Modern Concepts Research Articles

Architectural Modernization of Main University Building in Novocherkassk

The development of the material and technical base of universities is one of the priority areas of the state policy in the field of creating personnel and technological sovereignty of the country. The high level of modern engineering support and teaching technologies in higher education requires modernization of university buildings throughout the country, some of which are cultural and architectural monuments.Purpose: To consider the possibility of architectural modernization as a means of developing the university's material base on the example of the main university building in Novocherkassk, which is an architectural monument of federal significance.Research findings: Based on an analysis of current problems of this building, of architectural modernization concept is proposed with a change in its functional and space-planning organization.

Cézanne’s paintings and Judd’s Specific Objects: from objects in painting to objects in space

ABSTRACT This article examines Judd’s Specific Objects in light of Cézanne’s paintings and suggests that the two artists share a conception of the relation between objects and space. I argue that, much like Cézanne, Judd saw objects and space as related elements that constantly define each other. Cézanne and Judd are prominent figures who represent two distinct positions in the history of Western art. I consider these positions in relation to the topic of artistic autonomy and suggest that, even though theoreticians have framed Judd’s work in opposition to the modernist concept of the autonomous work of art—the American founding figure of Minimalism has something in common with the French ‘Father of Modern Art’. The proposed phenomenological analysis of works by Judd and Cézanne moves beyond period-based and medium-oriented interpretations and differs from much art-historical discourse, to suggest an additional perspective on their works.

Дом и родина трансмигранта в фокусе современной концептуализации

The article presents a reflection on the conceptualization of the ideas of the migrant’s “home” and “homeland”. Rethinking the experience of conceptualizing these concepts seems appropriate due to its heterogeneity, which is due to the formation of the phenomenon of transnationalism at the end of the 20th century, reflecting the emergence of transnational migration. Home and homeland are considered in the structure of transnational identity as its identifiers. The theoretical framework of the analysis was the concept of the domestic researcher Z.L. Levin, which allows interpreting home and homeland as social, i.e. acquired identifications. The consequence of the reconstruction of the semantic fullness of the concepts of home and homeland is the transformation of identity and/or the formation of a trans-identity, involving a combination of elements of cultures, both the country of origin and the recipient country. The beginning of the discourse about the home of the modern migrant falls on the 80s of the XX century when the issue of its loss to migrants was being considered. In the early 1990s, an anti-centrist line of research was formed, which is, in general, a complex of nomadic studies based on the concepts of globalization, transnationalism and cross-borderism. The idea of transforming the house is being formed. The house ceases to be a “fixed structure” and loses the function of a geographical center, it becomes mobile, its topography expanding. At the same time, there is a group of scientists who deny the generalization of ideas about home and homeland. In general, when defining ‘home’, representatives of global discourse adhere to a number of its unified indicators, the most significant of which are terrain, sense of security, space, social relations of family and neighborhood. The analysis of the results of the modern conceptualization of home has shown the expansion of the semantic load of this concept and the identification of new properties of home – mobility and plurality. If before the start of transnational migration, the concepts of ‘home’ and homeland were linked together by the formulation native home, then in the conditions of fluid modernity, forming a plastic transnational identity of a migrant, these concepts began to exist separately. The concept of homeland, unlike home, has an ideological connotation. In the context of the mosaic of modern social processes and their political coloring, its conceptualization is in the process of development.

Rewriting the Narrative of Modernisms

Abstract: After Modernism is a collection of essays that in multiple ways intends to decentralize the concept of modernism. The volume includes analyses of art and literature as well as history and philosophy. Through close readings and viewings, the authors re-imagine and re-position how modernity is constructed and conceptualized, with the result that modernity must be understood as modernities , and modernism as modernisms . The titular concept of after is used as "both repetition and difference, both homage and critique," which means that canonical works, such as Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway are read with both love and scepticism, and placed next to analyses of works that has previously been ignored—mostly the work of female Black or indigenous artists. The result is a multifaceted and fragmented volume, where the format mirrors the central argument: that there can be no single modernism, placed in a single space or time, but always multiple and moving modernisms.

