Autonomous University Research Articles

Fusarium verticillioides Causing Root and Stem Rot in Papaya (Carica papaya) in Mexico.

Mexico is the fifth largest producer of papaya in the world with an estimated production of 1, 134, 753 metric tons per year (FAOSTAT 2022). In February 2022, in the center zone of Sinaloa State (Mexico), in a seedling-producing greenhouse, papaya seedlings were observed with an incidence (20%) of root and stem rot and necrotic tissue. Symptomatic tissues were collected from 10 papaya plants, which were cut into small pieces and surface sterilized sequentially with 70% alcohol for 20 s and 1% sodium hypochlorite for 2 min, dried, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA), and incubated at 26°C in darkness for 5 days. Typical Fusarium spp. colonies were obtained from all root samples. Ten pure cultures were obtained by single-spore culturing and morphologically characterized on PDA and carnation leaf agar (CLA) media. On PDA, the colonies produced abundant white aerial mycelium, and the center of old cultures was yellow pigmentation (Leslie and Summerell 2006). From 10-day-old cultures grown on CLA medium, macroconidia were slightly curved, which showed zero to three septa, with some slightly sharp apices, and basal cells with notches, the measurements were from 22.53 to 48.94 x 6.9 to 13.73 µm (n= 50). The microconidia were presented in abundant chains of microconidia. The microconidia presented thin walls, oval and hyaline in shape, forming long chains, measuring 10.4 to 14.25 x 2.4 to 6.8 µm (n= 50). Chlamydospores were not observed. The translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1-α) gene (O'Donnell et al. 1998) was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and sequenced from isolate FVTPPYCULSIN (GenBank accession no. OM966892). Maximum likelihood analysis was carried out using the EF1-α sequence (OM966892) and other species from the genus Fusarium. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolate was Fusarium verticillioides (100% bootstrap). Furthermore, the isolate FVTPPYCULSIN was 100 % similar with other reported Fusarium verticillioides sequence (GenBank accession nos. MN657268) (Dharanendra et al. 2019). Pathogenicity tests were performed on 60-day-old papaya plants (cultivar Maradol) grown on autoclaved sandy loam soil mix. Ten plants per isolate (n = 10) were inoculated by drenching with 20 ml of a conidial suspension (1 × 105 CFU/ml) of each isolate per plant. The suspension was obtained by collecting the spores of each isolate grown on PDA with 10 ml of an isotonic saline solution. Ten noninoculated plants served as controls. Plants were maintained for 60 days under greenhouse conditions (25 to 30°C). The assay was conducted twice. Root and stem rot similar to that observed on the infected plants in the greenhouse was observed on the papaya plants. No symptoms were observed on noninoculated control plants after 60 days. The pathogen was reisolated from the necrotic tissue from all inoculated plants and was identified again as Fusarium verticillioides by sequencing the partial EF1-α gene again and based on its morphological characteristics, genetic analysis, and pathogenicity test, fulfilling Koch's postulates. The molecular identification was confirmed via BLAST on the Fusarium ID and Fusarium MLST databases. The isolate FVTPPYCULSIN was deposited in the fungal collection of the Faculty of Agronomy of the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. To our knowledge, this is the first report of root and stem rot of papaya caused by F. verticillioides. Papaya is an important fruit crop in Mexico, and the occurrence of this disease needs to be taken into account in papaya production.

Book review: Arturo Oropeza García and Evi Fitriani [Coordinators]. The Role of The Southeast Asian Nations and the New Global Order. Mexico: Institute for Legal Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2022

Book review: Arturo Oropeza García and Evi Fitriani [Coordinators]. The Role of The Southeast Asian Nations and the New Global Order. Mexico: Institute for Legal Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico, 2022

Neoliberal reform discourse in Egyptian higher education

The global neoliberal discourse on Higher Education (HE) reform has become dominant in both the developed and developing worlds. The paper tackles the Egyptian HE reforms that have been produced in line with the global neoliberal discourse through the World Bank’s (WB) funded reform projects. Through Foucauldian discourse and genealogical analysis, the study questioned, troubled, and de-naturalized the inevitability and persistence of the neoliberal discourse in Egyptian HE. Far from being deterministic and rational, the process of transfer of the global neoliberal discourse to Egyptian HE was embedded in the interaction of a number of discursive and structural selectivities as captured by the Strategic Relational Approach. On one hand, privatization, cost-sharing strategies, and quality assurance systems constituted the major policy reforms produced by the neoliberal discourse. On the other hand academic freedoms, university autonomy, and equitable access to HE have been discursively disallowed, de-problematized and excluded. The 25th of January revolution represented a discontinuity that threatened the collapse of the neoliberal discourse while the crushing of the revolution perpetuated and reinforced the neoliberal discourse reflecting a mutual relationship between neoliberal and authoritarian discourses and governmentalities.

