American Specialists Research Articles

Научная политика СССР в 1950-е–начале 1980-х годов в исследованиях советских и американских ученых

In the 1950s the leadership of the USSR began to realize the country’s technological lag behind the advanced Western countries. In this regard, the Soviet Union began to transform its scientific policy. The search for optimal mechanisms for the organization of science continued until the end of the Soviet period. Scientists and historians of science, being direct participants in these events, assessed the ongoing transformation. This assessment has not always been objective. Nowadays, thanks to new computer technologies, researchers have access to the documents of American specialists who studied the main mechanisms of our country’s scientific policy at the state level in the 1970s-1980s. The purpose of the paper is to compare the conclusions of Soviet and American specialists who studied the scientific policy of the USSR in the 1970s-1980s, and to identify assessments of the main mechanisms for the implementation of scientific policy in the USSR. The main sources of the work were reports by American members of the working group on the study of scientific policy, which had not been used before in Russian historiography. After conducting a comparative analysis of the works, the author comes to the conclusion that Soviet scientific policy developed in the general global mainstream. Some of the science management mechanisms developed in the USSR were innovative. Others did not work at all in the absence of competition and a rigid command system.

International survey of equine orthopaedic specialists reveals diverse treatment strategies for horses with overriding spinous processes.

Overriding spinous processes, also known as 'kissing spines', are one of the most common causes of back pain in horses. The aim of this study was to investigate which options for diagnosis and treatment are preferred by equine orthopaedic specialists and assess which techniques are used for local injection. An online survey was distributed among members of the European/American College of Veterinary Surgeons, the European/American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, the International Society of Equine Locomotor Pathology and nationally recognised advanced equine orthopaedic practitioners. The survey was completed by 353 respondents. The injection techniques most commonly used involve placing two needles abaxial to the interspinous space (42%) under ultrasonographic guidance (32%) or one needle in the midline (35%) between two spinous processes. The most popular combination for overriding dorsal spinous process therapy was local injection (26.7%) combined with controlled exercise (25.5%). Manual therapy was considered by 42% of European and 25% of American specialists (p = 0.01). Surgical intervention as a first-line treatment was recommended mainly by specialists working in the United States, the UK or Ireland (p = 0.001). Overall, most equine orthopaedic veterinarians (71%; n = 201) preferred conservative management and recommended surgery only for horses that did not respond to conservative therapy. Respondents' personal bias may have skewed the findings. Despite a growing body of evidence, the therapeutic approach to 'kissing spines' in horses is influenced by professional specialisation and regional preferences. Variations in injection techniques and differing criteria for surgical intervention warrant further investigation.

Problems of attribution of plate armor from the collection of the Alava Museum of Arms, Spain (on the question of scaly shells in the west of the medieval Ecumene, X–XIII centuries)

In the article the scale armour from Museode Armeríade Álava collection is explored. Among the specialists it is considered to be the earliest Medieval European scale armour of 10-13 centuries. After the comparison of the scale armor fragments in Europe, on the Balkans (the fragments there belong to Byzantine armory circle) and Middle East the author puts into question its background and dating. To wide the search circle the explorer pays attention on two ceremonial armour sets. One from Museode lEjército of Toledo and the second from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The breast plates of both sets have the same construction and decoration to the breast plate from Museo de Armeríade Álava. At the same time the set from Museo del Ejército of Toledo attribution that is given at the official museum site as the armour of Mexican Indian chief of the Conquest period is considered to be absolutely incorrect by the author of the article. Because iron as the material for local metallurgical industry of the period was simple unknown and unavailable for metalwork. The attribution of the second set from The Metropolitan Museum of Art that is given at the official museum site seams much more probable. The American specialists attribute it as Chinese and date 18tht c. Based on it the author comes to the conclusion that the breast plate from Museo de Armería de Álava has nothing to European Medieval period and can be attributed as Chinese ceremonial armour set of 18th c.

