bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
WELL STRING LEAK DETECTION USING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS
Authors: Ishkulov I.M. , Tahauov D.D. , Vafin R.R. , Fattahov I.G. , Pimenov A.A.
Published: September 2024

Currently, the issue of correct and timely assessment of the technical condition of wells is quite acute due to the development of fields at a late stage, high water cut of the well product, as well as the aging well stock. Traditionally, geophysical surveys are used to determine the technical condition of the production string, which make it possible to determine the presence of a disturbance, as well as its interval. However, due to the heavy workload of field technicians, it is not always possible to send a geophysical batch in a timely manner to check the technical condition of the well string. This fact entails oil shortages, an increase in the percentage of water cut, a negative impact on the environment, an increase in unproductive injection, as well as a decrease in target economic indicators. It is also worth noting the high risk of "idle" travel, when it is not possible to detect the presence of violations in the production casing.As a solution to these problems, the authors proposed a new technique for assessing the technical condition of the column based on a machine learning model. Chemical analysis of the water, the age of the well, the number of repairs carried out on the well, the dynamics of well operation, as well as its structure are the main features for which well leakage is predicted. The obtained signs are processed, loaded into a machine learning model, and then a specialist is given a real-time conclusion about the presence of a well leak. As a result of the experiments, it was determined that the CatBoost model on the sample, taking into account the class balance, showed the best quality according to the F1-measure metric. The authors interpreted the obtained results of model prediction based on the effect of individual features on the probability of leakage of the production casing of the well both in the whole well stock and for each case separately. The following features have the greatest impact on the condition of the string: well age, sulfate content, specific gravity of water, as well as primary salts.This approach can significantly reduce decision-making time, increase the efficiency of detecting leaks in wells, and increase economic targets.The result of this work is a methodology for detecting leakage of the production casing, as well as an indirect method for diagnosing and predicting the degree of fatigue of the production casing and a certain share of the risk of leakage.
MICROWAVE THERMOLYSIS OF HEAVY OIL IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IRON-BASED CATALYST
Authors: Arhipov E.V. , Muhamatdinov I.I. , Gimadeev D.I. , Vahin A.V.
Published: September 2024

Global demand for energy is growing every year, and there is also a decrease in reserves of traditional hydrocarbons. Today, the share of highly viscous and bitumen oil reserves is 25 % of the world. Production of extra-viscous oils will grow around the world.In order to solve the problem of developing highly viscous and bitumen deposits and increase oil recovery, we offer a technology for using aquatermolysis catalyst. Experience in the use of in-situ chemical conversion of organic matter has shown sufficient effectiveness in solving this problem.In this work, laboratory studies were carried out to improve the rheological characteristics of highly viscous and bituminous oils using microwave exposure using an iron-based catalyst precursor.The addition of a catalyst precursor containing iron nanoparticles provides more uniform and higher-speed heating when the formation is exposed to high-frequency electromagnetic radiation. This heating technology has been used in various fields to achieve environmental safety and high energy savings, in comparison with traditional methods that cannot achieve these indicators. The proposed technology simplifies the development process by eliminating the injection of coolants, thereby providing prospects for the processes of intensification of production and its subsequent transportation.In order to assess the possibility of effective application of high-frequency electromagnetic radiation to the formation in a particular field, first of all, data on the rheological characteristics of oil after exposure should be presented.These laboratory studies showed a decrease in viscosity under microwave exposure in the presence of a catalyst up to 1.8 times compared to the original oil sample. A decrease in viscosity characteristics was recorded already from a five-minute microwave exposure, as well as a change in the component composition of the oil, the tar content decreases by 27 % relative to the initial oil sample. This combination of the two methods of action provides new opportunities for the development of new technologies, as well as more efficient production of heavy oil.
ASSESSMENT OF INITIAL RESERVOIR PRESSURE WHEN BRINGING A PRODUCTION WELL INTO OPERATION
Authors: Enikeev R.M. , Timershaehov D.F. , Gubaidullin M.R. , Sudnitsyn M.S. , Davletbaev A.Ya.
Published: September 2024