Internationalization towards fostering school culture of quality: Practices and perceived impact

Across the globe, internationalization has influenced the emphasis of educational institutions on international engagement and standardization aligned with global competencies. As Philippine higher education also aimed for internationalization, many universities were tasked to enhance their quality assurance framework by ensuring sound graduate mobility and strong international linkages. With these changes in education, this current study tried to identify existing internationalization practices and their perceived impact in three selected autonomous universities in the country. This study determined how these practices generated an educational paradigm shift toward a culture of quality through internationalization. Employing a qualitative-descriptive approach, structured online interviews were conducted with selected participants (n=14) closely associated with internationalization policies and initiatives in their respective universities. Based on a thematic analysis, the participants identified strategies involving incentivizing and strengthening of international linkages as effective practices for internationalization. Additionally, participants explained how these practices not only enhanced their skills but also enabled them to have international recognition. The findings provided grounding and insights on how to achieve a culture of quality through internationalization.

Chemical Composition of Wet Atmospheric Deposition in a Natural Urban Reserve, Conservation of Green Urban Areas: a Mexico City Case Study

Green areas are essential for life in cities and for the conservation of ecosystem services in the case of megacities such as Mexico City. Green areas mitigate air pollution, reduce the temperature, and promote infiltration to feed the aquifers that, in the case of Mexico City, supply 68% of the water. Additionally, food production and recreational usage are important for the population. In the years 2017 and 2018, the chemical composition of wet deposition in the southern part of Mexico City was analyzed, daily and weekly. The study area is located in the greenest part of Mexico City, an important site for water recharge and carbon sequestration. Mexico City, like other megacities of high- and low-income countries, faces serious problems of air pollution. The purpose of this study was to measure the amount of total nitrogen and sulfur that is available in a natural reserve located inside the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and conductivity, pH, rain volume, and anions and cations were analyzed as well. Eighteen months of data were analyzed in order to understand the atmospheric deposition in and anthropogenic influence on an urban green natural area from the southern part of the city. Although both stations are less than 2 km apart, there are significant differences in their chemical composition; however, no differences were found for precipitation and pH, indicating that each station provides a local contribution, depending on local events and sources. Samples included rain events match for both sampling sites, with 67% of the samples in the same rain event match. Nonetheless, when only volume is compared for each year, both tests showed no significant difference (pv = 0.520). Throughout the year, various rainfall rates occur at the CU-CCA and REPSA stations, and the rainy season presents during the May–October period; the median value registered for both monitoring stations was 780 mL, and maximal rainfall was 4780 mL presenting at the CU-CCA station.

Ce que nous faisons, et ce que l'on nous fait. Les luttes politiques universitaires

In France, successive Ministers of the Interior systematically come to the defense of the police. By contrast, their colleagues in Higher Education and Research don't hesitate to join in attacks on academics. This is how Frédérique Vidal ended up in 2021 echoing the polemics launched the year before by the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and then by the Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer. However, the campaign against “Islamo-leftism” was preceded by other offensives against higher education and research: university autonomy was thus challenged … in the name of autonomy. As the reforms have progressed, higher education and research have been subjected to an authoritarian neoliberal regime, under the leadership of managers rather than colleagues, in a logic of competition that is supposed to guarantee excellence at the service of the economy. Just like a company, isn't the CNRS run by a CEO? Today, the takeover of ESR is inseparably ideological and economic. Thus, the increase in university fees for non-Europeans has used xenophobia to promote a neoliberal conception of studies. The threats to the academic world cannot be understood without articulating these distinct but intertwined logics. How can we tell the story of the attacks we are suffering, without erasing the struggles we are waging? For there is a great risk, in taking power as the object, of underestimating the role of counterpower that academics can still play in a country that is heir to a tradition of the “intellectual” as a figure of commitment. On the one hand, the multiple offensives of successive governments, whether directed at university policy or academics, have met with considerable resistance. Far from being reduced to inaction, the academic world is mobilizing strongly. But it's not just a question of reaction. On the other hand, the governmental campaigns themselves must be understood as forms of reaction against the politicization of academics: far from being passive victims, they play an active role. This is precisely the reason why ministers try to bring them into line: in France, the university is not isolated from society, as a campus can be. Critical knowledge circulates with social movements. In other words, campaigns targeting the academic world are proof that it is not without political importance. It's a form of recognition of the role it plays and can play. Anti-university politics today can be understood as a game of action and dreaction.

