bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Teaching Classical Chinese Poetry through Reception Studies
Authors: Zhang Yue
Published: June 2019

This paper discusses the contribution reception studies can make to the pedagogy of Chinese poetry. It introduces the major theoretical concepts of reception studies, and then demonstrates how those concepts can be applied in and incorporated into courses on Chinese poetry, using examples of “poetry of fields and garden” and “poems on history” drawn from the author’s own experience teaching courses in Chinese poetry in the U.S. and Canada. Finally, it provides a selected bibliography of works on reception studies, translations of Chinese poetry, and scholarship which uses reception studies to research Chinese poetry and culture. Teaching classical Chinese poetry through reception studies helps students better understand the way the significance of Chinese poetry changes over time. It also aids students to further develop their critical thinking and analytical writing skills as they work to compare the reception of certain poems or poets in different periods.
Medieval Khmer Society: The Life and Times of Jayavarman VII (ca. 1120–1218)
Authors: Nietupski Paul
Published: June 2019

Jayavarman VII (ca. 1120–1218) is one of the best known Cambodian “Angkor” leaders, in part because he was able to unite the numerous small, fragmented Khmer Cambodian and Cham kingdoms of the day. He ruled his consolidated Khmer kingdom from 1181–1218, bringing the decentralized Khmer and Cham states together through political and military alliances. Religion, especially India-derived Brahmanism, or “Hinduism,” Mahāyāna Buddhism, and local Cambodian religion, was a key component of Khmer society. Over time different Khmer rulers endorsed one or more of the religious systems to their own advantage. Jayavarman VII was especially committed to Mahāyāna Buddhism, evidenced by the remarkable extent of his support for Buddhist monuments, and attested in many hundreds of Sanskrit inscriptions. This essay tells the story of Jayavarman VII, a political and military leader who used Indian religious visions and prototypes as models to build a remarkable cultural edifice.
Ketamine exerts a protective role in a cell-based model of major depressive disorder via the inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation and activation of the Krebs cycle
Authors: Zhang Wenfei , Sun Qian , Jia Lingling , Li Ming
Published: June 2019

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders characterized by major depressive episodes. Although great efforts have been made to develop antidepressant drugs that target the monoaminergic system, these drugs are effective in only approximately 50% of MDD patients. In this study, we established a model of depression in PC12 cells using corticosterone to investigate the effect of ketamine and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) on the cell viability, apoptosis, levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis-related molecules, and enzymes of the Krebs cycle. PC12 cells were divided into control (no treatment, NC), ketamine treatment (KT), ketamine treatment with the inhibition of NF-κB (KI), and ketamine treatment with the overexpression of NF-κB (KO) group. Blood serum samples were collected from patients with MDD (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 10) between 2015 and 2017. Ketamine significantly increased the viability and decreased the apoptosis of PC12 cells in KT and KI vs. NC group, but not in KO group. The levels of anti-apoptotic molecules and Krebs cycle enzymes were significantly increased in KI vs. KT group, while the levels of pro-apoptotic molecules and pro-inflammatory cytokines were decreased in KI vs. KT group. In addition, the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum of MDD patients were significantly increased. The antidepressant effect of ketamine was enhanced in KI and reduced in KO group. Our results indicate that ketamine exerts its antidepressant effect via the inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation and the activation of the Krebs cycle in PC12 cells. NF-κB might be a potential therapeutic target in MDD.
ECO-INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE PROCESSING OF TECHNOGENIC MINERAL RESOURCES
Authors: Noviks Gotfrīds
Published: June 2019

The inorganic wastes and residues formed during the production and operation process are valuable technogenic minerals, the rational treatment of which can reduce the amount of non-renewable natural mineral resources. The relatively low reuse of technogenic mineral resources is currently associated with specific characteristics of these resources. They have a wide and multiplex diversity in composition and structure, and hence a wide, uneven range of physical and chemical properties that require a complex approach to assessing the potential for developing each resource. In addition, it is necessary to evaluate the ecological and energy efficiency, technical feasibility and economic efficiency of the processing of these resources in comparison with the production of natural mineral substances from traditional technologies. A methodology for the evaluation production of potentially new goods from technogenic mineral waste is proposed. Parameters such as multifunctionality of new products, energy and resource saving, lifetime increase, reduction of negative impact on the environment, maintenance or improvement of production quality compared to original quality are taken into account. The basis for the analysis of these possibilities and methodology of assessment of eco-energetic efficiency to justify the usefulness of mineral wastes processing are given. Possibilities of using this approach for the development of mineral waste from construction and demolition recycling technologies for the production of composites, binders, fillers and monolithic structures are shown.
CALCULATION OF TARGET RELIABILITY SAIDI FOR DISTRIBUTION LINES
Authors: Bandurin Ivan , Martirosyan Anastasia , Khaimin Alexey
Published: June 2019

