Exploring the Russian Online Gift-Exchange Communities: The Results of Nethnographic Approach

This paper reports on a two-week nethnographic (online) observation of four online gift-exchange communities – virtual platforms, where participants conduct barter exchange of different daily objects such as books, children\u27s products, furniture, home ware and others. These communities as case of informal economy initially do not have formal attributed rules. It is essential to find out (1) which rules and mechanisms exist in this type of economy; (2) what motivates people who are not acquainted with another to exchange gifts; and (3) understand the way this community exists. The conclusion is drawn that social capital is the basic engine of investigated communities. The social capital accumulated by users increases the community commitment and cohesion by interpreting gifts as a set of resources to distribute fairly. The giving, the receiving and the exchanging are forms of communication that cause further communication and interworking outside of gift-giving situations. These gift-exchange communities are mainly based on the communication and consumption solidarity among individuals

The comparative analysis of payments for negative environmental impact in Russia and Kazakhstan

The article represents the calculation of the payment for negative environmental impact caused by the development of the uranium ores deposits in the Republic of Kazakhstan. To compare the deposits in Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, the event is simulated as if the object were located in the territory of the Russian Federation. The comparison of the results serves as an evidence to substantiate the experts' claim that the financial mechanism of land management in Russia should be reformed

Творчество М. Метерлинка в рецепции Ф. Сологуба

This paper deals with the history of the artistic dialogue between F. Sologub and M. Maeterlinck and singles out stages of Sologub’s perception of the Belgian author’s oeuvre. The article refers to writings by Maeterlinck (the original physiophilosophical essay The Life of the Bee, poems translated by Sologub, and The Blue Bird play) and by Sologub (articles and reviews, plays The Gift of Wise Bees, The Night Dances). The first step of reception included reading and translating original texts into Russian. In Sologub’s personal library, there were volumes by Maeterlinck in French and in Russian; in his archives, there are unpublished translations of poems; in addition, there is a probability that Sologub participated in the translations of plays made by his wife An. Chebotarevskaya. The next stage implied references to Maeterlinck’s art in journalistic works (including the article The Wisdom of Maeterlinck). In Sologub’s opinion, one of the fundamental principles of Maeterlinck’s art was the idea of an inseparable connection between love and death. The intertextual links between Sologub’s The Gift of Wise Bees and Maeterlinck’s The Life of the Bee are allusions to the images of bees, honey, and wax, which become metaphors of life, love, and art, respectively in the Russian play. The concept of “dialogue” was particularly important for Sologub’s art: according to him, a genuine writer can only create within the scope of previous works of art, and his primary task is to be selective and able to “see” and use the material of their own. In this paper, the author suggests the idea that Sologub started writing plays under the influence of Maeterlinck’s writings and his concept of the new theatre. Then there was a new level of artistic communication: almost simultaneously two plays were created and staged in Russia (one by Sologub and the other by Maeterlinck). The two plays are typologically similar: both have a symbolic central image, life-affirming spirit, magic assistants, and a circular plot structure. The author of the article puts forward a hypothesis that translation can become a catalyst of interconnection at such a sophisticated level when two writers have a similar worldview and tend to create within the same aesthetics, as The Blue Bird and The Night Dances resemble tendencies within a common paradigm of creative thinking.Исследование посвящено изучению истории творческого диалога Ф. Сологуба с М. Метерлинком, выделяются этапы восприятия Сологубом творчества бельгийского автора. Материалом послужили произведения Метерлинка (оригинальный текст натурфилософского эссе «Жизнь пчел» Метерлинка, переводы стихотворений Метерлинка, выполненные Сологубом, пьеса «Синяя птица») и Сологуба (критические статьи, пьесы «Дар мудрых пчел», «Ночные пляски»). Начальный этап рецепции включал чтение и перевод оригинальных текстов на русский язык: в личной библиотеке Сологуба хранились тома оригинальных и переведенных произведений Метерлинка, среди неопубликованных переводов в архиве писателя обнаружены переводы отдельных стихотворений, существует вероятность участия Сологуба в переводах пьес Метерлинка, выполненных его женой Ан. Чеботаревской. О более зрелом этапе рецепции свидетельствуют упоминания о мифотворчестве Метерлинка в критическом эссе, а также статья «Мудрость Метерлинка», в которой в качестве фундаментальной основы творчества Метерлинка Сологубом определена идея о неразрывной связи и внутренней близости таких категорий, как любовь и смерть. Интертекстуальные связи пьесы Сологуба «Дар мудрых пчел» с эссе Метерлинка «Жизнь пчел» реализуются в виде аллюзий к образам пчелы, меда и воска, становящимся в тексте русского автора метафорами жизни, любви и искусства. Идея «диалога» оказывается принципиальной для творчества Сологуба — истинный писатель не существует вне традиции, и главная его задача — избирательность, способность «видеть» и использовать «свое». Сделано предположение о том, что обращение Сологуба к театру происходит под воздействием текстов бельгийского автора и созданной им концепции нового театра. Принципиально новый уровень творческого взаимодействия — почти одновременное появление и постановка в России двух пьес (Сологуба и Метерлинка), обладающих рядом типологических сходств: центральный символический образ, жизнеутверждающий пафос, волшебные помощники, кольцевая композиция. Выдвинута гипотеза о том, что в ситуации созвучности и воспринятости художественного мира другого автора в качестве катализатора взаимодействия на таком специфическом, качественно ином уровне может выступать художественный перевод, поскольку в определенной мере «Синяя птица» и «Ночные пляски» напоминают движение внутри единой парадигмы творческого мышления