THE ANALYSIS OF BUYING INTENTION OF GENERATION Z CONSUMERS

Facing a period of adaptation to new habits, people will face many unfamiliar situations. Moreover, as consumers, people will be more thoughtful and detailed in making their choices on a product. Management must exercise greater caution when formulating a competitive strategy during habitual change if a company wants to keep and grow its customer base. This research aims to answer the question, "To what extent does knowledge sharing affect the use of social media and learning models in response to the goals of autonomous learning and autonomous universities?" we investigate the interplay of our study's components. Customers who have expressed an interest in purchasing an SME product will be surveyed using questionnaires. Purposive sampling with incidental sampling was used to administer the questionnaire to college and university students. 148 participants have been collected, and a research model structure is implemented in Partial Least Square analysis using SmartPLS software. Previous studies have shown no positive effect of the brand equity variable on consumers' propensity to purchase products from SMEs. The results show that the correlation of brand awareness of MSME products to brand equity is strongly influenced by brand awareness of MSME products which is given consistently on social media.

სამეწარმეო ეკოსისტემა - ცნებიდან პოლიტიკამდე (ლიტერატურის მოკლე მიმოხილვა)

In order to achieve sustainable development of the country's economy, it is especially important to promote entrepreneurial activities by developing and implementing strategic state policies. Economic growth and progress is achieved by the development of production. In order to develop an effective entrepreneurial policy, it is necessary to study the definitions of terms. The understanding of the meaning of "entrepreneurial ecosystem" as a term is diverse and it has undergone changes over time. In order to understand its modern content, it is necessary to analyze the appropriate scientific literature. In general, entrepreneurship involves the process by which people take advantage of innovative opportunities. The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem emphasizes that entrepreneurial processes take place among interdependent actors (Stam, 2015: 1761). In short, in this case, the term "ecosystem" should be understood as "economic system" and not as "ecological system". Later, Angelo Cavallo, along with other scientists, focused again on the biological definition of an ecosystem (Cavallo… 2018: 10). The term "entrepreneurial ecosystem" was first used in 2005-2006 by scholars Prahalad and Cohen to describe conditions where individuals, business representatives, government members, civil society and partners come together to support regional entrepreneurial activities that provide economic prosperity (Cohen, 2006: 3). The concept of entrepreneurial ecosystems is considered a promising field of research that promotes interconnected entrepreneurial activities (at different levels of analysis) and includes a wide variety of stakeholders and actors in the market (Simatupang... 2015: 394). The entrepreneurial ecosystem approach starts with the entrepreneurial individual (rather than the firm) but also emphasizes the role of the social and economic context surrounding the entrepreneurial process (Spigel… 2018: 3). Predecessors of entrepreneurial ecosystem researchers have different emphases in this direction, although common approaches and research conclusions can be seen between them. Even today, when there is a scientific study of such a complex issue as the entrepreneurial ecosystem, certain problems arise in the research process. According to various scholars, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem should be developed in three directions: first, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem and related empirical studies remained only at the theoretical level. Second, little is still known about which interplay of factors at different levels of analysis leads to the desired outcomes of economic development. Third, there is still a substantial, conceptual disagreement about what the desired outcome of an entrepreneurial ecosystem is and how to achieve that outcome (Simatupang... 2015: 389-390). It should be noted that the entrepreneurial ecosystem model is evolving. Therefore, it is clear that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is a very complex, multi-level "construction". At the regional level, it involves various stakeholders such as non-political decision-makers, government agencies, universities and industry associations. In the modern period, the entrepreneurial ecosystem is more and more in the focus of politics, but the impact of the ecosystem phenomenon on policy formation is still only theoretical (Autio... 2015: 1). At the same time, entrepreneurship and its role in the world economic order have a special role. Various scientists talk about the essential role of higher education and universities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. For example, Eric Lehmann and other scientists identify higher educational institutions as the main component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, however, they consider university autonomy as a necessary condition for this (Lehmann... 2020: 3). In essence, the term "entrepreneurial-university ecosystem" refers to the idea that universities act as entrepreneurs and contribute to the development of the regional and national economy. An entrepreneurial university involves expanding the traditional role of the university. In this way, for the formation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, public and private sector communication is of great importance to promote an effective dialogue between educational, scientific, business and local government representatives. Based on the above, the concept of entrepreneurial ecosystem can be considered as a promising direction of research. The study of entrepreneurial ecosystems around the world has an important place in the process of policy formation. We definitely believe that practical recommendations should be developed in Georgia in the direction of the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem according to the priority sectors of the country's economy. Entrepreneurial universities play an important role in the sustainable development of the country's economy, commercialization of knowledge and activation of other positive processes of entrepreneurial activity. However, we should not forget that for the formation of such universities and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in general, only the desire and the verification of the research results of scientists will not be enough. Many enabling environments and factors are necessary to ensure this, including: social, cultural, political, economic and regional factors. As complex as the concept of an entrepreneurial ecosystem, including an entrepreneurial university, the readiness of many components is necessary for its effective formation.