One of the «low-cost» methods of the welltests is the analysis of production and pressure in unsteady filtration modes. After interpreting the data on production and pressures in mechanized wells with the availability of information about the pressure at the pump intake, an assessment of the current reservoir pressure and an analysis of the causes of production changes for individual low-permeability reservoirs can be performed. For the implementation of the analysis of production and pressure, information on the initial reservoir pressure is required; therefore, the search for new methods for estimating the initial reservoir pressure is an urgent task. The paper proposes to combine the hydrodynamic study of a well with a stepwise change in operating modes with the stage of putting a mechanized well into operation. This combination will reduce costs and significantly reduce production losses associated with conducting «traditional» welltests with a well shutdown. However, the implementation of a study with a stepwise change of modes when putting a well into operation may lead to a decrease in the reliability of determining reservoir parameters. The paper discusses an approach to determining the scenario for conducting such a study. The approach is based on the generalization of multivariate calculations of various scenarios for putting wells into operation in the hydrodynamic simulator «RN-KIM». Based on the results of the analysis and generalization of data, matrices for evaluating research scenarios have been constructed, according to which it is possible to choose an acceptable option for implementing a study with an assessment of reservoir pressure with a certain reliability. The results of the work also make it possible to assess the reliability of reservoir pressure from wells that have already been removed, in which field dynamic data on pressures, debits, etc. has been recorded. An approach is proposed for replicating matrices for estimating the reliability of the initial reservoir pressure without additional multivariate calculations and using previously calculated matrices.
DEVELOPMENT OF AN EXPRESS ASSESSMENT OF THE RESULTS OF GEOLOGICAL AND TECHNICAL MEASURES TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT OF THE GATHERING SYSTEM
Authors: Shakirov E.R.
Published: September 2024

This article provides a rationale for the method of «express» assessment of changes in well flow rate when performing geological and technical measures in an oil field. In view of the cluster configuration of wells that is widespread in Western Siberia, the author identifies two groups of well pads, one of which is influencing, the other is reacting. At the influencing well clusters, as a result of the implementation of geological and technical measures to increase extraction from the productive formation, an increase in the produced fluid occurs. This leads to destabilization of the equilibrium in the “reservoir – well – pipeline” system. The consequence of a violation of this balance is an increase in the load on the reservoir fluid pumped in oil and gas gathering pipelines on individual branches of the field collection system. This leads to a redistribution of wellhead pressures at production wells, which, in turn, also leads to a change in bottomhole pressure and a change in well productivity. The author defines well pads where there is no increase in production, but where there is a change in pressure at the wellheads as reactive. With an increase in linear pressure on the pads, the energy balance in the operating production wells at the reacting well pads shifts towards a decrease in flow rate. Conversely, when wellhead pressure decreases, well productivity increases. These parameters will change until the energy balance of pressures in the wells is achieved. In connection with the above, within the framework of this work, an approach is presented for assessing changes in well operating parameters with increasing production in the field. An example of testing the proposed approach on a complex integrated model is given. To test this approach for adequacy, a comparison was made of theoretical calculations of changes in the operation of real wells with calculations performed on a customized complex integrated model of an oil field. It is worth noting that this type of calculation is characterized as approximate. Its use is advisable exclusively at the stage of preparing programs for performing geological and technical measures to determine reservoir zones in which the negative effect of increasing production will be minimal.
TO THE ISSUE OF SOIL VARIOUS TYPES INFLUENCE ON PIPELINE LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT
Authors: Ivanov V.A. , Borisov N.A. , Seroshtanov I.V. , Chekardovskij M.N. , Gladenko A.A.
Published: September 2024

Achieving and maintaining the required reliability of the linear part of the main gas pipelines is of great importance. Emergency destruction usually leads to large gas leaks into the atmosphere and undersupply to consumers, significant costs for the restoration of main gas pipelines. The rise in cost of repair work on main gas pipelines directly depends on the difficult conditions of the route. Special technical solutions are to be used for achieving the necessary stability and reliability of pipelines on low-bearing soils. Thus, on operating gas pipelines at variable temperatures of the transported product, their longitudinal movements occur, resulting in longitudinal forces appearance and correspondingly in increase of gas pipeline stress state and their possible destruction. The significant period of time of increase in gas pipeline movements indicates that these changes in pipeline position occur due to the rheological properties of soils. An analysis of the stress state of such sections of gas pipelines is necessary to assess their operational reliability and, as a result, the timing and methods of repair. This article discusses the maximum values of longitudinal displacements of a pipeline laid in various soils and the deflection values corresponding to these models for potentially dangerous sections.
Experimental study of the effect of sprayer temperature on the characteristics of diesel fuel combustion in an atmospheric burner device
Authors:   Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation, Mukhina Mariia A. , Sadkin Ivan S. ,   Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation,   Novosibirsk State Technical University, Russian Federation, Shadrin Evgeny Yu. ,   Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation, Kopyev Evgeny P. ,   Kutateladze Institute of Thermophysics, SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
Published: September 2024

In this work, using diesel fuel as an example, we studied the combustion characteristics of liquid hydrocarbons when atomized by a high-speed air jet. This approach to spraying liquid fuel in combustion processes has a number of advantages over traditional spraying: the ability to supply fuel with a low degree of purification and to reduce the likelihood of fuel equipment coking. Using an atmospheric burner device with natural air supply into the mixing chamber, the depen¬dences of the composition of intermediate and final combustion products were studied, and the flame temperature was measured at various fuel flow rates and parameters of the atomizing air jet (flow rate, temperature). A comparison was made of the obtained characteristics for equivalent modes at different temperatures of the supplied atomizer. It was found that when heated air is used as a sprayer, higher flame temperatures are ensured, which ensures a more complete fuel burnout and a decrease in CO concentration in the flue gases, but at the same time, a slight increase in NOx is observed.
Huertas escolares: recurso pedagógico para educación ambiental en jardines infantiles de Cota
Authors: Velásquez-Murcia Santiago
Published: September 2024

