Basis Of Empirical Data Research Articles

Industrial life cycle: relevance of national markets in the development of new industries for energy technologies \u2013 the case of wind energy

About 20 years ago Klepper (1997) has shown that the life cycle theory, initially introduced for products, can also be applied to the development of industries. The industries that were examined to establish this theory were marked by relatively stable market conditions that are typically driven by innovation. However, research on the transition of the energy system has shown that markets for new energy technologies are driven by political support. As yet an analysis of the industry life cycle of an industry which has developed under politically driven market conditions has not been conducted. Therefore this paper examines the development of the global wind energy industry and the relevance of national markets in a globalized world. The study is founded on a large empirical database. A comparative analysis of various international and national developments was conducted using descriptive statistical methods. The findings show that the global development derives from the sum of individual national developments. It reveals a strong influence of national markets on the development of their respective wind energy industry. Therefore these findings provide relevant insides for the political debate on market support mechanisms in wind energy.

Protein structure, a new constraint for glycosyltransferase specificity: Template‐like association between the glycoprotein surface on glycan structure

The multitude of glycans on any cell surface can appear homogeneous overall, but a more site‐specific perspective suggests some deliberate diversity. Many have argued that site‐specific microheterogeneity arises from the influence of protein structure on glycan synthesis, yet, the prevailing consensus is that glycan synthesis is non‐template driven. We examine the possibility that the diversity of site‐specific glycoprofiles is a result of the affinity for glycosyltransferases to various regions of that protein. In this study, we examine an empirical glycoprotein database containing evidence of site‐specific glycosylation events. Each glycan substructures was correlated to site‐specific protein structure features (e.g. secondary structure, proximal amino acids). By characterizing correlations between glycan substructures and local protein chemistry, we have produced a draft template which we have applied to further our understanding of the HIV envelope mannosylation, predict temporospatial changes in flu glycosylation, explain discrepancies in amino acid substitutions matrices, predict TAPBP dependence in HLA, and predict secretion rates. In an attempt to share our advance, we are currently predicting glycosylation throughout PDB and SWISSMOD and identifying mutations in ClinVar most likely to be glycan‐modulated. By determining occlusion of GTs on structurally annotated sites, we can learn about the structural specificities of these impactful proteins thereby increasing our capacity to understand and predict their behavior.Support or Funding InformationNIH 1 R21 HD088953, NNF10CC1016517

The impact of life cycle stage on firm acquisitions

PurposeThe purpose of the authors’ research study is to identify the impact of life cycle stage on firm acquisitions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a series of empirical databases to identify characteristics of acquirers and their targets. The authors then use logistic regressions and joint tests to identify significant differences between declining and non-declining acquirers.FindingsThe authors find that declining acquirers are more likely to pursue diversifying acquisitions and to pay for the acquisition with stock considerations. Acquisitions by declining acquirers result in positive abnormal returns initially, but post-acquisition returns are negative.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors’ primary limitation is their data, which only includes public acquirers and targets, and runs from January 1, 1988 to December 31, 2010.Practical implicationsThe authors’ research suggests that regulators, stakeholders and prospective stakeholders should consider the life cycle stage of an acquiring firm in setting expectations about motivations for and likely performance subsequent to the acquisition.Originality/valueThe authors’ paper is the first to consider the effect of firm life cycle stage on the motivation and subsequent success of an acquisition. Given the tremendous impact to shareholders of such significant transactions, understanding the acquisition process more completely is important to capital markets participants.

Why We Can No Longer Ignore Consecutive Disasters

AbstractIn recent decades, a striking number of countries have suffered from consecutive disasters: events whose impacts overlap both spatially and temporally, while recovery is still under way. The risk of consecutive disasters will increase due to growing exposure, the interconnectedness of human society, and the increased frequency and intensity of nontectonic hazard. This paper provides an overview of the different types of consecutive disasters, their causes, and impacts. The impacts can be distinctly different from disasters occurring in isolation (both spatially and temporally) from other disasters, noting that full isolation never occurs. We use existing empirical disaster databases to show the global probabilistic occurrence for selected hazard types. Current state‐of‐the art risk assessment models and their outputs do not allow for a thorough representation and analysis of consecutive disasters. This is mainly due to the many challenges that are introduced by addressing and combining hazards of different nature, and accounting for their interactions and dynamics. Disaster risk management needs to be more holistic and codesigned between researchers, policy makers, first responders, and companies.

