Domestic Technology Research Articles

GLOBAL–LOCAL DRIVING FORCES of CHINA’S GREENING of INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT The greening of industry is an inevitable path for developing economies to achieve sustainability transition. However, the specific roles of global and local driving forces are still not substantially understood. This study develops a three-dimensional framework, which includes coercive pressures, normative pressures, and technology acquisition to analyze the influence of global and local drivers on China’s greening of industry. We measure the industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) using Super-SBM model and analyze its influencing factors using the Tobit regression model at the provincial level in China from 2010 to 2020. China’s IEE evolution and its drivers are stage-specific and regionally differentiated, and differences also exist in the roles of global and local drivers. Developing countries initially start the green development of industry under global normative pressures through integration in the global production network. Thereafter, global coercive pressures and local forces, including domestic technologies, market demands, and effective regulations, drive the further greening of industry. The different potentials of regional coercive and normative pressures depend on industrial structures and socio-technical regimes. Policy recommendations for the greening of industry in developing economies are proposed.

The impact of collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and services on carbon emission efficiency: spatial effect and mechanism analysis

ABSTRACT Urban economic development benefits from industrial agglomeration by enhancing efficiency, but it may also bring negative effects, such as environmental pollution. This research uses data from 283 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2019, and applies the Spatial Durbin Model to investigate the spatial effects of industrial agglomeration on carbon emission efficiency, along with its impact mechanisms at various stages of collaborative agglomeration between the manufacturing and service sectors. The results indicate that: (1) The upgrading of the service industry from consumption-oriented to production-oriented has proved to be conducive to enhancing carbon emission efficiency and alleviating the environmental problems associated with manufacturing agglomeration. (2) The industrial collaborative agglomeration exerts a spatial spillover effect on carbon emission efficiency. Over time, as the degree of industrial collaborative agglomeration reaches a specific threshold, it positively impacts the carbon emission efficiency within the local area but exerts an inhibitory effect in neighboring regions. (3) The urban agglomerations of Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and Pearl River Delta regions, along with low-carbon pilot cities, demonstrate a greater capacity to enhance the positive impact of industrial collaborative agglomeration on carbon emission efficiency. (4) Collaborative industrial clustering fosters technological progress through domestic technology transfer and green technology innovation. It also mitigates mismatches between labor and capital, enhances land-intensive utilization efficiency, and optimizes resource allocation, ultimately leading to improve carbon emission efficiency. This research contributes to China’s economic and social transition towards a low-carbon future and provides valuable insights for the green development and industrial upgrading of developing countries.

The unlimited joy, ‘once you start you can’t stop’: masculinity in domestic technology commercials in Turkey

Recently, studies have begun examining men’s interaction with domestic space to explore changing forms of masculinity and domesticity, arguing that housework has become a leisure activity for men, with domestic technologies serving as tools (toys) for them to engage with. In this article, we explore how men in Turkish television commercials of domestic technologies are portrayed and how these portrayals construct and reconstruct discourses of domesticity and masculinity. We aim to understand men’s relationship with masculinity, home and domestic work in these commercials. Alongside leisure and fun, we explore the construction of discourses of masculinity and domesticity through specific themes such as the naughty scientist, the self-seeking purchaser, and the flirtatious chef. We argue that seeing more men on screen does not democratise domesticity since the equal share of workload at home is still far from being realised even in these portrayals. We also argue that domesticity is aestheticized with the participation of men and technology. Finally, women are used as instruments by men in reconstructing their masculinity through heterosexuality.

State-led smart city with Chinese characteristics: the case of Xiong’an New Area, China

ABSTRACT Smart cities have emerged as either a technical fix to challenges of urbanized accumulation or an adaptable governance strategy under neoliberal, entrepreneurial, and austerity politics worldwide. Utilizing Xiong'an New Area, the most ambitious experimentation in China, as an empirical case, we present a distinct smart city model under the governance framework of state entrepreneurialism. This paper examines the salient and proactive role of the state in the ongoing smartification and digitalization in Xiong’an New Area. We highlight the plural (geo)political agendas parallel to capital accumulation in this state project. Based on in-depth interviews and documentary analysis, we illustrate how the state steered experimental practices through innovating institutional settings and financing strategy, legitimizing ‘digital twin’ experimentation in urban management, and co-opting non-state actors, including technical professional organizations and domestic technology enterprises. Its success rests more on its demonstration effects nationwide than the ‘actually existing’ smart city/urbanism within the territory of Xiong’an. This ‘state-led smart city with Chinese Characteristics’ shows unique features of smart governance shaped by political economic dynamics in China, compared to typical smart city models in Western capitalist countries and Asian developmental countries. The findings further the nuanced understanding of smart initiatives and projects in different contexts and the role of the government through the perspective of entrepreneurialism.