El presente documento expone la formulación del proyecto de intervención socioeducativa, de carácter exploratorio, correspondiente a la Práctica Pedagógica III de la Licenciatura en Ciencias Naturales de la Universidad de La Sabana en Colombia. Este proyecto se llevó a cabo en los siete jardines infantiles de la Secretaría de Desarrollo Social de Cota, con el propósito de desarrollar acciones educativas ambientales con un alto grado de rigor pedagógico. El objetivo principal fue formar actitudes y hábitos proambientales en los niños. La experiencia consistió en la planificación e implementación de ocho talleres en los diversos jardines para potenciar diversos desarrollos en los 141 niños del nivel jardín, cuya edad osciló entre los 4 y 5 años. Los resultados de esta experiencia preliminar corresponden a un mejoramiento en los procesos de planificación de dichas actividades. Por tanto, es posible afirmar que los procesos de educación ambiental en la primera infancia desarrollados con el proyecto de huertas escolares contribuyen al desarrollo de los niños y sus aprendizajes, aportando al cumplimiento de objetivos enmarcados en los planes municipales y perfeccionar los procesos de planificación pedagógica que desarrollan las docentes.
A importância da educação ambiental e as percepções acerca dos anuros entre alunos de anos iniciais de ambientes escolares urbano e rural
Authors: Goldshmidt Andréa Inês , Lucas Gonsales Elaine Maria , Bernardi Geovane
Published: September 2024

A Educação Ambiental aliada ao Ensino de Ciências pode auxiliar na formação de cidadãos mais conscientes, capazes de refletir, tomar decisões e propor soluções, no intuito de preservar espécies ameaçadas e combater a desinformação, que leva muitas vezes ao desaparecimento de populações. Como educadores, é imperativo estarmos atentos às concepções prévias dos estudantes, pois essas podem tanto facilitar a construção do conhecimento científico quanto se tornar obstáculos à aprendizagem. Uma área de particular preocupação envolve as concepções sobre os anfíbios, um grupo ameaçado que enfrenta não apenas os impactos da degradação ambiental, mas também o preconceito, muitas vezes derivado da falta de informações, o que pode aumentar o risco de extinção dessas espécies. Diante desse cenário, esta pesquisa objetivou investigar as percepções dos alunos dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental sobre anuros, buscando facilitar um processo de Educação Ambiental aliado ao Ensino de Ciências. O estudo, conduzido sob uma abordagem qualitativa, contemplando duas realidades distintas: escola rural, envolvendo 17 estudantes, e um ambiente urbano, composto por 75 estudantes. Constatou-se que a imagem estereotipada associada aos anuros, quando apresentada de maneira real, é um dos fatores que gera sentimentos negativos nos alunos. Além disso, observou-se que a distância das crianças em relação aos ambientes naturais, especialmente devido à vivência em contextos urbanos, resulta em um conhecimento limitado sobre o grupo e sua importância no ecossistema. Nesse contexto, a Educação Ambiental se torna essencial para desmistificar aspectos negativos associados a esses animais, contribuindo assim para a valorização e cuidados com as espécies.
De la ecología a la educación ambiental en la educación primaria en México
Authors: Paz-Ruiz Vicente
Published: September 2024

El propósito de este trabajo es documentar la relación entre la ecología y la educación ambiental en los distintos proyectos para la educación básica en México. Para ello, se realiza una revisión de los currículos de ciencias naturales en la educación primaria en México, desde 1921 hasta 2022. Se observa el enfoque ecologista oficial en el currículo de educación básica de 1921 a 1972. Las tensiones entre lo ambiental y lo ecológico desembocan en una nueva propuesta educativa que intenta, desde 1973, cambiar el enfoque ecológico por uno ambiental, algo que se logra gradualmente desde 2011. Finalmente, se habla de un nuevo currículo (2022) donde se separa la enseñanza de la ciencia (ecología) de lo ambiental, creándose campos de formación separados: el primero “Saberes y pensamiento científico”, el segundo “Ética, naturaleza y sociedad”, donde la ecología deja de ser el núcleo de justificación técnica disciplinar.
Why Critique Run Out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern
Authors: Latour Bruno
Published: September 2024