Factors influencing the use of introduced black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) for slope stabilization in post-war South Korea

Following Japanese Imperial occupation of Korea and the Korean War, South Korea's forests faced substantial decline due to bombing and shelling, illegal logging, and overharvesting of trees and non-timer forest products. Around rural communities, fuel scarcity over the course of 20th century conflict caused fuel deprivation. Reforestation attempts following the Korean War saw the use of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), an introduced species native to the United States which would eventually become invasive to South Korea. This study used an elite interview and archival research to determine why the United States became a vocal proponent of black locust in reforestation campaigns. Archival documents highlight the issues following denudation of South Korea's forested mountains, including changes in flood frequency and severity. Eroded soils and sands caused changes to streambanks and riverbanks, resulting in geomorphic failure. The erosion and flooding issues provide context for the need for reforestation. While American involvement in reforestation is evident from the archival documents, it is clear that the use of black locust initially occurred prior to the arrival of American specialists and advisors. This case study highlights the impacts of fuel scarcity on post-war recovery of ecosystems, and the importance of socioeconomic factors in the study of warfare ecology.

A “Well-Loaded” Question: Pakistanis, Black Diplomacy, and Afro-Asian Anticolonialism

At 5:30 in the evening of March 4, 1959, Dr. John Reuben Sheeler stood in front of the Karachi Press Club and delivered a lecture titled, “The American Negro Today.”1 Sheeler told the audience of thirty-five Pakistani press corps members that despite a long history of disfranchisement and lynching in the U.S. South, World War II was a turning point in according African Americans greater rights.2 One of the journalists retorted, “Is the Negro American aware that he does not have to continue toleration of white man’s injustices, that by color he need [no] longer be a scared minority?”3 Marking the occasion of the sesquicentennial celebration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s birth, Sheeler’s task as professor and cultural ambassador was to teach the history of African Americans, Lincoln, and U.S. race relations.4 The U.S. State Department authorized Sheeler to serve as an American Specialist, with a broader diplomatic purpose of “develop[ing] understanding between nations, especially between America and other countries.”5 Professor Sheeler embarked on a lecture tour of Scandinavia and South Asia from January 26 to May 1, 1959.6 He traveled to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden but his tour commenced in an entirely different place: Dacca, East Pakistan.7 Sheeler remained in East and West Pakistan for a total of six weeks in February and March, delivering twenty-eight lectures about African American life and the evolving civil rights struggle.8 He also met with ten discussion groups, held six newspaper interviews, and convened privately with individuals and small groups throughout Pakistan.9

A Latin American consensus meeting on the essentials of mixed pain

Objectives The term “mixed pain” has been established when a mixture of different pain components (e.g. nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic) are present. It has gained more and more acceptance amongst pain experts worldwide, but many questions around the concept of mixed pain are still unsolved. The sensation of pain is very personal. Cultural, social, personal experiences, idiomatic, and taxonomic differences should be taken into account during pain assessment. Therefore, a Latin American consensus committee was formed to further elaborate the essentials of mixed pain, focusing on the specific characteristics of the Latin American population. Methods The current approach was based on a systematic literature search and review carried out in Medline. Eight topics about the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of mixed pain were discussed and voted for by a Latin American consensus committee and recommendations were expressed. Results At the end of the meeting a total of 14 voting sheets were collected. The full consensus was obtained for 21 of 25 recommendations (15 strong agreement and 6 unanimous agreement) formulated for the above described 8 topics (7 of the 8 topics had for all questions at least a strong agreement − 1 topic had no agreement for all 4 questions). Conclusion In a subject as complex as mixed pain, a consensus has been reached among Latin American specialists on points related to the definition and essence of this pain, its diagnosis and treatment. Recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of mixed pain in Latin America were raised.