In modern distribution lines reliability indicators are attached great importance. In regulations of the Russian Federation indicated the reliability indicators, which must be counted by Grid Company. SAIDI is one of them. In this article you can see the author's calculation of reliability indicator SAIDI for the distribution lines. Also there are an example of this calculation and comparing with the real measure, which we have taken from software complex «Accident».
INFLUENCE OF FLOODING ON LEAF CELL MEMBRANES OF THREE LATVIAN WHEAT CULTIVARS (TRITICUM AESTIVUM (L)).
Authors: Škute Nataļja , Petjukevičs Aleksandrs , Savicka Marina , Harlamova Nadežda , Kulbachna Alina
Published: June 2019

Flooding occurs in many wheat-growing regions around the world. During flooding, the gas exchange between soil and air decreases and root hypoxia or anoxia is the major cause of plant growth reduction under this stress. The hypoxia stress triggers stimulate the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce oxidative stress in plants. The wheat is one of the most important crops in Latvia and in the world. Although wheat is one of the most intolerant crops to soil flooding. To elucidate the mechanisms involved in soil flooding and the tolerance of three Latvian commercial winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars: ‘Fredis’, ‘Reinis’, ‘Brencis’ and the flooding induced changes in electrolyte leakage, MDA production, and carotenoid production evaluated. The results indicate, that content of MDA, which reflect the level of membrane lipid peroxidation, differ, but no significant decrease of MDA concentration in cultivar ‘Brencis’ caused by increased activity of the antioxidant system. The differences in total carotenoids content in investigated wheat cultivars under simulating natural flooding founded. The most active accumulation of total carotenoids observed in the cultivar ‘Reinis’. The results demonstrate increased electrolyte leakage in cell membranes of the first leaves in all investigated wheat cultivars compared to control. Under flooding, the first leaf of wheat influenced by lower water temperature compared to the first leaf of the control group and that decrease the membrane fluidity, which possibly leads to decreased of membrane permeability. This preliminary data shows that one-week flooding influences to the cell membranes of some Latvian winter wheat cultivars, this influence differs, but cultivar ‘Brencis’ was more tolerant of the flooding.
MENTORING AS ONE OF THE PREREQUISITES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Zvaigzne Anda , Kotāne Inta
Published: June 2019

The quality of the entrepreneurial environment is one of the preconditions for the competitiveness of the national economy of Latvia. Mentoring in entrepreneurship is mainly used to foster the expansion of new and less-experienced enterprises. Cooperation between a mentor and a mentee gives opportunities for the mentee to grow and develop. The paper is based on the implementation results for the research grant "Mentoring Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Development in Rezekne Municipality”. The research aim is to examine mentoring as one of the preconditions for the development of the entrepreneurial environment. The research results revealed that mentoring could be one of the most effective ways how to promote an increase in the number of entrepreneurs and economic growth. Potential mentors rated a mentor’s knowledge of relevant business legislation and how to enter a new market and attract a new cooperation partner as “important” and “very important”. Mentees, in contrast, wished to make new contacts, acquire new cooperation partners and attract investments and funds with the help of their mentors as well as expected that their mentors would help them to reveal their personal potential and how to effectively use it in entrepreneurship. The key traits needed by mentees, the potential mentors referred to, confirmed the theoretical principles of mentoring – mentors have to hear and listen and to help their mentees to find answers to problems themselves. In Rezekne municipality, mentoring in entrepreneurship could contribute to the development of less-experienced enterprises. Accordingly, it is necessary to continue the research begun by the authors, identifying and creating a database of potential mentors and mentees in the other municipalities of Latgale region who can and are ready to engage in the business mentor network. Research methods used: monographic and descriptive, analysis, synthesis, statistical analysis and a sociological method – surveying. The research was done based on relevant research studies by foreign and national scientists as well as industry experts, data of the Central Statistical Bureau and other information sources.
MODELLING OF THE BAGULAR ANEURYSMS OF THE WALL OF THE BLOOD VESSEL TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF THE BLOOD
Authors: Samarkin Alexander , Belov Vladimir , Dmitryev Sergey
Published: June 2019

The article presents some results of the modeling of the bag-like aneurysm by the finite element method. The model takes into account the specificity of the blood flow from the point of view of various rheological models, as well as a significant change in the shape of the saccular aneurysm depending on pressure.
SIMULATION OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF RARE SPECIES IN PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CENTRAL FOREST RESERVE, RUSSIA)
Authors: Istomin Anatoly , Mikhalap Sergey
Published: June 2019

