressed in French, poses a lot of problems for the African populations of the franc zone. The debate around this currency has so far been more focused on financial or fiduciary aspects than on the fundamental mechanisms that help to better understand the environment in which economic agents operate. Beyond its linguistic symbolism steeped in history, the FCFA creates cognitive problems that make it difficult for African populations to use it. We will try in this article to show, by an analytical approach, that the denomination of a currency involves the interaction of several fields of investigation. These are economic, historical, sociological, political, and above all, linguistic. From this angle, there is reason to be interested in the Academy of African Languages (ACALAN) in the resolution of this unit of measurement.

Strategic change management

The textbook is developed on the basis of competence-based and interdisciplinary approaches, contains theoretical foundations for the formation, change, development and improvement of organization management systems in a dynamic environment, as well as methodological aspects of the development and practical implementation of strategic changes. The publication examines the features of strategic changes, the technology of change management, reflects the models and principles of organizational changes, defines the prerequisites for the development of scenarios for the development of the organization, factors, conditions and mechanisms for the implementation of the change management strategy in the organization. The publication fully complies with the requirements of the federal state educational standards of higher education of the latest generation. It is intended for students studying in the areas of training 38.03.02 "Management", 38.03.03 "Personnel Management", 38.03.04 "State and municipal management". It will also be useful for students of MBA programs, advanced training courses and professional training of managerial personnel, senior students of economic specialties of universities, graduate students, teachers, practitioners and anyone interested in the problems of effective development of organizations based on the approach of organizational change.

Study of the horizontal sidetracking efficiency using hydrodynamic modeling (on the example of a Kazakhstani field)

One of the modern approaches for the effective development of small deposits is the construction and operation of wells with a complex architecture: horizontal wells (HW), sidetracks (BS, BGS), multilateral wells (MLW). Sidetracking makes it possible to reanimate an old well that is in an emergency state or inactivity for technological reasons, by opening layers that have not been previously developed, bypassing contamination zones, or watering the formation. This study examines the possibility of using horizontal sidetracks in the operating wells of the field of the Zhetybai group. To select the optimal length of the horizontal sidetrack of the wells, graphs of the dependences of the change in flow rate versus length of the horizontal well were built, taking into account the pressure losses due to friction. It can be seen from the dependence of NPV versus length of the horizontal wellbore that the maximum NPV is achieved with a horizontal wellbore length of 100 m. A further increase in the length of the horizontal wellbore leads to a decrease in NPV. This is due, firstly, to a decrease in oil prices, and secondly, interference of wells, a small number of residual reserves, and a small oil-bearing area. As a result of a comparison of technical and economic criteria, the optimal length of a horizontal wellbore is from 100-300 meters. Comparison of the flow rates of vertical wells and wells with horizontal sidetracks showed a clear advantage over the latter in all respects.

Investigation of Flowback Behaviours in Hydraulically Fractured Shale Gas Well Based on Physical Driven Method

Due to the complex microscope pore structure of shale, large-scale hydraulic fracturing is required to achieve effective development, resulting in a very complicated fracturing fluid flowback characteristics. The flowback volume is time-dependent, whereas other relevant parameters, such as the permeability, porosity, and fracture half-length, are static. Thus, it is very difficult to build an end-to-end model to predict the time-dependent flowback curves using static parameters from a machine learning perspective. In order to simplify the time-dependent flowback curve into simple parameters and serve as the target parameter of big data analysis and flowback influencing factor analysis, this paper abstracted the flowback curve into two characteristic parameters, the daily flowback volume coefficient and the flowback decreasing coefficient, based on the analytical solution of the seepage equation of multistage fractured horizontal Wells. Taking the dynamic flowback data of 214 shale gas horizontal wells in Weiyuan shale gas block as a study case, the characteristic parameters of the flowback curves were obtained by exponential curve fittings. The analysis results showed that there is a positive correlation between the characteristic parameters which present the characteristics of right-skewed distribution. The calculation formula of the characteristic flowback coefficient representing the flowback potential was established. The correlations between characteristic flowback coefficient and geological and engineering parameters of 214 horizontal wells were studied by spearman correlation coefficient analysis method. The results showed that the characteristic flowback coefficient has a negative correlation with the thickness × drilling length of the high-quality reservoir, the fracturing stage interval, the number of fracturing stages, and the brittle minerals content. Through the method established in this paper, the shale gas flowback curve containing complex flow mechanism can be abstracted into simple characteristic parameters and characteristic coefficients, and the relationship between static data and dynamic data is established, which can help to establish a machine learning method for predicting the flowback curve of shale gas horizontal wells.