A generalisable bottom-up methodology for deriving a residential stock model from large empirical databases

Average reference dwellings representing a predominant housing typology are defined in this work. Specifying such reference buildings is a prerequisite for (i) calculating cost-optimal energy performance requirements for buildings and building elements and (ii) ensuring valid calculations of national building energy consumption. In the EU, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating is an assessment of the energy consumption of a dwelling. The use of inappropriate default-values for the building envelope thermal transmittance coefficients (U-values) and standardised thermal bridging transmittance coefficients (Y-values) in the production of EPCs leads to an over-estimation of potential energy savings from interventions in the existing dwelling stock. A methodology is presented for the derivation of simplified default-free inputs to a bottom-up residential cost-optimality energy consumption model from an EPC dataset. 35 reference dwellings (RDs) are employed to appropriately characterise 406,918 dwellings. Use of these RDs enable quantification of (i) the energy saving potential of a predominant housing typology, (ii) the effect of default U-value and standardised Y-value use on the prebound effect in dwellings (iii) overall national building energy consumption.

Comment on “Zamariola et al. (2018), Interoceptive Accuracy Scores are Problematic: Evidence from Simple Bivariate Correlations”—The empirical data base, the conceptual reasoning and the analysis behind this statement are misconceived and do not support the authors’ conclusions

A recent paper by Zamariola and colleagues is widely cited as an authority on the invalidity of the Heartbeat Counting Task as a measure of interoceptive accuracy. Given the widespread interest in this field, it is essential that papers about methods are conceptually sound. However, only one of the authors’ four criticisms appears substantiated - that people count too few heartbeats. Their arguments about “simple bivariate correlations” and their finding that interoceptive accuracy and heart rate correlate, depend on ‘spurious correlations’ arising from the overlooked point that interoceptive accuracy is a ratio. Moreover, scrutiny of the authors’ data shows that their fourth criticism (that interoceptive accuracy is lower on longer trials) is confounded by differences in mean heart rate between trials. We present data from our own labs to refute it. We draw the authors’ and editors’ attention to these issues and trust that they will reconsider these erroneous conclusions.

Urban Environment as a Result of the Interaction of Social Groups (on the Example of Vernacular Districts of the City of Khabarovsk)

In the course of the study, an analysis of preferences of Khabarovsk regarding living, working, leisure activities in different parts of the city of Khabarovsk was carried out. Two methods of delimiting urban space have been used - the division into administrative urban areas with clear boundaries and the separation from the urban space of vernacular (mental) districts with conditional boundaries.On the basis of empirical data obtained during a sociological survey of residents of the city of Khabarovsk, revealed the peculiarities of the concentration of the population in the administrative urban areas.Vernacular regionalization as an element of the research allowed to form a map-scheme of Khabarovsk locations and to draw up a graph of preferences of Khabarovsk citizens regarding the most semiotic urban locations.

Competitive Integrated Employment for Youth and Adults with Autism: Findings from a Scoping Review.

A scoping review was conducted to map existing literature on effective interventions for competitive employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Empirical database searches were conducted. A filter for level of methodological rigor was implemented. A total of 25 articles met inclusion criteria. Findings were categorized by level of evidence. Findings revealed strong empirical support for a transition-to-work program called Project SEARCH plus ASD Supports and traditional supported employment services. Receipt of specific vocational rehabilitation and transition services in high school were also identified as effective interventions. Recommendations per level of evidence are provided in more detail.

