Contemporary Conditions Research Articles

Closure of tropical seaways favors the climate and vegetation in tropical Africa and South America approaching their present conditions

The tectonically induced closure/constriction of the Central American Seaway (CAS) and Indonesian Seaway (Indo) during the early to mid-Pliocene has been associated with many climatic events, such as the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation, the intensification of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and Australian aridification. However, studies on how the closure/constriction of tropical seaways affects the tropical climate system are still sparse and not systematic. Previous studies have linked the constriction of Indo to the aridification over East Africa and discussed the role of CAS closure in affecting the moisture supply over South America, but the underlying mechanism and combined effect of both tropical seaways are not well studied. In this study, we evaluate the impacts of tropical seaways' closure/constriction and distinguish the relative roles of CAS and Indo on climate in tropical Africa and South America using the NorESM-L Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (AOGCM) and a dynamic vegetation model (LPJ-GUESS). Our results show that the closure of the CAS leads mainly to aridification in northeastern Brazil, resulting in an expansion of tropical xerophytic shrubland and savanna in this region. The narrowing of the Indo mainly leads to enhanced aridification in eastern tropical Africa, and reduces the extent of tropical forests in eastern and northern tropical Africa, which is generally consistent with the data. The closure/narrowing of the two tropical seaways results in a superposition of the individual seaway's effect, particularly over northeastern Brazil region, which exhibits enhanced aridification compared to the closure of the individual CAS. The seaways' changes are shown to be pivotal for the evolution of climate and vegetation over East Africa and northeastern South America to contemporary conditions.

Влияние противовирусной терапии на течение острых респи- раторных вирусных инфекций у детей в современных условиях

Aim: to assess the efficacy of antiviral therapy in the treatment of acute respiratory viral infections in children in the context of contemporary clinical practice Patients and Methods: the study employed a pharmacoepidemiologic approach, utilizing a questionnaire survey of physicians to collect data on 6,116 children aged 3 to 7 years with mild to moderate acute respiratory infections. The study group included 5,144 (84%) children who received inosine pranobex. Comparison group 1 included 654 (11%) children who received other antivirals or immunomodulators. Comparison group 2 included 318 (5%) children who did not receive any etiological therapy. The clinical manifestations of acute respiratory viral infections, their duration, disease duration, complications, therapy, and the rationale for the choice of medications by the physician were analyzed. Results: disease duration in the study group (5.97±1.57 days) was significantly lower than in comparison group 1 (6.82±1.84 days, p<0.001) and comparison group 2 (6.79±1.88 days, p<0.001). Persistent complaints during convalescence were observed in 288 (5.6%) children in the study group, 154 (23.5%) children in comparison group 1, and 61 (19.2%) children in comparison group 2. Complications were reported in 164 (3.2%) children of the study group (n=169), 104 children (n=107, 15.9%; p<0.0001) in the comparison group 1, and 34 (n=34, 10.7%; p<0.0001) children of the comparison group 2. Conclusion: inosine pranobex has been demonstrated to reduce the rate of complications, prolonged cough, runny nose, and sore throat during convalescence, as well as overall disease duration, duration of the febrile period, and catarrhal phenomena in acute respiratory viral infections in children KEYWORDS: acute respiratory viral infections, COVID-19, herpesvirus infections, inosine pranobex, nasopharyngitis, acute tonsillitis, tonsillopharyngitis, real clinical practice, children. FOR CITATION: Ruzhentsova T.A., Garbuzov A.A., Meshkova N.A., Popova R.V., Slyusar O.I. Effect of antiviral therapy on the course of acute respiratory viral infections in children in contemporary conditions. Russian Journal of Woman and Child Health. 2024;7(2):163–170 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2618-8430-2024-7-2-12.