New organizational mechanisms of infrastructure development of small agricultural businesses in Russia

The developed infrastructure of a small agricultural business (ISAB) ensures the innovative development of production of small enterprises of the agro-industrial complex (AIC), solves social problems of rural areas and provides employment for the rural population, performing a number of functions, including: property, financial, consulting, information, legal, innovative , social and export support for small agricultural businesses (SAB). The aim of the study is to identify the problems of the infrastructure development of the SAB and search for their solutions. The methods of generalization, economic and mathematical modeling, functional analysis were used, the data of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the reporting of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, publications of foreign and domestic authors and other sources served as the material for the study. It was proposed to use the institution of “commercial procurement”, to functionally expand the “financial” service, to organize a Single Industry Center for Infrastructure Development (Center), which will ensure effective interaction of all participants through the use of a digital platform based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA). The platform needs to be integrated with government information systems that support the infrastructure development of the SAB. The cluster organization of infrastructure facilities will increase efficiency, will contribute to the concentration of resources and their greater purposefulness. The main result of the implementation of new organizational mechanisms should be the effective development of the IMAB.

Geography of Tourist Flows in the Republic of Mordovia

Introduction. The topic is of relevance due to the need to study tourist flows in terms of the geography of tourist trips in order to analyze and compare the directions of the flows. The problem is that the authorities responsible for tourism management in the region and tourism organizations do not always pay due attention to the geography of the tourist flow and to its optimization in terms of the interests of the region itself. At the same time, the identified trends can be taken into consideration in order to improve and increase the efficiency of the tourism industry in the region and when making managerial decisions in the tourism sector. Based on the results of the study conducted, the article characterizes the travel destinations of Mordovian tourists, reveals trends, and proposes measures to solve the identified problems. Materials and Methods. The materials on the development of tourism in the Republic of Mordovia published by the Territorial Body of the State Statistics Service in the Republic of Mordovia for the period from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed; data from the Digital Tourism service run by MegaFon mobile phone operator were also examined. The methods of mathematical statistics employed made it possible to calculate the changes in the relative and absolute indicators of the geography of the tourist flow in the republic over a ten-year period. To identify the geography of the regional tourist flow, the methods of analysis and generalization were used, which made it possible to identify the features of the internal and external tourist flows of people living in Mordovia. Results. An analysis of the dynamics and placement of inbound and outbound tourism has been carried out; the volume of the tourist flow has been considered; the features of the geography of the tourist flows have been considered; the problems that hinder the more effective development of tourism in the republic have been revealed. The measures aimed at improving the efficiency of tourism activities in the region have been proposed. Discussion and Conclusion. The study made it possible to identify the main trends in the geography of the tourist flows of residents of Mordovia, as well as the causes and features of the ongoing transformations. The results of the study can contribute to the elaboration of an effective program for the development of tourism in the republic, to the adoption of productive managerial decisions in the field of tourism in the region, and to optimization of the geography of the tourist flows.

Modern trends and problems of the global intellectual property market development

It is shown that active processes of digitalization and development of creative industries form new trends of the world economy development. Possession of the right to use IP, in particular the results of the latest scientific research and technological developments (especially in the field of artificial intelligence, the Internet of things, blockchain, processing large databases, quantum computing systems, cloud technologies, etc.) significantly expands the capabilities of the owner of IP rights in world economy, its participation in global value chains. Intellectual property is becoming not only the main instrument of socio-economic development, but also the center of global technological confrontation and a fierce struggle for the right to own it, a significant factor of success in geoeconomic competition. The main long-term trend in the development of world IP markets is the dynamic growth of the volume of commercial transactions with goods and services containing IP objects with a significant expansion of the range of the latter. The IP market is growing at a rate exceeding the rate of growth of “material” markets. The countryleader in the number of valid patents for a long period is the United States. The main competitor for the United States is China. Among the main technological trends, the development of the IP market in terms of assistive technologies should be highlighted, which allow producing products according to digital description anywhere in the world. A large share of the IP markets is occupied by trade in licenses. It is shown that for the further successful and effective development of IP markets, it is necessary to take into account the prospects for the functioning of IP markets and the movement of goods containing IP objects in a new technological order.

Current Trends in the Application of Innovative Technologies in the Tourist Field

The article analyzes the current trends in the use of innovative technologies in the field of tourism. The essence of innovative technologies in tourism and their role in the development of tourism is determined. It has been found that innovations in tourism are the creation of a new or improvement of an existing product using the latest techniques, technologies and resources. It was found that in the field of tourism the use of modern information technologies is relevant, in particular: mobile Internet; electronic catalogues with leisure offers; electronic booking systems; social information networks; electronic ticketing systems; Internet advertising; convenient payment systems, etc. It is established that Internet technologies are an effective means of forming a positive image of the enterprise; promotion of new types of tourist services; informing consumers about new tours or promotions, as well as promoting them on the market, etc. Examples of modern innovative technologies used in the field of tourism are given and the expediency of their introduction is proved. It has been found that in modern conditions it is important to visit online museums and virtual 3D tours, which allow you to travel via the Internet. It is proved that social information networks are an effective tool that affects the consumption of tourist services. They allow tourists to share their own tourist experience, impressions of hotels, level of service and more. It was found that at the present stage of tourism development it is important to form and effectively operate a system of innovation management. The necessity of the development of the newest directions of Internet marketing in the field of tourism is proved. It is established that the introduction of innovative technologies ensures the effective development of the tourism sector in modern conditions, as well as gives a significant competitive advantage.