Social Media Use and Paranoia: Factors That Matter in Online Shopping

The paper aims to explore the ways social media use is linked with paranoia, and how they influence buyers’ attitudes and intentions in online shopping, thus shaping overall consumer behaviour. The theoretical analysis suggests that paranoia, being influenced by social media use, plays a noticeable role in the process of online shopping. The main assumption is that paranoia is an antecedent of the attitude towards online purchasing and mediates effects of other factors towards it. This is confirmed with SEM modelling on the basis of empirical data: the analysis provides evidence that paranoia is an important antecedent of the attitude towards purchasing online and mediates relationships between computer competence, cyber-fear, social media use and the attitude towards online shopping. Additionally, a contradictory relation between paranoia and online purchasing intention is observed. Overall, these findings disclose a new important factor in online shopping and outline several new directions for future research.

Determinants of citizens' attitude to the Ukrainian government: a sociological analysis

The article considers the perception of citizens of the government of Ukraine depending on the institutional forms of its formation. Citizens 'attitudes toward government are individuals' reactions to government policies and the activities of its leaders. The formation of these reactions occurs by comparing one's own expectations about the government's activities with the perception of the results of these activities. The dynamics of the influence of socio-economic, value-ideological and structural factors on the assessment of government activities was analyzed on the basis of empirical data from the five waves of the European Social Research (ESS) and the 2020 monitoring study of the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. the dynamics of the influence of socio-economic, value-ideological and structural factors on the assessment of power was analyzed. It was found that in the case of forming the government through a coalition of political forces in the parliament, citizens' perception of government activities is largely determined by their ideological beliefs. In particular, in relation to both governments of Yulia Tymoshenko, more satisfaction was observed among people who position themselves on the right ideological flank. On the other hand, in relation to the government of Viktor Yanukovych, more satisfaction was observed among people positioning themselves on the ideological left flank. In contrast to this, when the government is formed on the initiative of the presidential administration, government policy is perceived by the population through the prism of their structural and socio-economic interests. Satisfaction with the activities of the second Mykola Azarov’s Government and the Denys Shmyhal’s Government was mostly conditioned by an income and financial situation of the respondens. The results of the study generally supported the assumption that the turnover of government and the institutional form of government is reflected in the attitude of citizens to the activities of governments.

Действительная стоимость электроэнергии в Сибири: анализ выгод и издержек

Modern society has to cope with the problem of energy choice, concerning conventional and renewable sources of energy via electrifying many dimensions of economic activities. No one source of energy evades costs, and conceptual framework and methodology for commeasuring costs and benefits are in a great demand. With this purpose in mind, methodology of cost-benefit analysis has been proposed as the synthesis of quantitative and qualitative methods for comparative assessment of energy alternatives. Quantitative analysis focuses on monetized estimations of energy impacts on environment and population health, and deals with subsidies, shadow prices and time value of money. Qualitative analysis concerns important factors, hardly possible to estimate in monetary terms, but significant for reaching meaningful goals, e.g. the common good. In this context, the perspective of applying value approach to assessing energy alternatives has been demonstrated. As a very vivid case for examining the proposed methodology, there has been chosen a vast megaregion - Siberia, rich in fossil fuels and possessing high potential of renewables, first of all, solar and wind energy. On the basis of empirical data and evidences, concerning three particular power plants, located in Siberia - coal-fired, gas-fired and solar PV, there have been elaborated monetized estimations of true value of three alternatives of electrici­ty generation in megaregion.