Unidad de microscopía de la Facultad de Medicina

The development of microscopy has allowed mankind to explore what is hidden to the naked eye and has revolutionized the way scientific and medical research is carried out. In the field of medicine, microscopy has become an indispensable tool for the timely diagnosis of diseases, as well as to demonstrate processes at the cellular and subcellular level using new drugs, among many other applications. The Microscopy Unit of the Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UMIC-FM) makes available to the scientific and academic community its specialized technology and advanced microscopy equipment to contribute to the growth and development of scientific, educational and diagnostic activities for the benefit of society. Keywords: Core facilities; advanced microscopy;pathological diagnostics; biomedicine

Cambios en la evaluación en la Facultad de Medicina: sistema Integral de Aplicación de Exámenes

Paper-based testing has been the traditional model for decades in educational institutions. However, in recent years, there has been a gradual shift towards online testing, with greater adaptation to the use of digital tolos to administer exams. This change has the potential to transform the assessment process in higher education. The Faculty of Medicine of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has experienced a remarkable evolution over time in educational assessment. The transition to electronic testing has allowed for greater efficiency in the application and grading of exams, with an increase in security and quality, and in a complementary way, provides students and professors with effective feedback. Keywords: Evaluation; test application system; digital tools; computer-based tests; feedback.

Indigenous heritage as an educational resource in primary education

ABSTRACT This paper is the result of an inter-university educational innovation project developed between the University of La Laguna (Spain) and the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico). Students from both institutions, studying at the equivalent level to become future primary education teachers, analysed the way in which primary school textbooks approach the topic of heritage in the Canary Islands and in Mexico. Flipped classrooms and project-based learning were the main teaching methodologies, culminating in a final assignment: a written report by students. The results enable us to re-evaluate the knowledge transmitted through textbooks in the light of this history, and their facilitation in teaching and learning processes, with attention to their epistemological biases. Several topics were highlighted as core concerns in the use of textbooks for teaching heritage: the need to question the role of the textbook in the teaching process, and the importance of Indigenous heritage when teaching and holistic concept of heritage. In outlining the inter-university teaching project, the article also shows how the analysis of textbooks in both contexts, and their subsequent comparison, has made possible a reformulation of how students of education in the Canary Islands and Mexico are taught to teach history.

Higher Education as a Space for Forming the Values of United Europe

The research is focused on the role of higher education in the development of European values among applicants for higher education, in particular the role of international projects that contribute to active European citizenship and spread the fundamental values of the European Union. The article uses the method of modeling and substantiation of the model of the development of European values among future PhDs during a Jean Monnet Module of the Erasmus+ program called “University autonomy in the development of democratic values in higher education: The experience of the EU Member states for Ukraine” at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University. The model contains four structural blocks that specify the goal, tasks, methodological approaches, principles, content of structural components, forms, methods, means, stages, functions, pedagogical conditions, and expected results. The study is aimed at developing European values in graduate students as young scientists and teachers of higher education institutions – who will become agents of qualitative changes and help establish the principles of democracy in the academic community – and deepening European integration. The results of the study are presented in the broad public discourse of Ukraine, confirmed by the data of sociological studies on European integration in Ukrainian citizens’ value orientations, accelerated by the large-scale russian military invasion of Ukraine. Since sociological studies indicate a certain fragmentation of European values instead of an integral whole in the perception of the respondents, we believe that institutions of higher education themselves are an important element that builds the state and society on the basis of European values and that international projects implemented at universities contribute to the European integration of Ukraine and the formation of the values of a united Europe in young citizens.

