Educating Democratically and Interculturally Competent Citizens: A Virtual Exchange between University Students in Argentina and the USA

In this paper we present the analysis and interpretation of data collected during an intercultural virtual exchange undertaken in 2020 in which students from Argentina and the USA explored how trauma and suffering associated with COVID-19 can be channeled through collaborative artistic multimodal creations, and how approaching this in a productive way can lead to self-transformation in terms of intercultural and civic growth. To obtain unbiased data, we did not give the students information on the Council of Europe’s Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC; 2018) which was fundamental to our conceptualization. Here, we apply an ex post facto research method to explore which of the 20 competences for democratic culture included in the RFCDC were mobilized and deployed by our students during this project. We do so by analyzing their multimodal artistic creations, social actions, and their civic statements from the perspective of the RFCDC definitions and descriptors. Findings indicate that the virtual exchange project contributed to the cultivation of ‘democratically and interculturally competent citizens’ as conceptualized in the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture.Fil: Golubeva, Irina. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Porto, Melina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación. Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentin

Channelling discomfort through the arts: A Covid-19 case study through an intercultural telecollaboration project

In this article we argue, in the context of the current dominance of the performative and instrumental drives characterizing the accountable university, that language and intercultural communication education in universities should also be humanistic, addressing ‘discomforting themes’ to sensitize students to issues of human suffering and engage them in constructive and creative responses to that suffering. We suggest that arts-based methods can be used and illustrate this with an intercultural telecollaboration project created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. In this way language and intercultural communication education can become a site of personal and social transformation albeit modest and piecemeal as part of a longer process. Through arts-based methodologies and pedagogies of discomfort, Argentinian and US undergraduates explored how the theme of the Covid-19 crisis has been expressed artistically in their countries, and then communicated online, using English as their lingua franca, to design in mixed international groups artistic multimodal creations collaboratively to channel their suffering and trauma associated with the pandemic. This article analyses and evaluates the project. Data comprise the students’ artistic multimodal creations, their written statements describing their creations, and pre and post online surveys. Our findings indicate that students began a process of transformation of disturbing affective responses by creating artwork and engaging in therapeutic social and civic participation transnationally, sharing their artistic creations using social media. We highlight the powerful humanistic role of education involving artistic expression, movement, performativity, and community engagement in order to channel discomforting feelings productively at personal and social levels

IMPLEMENTING THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES

Objective: The article considers the mass introduction of distance learning technologies and their impact on the constitutional right to education. Currently, new technologies are being introduced into the educational environment, which transfers many educational processes into a remote format. Besides advantages, such innovations also carry certain risks for the guaranteed constitutional right to education. The study aims at analyzing the mutual influence of distance learning technologies and the constitutional right of a citizen to education. Methods: The authors of the article cover the main scientific approaches to the existing issues of distance learning technologies. Results: Organizational and legal support for the introduction of distance learning technologies were analyzed during the course of the study. Special attention was paid to the possible impact of remote technologies on the implementation of constitutional rights and the advantages of these technologies. Conclusion: The authors concluded that these technologies should be used along with traditional education, and citizens should be given a choice, which will be one of the guarantees of the right to education. As a result, possible directions for the development of the institution for implementing the constitutional right to education in the conditions of digitalization of state and society were highlighted

Forming Future Teachers’ Communicative Competences through the Student Scientific Society Activities

Introduction. This article is devoted to the analysis of the process improving communicative qualities of graduates and future subject teachers through the integration of educational and extracurricular activities. The authors analyze main directions of implementation of interpersonal, group and organizational communication in teacher training. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the effectiveness of the program of developing communicative competences on the basis of project activities in the student scientific community by creating special diagnostic tools. Materials and Methods. As a methodological substantiation of the study, the competence approach is considered; the implementation of the latter, in conjunction with the systemic, innovation-technological, qualitative, activity-oriented and personality-oriented approaches, provides a higher qualitative level of vocational training of future teachers. At the theoretical stage of the study, the foreign and Russian pedagogical theory, practices, standards and solutions to the stated research problem were analyzed. To confirm the effectiveness of the experimental results, methods of mathematical statistical analysis were applied and a special diagnosis was created, compiled in accordance with the Professional Standard of the teacher based on content analysis of the contents of the answers, in terms of the availability of linguistic units of positive and negative connotations. The practical part of the research involved the student scientific community of the Pedagogical Institute. Results. Based on the created model for the content of the communicative competence of the future teacher, the author’s 72-hour program was developed for 6-month extra-curricular activities. It contained various forms of work: the implementation of brainstorming methods, communicative battles, a round table, essay writing, scientific stand-up, intellectual play, etc. The peculiarity of the program was that in each case, up to three roles were considered: coordinator, creative person, participant. The study presents a new perspective on the monitoring of the quality of education, in particular, the author’s diagnosis of analysis of communicative skills aimed at achieving goals of pedagogical activity . Discussion and Conclusion. Practical application of the provisions identified in the study on the integration of educational and extracurricular activities for the formation of communicative qualities of students can be realized in the organization of the educational and educational space of a higher educational institution of the pedagogical profile. The qualitative approach used in the study to analyze the labor intensity of educational disciplines in terms of counting credit units to estimate competencies can be applied as one of the indicators of monitoring basic educational programs. The study will be useful for teacher trainers wishing to improve the educational space of various learning or ganizations for this profile of training

