Soil macrofauna (invertebrates) of Kazakhstanian Stipa lessingiana dry steppe

Stipa lessingiana steppes used to be prevalent on the dry Trans-Ural denudation plains, particularly, on the Sub-Ural and the Turgay Plateau. But, most of them have been lost because they were plowed up during the Virgin Land campaign in the second part of 20th century. This paper presents a detailed study of the faunistic composition and the structure of soil-dwelling invertebrate communities (macrofauna) of a temperate-dry bunch feather grass steppe in the Turgai Plateau (Northern-Turgai physical-geographical province of steppe Kazakhstan, Kostanay Oblast). The study site is located in the territory of the Naurzum State Nature Reserve, a part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan”, where remnants of Virgin S. lessingiana steppes have been preserved to the present day. This region is the driest and most continental in climate of all the dry steppes of Kazakhstan. The total abundance and biomass of soil invertebrate communities in the investigated site were lower than in the northern and western steppe areas. Soil invertebrates are among the major components that determine the functioning of terrestrial natural ecosystems

A COURSE IN HERMENEUTICS OF WORKS OF ART IN HIGHER PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

The article stems from the problem that has developed in modern higher education programmes such as Humanities, History of Art and Musicology. Learners of these programmes are required to digest an increasingly large amount of information. Yet, the abundance in information, which is not always comparable in quality, obstructs the development of students’ analytical skills. It seems feasible to introduce an innovative course in Hermeneutics of Works of Art into the Humanities, History of Art and Musicology programmes, the course is based on a universal method of artwork analysis elaborated by one of the authors of the article. The article aims to outline the main principles of this course, which is meant to help learners to understand the formation of semantics in various forms of art and to identify the ways of emotional and intellectual impact of artworks. This objective can be achieved by drawing upon a limited number of artworks. The musicological method of analysis is taken as a basis since its technology has been elaborated most thoroughly. This method focuses on the analysis of the formal structure of the work because the form itself contains the most important information about the content. The article shows that the basic structures of European academic music, such as periods, two- and three-part forms, variations, and the sonata form, are universal and derive from the most ancient mythological prototypes. These structures can be easily found in all forms of art and have similar semantic connotations. The proposed method also includes the analysis of polyphony, motivational dramaturgy, and space-time relations in the text, as well as the psychoanalytic approach to content interpretation. The idea of the hermeneutic circle is used to harmonize a general analysis of an artwork and a detailed analysis of its separate elements. The approbation of the proposed study course has demonstrated good results in developing students’ abilities to analyse a work of art

“I HAVE A THOUGHT AND I AM THINKING IT” (CRITICISM OF THE AUDIT APPROACH IN HUMANITIES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION)

This article points out the problem of incompatibility of certain types of humanities research with the standard requirements to scientific paper, which have been developed in recent decades. In humanities studies, the process of reflection and development of a thought is often the main content of scientific work; however in the current standard this aspect is almost ignored. The standard set of requirements imposed upon papers by most scientific journals makes it difficult to obtain the full scientific status for those humanities works that are based on innovative conceptual approach and introduce new perspectives. The aim of this paper is to show the failure of the audit approach to humanities research and substantiate the necessity of extending the current format of a journal article giving it greater freedom and flexibility. In the paper the following methods are used: analysis of relevant literature, method of rationale, historical method, and comparative analysis. The proposed relaxation of the standard requirements to scientific article may stimulate humanities studies that have ground-breaking innovation but do not fit into the standard format. Moreover, it will contribute to the development of conceptual thinking of students of higher school humanities programs, which will create opportunities for more intensive development of the humanities

THE DOLL IN THE PAINTINGS OF THE LATE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES: HERMENEUTIC ANALYSIS

The semantics of the doll in painting is not sufficiently investigated in art history and culture studies. The doll is never an accidental or unimportant component of a painting; it reveals deep psychological and symbolic undertones, complicates and concretizes the content of the painting. Each art style deals with this topic in its own way. The aim of the article is to analyse the interpretation of the image of the doll in various styles of painting of the second half of the XIX century – beginning of the XX century: in realistic painting, in symbolism, impressionism, and modernism. The research methods are the analysis of literature, the descriptive method, the hermeneutic method, and the comparative analysis method. The article may be useful for researchers in art and cultural studies, and can be used at school and university courses in the History of Art and Culture

PHILOSOPHICAL INTERPRETATION OF SYMBOLISM OF ČIURLIONIS’ PAINTINGS

The art of M.-K. Čiurlionis is unique and at the same time emblematic of the culture of the art nouveau period. A deep connection of his art to Lithuanian folklore was combined with his fascination with European philosophical trends of the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. The aim of this article is to identify the cross-cutting themes (leitmotifs) in the artist’s works and, with the help of this, to reveal the philosophical basis of his works. The methods of research are the study and analysis of both individual Čiurlionis’ paintings and his artistic production in general, as well as the analysis of the literature devoted to his works. As the result, two groups of leitmotifs were identified in the Čiurlionis’ paintings: a) figurative themes; and b) non-figurative themes (up to complete abstraction). Analysis of the meanings of these themes and of their influence on the content of the paintings shows that concrete figurative images (themes of kings, bird, hand, and castle) are associated with Lithuanian folklore. Semi-abstract and abstract images (chaos, glance, gesture, and beauty) reveal the connection between the art of Čiurlionis and European philosophy, from Plato's ideas to Nietzscheism and mystic-visionary movements of the early 20th century. Revealing the philosophical basis of his paintings makes it possible to simultaneously review the artist’s entire work in the context of culture of art nouveau, understand this culture more deeply, and thus get a better understanding of some important phenomena of our time

Value professional orientations as a psychological core in the process of professional development of working youth

In article formation and development of valuable vocational guidance in the course of professional formation of young workers is consideredВ статье рассматривается формирование и развитие ценностно-профессиональных ориентаций в процессе профессионального становления рабочей молодеж

KONFINEMENT-MODELING AS INSTRUMENT OF FORECASTING OF DEVELOPMENT OF VALUABLE VOCATIONAL GUIDANCES OF YOUNG WORKERS

В статье рассматривается применение метода конфайнмент-моделирования к системному представлению прогностических факторов, способствующих развитию ценностно-профессиональных ориентаций рабочей молодежиIn article application of a method of konfainement-modeling to system representation of the predictive factors contributing to the development of valuable vocational guidances of young workers is considere

Foresight as a tool for designing professional future students

The article examines how the design of the professional future of students takes place within the framework of foresight technology. Scientific and methodological recommendations for conducting a foresight session for educational institutions are presentedРассматривается каким образом в рамках технологии форсайт происходит проектирование профессионального будущего студентов. Представлены научно-методические рекомендации по проведению форсайт-сессии для обучающихся образовательных учреждени