Codex Sierra: A Nahuatl-Mixtec Book of Accounts from Colonial Mexico

Codex Sierra: A Nahuatl-Mixtec Book of Accounts from Colonial Mexico

Latin American Studies and the Cold War

Latin American Studies and the Cold War

Study of the possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture and for environmental protection

It is generally accepted that UAVs - unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones, are used only for military purposes. This is a misconception: since the 60s of the last century, Russian and American specialists have been building unmanned UAVs not only for the armies of their countries, but also for peaceful purposes. The purpose of the article is to study the possibilities and progress in the development of drones for civil and needs. In preparing and writing the article, such research methods as general scientific methods of historical and logical, abstract and concrete, analysis and synthesis, comparisons and analogies were used. The main result of the study is the conclusion that unmanned aerial vehicles can be successfully used for civilian purposes, and not just for military purposes. Drones are now actively used for agricultural and environmental purposes. They are called “eco-drones”. They are no different from ordinary ones; the prefix is designed to emphasize their purely peaceful, scientific purpose.

SPIRULINA - GIFT OF THE GODS

We have dedicated this article to one of the vital algae spirulina. While writing this article, we found that spirulina is one of the important products of which is used in the fields of manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food purposes and others. And we also studied clinical studies conducted by American specialists, obesity, zinc deficiency, alcoholism, depression, aging symptoms and schizophrenia can also be associated with a deficiency of gamma-linolenic acid contained in spirulina. As a result of the collected information, we compiled a table. We studied the role in nature and in human life.

Soviet metallurgy in the eyes of American metallurgists: the second half of the 1950s. Metallurgical education – comparative analysis

The article reveals one small page from the history of development of metallurgical science and technology in the Soviet Union. We describe the establishment of scientific contacts between American and Soviet metallurgical scientists in the second half of the 1950s. The successes of the USSR in the space race demonstrated to the Western countries the real scientific and economic power of the country, showing the unconstructiveness of the policy of isolation and the benefits of economic cooperation. American specialists discovered the high level of development of metallurgical science and technology in the USSR. Ural Polytechnical Institute (UPI) was one of those universities visited by American guests. This article is devoted to this page of the history; it is a continuation of the authors’ material published earlier.

Soviet Metallurgy in the Eyes of American Metallurgists: Second Half of the 1950s. Metallurgical Education—Comparative Analysis

The paper reveals a small chapter of the history of the development of metallurgical science and technology in the Soviet Union. The point at issue is the development of scientific contacts between the American and Soviet metallurgical scientists in the second half of the 1950s. The successes of the USSR in the space race had demonstrated to the Western countries the real scientific and economic power of the country and thus shown both the unconstructiveness of the policy of isolation and the benefits of economic cooperation. The high level of development of metallurgical science and technology in the USSR had thus surprised the American specialists. The Ural Polytechnic Institute was one of those universities visited by the American guests. This paper is devoted to this chapter of history and continues the material published earlier.

Современные исследования философии Владимира Соловьева: Томас Немет

The article examines the research of Thomas Nemeth, the largest modern American specialist in the history of Russian philosophy, related to the reception of Kantian philosophy, phenomenology in Russia, as well as the work of V.S. Solovyov. Russian philosophy has historically been characterized by a weak interest in epistemological problems, which affected the ways of development of “Kantian studies” in Russia: the perception of the ideas of the German thinker was set by ethical and ontological perspectives, which led, among other things, to the fact that the so-called ontological turn, having started in German neo-Kantianism in the last quarter of the XIX – first quarter of the XX centuries, was largely consonant with Russian philosophy of the beginning of the last century. It is concluded that the key role in such a perception of Kantian philosophy was played by the early Vl. Solovyov. The article T. Nemeth's interpretation of Solovyov's legacy is critically comprehended as an evidence of the failure of the philosophical project proper, the author's thesis about the inherent “ontological error” of V. Solovyov's philosophy, allegedly not allowing the Russian philosopher, with all the depth of the formulation of philosophical problems, to develop ways to resolve them properly, is analyzed. The conclusion is made that trying to comprehend the Russian philosophical tradition as a whole, Nemeth continues, albeit with a number of reservations, the line of its humanistic interpretation. The new English translation of “The Justification of Good”, made by T. Nemeth, is compared with the previous translation made by N. Duddington, being widely used in the English-speaking world. The conclusion is made about the comparative advantages of the new translation.