Cooperatives in IT-sphere: existing experience and possible models

The purpose of this article is to explore cooperatives (as a unique form of business based on solidarity and democratic values) operating in the sphere of IT. Methodology of research. Practically complete absence of research on development of cooperatives in IT sphere created the need to use empirical information from the websites of specific cooperatives in different countries. Using historical method and analogy method made it possible to establish the principles and mechanisms of cooperatives' activities in IT sphere. Logical method made it possible to substantiate the hypothesis about possibility of creating different models of IT-cooperatives; information about their existence is not available, but they can theoretically be created. Findings. The unique nature of cooperatives, reasons of their origin, their types, features and extent of development in some countries are analyzed here. It is determined that cooperatives in IT sphere represent rather new and practically unexplored modern scientific issue. On the basis of empirical data, we have generalized the experience, motives for creation and activity directions of some IT-cooperatives in different countries. Practical value. This article is the first in Ukraine and one of the first in the world, which contains attempt of scientific substantiating the benefits which IT-related people, especially freelancers as well as small IT-companies can get by uniting into cooperatives. It also provides possible models for IT-cooperatives, which can potentially be created in IT sphere. Keywords: cooperatives, cooperation, IT-cooperative, IT, information technologies, types of cooperatives, IT-business, IT-company, freelance. REFERENCES 1. Honcharenko, V., Panteleimonenko, A., Pozhar, A., Stetsenko, V. (2019). Cooperatives in IT sector: theoretical and practical aspects. Periodicals of Engineering and Natural Sciences (PENS). – Vol. 7, No. 2, August 2019, pp. 597–607. 2. Honcharenko, V., Panteleimonenko, A., & Pozhar, A. (2019). Deformation of cooperative idea in “Soviet” period and development of pseudo-cooperatives: the consequences for Ukraine. ICA-CCR ’19: Research Conference Berlin. - Cooperatives and the transformation of business and society At: Humboldt Univeristy, Berlin, Germany, August 21–23, 2019. 3. Valentinov, V., Iliopoulos, K. (2013). Economic Theories of Nonprofits and Agricultural Cooperatives Compared: New Perspectives for Nonprofit Scholars. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. – February 2013 – № 42 (1) – рр. 109–126. 4. Honcharenko, V., Panteleimonenko, A., Pozhar, A., Stetsenko, V. (2019). Cooperatives in IT sector: theoretical and practical aspects. ICCMIT ’19. The 5th International Conference on Communication, Management and Information Technology. – March 26–28, 2019, Vienna, Austria. 5. Hanisch, M. (2013). Cooperatives and poverty reduction: a literature review // Journal of Rural Cooperation, 41(2), 2013, pp. 114–146. 6. Goncharenko, V. (2012). Vazhlyvist vidrodzhennya kooperatyvnykh bankiv v Ukrayini v umovakh pohlyblennya kryzovykh yavyshch u svitoviy ekonomitsi [The importance of the revival of cooperative banks of Ukraine in terms of deepening of crisis phenomena in world economy]. Mizhnarodna naukovo-praktychna konferentsiya Mizhnarodnyy kooperatyvnyy rukh: henezys ta tendentsiyi suchasnoho rozvytku – International scientific-practical conference The International cooperative movement: genesis and modern development trends. (pр. 208–213). Poltava[in Ukrainian]. 7. Honcharenko, V V. (1998). Kontseptsiia neprybutkovoi pryrody kooperatyviv [Concept of non-profit nature of cooperatives]. Naukovopraktychna konferentsiia Problemy rozvytku spozhyvchoi kooperatsii Ukrainy v rynkovomu seredovyshchi : The Scientific and Practical Conference Problems of development of consumer cooperatives of Ukraine in market relations. (pp.131–138). Lviv : Kooposvita. [in Ukrainian]. 8. Dovgal, O., Kazakova, N. et al. (2018). Hlobalizatsiya ta rehionalizatsiya yak vektory rozvytku mizhnarodnykh ekonomichnykh vidnosyn [Globalization and regionalization as vectors for the development of international economic relations]. Kh: VN Karazin Kharkiv National University [in Ukrainian]. 9. Honcharenko, V. (2001). Teoretyko-metodolohichni pidkhody do vidrodzhennya natsionalnoho kooperatyvnoho rukhu [Theoretical and methodological approaches to the revival of national cooperative movement]. Visnyk Poltavskoho derzhavnoho silskohospodarskoho instytutu – Bulletin of the Poltava State Agricultural Institute, 5–6, 10–15 [in Ukrainian]. 10. Honcharenko, V. (2005). Osoblyvosti ta zakonomirnosti vidrodzhennia ta rozvytku kredytnykh spilok v Ukraini [ Features and Patterns of Recovery and Development of Credit Unions in Ukraine]. Sait ministerstva finansiv Ukrainy [Website of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine]. http://195.78.68.18/minfin/control/uk/publish/article?art_id=59928&cat_id=57142 (accessed 10 May 2019) [in Ukrainian]. Published: 2020-03-26

Agrarian establishment social position under conditions of the rural qualitative transformation