‘The outside after all must be right there beside me’: Claire-Louise Bennett’s Pond and post-critical perspective

ABSTRACT Claire-Louise Bennett’s Pond has been widely acknowledged as one of the most striking and significant debut novels of recent years. While much praised, however, the nature of the novel’s contemporaneity has proved somewhat resistant to elaboration. The present essay offers one such elaboration, following the motif of perspective as it plays its way through Bennett’s narrative. Perspective in its modern conceptualisation is understood not only in relation to the theory and practice of picturing, and as a highly mobile metaphor for cognition and narration, but also as a medium in the sense proposed by the art critic Rosalind E. Krauss. By following the motif, staying close to the novel rather than succumbing to a critical ‘aboveness’ that Bennett herself mistrusts, the working of perspective is shown to be one significant aspect of Pond’s contemporaneity. On this basis, an interpretative link is made between Bennett’s novel and what has come to be known as a post-critical orientation.

Reflections on modern physical activity: how can Graeber’s ideas help us to reconceptualise it and increase the value of play?

Drawing on some broader social processes, the main purpose of this paper is to argue that some modern conceptualisations and understandings of physical activity can go hand in hand with some modern conceptualisations and understandings of work. This may be helpful in explaining both the discontent that exists in this context and the numerous, but repeatedly unsuccessful, attempts to promote physical activity at the mass level. In the context of neoliberal society, we show how various forms of physical activity have evolved from fundamentally playful activities, fun and pleasurable in themselves, to an instrumentalised and commodified moral obligation. Such a thematisation is linked later in the article to Graeber’s concept of ‘bullshitisation’, which also provides a starting point for a different, potentially emancipatory conceptualisation of physical activity, in which play, as understood in some philosophical examinations, can occupy a central place.

Konsep Etis Religius dengan Pendekatan Maqashid Syariah Perspektif Thaha Abd Al-Rahman

This study aims to understand and analyze the concept of religious ethics in the Maqasid al-Shariah approach according to Thaha Abd al-Rahman. The method used is a qualitative method with a philosophical approach and textual analysis. Data were collected through literature studies, interviews, and document analysis. The results of this research indicate that the thoughts of Thaha Abd Al-Rahman provide valuable contributions to the development of a contextual, ethical, and relevant Islamic paradigm for the current era. By integrating alternative modernity concepts, belief as a foundation, religious ethics, and maqasid shariah, Taha Abd Al-Rahman forms a solid foundation for the realization of a just, equitable, and ethical society in the modern era. The implication of this research is that the concept of religious ethics in the Maqasid al-Shariah approach by Taha Abd al-Rahman can be a guide for Muslims in their daily lives. It is recommended that educational institutions, both formal and informal, introduce this concept to the community to improve their understanding of religious ethics in Islam.

Feasibility Study of Three-Phase Modular Converter for Dual-Purpose Application in DC and AC Microgrids

The modern concept of a universal converter is intended as a power converter suitable for application in both dc or ac grids using the same external connectors. This novel family was recently proposed to allow an easier integration of renewable energy sources and energy storage systems, interfacing with dc/ac grids and/or loads with a minimum redundancy of power switches and passive elements. This kind of solution and applications are expected to be a reality in the nearest decade, as ac and dc low voltage distribution networks will coexist. Nevertheless, the initial solutions proposed as universal converter were focused on ac single-phase power conversion systems. In this sense, this article proposes and describes a new member of the universal converter family suitable for dc to dc and dc to ac power conversion (both in three-phase three-wire and in three-phase four-wire). The proposed power topology is derived as a modular extension from the single buck-boost bidirectional cell. Its main operation modes (buck and boost) are discussed, and a pulse-width-modulation technique is developed to generate the corresponding switching patterns. The proposed solution is successfully validated in open-loop mode both in simulation and experimentally with a laboratory prototype. The measured efficiency of the power converter was above 97% in the dc to ac mode and around 99% in the dc to dc mode.