This article proposes a revision of the notion of critique developed in the social sciences at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Bruno Latour suggests that criticism has largely lost its explanatory potential and has become an obstacle to responding to new challenges and threats. He suggests a radical revision of both the instruments and targets of critical analysis while observing the emergence of the “instant revisionism” phenomenon with its pseudo-critical analysis that challenges the facts established by science or jurisprudence, thus imitating the procedures of the sociology of science that Latour, himself, extensively used in his work of the eighties and nineties. He equally signalizes the transformation of critical procedures from an attribute of elitist academic culture to a key element of the conspiracy theories that have proliferated with the advent of social media and alternative information sources. Latour emphasizes that conspiracy theories and “instant revisionism” have become instruments in the hands of political forces challenging the established scientific consensus on the key role of anthropogenic factors in climate change. Simultaneously, he disapproves of returning to the pre-critical realism that does not consider the complex procedure of the “production” of facts, which does not amount to so-called “social constructivism.” To overcome this crisis, Latour proposes a gradual transition from the outdated notion of “facts” to a new concept, “matters of concern.” This new approach will account for the complex procedure of producing new entities and the interactions of human and non-human actors. Meanwhile, it will enable the recognition of the irrelevance of objections to already established states of affairs and adopt an authentic realist attitude that combines the virtues of critical methodology and the new pragmatism.
Unstable Nature and “Myriad Things”: Between European Doublethink and Chinese Correlationism
Authors:   Eastern Federal University (FEFU), Vladivostok, Russia, Matveenko Valentin
Published: September 2024

As an embodiment of the technical thinking of European modernity, the Anthropocene as a phenomenon and as a concept relies on the idea of nature as a world separate and independent from human society. However, the obvious counterproductivity of this dualism points to the need for a new way of thinking about the relationship between humans and nonhumans. The paper examines some of the ontological insights developed in Chinese classical philosophy to indicate on what kind of relationship with nature a collective of nonhuman and human could be based. In particular, it is proposed to conceive of nature as a concept associated with a moral rather than metaphysical order. The paper begins by proposing several positions (Latour, Descola, Viveiros de Castro) that allow for the affirmation of the ontological pluralism and otherness of natures. It makes possible a different way of associating humans and nonhumans. Further, the way in which nature is inscribed in Chinese ontological conceptions that emphasise not just the unity of all things, but the moral wholeness of the world, is examined. Such a “moral cosmotechnics” presupposes the absence of human exceptionalism and treats human beings as just another thing among many things. This situation precludes anthropocentrism and does not confer on human beings a privileged position conducive to the cultivation of a detached and theorising view of nature. Instead, human existence is always understood as a self-unfolding interaction within nature. Finally, it is suggested that ancient Chinese philosophy in considering the cosmos, did not primarily proceed from a metaphysical formulation of the question leading to a separation of the collectives of human and nonhuman, but rather endowed the cosmos with an overarching morality that supports the continuous building of a collective allows any object to join in. Considering nature not as an object of knowing but as a moral subject is supposed to be a perspective through which a new “natural contract” becomes possible.
Deactivating Theology: Agamben and Postsecularity
Authors:   Nayanova Academy for Gifted Children, Samara, Russia, Goriainov Oleg
Published: September 2024

Within the framework of postsecular discourse, Giorgio Agamben’s thought occupies an unobvious position: on the one hand, his philosophical project is inextricably linked to the theological tradition of thought; on the other hand, his thought is nourished by a critical impulse that is often labeled atheistic. The ambiguity of such a position is problematic because of the fact that in a post-secular context, that is, a situation in which all thought casts a theological shadow, a clear idea of what atheistic philosophy is today is lost. In order to understand how Agamben manages to simultaneously accept the premises of postsecularity, not to return to the Enlightenment model of atheism, and to take a critical stance towards religion and theology, the article proposes an analysis of his method. The author seeks to understand the meaning and basis of the attitude of deactivation and neutralization of the theological apparatus constantly found in Agamben’s texts. For this purpose his work The Sacrament of Language. An Archaeology of the Oath is read and seen as the main text that reveals the specificities of Agamben’s relationship with theology. The analysis of this work, as well as Nicole Loraux’s study of the phenomenon of the oath in antiquity, allows us to show how Agamben manages to transcend the boundaries of postsecularity: by identifying the primacy of the experience of language and its attendant divisions in relation to religion, law and politics, Agamben argues that critical procedure must be embodied in a particular use of language. These experiences of use are the practices of philosophy and poetry, which in Agamben’s thought play the role of the basis for the critique of theology. Agamben concretizes these forms of linguistic experience through the notions of profanation and parody, the application of which deactivates the theological apparatus. The article concludes with an illustration of the method of parody through the example of the peculiarity of the reception of Simone Weil’s thought in Agamben’s texts.
School of Art Research Methodology: Practice and Theory
Authors:   Bishkek School of Contemporary Art (BiSCA), Kyrgyzstan, Ukhina Diana , Borubaeva Bermet ,   Bishkek School of Contemporary Art (BiSCA), Kyrgyzstan
Published: September 2024