Modeling of fuel combustion processes in a steam boiler when replacing standard burners

To date, most of Ukraine's thermal power equipment has exhausted its factory resource and is physically and morally obsolete. One of the ways to solve this problem is to modernize it with the introduction of modern fuel-using equipment. The decisive direction in this situation is the focus on domestic technologies, which differ from imported counterparts due to better adaptability to domestic equipment, as well as a more favorable price policy for domestic manufacturers. The presented work was carried out in order to check the feasibility of replacing standard burners with burners built on the basis of jet-niche technology in power boilers, for example, such as the GМ-50 (Е-50-3,9-440GМ) steam boiler. For this, a computer model of a steam boiler and regular burners was developed. The research was carried out using the ANSYS Student software package. The application of the numerical modeling method using the ANSYS Student software complex made it possible to perform a detailed analysis of the fuel combustion process in a steam boiler, evaluate its efficiency and study the impact on environmental indicators. The object of the research was the processes that take place during the combustion of gaseous fuel and their influence on the performance indicators of the GМ-50 power boiler. The subject of the study was a CFD fuel model of the GМ-50 boiler, whose regular burners are capable of working on both liquid and gaseous fuel. Methane was used as fuel. Both regular axial burners and burners built on the basis of jet-niche technology, which are more environmentally friendly, were used as burners. Verification of the CFD model, which took place using a known analytical technique, shows that the discrepancy between the values of analytical calculations and model calculations does not exceed 6.7 %. The average temperature of flue gases in the festoon window was selected as a comparison parameter. The temperature value of 1117 С was obtained analytically. Calculation using the CFD model developed in the ANSYS-CFX environment shows that the temperature value should be 1042 С. It was determined that regular burners are less environmentally friendly than, for example, modern jet-niche ones. So, for the coefficient of excess air  = 1.2, the average value of nitrogen oxides at the fuel outlet is 187 ppm. It makes sense to replace standard burners, for example, with jet-niche ones, which are most suitable for replacing standard ones.

Technology-push, demand-pull and spillover from the major market demand: The case of the United States wind power market

This study aims to examine the technology-push and demand-pull hypotheses developed for a wind power industry. The wind power industry plays an important role in society as an emerging sustainable technology with strong social supports. Using patents as a proxy for a technology-push factor and the United States wind power net generation as a proxy for a demand-pull factor from 2001 to 2018, this study shows that the technology development in the major market (e.g., United States) drives its domestic market demand, whereas the domestic market demand in the major market does not drive its domestic technology development. However, the global technology development drives the major market demand and the major market demand drives the global technology development bilaterally. These results enable us to infer a spillover effect from the major market demand, indicating global players benefit from the major market demand largely created by social and government supports in major market. These findings highlight the implications for policy makers pursing both environmental and industrial policy goals and for firm managers attempting to enhance competitiveness in the wind power market.

Unveiling women’s ventilation practices and comfort in Jordan: video diaries as method for post-occupancy evaluation

ABSTRACT Understanding occupants’ behaviour and thermal preferences is key to designing less energy-intensive buildings. However, qualitative research methods to understand behaviour can be time-consuming and limited by participants’ recall bias and interpretations. This paper introduces a participatory method of ‘video diaries’ for interrogating occupants’ post-occupancy behaviour and energy use with their own mobile phones. The method is applied to understand middleclass women’s domestic and comfort practices in Amman, Jordan, focusing on their use of windows, fans and air-conditioning (AC). The study demonstrates the method’s effectiveness in capturing interrelated domestic energy-dependent practices, adaptive comfort and the materiality of homes. In particular, the video diaries reveal: (1) overlapping and ‘messy’ practices tied to the use of domestic technologies (e.g. AC and fans) in unexpected ways (e.g. always ventilating while cooking or exercising) that challenge conventional building simulation approaches that account for only thermally motivated actions; (2) diverse perceptions of comfort negotiated through gendered bodies and practices; and (3) the usefulness of video dairies as a form of self-reflection and increased awareness that may result in behavioural change. The study argues for using video diaries to supplement methods such as surveys and field measurements, particularly in post-occupancy evaluations or simulations for domestic energy use.