On the Correlation of Terminology in the Local Self-Government System in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Defining Terms

In contemporary conditions in Kazakhstan and other foreign countries, significant attention is given issues and problems of organizing effective local self-government (LSG). The study aims to explore the constitutional and legal regulation of LSG in Kazakhstan and to seek innovations in forming an effective financial system for LSG bodies. Various methods were used, including general (theoretical, universal) and specific (empirical or practical) research methods. The research results include the following conclusions: Government authorities and LSG bodies, along with their officials, must continuously improve the legal framework for organizing and developing an effective financial system for LSG bodies in Kazakhstan, taking into account the constitutional norms of building a legal and social state. Effective functioning of LSG bodies primarily depends on their material, technical, and financial resources. It is noted that the establishment of an efficient financial system for LSG in the modern democratic and social world is recognized as a fundamental legal foundation. This study examines the most established and widely accepted definitions of terms and concepts. The analysis and consideration of these and other related concepts are driven by the objective needs of modern times. Conclusions focus on the legal aspects of these terms and concepts, reflecting the essential features of the concept of forming an effective financial system for local self-government, its theoretical foundations, and their application to the practice of constitutional construction of a real social state in Kazakhstan. The results of the study are expected to assist legislators in drafting a high-quality law on LSG issues.

Existentialism is Alive and Important! Review of: The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Existentialism. Edited by Kevin Aho, Megan Altman, and Hans Pedersen. London and New York: Routledge, 2024. 489 pp.

Existentialism is considered as the “past” philosophical trend and lifestyle, the popularity and flowering of which falls on the 40s‒70s of the XX century. Also, no one reads the works of existentialists and they fall like dust on library shelves. The peer-reviewed newest handbook on contemporary existentialism challenges these two statements and opens up new ways of existential thinking in the XXI century. Its sections impress with the novelty of the subjects of existential reflection: from methodologies and technologies to the phenomenon of aging and disability. The Russian-Ukrainian war also updates existential thinking. Life and death, fidelity and betrayal, freedom and slavery etc. ‒ all these existential concepts help to understand the contemporary condition of Ukrainian people.

Halal Food Market Based on the Meaning of Alumni of Shariah Economic Major at University in Samarinda and Makassar

This study aims to formulate the halal food market based on an interpretation of the contemporary conditions of the halal food market. Data was collected through interviews with 3 (three) informants who are alumni of the shariah economic major at university in Samarinda and Makassar. The implementation of data analysis uses an interactive model data analysis component approach. This study concludes that the halal food market is a market consisting of the intentions, worship, and falah of market participants. A strong intention is manifested in the form of repentance, while worship is through honesty, generosity, fairness, and responsibility to achieve falah for market participants, namely the formation of trust, blessing, and safety.

Adaptive Re-use as a Strategy for Sustainable Indian Cities

Abstract: The Indian metropolises are going through delicate times, feeding the burgeoning demands of society, frugality and the terrain. The current practice of direct product- in which commodity is produced, used and discarded is no longer doable for a sustainable future. The new way of allowing emphasizes the recycling, reusing and reducing consumption of what have formerly been produced. In simple words, adaptive play is the process of changing an ineffective or rejected item into a useful reality with a different purpose. conforming being structures and spots to realize contemporary conditions is the most practical option than obliteration or relief, therefore upgrading the socio- profitable and environmental status of the position, with giving it a new life. incontrovertibly, re-using an being structure becomes more responsive to prevailing climatic changes and global warming issues by drastically reducing the energy destruction and consumption involved in erecting new structures. Accordingly, adaptive play could be elevated to a new status rather than looking at it as just a strategy for conservation of heritage structures. numerous metropolises in Australia, Europe and USA are laboriously encouraging adaptive play as a strategy towards sustainable carbon-neutral metropolises. Keeping all these factors in mind, designing our unborn structures with essential adaptive play eventuality would be a clever approach towards making our metropolises more sustainable. This paper aims at how efficiently we can determine the adaptivere-use eventuality of being structures by briefly explaining the Adaptive Play Implicit( ARP) model, along with exploring a strategy to assess the ARP of unborn structures.