The conversation between two female curators, co-founders of the Bishkek School of Contemporary Art (BiSCA), raises questions related to methodological approaches in artistic research. They reflect on the connection of their interests and education (political science and sociology) with the emergence and agenda of the School of Artistic Research Methodology, on the need for an ideological position in projects, on the advantage of artistic research over academic research, as well as on the opportunities that methodological system thinking offers for forming new perspectives on seemingly understandable phenomena, elements of systems, or systems themselves. The conversation traces the concepts and conclusions on the structure and forms of interaction within the School of Artistic Research Methodology as a fluid platform for the exchange of experiences in the field of artistic practices and research methodologies. It is built on self-organization and solidarity without any hierarchy of knowledge or teachers, where everyone being an equal participant in the process of information exchange. The text emphasizes that methodology is one of the foundations of creativity, with School of Artistic Research Methodology focusing on the exploration of research processes and reflection on contemporary art practices in Bishkek and Kyrgyzstan. This reflection derives local art theory from practices, comparing and systematizing different approaches in order to gradually form knowledge on ourselves, cultural and political processes taking place in Kyrgyzstan, while expanding the horizons of methodological imagination and the possibility of reassembling social relations.
Half-Life of Luminaries: Knowledge and Its Crises
Authors: Kralechkin Dmitriy
Published: September 2024

The article examines the conditions of so called crises of knowledge in the situation set up by Immanuel Kant’s revolution. The latter is treated as a gesture of radical detachment from the ontology where knowledge could exist as a part of the world, the most privileged and powerful part. Kant’s thesis of the impossibility of coordinating our knowledge with things covers up the memory of knowledge as an instance or “luminary” already present in the world, which united in itself three figures of identification: self-knowledge with knowledge of the world, knowledge with a reason or foundation, and knowledge with power. The splitting of these identities set the directions of “crises of knowledge,” both historically known and possible in the future. Self-knowledge and the givenness of intellect for itself ceased to converge with cognition of the world. Cognition of the world, including a scientific one, ceased to coincide with the efficacy of the world or the logic of agency and foundation. Finally, knowledge as such ceased to be the most real part of this world. Today, knowledge is realized in forms that do not allow the intellect to become a thing, and it is the interdiction that draws the boundaries of the actual region of knowledge, which cannot claim ontological completeness or even localizability. Knowledge has slipped into a zone of homonymy where the multiplication of knowledge no longer promises a solution to the fundamental problems of its justification posed by modern philosophy.
Philosophy and Life of Evald Ilyenkov
Authors: Ochkina Anna
Published: September 2024

The article reveals the ideas of the Soviet philosopher Evald Ilyenkov in the context of the characteristics of Soviet philosophy. The reason for the rejection of Ilyenkov’s ideas by official Soviet Marxism was his non-orthodox understanding of Marxist philosophy as materialist dialectics, the main task of which he considered to be the discovery of the laws of knowledge. Ilyenkov was accused of “epistemology,” “idealism,” and “positivism,” although it was him who consistently criticized the idealistic and positivist tendencies in Soviet philosophy. Evald Ilyenkov, being a convinced communist, nevertheless clearly saw the tragic dead end of Soviet history. This caused both his close attention to the problem of communism as a genuine and historically objective ideal of human development, and his personal tragedy of bitter, mortal disappointment. The dialectical-materialistic concept of thinking is analyzed on the basis of the Ilyenkov’s work Dialectics of Abstract and Concrete in Scientific and Theoretical Thinking. This work is a complex, theoretical reworking of Marxist dialectics, a personal and at the same time truly scientific understanding of it. This philosophy allowed Ilyenkov to formulate the most important provisions about the nature of personality. Ilyenkov was convinced that the key to understanding personality development was not in physiology, but in the content and characteristics of sensory-concrete activity. The article also outlines Ilyenkov’s understanding of the category of “ideal” as the essence of an object or phenomenon.
Beyond the Utopia. Two Viewpoints on Post-Industrial Labor
Authors:   Stasis Center for Practical Philosophy, European University at St. Petersburg (EUSPb), Russia, Mezhuyev Stepan
Published: September 2024