Application and Impact of the Provisions on Technology Transfer in the Regional Agreement

In the context of the lagging legislation of international technology transfer and the lack of unified regulation, the WTO cannot effectively use the dispute settlement mechanism to resolve the related contradictions arising from technology transfer. Signing regional trade agreements has gradually become the main means to regulate and promote technology transfer. However, the developing countries that rely on "market for technology" are often in a passive position, facing the difficulties of signing regional clauses caused by the technology transfer barriers of developed countries and the imperfect means of technology circulation and protection of developing countries, and urgently need to put forward their own countermeasures. In particular, China needs to innovate the domestic technology transfer system through the standard regional trade agreement rules to help our country maintain a good regional trade partnership. By clarifying the application conditions and effects of regional trade agreements, this paper proposes to improve the universality of regional trade agreements from the perspective of international formulation of uniform regulations.

ПРОБЛЕМА ПОВЫШЕНИЯ НАДЕЖНОСТИ МАШИН И ОБОРУДОВАНИЯ

The basis for a satisfactory level of operability of modern machines and equipment of domestic production was and remains the engineering and technical service of equipment and the "Planned preventive maintenance and repair system of machines in agriculture." Timely implementation of mechanized processes and work with low reliability of agricultural machinery requires an increase in the level of reliability and serviceability of the fleet of machines and equipment. (Research purpose) The research purpose is increasing the operational reliability of modern agricultural machinery based on the development and implementation of proprietary technical service. (Materials and methods) Materials obtained as a result of the author's own research and data on the reliability of domestic machinery and equipment from open sources were used in the research. The following methods were applied: comparative assessments, analysis and synthesis of the results of a survey of the operational reliability of agricultural machinery and equipment in real-world operation, the effectiveness of using various forms and methods of organizing their production and technical service. (Results and discussion) It was determined that an increase in the level of operability and reliability of modern domestic equipment can be ensured only with a significant improvement in the quality of manufacturing machinery and equipment and with the direct participation of the equipment manufacturer in technical service based on the proprietary method of technical service. It was noted that the organization of corporate technical service is possible only when creating a corporate production and technological system of mechanical engineering. The solution of this problem by the forces and means of existing separate equipment manufacturing plants is not possible. (Conclusions) To improve the reliability of modern domestic technology, it is necessary to reorganize the existing system of separate manufacturing plants, create large machine-building firms and branded technical service centers.

Industrial collaborative agglomeration and green economic efficiency—Based on the intermediary effect of technical change

AbstractIndustry upgrading and structure transformation are important methods for the green and sustainable development. This paper utilizes urban panel data from China spanning the years 2009–2022 to investigate the impact of manufacturing and producer services collaborative agglomeration on green economy efficiency. Additionally, it examines the mediating effect of three modes of technical change: domestic technological stock, international technology transfer, and innovation absorptive capacity. The key findings are summarized as follows: (1) The impact of Industrial collaborative agglomeration (ICA) on green economy efficiency follows a U‐shaped curve relationship, when the degree of ICA is below the inflection point (1.4022), it negatively affects green economy efficiency. However, when the degree surpasses that point, it demonstrates a positive impact. (2) Domestic technological stock and international technology transfer act as mediating variables between ICA and green economy efficiency. Advancements in domestic technology innovation and increased international technology transfer contribute to a positive effect of ICA on green economic efficiency.

Understanding Urban Women's Interaction with Domestic Technologies in Malawi: Advancing Feminist Theories in HCI

In sub-Saharan Africa, women are caretakers of their homes. Despite the gendered nature of technology use, human-computer interaction research has rarely focused on women's interaction with domestic technologies in this context. We explore how urban women in Malawi use domestic technologies to support activities in their homes. We conducted semi-structured interviews, observations, and focus group discussions with 33 married women living with their husbands and other family members. Our findings suggest that women are the primary users of utilitarian domestic technologies; however, their spouses have control over how they use these technologies. Further, we found that purpose and time influence women's decision-making process for selecting domestic technologies to use, especially cooking appliances. The structure of some Malawian homes—which consist of a combination of modern and traditional structures—also influences women's decision-making process. Our findings contribute to feminist theories in human-computer interaction through the application of ecology, pluralism, and self-disclosure aspects.