The article analyzes theoretical approaches to the modern understanding of the category of “social position” regarding the agricultural establishment and its role in the period of qualitative transformations of the agricultural sector. Studying the publications of the world scientific community allows highlighting a number of areas of discussion about the social position of the professional establishment; it is also relevant for the agricultural sector. On the basis of empirical data from a well-developed agrarian region in the south of Russia we studied the opinions of representatives of the professional agrarian establishment (specialists from successful agricultural enterprises and future specialists – students). It has been established that leading specialists of agricultural enterprises occupy a high social status both in the production team and in the local community. Future specialists (with higher professional agricultural education) associate their expectations with a high social status in the professional and local community. Thus they claim all the attributes associated with a high status: a high salary, a real estate ownership, an intellectual labor lifestyle, and leadership in the production team and the local community.

Me Too? The Invisible Older Victims of Sexual Violence

A review of legal research on violence against women and elder abuse reveals a disturbing picture. There is hardly any American legal research examining sexual abuse of older women and its conceptualization in legal literature and treatment in the legal system. This Article attempts to fill the abovementioned gap and to bring the hidden issue of sexual violence against older women to light. Scholars writing on rape, violence against women, and elder abuse tend to analyze age and gendered sexual violence separately from each other, without accounting for their interplay. This Article proposes a conceptual framework of sexual abuse of older women that integrates age and gender in the analysis. To achieve this end, this Article examines 109 publicly available American cases involving sexual violence against women over the age of 60, between the years 2000 and 2018, which are based on a search of 1,308 American cases. Based on this new empirical database, this Article offers an opportunity for analyzing the social and legal “taboo” regarding sexual abuse of older women. Despite findings indicating that sexual abuse of older women (and older people in general) is a significant issue creating serious consequences for victims, the Article shows that legal actors, social workers, health professionals, family members, and society miss its signs. Sexual abuse of older women is being noticed and treated by the criminal justice system only when it reflects a “real rape” 1 scenario. The obstacles to effective prosecution and to full access to the criminal justice system are distinctive in the case of older victims because of the effect of age, the way age shapes the experience of older victims of sexual violence, the effects of sexual violence on the victims, and its interplay with gender. Although sexual violence against older women is a form of elder abuse, it should be viewed separately from other forms of elder abuse and should be understood as part of a wider context of gender-based violence. There is a need for a holistic approach to sexual violence of older women, which perceives the sexual violence as a unique phenomenon and provides older women with legal and social mechanisms that fit their needs and experience both as women and elderly people.

Актуальные вызовы и проблемы развития инициативного бюджетирования

The article examines current issues in initiative budgeting (IB) development in the Russian Federation on the basis of empirical data accumulated during the monitoring of IB development since 2015. The methodology for organizing monitoring and analysis of the received data, developed at the Initiative Budgeting Center of the Financial Research Institute of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, makes it possible to assess the development dynamics by key indicators, to identify trends, and to formulate current problems in IB development in the Russian Federation. The accumulated information on initiative budgeting provides ample opportunities for constructing analytical variables calculated through aggregation of the data from the primary mass of information. The article outlines approaches to examining various forms of initiative budgeting, and provides some results of a comparative analysis of various types of practices used in the Russian Federation’s regions to involve citizens in budgetary decisions. One of the challenges in the monitoring organization is the need for regular adjustments of the measurement procedure considering current changes in legislative regulations and the practices of initiative budgeting implementation. As part of the monitoring, a separate study area of municipal IB practices is beginning to take shape. The authors review documents that legitimize IB issues in the Russian Federation and in the Russian regions, in particular, presenting the results of an analysis of state programs in the Russian regions. The article summarizes the current agenda and outlines the development of institutional support for initiative budgeting. The conclusions formulated by the authors include a wide range of proposals for improving the initiative budgeting programs and practices in the Russian regions and the Russian Federation as a whole.