Statism and anarchism are a binary opposition that divides Marxists into two irreconcilable camps. This opposition was felt especially irresistible during the Iron Curtain. But already in the 1980s, both in Soviet philosophy and in European Marxism, the idea of dialogue and communication was actively gaining popularity, which called for compromise between opponents. And today, when the depoliticizing nature of late capitalism tendentiously smooth out “rough edges,” imposing radical centrism according to Anthony Gidden contradictions completely lose their fundamental importance. Within the framework of this hypothesis, the author constructs a theoretical dialogue between Italian post-Operatism (Antonio Negri, Paolo Virno, Franco Berardi, Maurizio Lazzarato, etc.) and domestic cultural philosophies (Vladimir Bibler, Vadim Mezhuyev, Nal Zlobin, Moses Kagan, Arnold Arnoldov, etc.), which are usually located at opposite poles of the political spectrum: postoperatives are known as anarchists, and cultural philosophers are more conservative and rather closer to the Social Democrats. Both schools, referring to Karl Marx’s early works, analyze a new reality where the role of the main producer is occupied by a cultural person (scientist/artist) or a postindustrial worker. Both schools experience a certain affect of disappointment in radical political changes, and therefore see the main way to improve society no longer in political struggle, but in culture and communication. But while Italian Marxists urge to seek horizontal solidarity in subcultures, cultural philosophers take a position of power, developing pedagogical programs to make from proletariat the so-called cognitariat. The post-operatives label the new society emerging with the term “Empire.” The author of the article draws parallels between the new Empire and the late USSR, in which cultural philosophers worked. The article compares critical and apologetic views on post- Fordist production, as well as examines two proposed Enlightenment projects. The article attempts to demonstrate the theoretical similarities of the two directions and lays a certain foundation for their convergence with the aim of creating a dialectical theory that would combine both elements of pedagogy and a program of horizontal solidarity.
“The Americans are a real problem”. A conversation with Lex Fridman
Authors:   Chicago University, USA, Mearsheimer John
Published: September 2024

In an interview with Lex Fridman, American political scientist, professor at the University of Chicago John Mearsheimer comments on the situation of the current world system crisis based on the ideas of offensive realism developed by him since the early 2000s, according to which even great powers interested only in maintaining security are forced to compete and conflict with each other, striving for hegemony (the greatest influence) and plunging the world into a systemic state of anarchy. According to Mearsheimer, this historical trend is not dictated by the will to power inherent in political leaders such as Napoleon Bonaparte or Adolf Hitler, but is coupled with a structural argument, which, in relation to the current crisis, is the wave of NATO expansions (actual — in 1999 and 2004, declared — in 2008), which was actively rejected by Russia. The role of the personality (leader) remains significant today, however, the situation of trust necessary for conducting a direct peacemaking dialogue now also acts as structurally conditioned, primarily negatively — due to numerous cases of deceived trust in the past. At the same time, such a structural moment as the existence in the current conditions of the MAD-world (the world of mutually assured destruction), as before, as in the situation of the 1961 Caribbean crisis, not only provides opportunities for manipulating risks, but also acts as a tangible last limit for self-understanding towards peace.
“The European Commission is now like the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union”. A conversation with Logos Journal
Authors: Ritz Hauke
Published: September 2024

In his conversation with the editors of Logos about the key plots and the context of the book Endgame Europe. Why the Europe Political Project Has Failed and How Can We Dream of It Again (2022) its co-author, Hauke Ritz, emphasizes that it was induced by a reflection on the reasons of the European Union project’s failure at the time of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. This failure has both an internal political — the failure of democracy and republicanism in the internal structures of the EU, and a foreign dimension — the deterioration of relations between Germany (Europe), the West and Russia and, of course, the conflict in Ukraine. Moreover, the internal political failure in the implementation of the European peace project, largely associated with the choice of an extensive path of its development (EU enlargement, coupled with NATO expansion to the east) at the expense of intensity (deepening political integration) leads to deep foreign policy complications and is aggravated by them. The fact that the EU project, which has not made progress in its domestic political (democratic and republican) content and is artificially limited through the exclusion of Russia from the European world and the common security architecture, has turned out to be instrumentalized, along with support for the US position on Ukraine, according to Ritz, constitutes a betrayal of Europe. The problem is compounded by the disregard of the university community and the mainstream media for this catastrophic state of affairs. However, new, alternative media are emerging and gaining popularity all over Europe, critically and responsibly exploring these topics and contributing to the formation of reflective European solidarity.
Ulrike Guérot’s Case: Public Execution Attempts
Authors:   Overton Magazine, Neu-Isenburg, Germany, De Lapuente Roberto
Published: September 2024

The case of Ulrike Guérot, which has become an administrative case, which highlights the problematic nature of current university policy in Germany and beyond (the policy of direct and indirect restrictions and sanctions imposed on manifestations of free, non-standard thinking in the public space of a modern democratic society), is described by the author in its unique facticity for Germany — correlated except with the wave of prohibitions on the profession and the expulsion of dissidents in 1977 (the case of Peter Bruckner, etc.). The essay sets itself and tries to answer the following structurally significant and rooted in the specifics of the analyzed case: (1) How, when and why is Professor (political scientist Ulrike Guérot) labeled “controversial” (#umstritten)? (2) What impact does public pressure have on the decision of the (Bonn) University to dismiss? (3) What happens to a democratic society in which scientists and intellectuals are no longer free and cannot participate in public discussions without self-censorship? In search of answers to these questions, the author comes to a statement of a characteristic and symptomatic circumstance for the current moment: through a media campaign promoting his case professionally (but laterally, divergently) analyzing the current political realities (Germany, Europe, etc.) the political scientist is being pushed out by both the mainstream media and the university community “into that segment of society whose representatives began to be called ‘outside the box’ in a negative and exclusive way [from ‘normality’] even during the polarized discussion about coronavirus…” As a result: “Alliances and communities that previously seemed unthinkable suddenly arose, The classic political categories of the ‘right’ and ‘left’ are mixed up… Which once again underlines the complexity of the social dynamics that have arisen: which side is ‘wrong’ in a democracy?”
Alternative Approaches to Addressing Violence: Exploring Narrative Therapy and Persecution Representations
Authors:   Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow, Russia, Prorokova Marisya , Radaev Vasiliy
Published: September 2024