Kinetic regularities of neopentyl glycol esterification with acetic and 2-ethylhexanoic acids

Objectives. Development of a domestic technology for producing environmentally friendly non-phthalate plasticizers, lubricants and transformer fluids based on neopentyl glycol (NPG), an oxo-synthesis product.Methods. The methodology of the work was to study the kinetic laws of NPG esterification with acetic and 2-ethylhexanoic acids under self-catalysis conditions with an 8-fold molar excess of monocarboxylic acids. The production of NPG esters was carried out by azeotropic esterification in the presence of solvents—benzene and m-xylene. The resulting diesters were isolated from the reaction mass by vacuum rectification. The purity of the obtained NPG diesters was no less than 99.7 wt %. Analysis of the qualitative and quantitative composition of reaction samples was carried out using infrared spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas–liquid chromatography.Results. The paper presents the results of kinetic studies on NPG esterification of with acetic and 2-ethylhexanoic acids. It compares the reaction rates and reactivity of the acids used. Under the given conditions, NPG diesters were produced, and some of their physicochemical properties were determined. This enabled the data obtained to be used for the development of industrial technology in the production of NPG diesters.Conclusions. It was established that with an eightfold molar excess of acid under self-catalysis conditions, a yield of NPG diacetate equal to 95% is achieved within 20–22 h at an optimal process temperature of 100–110℃; NPG di(2-ethylhexanoate)—within 26–28 h at 160–170℃. The activation energies and pre-exponential factors for the formation of NPG mono- and diesters with acetic and 2-ethylhexanoic acids were established. The paper presents the kinetic models of esterification.

HARNESSING HOME-GROWN TECHNOLOGY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A REVIEW

This paper aims to examine the potential of homegrown technology in promoting national development in developing countries. The paper argues that while technology produced in the developed world has brought certain benefits to developing countries, harnessing homegrown technology for national development in developing countries can bring more lasting and meaningful benefits. Specifically, the paper makes a case for using homegrown technology to facilitate economic development, strengthen local governance, and provide access to healthcare and education. The paper begins by discussing current trends in technology diffusion in developing countries. It then goes on to provide an overview of the advantages of domestic technology for national development. Next, the paper outlines some of the challenges associated with using homegrown technology. Finally, the paper concludes with a review of recent initiatives that have been successful in harnessing homegrown technology for national development. the paper highlights that homegrown technology can be an effective tool for promoting national development. It argues that national governments should encourage local technological development and use homegrown technology to facilitate economic growth, strengthen local governance, and provide access to healthcare and education. Further research is needed to assess the impact of homegrown technology and devise strategies for maximizing its potential to drive national development in developing countries.

The effect of phosphorus content in copper alloys used for crystallisers of continuous casting machines

One of the key elements defining the technical level and operational capabilities of continuous casting machines (CCM) is the complex of physico-mechanical properties of copper or copper alloys used in its production. The paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the possibility of obtaining high-quality copper plates for CCBC crystallizers based on domestic technologies and equipment using refined copper. Special attention was paid to the need to optimize the chemical composition of the copper alloy within a narrower range of chemical element values. The analysis of the research shows that currently used copper alloys for CCM crystallizer manufacturing have a wide range of fluctuations in the main operational properties, namely thermal conductivity (260-390 W/(m·K)) and solidification temperature (250-700 °C). However, most of the alloys used have narrower fluctuation limits for acceptable values, constituting 340-390 W/(m·K) for thermal conductivity and 300-370 °C for solidification temperature, significantly depending on the impurity content in the copper alloy. Generalizing graphical dependencies, it should be assumed that the rational phosphorus content in the alloy is in the range of 40-120 ppm. In this case, the thermal conductivity of the alloy will be in the range of 370-400 W/(m·K), the solidification temperature will be 410-440 °C, and the recrystallization start temperature will be 370-400 °C. Moreover, such a phosphorus content interval is technologically feasible to maintain during billet casting. It is also shown that normalization annealing after cold deformation in the temperature range of 320-350 °C is capable of increasing the thermal conductivity of the alloy by 1-2 %. As a result of the conducted research, optimal limits of phosphorus content in fire-refined copper were established, ensuring the level of its physico-mechanical properties not lower than the indicators characteristic of alloys obtained from cathode copper. However, besides phosphorus, other alloy impurities, the content of which differs from the values characteristic of alloys obtained from cathode copper, may affect the properties of the material made from refined copper. Therefore, further research will focus on studying their complex impact on the physico-mechanical properties of refined alloys.