«Философский пароход»: о парадигме С.С. Хоружего

The article analyzes the speech of S.S. Khoruzhy, published in 1990 in the “Literaturnaya Gazeta” under the title “Philosophical Steamer. How it was”. The metaphor he found has become popular and is actively used by modern critics of Soviet history. in 1922, S.S. Khoruzhy presented the expulsion of a group of Moscow and St. Petersburg intellectuals, among whom there were 13 philosophers, sociologists and jurists, as a spiritual catastrophe of Russia and even as the “end of Russian philosophy”. On the contrary, in the proposed article, this event is assessed as only a political action aimed at excluding from the public life of Soviet Russia all those who remained in the same unscientific ideological positions, defended the bourgeois values of university autonomy and freedom of speech, stating this in public speeches not understanding the new socio-political reality. The article emphasizes that the value confrontation in the public consciousness of Soviet Russia could turn into a political confrontation, which could threaten the country and the authorities with a new round of civil war. A parallel is drawn between the state of public consciousness of Soviet Russia in the 20s and the USSR in the 80s – early 90s of the twentieth century, when “glasnost” and “perestroika” became the beginning of the death of the USSR. The article challenges the thesis of S.S. Khoruzhy about the “end of philosophy” in Russia. It is argued that the establishment of the monopoly position of Marxist materialism and the exclusion of any non-Marxist philosophy from cultural life was simply the beginning of a new stage of Russian philosophy, forced to develop in its prescribed theoretical form. Meanwhile, thinkers of the Russian diaspora noted the presence of positive heuristic possibilities in Soviet philosophy, but in the absence of a philosophical dialogue they could not fully develop. The transformation of philosophy in Soviet history reminds the author of the time of Peter the Great, when one of the directions of European philosophy was given state patronage and Russian philosophical thinking left behind “love of wisdom” as a passed stage.

First Report of Fusarium citri Causing Postharvest Fruit Rot of Chayote in Mexico.

In November 2018, symptoms of brown rot were observed on chayote (Sechium edule) var. nigrum spinosum with a 20% disease incidence of 120 harvested fruits in the National Germplasm Bank of Sechium edule, located in the Centro Regional Universitario Oriente (CRUO) from the Chapingo Autonomous University (Huatusco, Veracruz, Mexico). For fungal isolation, pieces from symptomatic fruits were surface disinfected by immersion in a 1.5% NaClO solution for 2 min, rinsed in sterile distilled water, placed in Petri plates containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) amended with kanamycin sulfate, and incubated at 25ºC. Fusarium-like colonies were consistently isolated on PDA and five monoconidial isolates were obtained. A representative isolate was selected for morphological characterization, phylogenetic analysis, and pathogenicity tests. On PDA, colonies exhibited white and fluffy aerial mycelia, with diffused pale brown pigment in the center at 7 days of incubation at 25℃ in darkness. Macroconidia (n= 100) were hyaline, falcate, with 4 to 5 septa, measuring 23.9 to 31.9 × 2.9 to 4.2 μm, and foot-shaped basal cells. Microconidia and chlamydospores were absent. Morphological features were consistent with the description of the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (Xia et al. 2019). The isolate was deposited as FUS2 in the Culture Collection of Phytopathogenic Fungi of the Laboratory of Plant Pathology at the Colegio de Postgraduados. For molecular identification, genomic DNA was extracted, and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, partial sequences of translation elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1-α), and the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2) genes were amplified, and sequenced with the primer sets ITS5/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), and RBP2-5F/RPB2-7R (Liu et al. 1999), respectively. DNA sequences were edited in BioEdit 7.2 and compared with those in the NCBI nucleotide database. Alignments were implemented in MEGA X using reference sequences from Fusarium spp. A phylogenetic tree, including published ITS, EF1-α, and rpb2 sequence data, was constructed for the Fusarium incarnatum-equiseti species complex (FIESC) based on Maximum Likelihood. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (accession nos. ON878083, ON890421, and ON890420). The phylogenetic analysis grouped the isolate FUS2 within the F. citri clade. Pathogenicity of the fungus was verified on 10 healthy chayote fruits var. nigrum spinosum previously disinfested by immersion in a 1% NaClO solution for 3 min and washed in sterile water. A total of 5 mL of a conidial suspension (1 × 106 spores/ml) was sprayed on each whole fruit. Ten control fruit were sprayed with sterile distilled water. The fruits were kept in a moist plastic chamber at 25°C and 12 h light/dark for 30 days. All inoculated fruits developed water-soaked brown lesions (3 to 5 cm in diameter) covered with white mycelium at 15 days after inoculation, whereas no symptoms were observed on the control fruits. The fungus was consistently re-isolated only from the diseased fruits and found to be morphologically identical to the isolate used for inoculation, fulfilling Koch´s postulates. Fusarium citri has been associated with Capsicum sp. and mandarin orange in China, Triticum sp. in Iran, alfalfa in Denmark, and lettuce in the Czech Republic and Italy (Farr and Rossman 2022). To our knowledge, this is the first report of F. citri causing postharvest fruit rot of chayote in Mexico and worldwide.