The article explores the concept of a non-essentialist view on violence related to therapeutic and social work, as well as community self-organization practices. According to the authors, the Girardian perspective on relevant ways of dealing with violence ethically and methodologically aligns with the principles of narrative therapy. The article examines such narrative concepts as deconstruction, externalization, and narrative metaphor, in relation to the concepts of scapegoat and persecution representations. The article demonstrates the tools that narrative therapy employs while working with individuals involved in violence, survivors of violence, and the community that has witnessed such incidents. It explores such ethically aligned concepts and methods as restorative justice, restorative circles, and the VASCA model that could be effectively applied to this work. Additionally, it examines the allies narrative practice could find in related approaches. The article investigates the current initiatives undertaken by communities and projects aiming to progress in this direction. Furthermore, it explores how René Girard’s ideas could complement the narrative toolkit and explains why establishing a dialogue between Girardian theory and narrative practice holds importance for us, both in terms of theory and practice. Illustrating a practical implementation, the authors of the article present the readers with insights and conclusions drawn from a reflective group’s engagement in a series of narrative conflict mediations and therapeutic interventions with individuals responsible for violence and survivors.
From the Founding Murder to Martyrdom: On the Evolution of Fruitful Death Phenomena
Authors: Zygmont Aleksei
Published: September 2024

The article aims to develop and supplement some of René Girard’s concepts, taking the notion of martyrdom as the departure point. The author suggests a hypothesis that the founding murder in Girard’s interpretation and martyrdom are two different paradigms of sacrifice and that martyrdom mirrors the founding murder and replaces it in the course of cultural evolution, being a Christian innovation. Analyzing four mythological accounts of the founding murder, in which the world or social order are created from the body parts of a slain deity or a monster (Tiamat, Tlaltecuthli, Ymir, and Purusha), the author concludes that they almost always lack the constitutive features of such myths highlighted by Girard: the culpability of the victim, the unanimity of the crowd, and ritual reproducing. Instead, their key feature is the very idea of creation through violence. The author challenges Girard’s idea that the founding murder’s mechanism eroded due to Judeo-Christian revelation, and examines several examples of how that mechanism was not recognized as such or doubted. Finally, the article puts forward the idea that the decline of the founding murder paradigm was due to the invention of martyrdom as its direct inversion: instead of creating the world or social order from the body of the slain entity, people began to rally around the victim from within their own ranks. According to the author, these two paradigms are in a complex relation of continuity and discontinuity, since the theology of martyrdom in Christian authors considers its similarities and differences with the “old” sacrifices in Judaism and the Greco-Roman world. The conclusion suggests that the paradigm of martyrdom is dominant in the modern world due to its spread in civil religions.
Feminist Thought and Mimetic Theory: Insights and Challenges in the Work of René Girard
Authors:   University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, USA, Reineke Martha
Published: September 2024

Identifying key features in feminist theory over four decades that still inform feminist thought today, Reineke argues that René Girard’s mimetic theory offers a compelling intervention in “identity politics”, a concept which some feminist theorists have employed to analyze inequalities. So also does it shed light on escalating rivalries among groups with similar interests, as exemplified in recent rivalries among feminist scholars and advocates. In turn, feminist theory can contribute to mimetic theory. Mimetic theory has neglected the central role of sensory experience in human life, whether as a vehicle of trauma and suffering or healing and transformative agency. Mimetic theory will be enhanced when Girardian scholars locate the impetus for a change from violent mimesis to intimate mediation in sensory experience, reclaiming for mimetic theory a perspective on sensory experience that feminist theory has illuminated.
Joseph Conrad’s An Outpost of Progress: Mimetic History and Epistemics of Fiction
Authors:   Loyola University of Chicago, USA, McKenna Andrew
Published: September 2024

