The Main Problems of Distance Learning in Vocational Education in the Russian Federation

The article deals with various organizational issues of distance learning in vocational education. The authors applied the theory of distance learning to vocational education in Russia. The research featured teachers of more than 40 educational institutions, who mentioned such problems as the lack of equipment, personal computers, software, and Internet access. Most respondents believed that the quality of vocational education deteriorated during distance learning mostly as a result of poor technical support. Another problem is the absence of personal contact between teaching staff and students. The authors analyzed the current situation and propose various means of improvement, e.g. asynchronous teaching methods.

Active Complicity in the Activities of an Undesirable Foreign or International Organization

Federal Law No. 292-FZ adopted on July 1, 2021, amended Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The procedure expanded the term of active complicity in that part of the Criminal Code that is aimed at early prevention of crimes that may affect the constitutional foundations and security of Russian society, e.g. development of destructive tendencies among the population under the influence of foreign organizations. The research objective is was to determine the limits of liability for 1) participation in the activities of a foreign or international organization recognized as "undesirable" on the territory of Russia (Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation); 2) complicity by financing such an organization (Part 2); 3) organizing the activities of such an organization on the territory of Russia (Part 3). The authors defined a set of criteria for distinguishing "undesirable" international or foreign religious organizations from those recognized in Russia as extremist. The article introduces the authors’ vision of the three forms of active complicity. The authors explain the technical and legal flaws in Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and propose their own variant.

Forensic Medical Expertise in Traditional China: Legal Regulation and Practice

The article deals with the problems of forensic medical expertise in traditional China in the investigation of crimes related to murder and death of people under unknown circumstances. The research featured legal acts and related comments that regulated the procedure. The author focused on the treatise of the XIII century Sung Tzu's "Washing Away of Wrongs" (Hsi yüan lu), which became the first essay on forensic medicine in world history. This document was far ahead of European works on this topic and was still in use in the early XX century. Constant conflicts between non-official comments and legal norms were one of the most serious problems that judicial practice had to face. For instance, according to the century-long shiht’u practice, specially authorized employees (wutso) with no medical training were responsible for describing internal and external injuries on the human body. Medical education was not mandatory for those performing forensic medical examination because autopsy was prohibited under the threat of punishment in the form of hard labor, and all conclusions about the causes of death were made on the basis of external examination. However, the main problem was the legal responsibility for the falsification of forensic medical examination. It often affected innocent people while real criminals managed to escape punishment, which violated the yin-yang harmony.

Human Rights in the Context of Asian and European Legal Values

This article substantiates the need to consolidate human rights through various international legal mechanisms, including regional conventions on human rights that reflect specific legal and cultural values. The authors analyzed the Oriental legal values that differ from those in the Occidental. Borrowed elements of foreign culture and standard legal norms do not provide effective implementation of international documents at the national level. In fact, a lot of contemporary conflicts originate in the gap between the official legal ideology and the traditional legal consciousness, which is typical of most Asian countries. The interdisciplinary and civilizational (sociocultural) approaches revealed that most Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries adhere to the so-called Asian values, e.g. collectivism; priority of family, clan, and nation interests; idealization of the authorities; detachment from active political and legal life, adherence to moral norms, etc. The authors believe that, along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there may be regional concepts and international regional acts based on civilizational identity, historical memory and experience. Eurasian countries need a new concept of human rights, which will combine universal and Asian legal values, e.g. priority of the community and state over the individual; the advantage of public order over the personal rights and freedoms; common wellbeing; significance of moral and religious rules; admiration for strong political leaders, etc. This concept will make it possible to integrate Asian mentality, lore, and national philosophy into standard human rights. The concept might help to resolve various conflicts that occur between global legal ideology and traditional legal mentality of most Asian societies.

Orthodox Church Law in the Legal System of Russia: Historical and Legal Aspect

The relationship between the church and the secular law is one of the most complicated matters of law theory. The present research featured the law of the Russian Church and its structure with its internal and external church law. The article introduces the opinions of pre-revolutionary and contemporary authors, as well as a historical analysis of the main normative acts of the Russian Church that regulate its internal structure. The church law was defined as a special legal system, similar to public law. Historically speaking, the core of the Russian church law remained unaffected by the genesis of the state and legal structure, the changes in the system of church authorities, and the development of state-confessional relations. The central core of the church law still maintains the form of the rules of the apostles, the Ecumenical and Local Councils, and Holy Fathers.