Remote magnetic resonance sounding for exploration of pore space microstructure and aquifer macrostructure

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance is a type of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which is widely used to detect hydrogen containing liquids, like water or hydrocarbons. The use of the Earth's magnetic field allows remote detection of fluids sub surface without generating an independent magnetic field that is expensive and complex enough to apply. An important feature of NMR in the Earth's field is that the signals produced by snow and ice are generally unobservable under experimental conditions created for liquid water prospecting. The characteristics of the RF response are associated with the molecular environment of the nuclei. This allows detecting NMR signals of water in pores of various size

Economic assessment of environmental impact in the course of oil field development and production

The article considers the variety of impacts that oil exploration and production operations have on the environment at different stages of the process. To provide accurate economic assessment, an oil field development project was designed, with various development options. These options being analyzed, the strategy with the minimal environmental impact was identified. This has allowed preparation of a guideline on how to prevent deterioration of the environment and to reduce the negative environmental impact

Designing economic and legal mechanism of land management in oil and gas companies

The article deals with the problem of economic and legal relationship in the sphere of land management provided by Russian government. The gas pipeline construction serves as an example to analyze the problems connected with leasing of both federal and privately owned lands. Comparative analysis of costs made by Gazprom to lease the lands at the stage of construction has been conducted. It has been concluded that the government should regulate relationships within the land sector to harmonize the interests of the Federation and private landowners

Adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests

The paper considers topical issues of improving accuracy of data obtained from gas well deliverability tests, decreasing the number of test stages and well test time, and reducing gas emissions. The aim of the research is to develop the method of adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests with resulting IPR curve conducted in gas wells with steady-state filtration, which allows obtaining and taking into account additional a priori data on the formation pressure and flow coefficients, setting the number of test stages adequate for efficient well testing and reducing test time. The present research is based on the previous theoretical and practical findings in the spheres of gas well deliverability tests, systems analysis, system identification, function optimization and linear algebra. To test the method, the authors used the field data of deliverability tests run in the Urengoy gas and condensate field, Tyumen Oblast. The authors suggest the method of adaptive interpretation of gas well deliverability tests with resulting IPR curve, which is based on the law for gas filtration with variables dependent on the number of test stage and account of additional a priori data. The suggested method allows defining the estimates of the formation pressure and flow coefficients, optimal in terms of preassigned measures of quality, and setting the adequate number of test stages in the course of well testing. The case study of IPR curve data processing has indicated that adaptive interpretation provides more accurate estimates on the formation pressure and flow coefficients, as well as reduces the number of test stages

Backward Design Method in Foreign Language Curriculum Development

In this paper the authors focuses their main attention on the need for improvement of curriculum planning within the course "Foreign Language". The article presents the topicality, purposes and stages of a foreign technology called "backward design process" as the innovative method of foreign language curriculum development. It highlights the main characteristics of the stages, reveals both advantages and difficulties that may occur during the application of backward design technology within Russian higher education system. The authors give the brief characteristics of current state of language training in National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University and describe achievements and problems based on the experience gained

Intensive use of energy resources regarding sustainable cities

Intensive development of cities being a factor of fuel-power complex (FPC) development increases the load on its capacity. This has the negative impact on human health and capacity to work. Therefore, it is important to integrate environmental and recreation components into the urban area through designing the system "production-ecology-recreation" and thus ensuring sustainable development of the city

Mineralogical and Geochemical Characteristics of the Human Body Ash Residue

The article is devoted to the element composition of the human body ash residue of some Russian cities. It presents the element composition of the human body ash residue, the distribution of elements in the ash residue depending on age and sex. The specific elements of different cities, showing the possible influence of the environmental conditions on the element composition of the human body ash residue. The main objective of this paper is to study the element composition of the human body ash residue and determine the regional characteristics. The methods of instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry were applied, an electronic microscope being used as a tool. The result of the research is 63 elements identified within in the human body ash residue. The issue is topical as it expands the knowledge of rare and radioactive elements within the human body and contributes to medicine, for example, by identifying the chemical elements to be included in a person's diet