Modernization of key production business processes for rapid import substitution of goods, including agriculture

The scientific article presents a study on the accelerated import substitution of dual-use goods and technologies by modernizing the main production business processes of enterprises of the defense-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. Accelerated import substitution in the field of dual-use goods and technologies is a transition from dependence on foreign supplies to the production and development of core business processes, own domestic technologies for national defense and security of the country. This helps to reduce national security risks and ensure independence in important areas such as defense and cybersecurity. Modernization of core production business processes and promotion of new technologies contributes to the development of the country’s scientific and technological potential and enhances competitiveness in the global arena. This ensures the growth of the Russian economy, creates new jobs and promotes the potential for innovation. The object of the study is the enterprises of the defense industry complex. The subject of the study - accelerated import substitution of dual-use goods and technologies. The authors connect the prospects of their research with further scientific research in the field of development of dual-use goods and technologies, as well as with the modernization of the main production business processes.

Search for an effective method to monetize the natural gas produced in Russia

The article discusses possible ways for Russian oil and gas companies to monetize the produced natural gas and diversify sales channels. Since 2022, there has been a decline in the economic efficiency of the development of gas and gas condensate fields in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The root causes are the restriction of supplies to Western countries, the introduction of mechanisms to regulate the cost of hydrocarbons, the disruption of logistics chains, and the lack of prerequisites for the growth of domestic demand. The challenges currently facing oil and gas companies require comprehensive solutions. The actual challenges are increasing the value of produced hydrocarbons and diversification of sales methods. We consider the directions of gas delivery to the UGSS, its use as a fuel and raw material for power generation and gas chemistry. In the absence of a sales market near the autonomous fields, the most promising direction is deep processing of gas to produce products with high added value. Increasing the level of processing of hydrocarbon raw materials extracted from the fields is a driver for increasing the added value of the products sold. The main raw material for deep processing is natural gas prepared to marketable quality. Currently, its utilization as a gas chemical feedstock does not exceed 3.7%. Deep gas processing is characterized by high consumption of produced feedstock and access to a number of domestic technology licensors and equipment manufacturers. An alternative option is microbiological synthesis of protein from hydrocarbons. The prerequisite for the development of this direction is the growing demand for food products due to the increasing population of the Earth. The article presents a technical and economic evaluation of synthesis of feed protein from gas at autonomous fields in the north of Western Siberia. According to the results of a comparison of variants by protein content in the final product, component composition and specific cost, protein from hydrocarbons has the best characteristics. The main process of production is fermentation, and the equipment is a fermenter. The most modern technology involves the use of loop construction, the licensor of the technology is UniBio (Denmark). Among the consumers of feed protein are feed manufacturers, large livestock and poultry farms, fish farms. Studies of gaprin have confirmed the safety of its use as a feed additive. The implementation of deep gas processing projects will strengthen the stability of oil and gas companies in conditions of high market volatility.

HELIUM MARKET AND PROBLEMS OF EASTERN SIBERIA

Helium is a non-renewable natural resource that can act as an indicator of the development of innovation and economy in the countries of the world. In recent years, there have been significant changes in the global helium market: the 10 largest operators occupy up to 87.85 % of the global market. At the same time, their interests are primarily aimed at building new distribution centers and partnerships with owners of helium reserves.In Eastern Siberia, two large helium plants have been built at the Amur Gas Processing Plant and at the gas chemical project of Irkutsk Oil Company LLC, which is an example of a model for combining helium production and gas processing plants. At the same time, the strategic storage of helium is an important infrastructural nature and allows accumulating surpluses or, conversely, if necessary, covering peaks in demand or creating an excess of supply in the struggle for new sales markets.However, due to a complex of problems, these plants have not yet reached the industrial level. First of all, this is due to the refusal of foreign technology suppliers to cooperate in the conditions of sanctions. Only reliance on domestic technologies and equipment for the extraction, purification and liquefaction of helium can change the situation. At the same time, the level of manufacturers technological readiness of equipment manufactured in Russia, in general, allows to provide projects with critical and key equipment.A helium extraction facility is also being built in Yakutia by the Helium 24 Group of companies. The complex will be located on the Mirninsky district territory of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It should be noted that for the project in Yakutia, natural gas with the highest helium content is used as a raw material in comparison with other projects in the Russian Federation.Large reserves and resources of hydrocarbons, combined with the territorial remoteness of the fields of Eastern Siberia, require significant investments for their development and involvement in operation.