К вопросу пространства и места в дизайне городской среды

The paper hinges primarily on the problem of the object’s spatial foundations in the design of urban environ-ment. In order to clarify the concepts of “space” and “place” the content analysis of works reflecting the spatial turn in the field of sociology, culturology, cultural geography and urbanism is carried out. Space and place are considered as concepts of modernism and postmodernism design culture, as well as objects of modern archi-tectural and design practice and the main concepts of new urbanism. Based on the conducted analysis, the environment as an object of design is concretized as a concept of “place” – a space that is filled with meaning, semantics, emotional and sensory experiences, and has vital value. This work proposes a theoretical model of an object in the design of urban environment, which possesses the potential of connecting the sociocultural space of the city with the morphology, semantics and phenomenology of the place.

US Human Rights Concept

The article examines the main stages in the development of the concept of human rights in the United States of America. The evolution of the traditional concept of human rights is traced, starting with the positions of the «Founding Fathers» of the United States. A classification of decisions of the US Supreme Court made on the basis of the natural law theory of constitutional interpretation is presented. The significant influence of the theory of natural law on the formation of American constitutionalism and, especially, judicial practice is noted. The features of the modernist concept of human rights in the United States, which is based on the idea of protecting private property as the foundation of individual freedom, are analyzed. The conclusion is formulated about the absence in the modern US constitutional doctrine of recognition of the fundamental importance of rights of a social, economic and cultural nature. The features of the official «progressive agenda», mandatory for the whole world, are revealed, which consists of the following provisions: desovereignization, antinatalism, and a negative attitude towards the family, in the traditional sense. The article presents a general description of the American concept of human rights.

Ensuring metrological traceability of reference materials of gas mixtures composition

The modern concept of metrological assurance for gas analytical measuring instruments with the use of reference materials of gas mixtures composition in cylinders under pressure is presented. The reference materials of gas mixtures composition of approved type in cylinders under pressure, which are the most often means of mole fraction and mass concentration units transfer in gas analytical measurements, are considered. The certified value in these reference materials is the content of the target component (or components) in the gas medium (analytical matrix). All the produced reference materials of gas mixtures composition, which are used for ensuring the uniformity of measurements are traceable to the State primary standard of units of mole fraction, mass fraction and mass concentration of components in gas and gas condensate media GET 154-2019, which characteristics are confirmed on the international level by the results of about 90 international comparisons. The paper presents a methodology for ensuring metrological traceability of reference materials of gas mixtures composition using GET 154-2019, taking into account the constantly increasing park of gas analytical instruments and the emergence of new measuring tasks in various fields of industry and environmental control. Currently, a park of secondary and working standards has been created at enterprises producing reference materials of gas mixtures composition, and their traceability to GET 154-2019 has been implemented according to the state verification scheme. The paper presents the results of international comparisons with participation of GET 154-2019, confirming the comparability of the obtained and reference value of the target component content in reference gas mixtures at the international level. The variety and large number of relevant gas analytical measurement tasks in various industries and the social sphere determines the need to choose priority areas for improving the existing reference base, including the structure of the GET 154 Standard and the nomenclature of reference gas mixtures. The strategic program of the Gas Analysis working group of the Consultative Committee of the Amount of Substance of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures developed for the period up to 2030 has been analysed and a review of the long-term tasks of gas analytical measurements is given. The currently existing GET 154-2019 Standard of the latest generation provides reproduction, storage and transfer of the components’ mole fraction units in gas and gas condensate media in the range from 1.5·10 –8 to 99.99999 %, and mass concentration units in the range from 1.0·10–6 to 2.0·105 mg/m3, what is confirmed by the results of participation in international comparisons and published CMC positions in the International database of calibration and measurement capabilities (about 400 CMCs positions).

Electrical Engineering and its Aspects in the Modern Concept of Technical Education

This paper focuses on some aspects in the concept of teaching electrical engineering in technical education. It is presented the issues of possible approaches and tools allowing to implement the teaching of electrical engineering in a demonstrative and entertaining way using contemporary means based on digital technologies. In this framework, the possibilities of motivating students are also presented and some findings from selected scientific papers, domestic and foreign research are also summarized.
 The introductory part presents the issues related to the definition of subject or subject didactics of electrical engineering as a prerequisite for successful teaching by teachers. The next part is devoted to a research investigation focused on the application of new approaches to teaching electrical engineering in school practice, the possibility of linking virtual or augmented reality in a demonstrative approach to teaching, the use of online applications to solve electrical engineering problems and thus linking the practical form of electrical engineering with the theory presented in the classroom with the support of digital technologies.
 The conclusion then summarizes the possibilities associated with the teaching of electrical engineering and the search for new paths that are common to both students preparing for the teaching profession and the students who will one day be guided by these teachers through the secrets of electrical engineering as one of the most important fields of human activity.