An important task of modern ecology is the modeling of the spatial distribution of organisms. Of particular relevance is the modeling of the distribution of rare species in protected natural areas. The paper discusses the main stages and presents the results of modeling the habitat suitability of the Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve (Russia, Tver region) for the red vole. This species is a rare and relict for the center of the Caspian-Baltic watershed. In the modelling the maximum entropy method (MaxEnt) was used. The basis for building the model was the field sampling of the authors, performed in July-August 2010-2014. Each year, trapping were carried out at 745 sampling points each of which has geographical referencing in the WGS 84. A total of 12238 trap-days were worked out and 141 red vole individuals were caught. In the process of modeling, the contribution to the species distribution of certain integral characteristics of habitats (relief, vegetation type and three vegetation spectral indices) was determined. A map model of habitat suitability for the red vole on the territory of the Reserve was built, which allowed to describe the spatial structure of the population groups of the species. The total areas of the most favorable sites for the habitat of the red vole on the reserve's territory were calculated.
THE ROLE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PROTECTED AREAS’ (EMERALD NETWORK) DEVELOPMENT FOR AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES ON THE EXAMPLE OF UKRAINE IN THE CONTEXT OF VARIOUS FACTORS’ INFLUENCE
Authors: Marushchak Oleksii , Nekrasova Oksana , Pupins Mihails , Tytar Volodymyr , Ceirans Andris
Published: June 2019

Creation and expansion of the Emerald Network (EN) objects is one of the most promising directions of the nature conservation development in Ukraine according to European standards. The aim of EN objects designing is to assess the state of conservation of habitats and flora/fauna species’ populations on a pan-European level. It is assumed that the EN should cover at least 60% of the populations of species and the area of habitats mentioned in Resolutions (4 and 6) of the Berne Convention (1979). Later on, the EN will be integrated into Natura 2000 system. The other countries’ experience is of great importance in creating such territories. Since 2004 Latvia have joined this network and included 333 sites (12% of its territory). In Ukraine, such network is only being developed. Four Ukrainian biogeographical regions are inhabited by 6 amphibian and 5 reptile species for which according to Emerald Biogeographical Seminar ALP (Carpathians) - CON - PAN, 11-13 May 2016, Chisinau, Moldova, the EN in not sufficient, being indicated as IN MOD (moderately developed) in 90% of cases. A total of 63 suggestions of new EN (1628256,4 ha) objects aiming on herpetofauna conservation among others were designed during 2018-2019 and now are waiting to become candidate sites and later on – a part of Ukrainian EN. Most of these sites represent valuable territories of wild nature in the rivers’ floodplains. For Latvia and Ukraine conservation of marginal populations of the following species is important: crested newt Triturus cristatus (Laurenti, 1768), fire-bellied toad Bombina bombina (Linnaeus, 1761), pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758). In the work the importance and the ways in which the EN can act for the above mentioned species’ conservation are highlighted, taking into account experience of European Union, future trends in the influence of anthropogenic factors, invasive species and climate change.
MODELLING OF STRASS-STAIN STATE IN EPICENTRAL ZONE OF STRONG EARTHQUAKE
Authors: Morozov Vladislav , Tatarinov Viktor , Manevich Alexander
Published: June 2019

This article describes the results of modeling the stress-strain state of the epicentral earthquake zone, which occurred on December 26, 2003 in the southeast of Iran in the province of Kerman (Bam), before and after the formation of the fault. It is shown that the main earthquake shock is located in the zone of high intensity of stresses, and the formed fault traces this zone on the surface and corresponds to its extent. Aftershocks are localized in the area of the maximum released stress intensity after the formation of the fault. Stress release stimulates the discharge of accumulated tectonic stresses in the subsequent aftershock process. The results obtained can be useful for deterministic approach to assessment and prediction of seismic hazard, as well as for geophysical observations clearly suited for the goal of predicting strong crustal earthquakes in continental regions.
NECESSITY OF CUSTOMER LOYALTY FORMATION AND ITS PECULIARITIES IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
Authors: Linina Iveta , Vevere Velga , Zvirgzdina Rosita
Published: June 2019

Everyday life is unimaginable without telecommunication services; they are the significant players in the national economy. All business activities, including the ones of telecommunication services, are directed towards the satisfaction of customers’ needs and wants, and hence towards the profit earning. This process, in its turn, entails the formation of different company/customer relations, where both parties want to gain something out of these relations. The company strives, first of all, to increase the turnover and profit, while the customer wants to receive the desired services, information and the proper attitude. These customer gains can be basis of the loyalty formation, that is very important for the company, because the process of attracting new consumers always involves spending money, time and energy. The goal of this work is to explore the loyalty formation process and its peculiarities in the telecommunication services. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the experts rated the offer of corporate loyalty programs at the lowest, then followed the service offer and the price, but slightly higher the service quality. The experts assigned the highest rating to the prestige of the service. Based on the low assessment of the experts in the telecommunication industry of the loyalty program offer, the authors propose the conceptual consumer loyalty model for the practical use.
COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF FRESHWATER LAKE SEDIMENTS (BALVU AND PĒRKONU LAKES)
Authors: Purmalis Oskars , Kļaviņš Linards , Arbidans Lauris
Published: June 2019