Participation of women in engineering and technology careers at the National Technological Institute of Mexico in the state of Oaxaca

This work presents an analysis of the participation of women in engineering and technology careers at the National Technological of Mexico, [Tecnológico Nacional de México] (TecNM) in Oaxaca, the state has eleven federal and two decentralized technological institutions. Statistical data was obtained from the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education [Asociación Nacional de Universidades e Instituciones de Educación Superior] (ANUIES) from the period 2010 to 2021. The careers of the following subareas were considered: "engineering, manufacturing and construction" and "Information and communication technologies". To determine the influence of TecNM, the State University System of Oaxaca [Sistema de Universidades Estatales de Oaxaca] (SUNEO), the Autonomous University of Oaxaca Benito Juárez [Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca] and other universities with fewer students, both public and private. It was found that even when the total of student enrollment has increased at the state level, the difference in student enrollment between men and women has not changed much over the years, as well as the participation of women by discipline. The TecNM has the greatest influence in the academic training of female engineers in the state of Oaxaca, while in the Technology area it keeps up with other institutions.

Students’ foundational understanding of chemical reaction in the forensic science bachelor’s degree program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico

ObjectiveTo compare the understanding of the concept of chemical reaction—as operationalized by Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive levels—of students in forensic science bachelor’s degree with that achieved by students majoring in chemistry, as a prerequisite for future professional collaboration and communication. Materials and methodsUsing previously validated and published tests developed to assess students’ knowledge, comprehension, and application of the concept of chemical reaction, we explored how conceptual understanding developed in students enrolled in (a) a forensic science degree program in a Mexican public university and in (b) chemistry undergraduate programs offered by the same university, and whether both groups achieved comparable attainment levels. Findings and implicationsDespite receiving considerably less chemical instruction, forensic science students achieved comparable levels of conceptual understanding of chemical reaction to those exhibited by chemistry students. This finding is encouraging because it might mean that future forensic scientists could graduate with a solid foundation of chemical knowledge. More research, particularly on the learning of other key concepts, will be needed to verify these initial findings.

Faculties' Performance Appraisal at Financially Autonomous Universities in Vietnam

Performance appraisal is the process of evaluating employee contributions to the organization over a period of time. For public universities, faculties' performance appraisal is not a simple matter because this activity involves many other important human resource management tasks. Feedback from performance appraisal will help faculties see how well they are doing when compared to the standards set by the university. In order to have a good performance evaluation system, it also depends a lot on the application, testing and adjustment to suit the actual situation at each school. On the basis of a survey of 345 faculties currently working at financially autonomous public universities in Vietnam, the article focused on understanding and exploiting the faculties' feelings about their performance appraisal, which universities were applying. From there, the article pointed out appropriate recommendations to further improve the faculties' performance appraisal. Keywords: Performance appraisal, faculties, public universities, financial autonomy, Vietnam

“There are so many ways to tell a story”: An Interview with Carlos Martínez Assad

In this interview, Carlos Martínez Assad reflects on his transition from a long career as an academic and historian to an author of fiction, as well as what it means to be Lebanese in Mexico. Before delving into the creative world of novels, Martínez Assad taught as a professor of sociology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). As a scholar, he has published prolifically (over twenty books and essays) and received numerous prestigious awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Medal of Historic Merit, and the Mexican National Prize of Arts and Sciences. His fiction draws heavily from his academic research into Lebanese Mexican history, and he acknowledges that although fiction grants the author artistic license, his goal is to write fictionalized accounts that are still as accurate as possible. His creative process, he states, is one of imagining how history might be duplicated, allowing for a new encounter with Lebanon, lived again with the family left behind.