Инфографика интернет-СМИ Красноярска и Омска: особенности создания и функционирования, типологическая характеристика

This article reflects the results of studying the infographics on the sites of large cities in Siberia – the second stage of infographics studying in regional media, specifically of the most cited Internet mass media of Krasnoyarsk and Omsk cities with a population of over 1 million people in the Siberian Federal District. During the first stage it was shown how this format was developed chronologically and how many infographics were published on these sites over the years. At the second stage of the study, the content analysis method and the typological method were applied to the generated empirical database, and the audience indicators of the respective projects were analyzed. As a result, the article provides quantitative characteristics of different types of infographics. The typology was carried out for various reasons: autonomy from the accompanying text, interactivity, type of presentation of data (processes, objects), which corresponds to the created information graphics. The text also describes the various editorial features of creating infographics in seven analyzed online media, answers to questions: do the editors create their own infographics or borrow it for information or advertising purposes, which topics are visualized in this way, what data sources are used, in which programs do they work and etc. And the analysis of audience indicators allows us to conclude whether the presence of infographics in the text helps to increase the number of readings.

SMART SUSTAINABLE CITIES: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE NORDIC COUNTRIES

A review of the literature on the theory and practice of creating smart cities shows that there is no common understanding of the concept of a smart city, as well as the goals of its creation. The concept of a smart sustainable city has been gaining popularity in recent years and is being actively implemented in various countries. It is considered as a means of solving social, economic, and environmental problems caused by urbanization. The Nordic countries have achieved the greatest success in its implementation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the existing theories on the concept of smart sustainable cities, as well as the most successful experience of their creation in the Nordic countries. This analysis will allow us to determine the most optimal technologies for implementation in Russian practice. The methodological approach of this study includes a systematic review of the literature on smart cities, with an emphasis on those that focus on conceptual development and provide an empirical database. The review shows that the literature reveals three types of driving forces of smart sustainable cities. These are technologies, communities, and public policy which are associated with such areas of their development as improving the population welfare and the life quality in cities, productivity, and efficiency of their functioning and management. But this experience is not taken into account in the development of Russian programs for creating smart cities. The article presents a comprehensive study of the experience of Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland in creating smart sustainable cities, digitalizing the economy of countries, and at the same time in achieving the goals of sustainable development.

ASSESSMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SCHOOL FOOD GARDENS: A CASE OF CHRIS HANI DISTRICT, SOUTH AFRICA

Ponte Academic JournalNov 2020, Volume 76, Issue 11 ASSESSMENT OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF SCHOOL FOOD GARDENS: A CASE OF CHRIS HANI DISTRICT, SOUTH AFRICAAuthor(s): Harry Kasumba ,M. Mashologu, P. BwoweJ. Ponte - Nov 2020 - Volume 76 - Issue 11 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2020.11.14 Abstract:Food-insecurity is still a serious challenge globally. The United Nations indicates that 66 million school going children attend classes hungry in the developing world. Although policies such as the National School Nutrition Programme are in place in South Africa, implementation challenges exist at school level and are exacerbated by inadequate funding by the Department of Basic Education. Existing implementation challenges threaten food security at school and community level, and make school food gardens a vital food security enhancement strategy. School food gardening ensures own production to supplement food items bought by schools to feed the learners. However, the question of school food garden sustainability has not received adequate research attention in South Africa. This paper reports the outcomes of an investigation on the sustainability of school food gardens in Chris Hani District. The purpose of the investigation was to broaden the empirical database on the sustainability of school food gardens. The paper adopted a mixed research approach. A purposive sample of six schools drawn from the local district was used as a data source. Questionnaires, interviews and informal observation were the main data collection instruments. Descriptive statistics and the themes developed were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Findings revealed bottlenecks that hinder sustainability of school food gardens, which include funding and lack of proper planning of school food gardening activities. In conclusion, strategies for achieving viable and sustainable school food gardening including the need to make proper school garden plans were proposed. Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password