Water quality, watershed basin and urbanization are key factors from the perspective of freshwater management; however, actual depth of waterbodies is often an overlooked element. Actual depth represents the overall depth of lake bed and depth of sediments. Some cases have been reported, where with increase of average depth of lake, it is possible to expect improvements of water quality when sediments are removed. If lakes are eutrophic, shallow, overgrown with macrophytes and contain high concentrations of biogenic elements water and lake ecosystem quality can be endangered. Removal of sediments can be an expensive procedure and also depends on the composition, structure, local conditions and total amount of sediments, also the disposal or possible use of sediments must be considered. Therefore, it is crucial to understand not only the genesis of sediments, but also possible pollutants, especially in urban territories. Two lakes in Latvia, where the coastal areas of lakes are urbanized at different levels, were studied. Lake Pērkonu was less affected from urbanization than Lake Balvu, cumulative effects of sedimentation and eutrophication were shown as these two lakes are interconnected. Characterization of lake sediments was done, including measurements of pH, ash content, analysis of C/N ratio, biological composition, metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), content of organic matter and concentration of humic acids. Results show that structure and composition of sediments in studied lakes differ with increasing depth, giving opportunity to track environmental changes in the past and differentiate possible applications of sediments. In deeper layers sediments were mostly formed from algae, but in more recent stages of lake development macrophytes were more dominant. Sediments formed after Ice-Age and located close to the bottom of the lake differ from conditions on paste (relief of lake bed, streams etc.), because areas with accumulated clay material and areas with sandy material were present.
APPLICATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR GLACIER RESEARCH IN THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC
Authors: Lamsters Kristaps , Karušs Jānis , Krievāns Māris , Ješkins Jurijs
Published: June 2019

Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones are nowadays widely used in a broad field of scientific and commercial applications. Despite this, it is quite a new method for glacier mapping in polar regions and has a lot of advantages, as well as disadvantages over more classical remote sensing instruments. Here we examine the main issues associated with the application of drones for glacier research from our experience in Iceland, Greenland and the Antarctic. We use DJI Phantom series drones for the obtaining of aerial photographs and produce digital surface models (resolution of 8 – 16 cm) and orthomosaics (resolution of 2 – 4 cm) for glacier mapping. Several issues related to the ground control points, geolocation using Global Navigation Satellite System receiers and creation of final products are addressed as well. We recommend the further use of drones in remote polar areas because it allows obtaining very high-resolution orthomosaics and digital surface models that are not achieved by other methods. Short summer season, raw weather with precipitation and winds, limited drone flight duration and problems with connection cables are the main issues everyone can encounter working in polar regions but all issues can be restricted with careful planning and readiness to gather data whenever it is possible during all field campaign.
THE NUMBER OF MEDICAL IMAGING SERVICES IN LATVIA AND LITHUANIA
Authors: Vane Alida , Linina Iveta , Skadina Helena
Published: June 2019

The increase in medical imaging services has a significant impact on healthcare costs. The study analyses the dynamics of a number of medical imaging services in Latvia, Lithuania, and in England for comparison (2012-2016), which shows that the number of medical imaging examinations increases in all the countries covered by the study. Moreover, there are significant differences in the application of those services in Latvia and Lithuania if compared to England, which may indicate to inefficient resource management and differences (or absence) of diagnostic guidelines. The following research methods have been used for the research: monographic or descriptive method and graphical method for visualisation, and analysis of visual information.
RATIONAL POWER SUPPLY OF ENERGY-DEFICIENT REGIONS
Authors: Verteshev Anton , Verteshev Sergey , Andreev Dmitry , Timofeeva Olga
Published: June 2019

The questions of supplying power to the region with remote consumers are considered. The model of integrated power supply is proposed. Mathematical dependences that allow accounting volumes of certain types energy resources consumption and forming rational energy balance of the region are formulated.
CHARACTERIZATION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND ODOUR POLLUTION IN ATMOSPHERE AT OIL AND GASOLINE HANDLING AND PROCESSING IMPACT ZONE
Authors: Muizniece-Treija Evita , Šteinberga Iveta
Published: June 2019