Development of information systems in road transportation

Nowadays, we face many problems in the field of transport. The application of intelligent transport systems should improve problems related to congestion management, road safety, access to data in the transport environment, and environmental protection. The paper presents two concepts that are key to the improvement and development of the transport sector. The development and application of automatic vehicle location since the 1960s has led to an improvement in the efficiency of transport companies’ operations and the quality of their services. This technology has led to improved efficiency of the transport service, better utilisation of resources and improved quality of service. However, the most modern concept that initiates the improvement of existing solutions and encourages the development of new solutions in the field of transport is the IoT (Internet of Things) concept. In freight transport, the application of IoT technology enables cost management, reduction of CO2 emissions and avoidance of congestion through the use of alternative routes.

Traces of Kinship Care: Preliminary Findings From Nansen Passport Holders’ Documents in the League of Nations and Arolsen Archives

This article offers a new perspective on a body of literature that has been growing since the modern concept of “statelessness” became a pressing concern of diplomats and the displaced alike more than a century ago: it studies the “voices” of the stateless as captured in the archival documents of the organizations designed to deal with refugees through the lens of family and kinship care. This will help us to gain an understanding of how stateless refugees and the officials, administrators and humanitarians who assisted them navigated and negotiated the kinds of care requested, needed, withheld, or provided, and that have been captured in the documents coming out of these processes. By positioning care as relational and embedded within historical documents, this contribution offers glimpses of the physical remnants of the processes that took shape between the various actors. From these explorations, it follows that the distinction between anonymous care, as provided by humanitarian or state organizations, and personal care may not have been so clear-cut: sometimes helpers and those being helped turn out both to be Nansen passport holders. The focus on family and kin moreover allows to move beyond the institutional focus on individuals and to understand statelessness and displacement as an experience of families and communities instead.

Lipoprotein dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Pathogenesis and treatment of CKD dyslipidemia (literature review)

Dyslipidemia develops in the initial stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and worsens as nephropathy progresses. The main manifestation of dyslipidemia is hypercholesterolemia, especially in nephrotic syndrome. However, with CKD of stages 4-5, it is replaced by hypertriglyceridemia in combination with an increase in blood levels of lipoproteins low and very low density. Such changes are closely related to the development of cardiovascular pathology with high mortality. The content of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in the blood is gradually decreasing, as well as the reversible transport of cholesterol. Thus, their anti-atherogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions are lost. The main components of HDL – apolipoproteins ApoA-I and ApoA-II, which provide functionality, are replaced by acute-phase proteins, and HDL lose their cardioprotective potential and acquire a proinflammatory and proatherogenic phenotype. According to modern concepts, HDL dysfunction, along with metabolic shifts, is largely due to epigenetic disorders affecting gene expression and partially eliminated by prescribing drugs containing microRNAs (mRNAs) or antisense nucleotides. Drugs with interfering RNAs created in recent years have been successfully used not only for the treatment of dyslipidemia in nephrological patients, but also in patients with neoplastic processes, inflammatory arthritis, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, porphyria, hemophilia and many other diseases. The proposed review is devoted to the mechanisms of disorders of the structure and functions of HDL in patients with CKD and the correction of these disorders.

In Plight and Reformation: Transnationalism and “Chinese-ness” in the 1930s and Recent East Chinese Films

With the importation of filmmaking technology at the end of the nineteenth century, Chinese cinema was developed in the context of ideological exchanges. This research will examine the concepts of transnationalism, modernism, and globalization in two Chinese films produced in different periods. The Chinese autoethnography of the turbulent 1930s is written with the representations of different sociopolitical groups and stylist film techniques. Focusing on The Goddess (1934) and The Flowers of War (2011) from a feminist perspective, an investigation of the evolving perception of 1930s East China raises new questions and insights into the history.