МЕТОДИ ТА ЗАСОБИ ЗАХИСТУ РЕСУРСІВ В КОМП’ЮТЕРНІЙ SDN-МЕРЕЖІ

The work is dedicated to the analysis and improvement of methods and tools for building the architecture of software-defined networks (SDNs). A crucial aspect involves comparing the differences between network management using traditional methods and utilizing an SDN controller. Primary attention is given to the development of security models based on software-defined networks.The research is grounded in the analysis of specific cases involving the use of such networks, including gathering opinions and expert assessments from professionals in the field. It leverages publicly available information on methods and tools for securing the architecture of software-defined networks. SDN technology provides greater flexibility and speed in implementing security measures, allowing real-time responses to threats. In contemporary conditions, where cyber threats are becoming more complex and pronounced, SDN networks enable the detection of attacks, blocking malicious actions, and applying security policies in real-time. However, the increasing complexity of cyber threats and constant technological changes necessitate further development and enhancement of the information security of SDN network resources for companies. There is a need for further analysis and improvement of methods and tools for protecting information and other resources in computer-based SDN networks. The necessity for further analysis and improvement of methods and tools for protecting information and other resources in computer-based SDN networks serves as the foundation for this research. As a result, an enhancement in the level of information security for SDN network resources has been achieved by: 1) reducing the intervention time in the network; 2) applying an improved method of traffic processing based on network security of packet flows, allowing desired network applications to efficiently manage forwarding.

Novels 1914-1916 to the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire 1811

The article is devoted to clarifying the reasons and prerequisites for the adoption of the Novels of 1914-1916 to the Austrian General Civil Code of 1811, a general characterization of their content and substantiation of their historical and legal significance.
 The author analyzed the state of problem processing; first of all, the author used the works of two professors of Lviv University of 20th century - the outstanding Polish civilian Ernest Till, who published the German text and the Polish translation of the Novel with his own explanations, as well as the prominent Ukrainian jurist Stanislav Dnistrіanskyі, who in 1919 translated the Code of 1811 and three Novels to it into Ukrainian. At the same time, the main attention in the article is given to the figure of the Austrian lawyer and statesman, professor of the University of Vienna, Joseph Unger, who presented the program of novelization of the Code of 1811 in his article of 1904 and later acted as its main developer at the head of the Special Commission.
 The author revealed the decisive influence of J. Unger on the spread of the historical school of law in the legal science of the Austrian monarchy, including its fundamental provisions regarding the reception of Roman law, the tradition of German pandectism; and, instead, critics of the theory of natural law; as well as on the introduction by scientists of a comparative legal approach in Austrian civil studies, thanks to which the reform of the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire in 1811 was initiated. The author considered the 10-year codification process of changing the Code, which resulted in its novelization in 1914-1916.
 Therefore, the article elaborates the main content of the three Novels to the Code: the First Novel of October 12, 1914, the Second Novel of July 22, 1915, and the Third Novel of March 19, 1916, which made certain changes to personal, family, property, inheritance and obligation law. At the same time, the author stated that the revision of the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire in 1811 did not fundamentally change its structure, nor the main principles and provisions, but was only aimed at adapting the Code to the contemporary conditions and needs.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF EXTENDED WORKING LIVES: WHAT INSIGHTS DO THE CONCEPTS OF EXCLUSION AND PRECARITY OFFER?

Abstract Amanda Grenier will act as the discussant for the set of papers in this symposia session, bridging insights from European research with North American perspectives. Situated as an attempt to bridge research findings with a larger critical practice of theory-building theory, she will explore what the concepts of exclusion and precarity offer our interpretations of these papers, as well as how the findings of each contribute to the state of knowledge on exclusion and precarity. She will begin with a brief clarification of the definitions and conceptual boundaries of social exclusion and precarity carried out in Europe and North America and situate key findings of the papers as an effort to theorize older workers lives in contemporary conditions. For example, the well-known concept and domains of social exclusion can be considered to offer ways of understanding processes of exclusion at the mezzo level, as exercised through policies, practices, and/or place. Illustrations from the papers will be linked with existing work on exclusion. She will then draw attention to the concept of precarity as a lens of analysis to connect the micro-level vulnerabilities experienced in the working lives of older people with the shifting social and state structures that form the backdrop for older people’s lives (and the systems within which European research is carried out). Specific examples will be drawn from the set of papers, and a moderated question and answer period will follow.