Air quality pollution problem is still one of the crucial points for citizens in Europe for already receiving increasing attention, particularly because of the major European cities 10 and more years. Although the EU's long-term goal is to achieve levels of air quality that do not impact and risks to human health and the environment, many of member states still didn`t reach stated goals. Additionally, to gaseous pollutants, recently specific type of pollution, - odour, seems to become more important. Usually in order to determine pollution levels, national, municipal and private monitoring equipment is used. For this research municipal monitoring site in Riga (Latvia), at Milgravja Street 10, controlling gaseous pollutants (SO2, O3, BTX, PM10) and airborne particulate matter, and private monitoring results from Riga, Milgravja Street 16, where odour pollution was obtained, are analysed. Distance between both stations are just 500 m. Measurements at municipal monitoring site is obtained by DOAS and gravimetric sampling, while at Milgravja 16 by photoionization method or so-called “electronic nose”. Monitoring results in municipal station show that in 2017 the average benzene concentration was 4,87 ug/m3, toluene – 8,89 ug /m3 and xylene – 5,07 ug/m3, while the odour pollution level does not exceed 5 odour units. In general estimation of pollution averaged annually do not show and explain variability of pollution levels. It`s well known that high BTX and odour pollution episodes occur in shorter periods, thus short term limit values would be useful in order to characterize short term effects on human health and well-being.
INVESTIGATIONS OF APARTMENT HOUSE CELLAR MICROCLIMATE AND IT’S IMPROVEMENT POSSIBILITIES
Authors: Pleiksnis Stanislavs , Visockis Edmunds , Selegovskis Raimunds , Gusta Sandra
Published: June 2019

Apartment houses made in the last century in Latvia have rather big heat transfer factor and not good ventilation, especially in cellar. That leads to formation of condensate on building constructions. During cold weather in winter time, this condensate formats ice layer that damages building constructions ant also lead to inconvenience for inhabitants, for example, disturbs opening of cellar door. During investigations the cellar microclimate parameters, such as temperature, humidity and dew point, were measured and different ways to improve them and as result preventing of condensate formation were worked out. The measurements shows that sometimes the air temperature and the temperature on surfaces reaches dew point and therefore the condensate starts to format. The possibilities to eliminate humidity and to increase dew point are worked out during investigations.
SPECTRAL IMAGING AND CLAY DETECTION IN LATGALE LAKES
Authors: Tretjakova Rasma , Kodors Sergejs , Soms Juris
Published: June 2019

The survey of lake sediments is complex, time consuming and costly process with risks to human health. Additionally, manually obtained sediment samples provide incomplete data about a survey region. In turn, remote sensing methods are cost-effective and can provide continuous data about a survey region. Therefore, authors decided to perform a pilot experiment with a remote sensing method in order to detect clay sediments deposited in lakebeds. The evaluated method is the analysis of spectral images of Sentinel-2. Pearson coefficient and C4.5 datamining methods were applied for data analysis. Survey objects are Latgale lakes with and without clay sediments. The pilot experiment showed, that spectral imaging of lake water is not applicable method to detect definitely clay sediments in lakes, however, research results provide ideas about indirect methods, which must be studied in the future.
DEVELOPMENT OF A TECHNOLOGICAL CHAIN FOR A BACKGROUND STREAMFLOW FORECASTING SYSTEM IN RUSSIA
Authors: Iukhno Artem , Shemanaev Kirill , Timofeeva Larisa
Published: June 2019

The hydrological forecasting methods that have been used for many years in Russia require precision input data, which are difficult to obtain. Until now, none of forecasting systems, developed by Russian hydrologists, has been officially implemented in practice. In the face of an increasing number of catastrophic and destructive hydrometeorological hazards, the development of a modern automated system for operational flash floods forecasting is highly relevant in Russia. In this paper, a new technological chain for background streamflow forecasting is presented. The authors have attempted to create such a chain under the conditions of the country’s poor hydrometeorological network and difficulties in obtaining data and their assimilation. The chain presents a joined logistic scheme, which was developed based on analytical elaboration of scientific works of key Russian hydrologists. The paper also includes the analysis of the most efficient use of the hydrometeorological data available through the national observation network. This seems to be assimilation of satellite and radar data, in situ observations, numerical weather prediction models and catchment models outputs.
THE GERMAN ENERGY TRANSITION AND ITS STUMBLING BLOCKS—PROMOTION OF POWER GENERATION FROM PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS AND ITS INFLUENCE ON THE GERMAN ENERGY TRANSITION
Authors: Kempt Lars
Published: June 2019