Choices Creating the Modern Self in Oral Life Stories

The autobiographical narrative, or life story, of a modern urban citizen is usually constructed in such a way that choices become its key moments. The modern urban man does not inherit their parents’ farm, does not continue the trade of their father or mother; instead, they choose everything that shapes them according to their demands and understanding. Choices thus become the key elements in the narrative portrait of the modern subject. This notion would suppose placing of the evaluating, deciding and choosing subject (ethical, social or political one) always in the foreground, with the entirety of the narrated life depending solely on their inner processes. These choices and decisions allegedly shape the narrative ego, or the narrating subject, which is at the core of any narrative. Such “self” does not contain any discrepancies or ambiguities; it is coherent, explicable and reasonable.However, such notion of the modern autobiographical narrative is challenged by numerous researchers of memory. For instance, this article draws on the views by philosopher Emmanuel Levinas maintaining that choices include also the presence of what is different, new and unusual. The inner logic of the narrating subject, their reasoning and evaluations of the definite or abstract phenomena not necessarily determine the outcome of the choice. The most important choices are experienced, remembered and narrated as more or less unexpected inbreaks of the Otherness into the stable everyday routine. In some cases, this Otherness is experienced and remembered as a very strong emotion evoked by seeing another human being in distress, in other cases – as a fascinating and attractive novelty, and in yet others – as a discovery of one’s own physical abilities. Such cases are analyzed in this article on the basis of empirical data – namely, by employing fragments of three different autobiographical narratives.The forth presented narrative reveals a different modern subject, who is indeed introduced as the one making rational choices, decisions and judgments. In this case, the oral narrative seems rather similar to a written or even literary autobiography. This narrative, which also creates the modern “self”, testifies to the existence of a different mode of constructing of the narrating subject, i.e. the one that is based on the ethical judgment and ceaseless rational consideration. The difference between the last example and the three earlier ones is striking: the three first stories represent an emotionally absorbed and adopted modernity, which manifests itself as an inclination to create, introduce, and spontaneously react to innovations, taking care of everything around. The fourth example demonstrates another way of interrelating the events in one’s life: namely, by rational and sober consideration, rejection of unacceptable local notions and creation of a coherent and universally righteous “self” (which takes into account only the most general principles formulated in the masterpieces of the global literature and philosophy). The author maintains that both such ways of constructing the modern “self” that are introduced in her article may exist in parallel, thus revealing the diversity and complexity of the modern “self”.

The role of digital technologies in the management of production and technological processes in fruit growing (protection of fruit plantations and yield) on the example of the Krasnodar Region

The role of digital technologies in the management of production and technological processes in fruit growing on the example of the protection of fruit plantations and yield is revealed. On the example of the Krasnodar Region, basic elements of a process control model for protecting fruit planting from a specifi c disease or pest are proposed for the elaboration of digital technologies: a theoretical basis that reveals the organizational and functional structure of the control of protection processes; structural analysis of components of the protection process control model and optimization of the parameters of plant protection systems to ensure high biological and technological-economic effi ciency; design algorithm for the protection process management model, development of methods and cost optimization for protective measures according to the criteria of biological and environmental and economic effi ciency. The algorithm of the organizational structure of the management methodology, which is the basis for the development of digital technologies for managing production processes in commercial fruit growing is presented, the functional content of the stages of the algorithm is considered. An algorithm is proposed for the development of digital technology for process control, including: the formation of multifunctional databases and data banks, as well as an empirical database and geocoded data collection; diagnosis of diseases and pests; development of plant protection systems; selection of the optimal protection system; development of regulations for the use of chemical and biological agents; assessment of the biological and environmental and economic eff ectiveness of plant protection systems and yield; substantiation of the optimal parameters of the plant protection system and the yield. A predictive assessment of the eff ectiveness of the use of digital technologies in managing the protection of fruit plantations against diseases and pests is given: a comprehensive digitalization of the plantation protection processes, according to empirical data obtained through the use of individual digital technology elements in agricultural organizations of the Krasnodar Region, North Caucasian Federal Scientifi c Center of Horticulture, Viticulture, Wine-making, data of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia. This will allow reducing labor costs by collection, processing of information to justify the optimal solution on the application of system for protecting plantings and yield from pests and diseases, on average, 2 times as compared with traditional systems, comprehensive accounting of all factors that infl uence or determine the state of the system, 2 times higher labor productivity, cost savings on protective measures by 23 % on average, increased production effi ciency and the competitiveness of fruit products.