Consistent traffic noise impacts few fitness-related traits in a field cricket

BackgroundAnthropogenic habitat change is occurring rapidly, and organisms can respond through within-generation responses that improve the match between their phenotype and the novel conditions they encounter. But, plastic responses can be adaptive or maladaptive and are most likely to be adaptive only when contemporary conditions reasonably mimic something experienced historically to which a response has already evolved. Noise pollution is a ubiquitous anthropogenic stressor that accompanies expanding urbanization. We tested whether the amplitude of traffic noise influences a suite of fitness-related traits (e.g. survival, life history, reproductive investment, immunity) and whether that depends on the life stage at which the noise is experienced (juvenile or adult). Our treatments mimic the conditions experienced by animals living in urban roadside environments with variable vehicle types, but continuous movement of traffic. We used the Pacific field cricket, an acoustically communicating insect that was previously shown to experience some negative behavioral and life history responses to very loud, variable traffic noise, as a model system.ResultsAfter exposing crickets to one of four traffic noise levels (silence, 50dBA, 60dBA, and 70dBA which are commonly experienced in their natural environment) during development, at adulthood, or both, we measured a comprehensive suite of fifteen fitness-related traits. We found that survival to adulthood was lower under some noise treatments than under silence, and that the number of live offspring hatched depended on the interaction between a female’s juvenile and adult exposure to traffic noise. Both of these suggest that our noise treatments were indeed a stressor. However, we found no evidence of negative or positive fitness effects of noise on the other thirteen measured traits.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, in contrast to previous work with loud, variable traffic noise, when noise exposure is relatively constant, plasticity may be sufficient to buffer many negative fitness effects and/or animals may be able to habituate to these conditions, regardless of amplitude. Our work highlights the importance of understanding how the particular characteristics of noise experienced by animals influence their biological responses and provides insight into how commensal animals thrive in human-dominated habitats.

ОРИЕНТИРОВАННОЕ НА ПОТРЕБИТЕЛЯ СТИМУЛИРОВАНИЕ ПРОДАЖ КАК ВАЖНЫЙ ИНСТРУМЕНТ ИНТЕГРИРОВАННЫХ МАРКЕТИНГОВЫХ КОММУНИКАЦИИ (на примере действующих в г. Гори сетевых продовольственных магазинов)

In contemporary conditions, amidst the swift development of information technologies and fierce competition, companies employ various marketing techniques to attract customers. In order to attract and maintain customers, companies try to create additional motivation for them to purchase their products or services. In this regard, a particular significance is attributed to such a marketing tool as sales promotion, which holds a crucial stance in integrated marketing communications. Certain factors contributed to increased sales incentives. Among them, it is worth noting: the growing power of retailers, fragmentation of the consumer market, competition, declining brand loyalty, increasing sensitivity to incentives, consumer behavior, etc. One of the categories of sales promotion is customer-oriented sales promotion. Among the customer-oriented sales stimulation methods, it’s noteworthy to mention: discounts, samples, coupons, bonus packages, premiums (advertising prizes), brand loyalty programs, competitions and giveaways, event marketing and so on. Sales promotion has both advantages and disadvantages. Benefits include: instantly increasing sales, providing a discount to a price-sensitive customer, building loyalty, increasing awareness of new products (e.g. product samples), attracting new customers, getting rid of unsold inventory, etc. Disadvantages include: May negatively impact on brand image, short-term strategy, sales promotion may not change consumer attitudes and perceptions, increased price sensitivity, low coupon cashing rates and costs, false coupon cashing and fraud, additional costs for companies. The paper showcases the primary trends in the development of customer-oriented sales stimulation methods on the example of chain grocery stores operating in Gori. Based on the results of the research conducted by us in Gori, specific conclusions and recommendations are presented.