The energy transition that began in Germany in 2000 is widely accepted by the population. Opinion research institutes report that more than 90 per cent agree with the policy adopted. Nevertheless, in the public debate in recent years increasingly critical opinions were voiced. In particular, the increased costs of the energy transitin are discussed, which are to be borne by the population and the economy. Despite increased burdens in all areas of the energy transition, the criticism is mostly due to the increased burden on electricity customers through the increased use of renewable energy. One reason for this is the increase in the Renewable Energy Act (EEG / Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz) surcharge, which finances the expansion of renewable energies and which ultimately has to be borne by the customers of the energy supply companies. This surcharge increased by 74 per cent in the years 2012 to 2014 alone. One of the main reasons for this was the excessive subsidization of electricity from photovoltaic systems from 2008 to 2012, which was primarily used by major investors and resulted in a massive expansion. Although the share of renewable energies in the German electricity mix has thus increased, an economic equivalent, such as a sustainable increase in jobs or high export figures among the companies that produce these plants, was not observed. Today, economists ask to what extent this mistake could have been avoided and to what extent this has damaged the reputation of the energy transition. The economic policy debate on this issue is led by various interest groups whose opinions are widely divergent. Establishing public consensus is difficult, yet essential for a successful continuation of the energy transition.
COMPARISON OF ALGORITHMS FOR CONSTRUCTION DETECTION USING AIRBORNE LASER SCANNING AND NDSM CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Kodors Sergejs
Published: June 2019

Traditional approach to classify the point cloud of airborne laser scanning is based on the processing of a normalized digital surface model (nDSM), when ground facilities are detected and classified. The main feature to detect a ground facility is height difference between adjacent points. The simplest method to extract a ground facility is region-growing algorithm, which applies threshold to identify the connection between two points. Region growing algorithm is working with the constant value of height difference. Therefore, it is not applicable due to diverse conditions of earth surface, when height difference must be defined for each region separately. As result, researchers propose hierarchical, statistical and cluster methods to solve this problem. The study goal is to compare four algorithms to generate nDSM: region growing, progressive morphological filter, adaptive TIN surfaces and graph-cut. The experiment is divided into two stages: 1) to calculate the number of detected and lost buildings in nDSM; 2) to measure the classification accuracy of extracted shapes. The experiment results have showed that progressive morphological filter and graph-cut provides the minimal loss of buildings (only 1%). The most effective algorithm for ground facility detection is the graph-cut (total accuracy 0.95, Cohen’s Kappa 0.89, F1 score 0.93).
THE BASICS OF EVENT-RELATED MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY AND QUALITY IN ECONOMICS
Authors: Solozhentsev Eugene
Published: June 2019

The work forms a new breakthrough scientific trend in the management of safety and quality in the economics based on the introduction of new objects and management criteria, new knowledge and models, new tasks, special software and digital management. The paper offers the new management objects: State authorities, socioeconomic systems and projects, process quality management in the socio-economic life of a person, the safe living space. We use the management criteria of safety and quality. The paper introduces the new knowledge for management in economics: the methodology of safety and quality, new types of Boolean events-propositions, scenarios of systems failure, new types of logical-probabilistic models, results of research of various systems and educational program. New management tasks are also considered, special software are described and the essence of digital management in economics is stated.
MODERN ALGORITHMS TO IDENTIFY PLAGIARISM
Authors: Grocevs Aleksejs , Prokofjeva Natālija
Published: June 2019

Nowadays information technology industry is growing extremely fast. To solve business needs, address researcher demand for problem solving a lot of programs are built from scratch. However, not all developers are fair enough to align their products with the corresponding library or another (open source) product licenses, i.e. copyrights are being violated, intentionally or due to familiarization with another source code. To address this issue in past decade multiple plagiarism detection techniques and algorithms were invented. Despite the fact, that many of them are capable of code comparison on meta-level, modern Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) provide convenient way to modify program source code without actual re-writing, preserving the original code workflow and avoiding plagiarism detection. This paper will compare and identify available approaches to apprehend this issue, as well as provide insights for the future this problem mitigation.
MODELS AND ALGORITHMS FOR CONSTRUCTING A FORMALIZED DESCRIPTION OF PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES
Authors: Andreev Dmitry , Lyokhin Sergey , Verteshev Sergey , Motaylenko Lilia
Published: June 2019

The problem of technological knowledge formalization is being considered. Discussed features of systems in the scope of ontological engineering of processes, applied to solving the problems of the structural representation of technologies associated with the organization of their analysis. Proposed a model of the concept of technological action, which identifies technological actions as holistic conceptual formations. Constructed the model of formalized description of technologies, which provides unambiguous transition from verbal descriptions of technologies to their ontological representations. Described algorithms for constructing a formalized description of technologies, which implement the logical procedures for automated and automatic construction of ontological representations of technologies. Concluded in the development of a new method of formalized description of technologies, the fundamental principles of which constitute the distinctive features of the proposed models and constructed algorithms.
NEURAL NETWORK CLASSIFICATION METHOD FOR AIRCRAFT IN ISAR IMAGES
Authors: Slavyanov Krasimir Ognyanov
Published: June 2019