Анализ и оценка эффективности региональных инновационных систем США

The study is based on methods of analysis and subsequent assessment of the effectiveness of regional innovation systems operating at the US state level, used by both Russian and English and American specialists. Based on statistical data and the results of previously published works by the author, revealing the empirical essence of the spatially heterogeneous innovation activity of the United States, characterized by the corresponding indices and integral indicators, an assessment of the effectiveness of regional innovation systems of each US state is given. Based on the results of the analysis using a number of methodological categories, carried out in the context of the country’s subregions, the author put forward some provisions justifying the spatial heterogeneity and unevenness of the development of US innovation activities in 2015–2019 from the standpoint of assessing the effectiveness of regional systems. The undertaken hierarchical clustering of regional innovation systems reflects a five-member diversity that characterizes, first of all, inventive efficiency in the spatial context of the United States, which takes various options depending on the qualitative characteristics of the scale and boundaries of various factors of innovation activity.

КИТАЙСКИЙ СТИЛЬ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ: КРОСС-КУЛЬТУРНАЯ ИНТЕГРАЦИЯ

Chinese business has been developing successfully despite the difficulties associated with the pandemic. Last but not least, this success is associated with the formation of an effective synthesis of cross-cultural platforms of corporate culture and modern Western management systems in Chinese companies. The article examines the influence of traditional values on the management of modern Chinese enterprises. This influence is characterized as a ‘projection of the provisions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism upon corporate culture. Projections coexist, intertwine and integrate with Western approaches to management. As a result, cross-cultural constructs are emerging that allow Chinese companies to combine both traditional Chinese and Western values, which opens the way to effective management and rapid cross-border expansion of activities. To substantiate this understanding of the modern Chinese management style, the article analyzes the activities of Alibaba Group. The analysis shows that in the latest official reports, the company declares values that are projections of the provisions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. At the same time, the concept of the «strategy core» is also included in the values, referring to the internationally widely recognized Balanced Scorecard (BSC) strategic management system developed by American specialists R. Kaplan and D. Norton. This paved the way for the practical application of BSC in Alibaba Group, which turned out to be very successful. The experience of the Chinese e-commerce giant deserves to be studied in connection with the increased importance of Russian-Chinese business cooperation for Russia in modern conditions. The problem of coincidences and discrepancies of values of different cultures should be explored more systematically in order to activate the above-mentioned cooperation.

American and Jewish Art Historians in Correspondence With Prof. C. Petranu (1893-1945)

"American and Jewish Art Historians in Correspondence with Prof. C. Petranu (1893-1945). This article is part of the correspondence Prof. C. Petranu, founder of the education and scientific research in the field of art history in Transylvania and at King Ferdinand University of Cluj, conducted with prestigious American fellow specialists, professors, researchers, museographers, directors of publishing houses and magazines in this field. Among Prof. Petranu’s most frequent correspondents we can mention fellow specialists and researchers residing in the United States of America, as well as in many other European countries such as Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Germany , Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain and England, and even Africa (Egypt). The collection of letters seems to depict a genuine story of the evolution and stage of development of art history in the interwar period. Keywords: American correspondence, American and Jewish fellows, John Shapley, A.Ph. MacMahon, Helen Mason, Alfred Salamony, Trygve Barth. "

Interpretation of Sense/Meaning in the Communicative Field

The past century has shown the conversion of a so-called anthropological turn which began with works of Franz Brentano, into a linguistic turn (Richard Rorty’s term). The philosophy of language took the place of what once had been classical theory of cognition. It has become either a kind of epistemology, or analytical philosophy, or even a general theory of knowledge called in Greece, Germany and Russia gnoseology (from Greek: gnosis - knowledge).
 It is necessary to make some clarifications in understanding the current intellectual situation in the field of communication theory.
 Communication is a term containing a root morpheme ‘uni’ with the meaning of “one”, “unity”. For our purposes, the English word “conversation” is more suitable because, denoting a talk, it actually has the primary existential meaning of “living together”. Developing this topic, we can rely on the classic research in the field of theory and practice of communication conducted over several decades by the American specialist in the field of social psychology Deborah Tannen.