Transitioning e-commerce: Perceived pathways for the Norwegian urban freight sector

E-commerce is becoming an increasingly visible feature of modern society that places increasing strain on transport systems. Research has hitherto paid substantial attention to ways in which e-commerce might modify personal travel behaviour but has been less attentive to the ramifications of e-commerce for urban freight. Although contemporary conditions of urban freight are increasingly scrutinised by scholars in several disciplines, this study peeks into the future of urban freight from the scholarly perspective of sustainability transitions. Specifically, we investigate what expectations Norwegian freight providers hold for the transition pathways of their own sector. We find that the Norwegian urban freight sector expects technological shifts to be most prominent, pointing to the replacement of vans and lorries with low-emission models. Conversely, although deemed important enough, the urban freight sector orients less towards behavioural shifts that enhance efficiencies within and across freight providers. To ensure more transformative effects in the transition pathways of urban freight, we thus advise decision-makers in urban planning to establish inclusive approaches to policy making that enhance the legitimacy of technological and behavioural shifts in urban freight alike.

The Perpetual Influence of Historical Trauma: A Broad Look at Indigenous Families and Communities in Areas Now Called the United States and Canada

This article provides an overview of the perpetual influence and impacts of historical trauma within Indigenous families and communities who now live in areas called the United States and Canada. Indigenous Peoples (to include American Indians, Alaska Natives, and First Nations Peoples) continue to experience health inequities which stem in part from violent and systemic geographical dislocations and separations from ancestral and traditional homelands. My contribution to this special issue constitutes a node of comparison and contrast to the other narratives gathered here. Indigenous Peoples in North America persist amid an enduring legacy of settler-colonialism that includes 90% dispossession and loss of lands, and an average forced migration distance of 239 km from homelands to reservations Rarely is this uprootedness told in parallel with other experiences of forced displacement like those which unfolded during the Second World War and the Holocaust, the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s or the contemporary conditions fueled by Russia's war against Ukraine. On one hand, this is an oversight as we have much to learn from each other about the realities of uprooting and, especially, the long-term consequences of it. At the same time, comparisons of experiences with trauma are complex and perhaps inappropriate without attention to the magnitude, underlying motives of, and duration of traumatic events endured. In short, the decades-long research on HT in Indigenous communities offers important lessons about the lingering consequences of uprootedness from place, space, and culture and efforts to support healing that can benefit other displaced communities worldwide.

Current state and prospects of interaction of joint investigation teams with international police organizations

In contemporary conditions, crime acquires new characteristics, including transnational cooperation of criminal groups and adaptation to new techniques of investigating criminal offences. This specificity emphasises the necessity of finding an optimal organizational and tactical form of interaction between joint investigation teams and international police organizations. The purpose of the study is to analyse the organizational and tactical aspects of the interaction of joint investigation teams with international police organizations. The methodological toolkit includes general methods of scientific cognition, such as analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, abstraction, and scientific forecasting. The study substantiates the need for collaboration between joint investigation teams and international police organizations. It explores the tasks of international organizations in the process of investigating criminal offences. It is recommended to focus on the importance of interaction between international police organizations and joint investigation teams by developing guidelines for organising their collaboration during the investigation of criminal offences. It is argued that ensuring international cooperation in the investigation of transnational criminal offences directly depends on the activities of joint investigation teams. In turn, a special form of international cooperation in the process of investigating criminal offences involves interaction with a wide range of participants in the criminal justice system. International organizations, as external factors capable of influencing the fulfilment of joint tasks by law enforcement and other authorities at the national and international levels, hold a prominent place in this partnership. The application of innovative tactical techniques and their complexes by joint investigation teams during procedural actions is associated with the algorithm of using shared methodologies that impact the effectiveness of investigating criminal offences at all levels of interaction. The results of the study will serve as a guide for the law enforcement system in implementing international cooperation