Administrative and legal regulation in the field of providing educational services: best practices of foreign countries

The article is devoted to the study of foreign experience of administrative and legal regulation in the field of education. Today, administrative regulation abroad is much more developed than in Ukraine. The concept of «administrative service» does not exist there at all, but is called «public services», since their services are provided by the public sector. The regulation of the provision of administrative services in European countries is governed by special legal acts that prescribe the consistent procedure for the provision of such services. Western countries pay special attention to the quality of education, it is emphasized that its observance is very important, education instills basic values in a person and shapes the future lifestyle. In Ukraine, the development of education and its development is facilitated by the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which developed the Sustainable Development Goals back in 2017. The article discusses examples of ensuring the quality of education in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Austria and Germany in the field of accreditation, certification and quality of education. The work examines the experience of Germany regarding the control of educational institutions by employers, as well as their participation in attracting students to higher education. Methods and regulatory regulation of religious education are considered. It is proposed to investigate and consider in detail the possibilities to investigate and consider in detail the possibilities of borrowing into our education system. Attention is paid to autonomy in educational institutions not only at the highest management level, but also in the middle of the educational institution, that is, for example, autonomy in universities at the level of faculties. The experience of the USA regarding financing is considered. Most educational institutions give up funding for the opportunity to have independence in decision-making. An approach to the financial support of teachers should be learned from the experience of Japan. The PRC has a good practice in financing higher education institutions, where only those who rank highest in international rankings for scientific activity are financially encouraged. They also have special programs funded by the government to attract the best teachers and graduates.
 On the basis of a systematic study of this issue, it was suggested to investigate in more detail the positive achievements in the field of education and, if possible, to start introducing it into the national education system.

«Линия Уварова» vs «линия Магницкого»: идеологическая борьба в Министерстве народного просвещения в 1817–1821 годах и первая отставка С. С. Уварова

The article discusses the resignation of S. S. Uvarov from the post of trustee of the St. Petersburg educational district in 1821, a kind of fork in the history of the capital district, but also in the entire policy of education of the Alexander reign. Since the establishment of the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education in 1817 and the appointment of a trustee of Emperor A. N. Golitsyn, the composition and mode of operation of the expert body of the MNP — the Main Board of Schools — has changed. In it, active exposing activities were launched by new members of M. L. Magnitsky and D. P. Runich, who became the mainstay of Golitsyn, in essence, his personal experts. S. S. Uvarov fought for several years with the “Golitsyn party” for the preservation of the principles of school and university reform, laid down in the legislation of 1802–1804. The confrontation within the MNP, which determined for a decade the fate of not only the metropolitan university, but also the general course in the management of education, unfolded between the “Magnitsky line” and the “Uvarov line” and began as early as 1817 on the issue of the “second category” of the Main Pedagogical Institute, in which Uvarov intended to concentrate the training of elementary school teachers using the Lancaster method. The confrontation turned into open forms in 1819 on the issue of closing the Kazan University. In the second half of 1819, Uvarov's opponents blocked a constructive discussion in the GPU and the adoption of a special charter for St. Petersburg University. In 1820, the confrontation between the two parties was aggravated by the history of the prohibition of the book of Professor A. P. Kunitsyn “Natural Law” and the exclusion of the subject itself from the program not only of St. Petersburg, but also of other universities. Then the Noble boarding school at St. Petersburg University became the object of denunciation, which led to personnel changes, a change in the mode of education and a tightening of disciplinary supervision. Based on archival and published sources, a chronicle of the dramatic events of the turn of the 1810s–1820s is presented, when, as a result of ideological sabotage, M. L. Magnitsky and D. P. Runich, there is a change in the vector in the policy of education in the direction of fighting the principles developed in 1802-1804: the autonomy of universities, the European orientation in scientific and personnel policy, the selectivity and softness of the class framework in the school system.