This article offers a neural network method for automatic classification of Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar objects represented in images with high level of post-receive optimization. A full explanation of the procedures of two-layer neural network architecture creating and training is described. The classification in the recognition stage is proposed, based on several main classes or sets of flying objects. The classification sets are designed according to distinctive specifications in the structural models of the aircrafts. The neural network is experimentally simulated in MATLAB environment. Numerical results of the experiments carried, prove the correct classification of the objects in ISAR optimized images.
SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A COMPONENT OF EDUCATIONAL AREA OF THE HIGH SCHOOL
Authors: Zhestkova Elena , Gusev Dmitriy , Kudakova Natalya , Maklaeva Elvira , Fedorova Svetlana , Filippova Liudmila
Published: June 2019

Currently, there is an active process of expanding the educational space, including the higher education of the Russian Federation, at the expense of informatization. Informatization of educational area of higher education is impossible without using web-technologies and, such as social networks. The authors of the article suggest social networks to be understood as a working version of an “interactive multi-user website that implements a network social structure consisting of a group of nodes — social objects (groups of people, communities) and links between them (social relationships), on the basis of which participants can establish relationship with each other. Currently, there are several main functions of social networks: educational; adaptive (acts as a resource of adaptation); compensatory (replacing institutional mechanisms of adaptation); informational (supports communication between authors of social interaction); transit (allows an individual to make the transition along the social ladder); coordination; social support functions (strengthen communication within and outside the network) and the function of a sociocultural marker. Social networks, speaking as a special social space of the Internet, have become the sphere in which traditional forms of socialization and social relations are transformed, and communication as a type of leisure activity becomes possible not in the traditional form of direct live communication, but acquires the features of simple communication. The authors state that at present using social networks in the educational area of the higher school of the Russian Federation is minimal. The network educational community on the basis of a social network - a virtual educational environment - is necessary, first of all, for students who have difficulties in communicating directly or need additional knowledge and skills that an educational institution cannot provide. From the point of view of education, social networks can be: freely available (non-specialized networks for which professional communities are not paramount and purely professional communities of practice) and in a corporate format (free-access networks; not specialized (“general profile” network)). The advent of Web 2.0 has expanded the possibilities of using social networks in education, has changed the attitude to the Internet as a whole, and teachers have begun to more actively use the Internet services for educational and educational purposes, in extracurricular activities and creative activities. It has already been experimentally proven that network communities can serve as pedagogical practices for development: co-thinking, tolerance, mastering decentralized models, critical thinking.
GAMIFICATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROCESSES
Authors: Platonova Valerija , Berzisa Solvita
Published: June 2019

Gamification methodology has a positive impact on software development (SD) processes, contributes to better product quality production and team involvement. To show how gamification can be used to motivate the SD project team to carry out daily routine activities and document it in PM tool the gamification framework is proposed in this paper. With this gamification framework is also tried to solve project manager challenge to get actual information in PM tool entered by the project team for correct reporting of project status and process overview. A prototype of a gaming tool has been developed, which is based on Jira's app functionality and is implemented as a plugin.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN WORKPLACES AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT EMPLOYMENT IN LATVIA
Authors: Šukjurovs Ilmārs , Zvirgzdiņa Rosita , Jeromanova-Maura Silva
Published: June 2019

Already, artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us, from self-driving cars and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress has been made in AI in recent years, driven by exponential increases in computing power and by the availability of vast amounts of data, from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural interests. Digital fabrication technologies, meanwhile, are interacting with the biological world on a daily basis. Engineers, designers, and architects are combining computational design, additive manufacturing, materials engineering, and synthetic biology to pioneer a symbiosis between microorganisms, our bodies, the products we consume, and even the buildings we inhabit. Companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications industry expect AI to have a significant impact on product offerings in the next five years. This research contains the data from a pilot survey from Latvian business executives’ expectations for AI and robotics for the next 5 years. The aim of this research is to find out if AI and robotics will make significant impact on workplaces in Latvia in the next five years.
COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF THE RULE BASED APPROACH TO REPRESENTATION OF ADAPTATION LOGICS
Authors: Jokste Lauma
Published: June 2019