Universities in Transition to a New Model of Technological Development

The article analyzes the attributes of emerging model of technological development in Russia, focused on ensuring technological sovereignty. In this context, we discuss new activities of leading universities aimed at ensuring technological self-sufficiency. According to the legal base, the government will be ensuring technological sovereignty due to creation of so called “own development lines”. This is a new term in the Russian science and technology policy, meaning a set of measures (projects, programs) and conditions that guarantee the creation and sustainable development of original domestic technologies and products. We show that in the forming model of technological development universities begin to perform several new functions. The first is the emergence of inter-university initiatives of leading universities, when they jointly with companies form technological programs of national scale and level. The new activity lays the foundation for the change of technology generations that should take place within 5–10 years. The second is the transition of leading universities to participation, jointly with companies, in technology development at later stages of innovation circle. In addition, a number of universities have started to set up pilot production facilities. These facilities make it possible to test new technologies and products and simultaneously they become a source of additional income for further research and development. However, the potential of inter-university initiatives and of pilot production facilities are not yet considered at the state level as strategic directions of university development. Governmental measures are aimed at strengthening only traditional areas of university activity.

Current Status and Features of the Development of Technoparks in Ukraine

Introduction. The R&D potential of innovation infrastructure entities is a key factor in the implementation of innovation-driven development of the national economy, with technology park being precisely the innovation structure that unites it, ensuring the functioning of the model.Problem Statement. Many aspects of regulatory, financial, and information framework of technoparks have been not settled so far. Methodological approaches to assessing the park efficiency have been underdeveloped. In this context, there is the necessity in the theoretical justification and the formation of a holistic view of the status and features of their activity in the conditions of the protracted aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.Purpose. The purpose of the research is to analyze the problems of domestic technology parks, to identify their capabilities, and to determine the trends in their development under the present-day conditions.Material and Methods. The methods of dialectical and complex research have been employed: the empirical evaluation to identify the available methods of evaluating the activity of technoparks; the theoretical and cognitive analysis to determine the essence and to justify the features of technology parks; the general methods to identifymethodological problems of integrating technology parks into the financial system and describing approaches to the concept of an innovation form of business.Results. The development of technology parks in Ukraine, their government support, systematized criteria for evaluating their efficiency have been analyzed. It has been determined that the priority in the creation of technology parks should be given to industries with high export potential. It has been proven that technology parks minimize the duration of the "research-development-implementation" cycle, the main tasks for their improvement in Ukraine have been outlined.Conclusions. Technoparks are the most successful form of integration of science and production, which ensures rapid development, implementation, and use of innovations. Improving the legal framework for their operation in order to create the same operating conditions for all, not only for "selected" technology parks, increases competition between them, while modernizing the tax policy contributes to the growth of in-house sources of financing and their direction to the development of promising innovation projects.

Biotic potential of Transeius montdorensis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) under technocenosis conditions

The subtropical mite species Transeius montdorensis is widely used to control thrips and other sucking pests in European countries. To develop a domestic technology for the mass rearing of T. montdorensis, its biotic potential has been evaluated under large scale production. The growth rate of T. montdorensis is 0.19±0.017, the doubling time is 4.7±0.29 days at 26–27 °C. In the tested range of mite densities (5–80 ind./ml), the growth rate tends to decrease as the density increases. This trend can be approximated by a logarithmic curve. The density 60–80 ind./ml causes not only a significant drop in the population growth rate but also the decrease in range of its fluctuations. Higher fluctuations of growth rate at lower predator densities (5–15 ind./ml) are probably due to the fact that, in some containers, the predator is unable to hold back outbreaks of its prey (the flour mite Tyrophagus entomophagus). As a result, the prey overpopulates the substrate, which causes its contamination by waste products stimulating microflora development. The growth rate in the density range of 5–15 ind./ml is lower than expected and does not differ significantly from that in the range of 20–30 ind./ml. This indicates that the prey uncontrolled growth inhibit the reproduction of T. montdorensis. The population doubling time is a reliable indicator for screening the best stock culture of T. montdorensis for its successful rearing up to density 60 ind./ml within 6–8 days, i.e., before mass growth of fungi in the substrate. The range of 20–30 ind./ml is the optimal starting density for mass rearing, and when the predator reaches a density of more than 60 ind./ml, it should be resettled or offered for sale.