Helmholtz and the Conservation of Energy: Contexts of Creation and Reception

Helmholtz and the Conservation of Energy: Contexts of Creation and Reception

Neurodevelopmental Disorders Caused by Genetic Defects in Structure of Glutamatergic Receptors

Background: the role of glutamate receptor dysfunction in mental disorders, neurological, autoimmune, and oncological pathology has been intensively investigated in the past decade. The development of drugs that target glutamatergic receptors has also been a focus of research.The aim was to describe modern concepts of neurodevelopmental disorders (according to the International Classification of Diseases 11th revision, L1-6A0) that are associated with genetically induced alterations of the structure of glutamatergic receptors.Material and method: a search for descriptions of cases with impaired neuropsychiatric development associated with genetic defects of ionotropic and metabotropic glutamate receptor subunits was performed in the MEDLINE/Gene database, MEDLINE/PubMed scientific library, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), UniProt, ClinGen and eLibrary. Genetically induced structural abnormalities of most known ionotropic (GluA, GluN, GluK, GluD) and a number of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1, 5, 7) are associated with severe variants of neuropsychiatric disorders that manifest in infancy and early childhood.Conclusion: the considerable variation in the clinical presentation of these cases demands a transnosological approach to diagnosis and management of patients, under cooperation of specialists in pediatrics, child psychiatry, neurology, genetics, and medical and social rehabilitation.

Is it possible to overcome the paradoxes of the modern conceptualization of the Universe?

The article comprehends the natural science approach to the interpretation of the Universe. At the same time, the author relies on the material of studies of the Universe and galaxies conducted by the Russian philosopher Vadim Kazyutinsky, who shows that natural science studies of the Universe are paradoxical and more like a humanitarian discourse. Hannah Arendt's assessment of these studies is no less paradoxical, she argues that the natural science approach has led to the fact that the universe is inaccessible in practice and even unthinkable. In turn, the author argues that cosmology should be classified as a scientific discipline of the humanities type, which does not exclude the presence of various physical and other natural sciences in it. The object of cosmology (similar to the objects of biology, cultural studies, and sociology) cannot be described in one scientific discipline, it is multilevel, and at each level there are different patterns that must be described by different cosmological theories. Implementing this methodology, the author proposes a scheme of three successive terrestrial Universes - "cosmic" (physical), "vital" (biological) and "social". Within the framework of the latter, a person appeared and a culture developed. Each subsequent terrestrial universe included the previous one as its component or substrate. Another understanding of the Universe is proposed, based on the following provisions: a person must re-establish himself in his understanding of the Universe, recognize its presence (conditionality) in his actions; agree that the development of the social universe has acquired a catastrophic character; begin to think through the established sociality in order to understand what needs to be changed. According to the author, the universe resembles a matryoshka doll, including the cosmic, physical, biological, social and noospheric Universes (the latter is just beginning to take shape). At the same time, there are two multidirectional processes in the social universe: one works for man and culture, the other process, due to the diverse orientation that takes place in all Universes, in fact, acts against man and culture. Two important features of the noospheric Universe will have to be the attitude towards salvation and real changes aimed at realizing this attitude.

Tracing the Roots of Modern Human Rights in Ancient Greek Thought

The establishment of the modern human rights regime, a pivotal development that transpired in the aftermath of the Second World War, marks a watershed moment in the annals of global governance. However, it is imperative to recognize that the foundational bedrock upon which this regime stands embodied by concepts such as freedom, equality, the right to vote, and the notion of natural rights extends its roots far beyond the mid-20th century. These bedrock principles have an intricate lineage, manifesting in various forms throughout history and across diverse cultures. To unravel this historical continuum, one need not look solely to the post-World War II era; rather, a profound exploration reveals that analogous ideals have left indelible imprints across different countries and epochs. Among these cultural tapestries, ancient Greece emerges as a particularly rich and influential backdrop, offering a plethora of ideas that resonate with the very essence of contemporary human rights. In an earnest pursuit of understanding the intricate interplay between ancient wisdom and modern conceptions, the present paper embarks on an insightful examination. Through a meticulous study, it endeavors to illuminate the myriad ideas and features that emanated from ancient Greece, serving as pre-cursors to, and reflections of, the multifaceted concept of human rights as it is comprehended and cherished in our present-day global discourse.