Introduction of vocational standards: are there alternative ways?

The purpose of this article is to analyze approaches to the development of vocational standards abroad. The authors consider the most alternative approaches of a number of the countries that traditionally have no vocational standards; compare advantages and shortcomings of different approaches in the description of skill standards; show advantages of the use of vocational standards or equivalent documents in different countries; disclose the reasons behind various approaches to labor standardization. The article uses the comparative study method based on the review of home experience of qualifications system development in Soviet and foreign practices. The authors have used the methods of collecting empirical information on approaches to qualifications characteristics in modern vocational standards, URSG, UJEC and in documents of a number of European states; methods of conceptual and terminological analysis, interpretation and modelling, problem method that have yielded the following results: identification of peculiarities of the method of the development of Russian vocational standards, description of arising risks oftheir application and planning the ways to overcome them. Science novelty of the work consists in consistent justification of possibilities and limitations in the application of foreign experiences in Russia. Practical importance consists in justification of advantages of the application of vocational standards in Russia and abroad.Keywords: national qualification system; vocational standards; professional education and trainin

Nuclear magnetic octupole moment and the hyperfine structure of the 5D3/2,5/25D_{3/2,5/2} states of the Ba+^+ ion

The hyperfine structure of the long-lived $5D_{3/2}$ and $5D_{5/2}$ levels of Ba$^+$ ion is analyzed. A procedure for extracting relatively unexplored nuclear magnetic moments $\Omega$ is presented. The relevant electronic matrix elements are computed in the framework of the ab initio relativistic many-body perturbation theory. Both the first- and the second-order (in the hyperfine interaction) corrections to the energy levels are analyzed. It is shown that a simultaneous measurement of the hyperfine structure of the entire $5D_J$ fine-structure manifold allows one to extract $\Omega$ without contamination from the second-order corrections. Measurements to the required accuracy should be possible with a single trapped barium ion using sensitive techniques already demonstrated in Ba$^+$ experiments.Comment: Phys Rev A in pres

Stochastic model of optical variability of BL Lacertae

We use optical photometric and polarimetric data of BL Lacertae that cover a period of 22 years to study the variability of the source. The long-term observations are employed for establishing parameters of a stochastic model consisting of the radiation from a steady polarized source and a number of variable components with different polarization parameters, proposed by Hagen-Thorn et al. earlier. We infer parameters of the model from the observations using numerical simulations based on a Monte Carlo method, with values of each model parameter selected from a Gaussian distribution. We determine the best set of model parameters by comparing model distributions to the observational ones using the chi-square criterion. We show that the observed photometric and polarimetric variability can be explained within a model with a steady source of high polarization, ~40%, and with direction of polarization parallel to the parsec scale jet, along with 10+-5 sources of variable polarization.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figures, published by Astronomy and Astrophysics; v2: typos correcte

Eliminating artefacts in polarimetric images using deep learning

Polarization measurements done using Imaging Polarimeters such as the Robotic Polarimeter are very sensitive to the presence of artefacts in images. Artefacts can range from internal reflections in a telescope to satellite trails that could contaminate an area of interest in the image. With the advent of wide-field polarimetry surveys, it is imperative to develop methods that automatically flag artefacts in images. In this paper, we implement a Convolutional Neural Network to identify the most dominant artefacts in the images. We find that our model can successfully classify sources with 98 per cent true positive and 97 per cent true negative rates. Such models, combined with transfer learning, will give us a running start in artefact elimination for near-future surveys like WALOP

The application of modern computational fluid dynamics techniques for increasing the efficiency and stability of an axial compressor in an industrial gas turbine

This paper contains on-site test data of an axial compressor as part of an industrial gas turbine, as well as the process of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling, verification, research and modernization. The research method has been verified with actual test data gathered from the real gas turbine unit (GTU) test. The computational studies showed significant potential for improving aerodynamic efficiency and the surge margin of a compressor by better matching of inlet and outer groups of stages. A special design approach was used to improve aerodynamic parameters of the inlet system and certain middle stages. Computations made for the improved compressor model showed a 3% efficiency gain and 5% stall margin gain with possibilities for further modernization. © 2014 WIT Press.International Journal of Safety and Security Engineering;International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning;WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environmen