Doing politics from the margins: ethnicity, harassment and gender-based political violence case study of former councilors in the department of La Paz, 2015-2021

This article discusses the application of Law 243 on Violence and Political Harassment in Councilors and Mayors of the department of La Paz who served during the 2015 - 2021 mandate period, emphasizing the work of the Association of Councilors and Mayors of La Paz. ACOLAPAZ in the attention and representation of complaints of Violence and Political Harassment (VAP) and the expressions of violence manifested towards this group during the mentioned period, reflecting through the ethnographic method and in-depth interviews on said problem; as well as the contemporary conditions of violence in Bolivia and the differences due to gender and ethnicity.

Resource sufficiency of large capacity LNG projects in Russia

Relevance. Qualitative and quantitative transformations taken place under the impact of a number of interconnected facts, destabilizing for the world economy. Contemporary conditions direct gas producing countries, including Russia, towards enhancing the competitive advantages to maintain their positions in the world gas market, first of all, towards increasing the share of liquefied natural gas in the market. It is impossible without sufficient resource base to expand production of operating large capacity LNG projects. Aim. To analyze the effect of management-economic mechanisms on the expansion of resource sufficiency to provide the production of liquefied natural gas. Object. Large capacity LNG projects. Subject. Financial and fiscal framework applied for implementation of large capacity LNG projects. Methods. Empirical and economic-statistical. Results. Institutional incentives for provision of resource sufficiency have allowed the authors to reveal different approaches to stimulating resource sufficiency depending on the business tax systems, implementing LNG projects. The paper demonstrates differentiation in natural resource users’ reaction to tax benefits. Using licensing system a resource user intensifies his activities in development of hard-to-recover reserves, which increases resource sufficiency of LNG projects. Whereas using treaty system (which is, in fact, incentive framework of taxation) the effect is insignificant to stimulate geological exploration. This in future may occur as a decrease in liquefied natural gas production as well as possible negative social-economic consequences in a region. The authors suggest legislative consolidation for business operating in the condition of production sharing agreement, of mandatory minimum – 10 % of net profit spent for geological exploration.

Delimitation of the metropolitan areas of Warsaw and Lviv over the last 100 years. The Polish-Ukrainian experience

In the 21st century age of globalisation, a metropolis is considered the main unit of the settlement system, though its impact may well extend beyond the borders of a certain country. The principles of zoning for metropolitan areas are significant as a tool for the correct construction of the spatial structure of the state, facilitating the activation and use of human potential and economic development. In the aftermath of centralised planning under the Soviet era, the need to set out metropolitan areas was recognised later in Ukraine than in Poland. As a result of the ongoing war started by Russian aggression in 2022, attention was drawn to the need for such well-connected settlement complexes. Researchers have hypothesised that the settlement network of numerous small towns surrounding Kiev saved the city from total destruction and staved off the Russian invasion.The research presented in this paper concentrates on Polish-Ukrainian practices of shaping metropolitan areas. Ukraine still needs to develop holistic concepts for the creation and spatial development of metropolises in dynamic contemporary conditions. Ukraine evidently suffers from problems associated with the gradual degradation of many regional cities as scientific, cultural and industrial centres, as a result of war and destruction, as well as due to the continued use of outdated methodological tools for zoning and urban planning.This paper analyses the differences and similarities in terms of spatial organisation and the development and delimitation of metropolitan areas in Poland and in Ukraine over the last hundred years. The summary describes how the Polish experience can be applied to Ukrainian practice, particularly during the future reconstruction of Ukraine.