Construction of stably maintained non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known elements essential for mobilization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RSF1010 is a well-studied broad-host-range plasmid able to be mobilized to different bacteria and plants. RSF1010-derived plasmid vectors are widely used in both basic research and industrial applications. In the latter case, exploiting of mobilizable plasmids or even the plasmids possessing negligible mobilization frequency, but containing DNA fragments that could promote conjugal transfer, is undesirable because of biosafety considerations. Previously, several mutations significantly decreasing efficiency of RSF1010 mobilization have been selected. Nevertheless, construction of the RSF1010 derivative lacking all known loci involved in the conjugal transfer has not been reported yet.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Novel non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known DNA sequences involved in the mobilization process have been obtained due to the exploiting of λRed-driven recombination between the plasmid and a constructed <it>in vitro </it>linear DNA fragment. To provide auto-regulated transcription of the essential replication gene, <it>repB</it>, the plasmid loci <it>oriT</it>, <it>mobC </it>and <it>mobA </it>were substituted by the DNA fragment containing P_{<it>lac</it>UV5}→<it>lacI</it>. Mobilization of the obtained RSFmob plasmid was not detected in standard tests. The derivative of RSFmob with increased copy number has been obtained after <it>lacI </it>elimination. High stability of both constructed plasmids has been demonstrated in <it>Escherichia coli </it>and <it>Pantoea ananatis</it>. Design of RSFmob allows easy substitution of P_{<it>lac</it>UV5}by any desirable promoter for construction of novel derivatives with changed copy number or host range.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Novel non-mobilizable derivatives of RSF1010 lacking all known DNA sequences involved in the mobilization process and stably maintained at least in <it>E. coli </it>and <it>P. ananatis </it>have been constructed. The obtained plasmids became the progenitors of new cloning vectors answering all biosafety requirements of genetically modified organisms used in scale-up production.</p

Use of the λ Red-recombineering method for genetic engineering of Pantoea ananatis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pantoea ananatis</it>, a member of the <it>Enterobacteriacea </it>family, is a new and promising subject for biotechnological research. Over recent years, impressive progress in its application to L-glutamate production has been achieved. Nevertheless, genetic and biotechnological studies of <it>Pantoea ananatis </it>have been impeded because of the absence of genetic tools for rapid construction of direct mutations in this bacterium. The λ Red-recombineering technique previously developed in <it>E. coli </it>and used for gene inactivation in several other bacteria is a high-performance tool for rapid construction of precise genome modifications.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, the expression of λ Red genes in <it>P. ananatis </it>was found to be highly toxic. A screening was performed to select mutants of <it>P. ananatis </it>that were resistant to the toxic affects of λ Red. A mutant strain, SC17(0) was identified that grew well under conditions of simultaneous expression of λ <it>gam</it>, <it>bet</it>, and <it>exo </it>genes. Using this strain, procedures for fast introduction of multiple rearrangements to the <it>Pantoea ananatis </it>genome based on the λ Red-dependent integration of the PCR-generated DNA fragments with as short as 40 bp flanking homologies have been demonstrated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The λ Red-recombineering technology was successfully used for rapid generation of chromosomal modifications in the specially selected <it>P. ananatis </it>recipient strain. The procedure of electro-transformation with chromosomal DNA has been developed for transfer of the marked mutation between different <it>P. ananatis </it>strains. Combination of these techniques with λ Int/Xis-dependent excision of selective markers significantly accelerates basic research and construction of producing strains.</p

Developmental Education for University Students: Ways and Methods of its Organization

This article is devoted to the organization of developmental education of students of higher educational institutions. Based on works by I.A. Zimniaia, T.I. Iliin, V.V. Kraevskii, G.M. Kodzhaspirova, I.Ia. Lerner, I.F. Kharlamov and other researchers, the authors clarified the concept of “developmental education of university students", analyzed its components, systematized domestic and foreign experience in organizing developmental education in a higher educational institution. The article also presents the author’s set of pedagogical conditions, which contributes to the organization of developmental education for university students. This set includes the following components: correction of students' value orientations in the educational process of the university; the development of cognitive activity of students and the construction of the educational process at the university, subject to the requirements of a person-centered approach

Features of Anesthesiologists-Reanimatologists’ Emotional States in Different COVID-19 Pandemic Periods in Russia

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most stressful events in recent times. Medical professionals, including anesthesiologists-reanimatologists, suffered the main blow in this difficult and stressful environment. Aims: This study aimed at identifying the features of anesthesiologists-reanimatologists’ emotional states in different COVID-19 pandemic periods. Methods: The study was conducted through an anonymous questionnaire among anesthesiologists-reanimatologists in two periods. In the First stage – which was carried out in May 2020 (during the first COVID-19 pan¬demic wave) – 58 anesthesiologists-reanimatologists in the Arkhangelsk region took part. During the Second segment – which took place in October 2020 (in the second COVID-19 pandemic wave) – 43 anesthesiologists-reanimatologists were examined. Repeated questioning was carried out among the same participants. Results: In October 2020, compared to May, the number of doctors who noted a high intensity of professional activity increased. Regardless of the study period, one-third of the subjects experienced constant pronounced anxiety. Anesthesiologists-reanimatologists, whose professional activity was directly related to the patients in COVID-19 care, noted a poorer emo¬tional state more frequently in October, accompanied by anxiety, depressed mood, irritability and a high burnout level, which may indicate a depletion of internal resources in this group. Conclusions: The study results showed that for anesthesiologists-reanimatologists, a further depletion of emotional resources accompanied the second pandemic wave. The anesthesiologists-reanimatologists’ emotional state was mediated by a number of social and gender factors, as well as specific labor organization features