Published three years prior the Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad’s short story An Outpost of Progress (1896) hosts all the themes explored in his indictment of colonial imperialism. Unlike the multilayered narrative strategies of the Heart, the short story engages a traditional, third-person narrative point of view in its more detailed portrayal of two colonial agents who find themselves complicit in the slave trade for the acquisition of ivory. This discovery on their part causes their previously fraternal interaction to degenerate into fratricidal hostility, a violence of mimetic doubles that results in the murder of the one and the suicide of the other. The narrative concludes with unmistakable apocalyptic imagery that the resolutely anti-Christian Conrad draws from the figurative inventory of Western literature and that, according to René Girard, is the legacy of the biblical critique of sacrificial practices. Massive historical material on colonialism unveils the sacrificial mechanisms at work in this system. Thus the Outpost can be read as a chapter in “mimetic history” that Girard explores in the Battling the End with special attention to the “movement to extremes” of violent reciprocity. For Conrad, murder and world-destroying madness are twin themes that align with mimetic theory’s scrutiny of Western institutions.
CUSTOS PARA EXPORTAÇÃO POR CONTAINERS DAS PRINCIPAIS ECONOMIAS DO MUNDO
Authors: Almeida Alexandre Nascimento de , Sousa Robert Ramon de Carvalho , Ribaski Nayara Guetten
Published: September 2024

A eficiência do setor portuário é fundamental para o dinamismo e competitividade da economia de qualquer país. A determinação da competitividade só faz sentido quando feita em uma análise comparativa. Conhecer o posicionamento do Brasil perante o mundo no que tange a eficiência do setor portuário é importante para elaboração de estratégias para o setor. Nesse aspecto, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a evolução dos custos portuários para a exportação por containers das vinte maiores economias do mundo. Para tanto, o instrumental analítico empregado foi o modelo de tendência e a análise de cluster. Os resultados indicaram um crescimento fora dos padrões nos custos portuários brasileiros, demonstrando um despreparo do país para o crescimento sustentável da sua economia. O Brasil, porém, possui um custo de exportação de containers menor do que a Rússia, fato possivelmente explicado pelo clima ártico predominante no país. Já com a análise de cluster foi possível o agrupamento dos países por suas características comuns, destacando o posicionamento do Brasil e da Rússia em nenhum grupo formado pelo G20, indicando-os como os países em pior situação comparativa no que tange a eficiência portuária das vinte maiores economias do globo.
IMPACT OF ADENOTONSILLECTOMY ON ASTHMA CONTROL IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: Skarzynski Piotr H. , Chmiela Szymon , Kołodziejak Aleksandra
Published: September 2024

Introduction

This systematic review investigates the influence of adenotonsillectomy (AT) on asthma control in pediatric patients.

Material and methods

A literature review from 2000 to 2023 based on the databases PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. The analysis is distilled down to four studies that revealed positive outcomes in asthma control as gauged by the Asthma Control Test (ACT), the Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT), clinical outcomes, and asthma-related chitinase levels.

Results

The four studies consistently demonstrated improved asthma control postoperatively in terms of improved ACT scores, reductions in acute asthma exacerbations, emergency room visits, hospitalisations, and medication usage. Notably, the correlation between improved asthma
control and decreased chitinase activity suggests that AT has an impact on molecular markers associated with asthma.

Conclusions

The findings underline the potential benefits of AT in pediatric asthma management. However, the limitations of this study include a small number of studies and potential biases related to asthma’s natural course and seasonal variations. While the review provides evidence for the positive impact of AT on asthma control, further research with longer follow-up periods, case-matched controls, and consideration of seasonal factors is recommended.
SPEECH PERCEPTION IN NOISE IN MALAYALAM-SPEAKING YOUNG ADULTS WITH NORMAL HEARING
Authors: Ghosh Vipin , Devananda Darshan , S B Harisanker , Kumar Harshan
Published: September 2024

Introduction

Various types of noise have been used with speech material to assess speech perception in noise (SPIN) abilities. The literature suggests that speech identification varies with different types of background noise, and it has been reported that the target native language and the language of the babbling influence performance. Such efforts in an Indian context have not yet been reported. The aim of the study is to evaluate the speech perception in noise performance of Malayalam-speaking young adults with normal hearing using three different
background noises.

Material and methods

A repeated measure research design were adopted with a random sampling method. 30 native Malayalam speakers with normal hearing between the ages of 18 and 25 participated in the study. A standardized sentence list in Malayalam was used as the speech stimulus. Nine lists were chosen and randomly divided so that there were three lists to each background noise. Noises were speech spectrum-shaped noise, non-native language multi-talker babble (Kannada), and native language multi-talker babble (Malayalam). Each successfully
repeated keyword received a ‘1’ and each incorrectly repeated word received a ‘0.’ Because each sentence had four important words, each collection of 10 sentences scored a maximum of 40. The percentage of correct answers was determined and further analyzed.

Results

Scores were significantly different in all three different background noises across different SNRs. The highest scores were obtained at +5 dB SNR and the poorest scores at –5 dB SNR. Among the three different background noises, native multi-talker babble (Malayalam)
yielded better scores than non-native multi-talker babble (Kannada), followed last by speech spectrum-shaped noise.

Conclusions

The findings of the current study may be attributed to the increased efficacy of speech spectrum noise due to its energetic masking characteristics and the similarity between the two languages in terms of its origin and acoustic-phonetic properties.