Formation of Professional and Value Orientations in Pre-Service Teachers

The present research featured the development of value orientations in students of various pedagogical departments. It involved a theoretical analysis of domestic and foreign publications on psychology and pedagogy. The experiment relied on Sh. H. Schwartz’s diagnostic Value Questionnaire, which revealed a difference in the focus of value orientations in two groups of students. The first group majored in Primary Education and Extracurricular Activities, while the second specialized in Primary Education. The established difference could be explained by the specifics of the professional activities: the students of the first group acquired an additional set of professional qualities. The research results can help to plan various pedagogical training programs.

Development of Metasubject Competencies in High School Students

The present research featured the development of metasubject competences in high school students, who are known to lack these competencies. The research objective was to perform a sociological survey of the current situation. The methods involved analysis, synthesis, observation, and sociological survey. The paper describes the reasons behind the qualitatively low development of metasubject competencies in modern schoolchildren and contains some recommendations. The author also describes the relations between metasubject competencies and the concepts of hard and soft skills. The sociological survey involved high school students and their parents, who appeared to understand the importance of meta-specific competencies and their poor development in modern school environment. Both students and their parents demonstrated a strong dissatisfaction with the situation, in which the entire curriculum is aimed at passing the Unified State Exams. As a result, the school program concentrates on the development of subject knowledge, leaving behind metasubject skills.

Modular Design in Distance Learning

The current epidemiological situation requires new distance learning techniques, and modular design seems to be a good systematic approach to the formation of standards for distance learning. Modular approach makes it possible to provide students with knowledge and develop competencies in the current challenging social conditions. The authors analyzed the distance learning technologies used by various academic organizations during the pandemic, as well as some distance learning platforms for advanced training courses. The analysis showed that modular competence-based distance learning technologies are widely introduced in the domestic academic environment. Modular academic disciplines consist of interrelated modules and presuppose a large amount of programmed self-learning. The article also contains an analysis of particular distance learning techniques and introduces new various technologies of blended learning. The materials can be used to develop new distance learning and blended courses.

Development of Communicative Foreign Language Competency in Management Students for Effective Business Communication

Managers have to coordinate various production, economic, technical, and social tasks in order to achieve common goals. As a result, they need to be able to communicate with a wide net of diverse contacts in this country and abroad. Therefore, intercultural communication plays a very important role in the business sphere. The present research featured the development of communicative competency in students of management for effective business communication. Readiness for business communication in a foreign language is an important indicator of professionalism. The authors defined the concepts of communication, effective business communication, and communicative competency. They focused on the interdisciplinary approach to the development of competencies in future managers as part of such disciplines as Management, Organization, Personnel Management, Economic theory, World Economy, and Business Foreign Language. The competency of business foreign language communication is both the purpose of training and a quality indicator. The article introduces an effective technology of developing the communicative competency in students that major in management. It is an interdisciplinary complex of interactive methods, techniques, Internet sources, and training tools.

The Concept of Complexity in Philosophical Contexts: Semantic and Pragmatic Specifics

The present research featured the content of complexity in philosophical contexts in the aspects of its validity, consistency, and compliance with the pragmatics of philosophical comprehension of reality. The article considers both explicit and implicit attempts to define complexity as a philosophical concept. The author addressed the validity of using the term complexity in a philosophical context by standardizing its meaning, i.e. building a pattern in accordance with the basic linguistic denotations of this concept. A review of its ontological and epistemological use made it possible to identify some cases of redundancy, unreasonableness, and semantic shift. The article introduces some possible ways of using the concept of complexity. The limited implementation of its epistemic function makes it possible to establish the boundaries of its applicability. The concept of complexity is important for metaphysics; however, such ideas as "metaphysics of complexity", "ontology of complexity", or "epistemology of complexity" have no ground. The article also provides a comparative analysis of the concept of complexity in specific scientific and philosophical contexts. Based on the revealed discrepancies in its interpretation, the author speculates whether the so-called philosophy of complexity can act as a context for understanding the philosophical problems of complexity science with its ambiguous nature.