Degree of concordance on the management of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. A study among specialists that are members of the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Neurogastroenterología (SLNG)

Introduction and aimsDue to its different clinical manifestations, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) requires diverse diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the degree of agreement among Latin American specialists, with respect to the management of GERD. Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey with 42 statements (22 related to diagnosis and 20 to treatment) applied to 56 specialists from Latin America. There were 4 possible statement responses: in complete agreement, in partial agreement, in partial disagreement, and in complete disagreement. Reproducibility, level of agreement, and concordance were measured through the Kappa statistic. ResultsThe response rate was 81% (47/56). General concordance was low, given that there was complete concordance in only 12 statements (28.6%). There was partial concordance in 22 statements (52.4%) and no concordance in 8 (19%). The following themes had the most disagreement: the performance of endoscopy before beginning treatment, the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in patients with extraesophageal symptoms and with no typical symptoms, and the combined use of PPIs and prokinetics. ConclusionsIn the present study, we found that there was agreement among the Latin American specialists for the diagnosis and management of GERD in less than one-third of the recommendations considered standard. The low concordance could be related to the fact that the availability of diagnostic tools and medications, as well as the prevalence of GERD phenotypes, is different in each country.

East asian studies in latin america and its potential contributions for an improved inter-regional business understanding

East Asia is today one of the most powerful regions worldwide in terms of innovation, economic and industrial growth. And as such, it has taken its business models, industrial processes, and technology to Latin America, notoriously increasing economic relations. However, Latin American countries have been mostly on the recipient side, perhaps because there is a limited understanding of their Asian counterparts. East Asian Studies provide important knowledge for Latin American specialists on economics and business, improving Latin American business theory, models, and economic relations between regions. Following Michel Foucault’s ideas about the archeological method to understand the context in which a discipline is born, this article follows documentary research and summarizes the similarities and differences between the economic contexts of these regions at the beginning of the Cold War and at the beginning of the 21st century to establish the relevance for understanding East Asian economic and business models. Then, it reconstructs the development of East Asian Studies as an academic area worldwide and its standing in Latin America, highlighting how the political and economic context has influenced its emergence and topics of research. Finally, it reflects on the contributions that can reciprocally be made between the East Asian studies in Latin America and a Latin American School of Business Thought.

Grado de acuerdo en el manejo de pacientes con enfermedad por reflujo gastroesofágico. Un estudio entre especialistas miembros de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Neurogastroenterología (SLNG)

Introduction and aimsDue to its different clinical manifestations, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) requires diverse diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the degree of agreement among Latin American specialists, with respect to the management of GERD. Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted through a survey with 42 statements (22 related to diagnosis and 20 to treatment) applied to 56 specialists from Latin America. There were 4 possible statement responses: in complete agreement, in partial agreement, in partial disagreement, and in complete disagreement. Reproducibility, level of agreement, and concordance were measured through the Kappa statistic. ResultsThe response rate was 81% (47/56). General concordance was low, given that there was complete agreemen in only 12 statements (28.6%). There was partial agreement in 22 statements (52.4%) and no agreement in 8 (19%). The following themes had the most disagreement: the performance of endoscopy before beginning treatment, the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in patients with extraesophageal symptoms and with no typical symptoms, and the combined use of PPIs and prokinetics. ConclusionsIn the present study, we found that there was agreement among the Latin American specialists for the diagnosis and management of GERD in less than one-third of the recommendations considered standard. The low concordance could be related to the fact that the availability of diagnostic tools and medications, as well as the prevalence of GERD phenotypes, is different in each country.