Due to the rapid growth of business processes digitalization, enterprise applications cover more and more business and daily life functions thus becoming more complex. Complex enterprise applications often deal with low users’ satisfaction of usability. This problem can be solved by implementing adaptation algorithms in enterprise applications, so they can be adjusted for specific context situations and specific users’ needs. Some adaptation logics representation techniques are complex and require specific knowledge and skills to manage and modify adaptation process. In this paper rule based adaptation approach is introduced where rules are used as means to manage and modify adaptation process. Rules are easy to read and understand, thereby rule based adaptation should ensure elastic, transparent and easy administrable adaptation process. The goal of this paper is to test this statement by carrying out a comparative adaptation logics representation evaluation experiment. During the experiment participants are required to complete tasks which include different forms of adaptation logics representation (code, rules and models). Experiment results are analyzed by qualitative and quantitative measures such as users’ understandability of applications behavior when adaptation case occurs and users’ satisfaction with adaptation logics representation. Experiment results are summarized and are to be used for further development of the study.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY COMPETENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR IN LATVIA
Authors: Natrins Andris , Supe Lasma , Mikelsone Elina , Sarnovics Andris
Published: June 2019

Digital transformation is penetrating financial sector. Financial sector is challenged by new start-up companies who combine finance and technology, thereby creating disruptive innovations. The authors perform a study on information technology impact on competency management in the financial sector of Latvia based on the technology management competency model.The authors have executed extensive academic literature review and interviews with leading fintech industry experts. The research team performed mixed research combining qualitative and qualitative methods. The process of the quantitative research was designed as a collection of publicly available financial statement data from lursoft.lv (enterprise database) for selected fintech companies and the analysis of financial data by comparing different fintech companies. The process of the qualitative research was designed as face-to-face expert interviews and the definition of central interview questions for the research based on the literature review and related sub-questions. The authors use the one-way analysis of variance technique and prove that competency management differs among fintech companies by comparing average turnover per employee of platform and credit companies. The finding persuades the authors to propose a fundamental fintech competency model to ensure competitiveness and sustainability of fintech companies.The objective of the research is to define a fundamental set of competencies linked with information technology management for financial sector companies to maintain competitiveness. Results prove that current set of competencies employed by fintech companies represents sufficient technical competencies. The conclusions demonstrate that fintech companies tend to have different competency management models. The research team concludes that soft skills development, data analytics using advanced data analytic tools, technology awareness, the ability and experience to use open source technology tools to develop technology solutions without deep technology competency, the ability to see the big picture, and interconnections between processes are competencies of the future.
TRIGGERING THE STUDENTS' POSITIVE ATTITUDE FOR THE STUDIES OF ENGINEERING GRAPHICS COURSES THROUGH THE AUGMENTED REALITY CONTENT
Authors: Veide Zoja , Strozheva Veronika
Published: June 2019

Contemporary researches show that triggering interest can enhance students’ thinking skills, creativity, joy of learning and improved performance. The digital technologies can be beneficial for students’ learning engagement and motivation. The digital context helps students to keep positivity in education process that allows to activate attention, memory, and makes learning skills better. Augmented Reality is one of technologies that lets you interact with the real world and virtual objects at the same time. Augmented Reality application enables faster comprehension of complex spatial problems and relationships, which makes it useful during the learning process of engineering graphic courses. In this paper the application of AR technologies in RTU engineering courses is described. The results of this approach will be useful for vocational school teachers, college and university teachers in the successful integration of AR technologies in the teaching process.
MECHATRONICS EDUCATION: NEEDS AND CHALLENGES
Authors: Marzano Gilberto , Martinovs Andris , Ušča Svetlana
Published: June 2019

Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary branch that combines electronics, mechanics, and computer science. Due to the digital revolution, mechatronics is growing fast, rapidly spreading from manufacturing to many new sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, security, and transportation. As a consequence, mechatronics training courses are proliferating at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Nowadays, a considerable number of educational institutions, both academic and vocational, are offering mechatronics education, however their programs are not homogeneous and depend on teaching staff competence and available resources. This paper presents NewMetro, an EU funded project that aims to develop an innovative European framework of competences for mechatronics education and an educational model able to address the needs of young people as well as adult workers undergoing requalification programs. The philosophy of the project and the first activities carried out are illustrated and discussed.
ELECTRIC ENERGY GENERATION IN AUTONOMOUS ENERGY SUPPLY MODULE HAVING ROTARY EXPANSION ENGINE
Authors: Khitrov Andrei , Khitrov Alexander , Ilyin Alexander , Domracheva Yulia , Fedorov Dmitriy
Published: June 2019

The development of autonomous energy supply systems is among the priority ways of scientific and technological growth in the Russian Federation. The autonomous energy supply module providing the consumer with heat, electric power, hot and cold water can contain the different variants of the electric power subsystem. This paper considers three different variants of building the electric power subsystem for the rotary expansion engine used as a driving machine whereas the permanent magnet synchronous machine is used as a generator. Also the designed structure of 30 kW electric power supply subsystem is regarded.