The role and importance of supervisory in joint-stock companies based on international corporate governance standarts

This article highlights the critical importance of the supervisory board in modern corporate governance mechanisms. Such mechanisms have become prevalent in many European countries, where they define the role of the supervisory board as an independent overseer, focused on monitoring the activities of the executive body.
 The wide range of duties and competencies of the supervisory board is discussed, including strategic planning, oversight of executive directors, consideration of corporate decisions, and ensuring adherence to corporate standards. It's crucial to note that the primary mission of the supervisory board is to protect shareholders interests, guarantee their rights, and ensure transparency in the actions of the joint-stock company.
 One of the key challenges the author examines is the dilemma of how executive managers perceive the supervisory board. Do they see this body as an ally that enhances work efficiency or as an obstacle in the way of making operational decisions? This aspect is vital for understanding internal corporate relations and the dynamics of interaction between management structures.
 The article also focuses on the OECD principles regarding corporate governance, emphasizing the importance of an effective structure of the supervisory board. Particular attention is given to the role of independent non-executive members of the board, who can act as a «braking mechanism», ensuring objectivity, independence, and a critical perspective on corporate decisions.
 In conclusion, in the corporate governance of joint-stock companies, the supervisory board emerges as a key element playing a strategic role in protecting shareholders' interests, ensuring transparency, objectivity, and accountability in company operations. The OECD principles underline the significance of including independent members in the supervisory board. This stance affirms the necessity to amplify the role and authority of the supervisory board in contemporary conditions, making the exploration of this issue particularly relevant and significant.

School, family and the community in cooperation: the model of syneducation

School, family and the community constitute three distinct but at the same time interdependent systems. The ideas, notions and research which are related to the necessity of the functional communication of those systems have recently flourished internationally, creating a substantial “heritage” in principles, acceptances, theoretical models, application proposals, research programs as well as new orientations and perspectives. This paper proposes the model of syneducation. As syneducation (synergy + education) we define the acquisition of a common educational experience, simultaneously and in cooperation, of persons differing in age and cognitive infrastructure and often in social and cultural level. Syneducation is a new emerging research field. With its application, we aim at the change of attitudes and behaviours of the participants (parents, educators, students, policy makers and the representatives of the community) from an initial state of possible indifference- disinterest to an active and effective participation in common syneducational actions in order to face specific issues, and even further to being multipliers of the above mentioned actions. Furthermore, the application of this model creates, develops and accrues social capital.In this paper we will present certain research applications which took place according to the model of syneducation based on the methodology of collaborative action research (for example, a transdisciplinary research program, a research program in Literacy in Information Technology, a research program focusing on problem management within the family etc.) The research findings and the prospects of the syneducation model are still being discussed. This model is proposed as a realistic way of thought and action adapted to the contemporary conditions of our technological era and the foreseen needs of social computing.

Materiality and Virtuality, Touch and Distance from the (Femi) Graphic Perspective


 The time of pandemic acted as a magnifying glass – directing one’s attention to features of printmaking practice that correspond with contemporary condition of humans and their needs in terms of communication, contact and relations. As two female printmakers practicing relief printing techniques and trying to push and expand the range of tools and recipes of our graphic kitchen, we exchange and discuss our personal narratives, experiences and experiments. The keywords that kept reappearing during these last two years were for us: materiality, touch, presence, constantly followed and supplemented by virtuality, distance and representation. 
 
 
 The above notions resonate with Jennifer L. Roberts’ series of Mellon Lectures (2021) entitled Contact: Art and the Pull of Print – with conceptual brackets that can be identified with two opposite or complementary concepts: contact and alienation. Using examples of our practices we refer to the idea of “new materiality”, exploring how different materials of a matrix, of paper or fabric “give life to different realities and actualise aspects of subjectivity, embodiment and human-world relations that are particular to their material qualities” (Coleman, Page, Palmer, 2019). 
 
 
 However, the haptic quality of the process as a part of the artist’s experience is difficult to transfer and share with the audience in the situation of the virtual distribution of the image. How can we interpret and make most of the notion of touch in order to translate it into “tuché” (Lacanian “encounter with the real”), despite the mediation of the screen? Can we provocatively argue that virtual presentation can be seen as “porno-graphic” of the printmaking practice with the images being inevitably digitally edited and presented in such way that they look flawless, alienated from the real world? 
 
 
 The paper also explores the narrative strands, entangled with the ambiguous experience of touch, explored through our printmaking practices.